The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

Fodder diversity? Yes, friend and organic-seed farmer Frank Morton, of "Wild Seed Farm," Oregon tells me, with the trend to eat clean, organic free-range chicken, his regional chicken ranch orders for organic Purslane and Chickweed seed has tripled...

San Francisco musicians of the1960s, gathered together over the weekend at Benny Franklin's home in Pacific Heights, for our five-year reunion. Here we gather and talk, share photos, listen to old takes, play and sing for each before moving the...

This week is all about making sure the family pets' winter beds are lined correctly for those long winter naps. They make me laugh; sprawled out in front of the fire like a couple of limp furry pencils. I bought a set of cedar-chip stuffed cushions a...

This year it's a Cajun blackened Thanksgiving turkey dinner and although I know there are some people who wouldn't eat another green bean casserole, it's my job to give back this piece of American, to guests topped in homemade roasted onion rings....

Each year, I make my own door wreath of recycled materials collected throughout the year on treks across the Great Northwest. For instance, this year's wreath is to be composed of old grape vines clipped in spring from Pepper Ridge Winery. The twine...

This weekend, the wineries in our region and around the entire United States, opened their doors, treating folks to wines recently readied by nature for our fall and winter pleasure. It was wonderful to see people bellied-up, eyes trans-fixed,...

Broadway in Waitsburg? Yes, and an art colony thrives! I was fortunate to have a front-row seat in the historical Waitsburg Plaza Theatre Saturday night for the Markeeta Little Wolf concert, "The Bitch is Back!" The house was sold-out and what a...

Sitting in Vintage Cellars, Walla Walla, on a Wednesday evening among local merchants and wine makers, is an exciting event for anyone who wants easy conversation and loves good wine and wonderful brew. Right now, November's Fall Release is all the...

I was in Berkeley, Calif., this weekend tasting wine in an unusual bottle shop; inside the Berkeley Municipal Utilities Pump House. Today, owner Peter Eastlake operates his, "Vintage Berkeley," inside the historical building. Vintage is a unique...

Here comes fall and the promise of change. Today I watched the leaves from my maple tree fall to the ground while "Gary Cooper," the gentleman kitty, stopped skittering around the yard just long enough to say, "welcome to my world," bat the catnip...

On Saturday, I was putting away my garden tools, when up drove my long-time cooking collaborator and friend, Desi Kitchens, arriving from California. Desi is an excellent cook and also a lover of great wine. She and I together remind me of Simca and...

Arriving home from a weekend away isn't always so happy. I found my neighbor had lost her beloved "Pearl," The Coon Cat. As the week progressed, I'd hear Sally outside calling randomly for her kitty, her best friend, and it became unnerving,...

A rriving home from a weekend away isn't always so happy. I found my neighbor had lost her beloved "Pearl," The Coon Cat. As the week progressed, I'd hear Sally outside calling randomly for her kitty, her best friend, and it became unnerving,...

Last night, looking out over the front pines, I noticed the most unusual moon; a pie shape cut directly in half with rippling blue vines like a half wheel of gorgonzola cheese! I took my glass of wine out to the patio table and sat for what might be...

The small family farmers of our region are making way into Indian summer, preparing themselves for a good hefty second crop of corn, lettuces, early kale, pumpkins, beets and carrots. I was standing in the middle of Wild Bill's Patit Street Organic...

This past Saturday, I attended the opening of the long awaited Mace Mead Works in downtown Dayton. Upon entering the facility, you'll pass the glassed-in cellar room, racked in oak wine barrels. At first, I thought this was mead wine, but later...

This weekend's winery happening occurred at Three Rivers Winery's Celebrity Crab and Salmon Feed. Three Rivers' Amy Locati and staff organized the event and yours truly, Chef Judith Henderson of Flying Aprons Catering of Dayton catered the colossal...

Greetings from California! Last night, a couple of friends and I met and dined at Henry's HI-Life in downtown San Jose. Henry's is an institution in Silicon Valley, known for its open pit grilled meats, friendly ambiance and the Italianate Board...

One of the perks of living with a wine professional is to visit my wine-loving vagabond on the road in California wine country. This week, I joined Wine Guy in Silicon Valley and we had lunch at one of his away-from-home haunts; the Los Gatos...

A fter shopping at Klicker's for a bag of frozen Bing cherries, I decided to drive a bit further, out along Isaacs and visit Charles Smith Wines, home to the wine-marketing genius of Winemaker, Charles Smith. Over the summer, I attended a barbecue...

Talking with a restaurateur in the town of Dayton today, about the behavior of some small town retailers who copy one another's ideas and seem to go about their merry way never realizing everyone in town is aware of their blunder. In the case of...

Grandma Moses really knew a pastoral scene when she saw one, captivating America in the 1950s with her oil paintings depicting the American country way of life. Today, I thought I was seeing through Grandma Moses' eyes, barreling through the country...

This weekend I catered and attended a friend's 60th birthday party. Filling the table with an array of appropriate wine tasting nibbles, everyone brought their own bottles of regional and local wines to share with one another. Somewhere in the first...

I mentioned in last week's column, that after returning from my East Coast trip, I would let you know how the people of the East Coast are thinking about food and wine today: ORGANICALLY! Yes, even in the underbelly of wicked old Manhattan, roots...

I am packed and ready to board a plane tomorrow for Long Island, New York, where I will participate in Tony Tantillo's Food and Wine Festival. I'll let you know how the other side of the U.S. is thinking about food and wine when I get back. How...