mushrooms Archives - Fresh From Oregon

Spring in Finally here in Oregon

April 9, 2017 · by Carrie Trax ·

It has been a very rainy spring this year in Oregon, so with a peek of blue skies today I headed to the Beaverton Winter Market. I live in the foothills of Mt Hood and this is a little over an hour drive for me but I just had to see what was Fresh from Oregon at the Market. From blue skies to sprinkles of rain and dark clouds I arrived at the market to a few light rain drops, but hey this is Oregon. During the Winter Market there are about half as many booths as you would find in the summer market but there was plenty of goodies to choose from. The first booth I stopped in had a huge display of rhubarb, WOW I did not know that you could get fresh rhubarb Fresh from Oregon in April, I wish the strawberries were ready and I could bake a pie. The colorful bouquets of daffodils and tulips made it feel even more like spring. If you are at the market and you want the best selection of apples this time of the year then you have to stop by the Kiyokawa Family Orchard booth. Boxes and boxes overflow with apples picked last fall and they were still nice and firm. They had at least 15 different varieties and I filled a bag with my two favorite apples, Gala great for eating and Honey Crisp perfect for baking. There are several seafood vendors at the market with fresh Dungeness crab, oysters, ling cod, and rockfish just to name a few. Down the aisle I saw a line of people at one of the booths and had to see what everyone was buying. As I got close I could see a nice selection of different fresh mushrooms, dried mushrooms and mushroom powders. The Mushroomery a certified organic family-owned mushroom farm that grows gourmet and medicinal mushrooms was here at the market. After pondering over the different types I bought a basket of Shiitake mushrooms that will be perfect on a white pizza I plan to make for dinner tomorrow. I will have to check out the different mushroom powders they had another time. It is a little early but there were some potted herbs and vegetable starters if you are ready to plant in your garden. There are many food artisans at the market and I stopped by Olympia Provisions to try a sample. I tried slice of their Salami Nola (NO-lah) which is a coarse-ground Italian salami with black pepper, chili flake & allspice. It had a nice mild taste and with a touch of the spices and just what I was looking for to add to a cheese plate. Olympia Provisions is Oregon’s first USDA-approved salumeria and the art of curing meat the old-fashioned way is what you will find with all their products. Being made here in Oregon is a bonus for me but they are sold all across the country, check out their website to see where you can enjoy their Old World taste. I was ready for something sweet and as I started down the next aisle the first booth was Nola Doughnuts. There were so many different gourmet doughnuts, an apple fritter and mini bites to choose from. What makes these doughnuts so different than others are the layers. They are handcrafted over a three-day process using a layering technique commonly found in French pastry making. Which flavor to pick Cajun Maple Bacon, Lemon Poppyseed, Raspberry, Chocolate Ganache or maybe the Apple fritter. I decided to stick to may favorite Chocolate Ganache and added a few mini bites also to the bag. For the past few years the market has been home to many craft hard ciders and spirits and I normally do not stop and try a sample but with a road trip planned next week in the new RV I thought I would find something to take on the road. Bull Run Cider had a nice selection and I stopped to try a few samples. They had three different dry hard ciders but I like mine sweet so I tried the Trespass Apple and it was perfect. They produce their craft hard cider in the foothills of the Oregon Coast Range and have a tap room open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. I have already filled my first bag and have a second to get some fresh produce. The last booth in the aisle I could see the piles of fresh produce. Sweet potatoes, white & purple potatoes, leeks, radishes, greens, onions and more. My bag was filled with a few onions, white potatoes that I can pan roast for dinner, a few sweet potatoes that will make a nice filling in some homemade pasta and a few leeks that will go on my pizza or maybe a nice potato leek soup. With both my bags filled I headed to the car, glad I made this trip to the Beaverton Winter Market today. Winter Market is only open 10:00-1:30 through April on Saturdays and then the Summer Market opens starting in May and is open 8:00-1:30.

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Green Bean Casserole

November 19, 2014 · by Carrie Trax ·

Last year I wanted to make everything for my Thanksgiving dinner from scratch so I was on the hunt for the best Green Bean Casserole. After looking through many cookbooks and searching the web I was watching TV and saw Good Eat’s and Alton Brown make his version of the Green Bean Casserole. I decided this was the one I wanted to make and I am glad I did. This was a delicious made from scratch recipe for the so popular Green Bean Casserole. I made my onion topping a little different and used the Pioneer Woman’s recipe which is so tasty and crispy!

Homemade Green Bean Casserole
Onion Topping ~ Pioneer Woman
1 whole large onion
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 quart canola oil
black pepper to taste

Slice onion very thin. Place in a baking dish and cover with buttermilk and soak for at least an hour. Combine dry ingredients and set aside. Heat oil to 375 degrees. Grab a handful of onions, throw into the flour mixture, tap to shake off excess, and PLUNGE into hot oil. Fry for a few minutes and remove as soon as golden brown. Lay on a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Repeat until onions are gone.

Green Beans and Sauce ~ Alton Brown
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil in an 8-quart saucepan. Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside. Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4 to 5

minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and simmer for 1 minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly, approximately 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

Onion Topping ~ Pioneer Woman

Green Beans & Sauce ~ Alton Brown’s Green Bean Casserole recipe

Lasagna Florentine

April 30, 2010 · by Carrie Trax ·

Fresh greens are bountiful at the farmers markets and my favorite is baby spinach this time of the year. This is a great dish to add other fresh vegetables when they come into season like some sauteed zucchini and grated fresh carrots. Let your imagination and the farmers market decide what goes into your lasagna when you make it. This is a recipe that can change throughout the year depending on the fresh harvest. I also used fresh mushrooms in this recipe. This is also great to freeze and have for a quick dinner later.

1 (28 oz) can Italian whole tomatoes or 2 pound fresh ripe tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, cooked
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp basil, dried
2 tsp. tarragon, dried
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
1 1/2 cup V-8 Juice
6 tbsp. butter
2 cups Cheddar cheese
4 cups Mozzarella cheese
8 oz Parmesan cheese, coarse grated
16 oz cottage cheese
2 eggs
12 oz fresh spinach, cooked
12 wide lasagna noodles, cooked

You need to prepare the sauce first, add tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, basil, tarragon, red pepper flakes, garlic, salt, pepper and V-8 juice in large pot and cook for 20 minutes. Add butter and cook an additional 5 minutes and take off the heat. In medium bowl combine the cottage cheese, eggs, Parmesan cheese and cooked spinach.

Now it is time to assemble in a sprayed 13×9 pan put a 1/4 of the tomato sauce across the bottom and lay 4 noodles over lapping slightly. Spoon on a 1/4 of the tomato sauce, 1/3 cheddar and mozzarella cheese, 1/2 of the cottage cheese mixture. Lay 4 lasagna noodle down, 1/4 sauce, 1/3 cheddar and mozzarella cheese, remaining cottage cheese mixture. Lay down the remaining lasagna noodle, sauce, cheddar and mozzarella cheese.

Bake uncovered in a 375 degree oven for 1 hour. Cool for 20 minutes before cutting. I like cheese so once I cut the lasagna in squares I place a piece of mozzarella cheese over it and melt in microwave for 30 seconds. You could also add some mozzarella cheese on top the last 5 minutes of baking.

Spring in Finally here in Oregon

Green Bean Casserole

Lasagna Florentine

Experience fresh food from Oregon!

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