“Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.” -James Beard
Portland’s patron saint of the culinary arts was right - nearly everything is made better with butter. The best tasting butter will be the freshest; butter will absorb odors from other items in your refrigerator. A good way to store butter is in the freezer, defrosting it as needed.
Unsalted butter allows you to control the salt in your recipes, and is the preferred choice in baking. Butter is often used for sautéing, but a careful eye is needed as its milk solids brown and burn above 250°. Clarified butter is better suited for this. To clarify butter, heat to its melting point and allow to cool. Once it settles, pour off the golden butterfat and it’s ready to use.
Here’s a preparation so simple but so delectable, you won’t save it just for company. Brown butter, or beurre noisette, as the French say, is a sauce of melted butter cooked until the milk solids and sugars have turned golden or dark brown. Finish this with a little lemon juice and salt (if using unsalted butter) and toss with pasta, or use to top asparagus. Substitute a different juice, or throw in some toasted hazelnuts – you’ll find myriad of uses for this rich yet adaptable sauce.
You’ll find local butter
from these PFM Vendors:
Oregon Cooperative Creamery
Rogue Creamery
Spring Hill Farm, a long-time Ecotrust vendor, has all your market vegetables.
New vendor Hood River Organic brings organic portabella and cremini mushrooms. They are also offering a year-round CSA program.
NW Heritage Pork’s Ben Cunningham will be joining the market this season with his fine pork, bacon and sausages.
Ancient Heritage Dairy will be representing their sustainable sheep milk dairy specializing in raw-milk aged cheeses from Scio, Oregon.
Don’t miss the quintessential springtime favorite -- asparagus from Philleo Farm.
Practical Biology, a new vendor, brings Shiitake mushroom blocks for your kitchen garden.
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Ecotrust Market returns for another season in the Pearl, on Thursday, June 7, stretching through the month of September. Join us at the Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center at the corner of NW 10th and Johnson. From 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. the parking lot is overtaken with area vendors offering up the best of early summer produce, flowers, farmstead cheese, baked goods and ready-to-eat meals. Live music adds to the twilight market’s appeal. |
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We welcome Ecotrust Market sponsor Portland Health and Wellness, a multi-specialty clinic offering services to help enhance your health in profound and meaningful ways. |
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When Julie Richardson moved from Ketchum, Idaho, to Portland in 1998, her most valuable possession was the baking equipment she brought with her from her bakery in Idaho. Only a year later, Julie’s baking ovens were humming again, making pies and tarts for her customers at the Portland Farmers’ Market. For Julie, the owner of Baker & Spice, selling at the Market was a natural. She soon formed relationships with her fellow vendors, farmers who sold her the fresh berries and other fruits that allowed her to fulfill her personal commitment to using the freshest, most local ingredients possible. |
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Celebrating a surfeit of berries that blesses the Pacific Northwest, the Ecotrust Market calls all berry lovers to the Red, White & Blueberry Festival, on Thursday, June 21. Homemade berry shortcakes, free with a $5 purchase from any farmers market vendor, will be handed out to market shoppers who can also enjoy the accompanying music by Earl White String Band. Home cooks can learn how to incorporate berries into a slew of different recipes shared by local chefs Matt Johnson and Matthew Busetto of New Seasons Market. |
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This comprehensive training program covers organic garden and small-scale farming. The sessions cover seasonal foods and garden techniques all the while rooting attendees in a deeper understanding of natural cycles. Spots still remain for the Summer session, and you can sign up now for the Fall or Winter dates. Register online for the workshops at www.lakeoswegoparks.org. Luscher Farm is located in West Linn. Visit their website at www.tilth.org/Research/OEC/oec.htm. |
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Let your kids become farmers – at least for a week. Zenger Farm, in the Lents neighborhood, is offering camps for children ages 6-12, beginning July 16. |
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