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By mlb, on December 13th, 2010%
Red Ridge Farms
5510 NE Breyman Orchards Road
Dayton, Oregon 97114
Last weekend it was cold, clear and sunny, which is a pretty good deal for Portland in December. We took advantage of the weather to head to one of my most favorite place in all of Oregon — Red Ridge Farms in Dayton, OR. It’s part plant nursery, part olive oil mill, part gift shop and part scenic destination/place for outdoor snacking. I drag jwa there at least twice a year and always take lots of pictures.
Here are some from last weekend.
A chilly seat in the sun.
Blue sky and pottery in the distance.
The last of the season’s lavender…
The olives are hanging out elsewhere, but they left their sign behind.
Leaves still golden…
Red hills and Domaine Drouhin in the distance.
Olive plants, in the ground and braving the cold.
Recipes coming up this week (hopefully, if I can get them all posted): Lamb Cabbage Rolls, Ginger Snaps, and Short . . . → Read More: A Couple of Hours in the Sun
By mlb, on July 17th, 2009%
Mostly pictures today! We went to the Dayton and Dundee area a couple of weeks ago and I took a lot of pictures. It was a beautiful day — sunny and not too warm. A great day for buying an olive plant and tasting some wine!
First stop, Red Ridge Farms, 5510 NE Breyman Orchards Rd, Dayton, OR. I love this place. I could wander around here all day.
Lavender plants.
More lavender.
Rosemary for sale!
Olive plants — they had three varieties that supposedly thrive in Oregon. A Greek one, a Spanish one and an Italian one. I believe we got the Greek variety.
More olive plants.
Fields of lavender.
Sokol Blosser winery. 5000 Sokol Blosser Lane, Dundee, OR. It’s actually just up the road from Red Ridge Farms.
Pinot Noir grapes.
Close-up of grapes.
A big tree at the winery.
Grape fields.
Grapes outside the tasting room.
 . . . → Read More: Pictures in Wine Country
By mlb, on October 30th, 2008%
Whew! Right in under the 10/31 deadline! Confessions of an Apron Queen is hosting this month’s Weekend Cookbook Challenge and the theme is Fall Vegetables. This is a great theme as far as I am concerned as I do love the Fall vegetables. This recipe is from the Williams Sonoma cookbook, Autumn. I believe I’ve drawn inspiration from it before for WCC.
This Coq au Vin does indeed have Fall vegetables — carrots, rutabaga, purple potatoes, and parsnips. It was also supposed to have a turnip but I was trying to hurry and get dinner ready (hungry!) and I didn’t feel like prepping that one. So sad. However, I think Mr. Turnip will show up in a soup shortly.
This recipe has many parts, many bowls, lots of steps (a lot of ins and outs) but only 1 pot. It’s a good Sunday night meal. Probably not a realistic Tuesday night meal.
I followed the directions from the book mostly, except that I added a diced onion and about 10 chopped cremini mushrooms. Oh and some rosemary. And more thyme. I also roasted my veggies because I like roasted veggies. And I used less chicken stock. And…Well, hell, it’s kind . . . → Read More: WCC 33: Coq au Vin with Autumn Vegetables
By mlb, on March 30th, 2008%
Oh! Oh! I totally forgot the “secret” ingredient! Based on the Fine Cooking recipe, I added about a tablespoon of honey in the sauce with the lemon, chicken stock & wine. I’ve amended the recipe below!
This was sort of one of those meals where I looked around at what we had and then figured out what to do with it. Chicken breasts? Yes. Capers? Right there. Lemons? Uh-huh. Wine? Well, duh. Feta stuffed green olives that I love-love-love? Oh yeah. So, here we go.
This recipe is also a combination of many different recipes I found online. The fried capers bit is from Fine Cooking magazine and the rest is a little bit Everyday Italian (Little Big Head) and a little bit I love my smoked paprika and I love my Parmesan cheese.
Chicken Piccata with Olives and Fried Capers
2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, pounded flat*
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup AP flour
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp smoked paprika
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp brined capers, rinsed
1 clove garlic, minced
Juice of 1 big lemon (should be about 3 – 4 tbsp, you may need another lemon if yours isn’t super juicy and/or big)
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 . . . → Read More: Chicken Piccata with Olives and Fried Capers
By mlb, on March 12th, 2008%
Until last April, I had never really tried clams or mussels. That changed when we stayed at the Winchester Inn in Ashland and our free chef’s choice appetizer coupon got us a big, steaming bowl of mussels and clams. And lots of hot bread. jwa and I both made slight faces and then each kind of shrugged and dug in.
Things I learned that night:
1. wine and butter make anything tasty
2. crusty bread is your friend
3. I like clams!
4. I am okay with mussels, but probably wouldn’t order a big plate of them
After being exposed to these four new tenets, I have been threatening to make some sort of clam dish at home ever since. jwa only encouraged this by getting me seafood forks as a stocking stuffer last Christmas. So, here’s some clams. But, it’s mostly salmon. But, hey, we’ve had it twice so far and both times it’s been pretty good.
The original recipe called for much more mint and saffron. I omitted the saffron the second time as I thought it overpowered the dish a little bit. I also decreased the mint a bit as it’s winter and I can’t get tons o’ fresh . . . → Read More: Fun with Mollusks: Salmon with Littleneck Clams and Garlicky-Buttery-Herby Wine Broth
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