A couple of weeks ago I was introduced to High Roost Ranch. High Roost Ranch is a vegetable and meat farm/CSA located out of Glenwood, Washington. Chelsey and Casey run the farm. Their philiophy is simple, they aim to live and farm in a way that respects our ecosystem, helps us better understand the natural processes that sustain us and maintains the rural beauty of our community. They strongly believe that their livestock should live in a healthy and natural environment that allows them space to roam freely on pasture. They are also running a meat CSA. For more info on them, their CSA, etc. check out their website.

I was really impressed with their fantastic setup, philosphy, and their produce and meat. They had a wide range of produce (some veggies I'd never seen before), poultry (duck, chicken, eggs), and their meat (lamb and pork). My husband, Kyle, the meat person in the family was so excited talking to Casey about their pork products. They really know what they're doing up there. Casey sent us home with pork chops, pork loin chops, and ribs to try out. I was beyond impressed! Kyle smoked the ribs and I cooked the chops on the grill. The meat was perfectly fatty, really flavorful, and the cuts were fantastic.

I'm so excited that High Roost Ranch will be joining the party at the Thursday Gorge Grown Farmers' Markets for this season. You should definitely stop by, check them out, talk with them, and support them!

Last Thursday was the first Gorge Grown Farmers' Market of the year! I look forward to it all winter. The weather was perfect and we counted down until 4pm when we could load up the stroller and walk to the middle school with our neighbors and best friends. We blew all our cash on Oh Sweet Pea popsicles, strawberry shortcake and cupcakes... what can I say, I'm pregnant and drawn to the sweets. We definitely spoiled our dinner! My favorite part of the market is catching  up with friends, marveling how much our friends' kids have grown over the winter months, and feeling like a community again.

Here are a few photos I took last Thursday...

Anna and Colie opened Oh, Sweet Pea this year!


The kids all clearly enjoyed Anna and Colie's wonderful, healthy popsicles...


...and we enjoyed these cupcakes!


After all the fun, sun and music, we all walked home and the kids went straight to bed.

Tonight the farmers' market is on again and we will be sure to grab some great food from Solstice Pizza, Leah's Lunch, Knead, or one of the other great vendors and stock up on veggies from Saur Farms and Wildwood Farms before we buy too many treats! A nice cold popsicle for the walk home will be just perfect. Hope to see you all there!

The Gorge Grown fundraiser, Puerco-Vino-Queso, was held Monday evening at the 10 Speed Coffee Roastery. Everyone was in such good spirits, and the food was fantastic. Anna, the 10 Speed baker, prepared all the food including pork skewers from Mountain Shadow pigs, dolmas made with swiss chard, and freshly baked crackers to pair with the cheeses which were provided by the Cascade Creamery in Trout Lake, Washington. Three local wineries, Memaloose, Analemma, and Viento were all there pouring tastings. To top it all of Matt, Anna's husband and Double Mountain brewer, was playing great music throughout the evening, and Giselle Kennedy debuted a wonderful micro-film about supporting Gorge Grown and local farmers.

The evening was such a great showcase of many wonderful things the Gorge has to offer. For those of you that attended, what was your favorite thing about the event?

Don't forget to mark your calendars... the Gorge Grown Farmers' Market opens on May 3rd!

We are back and getting settled in from our two weeks in Los Angeles, and there are so many exciting things coming up in the next few weeks. This Monday, April 16th, Gorge Grown is hosting a fundraiser called Puerco-Vino-Queso. It's going to be a fun event at the new 10 Speed Roastery (13th and State Street) featuring locally raised pork, wines from the Gorge, and hand crafted artisan cheese from Trout Lake! Doesn't that sound amazing? Tickets are $25.00 and the event runs from 4-6:30pm. It's a great way to enjoy a wines, tapas, and cheeses from the Gorge and support Gorge Grown. See you all there!

You can read more about the event and buy tickets here.

This was my first year attending Gorge Grown's Feast on the Farm, a summer evening event celebrating, and benefitting local food.  Restaurants donate food, winereis and breweires donate drinks, people donate their time, all to put on this wonderful event.  By buying a ticket to Feast ont he Farm, you get a wonderful meal and you are supporting the food growers of the Gorge.  It's a really great event.  With live music, places to sit, and good friends to share it with, this event is definitely worth attending. 

This year's event was held on the last real day of summer.  It was warm, festive, welcoming, and really fun.  I'm so glad we went!

There's kid friendly food options, face painting, and more.