Fresh Connections – The Parfitt Way Blog

PNW Specialty Foods: Real food with local roots

With names like Sunrise, Shasta and Pedrosillano, PNW’s unique foods don’t just sound different. They taste better, too. That’s because they’re grown by a unique family of farmers on the Palouse who are passionate about putting healthier food on your table.

Pacific Northwest Farmers Cooperative, also known as PNW, is dedicated to preserving family farms and protecting the land through a way of life that some call old-fashioned. They’re OK with that, and one taste of their delicious PNW foods explains why. Passed down through many generations, PNW’s100-year-old family farms in eastern Washington and northern Idaho are rooted in sustainable agriculture. When you meet PNW’s growers, they’ll gladly tell you about their history of nurturing the land through crop rotation, cover cropping and reduced tillage. The results? PNW farmers use up to 50 percent less fossil fuel, greatly reduce the use of toxic chemicals, sequester carbon, protect the soil, and conserve water.  It all adds up to rich, healthy soil, which allows PNW to grow incredibly delicious garbanzo beans, lentils and split peas.

PNW foods are also verified Non-GMO by the Non-GMO Project, Kosher and Parve certified, and pass the toughest food safety inspections in the industry.

“We know there is a real and growing concern about the food we eat and the methods under which those foods are grown and handled,” says Bill Newbry, chief executive officer of PNW. “We select the food products we grow as carefully as we select food for our own familes.”

If you have any questions, call Kim or Matt at (509) 487-0755 or send an email to: info@davidsoncommodities.com.

They’d love to meet you.

Those inclined to gardening are finding moments during spring’s sun breaks to get their dirt turned, their seeds in and their hands filthy. And so have we.

In the seven raised beds just a few steps from the entrance to the Harbour Public House, we grow herbs used in recipes at both Pegasus Coffee House and the Pub. Bartenders even pluck fresh mint from the garden to use in our infamous mojitos.

Last year, we successfully harvested basil, fennel, marjoram, thyme, oregano, parsley and lavender bee balm. This season, we’ve dedicated one of the deep beds to root vegetables. With heirloom seeds from Nash’s Organic Farm in Sequim, we planted parsnips and carrots in anticipation of a  early summer harvest.

In addition to herbs, we’re planning on growing bush beans and lettuce in our garden this season. Take a stroll through our modest little garden and watch it grow with us.

As my family can tell you, an “empty” fridge or larder isn’t the end of the world for our family meal… it’s just another flavor challenge in the waiting – one that I like to take on more than running to the market some days. Today’s dinner was an easy task as we had a couple of my new favorite products hiding in the fridge. While on the Farmboat the other day, I had the opportunity to pick up a sample of  McSweet’s Gourmet Olive Bliss consisting of five unique French olives (green, black, tournante, Nicoise, and Picholine) dressed in a fresh herbal oil marinade. Far from sweet, the marinade rather startles the taste buds with flavor. And, true to their advertising, the oils and herbs make a fabulous salad dressing like sauce. After pitting and chopping the olives, I added some leftover chopped, bottled, roasted peppers, chopped fresh onion, a couple of chopped anchovies, salt & pepper, and a bit more olive oil. I mixed these ingredients well and let them sit while I defrosted several cups of my other new favorite ingredient, Garden Green Garbanzos (seasonally available at Costco). Yup, you guessed it… these defrosted green gems added to my ‘refrigerator bottled leftovers’, and presto — a green muffaletta olive relish, with a northwest twist. Now my favorite thing to do with olive relish is put it on a baked potato with a bit of sour cream. You may find many other uses for the relish or as a salad by itself over fresh greens. You’ll yum it!

Winter Fare at Pegasus

Some people haven’t taken notice yet of some of the expanded capabilities of the Pegasus kitchen. Check this favorite dish out.

It’s roasted Winter squash with polenta, goat cheese & Brussel sprouts fresh from the farm. Had a couple of folks that thought they didn’t like or want to eat Brussel sprouts —  But, they have been converted!

The Pub & Pegasus Coffee House are Honest Pint Purveyors

Harbour Public House and Pegasus Coffee House have received ‘Honest Pint’ Certification!  The Honest Pint Project is an effort to bring transparency to glassware volumes by promoting the use of glassware that ensures a patron receives at least 16 fluid ounces of beer when a pint is poured. While not against the law and without uniform standards that enforce a uniform measure, the result is a market in which some pubs serve beer in 20-ounce imperial pints while others use glassware as small as 14 ounces — all called ‘pints’. Unwittingly one can pay a premium for beer served in smaller than advertised glass. But, not here.    www.honestpintproject.org

Eaglemount Cidery, just south of Port Townsend, has kegged a whole 1/2 barrel of its Ginger Cider for the Harbour Public House. On tap any day now, the cider is crafted in the English Dry Cider tradition – a welcome addition to the pub’s fourteen taps. “I’m really excited about it!” claims Angie Payne, the pub’s bar and dining room manager, “there are so few truly dry ciders that are from Washington.” Their cider is made from local apples both from their homestead and the surrounding area. While not certified organic, the ingredients are all farmed using organic methods.

Flavored with ginger root, it’s clean and crisp, and boasts  8% ABV. Eaglemount is situated on a 100 year old homestead, just off from Eaglemount Road, and is one of three Cideries that have recently opened their doors near Port Townsend. The others are Finn River Cidery and Wildfire Cidery.

There are 5 sessions left of the WSU, Kitsap County Extension Series on “Preserving the Harvest”.  Shannon Harkness, Small Farms Team Educator, shares her passion for preserving nutritious foods. See the attached flier link for program dates and topics. Don’t have the time? Go to the National Center for Home Food Preservation website.

Lots of good info there  http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/ too.

Bruschetta [(Italian pronunciation: [brus’ketta] is a hearty appetizer from central Italy whose origin dates to at least the 15th century. ] is one of my favorite snacks to play with when I’m not in the mood for cooking a whole meal. In fact, “nibbling” is also one of my favorite ways to eat.

It’s always best with leftover ingredients.

Tonight I was in luck! I had a half of leftover baguette from our new favorite bakery Pane D’Amore, now with storefronts in Bainbridge Island as well as Port Townsend. Also, from Port Townsend,  Mt. Townsend Creamery’s Seastack Cheese with Truffles…SCORE! It happened to be leftover from the Bloedel Reserve Auction & Fundraiser that we participated in. The fridge also held some locally grown grape tomatoes & Jocelyn’s leftover cheese sauce. Jocelyn remakes the sauce from her mother’s famous cheese sauce recipe (that we normally slather over steamed broccoli or cauliflower). With some fresh basil from our kitchen garden I had what I needed.

After toasting slices of the leftover bread with some EVOO and pressed garlic I added the leftover ingredients. The first, and my favorite today, was the Truffled Seastack Cheese and Fresh Basil. I put them back in the toaster oven just to get the cheese gooey. What a treat!

Mt. Townsend Truffled Seastack Cheese & Basil Bruschetta

Next, I prepared with the leftover Cheese Sauce and Grape Tomatoes. After toasting, I sprinkled on the chopped fresh basil. My tasting partners tonight liked this one best, as it wasn’t as earthy-rich as the truffled cheese – but still cheesy good. I liked it even better than the traditional caprese combination that uses mozzarella, because the cheese sauce had more flavor.

Cheese Sauce & Grape Tomato Bruschetta with Basil

All together about 10 minutes work, maybe. With a bottle of Prosecco – a perfect summertime meal while watching the summer sun go down.

Bainbridge Organic Distillers photos by Sean Flanigan

Harbour Pub and Pegasus Coffee House are excited to be both serving Bainbridge Legacy Vodka…distilled from organic grains right here on Bainbridge Island. Islanders Keith Barnes and his son, Patrick, have opened their tasting room and our Parfitt businesses are some of the first to be pouring the fruit of their labors. Read more at http://bainbridgedistillers.com/ or http://www.southsoundmag.com/article_read.php?articleid=204 In the meantime come down to the waterfront and taste for yourself.