Berries, Berries, Berries! 

Oregon Marionberries

Marionberries have a deep, rich flavor similar to a blackberry. They actually look like enormous blackberries with a touch more purple in them and they are not as seedy. They are so big, beautiful and juicy. To pick your own is easy as they are on high bushes and easily reached. Marionberries are ripe at the height of the summer and I remember getting really hot and drained from the sun while gathering them, but, it is worth it.

Here is a site all about these delicious berries, which are grown in Oregon.

Oregon Strawberries

Oregon strawberries are absolutely the sweetest and best I have ever had. Now, the tests have proven it, as this site tells you. Unfortunately, the best varieties do not ship well, so you have to go there to taste them. It is popular to pick your own strawberries and you'll have lots of company out in the fields while filling up your buckets.

There are so many reasons to visit Oregon, but try to go when the strawberry season is on. Check this link for details.

Oregon Blueberries

This site tells you all about Oregon blueberries: varieties, farm locations, health benefits and it includes some great recipes. Oregon has the highest yield per acre for blueberries of all the states.

Blueberries are another popular pick-your-own fruit in Oregon and you will be able to find many farms with these super easy to pick, big, fat, colorful berries. I love the way the bushes look when they are covered with berrries in many stages of ripeness: pink, lavendar, blue, purple. Its so pretty against the light green leaves.

Freeze them on a cookie sheet to keep them separated like marbles, then bag them that way. Pull some out on a hot day and make blueberry daiquiris with them. Your teeth will be full of little blueberry seeds, but it is so good. If your whole group drinks them then you won't have to be the only one with blue teeth!

Beautiful Berries 

Dill

America plate

America plate

America plate

Blackberries for Sco...

wild blackberries

blackberries

Goat and berries

Brie and berries

Dungeness Crab 

Instructions for Crabbing

This simple site gives you information on crabbing, including technique, size restrictions, types of pots (the traps used to catch them) and best times.

Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission

The Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission tells you all about Dungeness Crab and includes plenty of recipes.

Crabbing on the Oregon Jetties

Click on "Crabbing" after opening this page for good info on crabbing off the jetties.

Sweet Dungeness Crab 

Dungeness crab cakes...

Crabs

got crabs?

Fresh Oysters 

Yaquina Bay Oysters

This is Oregon's oldest oyster farm (1907). Fresh Oregon oysters are so good grilled or broiled right in the closed shell with a little lemon juice added at the table, but this site also offers recipes and will soon offer on-line shopping. They feature fresh items: oysters in the shell, oyster meat and oyster cocktails as well as smoked oysters, steamer clams and more.

Hazelnuts 

Oregon Hazelnuts

A site devoted to the Oregon Hazelnut or Filbert.

Oregon Gourmet Hazelnuts

Offering hazelnut products such as nut brittles, spreads, nut butters and chocolates including some recipes. Order the Euphoria Truffles or find them in Eugene where they are made. They are sinfully good, really.

Springfield Filbert Festival

The Filbert Festival is held every August in Springfield, Oregon, right next to Eugene in the middle of the Willamette Valley.

Every year there is a filbert cooking competition and the various food booths offer filbert-themed items in addition to the traditional fare. Expect music, fireworks, food and fun.

Specialized Dairy Products 

Nancy's Yogurt

The Springfield Creamery, makers of Nancy's Cultured Dairy and Soy Products makes such goooooood yogurt--so fresh and full of cultures. The nonfat tastes amazingly good. The fruit is packaged separately and is not too sweet. The site also includes recipes along with product and distributor locations. I have finally been able to find some at a store in New Hampshire, so they are shipping quite a distance now. Yeah!

Tillamook Cheese

Tillamook Cheese is a farmer-owned cooperative in Tillamook, Oregon which produces a premier line of dairy products including award-winning cheese, ice cream, yogurt, butter and sour cream. At the Visitor's Center you can watch the cheese being made and sample the results. Tillamook Cheese is also widely available across the US. Their web site is full of info and includes recipes and a kid's section.

Blue Heron Cheese & Wine Company

Blue Heron French Cheese Company, also in Tillamook, makes a wonderful collection of Brie cheeses. You can find them in Oregon stores, but if you are traveling they are not far from the Tillamook Visitor's Center.

Alsea Acres Goat Cheese

Artisian cheese maker Nancy Chandler at "Alsea Acre Alpines" makes a variety of goat cheeses and goat milk soaps. You can visit her at the farm, see her at the markets or, now you can order on line, too.

Prince Puckler's Ice Cream, Eugene

Oh, the memory. I used to live just a few blocks away from Prince Puckler's, a locally owned, high fat content ice cream parlor. The flavors are intense and they even have a contest every year to see who can come up with the newest, most unique and tasty flavor. A hot fudge sundae with the locally made Euphoria hot fudge (same company that makes the truffles) is heaven.

Cooking All That Good Stuff 

Thyme and the River Too: Brunches, Lunches, Picnic

by Sharon Van Loan

I have this book and it is a very good one. It is based on the cooking at the Steamboat Inn on the Umpqua River, a great place to stay and to eat. Meals are served at communal tables and the Inn is located up on a ridge overlooking the river. It is a popular resting spot for those who love to fish.

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Amazon Price: $17.90 (as of 10/10/2008)

Best of the Best from Oregon Cookbook: Selected Recipes from Oregon's Favorite Cookbooks (Quail Ridge Press Cookbook Series.)

Four-hundred recipes are included from 79 of the most popular Oregon cookbooks. What a good idea.

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Amazon Price: $13.56 (as of 10/10/2008)

Wildwood: Cooking from the Source in the Pacific Northwest

by Cory Schreiber

The very popular Wildwood Restaurant in Portland, Oregon presents its recipes in this very successful and well-reviewed (5 stars) cookbook.

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Amazon Price: $31.16 (as of 10/10/2008)

Where to Eat Regional Foods 

Steamboat Inn on The North Umpqua River, Oregon

The cookbook "Thyme & the River Too" has its origins at the Steamboat Inn, located 38 scenic miles east of Roseburg, Oregon on Highway 138. It is a popular spot for those who fish, but a wonderfully scenic spot for anyone, including rafters. Check out their restaurant. I stopped there while rafting with a group of friends. Wonderful experience all together.

Wildwood Restaurant & Bar, Portland, Oregon

Wildwood is a Portland restaurant in the popular Pearl District and known for regional ingredients and great food. According to Cory Schreiber, Wildwood Restaurant owner/chef, Wildwood has "...a market driven menu featuring fresh seasonal ingredients from local farms and purveyors..." Cory has also put together a popular cookbook which is listed in the link above.

When I dined there recently, I was blown away by the flavors. They just popped. Everything was fabulous: creative, absolutely fresh and so flavorful that it was like a burst of the very essence of everything I put in my mouth.

The decor is not romantic or over the top, but serves as a neutral backdrop for the star of the evening: the food.

Caprial and John's Kitchen, Portland

"Caprial's Bistro" in Southeast Portland focuses on regional foods. It may sound familiar to you as Caprial and John also offer cooking classes and have a popular cooking show on PBS.

Lucy's Table, Portland

Lucy's Table in Portland is a place to enjoy Northwest cuisine with a European influence created by Chef Mike Conklin. The menu is always changing to take advantage of each season's offerings. Like Wildwood, Lucy's Table is also located in the 21st Street area of town.

Bold-Sky Cafe & Studios

This very popular restaurant serves Northwest seasonal foods, has interior design services, an art gallery, shop and more. In their words: "Bold-Sky is about becoming the artist of one's own life. It is about enjoying excellent food & drinks, interesting workshops & concerts, & developing a renewed sense of community." Very Northwest: always innovative.

Learn Even More About Oregon Cuisine 

Northwest Bounty

From the Wildwood Restaurant in Portland is this great page which talks about the variety of native foods available in Oregon from the ocean and coastal region to the Hood River Valley fruit orchards.

Portland Farmers Market

All about the Portland Farmer's Market including seasonal availability charts, class and demo information and special event schedules.

In Good Taste: Oregon Bounty Series

"In Good Taste" cooking classes in Portland with a series of special classes and dinners called "Oregon Bounty", focusing on regional foods.

Oregon Cuisine

This page offers a highlighted recipe and the you can see a selection of many more food related articles by selecting from "More Oregon Cuisine Stories" at the bottom of the page.

Oregon Gourmet

Oregon Gourmet has products from over 30 different small Oregon farms.

Portland Best Eats

Here is a lens on Portland, Oregon restaurants called "PDX Best Eats". It includes links to an interesting blog on Oregon foods. Check out the link for artisan cheese.

An Epicurean Tour of Portland

On a recent trip to Portland I went on this walking tour called "Epicurean Excursion". On a 3-hour saunter through the city's recently revived Pearl District, we sampled soup, breads, pastries, beer, chocolate, pizza, fresh fruit and more. I learned not only about the foods, but the cutting edge "green" and sustainable practices Portland has become known for. It was entertaining, satisfying and money well-spent.

Oregonian: James Beard 

James Beard Foundation

The James Beard Foundation recognizes culinary excellence through awards, scholarships, guest chef events, educational programs, and gourmet dinners served in James Beard's house.

A Talk by James Beard

Here is a delightful transcript of a talk by James Beard.

Books: James Beard 

James Beard's Delights And Prejudices

by James Beard, Julia Child, Karl Stuecklen

I loved this book. Beard writes about his first experiences as a child with the regional foods of the Pacific Northwest.

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Amazon Price: (as of 10/10/2008)

James Beard's American Cookery

by James Beard

The classic James Beard.

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Amazon Price: $17.15 (as of 10/10/2008)

Love and Kisses and a Halo of Truffles: Letters to Helen Evans Brown

by James Beard

Beard and fellow chef Helen Brown wrote each other twice weekly-mostly about food. Here are some of their letters along with some recipes, as well.

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The Solace of Food: A Life of James Beard

by Robert Clark

A biography of James Beard focusing mostly on his life more than his work with food. He was a very interesting person.

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Amazon Price: $12.00 (as of 10/10/2008)

Oregon Wines 

Oregon Wine Country

Includes a comprehensive list of vineyards.

Oregon Wine

This lens, though it looks to be not quite finished yet, has good information on Oregon wines including where to eat while traveling to the vineyards.

Oregon Wines with Food 

Northwest Food & Wine: Great Food to Serve With the Wines of Oregon & Washington

by Dan Taggart, Kathleen Taggart

Oregon is a prolific producer of wonderful wines, Here is a book to help you pair your food and wine from the Northwest.

Amazon Price: (as of 10/10/2008)

And, Finally: Chocolate! 

Euphoria Chocolate Company

The BEST chocolate truffles you will ever devour, in my humble opinion. This is what Euphoria Chocolate Company is known for, along with it's Ultra Chocolate Sauce and the fresh-dipped ice cream bars in the summer. If you are in Eugene, be sure to stop by one of the locations. Just one truffle will set you up for the whole day and the chocolate dipped ice cream bars are the best ever.

Fenton and Lee Chocolatiers

Fenton & Lee chocolates are beautifully made and delicious, too. The thing that always struck me so much is how imaginative the decoration and presentation is. Now, you can order on-line. If you can visit in person you will be able to see them being made and, oh, the chocolate-scented air is so great.

See's Candies

See's chocolates are from California. Now, I know this is Oregon-focused, but I discovered See's chocolates while living in Eugene. You can visit the store there and get a free sample every time. I love them. They are a very good, fresh chocolates. My favorite is the chocolate-covered toffee rolled in nuts.

An Article on Oregon Chocolates

A good, descriptive article about some of the best Oregon Chocolates.

Your Opinion & Recommendations 

I hope you can enjoy some of these Oregon foods soon. There is so much more that I could have included, but these are my favorties.

Do you have an Oregon favorite? Add your suggestions or comments here!

ArtByLinda The is great, and will go well with my lens, giving you a lensroll and a bravo!!! Visit the Oregon Coast Posted May 15, 2008

Paroshep Aaah, you did make me homesick for Oregon. It is still possible to find flavorful food there, but you have to hunt for it. That is somewhere other than the supermarkets. You might enjoy my lens on James Beard: http://www.squidoo.com/jamesbeard Cheers, Posted April 11, 2008

Alberta I grew up visiting Oregon every year to visit family, and I absolutely love it. Thank for this lense, I really enjoyed it. Posted September 02, 2007