Santiam Cannery

I've blogged about Santiam Cannery before. 

http://dinnerattheosbornes.blogspot.com/2010/04/santiam-cannery.html

My grandparents were farmers near Stayton.  They grew beans, corn, wheat, peppermint, strawberries and other crops.  Every year, Grandpa negotiated a contract with the "cannery man."  Grandpa agreed to plant certain numbers of acres of the crops they wanted and the cannery agreed to buy the entire crop at an agreed upon price per pound. 

When the crop was ready, they hawled it in two ton farm trucks round the clock to a cannery in Stayton owned by Santiam Cannery.  I drove some of those trucks a couple years.  The Santiam Cannery brand is still out there, but now it is owned by Norpac.  Norpac has its corporate offices in Lake Oswego, Oregon.  Norpac also owns Flav R Pac. 

So there you are.  My brands for frozen and canned vegetables through the winter.

Tater Tot Casserole

The hamburger from the 1/2 cow we bought is awesome, lean and pretty.  Clearly a quality improvement over grocery store hamburger. 

Click here for that story.
http://dinnerattheosbornes.blogspot.com/2010/08/local-meat.html

Tonight I'm cooking one pound of my hamburger, a chopped shallot and a good tablespoon of my elephant garlic from Diane's Produce Market 

Preheat the oven to 350.  Into the cooked hamburger, I'm adding 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup and 1 can of Santiam brand green beans, drained.  Salt and pepper to taste.  You can turn it into a big casserole dish or start with a large oven safe skillet. 

Arrange 1 package (28 oz) frozen tator tots on top.  Bake 60 minutes or until the tator tots are hot and crispy.  Okay, so it's not gourmet, but it smells good and reminds me of happy things.  Husband comes through the kitchen saying he is looking forward to eating it. And just tell me that the kids won't eat that!  I wouldn't tell on you if you put catchup on it.

Remember to play with your food.

Linked with Simple Lives at Sustainable Eats

http://www.sustainableeats.com/2010/10/14/simple-lives-october-14-2010/

Men with Tools, part 2

Deviled Eggs are both a simple thing and a personal thing.  Every cook who makes them does it a little different.  But Men with Tools are back hard at work and this is one of their favorite snacks.  I can't hang dry wall, but I can feed those who do.  So, here is my take on deviled eggs.

Halve 6 hard-cooked eggs.  Remove yolks and mash with the tines of a fork.

Add to the yolks 1/4 c. mayo, 1 t. vinegar, 1 t. prepared yellow mustard, 1/2 t. dijon mustard, 1/8 t. salt .  Combine with the fork.

Now let me be very clear about this.  I do not own a piping bag and I don't plan to at any point in the future.  I am a simple girl.  Piping into eggs is not something I'm likely to do.  

But my melon ball scoop is just the right tool for for filling deviled eggs in my kitchen.  That's all I have to say about that.

Into the beer fridge you go, little eggs.

Remember to be happy.

Diane's Produce & Roast Potatoes

If you are local to Vancouver, WA, you really should check out Diane's Produce Market.  It is owned by Diane, go figure, who is in the store every time I'm there.  This is the type of business I want to shop at.  She is making a go of small business ownership, like me.  She is local.  She remembers me when I go there.  Okay, it isn't like going to the produce section at Freddy's or Safeway, but I'm starting to really not care.

You can find Diane's at 7702 NE 94th Avenue.  On the corner of 76th Street and 94th Avenue, just South of Padden Parkway, East of 205.

 
Here's what I bought there yesterday.

Elephant Garlic.  I haven't used it much, but I've got some that needs to get planted right now.  This one had just a little oniony smell which is very nice.  I'm looking forward to my early summer crop, assuming I get mine planted.

Red potatoes. A 15 lb sack.  It says number 2 on the sack, but they are nice and round and firm and clean.  The sack says they were distributed by a company in Sherwood, OR.

Willamette Egg Farm Eggs.  I'm becoming convinced that this is my egg source for now.  It is clear that I'm not going to do the backyard chicken thing.  The neighborhood association would flip.  But also, I have about as much responsibility as I can handle right now.  If one of them died, I'd feel horrible.

Grape Seed Oil.  I have bought olive oil from her, but she didn't have any.  I've had this stuff before.  It is not as distinct a taste as olive oil, but it is nice.


And I bought some apples which I'm going to use to make my mom's recipe for Raw Apple Cake, a fall thing for me.  I live in, well near, apple country.  Eating apples in the fall is natural.  Buying apples which were grown in Australia isn't.  I'm really getting so off of the Granny Smith thing.

Roast Potatoes are a nice change, tasty and special.  It starts with scrubbing the potatoes within an inch of their lives.  If you don't have a vegetable brush, I recommend one.  If you find a spot that you don't want to eat, now is the time to remove it with a small paring knife.

And some of that good garlic, finely chopped.

The potatoes get cut up and put on a large flat pan lined with two layers of foil.  I recommend cutting the potatoes fairly small.  You want a lot of potato surface to season and to get browned.

Add good lot of the oil, then a little more.  If you use good quality oil, don't think of it as a bad thing.  And salt and pepper.  Go ahead and season it well, unless you need to cut back on those types of things.  It's good.  Sprinkle with Italian seasoning.  Or fresh Rosemary finely chopped, if you have it.

Into a 450 oven.  Yes, this is hot, but it gets you the texture of roast potatoes.  Crispy some places, soft to the bite.  And here is the important part.  Take it out every 10 minutes or so and turn the potato pieces as much as you can.  Flip them over, move them around, then back in the oven.  You are looking at about an hour depending upon how many potatoes you have and what size you cut them.

You want the crispy browned edges.  That's what this is all about.

This together with a big chuck roast from our frozen stash of local beef made a feast and a good reward for my hard working man.

Remember to look your food in the eyes.

This post was linked to Hearth and Soul Blog Hop.  Check it out.

http://amoderatelife.com/2010/10/hearth-and-soul-hop-volume-18/

Men with Tools

There have been some serious changes at the Osbornes - all thanks to the Forced Remodel.  We've spent the summer fixing everthing.  Decisions, Insurance Money, Construction Dust.  Our stuff in Boxes.  I'm happy to say that we are nearly back to normal.  The china is still boxed in the garage and I'm still looking for a few things which have been misplaced while moving things around for the construction, but nearly. 

I'm getting hardware for the kitchen cabinets today.  Husband and Step Son had a good time drinking beer, listening to Beetles music, arguing with each other, while installing my new door pulls and drawer knobs. 

I can't update the oak cabinets, but hardware should help.

And this mirror.  Really hate it.  Have for a while.  It's the gold.

Considered getting rid of it, but I have a really hard time getting rid of things.  That's another story.

I should buy stock in a spray paint company.  Old joke, but I've spray painted a ton of things.  This is copper metalic.  I'm hoping it will look similar to a finish on a lamp I've got in the living room.

The oak cabinets look a lot less dated and sad with the hardware, don't they? 

Oh, and the mirror.  I hate it a lot less with the bronze paint.  It's hard to take a picture of a mirror, so you'll have to trust me. 

I have to wait for Men with Tools to hang it.  It is heavy and the biggest nail I have doesn't seem big enough to me.  

Now off to Dianne's Produce.  I need a few things. Tonight, a big pot roast and garlic roast potatoes.

Remember to stay busy.

Sustainable and Local

I just love food.  I love restaurants.  I love places where food can be purchased.  I never really applied my business values to food, well, just because.  But recently I've been reading about sustainability, local food, and "slow food."  While I agree with many of the basic principles, there is so much, well I don't know, - Off-The-Deep-End-ness. 

The whole Save The World Thing goes right over my head.  Responsibility for my actions, I get.  I'm just that kind of gal.  But can I Save The World by re-using my bath towel the second night I stay in a motel?  No, my dears, this is called Marketing.  It saves the motel money, which isn't a bad thing.  The environmental impact must be just minute.

No, I'm not into Saving The Planet.  I'm into saving my own little piece of it, my business, my household, my small community, my fellow small business owners, my family and friends.  And yet, the ideas of sustainable, local and real food, which sounds so fresh and pithy, so new and cool, so hip and trendy, would make perfect sense to my old Grandpa, the farmer who could barely read the paper and lived through the Depression (the one in the 1930s). 

Buying locally, keeps your hard earned dollar in your community.  It allows local business people who risk everything to be in business, who hire employees, who buy products, to stay in business.  It is these folks I want to support, because I want my business supported.  It is the web of life.  The people I employee have wives and children.  They keep households, make mortgage payments, and yes buy food.  If I can not keep them working and can not make my payroll, they can't keep doing these things.  The providers of food and other necessities see less revenue.  Sound like anything you've seen recently?

So I've determined to find local food products to buy.  I want best quality and modest prices.  We can do this.  And you know what I found?  My area of Northern Oregon/SW Washington produces a lot of food.  Yes, I already knew that.  I grew up in a farming family.

But really.  Did you know there is a family owned business called Don Pancho, out of Salem, OR which produces tortillas and chips and the like?  And I can buy them at my local grocery store?  I'm finding local sources for so many things.  More about this later.

The Cooking "Gene"

There are those who enjoy cooking and food.  There are those who need to find food to eat.  There are various places in between.  In my family, some people have what we call the "cooking gene" while others in the same family do not have it. 

My aunt claims to be among those who don't have the "gene."  Her food strategy is that of a very good hunter and gatherer.  She can find and buy delicious and interesting prepared food all sorts of places.  She brings it home.  They unwrap it and eat it.  She remarkably skilled at this.  They do not suffer.  My sister claimed not to have the "gene," but is finding later in life an enjoyment in the kitchen which she didn't have until just recently.  

I think about food all day long.  I was well into my adulthood when I realized that the average person doesn't think about food the way I do.  But really, cooking every day is a lot of work!  It isn't just time in front of the stove.  There is shopping, planning, organizing, preparation, then clean up. 

I bring this up because I recently had a heavenly few days with many members of the Osborne family.  The wedding of Step-Son and the new Daughter-in-Law, as I've mentioned.  While I really enjoyed the experience of planning and preparing many meals, here's what went into it:

Thursday night:  Pork roast, salad, garlic bread and apple pie.  The roast came from a sale I shopped at several weeks previously and was waiting for me in my freezer.  I started defrosting it in my fridge a several days previous.  The day before I put my homemade roast rub on it and returned it to the fridge.  The afternoon I served it, I made a special trip home from my errands to make sure it cooked long enough.  The salad is a favorite of ours which I have never posted here, so that recipe will be coming up.  The garlic bread is a packaged thing I buy at Safeway.  But the Pie was gravenstien apple and homemade.

Friday morning:  cereal and juice and coffee.

Friday afternoon:  Roast chicken, homegrown green beans and salad for the ladies or those looking for a light meal and brats on a bun for those wanted a grilled thing or more meat.  We figure we served 20 meals.  Some just picked and ate a bit, but we went through some serious food that afternoon.  Thank goodness for my wonderful sister-in-law's help.  I only sent Husband to the store twice that day.

Friday evening:  Wedding reception.

Saturday morning:  Blueberry pancakes, bacon, and eggs.  Some of the guests were leaving that morning.

Saturday afternoon:  A new set of guests.  Thank goodness for left overs.  I pulled out quite a bit of stuff and let people pick and circulate.  I had the leftovers from the wedding reception and the left over wedding cake, which helped.

Saturday night:  Was going to be spaghetti, but Step-Son wanted to use up some meat they had so he grilled,  we made the salad again and garlic bread from the same source.

So here we are now several days past.  Step Son and Daughter-in-law are in Hawaii and I am still cleaning out the fridge and stove burners, wiping splattered cabinets and making a shopping list of staples that got used from the pantry.  What an wonderful experience, but I am still tired.

Use-The-Extra-Stew-Meat Soup

Everyone has left after a week of bliss culminating in the wedding our Step Son and our lovely new daughter in law.  I think they won't mind if I show a picture.

The house was packed with so many lovely and interesting people.
Husband is in the middle with his two brothers.  Yes, they came downstairs dressed alike.  Isn't it so interesting when you get family together?


Oh, and one more cutey picture,  because I can't resist.

Now, we are washing bath towels and bedding.  The extra stew meat is from Daughter-in-Law's frig.  She didn't get it used prior to leaving and brought it to us.  

Use-The-Extra-Stew-Meat Soup 

2 lbs stew meat, washed and dried.  I put a collendar in the sink, add the meat and rinse well.  Then I let it drain and dry it with paper towel.  If you don't do all this, okay.  Just what I do.   I I cut pieces a bit smaller because some of the pieces were too big.

A couple tablespoons olive oil in the pan.  Get it hot.  Add the meat and about a 1/2 cup of flour.  Mix it up and simmer until the meat browns.

Add a carton of beef broth, 1/2 cup pearl barley, 1/2 c. yellow split peas, 3 big carrots, cleaned and thinly sliced, and 1 red pepper, cleaned and chopped.

2 teaspoons of salt and a good tablespoon of minced garlic.  Several good shakes off the Tabasco sauce bottle.  We want some flavor here!

Simmer for an hour.  Or until the barley and peas are tender.  Stir a few times while it cooks. I like it thick.  Add more liquid if you like a soupier soup.

Remember to use the left overs.