The Season of Rain and Chanterelles

Well, here it is: after a record-breaking dry spell, the old familiar cold and rain have finally arrived.  Some of us love it; some of us hate it; and some of us tolerate the long grey months because we know that they have their rewards.

A match made in Heaven

Rewards?  Yes, there are a few.  What's rain in the valley is usually snow in the higher elevations, providing sport for skiers and snowboarders.  After we wait out a soggy winter we often have a beautiful spring (a little lacking in recent years) and wonderful summers, for a start.   

And for the intrepid hiker who isn't afraid of damp feet and slippery footing, Oregon's forests can be beautiful in the rainy season, and the many species of fascinating and edible mushrooms that spring up when the rain comes down are a reason to welcome the wet.

Of the wealth of the Northwest's wild mushrooms, one of the most versatile--and certainly the best-known--is the Chanterelle.

Rob Miller has been the Kiva's major supplier of chanterelles for about a decade--often our sole supplier.  Our produce department likes the fresh, clean, sound mushrooms he brings us, as well as his reliability and his sensitivity to the areas in which he picks.

"I don't like to work with intangibles," he says; he made the choice long ago to be out in the weather hunting for chanterelles rather than sitting behind a desk shuffling numbers.  Rob says he loves to spend time in nature and take longs walks in the forests where he harvests fungal delicacies; he needs time in the wild to be happy.  This is especially lucky this year, since unusual weather (the long, late-summer dry spell followed by not only rain, but cold) has made this year's mushroom crop scarce and harder to find--the worst year for picking that Rob has seen. 

Since we don't all have the time, ability, or know-how to go on those long walks ourselves, many of us rely on the convenient commercial availabilty of chanterelles and other wild mushrooms.  Having someone else do the legwork can be well worth the time and effort saved for busy folks, even though this year's smaller harvest has driven prices up.

Chanterelles have a nutty, savory, delicate flavor with wide appeal--varieties of this mushroom grow in the northerly areas of Europe, Asia, and America, and they're relished in many different cuisines.  There are endless ways to prepare and enjoy them; a quick search for "chanterelle recipes" on Google yielded 42,000 hits! 

Chanterelle recipes are easier to find than mushrooms, but in search of more, I solicited recipes from Kiva employees this week and got some to add to the record.

A caveat:  these are not recipes written or tested by professional chefs, so use your own judgement.  Your mileage may vary!

The simplest came from Tom, our local grocery buyer.  He likes to slice, pan-fry, and eat chanterelles before they leave the skillet.  It doesn't get easier than that! 

Dave, one of our produce managers, offered this recipe:

Dave's Kale with Chanterelle

Dave and a tasty friend

1 bunch Italian kale, chopped

A couple of medium-large chanterelles, halved

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 small or 1 large shallot, minced

A couple tablespoons olive oil

In a skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add minced garlic, stir until garlic is translucent.  Add minced shallots, simmer until translucent.  Lower the heat and add the chopped kale.

In a separate pan, heat the chanterelles until they release liquid, then add them to the kale mixture.  Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper; serve immediately.

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Our wine buyer Ziggy makes this creamy Chanterelle Chicken every autumn at least once.  As you might expect, wine plays an important part in this dish. 

Ziggy's Chanterelle Chicken (serves 4 to 6)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, browned and cubed (1/2 inch cubes)

About 1 lb chanterelles, chopped fairly small

Ziggy's Chanterelle Chicken Sauce ready to serve

Two very large or four small shallots, minced

2/3 to ¾  bottle of dry white wine for cooking

½ pint heavy cream or Half-and-Half

4 Tablespoons butter, give or take a little

A couple of Tablespoons of flour

Fettuccine pasta, preferably fresh

The proportions of this recipe are very flexible, and I vary them every time I make it with the same great results.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed skillet until bubbling; add the minced shallots.  Cook until translucent (don’t let them brown), then add the chopped chanterelles.  Heat until mushrooms are cooked through and have released their liquid; cook a few more minutes, then add the white wine in dollops of about a cup and let reduce between each addition.  Allow some time for this; I generally let the shallot-chanterelle mixture simmer for an hour or more while adding wine slowly.  (Chanterelles, like many foods, have alcohol-soluble factors that release and develop flavor during cooking with wine.)

Note:  For cooking wine I used the Domino Pinot Grigio; any crisp, dry white wine would do, though for my personal taste I prefer not to use Chardonnay for cooking.  The usual caution about not cooking with wine you wouldn't want to drink applies; you don't want to cook with wine which is "off" or yucky.  However, I do often cook with wine which is simpler (and less expensive) than I usually want to sip with dinner.

Brown the chicken on a grill or in a separate skillet with a little additional butter or olive oil.  I usually cook it whole over medium or medium-high heat until the surface is browned, then cut it in cubes and brown the cut sides lightly.  The chicken can then be set aside while the shallot-chanterelle-wine mixture cooks down.

When the sauce is thickening but still contains a fair amount of liquid, add the browned chicken (the good stuff in the pan can be deglazed with a little wine and added along with the chicken) and simmer until the chicken is fully cooked.  The meat absorbs the flavor.

The flour is used to thicken the finished sauce; it can either be sprinkled lightly over the mixture and stirred in until the sauce gets a little dry, or a roux can be made in a separate pan or skillet (heat a little extra butter until bubbly; add the flour and cook for a few minutes without letting the mixture brown) and then added back into the main mixture.

After the sauce is thickened, add cream to taste (I like it to be a gravy-like consistency) and serve it over pasta.  (Pasta Plus’s fresh linguine is my favorite.)

Pear and Blue Cheese Salad

This is a traditional autumn recipe in my house, and I always pair it with an oaked Chardonnay which complements the savory woody notes of the mushrooms.  I recommend Stangeland for an Oregon Chardonnay (oaky but also floral and subtle with some crispness left), or J. Lohr’s Riverstone or Arroyo Vista Chardonnays for California wine.

I also always accompany the Chanterelle Chicken with a pear/blue-cheese salad.  Any pear of your choice can be sliced or cubed, topped with small pieces of blue cheese (I love the Fourme D’Ambert, which is sweet and nutty and complements fruit very well), and crushed roasted hazelnuts, covered with a balsamic vinaigrette and served on a bed of greens.


That's it for now.  Next week we'll be back with a few other recipes from familiar faces at the Kiva.  In the meantime,  tell us--what do you do with chanterelles?

Thinking Globally, Farming Locally

Cattail Creek Lamb Returns to Our Meat Section

The Kiva's meat selection focuses on local, naturally-raised products.  Our knowledgeable buyers Emma and Will deal directly with the farmers and ranchers who raise the animals rather than a central distributor, so their relationship with the food we sell is up-close and personal.

Local lamb producer Cattail Creek was one of the first suppliers the Kiva added when we first started carrying meat.  The mild flavor and tender texture made it an immediate hit with both families and restaurants in the area.  

After a hiatus of one and a half years, Cattail Creek Lamb is back on our shelves this month, and maybe better than ever. 

John Neumeister, Cattail Creek’s founder, has been a familiar face at the Kiva for a long time.  He was glad to answer all my questions when I called him last week, and had a lot of interesting things to say about food and how it’s produced.  John’s agricultural resumé is impressive: he grew up on a mixed sheep and cattle farm in Ohio; he has been raising lamb for thirty years since moving to Oregon; and has been involved in organic farming since the 1970’s.  He has degrees in animal and crop sciences from Oregon State University.  He co-authored the Certified Organic Standards for livestock which were adopted by Oregon Tilth and the National Organic Standards.  

Now in partnership with Farmland LP, a U.S. private equity fund whose mission is to acquire farmland and convert it to organic production, John is primarily in charge of marketing, while partners Craig Wichner and Jason Bradford oversee most of the operations, and the farms are managed by shepherd Mac Stewart--an all-star team whose qualifications are as formidable as Mr. Neumeister’s. 

I was impressed to find that Cattail Creek is more than a business enterprise--it’s a vision of community-supported, sustainable agriculture.  “We’re not looking for loopholes just to sell a more expensive product,” John told me.

It’s very literally a grassroots effort.  In John’s opinion, Cattail Creek has the strongest raising claim of any of the larger lamb-producing farms in the valley (most of which pasture their lambs on seed-producing or after-harvest fields that have been treated with chemicals), with 800 of its 900 acres--comprised of three properties between Corvallis and Philomath--certified organic, and the remainder transitional.

Sheep are designed by nature to be grazers, and better pasture produces better meat, so the conversion of commercial farmland to high-quality organic pasture is an important step.  Cattail Creek’s system encourages a wide variety of plant species in their pastures, such as cold-tolerant and drought-resistant grasses, legumes (which fix nitrogen in the soil), plantains, and chicory.  The land is never treated with chemicals, and rock powders are used as fertilizers.  The sheep make their contribution too, in the form of manure which cycles nutrients back into the soil.

Starting from the ground up, Cattail Creek is dedicated to humane care and handling of its animals.  They use no synthetic crop treatment and no GMO crops; lambs are 100% grass fed and free of antibiotics or hormones.

Although it’s a new enterprise, their breeding program assures that not only the lambs but their mothers as well eat a chemical- and GMO-free, 100% vegetarian diet, and are also free of hormones and antibiotics (animals which become sick and require treatment with antibiotics are removed from the program).  It’s their intention to find breeds of sheep which thrive best under local conditions and raise them through generations rather than buying lambs from brokers.

The advantage to consumers is obvious--the 100% grass-fed meat tastes better than the “muttony” lamb from a feedlot operation, but the benefits go beyond flavor.  Cattail Creek is diversifying their operations toward a goal of integrated holistic farming.  In addition to developing markets to utilize the byproducts of lamb production, they’ve incorporated a new poultry-raising project and added vegetable crops.  Some land is also leased to a hog farmer.  John hopes that Farmland LP may be a vision of the future of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), where instead of having a farm subscription, the participants would be involved in a cooperative effort to acquire the land on which their food is grown. 

The Kiva is currently carrying Cattail Creek’s ground lamb, stew and kabob meat, lamb chops, and shoulder steak.  Sausage is expected to be available in November.

Cattail Creek’s meat is processed and packed by Century Oak Packing Co., a local company owned by Lonely Lane Farms. http://centuryoakpacking.com/html/contact_us.html

We’re lucky to live in an area with an abundance of sustainable agriculture, offering readily-available organic produce, meat, eggs, and dairy products.  It’s a luxury to be able to buy fresh, healthy food just one or two stops from the farm.  Welcome back, Cattail Creek!

For more information on Cattail Creek and Farmland LP, visit http://www.farmlandlp.com/

Cheese and Wine Pairing for October

This month Josh and Ziggy, our representatives from the Deli and the Wine Department respectively, tried pairing Seeing Red Cabernet and Perrydale Aged Gouda from Salem’s Willamette Valley Cheese Company.

Josh says:  Perrydale ($18.70/lb.) is the Kiva’s newest offering from Salem’s Willamette Valley Cheese Company.  A blend of sheep’s milk from Roseburg’s Catsby  Farm and local cow’s milk, this cheese is made in the style of a gouda and aged for one year.  The aging process yields a beautifully complex flavor, but with a still-tender creamy paste; however, the most exciting aspect of this cheese is its use of sheep’s milk from one of Oregon’s two commercial sheep dairies.

Pairing notes:  The mellow acid of the wine and the slight tang from the sheep’s milk worked well together to balance the creamy richness of the cheese.

Ziggy says:  Seeing Red ($13.75) is Columbia Valley juice from Cartel Wine Group.  Seattle Magazine describes Cartel Wine Group as modern-day négociants who buy the wine left over after blending from large established Washington wineries and blend this high-quality surplus themselves.  The result is an affordable wine with the flavor profile of a more expensive bottle. 

Seeing Red is a lovely wine for autumn--very fruity and rich, with notes of cassis, ripe berries, herbs, and smoke.  My tasting partner and I also found a hint of astringency and a slight trace of bitterness--both qualities which can be a plus in a food wine.  (Other foods which might pair well with Seeing Red include red meats and stews, hearty tomato-based dishes, and sharp cheeses.)

My tasting partner disdains the “stinky” cheeses that I love, and Perrydale pleased us both.  We found it to be strong but not overwhelming, mellow, a little musky and mildly fragrant with a round, creamy, complex flavor profile.  I think it would pair very well with a number of medium- to full-bodied Spanish or Italian red wines.  While it might work with some robust whites and even sweet wines, I think it will go best with red.

Perrydale and Seeing Red made an enjoyable match.  The cheese brought out tannic notes from the wine; the wine brought out complex and subtle herbal and bitter notes in the cheese.  Lovely as an intriguing appetizer; satisfying as a savory dessert.