Tuesday: Raisins, walnuts can be grown locally

Monday’s breakfast was not from Southern Oregon, but in theory some of its ingredients could be grown here.

Raisins and walnuts generally make up about one third of my bowl of Nutty Rice. As the Oregon State University Extension bulletin puts it, “There’s currently no large commercial production of table grapes in Oregon.” You can grow a number of varieties in your home garden: ‘Fiesta’ and ‘Himrod,’ are good, white, eating and drying grapes, and ‘Glenora’ is a good blue/black type (same color as the famous ‘Concord,’ which may not mature here).

To get more info on growing your own raisins, you can either contact the OSU Extension Service at 776-7371 and ask for the Master Gardeners Plant Clinic, or you can get OSU pamphlets EC1306 (on cultivation) and EC1309 (varieties) online at http://extension.oregonstate.edu Read about the “foxy” flavor of American grapes. Sounds so enticing.

My walnuts are probably from California, which produces 99 percent of U.S. walnuts — but again, these can be grown here, if you have the right soil (deep with good drainage) and are not in a frost pocket and don’t mind some impact from the 100-plus degree temperatures. That info is in OSU pamphlet EM 8907.

You need time and a big piece of property to grow walnuts. Hazelnuts, or filberts, are a better proposition for the home gardener, and the Willamette Valley produces a lot of hazelnuts. An OSU guide to growing hazelnuts is available from Oregon Hazelnut Association here http://www.oregonhazelnuts.org/handbook.php

Enough with the technical stuff. For a late lunch I had more of the jack cheese with the last of the foreign-born crackers and a Nantes carrot from the Growers Market. Nantes carrots are blunt ended, about 8 inches long and uniformly thick. Besides their convenient grating and quartering shape, they have a crisp texture and good carrot flavor. Fresh ones can be unbelievably sweet, better than baby carrots, which might not be babies, just shaped to look young. I think food must be wasted in that process, but I’m not sure.

Dinner repeated the walnut theme. I made a fresh pesto with the basil from my garden, Parmesan cheese (Midwest) and “Napa Valley” olive oil that also contained olive oil from Argentina. I didn’t see that when I bought it, really. I use rice pasta, avoiding gluten, and only one brand, Tinkyada, A.K.A. Pasta Joy. It’s a Canadian company, but the rice was of unknown origin, so the pasta probably has a lot of miles on it, too. So dinner was my meal with the most mileage on it, despite the halo put on by the basil grown in my backyard.

It’s not easy cutting back on the driving. Tomorrow will be better. Here’s my pesto recipe, but please try to buy a domestic olive oil, local basil is at the market and affordable so you can freeze it. I put mine in snack bags and then in another bag to prevent freezer burn. You can use ice-cube trays.

I’m afraid to read the other blogs. It’s so obvious how dependent I’ve become on foods outside the circle of “local” foods. Can we make a salt that tastes as good as Celtic salt here in Oregon? I promise to buy it. I will eat more local foods in the days upcoming. Really.

Basil Walnut Pesto

1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup walnut pieces
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 teaspoon Celtic or sea salt (optional)
2 cups packed basil leaves (about 2 ounces)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons softened butter (optional)

Place the olive oil, walnuts, garlic and salt (if using) in food processor, pulse until walnuts crumble. Add the basil and blend until thoroughly combined.

Add the Parmesan and butter (if using) and pulse 5 to 10 times more.
Just before serving, add 2 tablespoons of hot pasta water from cooked pasta. Toss with pasta before serving.