Mail Tribune archives are full of late-1990s stories and dining columns speculating on how Ron and Donna Bergquist would improve Callahan’s Siskiyou Lodge and honor the traditions of the inn’s namesake family who sold it in 1996. That curiosity has piqued again since the Bergquists were forced to rebuild Callahan’s from the ground up after [...]
I almost felt guilty spying the cars lining Camp Baker Road Saturday morning because I knew Wit’s Little Field wouldn’t have enough blueberries for everyone. Wednesday’s A la Carte story about the long-running U-pick patch predictably directed larger-than-usual crowds to Loren and Dee Wittenberg’s Phoenix-area property. Unfortunately, a number of newbie U-pickers (or people who [...]
Set to leave for work, I suddenly remembered a prior commitment — to the third batch of zucchini I’d sliced, blanched and slipped into the freezer over the past week. I still needed to package the summer squash that had frozen overnight on cookie sheets, making six full, quart-sized bags with no end to our [...]
If consumers’ relationship with packaged spinach following the 2006 recall for E. coli is any indication, it may take the tomato a while to recover its rosy image after a recent salmonella outbreak. But Friday’s news that tomatoes are safe to eat again likely came as a relief to everyone who can’t imagine summer salads [...]
For everyone who’s lamented the lack of a Saturday farmers market, this weekend is your chance to make good on the promise to show up. Yes, it’s in Ashland. But it’s a start for a contingent of local growers who already are deeply committed to Saturday’s Grants Pass Growers Market, touted as Oregon’s oldest growers [...]
Shock and awe perhaps best describe my reaction upon hearing from a cruise ship’s culinary staff that passengers consume about 1,000 pounds of beef per day, a figure quoted in this blog about a month ago. That’s about a half-pound per passenger on a daily basis. While those are the alleged eating habits of a [...]
For most of us, outdoor cooking is a culinary endeavor unto itself. There are cooks, however, who weather these scorching months without air-conditioning, for whom grilling and barbecuing are strategies for keeping the house cooler. My good friend and co-worker relishes the charms of a converted attic apartment in Ashland while making the best of [...]
I have a peeve when it comes to pancakes, that breakfast item beloved by so many. I rarely prepare pancakes at home. Blame a lack of patience first thing in the morning that invariably prevents me from waiting long enough for those bubbles to pock the batter as the bottoms brown up. Not good. So [...]
If the sights, smells and tastes of the Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market aren’t enough to captivate kids, an entire day this week is planned with youngsters in mind. The market’s third-annual Kids Day kicks off at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Medford Armory, 1701 S. Pacific Highway. In a repeat of Tuesday’s festivities [...]
Somehow Fourth of July isn’t complete without giant slabs of watermelon. The fruit is almost an icon of summertime in America, perfectly suited for outdoor festivities where dripping juices and strewing seeds only adds to our enjoyment. Not a melon fan in general, I succumb to the temptation of perfectly ripened watermelon at least once [...]
