MidWay Farm Visit

The weather here in the Willamette Valley has been absolutely, predictably, horrible for the past 10 days and it promises to continue for a while. Rain, of course, and sleet and snow and slush and ice and wind, wind, wind. But today it didn't stop us from getting out to visit a local farm. The MidWay Farm website (www.midwayfarmsoregon.com) claims that their farm stand is open "7 a.m. to 7 p.m., 7 days a week, all year round" and we decided to put it to the test. We bundled Luke up in his blue snow suit and headed out the door.

Sure enough, when we arrived we saw a sign that said, "OPEN. Stand manned by camera." So we squeezed between the sheets of plastic that were hung over the stand's door and looked around. There was lots of mid-winter farm fare to choose from. We bought 6 pounds of Yukon Golds, 3 storage onions, several apples, baby bok choy, beets with greens and some thyme. I was thrilled to see some herbs available. With salt a questionable commodity, herbs will be crucial in the coming weeks.

There was another sign that read "Please leave cash in the jar. We're out milking." I absolutely believe that they truly were "out milking" considering the fact that there were jars of white stuff labled "fresh milk," and "heavy cream" in a cooler along one wall. Tempting but I hesitated. Maybe overly cautious but with Luke's nutritional needs being met almost exclusively by my own milk-producing body, I'm taking great care to ensure that it remains healthy. Before I just grab a jug of fresh milk from an unmanned roadside farm stand, I want to talk to the farmer.

As I'm processing the wisdom of a milk purchase, a father/son team arrive, saying "good afternoon" and reaching into the cooler to grab a jug from a shelf marked "pre-paid." "You buy here often?" (Charlie's farmstand pick-up line.) "Every week," is the reply and they hopped back in the minivan that brought them. Maybe next week we'll try it. This week we'll settle for the stuff from Lochmead Dairy already in our fridge.

There's an oft-quoted statistic that says that the average food item on the average American plate travels anywhere from 1500 to 2500 miles before finally consumed. Today's haul will travel about 15 miles before being eaten on our dinner table. That's a lot of fossil fuel not used, and my fifteen bucks stay right here in my community. I feel good about that.

Lent starts next Wednesday, so tonight I'll combine our very local produce with some far-flung ingredients for a dinner of pad thai. Stir-frying the bok choy, onion, local frozen broccoli, an egg, and some Oregon bay shrimp. We'll use up the rest of our pad thai sauce and put it all over some rice noodles. I'll make some peanut sauce to go with. 1/4 c. peanut butter (I'm really going to miss peanut butter), 1 clove crushed garlic, 1/4 c. hot water, red pepper flakes, 1 Tbs soy sauce, 2 Tbs vinegar, 1 Tbs honey. Combine the stuff in the order listed, stirring well after adding the water. Man, oh man, will I miss peanut butter.