HomeSpun Magazine ~ 2018 Fall Issue

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HOME 2018 Fall

Jackson’s Corner Valuing COMMUNITY

Sweet

REWARDS

pun Magazine

BEND PUBLIC HOUSE

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August - October 2018

CONTENTS Fall

HOME 30

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3 Editorial

28 Fall Prep for a Successful Spring

Ryan Moeggenberg HomeSpun Magazine

Tisha Farris Central Oregon Lawn Center

4 Valuing Community

30 #BeADoer Lessons Learned in the Garden

Ryan Moeggenberg HomeSpun Magazine

Recipes

9 Rooper Ranch

8 Elote Grilled Mexican Street Corn

14 10 Commandments of Grilling

by Chef Brian Kerr of Deschutes Brewery & Public House

16 Carmel Peach Pie

by Robin Snyder Tumalo Garden Market

26 Sautéed Summer Vegetables

by Savory Spice Bend - Old Mill District

32 Zucchini Bacon & Cheese

by the MoeGang Household

HomeSpun Magazine

Brian Kerr, Executive Chef, Deschutes Brewery & Public House

20 Sweet Rewards Ahead! Part 1

Robin Snyder Tumalo Garden Market

24 Bend Food Stories of Local Farms and Kitchens Meet Local Author Sara Rishforth

2018

Robin Pfeiffer

34 Fall Wellness

Cindy Miskowiec & Christie Reid Synchronicity Wellness

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HOME 2018 Fall

pun Magazine

ON THE COVER

A part of the community of farmers and Corner suppliers that Jackson’s Jackson’s Corner S we et DS REWAR has supported.

Pictured are representatives from Fields Farms, Agricultural Connections, Boundless Farmstead, Tender Greens, Central Oregon Locavore, Home Farm Foods, Mahonia Gardens, Zajac Farms, Windflower Farms L

g LOCA

Supportin

EDITORIAL

Greek Proverb

RYAN MOEGGENBERG

“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”

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hen I was young I grew up on a ten-acre hobby farm about 20 miles outside of Lansing, Michigan. My parents had purchased the property from our neighbor, Louis Mosier. Louis was retired, had a small herd of cows, a decent-sized hayfield and a large orchard on his property. Our herds of cows ran together on his property in the summertime because they had access to grass and the Thornapple River in his woods. In the winter time the cows were kept on our property because my dad and brother and I would put up all of Louis’ hay in our barn and feed them all winter.

Along our property line, next to my mom’s garden, Louie had a large orchard including peaches, apricots, plums, cherries, apples and pears. The last time I drove by my old house when I was visiting family, the orchard was still there — nearly 40 years later.

Anytime I remember my childhood, the memories include climbing in those trees playing hide and seek with my brother Kyle and Louis’ grandkids.

We would eat so much fruit that when my mom rang the triangle dinner bell for lunch we were already full. Memories of spending evenings with my mother preserving the fruit, having apple pie in a jar for dessert that Mom had canned, spending days with Dad shaking apple trees and collecting the apples to make apple cider that we would take to our neighborhood Halloween party at the oneroom schoolhouse just down the road. I will always remember Louie and the memories of his orchard.

If we had stayed living in that house I may have been able to turn that orchard into a small enterprise by selling the fruit itself — or turning it into products like the apple cider. It’s possible that I could have paid for my first pick up when I turned 16 with profits from that orchard. Once trees are established, with a

little maintenance every year it could be like having your own money tree!

Real estate is always a hot topic in Central Oregon.

We’ve had ups and downs and lots of competition for buying and selling. Speaking with a real estate agent friend of mine, I asked their opinion about the value of a property with fruit trees. They commented that it did not typically raise the value but that it did make houses sell faster as the fruit trees would stand out in a person’s mind and keep them thinking about that property.

Robin from Tumalo Garden Market has a great article for us this issue about fruit trees that do well in Central Oregon. I hope some of our stories and considerations get you thinking about planting some fruit trees on your property. Even if not for any of the considerations above, it’s like planting a little bit of your own immortality. My childhood is full of great memories because our neighbor planted some fruit trees and I’m still talking about him today.

#BeADoer

HomeSpun Magazine is a Bend, Oregon-based magazine, family owned and operated by Ryan and Marcee Moeggenberg.

Published Quarterly: November, February, May, August HomeSpun Magazine is a division of MoeGang Productions | PO Box 1874, Bend, OR 97709 www.HomeSpunMagazine.com | www.Facebook.com/HomespunMagazine Ryan@HomeSpunMagazine.com | Marcee@HomeSpunMagazine.com Send your advertising inquiries, press releases and photos to Ryan@HomeSpunMagazine.com www.

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Valuing Community

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by RYAN MOEGGENBERG

One Plate At A Time

hy is it that people buy local? I have found that there are many reasons that people work harder to support local brands. According to a 2017 survey of the Economic Impact of Local Food Producers in Central Oregon, found on the High Desert Food and Farm Alliance website, Economy, 28 farms and ranches generated $1.5 million in sales.

The study also mentioned that 97 percent of sales stayed in the local economy whereas only 28 percent of sales of imported foods stayed in the local economy.

Some people are concerned with the environment and choose to buy local so that their food isn’t shipped in from Argentina. You may even turn to local produce because you want the highest nutrition or flavor from your food.

When you buy from the farmer’s markets your food was most likely picked a day or two before instead of losing nutrients while in transit for weeks.

When I sat down to interview Parker Vaughn, the executive chef and Aaron Junkin, co-owner of Jackson’s Corner, I had one question for them, “Why does Jackson’s Corner invest so much extra time, effort and money sourcing their food locally?” Parker answered, “It’s more about community than anything for us. We value relationships with vendors, local artisans, farmers and ranchers.

That has been the biggest drive.

We feed people that come here every day of the week that we are on a first name basis with, and it is the same mentality for the people that we work with because we care.”

In addition to purchasing 4-500 pounds of potatoes and 700 pounds of greens per week from Boundless Farmstead, Jackson’s Corner hosts the Boundless CSA pickup at their eastside location every Thursday evening. “David and Megan [owners of Boundless] are what I see as the next generation of farmers, and they are quite possibly

90% of what goes on a plate at Jackson’s Corner is sourced locally.

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the youngest farmers in Central Oregon. I think that it’s important to support them in any way possible so that there is another generation of farmers,” Parker said. They source beets, carrots, herbs and all of the flowers on the tables in both restaurants from Gigi at Windflower Farms as well.

Parker and I talked about one of the biggest gaps in the Central Oregon food community being a beef cooperative. According to Neighboring Food Coops (nfca.coop), “A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.” Most restaurants don’t utilize all of the cuts from a single steer, and most farmers do not have time to market their beef to several different restaurants. In order to use the many different cuts of beef to use up a whole steer, a co-op could be a solution. It would allow the ranchers to supply chefs with the cuts that they need from a central source that the restaurants don’t have to hunt

for. “From a commercial point of view, I have no doubt that the farmers would sell more. If it was easier to obtain, more people would buy,” was Parker’s opinion.

While talking with Parker and Aaron, I asked them a few questions I know some of you have wondered about: What is your favorite meal to cook?

Parker: I love cooking with live fire. It adds a different continued on page 7 [

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I feel such gratitude to Jackson’s Corner for their true dedication to supporting locally grown, fresh and delicious food, which is lovingly prepared by their chefs.

They have been incredibly supportive of Boundless Farmstead, from the beginning, purchasing a wide variety of produce. I’ve never heard of any other restaurant, allowing a farm to use their restaurant for a CSA pickup, and encouraging it with meals created with the ingredients from that farm. A loyal following is created, meal after meal, that’s for sure!

Abby Kellner-Rode • Boundless Farmstead Jackson’s Corner is truly the lifeblood of economic sustainability for much local food enterprise in Central Oregon. They are walk the walkers. They are true to their mission. They are the real [effin] deal. And they do it humbly because it’s what they believe in as a team of humans who understand the implications of every personal and business decision. Ag Connections would probably not be here today if it weren’t for Jackson’s Corner. We absolutely love those guys and would do pretty much anything for them!!

Elizabeth Weigand • Agricultural Connections

Jackson’s Corner doesn’t stop with only food related community support. They were the first full page ad in HomeSpun Magazine. I walked into the Eastside location and Palmer agreed to run an ad with us on the spot after only seeing our marketing packet. I’d like to think that it was my superior sales skills but I know better. Palmer knew more about advertising that I did. I believe that we have had support from other advertisers in early issues solely to be associated with the credibility of Jackson’s Corner. We wouldn’t be where we are without them. They care about us. They care about you. They care about our entire community.

Ryan and Marcee Moeggenberg • HomeSpun Magazine

I still talk about Jay and Jackson’s Corner in many conversations I have about local partners in the early stages of our business. Jay was over the top welcoming in questions that we had from a business perspective. He (along with many in the Bend community) cheered us on whole-heartedly and I really believed that our success was important to them as well. I’ve felt like they were our partners from day one and continue to show up with the same true honesty and authenticity that we experienced in our early days.

Michelle Mitchell • Humm Kombucha

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Jackson’s Corner has meant more to the local farming community than any other single restaurant in Central Oregon. They have supported my farm, Rainshadow Organics, since my very first year in 2010. They care deeply about the ingredients that they prepare for their community and that they are sourced organically and locally.

They helped me develop my wholesale program of meats, grains, and vegetables.

Their business is successful because of their belief in relationship with both their suppliers and their customers. They have evolved over time with my farm and all of the ingredients that we provide them. We have grown to provide their potatoes, lots of their greens, all of their ground beef as well as other beef cuts. They are foundational to our farm and its financial sustainability. We are tremendously grateful for their commitment, which has allowed us to supply so much more food to the community via farmers markets, CSA, other restaurants, and even the food bank. We are able to grow on the scale that we do because Jackson’s Corner plans with the farmer years in advance, because that’s the way farming works, and they stand by their word Sarahlee Lawrence • Rainshadow Organics

Jackson’s Corner was one of the first places to put Kombucha Mama on tap in Bend. And certainly became our biggest customer for a timeframe. Aaron was always there to support, open to new ideas, and super collaborative on everything. Jay introduced us to other businesses as well. It’s businesses like Jackson’s Corner that makes businesses like Humm successful. When local companies give local brands the added value of help and front and center placement, it’s a win for everyone.

Jamie Danek • Humm Kombucha We really appreciate JC buying from our small farm through Agriculture Connections.

It’s a great partnership that JC has been willing to pioneer.

Debbie Fields • Fields Farm It is a great resource to have restaurants like JC support and purchase from local farmers. As this is my first year farming in Central Oregon, I feel privileged to provide this well accomplished restaurant with any amount of produce, large or small. It is a great way for my farm to gain recognition within the community.

Tyler Zajac • Zajac Farms

continued from page 5

element. It adds inconsistency. I like BBQ, wood fired pizza and smoking.

Do you cook the same way at home as in the restaurant?

Parker: Yes and no. Premise wise, yes, but it’s easier to cook at the restaurant because you have everything you need. The level of building flavors in a restaurant is easier because “he who has the biggest pantry wins.”

You always have on hand what you need: canned things, pickled things, dehydrated things, compound butters made from vegetable scraps. Doing all of this at once is harder at home.

Do you grow anything yourself?

Parker: Strawberries, tomatoes and tomatillos. I bought the tomatillo starts from Chris Cassad.

Aaron: Chickens, goats and soon expanding to include pigs. (Aaron delivered a dozen of his eggs from home to Parker during our interview.)

What would you say to someone that is starting a restaurant that wants to have 90 percent of what is served to be local?

Parker: Reliance on a middleman like Agricultural Connections is key.

Liz was able to tell Jackson’s Corner how much they have purchased every week over the last five years, which was then relayed to Megan and David [Boundless Farmstead] so they would know how much to grow in order to supply the restaurants.

Jackson’s Corner’s commitment to buying local has helped many people spawn small businesses and even entire farms. Jackson’s Corner and Parilla were the first to order from Kombucha Mama when they started their business before they rebranded to Humm Kombucha. Rainshadow Organics is now the sole supplier of beef to Jackson’s Corner which is around 60 head a year. Boundless Farmstead was able to start their first year with three, $7,000 greenhouses because of the commitment from Jackson’s Corner to purchase from them.

Ordering $100 per week from Amazon doesn’t change the price of Amazon stock. That same $100 a week spent with one farm makes their family car payment. Jackson’s Corner has built a thriving fan base around their brand and positively impacted so many families in Central Oregon by caring about their community first. www.jacksonscornerbend.com www.

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Elote

Grilled Mexican Street Corn

by Chef Brian Kerr of Deschutes Brewery & Public House 1044 NW Bond St., Bend • 541-382-9242 • www.deschutesbrewery.com

Ingredients

8 ears of fresh, locally raised yellow corn, husks removed or artfully pulled back to reveal the kernels Clarified butter (or oil) Sea salt Chili powder Mayonnaise (homemade, regular, or vegan)

Cotija, feta, parmesan or cashew cheese 1 cup chopped cilantro 3 scallions thinly sliced, green and white parts 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 limes cut into 16 wedges

Directions

Clean the corn well, removing the silk and pulling off husks, or not. I prefer to steam or boil the corn for about 10 minutes before putting on the grill, but that’s just me.

Combine the cilantro, scallions and garlic.

Heat the grill to about 350-400 degrees. This is a bit hotter than I usually go for veggies because we are looking for a char here. Lightly oil (remove the excess) your corn ears, season all over with the sea salt and place on the clean, preheated grill.

Keep your squirt bottle of water handy at first to knock back any flare ups. Remove the corn from the grill immediately if you get a lot of smoke and fire from the oil.

Allow the corn to cook for 3-4 minutes before rolling it into a new position to gather more grill marks. There is no need to re-season the corn with oil or salt at this point.

After about 10-12 minutes, once you have some nice color on your corn, grab it with your tongs and set it on a plate. Grab your mayo or lime crema* and baste the corn to your liking. Me, I love mayo so I put about 1/4 cup on each ear, your preference may be for less. Liberally add the finely crumbled cheese, shake some chili powder over the corn, throw a handful of the cilantro blend on and garnish with lime wedges.

Serve while hot.

This works as a platter for the table or you can stick a candy-apple/corn dog stick in the flat end of the corn (before cooking) and have street corn on a stick. Grab plenty of napkins!

Options *Lime Crema Option: in a food processor mix equal parts sour cream and mayo, season with lime juice, salt, cilantro and the cheese. Use this as an all-in-one alternative for your grilled corn.

Fall 2018

Rooper Ranch M

by RYAN MOEGGENBERG

eeting farmers with cool stories is one of the favorite parts of my job. I met Jack and Amy Rooper at their farm and they gave me a grand tour while they told me their story. The Rooper Ranch that most of us know is a ten-acre farm north of Redmond a few miles west of the Oneil Junction, but the history of Jack’s family Rooper Ranch started in the 1880’s when Jack’s great-grandfather owned a 10,000 acre ranch around

the town of Antelope. At one point he was even the mayor. They primarily raised sheep and moved them from Antelope to the top of Santiam Pass for grazing every year. The Rooper family is even on the cover of a book titled Antelope Story. Additionally, if you walk along the Deschutes River in the Old Mill and notice the plaques about the mill, the images where donated

by Jack’s dad, Don. continued on page 10 [

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Amy and Jack Rooper continued from page 9

Amy was born in Colorado and moved to Bend in 2001. She has been a part-time groomer up at Mount Bachelor for many years, giving her something to do in the offseason when the farm is not as productive.

Jack was born and raised in Bend, he remembers selling spinach from his backyard to Paradise Produce when he was 16 years old. Jack has been in many farm internships in Washington DC; Roanoke, Virginia; Seattle and Carnation, Washington and Good Earth in Bend. He also spent some time WWOOFing (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) in Australia, spending a week or two at four or five different farms. Then he found a place he liked and did a three-month stint at a 68,000 acre cattle ranch where he learned to love working with draft horses. They used a sled to haul trees and made lumber. They also used the horses to haul rocks, put in fence posts and till for cover crops.

Jack and Amy began their journey at the current Rooper Ranch a few years ago when they bought their ten acres. Jack was working with Good Earth Farms in their greenhouses when the land was sold.

Jack and Amy jumped at the chance to purchase the infrastructure at a steep discount and began the search

for property. They passed a property with a for sale sign and went right in to talk to the owner and made a deal.

In two years they’ve turned a pasture into about a half-acre of outdoor production and another half-acre or so under greenhouses. With the manure from the dairy farmer across the street and soil amendments from Down to Earth in Eugene, they’ve created very productive soil.

When they started the farm, Jack was looking for a tractor with a bucket but couldn’t find anything in his price range that he liked. They ended up purchasing a BCS two wheeled tractor from Stark Street Lawn & Garden in Bend on Greenwood Avenue. Along with the BCS itself, they purchased four separate attachments: a flail mower for mowing down any plants left in the rows, a tiller to break up the ground and till in organic matter, a power harrow for minimum till situations and a rotary plow which is great at digging trenches to plant potatoes and cleaning up irrigation ditches. Jack actually prefers the BCS over a tractor now because they can clean up and till a single row at a time where as a tractor would take out two or continued on page 13 [

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three rows in the garden. They can also run it up and down through the green houses where a tractor wouldn’t fit.

One of the other additions they’ve made to the farm is an eight-foot by ten-foot cold room.

They built it into their small shop by framing in the two inner walls, insulating with four inch sheets of insulation and added an air conditioner and a CoolBot. When we walked in it was only 42 degrees and the temperature outside was 92! Amy said that this was one of the greatest additions to their farm the second year. Having a cold room meant they could pick their greens and produce the day before, stack them in the cold room and go to the farmers market the next day without any wilting.

Over the next few years they hope to build a large shop with a commercial kitchen so that they can turn their produce into finished products for their customers. They also have plans to add fruit trees with integrated grazing for their animals using permaculture techniques.

Jack and Amy agreed that there is enough demand for local produce they could easily sell twice as much as they are currently able to grow. Because of that, they are planning on doubling production next year, but said that there is plenty of room for more farmers in Central Oregon.

If you are part of their CSA you can expect Hopi blue corn, zucchini, squash, pickling cucumbers, four different varieties of potatoes, six different varieties of lettuces, turnips, carrots, leeks, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Swiss chard, kale, four different kinds of onions and three different kinds of beets. They do have about 30 baby chicks that they hope will produce some eggs for the CSA and have plans to expand into lamb and beef eventually. If you are not a part of their CSA yet you will have another opportunity to join in April!

Be on the lookout for their 1947 Ford delivery truck at the farmers market. It didn’t run but, with new fuel lines, water pump and starter Jack has been moving hay around the farm with it and they hope to be using it for farmers markets soon. www.rooperranch.com photos courtesy of Rooper Ranch and by HomeSpun Magazine

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10

COMMANDMENTS

of Grilling

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by BRIAN KERR Executive Chef, Deschutes Brewery & Public House

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f, for you, this past week was anything like mine, you probably looked reluctantly at your oven and stovetop and immediately resented having to cook a meal indoors.

Boiling water, hot burners, radiating ovens, then the steaming dishwasher… all of it evilly designed to raise the temperature in your home to resemble an unbearable, sweltering sauna. Perhaps you are a creature of habit, or have habitual creatures in your home. Maybe you have outspent your restaurant dollars for the month. Perhaps the thought of tackling the parking and crowd downtown is just too much for you to bear in this mid-summer heat.

This is why I love grilling. Walk the produce and meat

aisles of your (air-conditioned) supermarket, pick several things that appeal to you and your mood and, chances are, they will make a delicious meal thrown together on the grill. Perhaps you gathered a couple zucchini and a sweet onion, asparagus spears and a bell pepper. Make an herby vinaigrette, grab that last corner of crumbly feta cheese, and you have yourself a delicious and lovingly prepared meal without having to turn on your oven or rely on your freezer.

Over the course of the past decade I have owned several grills and other backyard cooking devices.

I have had a kettle/charcoal cooker, another contraption that looked straight out of a ‘60’s sci-fi thriller that claimed it was the ‘last backyard cooker I would ever buy!’ (it wasn’t), a smoker and two gas grills. I haven’t had the chance to own or even use one of the fancy pants Traeger grills or a Big Green Egg, though I have no envy. My gas grill is versatile enough for me to preheat to the temperature I need, carefully monitor the heat, add wood chips to enhance aromas and flavors, slow cook, smoke, grill, roast, sear and braise. It’s got a large enough surface that the food isn’t crowded, it is powerful enough to continued on page 17 [

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Carmel Peach Pie

by Robin Snyder Tumalo Garden Market

19879 8th St., Bend • 541-728-0088 • www.TumaloGardenMarket.com

Ingredients

1 unbaked pie shell or gluten free shell 1 3⁄4 cups drained peach slices in juice, reserve juice for sauce or fresh peaches 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour (sift before measuring) or all-purpose GF flour 2 tablespoons sifted all-purpose flour or GF flour (sift before measuring)

1 teaspoon baking powder 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon 1⁄2 teaspoon salt 1 cup sugar 1⁄4 cup butter, room temperature 1⁄3 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 egg ( use egg replacer 1 tbsp flax seeds, 3 tbsp water)

Caramel Sauce

2⁄3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed 1⁄4 cup butter 1⁄4 cup reserved peach juice 2 tablespoons corn syrup

Directions

1. Combine all sauce ingredients in saucepan; bring to a boil.

2. Cook for 1 minute.

3. Set aside and cool to lukewarm.

4. Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and sugar.

5. Add butter, milk, and vanilla.

6. Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer.

7. Add egg and beat 1 minute longer.

8. Fold in peaches, reserving 8 slices for topping later.

9. Pour batter into unbaked pie shell.

10. Spoon cooled caramel sauce over top of batter.

11. Bake at 350° for 50 to 60 minutes, or until set.

12. 10 minutes before the pie is done, quickly arrange reserved peach slices over the top and finish baking.

Serve warm Time: 1hr 5mins • Yields: 8

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get great sear on pieces of meat and has three tiers to raise the amount of surface available, should items on the grill get too hot or are approaching doneness.

Grilling isn’t hard, prehistoric families were doing it long before you and I bought our grills. But, it isn’t all as easy as you might think. It certainly does take practice, planning, the right products, preparations and the right tools. If you are new to grilling or maybe a bit on the green side of things, I put together a bit of a list, a Ten Commandments of Grilling so to speak.

• Safety First — your grill station should be away from other flammable items like your house and children. You should have handy a squirt bottle of water, a fire extinguisher and grilling mitts. You might even take a page out of your professional chef’s book and keep a small box of baking soda nearby. It will smother any fire in the bottom of your cooking kettle better than water will, which will likely cause more flame and smoke before you extinguish it.

• Correct Equipment — your grill should be in good working order. No rusty grates, no holes in the kettle, working propane lines and regulators. You should also have handy a grill brush, basting brush or mop, instant read thermometer, long metal burger/ fillet turner, long sturdy tongs, disposable aluminum pans. Optional items include a veggie box, a fish basket, wood chips of various woods, metal skewers, dual-readout grilling thermometers. Some of the new thermometer probes work wirelessly and some work with an app on your phone so that you can be

inside putting finishing touches on sauces and salads as well as mixing drinks instead of running out to the grill every ten minutes.

• Keep Your Grill and Grate Clean — clean your grate with a brush and an oiled paper towel or dedicated kitchen towel. Your food will taste better on a clean grill. You may be cooking outdoors but the same rules apply out there as they do in your kitchen; clean surfaces, no cross contamination, hot food kept hot, cold food kept cold, proper internal temperatures for proteins.

• Preheat the Grill — gas grills heat up quickly and many of them have thermometers on the outside so you can monitor the temperature more accurately.

Charcoal grills heat up more slowly but have a more intense heat. Get yourself a charcoal chimney if you have a charcoal grill. These items are really handy and efficient to getting your charcoal started and glowing red hot. Once you have glowing coals, spread them around your kettle for your particular method of cooking — direct or indirect. Now is also a good time to use hardwood chunks like mesquite for a powerful aroma and flavor punch. As far as temperature goes, I like to cook chicken and vegetables at 300 degrees.

I cook burgers and franks and small items at 400, and larger cuts like whole turkey or chicken at 350.

• Carefully Arrange Your Grillables in the Right Places on Your Grill — it’s likely that even your grill will have hot spots or cooler areas, like those swinging baskets that hang a few inches over the cooking surface. Remove these alternate grilling baskets continued on page 18 [

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if warranted to allow you access to all the steaks, peppers and ears of corn you are grilling. Arrange the meats over the hotter areas and veggies in the slightly cooler areas. And do make it pretty, you will want a beautiful grill to post to your Instagram account.

• Brine or Dry Rub for Added Flavor — don’t just toss the steak on the grill with salt and pepper, buy or create a dry rub or marinade for your hard-won porterhouse steak. The payoff for the effort made is exponentially awesome.

• Learn How to Grill Vegetables — zucchini planks and asparagus are easy and rewarding, but try grill-roasting sweet onions, hatch peppers, ears of corn or romaine lettuce!

• Learn How to Grill Flatbreads and Pizzas — this one is not for the novice, I have burnt more pizzas on the grill than I have had success with, but I’ll tell you once you get it you REALLY get it. Grilled bread with blistered tomatoes? Grilled flatbread with chimichurri, peppers and haloumi cheese? Farmers market margherita pizza and basil with cheese? You know you want to learn!

• Know When it’s Done — read up on the proper internal temps for proteins and keep that info close in your hand or your head, it could save you a lot of embarrassment, frustration and sick friends.

• Rest — your meat that is. Take that perfectly bronzed and aromatic lamb leg off the grill and slice it up for serving immediately, and you will be left with a very large puddle of moisture that SHOULD be inside your lamb leg — and your carefully prepared and seasoned sauce will also be ruined by the excess moisture. Take that leg off, or your beef

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tenderloin or double cut pork chop and place it on a platter, cover with foil and rest it for ten minutes. It won’t cool down, don’t worry. The rest allows the meat to relax and redistribute the juices evenly throughout.

• Everything Gets a Sauce — maybe you aren’t a skilled saucier? No worries. You’ve been down the aisle at the grocery and seen more barbecue sauce than ketchup? More salad dressing than greens in the produce? Grocers are obsessed with sauces, nearly as much as I am! I always wanted to be a saucier, it is what I studied as I was coming up the kitchen ladder.

Don’t like high fructose corn syrup? DO learn to make your own sauces then! Vinaigrettes for vegetables, spicy-sweet mayo for sandwiches, charred onion salsas for anything taco related, chimichurri, gingersoy, sweet and sour, tahini-cashew cream, compound butters, cherry-habanero ketchup, oh my! The possibilities are literally endless. Your food will be so much better if you make or buy a quality sauce to go with your carefully grilled dinner.

• Use Your Grill as a Smoker — kettle ‘cues and gas grills work great as a substitute smoker. I use small, shallow disposable aluminum pans that I place underneath the grate, on top of the elements, with some soaked Applewood or cherry wood chips and let them do their thing. Even a couple of steaks or burgers with ten minutes worth of Applewood smoke makes an amazing impact on the flavor and aroma of your food.

In conclusion, I urge you to consider the possibilities of using your grill for more than just the occasional burger cookout. Your grill is an extremely useful tool in your box for creating absolutely delicious, even daringly

complex dishes. It is extremely versatile for cooking any kind of protein like skewers, wings, fish fillets and steaks. Cooking vegetables on the grill is quite rewarding, as is bread, peaches, polenta, street corn, and even for beginning a grilled Gazpacho soup. If you are considering resources for brushing up on your grilling skills, I prefer the Bon Appetit Grilling Book, Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling, The Barbecue Bible by Steven Raichlen and The Gardener and the Grill by Karen Adler.

Go forth, Central Oregon and grill it, grill it all. I want to see barbecue smoke in the air this summer, not our precious forests going up in smoke. Grilling is truly a family and friend event for any meal of the day that takes little effort for a great reward.

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Sweet

rewards ahead!

Part 1: Starting Your Backyard Fruit Orchard

by ROBIN SNYDER, Tumalo Garden Market

C

an’t you just imagine fresh fruit from your own yard? With our renewed interest in self-sufficiency (growing gardens, raising livestock for food and produce), we should consider investing in fruit orchards on our small farms and in our backyards as well. It is a time investment that, over the long-term, will yield in sweet rewards.

Farmers planted orchards on their acreage and preserved fruit, fermented and ate what they produced.

With large acreages, they could have lots of space for bigger trees and equipment, even housing hundreds of workers during the harvest season. Today’s urban farmer may have a very small acreage, postage stamp lot or even just a tiny backyard they want to take out of grass production to produce food.

No plants give sweeter rewards than fruit trees. From cold-hardy apples and cherries to semi-tropical citrus fruits, fruit trees grow in most climates. Growing fruit trees requires a commitment to pruning and close monitoring of pests, and you must begin with a type of fruit tree known to grow well in your area.

Types of Fruit Trees to Try Even fruit trees described as self-fertile will set fruit better if grown near another variety known to

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be a compatible pollinator. Extension publications and nursery catalogs often include tables listing compatible varieties.

Apples (Malus domestica) are the most popular tree fruits because they are widely adapted, relatively easy to grow and routine palate-pleasers. The ideal soil pH for apples is 6.5, but apple trees can adjust to more acidic soil if it’s fertile and well-drained. Most apple varieties are adapted to cold-hardiness Zones 4 to 7 (if you don’t know your Zone, see “Know Your Cold-Hardiness Zone” later in this article), but you will need high chill varieties in our Central Oregon climate. No matter your climate, begin by choosing two trees that are compatible pollinators to get good fruit set. Mid- and late-season apples usually have better flavor and store longer compared with earlyseason varieties.

Cherries (Prunus avium (sweet) and P. cerasus (sour)) range in color from sunny yellow to nearly black and are classified in two subtypes: compact sweet varieties, such as Rainier, and sour or pie

cherries, such as Montmorency. Best adapted to Zones 4 to 7, cherry trees need fertile, near-neutral soil and excellent air circulation. Growing 12-foot-tall dwarf cherry trees of either subtype will simplify protecting your crop from diseases and birds, because the small trees can be covered with protective netting or easily sprayed with sulfur, horticultural oils or kaolin clay.

Peaches and nectarines (Prunus persica) are on everyone’s want list, but growing these fruit trees in Central Oregon require an excellent site, preventive pest management and some luck. More than other fruit trees, peach and nectarine trees need deep soil with no compacted subsoil or hardpan. Peaches and nectarines are best adapted to Zones 5 to 8, but specialized varieties can be grown in colder or warmer climates. Peach and nectarine trees are often short-lived because of wood-boring insects, so plan to plant new trees every ten years.

Plums (Prunus species and hybrids) tend to produce fruit erratically because the trees often lose their crop to late freezes or disease. In good years, plum trees will yield heavy crops of juicy fruits that vary in color from light green to dark purple. Best adapted to Zones 4 to 8, plum trees need at least one compatible variety nearby to ensure good pollination Pears (Pyrus species and hybrids) are slightly less cold-hardy than apples but are easier to grow organically in a wide range of climates. In Zones 4 to 7, choose pear varieties that have good resistance to fire blight, such as Red Bartlett or Stanley. In Zones 5 to 8, Asian pear trees often produce beautiful, crisp-fleshed fruits if given routine care. Most table-quality pears should be harvested before they are fully ripe. continued on page 22 [

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continued from page 21

For the greenhouse gardener: Citrus fruits (Citrus hybrids), including kumquat, Mandarin orange, satsuma and Meyer lemon, are among the easiest fruit trees to grow organically in Zones 8b to 10 or in heated greenhouses in winter in Zones 4 to 7. Fragrant oils in citrus leaves and rinds provide protection from pests, but cold tolerance is limited. Meyer lemon trees may occasionally need to be covered with blankets when temperatures drop below freezing, but winter harvests of homegrown citrus fruits will be worth the trouble.

Tumalo Garden Market has nine varieties of semiand dwarf apples, five varieties of plums, four varieties of pears and two varieties of cherries, as well grapes, apricots and peaches.

How to Plant, Mulch & Care The best time to plant fruit trees in our high desert hardiness Zones 3 through 5 is early spring, after the soil has thawed. Fruit trees that are set out just as they emerge from winter dormancy will rapidly grow new roots. Choose a sunny site with fertile, well-drained soil that’s not in a low frost pocket. Dig a planting hole that’s twice the size of the root ball of the tree.

Carefully spread the roots in the hole and backfill with soil that has been amended with 1/3 portion of sterile compost. If the tree is still “balled and burlaped” (roots and soil wrapped in a ball of burlap for ease of transport and regrowing small feeder roots), set the ball “as is” in the hole. Set trees at the same depth at which they grew at the nursery, taking care not to bury any graft union (swollen area) that’s on the main trunk. Water well and protect the trunk from insects, rodents, sunscald and physical injuries. Stake the tree loosely to hold it steady.

Mulch over the root zone of the planted trees with wood chips, sawdust or another slow-rotting mulch or compost. Stay three inches away from the trunk and graft. Water particularly well during any dry spells for the first two years including monthly in winter when no snow is on the ground. Plan on cutting the top string of the root ball approximately six months after planting.

One year after planting, fertilize fruit trees in spring by raking back the mulch and scratching a balanced organic fertilizer into the soil surface (follow application rates on the product’s label). Then add a wood-based mulch to bring the mulch depth up to four inches in a four-foot circle around the tree. After two years, stop using trunk

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guards and instead switch to coating the trunks with white latex paint to defend against winter injuries. Add sand to the paint to deter rabbits and voles.

Pruning Fruit Trees Pruning is a key aspect of growing fruit trees. The goal of pruning fruit trees is to provide the leaves and fruit access to light and fresh air. The ideal branching pattern varies with species, and some apple and pear trees can be pruned and trained into fence- or wall-hugging espaliers to save space. Begin pruning fruit trees to shape them in their first year, and then prune annually in late winter, before the buds swell. Pruning a little too much questionable growth is better than removing too little.

Many fruit trees set too much fruit, and the excess should be thinned. Asian pear trees should have 70 percent of their green fruits snipped off when the pears are the size of a dime, and apples should be thinned to six inches apart before the fruits are the size of a quarter. When any type of fruit tree is holding a heavy crop, thinning some of the green fruits will increase fruit size, reduce limb breakage and help prevent alternative bearing (a tree setting a crop only every other year).

Pest & Disease Tips Some types of fruit crops attract a large number of insect pests and can succumb to several widespread diseases for which no resistant varieties are available.

For example, all of the stone fruits are frequently affected by brown rot — a fungal disease that overwinters in mummified fruit. Apply early-season sulfur sprays to suppress brown rot and other common diseases. Some apples have good genetic resistance to scab and rust, but you will still need to manage insect pests, such as codling moths.

Allowing chickens to forage beneath fruit trees can help suppress insects. Many organic growers keep their fruit trees coated with kaolin clay during the growing season to repel pests. Horticultural Oil (also known as Neem oil, dormant oil) can also be used effectively before the buds have opened when the tree is dormant and after the flowers have blossomed and been pollinated.

Know Your Cold-Hardiness Zone The “Zones” referred to in this article come from maps published by the United States Department of Agriculture that show the average minimum winter temperature for each region. Some types of fruit can tolerate more winter cold than others, so your area’s cold-hardiness is important to know before you choose which fruit trees to grow. In addition, fruit trees need ‘chill hours’ to help set fruit. Low chill hour trees can be grown in warmer climates and high chill hour trees in colder climate.

Fertilize Properly There is a right and wrong time to fertilize your trees.

Just before bud break is the perfect time. This is when your trees are beginning their annual growth cycle and ‘eat’ the most food. You can fertilize up to a month before this — or if you’ve miss the ideal moment and the trees have already begun to bloom — you can still fertilize until June. Do NOT fertilize in late summer or fall, though, because the new growth put on by the tree can be damaged by frost. If you’ve waited too late in the year and still want to feed you can mulch them with compost and top-dress with soft rock phosphate; however you should avoid all nitrogen fertilizers.

Remember Some of These Key Elements in Orchard Maintenance 1. Mulch Mulch helps improve fertility and health of your soil and should be applied in the spring or fall as it protects trees from cold winters, keeps moisture in and weeds down. As the mulch decomposes, it provides necessary nutrients to trees. An ideal mulch is large woodchips or larger compost chips which haven’t been treated chemically. Another good option are “bio-fine” compost from recycling activities locally. A good rule of thumb is to spread a thick layer of mulch/compost (three inches or so) in a three-foot diameter around each tree. Keeping the mulch at least three inches away from the trunk of the tree and its grafted rootstock.

2. Prune Fruit Trees Winter is the generally the best time to prune fruit trees when they are dormant. You need to prune to remove diseased branches and to direct proper growth of your trees. A well pruned tree will produce more flowers and fruit! And if you prune to allow sunlight to reach the interior of the tree you will keep the tree drier and help ward off fungus. However, summer pruning which is part of back yard orchard culture program can help you see which limbs are the fruit producing limbs and help keep trees smaller. Remove baby fruit to allow your trees to grow bigger and nicer fruit. It will also help keep your tree branches stable. As you inspect your trees in the spring and remove fruit, make sure to support any branches that may be sagging with too much fruit. Otherwise, you could lose the branches, and all the fruit, in a big storm/wind.

3. Treat Any Diseases Keep a close eye on your trees and take corrective action right away if you notice problems. Be on the lookout for spots on the leaves, broken branches or oozing from the trunks which can indicate problems

with fungus or pests.

A good preventative step might be to coat your trees with kaolin clay during the growing season to repel pests. Kaolin clay keeps Japanese Beetles away and all sorts of other pests as well. It’s safe to apply right up to harvest and it doesn’t harm pollinators. Horticultural oil is sprayed when the tree is dormant to kill pests like aphids and other problem insects on trees. It is safe for food crop use but must be used when bees and other insect pollinators are not present. You will want to invest in good hand pruners, a sharp limb saw and telescoping tree pruners to properly prune.

4. Fertilize You need to know what nutrients are at acceptable levels in your soil and learn which amendments you need to add. Soil testing gives you this information. State Extension Offices can run tests on your soil if you send them samples. To find a state lab in your area. Simply choose your state and get a list, take a sample and send it off. The report will tell you how to amend your soil for optimal performance.

Please be sure to get the next issue of HomeSpun Magazine when Part 2: Details of Pruning your Fruit Trees will help you get your orchard ready for spring. www.tumalogardenmarket.com

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Learn About

in Central Oregon from Local Author Sara Rishforth

S

ara Rishforth released Bend Food: Stories of Local Farms and Kitchens on June 25, 2018, going behind the scenes to present the story of the local farm-totable movement.

Tell us about your latest book, Bend Food: Stories of Local Farms and Kitchens. It’s about the thriving farm-to-table movement here in Central Oregon. Each chapter highlights a different farm, chef, foodrelated business or organization such as High Desert Food & Farm Alliance.

People share a fond food memory or talk about how food shaped their path in the culinary industry. I especially loved the story from Dan Butters at Dump City Dumplings. His food memory was making epic, creative Sara Rishforth

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sandwiches for his cousin. Dan and I immediately bonded over our favorite sandwiches in Bend.

How did you select farm-to-table as your topic? A publisher found out about my writing from my previous fiction books, and my love of food really showed through.

They approached me with the topic. I chose a timeline, signed a book contract and began researching right away. I love food, baking and cooking, so it’s a topic I’m already interested in.

What are a few takeaways from interviewing farmers? The book features many different types of farmers. Bob Camel at Tumalo Fish and Vegetable Farm raises barramundi and uses the fish waste to grow turmeric and ginger. It’s such a unique set-up and not at all like a traditional farmer. It was so interesting to learn about his farm and realize how much research he did to make it successful. I also learned farmers deal with much more than planting, watering and harvesting. They must be able to fix irrigation, learn payroll, deal with rodents, huge temperature swings and unpredictable high desert weather on a daily basis. Farmers are also busy building relationships with other farmers and customers using social media and other avenues.

Talk about the food you ate at some of the restaurants. This was one of the best parts of research and meeting with chefs! It was my first visit to some of the restaurants featured in the book, so it was a real treat. One of the standout dishes was the Vegan Pesto Flatbread from Deschutes Brewery & Public House. It has basil pesto, roasted tomatoes, artichokes, roasted eggplant, cashew parmesan, microgreens and balsamic reduction. I’m not a vegan, but I found this dish super fresh and flavorful.

What was the photo selection process in the book? My husband, Emil, is a talented photographer. I “voluntold” him to accompany me on interviews and take photos. After each interview, we looked at the photos together and selected our favorites. We sorted through 2,000 photos to whittle it down to about 100 photos for the book. It was tough!

Harrison Scheib Head Baker at Jackson’s Corner

What was one of the most difficult parts in writing this book? It was hard to narrow down who to include! There are so many incredible farms and chefs in Central Oregon. I was limited to a word count, so I had to be selective and try to highlight a diverse group. It would be fun to do another book, so I can include more folks.

Have you made any of the recipes from the book?

Yes, I immediately made the beet pickles, submitted

by Anna Witham from 123 Ramen. They are fantastic.

It was hard to be consistent on my cutting without a mandoline, so I added one to my Christmas list. Looking forward to trying the Pork Ragu recipes from Brian Kerr from Deschutes Brewery & Public House.

You’re an avid cook. What’s your favorite vegetable to cook? Cauliflower! I love drizzling olive oil on cauliflower and roasting it until it’s a deep golden brown. I joke with my husband and tell him it tastes like candy. He vehemently disagrees.

What are some of your favorite cookbooks or culinary websites? Wow. I have so many favorites!

My most used cookbooks are Smitten Kitchen (Deb Perelman), One Pan and Done (Molly Gilbert) and Baked (Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito). Every day, I read How continued on page 27 [

Mediterranean Buddha Bowl made with our Crushed Urfa Chiles

Get this and other recipes at your local

B EN D - OLD M I LL DI S T R I C T 375 SW Powerhouse Drive • Bend, OR 97702 Mon-Sat: 10am-8pm, Sun: 11am-6pm

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Sautéed Summer Vegetables by Bend - Old Mill District

375 SW Powerhouse Dr., Bend • 541-306-6855

Ingredients 1 1/2 Tbsp. vegetable oil 1/2 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces 1 zucchini, halved and sliced 1 yellow squash, halved and sliced 1/4 onion, sliced 1/4 tsp. Minced Garlic 1 tsp. choice of seasoning: County Clare Seasoning Salt Wash Park All-Purpose Seasoning Directions Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add vegetables and garlic. Cook for 6 to 8 min., tossing occasionally, until vegetables are tender but still have a slight bite to them. Sprinkle on choice of seasoning, stir to incorporate, and serve.

Serving Suggestions Serve as a side with roasted or grilled meats. Alternatively, serve as a main dish over rice or noodles.

This recipe was submitted by Savory fan Jeni Pittard, the blogger behind Jeni’s Kitchen, saying, “This is a simple, easy side dish that’s perfect for a weeknight meal or busy holiday time, because everything can be prepped ahead of time and cooked quickly at the last minute.”

Yields: 4-6 servings

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continued from page 25

Sweet Eats and Damn Delicious websites. Their recipes always turn out well.

Talk about your personal gardening experience. In my old rental house, I grew rhubarb and cucumbers. I love making pickles! Now, I’m renovating a home, and the yard is a work-in-progress. This summer, I’m growing an herb garden. Having fresh basil, cilantro and mint ready to go is wonderful! My husband bought wood for raised beds, so those will go in next summer. Fresh, sweet carrots is on my list to grow. We also bought a compost bin, so we’ll have soil ready by then.

Has your experience writing this book influenced your lifestyle?

Definitely. I dine at many of the restaurants featured in this book, plus make careful choices when I shop. Buying local produce and fruit is a topic of conversation with my friends. Small changes make a big difference in the local community.

Where can we purchase a copy of the book? Roundabout Bookshop, Lepore and Pancho Dudley’s Bookshop Cafe, Central Oregon Locavore, Tumalo Farmstand, Costco, of Golden Eagle your favorite local bookstores and many other retailers in Central Oregon as Organics, Inc. well as the usual on-line retailers. The community support has been wonderful!

Sara Rishforth plays ukulele, loves good food and adores her Kitchen-Aid mixer. After growing up in Greenville, South Carolina, she moved west to Alaska, where she worked for nonprofit organizations, made great friends and wrote for Alaska’s Best Kitchens magazine.

Moving to Central Oregon in 2010, Sara self-published two novels, Adventures in Dating and After We Met, loosely based on her time in the Last Frontier. Drawing from life experiences, she was a winner of the 2013 Central Oregon Writers Guild Literary Harvest, Memoir Category.

Sara, her husband and their fuzzy orange cat, Yam, are remodeling a home in Bend, Oregon. Yam does all the hard work. Sara prints season passes and sells tickets by the millions at Mount Bachelor ski resort in the winter, along with supplying baked goods for her coworkers and friends. www.sararishforth.com photos by Emil Teague

Amanda Benkert of Dome Grown Produce

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Fall Prep for a Successful Spring B

by TISHA FARRIS, Central Oregon Lawn Center

y August, most of us are tired of mowing our lawns and are ready for snow to fly, but there is still work to be done on your property! Consider the fact that your lawn goes dormant during winter, but that does not mean it is immune to the cold temperatures and heavy snow. Protect your lawn and irrigation system by considering the following factors.

Amendments change the dynamic of your soil and ultimately affect the overall health of your lawn. Organic fertilizers, like the ones we carry, take longer to break down and are therefore useful to the plants for a longer duration than quick release chemical fertilizers. Applying fall fertilizer is important for root development and hardiness. The purpose of fall fertilizer is to store carbohydrates in the roots over the winter so they are packed full of nutrients come spring. After the first two hard frosts of the season, grasses know to stop growing their leaf blades, but do continue to take in nutrients into their root systems and begin the process of stocking up for hibernation. Therefore, wait to apply your fall fertilizer until after the first two freezes and your grass roots will thank you in the spring. To get the fertilizer to the roots where they are most

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effective, core-aerate your lawn before applying.

Keep in mind, fertilizer is only useful to grasses if there is a healthy microbial (bacteria) layer in the soil. The bacteria break down the elements in the fertilizer, like Nitrogen, and turn those elements into carbohydrates the plants then use for growth. Laying out manure or compost is one way to introduce new biota into your soil layer, but can be bulky and costly. To meet this need, we have a product in our store called Bactifeed and a 0.48 oz. packet covers 5,000 square feet. Talk about bang for your buck!

Bri n gi n g SustFoodainable to Kitchens of All Sizes

If you have noticed spaces opening up across your lawn and if you want to have a lush lawn in the spring, you will want to get a head start by over-seeding in the fall. Over-seeding is most effective in cooler weather, this allows for the seed to stay moist without as much pressure from the hot summer sun. An added benefit of waiting until the fall is that you are not allowing spring weeds a chance to propagate in the spaces that would have otherwise been left open. If you do choose this route, you will need to watch the weather forecast and plan your planting accordingly. A freeze will kill any seed that has not taken root and fully germinated. You want to keep the seed moist for at least two weeks through the germination period, one month is optimal, but you will also want to protect your irrigation system from freezing as we near the winter months. The best time to start an over seed project in Central Oregon is around early to mid-September. To summarize, over-seeding in the fall, along with the combination of fall fertilizer and Bactifeed, gives your whole lawn its best chance come the following spring.

In addition to applying additives to your soil, blowing out your sprinkler system is a must come mid-October, or just before the first set of freezes occur. After the first few freezes, the ground begins to harden deeper and deeper until it no longer thaws during the daylight hours. This is a critical time for your sprinkler systems if they are still full of water. If you desire the professional touch, contact us within that same timeframe as we start blowing out systems the last week of October and into November, weather depending. The sooner we start getting cold outside the sooner we push to get blowouts done — and we recommend you do the same. www.centraloregonlawncenter.com

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#BeADoer

Doer [Doo-er] noun ~ A person who acts rather than merely talking or thinking.

You can #BeADoer too! Join our HomeSpun Magazine Facebook Group and post your accomplishments using the hashtag #BeADoer. One person will be selected to tell us about their accomplishments and be published in Homespun Magazine! www.facebook.com/groups/HomeSpunMagazine

Lessons Learned in the Garden Natures Path to Well Being & Joy

N

by ROBIN PFEIFFER

ature in general has a beneficial effect on the human psyche and our bodies literally need exposure to the outdoors to maintain a healthy, alive, dynamic life. The garden is a sacred space, out your backdoor or in your community, to cash in on nature’s healing power.

I never knew how passionate I would be about gardening and everything associated with this “hobby.” I grew up in the state of New York which is a fabulous place to grow produce and fruit. My experience of a garden was really about the “yard” outside the house which my dad and brothers tended. Cutting the lawn, trimming bushes, raking, watering and sweeping all seemed very boring, very tedious. I remember even thinking I would never want to waste my weekend having to work in the yard.

My grandfather had a green thumb with roses. I have photos of him standing amongst beautiful, abundant bushes. My mom had a small garden and my memories of her happiest self are when she was planting and tending to her snapdragons, gladiolas, mums, roses, portulacas, marigolds and trees. She loved trees and planted many everywhere we lived. I now recognize how she influenced me by example as I observe my choices in plants, trees and flowers.

Voila! Over 40 years later, gardening has reigned as one of my greatest passions. One of the others being food: buying it, growing it, cooking it, eating it, entertaining with it. Gardening and food are great companions. I am self-taught, at times reaching out for advice, referencing from a book, touring gardens and occasionally attending a class. I have truly learned most of what I offer through my experience. All knowledge comes through experience. Your greatest garden guru will be your personal experiences. Our senses create how

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we experience life every waking moment. Our most powerful connection to life is through the body interacting with the physical world. If we are not in our body we are not fully present. The body is guided by our senses. There is no better place than the garden to engage the senses. I love this opportunity to share my journey and inspire you to discover the multitude of gifts offered through cultivating a garden.

Over the years I have brought back the souls of three run-down, left-for-dead houses. Infusing them with attention and love I brought them back to life and they became homes. It was as a homeowner that I recognized the outside area to be crucial to creating a soulful, beautiful home. The importance of the garden in relationship to our human dwellings is often forgotten in our fast paced virtual reality world.

My first dump of a house was in Salt Lake City. The house was old and so I inherited mature grape vines, raspberry bushes and a huge Bing cherry tree! The first year I was clueless about anything outside the house and didn’t notice the bushes and vines. I was so financially strapped that I didn’t water the far reaches of the yard because I couldn’t afford to buy a second hose!

Plants are so forgiving and fortunately mine made it through a summer with a very neglectful owner. Plants are also very intelligent and if I leave them alone they often figure out on their own what is necessary for their survival.

They move towards more sun, they heal themselves from aphids and they often take many summers to bloom. Plants teach me how to treat them. I can “feel” when they are happy and healthy where they reside. I do believe the natural world

and gardens in particular love to be admired and tended to with love and affection. Some of my plants have grown far larger than normal because of the love and attention they receive. There is a definite feeling you get when you are in someone’s home or garden and you know it is loved. Time and experience have taught me these lessons: 1. Be patient and curious about why things are placed where they are. Whether it is a deck, plant, walkway, fence or wall, take the time to understand their purpose.

My current home is 70 years old and was a neglected rental. There was a cracked, uneven concrete blocked slab which many would have removed. Placing a bench on the space provided a clear vantage point of Bachelor at sunset. Leaving it there creates a meaningful and aesthetic experience maintaining some of the home’s history. I also kept an almost dead, small rhododendron which after five years finally bloomed and is large, healthy and provides great spring color! I have also kept all my trees.

2. Keep the trees! Rooted in the Earth, trees add a firm foundation to any garden. They provide structure year round, food (late season plum varieties are excellent) attract birds and add color if you plant ornamentals.

Crabapple trees do excellent in Bend providing blossoms in spring, colorful berries and leaves in autumn and food for birds. I never have to clean up my apples because the

birds eat them in fall and the following spring. I choose trees with small apples the size of my fingernail. I have a very old, large Ponderosa three feet from my bedroom window as well as four other large such trees. I am so saddened by folks cutting them down because they are messy or too much shade. The shade keeps my home cool in summer — no air conditioning needed — and the trees inspired me to plant an understory of Japanese Maples (I have 11) and a Dogwood. I have planted a total of 26 trees on my property. I use the “messy” pine needles for mulch in my entire garden including my vegetable garden. Our climate is too dry to worry about acidity. The pine cones I collect and use as kindling for my outdoor fire pit. This year I had four nests and baby birds everywhere. The birds keep my garden healthy from insect disease and they provide beautiful music welcoming the start and end of each day.

3. Take the time to live in your home before creating or re-designing your garden. Most folks are in a hurry to get it done. Notice where the light comes in your home.

What do you want to experience looking out into the garden? How do you want to live in your garden in the summer? What is the purpose of your garden? How is it connected to the interior of your home? Where is it warmest in the spring and fall where you might want continued on page 33 [

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31

Zucchini Bacon & Cheese by the MoeGang Household This is a quick and simple dish that Mama Dee made our family often in the summer because we had so much zucchini we started feeding it to the chickens when our family couldn’t keep up.

Ingredients 1 lb bacon (We buy our hog from Hardpan Homestead) 6 small zucchini sliced bite sized

(CO Locavore or farmers market) 1 yellow onion ~ diced (CO Locavore or farmers market) Shredded cheese

I usually use cheddar but had Colby Jack on hand.

Directions Cut the bacon into bite-size pieces before cooking. Before it is finished cooking scoop it out of the pan and place on paper towel. Pour off 3/4 of the grease. Have to save some for cooking your vegetables in.

And your zucchini and onions.

Cook over medium heat until they start to soften.

Add the bacon back and stir together.

Turn off the heat. Sprinkle cheese over the top and put the lid on your pan until it is melted then serve.

Fall 2018

continued from page 31

to place a chair or patio? Where do you spend time in your home in the mornings/evenings/seasonally? I wanted to experience my garden from all the rooms if possible designing it close to my home. I wanted to smell, see it and hear it. I have no lawn. My home is literally “lost” in the surrounding garden. I wanted to smell the roses, honeysuckle and mock orange from open windows so I planted a mock orange called Blizzard by my kitchen window. My roses are cascading over my deck and the honeysuckle sprawls above a bench which is surrounded by lavender so when I sit there I brush the plants and delight in both fragrances. Daphne, hyacinths and the bloom on my two Vine Maples fill the air with fragrance in spring. I love flowers and fragrance so I planted flowers in my vegetable garden, adding two clematis vines and a honeysuckle. I also plant morning glories, scarlet runner beans and nasturtiums for annual color amongst my vegetables.

4. The element of water and rock is a wonderful addition to any garden. I have four water features throughout the garden placed by seating areas to enjoy the sounds and reflections of light on the water. I created a recirculating bird bath rising out of a small pond outside my living room picture window allowing me to enjoy the sound of running water and birdwatch from my sofa. In winter I place a livestock heater in two of my water features as an attractor in the dark days also providing much needed water for the birds as dehydration is a major cause of death in our climate.

Rock can be added as boulders, a wall, a pathway or patio.

5. Flower boxes (very common in Europe) and pots add color to any garden and enhance the architecture of the home. One of my flower boxes (all painted a deep purple) sits outside my kitchen sink window. I place most

of my pots in the path of the irrigation system so I don’t have to water them.

Two large pots set by my front door send a warm welcome to guests.

Kits to irrigate flower pots can be purchased inexpensively.

6. There is no “right way” to design a garden. I like a more “wild,” natural garden so I let plants sprawl onto pathways and re-seed where they desire. I have to duck under trees rather than keeping them tightly pruned. Let it reflect your values, spirit and soul. Be creative.

Experiment with plants.

7. Be sure to amend your soil.

We have what I call “moon dust” for soil. I have added over 50 yards of amended soil to my garden as it was being developed. It is most economical to purchase amendments by the yard rather than a bag at a time. I add manure to my veggie garden every spring.

8. Don’t let the North, South, East and West exposures determine your placement of plants. Exposures are influenced by what is around them.

For instance, the South side of my garden is very shady because it is full of Ponderosas and the Northeast side of my yard has the most sunlight for the longest time so that is where I developed my vegetable garden.

9. Refrain from deadheading in the autumn. Deadheading works for moist, snowy climates originating in England and our New England. If you leave the plants to die they create mulch keeping in any moisture, provide food for the birds, squirrels etc., enrich the soil and support new plant growth in the often freezing spring temperatures we have in the high desert. We don’t have the insect problems that are often found in wetter climates. I clean up gradually in the spring.

10. A garden is NEVER FINISHED! Gardens are dynamic, ever changing entities. The joy of gardening

allows me to interact intimately and consistently with Nature, to be physically active, entertained and connected to the outdoors without having to travel long distances. It feeds my body delicious sun ripened food, offers my soul true contentment and gives my heart warmth and love for all the seasons. Nothing is more nurturing than jar of home canned tomato sauce on a cold winter evening over pasta mixed with homemade pesto. The garden teaches me patience, a great reverence for life and true understanding of how dependent I am on the natural world, this Earth, for my life.

When people ask me what the secret is to a beautiful , healthy, happy garden I tell them it’s my commitment to attending to it with warmth, love and great respect. Your garden can be a great teacher if you slow down and take in the magic.

I would love to share my garden, answer any questions or hear your thoughts. E-mail: robinpwellbeing@ bendbroadband.com

www.

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all Wellness

by CINDY MISKOWIEC & CHRISTIE REID of Synchronicity Wellness

I

n Central Oregon, the autumn harvest brings a variety of healthful and delicious produce, from squash and sweet potatoes to apples and pears. While almost all produce can be grown somewhere year-round, trucking produce across the country (or across the world) isn’t easy. Buying local seasonal produce not only potentially reduces our carbon footprint and helps local economies, but it may also result in more nutritious produce.

A great resource for buying local is the High Desert Food & Farm Alliance whose mission is “to support a healthy & thriving food and farm network in Central Oregon through education, collaboration and inclusivity.” You can visit their website at hdffa. org for more information. Another awesome local resource here in Bend is Agricultural Connections (AC). AC delivers farm-fresh food year-round. They sell LOCAL (Central Oregon) and REGIONAL (throughout Oregon) food that bridges the gap between farmers

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and consumers. They strive to supply Central Oregon homes, companies, restaurants and grocery stores with the freshest, most authentically local, Cindy Miskowiec & Christie Reid organically grown and high quality products year-round. Visit their website at agriculturalconnections.com to find out more.

So why not dig into fall fruits like apples and cranberries, which offer essential vitamins and antioxidants that slow aging and may help fight cancer?

On the veggie side, the entire cruciferous family such as cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower, is in season and offers a compound known as glucosinolates that may also have cancer-fighting potential. And who could forget about squash? These big, bright gourds offer healthy alpha- and beta-carotene, which promote good eyesight. To get the best of what fall has to offer, check out our top autumnal produce picks that are both

delicious and super healthy.

Apples — These sweet and crunchy fall favorites are packed with antioxidants, which may help prevent chronic illness and slow aging. Among popular apple varieties (and there are more than 7,500 different types), Fuji apples have the highest concentration of phenolics and flavonoids, while Cortland and Empire apples have the lowest. Quince, a floral-flavored cousin of the apple, is also at its best in autumn and can be added to jams, jellies and desserts — but it is inedible raw.

Beets — They may be available year-round, but beets are at their best in the fall. Besides the familiar reddishpurple color, you can also find golden, white and even multi-colored beets. When shopping, look for firm, smooth bulbs and (if attached) bright, crisp greens. Toss the greens in salads and roast the beets for their betaine — a compound that may help prevent heart and liver disease — and nitrate, which may increase blood flow to the brain and potentially reduce risk of dementia.

Brussels Sprouts and Cabbage — Packed with vitamins A and C, cabbage and Brussels sprouts, boast high concentrations of cancer-fighting glucosinolates, which also give these veggies their distinct flavor.

Cranberries — Cranberries taste their best October through November, though only five percent actually make it to the fresh produce section (the other 95 percent are dried, canned or turned into juice). Research suggests cranberry concentrate can help prevent urinary tract infections and that fresh cranberries can help prevent oral diseases and slow the growth of cancer.

Pears — These sweet fruits fall into two major categories: European and Asian. In the U.S. the European varieties, Bosc and Bartlett, are most common and grow on the west coast during fall. Pears are high in soluble fiber, which helps lower “bad” (LDL) cholesterol. To get that daily dose of fiber and to satisfy a sweet tooth, snack on the fruit whole or incorporate into recipe.

Pumpkins — Though technically a member of the squash family, with their rich history and health benefits, pumpkins earn their own spot on our list. Pumpkin is one of the best sources of alpha- and beta-carotene, which can be converted into retinol to promote healthy vision and cell growth. Pumpkin seeds are also a good source of alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid that may help those with heart disease, high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Toast them up for a delicious treat!

Rutabagas & Turnips — These root veggies aren’t winning any beauty pageants with their bulbous shape and occasionally hair-like roots, but what they lack in

looks they make up for in nutrition. Research suggests eating turnips and rutabagas may help reduce the risk of prostate and lung cancers. What’s more, turnip greens are a source of calcium, and one cup of raw rutabaga offers a respectable three grams of fiber.

Sweet Potatoes — These orange beauties have the best flavor during fall, their peak season. Like squash, sweet potatoes are rich in beta-carotene, which can prevent vitamin A deficiencies, promote healthy eyesight and generate retinol production. Sweet potatoes are also a good source of vitamin C. About us We started Synchronicity Wellness to help individuals make positive dietary and lifestyle changes to improve their health. Specifically we help with weight management, stress management, and digestive issues.

We both have improved our own health immensely by making these types of changes and that’s really what brought us into this profession. Most approaches to healthy eating dwell on calories, carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Instead of creating lists of restrictions and good and bad foods, we work with our clients to explore basic improvements and implement gradual changes during our work together. As these pieces accumulate, our clients find these changes collectively creating a much larger impact than they originally anticipated. We work on what they want to improve within the circumstances of their unique situation. We practice a holistic approach to health and wellness, which means that we look at how all areas of your life are connected. Does stress at your job or in your relationship(s) cause you to overeat? Does lack of sleep or low energy prevent you from exercising? As we work together, we will look at how all parts of your life affect your health as a whole. www.synchronicitywellnesscenter.com photos courtesy of Synchronicity Wellness www.

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HOME

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HAPPENINGS

For event registration information, full details and MANY MORE events go to HomeSpunMagazine.com/Calendar

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BEND DOWNTOWN MARKET

Wednesdays through October 10 • 2-6pm Brooks Alley behind the Tower Theater BEND EAST-SIDE MARKET

Thursdays through September 27 • 2-6pm Whole Foods East Lot SISTERS FARMER’S MARKET

Fridays through September • 2-5:30pm Fir Street Park NORTHWEST CROSSING SATURDAY FARMER’S MARKET

Saturdays • 10am-2pm 2855 NW Crossing Dr, Bend MADRAS SATURDAY MARKET

Saturdays through September 15 • 9am-2pm Sahalee Park

4TH TUESDAY OF THE MONTH

5:30pm Central Oregon Beekeeping Association at The Environmental Center AUGUST 5

8am- 5pm Edible Adventure Crew Blackberry Pick’n Day in Oatkridge Meet at Central Oregon Locavore AUGUST 10-11

5-8pm & 10-3pm 23rd Annual Country Fair & Art Show in Sisters AUGUST 12

8am-6pm Edible Adventure Crew Group U Pick Kimberly Jam Jam Meet at Central Oregon Locavore AUGUST 17

9am-3pm Volunteer Work Day at Freedom Rock Farms - WWOLF Hosted by Freedom Rock Farms and Central Oregon Locavore AUGUST 19

3-5pm Aeroponic Gardening Meetup. Sign up at aeroponicgardeningbend.eventbrite.com.

AUGUST 18

REDMOND FARMERS MARKET

Tuesdays through September • 3-6pm Centennial Park CROOKED RIVER OPEN PASTURES (C.R.O.P.)

Most Saturdays through the summer at various farms and farm-supported locations.

See the C.R.O.P. Facebook Page for details.

5-8pm Moody Little Sister Farm Concert! at Boundless Farmstead AUGUST 24

4-8pm Roses & Rust Vintage Market at Redmond Fairgrounds SEPTEMBER 8

3-5pm Aeroponic Gardening Meetup. Sign up at aeroponicgardeningbend.eventbrite.com.

SEPTEMBER 21

SEND US YOUR EVENTS! Ryan@HomeSpunMagazine.com Marcee@HomeSpunMagazine.com

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Fall 2018

2-4pm Bend Seed Extractory Tour at Deschutes National Forest Supervisor’s Office OCTOBER 11

6-8pm Aeroponic Gardening Meetup. Sign up at aeroponicgardeningbend.eventbrite.com.

Call for CSAs | 541.815.7334 rooperranch.com

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