Bakery Recipe: Fruit Clafoutis
Fruit Clafoutis is a wonderful recipe for the holidays that works well with apples, pears, berries, and stone fruit.
By Pastry Chef Tobi Sovak
Sustainable Food & Drink Part 2: The Restaurant at King Estate
At King Estate, the winery came before the restaurant, but we have always sought to enhance the experience of our wines with good, wholesome food. Since our inception, our culinary department has produced recipes, special dinners, and cookbooks with some of America’s greatest chefs. When we opened the restaurant in late 2005, we incorporated the organic ethic that drives our viticulture and farming. This ethic of organic production considers the impact our decisions will have on future ecological and economical harmony. It requires looking ahead and resisting the monetary benefits or “conveniences” offered by alternative approaches.
Environmentally friendly farming contributes to the quality of our food, wine, water, soil, and community. Sourcing local product supports local farms and ranches that are vital to food security. Communities everywhere are noticing these benefits and pursuing local, organic food.
American Kestrels Released by Cascades Raptor Center
Kit and Laurin from Cascades Raptor Center were out last week to release some American Kestrels. The Kestrels are placed in a nesting box, and a mesh screen is taped over the door. In order to calm down and become acclimated to their new surroundings, the Kestrels stay in the box with the screen on for 2-3 hours.
Predator perches installed on the estate
The King Estate raptor program continues to develop, with more nest boxes and releases, as well as the addition of ten new predator perches around the estate.
What is Sustainable Food and Drink?
Food For Thought, a new radio show on Eugene station KLCC 89.7 FM airs on Sundays at noon. The hosts are Boris Wiedenfeld and Ryan Dawe-Stotz. Boris is the manager of Sundance Wine Cellars and Ryan is the “wine and food guy” at Marché Provisions (Marché founder Stephanie Pearl Kimmel was King Estate’s first culinary director). Both are active in the local food and wine community and are dedicated to shedding light on what “sustainability” means and why we should care about it. The guest host of the July 18 episode was Adam Bernstein, executive chef at Adam’s Sustainable Table who is well-known for using local and organic produce. Adam says sustainability is “about being able to create a dynamic where we are able to use renewable resources to have the smallest possible impact on our environment and the world at large, preserving as much for future generations as humanly possible.”
Blooming! Estate Grown Organic Lavender
It is said that the ancient Greeks and Romans added lavender to their bathwater, both for its fragrance and therapeutic properties. This would explain the botanical name of this ancient herb, from the Latin ‘lavare,’ meaning ‘to wash.’ But lavender isn’t limited to the bath. It can be used in any room of the house and even has a home in the spice cabinet (after all, it is in the same family as mint). A bundle hung in the closet is thought to deter moths and the oil is used in aromatherapy in the treatment of headaches and to reduce tension.