Livin' in the Blurbs: Plowing, Cheeses and Changes at Culinate

There are a few annual events that make me extra happy to live here: Jim Dixon's Olive Oil Garage Sale. The apple tasting at Portland Nursery. The farm ramble at Ayers Creek Farm. And the one that totally brings back my horse-loving eight-year-old self, the Yamhill County Farm Fest and Plowing Competition sponsored by the Oregon Draft Horse and Mule Breeders Association. This year the rock-em, sock-em competition, featuring classic draft breeds like Belgians, Percherons, Haflingers, Shires, Suffolk and Clydesdales, plus teams of doughty mules, is coming up this Saturday, April 12, on what's predicted to be a stunningly gorgeous day. The event includes blacksmithing demonstrations, historic farm equipment, quilts from local quilting clubs and other family-friendly activities. So throw the kids in the buggy and trot them out to the country for a day of country fun. (Be sure to say hi when you see my eight-year-old self patting the horses…)

Details: Yamhill County Farm Fest and Plowing Competition. Sat., April 12, 10 am-4 pm; $5 admission, kids 12 and under free. Yamhill Co. Historical Society and Museum, 11275 SW Durham Ln., McMinnville. 503-434-0490.

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Community Supported Cheese is an idea whose time has come. Fortunately, Sasha Davies is all over it with her monthly Cheese Club at Cyril's. Unlike many buying clubs, where you're stuck with whatever that month's featured product is, Sasha has created a club where participants can opt in depending on how they feel about the selected cheese and whether their budget that month will support the purchase of a pound of cheese. How awesome is that? She does it by (get this!) posting the month's featured cheese to Kickstarter, then letting folks commit or not. Plus if it doesn't get funded, then everyone's off the hook! That's my kind of club.

Details: Community Supported Cheese Club at Cyril's. Thurs., April 10, 6:30 pm (pledge must be made before Thurs., April 10 at 6 pm; future monthly meetings and cheeses will be posted); $10 to taste the cheese of the month; price for the pound (or piece) varies monthly. Check the website. Cyril's at Clay Pigeon Winery, 815 SE Oak St. 503-206-7862.

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Some sad news came this last month from my friend Kim Carlson at Culinate. After seven years of publishing a nationally recognized online food magazine, she and her husband James Berry will be closing up shop, or at least that part of it that publishes stories and recipes. I've written stories and contributed recipes to Culinate over the years and found their passionate commitment to the cause of good cooking, great ingredients and sustainable sourcing to be thoughtful and inspiring. The good news, if it can be spun that way, is that they are keeping the website's content available for the foreseeable future. The website was only part of their business, and now they are turning their focus to the partnerships they have with cookbook authors and publishers to create mobile apps from cookbooks. These have included Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything series and the app for the incredibly successful Hello, Cupcake! series, recently awarded the iTunes App Store Editor’s Choice and Best App of the year. Now rumor has it they're about to release a huge new cooking app project that will rock the foundation of the cookbook world. Stay tuned!

Livin' in the Blurbs: April Events, No Foolin'

It's shocking to me that more people don't know about the annual Farm Fest Plowing Competition in McMinnville. For horse lovers young and old it's a no-brainer. For history buffs, it's like stepping back into a piece of Oregon's agricultural past (and more and more, its future). For Trekkies…well, that one's a stretch unless you pretend you're on the holodeck. But really, the chance to have a drive through some gorgeous country, to see these beautiful animals at work and the men and women who train and work with them, is a real privilege. And we're not just talking hobbyists here. Many of the competitors actually plow their farms with these horses and mules and are available for questions and photos. Plus you can take  a tour of the museum, see a quilt show and hear live old-time music. Seriously, it's well worth a couple of hours on a Saturday to see it.

Details: Farm Fest 2013 Plowing Competition. Sat., April 13, 10 am-4 pm; $3 per person, kids 12 and under free. Yamhill Valley Heritage Center, 11275 SW Durham Lane at the intersection of Hwy. 18 and Duram Lane, McMinnville. 503-434-0490.

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Before we remodeled our kitchen we spent a lot of time looking at other people's, gathering ideas and making lists of what worked and didn't, what we wanted and, of course, what we could actually afford. Home tours were a part of that, but the most helpful to us, at least, was the Architectural Heritage Center's Kitchen Revival Tour featuring an array of homes from the 1890s to the 1950s. It's coming around again on April 13, so those considering a remodel at some point in the future, or those of a just-plain-snoopy bent should definitely put it on their calendars.

Details: Architectural Heritage Center Kitchen Revival Tour. Sat., April 13, 10 am-4 pm; $25, tickets available online. 503 231-7264.

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"Going Beyond Happy Farmers & Recipes" should be the title of an upcoming day-long workshop on food journalism and issues. Called the Food + Agriculture Media Project (F+AMP)—I like to think of it as "FoodAmp"—it's being put on by the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) and Ecotrust on April 12. Coordinator Jackleen de la Harpe says that with the increasing interest on the part of consumers about where their food comes from, "it's time to go beyond the 'plate-centric' approach to food writing." She promises reporters, bloggers and writers an engaging exploration of the deeper issues of our food system, including sustainability, climate change, poverty and health disparities. Sounds like a worthwhile way to spend a day!

Details: Food + Agriculture Media Project. Friday, April 12, 8:30 am-3:30 pm; $40 with preregistration online. Event at Ecotrust Building, 721 NW 9th Ave.

Big Horses: The Future of Farming?

Nascar and monster trucks have their fans, but for me an afternoon spent out in the fresh air listening to the heaving breath of big horses and the sound of plows turning the earth is a slice of heaven. This year's Farm Fest 2012, sponsored by the Yamhill County Historical Society and the Oregon Draft Horse Breeders Association, will give you a rare chance to see a wide range of draft horse breeds doing what they do best.

Lest you think this is a quaint historical reenactment, know that plowing with draft horses and mules is coming back in a big way on many small Oregon farms. Its low impact on the land and multiple benefits—manure for fertilizer, ability to do multiple tasks like plowing, haying and harvesting, relatively low maintenance costs—have many pieces of farm equipment being put out to pasture, especially in an era of sky-high fuel prices.

So whether you're into history, horses, the future of farming or simply want a nice drive in the country, put this event on your calendar with a big red circle.

Details: Farm Fest 2012. April 14, 10 am-3 pm; $3 adults, kids under 12 free. Yamhill Valley Heritage Center, 11275 SW Durham Lane, McMinnville. 503-434-0490.

Livin' in the Blurbs: Crazy Weekend!

It's Friday, and normally I'd be heaving a big sigh of relief because, even as a freelancer, weekends mean there's a schedule change. Dave comes home from work on Friday and, unless we have plans with friends, makes us one of his stunningly fabulous cocktails, whereupon we sit on the front porch and drink in front of the neighbors (who get really jealous). But this weekend is looking particularly packed.

Saturday has three events:

• First is the Art Harvest Studio Tour of Yamhill County artists (11 am-6 pm, Oct. 1-3 and 8-10). My first stop will be my friend Clare's Big Table Farm where she'll be showing her artwork (top) and doing farm tours. Get a preview of a few of her paintings.
• I'll dash back to town and head to Foster & Dobbs to sit at the feet of Mr. Paul Bertolli, where he will be handing out samples of his amazing cured meats from 3:30 to 4:30. Try not to trip over me in your rush! (Read why I'm behaving like a lovestruck teenager.)
• Winding up the day is a friend's birthday party which is looking like a lollapalooza of a pork fest, with 12.5 lbs. of pork shoulder being turned into a 7.5 lb. bone-in pernil and 5 lbs. of pork vindaloo. And, yes, I promise I'll take pictures.

Sunday has just two obligations:

• Portland's biggest not-so-secret food event happens at Provvista Specialty Foods when they host their annual trade tasting from 11 am to 4 pm. It's for suppliers and account-holders only, but if you know one of those lucky few and can convince them to take pity on you, you can slide in on their coattails.
• Then later than afternoon, Anthony and Carol Boutard are hosting their annual Farm Ramble at Ayers Creek Farm from 3 to 6 pm. Anthony promises "a chance to see how we grow the food you eat. We haven't had time to plow under our mistakes and failures for the season, so you will see what works and what doesn't." He also says that "there will be lots of traditional Lebanese turnip pickles because you all never buy enough turnips and we had a whole bunch over after last Sunday's market and, by gum, we want you fall in love with turnips and have a glum look on your face when we sell out of them." (There will be other light snacks as well.)

Livin' in the Blurbs: Kids, Cookbooks and Art

Once in awhile do you wish you could just drop your kids off someplace for dinner then go get yourself a nice cocktail? Well, this month at Salvador Molly's in Hillsdale your kids will not only eat free, but the proceeds from every adult entrée will go toward feeding homeless kids at the Community Transitional School (CTS). CTS runs a special curriculum and feeds their students 2 nutritious meals a day, and in addition it will run a contest for its students to compete for best attendance (their biggest challenge because of their circumstances) and win a meal catered for their class by Salvador Molly's. So let the kids sit at their own table, order a margarita and some food, and feel virtuous; because you're doing something not only for yourself, but for someone else!

Details: Salvador Molly's "Kids Eat Free During September" Event. Salvador Molly's, 1523 SW Sunset Blvd. Phone 503-293-1790.

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Do you or someone you love suffer from the heartbreak of cookbook addiction? Then the Portland Culinary Alliance is having the event of your dreams when it hosts Eat My Words: Chef Cookbooks Symposium and Luncheon on Oct. 2. Portland and Seattle cookbook authors, including Ethan Stowell, Cory Schreiber, Vitaly Paley, Piper Davis, Robert Reynolds and Ellen Jackson, will discuss the particulars of writing a cookbook, followed by a lunch with dishes from their books, which will be available for purchase and signing. So drip some berry coulis on Rustic Fruit Dessertsand have Cory sign your copy!

Details: Eat My Words: Chef Cookbooks Syposium and Luncheon. Oct. 2, 9:30 am-2 pm; $65, tickets available online or by e-mail. Hotel DeLuxe, 729 SW 15th Ave. Phone 402-270-4604.

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If a drive out in the country on a crisp fall day sounds as appealing to you as it does to me, the the first two weekends in October will be the perfect excuse to jump in the car and head out on the highway. Why? Because its time for the Art Harvest Studio Tour in Yamhill, featuring tours of more than 40 artists' studios with an opportunity to talk to, and buy art from, some fabulously talented folks. One is Clare Carver of Big Table Farm in Gaston, who's featured in an article by yours truly in this month's NW Palate magazine. So take a picnic and make a day (or more) of it!


Details: 17th Annual Art Harvest Tour of Yamhill County. Oct. 1-3 and 8-10; $7 for button to get into studios. Self-guided tour map and information available on the website. Phone 503-883-3050.