Spring! Sort of. Truth to tell, the birds all seem to think spring is here though April has come along begrudgingly. I’ve begun the seasonal habit of taking coffee on the south porch as opposed to fireside, to better hear and see what really is going on. From this perch I’ve been listening to both… Continued
by Ashley Lodato staff writer, Bluebird Grain Farms photos courtesy of Sage Mountain Natural Foods As if farming, running a fermented vegetables business, teaching in Wenatchee Valley College’s sustainable agriculture program, and raising three kids under the age of 12 weren’t enough, Danielle Gibbs had to go… Continued
by Ashley Lodato Bluebird Grain Farms staff writer Perhaps more so than any other cuisine, Italian cooking is imbued with the rich and comforting flavors of love, and the pizza and other dishes that come out of the Nonavo Pizza kitchen are a vibrant example of food steeped in this tradition. For chef Joey Chmiko and… Continued
by Ashley Lodato Bluebird Grain Farms staff writer photos by Aubrie Pick With a resume that includes culinary leadership at restaurants named for the Pacific Northwest’s most renowned explorers, Executive Chef Dolan Lane might be mistaken for a man who favors hardtack and pemmican. After all, the namesakes of Portland restaurants Clarklewis and Meriwether’s survived… Continued
“ The desolate, deserted trees, The faded earth, the heavy sky,” Oh, I can’t help but quote Robert Frost’s My November Guest when one of my absolute favorite months settles in. Indeed the trees are bare, and skies have turned heavy here right around the year’s earlier Thanksgiving. This, however, only after weeks and… Continued
by Ashley Lodato / Bluebird Grain Farms staff writer In these times of corporate conglomerates, independently-owned businesses are a welcome prospect and employee-owned co-ops are downright refreshing. Sno-Isle Food Co-op (Sno-Isle) located in North Everett, WA, is one such breath of fresh air. The 21-year-old non-profit retail food source is democratically governed by a board… Continued
by Ashley Lodato Bluebird Grain Farms staff writer Some 1960s-era newlyweds took up golf together or joined bridge circles, but for Gail (some call him Pete) and Judy Prichard the mutual hobby was baking bread. “When Gail and I got married we just started baking bread,” says Judy. “We were baking long before we had… Continued
Here is a shout out to our summer intern Axel Otteson from Seattle Washington, 17 years old. Axel worked with Bluebird for two weeks doing everything from labeling bags, mowing fields to firing up the combine in preparation of harvest. Our neighbors, Jill and Harold Sheely graciously offered to host Axel in their home which… Continued
The common house wren – easily confused with the winter wren: Tenacious, noisy, spider-man like the way it clings sideways to siding, posts, tree limbs…alas, does not just like houses. For two years now one particular mother has nested up above the exterior lights in our John Deere’s cab. To be exact, directly on top… Continued
by Ashley Lodato Bluebird Grain Farms staff writer photos by Ashley Loyer The “farm to table” movement has swept the country by storm in recent years, but for those brought up like Chef Cameron Slaugh (rhymes with “raw”), farm to table isn’t a movement–it is a way of life. Raised on a rural Utah subsistence… Continued