< Previous79 For the Blackberry Margarita 1. Place lime juice on a small dish. On a separate small dish place the margarita salt or chile-lime salt. Dip the rim of a rocks or margarita glass in lime juice then dip in the margarita salt or chile-lime salt. Fill the glass with ice. 2. Fill a cocktail shaker ½ full with ice. Add tequila, blackberry purée, margarita mix and triple sec. Shake vigorously and strain into prepared margarita glass. 3. Garnish with lime wedge and fresh blackberries. For the Blackberry Purée 1. Process berries, sugar and lime juice in a food processor until smooth. 2. Press through a fine mesh strainer into a jar(s). Seal and store in the refrigerator. 1 serving | 2 cups purée: For the Blackberry Margarita Juice of ½ a lime Margarita salt or chile-lime salt, optional 2 ounces Altos Silver or locally produced Batanga Tequila Blanco 1 ounce Blackberry Purée, see recipe 1 ounce margarita mix, such as Oregon-based Mary's Mixers ½ ounce triple sec Lime wedge and 5 fresh blackberries, for garnish For the Blackberry Purée 4 cups local blackberries (fresh or frozen) ¾ cup sugar 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice FOOD PAIRING: Sabor Yucateco Salsas with Chips, page 81.Sabor Yucateco Salsas with Chips Sabor Yucateco | Julissa Camara = Mt. Hood Territory Tap Trail Habaneros, jalapeños and a variety of other peppers are grown in our region. Habaneros in particular require many days of hot weather to grow, so they will be found primarily in sum- mer at our various farmers markets. (In case you were wondering, yes, we do get sunshine in Oregon.) Habaneros are packed with heat but they also have a sweet, fruity flavor that brings a vibrant taste to salsas and many other dishes. While chips are the obvious pairing for salsas, those in the know love using fresh tortillas as the vehicle for dipping. Pick up some fresh corn or flour tortillas from La Milpa Tortilleria in Sandy to give it a try. Ivan Gongora and his mother, Julissa Camara, like to purchase their peppers from Uncle Wayne’s Farm in Eagle Creek, Quackenbush Farm in Estacada or at the Mt. Hood Farmers Market. While picking up some habaneros to make one of Sabor Yucateco’s fresh salsas, you can also enjoy live music and food demonstrations at the Mt. Hood Farmers Market in Sandy from stands like AntFarm and Slice of Heaven Farm. Sabor Yucateco is a family-owned and run food truck in Estacada featuring Southern Mexican cuisine from Yucatán Mexico. The mother and son team, made up of Julissa Camara and Ivan Gongora, take pride in the delicious simplicity of their recipes, many of which are made up of five ingredients or less. A note of caution when making these salsas is that they can get hotter over time because the peppers in the salsa will continue to release their capsicum oils, which are responsible for their heat, as it sits. 8183 Local Roasted Habanero Salsa: Makes about 1 cup: 6-8 habanero peppers ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt 1 small yellow onion, diced ½ cup water 1. Preheat oven to 500°F. Place peppers on a baking sheet and roast until skins have blackened, about 10-12 minutes. Cool to room temperature. 2. In a blender or food processor, blend peppers, salt, onion, and water until well n n n combined. Roasted Tomato and Habanero Salsa: Makes 2 ½ - 3 cups: 10 small to medium sized Roma tomatoes ½ teaspoon fine sea salt ¼ cup chopped cilantro 1 small yellow onion, grilled 1-2 habanero peppers, stems removed Make your own chips using fresh tortillas from La Milpa in Sandy, Oregon or use locals favorite Juanita's Tortilla Chips from Hood River FOR SERVING: Jalapeño Salsa: Makes 1 - 1 ½ cups: 6-8 jalapeños, roasted ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt 1 cup water 1. Set oven to broil. Place tomatoes on a baking sheet, and broil until skins have blackened, about 15-20 minutes. Large Romas may take up to 25 minutes to char. Cool to room temperature. 2. For more mild salsa, use only 1 habanero and remove seeds and ribs. 3. In a blender or food processor, blend tomatoes, salt, cilantro, onion, and habaneros until well combined. 1. Preheat oven to 500°F. Place jalapeños on a baking sheet, and roast until skins have blackened, about 15-20 minutes. Cool to room temperature. 2. In a blender or food processor, blend roasted peppers, salt, onion, and water until well combined. BEVERAGE PAIRING: Bent Shovel Brewing , Edgewood PilsnerGingersnap Cookies Adapted from “Fannie Farmer Cookbook” Wheat was not always easy to come by along the Oregon Trail, so families were suggested to pack 150-200lbs of it in their wagons. Thankfully today it is much easier to find. Quality flour can make all the difference in baked goods, such as this gingersnap cookie recipe. Local wheat has been grown throughout the Columbia River Gorge region for hundreds of years. At the Kelly Wheat Ranch in The Dalles, they have farmed their land for five generations. They use sustainable dry-land farming practices to grow soft white wheat, which is a light tan grain and has a more fine gluten structure relative to hard wheat, making it ideal for baked goods. Kelly Wheat Ranch makes their own wheat pancake and waffle mix that you can purchase on their online store or at the Sunshine Mill in The Dalles. If you ever wondered what life was like for pioneers on the Oregon Trail, take a step back in time with a visit to Philip Foster Farm. Philip Foster and his family helped fund, build and operate the Barlow Road at various times between 1848 and 1865, guiding thousands of covered wagons into the Willamette Valley along the Oregon Trail. Today their homestead is open to visitors to learn about and recreate what life was like for pioneers in the 1800s. In September, Philip Foster Farm hosts a Cider Squeeze where you can bring your own apples (or purchase some of theirs) to press into cider. 84HISTORICAL RECIPE: Philip Foster Farm , Historical Gingerbread Recipe from “Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches” by Eliza Leslie. Born in 1787 in Philadelphia, Eliza Leslie was an author of cookbooks, etiquette guides, and children’s stories. As you explore her historical recipe for gingerbread from her 1840s cookbook, you will likely stumble upon some unfamiliar ingredients and methods. For example, pearl ash was used as we use baking soda in recipes today. It is an alkaline salt (or potassium carbonate) that reacts with an acid such as molasses, yogurt or sour cream. Sour milk is the acid in this ginger- bread recipe. It is made by adding an acid such as vinegar or lemon juice to milk. You can make it by adding one tablespoon of acid to one cup of milk, and it can be used as a replacement for buttermilk or sour cream in many recipes. Historical Recipe Instructions: “Cut up a pound of butter in a quart of West India molasses, which must be perfectly sweet; sugar house molasses will make it hard and heavy. Warm it slightly, just enough to melt the butter. Crush with the rolling pin, on the paste board, half a pound of brown sugar, and add it by degrees to the molasses and butter; then stir in a tea cup full of powdered ginger, a large tea spoonful of pow- dered cloves, and a table spoonful of powdered cinnamon. Add gradually sufficient flour to make a dough stiff enough to roll out easily; and lastly, a small tea spoonful of pearl ash melted in a little sour milk. Mix and stir the dough very hard with a spaddle, or a wooden spoon; but do not knead it. Then divide it with a knife into equal portions; and, having floured your hands, roll it out on the paste board into long even strips. Place them in shallow tin pans that have been buttered; either laying the strips side by side in straight round sticks, (uniting them at both ends,) or coil them into rings one within another, as you see them at the cake shops. Bake them in a brisk oven taking care that they do not burn gingerbread; scorching sooner than any other cake. To save time and trouble, you may roll out the dough into a sheet near an inch thick, and cut it into round flat cake with a tin cutter, or with the edge of a tumbler. Ground ginger loses much of its strength by keeping. Therefore it will be frequently found necessary to put in more than the quantity given in the recipe.” 87 1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease or line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 2. In a stand mixer on medium speed, beat shortening and sugar. Add egg and continue beating until light and fluffy. Add molasses and beat until well combined. 3. In a separate bowl, whisk to combine flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, and cinnamon. 4. On low speed, gradually pour flour mixture into the wet mixture until smooth and blended. 5. Roll dough into 1” balls. Place 2 tablespoons of sugar into a shallow bowl then roll each piece of dough into the sugar until well coated. 6. Place dough 2” apart on prepared baking sheets, and bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies have spread and tops have cracked. Remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool. 12 Servings | 2 dozen cookies: ¾ cup vegetable shortening, such as Crisco 1 cup sugar, plus extra for rolling cookies 1 large egg ¼ cup molasses 2 cups all purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda ½ teaspoon fine sea salt 1 tablespoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2 tablespoons sugar for rolling BEVERAGE PAIRING: Boring Bean, Kenya RoastNext >