Eastmoreland Market & Kitchen

Standing behind the counter, pouring wine for a couple of good friends that came in to purchase Spanish ingredients for a solstice party they were planning, I was countered by my friend Bill to ” UPDATE YOUR WEBSITE DAMNIT! “…..

So here goes Bill! To a NEW YEAR, to many adventures and to many people at your table.

This New Year brings many thoughts to e.moreland kitchen.

How can we reach more people to understand and cherish what it is exactly that we are doing. How can we make a difference in how each and every one of you purchases  food for your table….How can we help you make these choices….. How can we convince you to shop local, to stay away from these mass produced, hormone injected products? How can we get each and every one of you to watch FOOD INC ?

We set our standards high at e.moreland market. You won’t ever be able to buy a piece of any meat less than $2.49/#….we abhor any and all feed lots. We know exactly how our poultry arrives to our case.  We only purchase locally raised and  sustainable meats. When in season, our produce is all organic and local. Right now, 60% ( in Mid January ) is all local. We are proud to support our local farmers. When not at farmers markets ( Nov. to March ) our farmers rely on us and local restaurants to keep their livelihoods. By supporting us, you help our farmers maintain until market. There are only a couple of markets in Portland that support local farmers year round. We are ONE of them.

Gathering Together Farms, Creative Growers, Cycle Crop Farms, year round.

May this new decade help you to decide new practices in the kitchen and in health.

SALUD!,

Patrick, Colleen, Jesse, Cody, Laura, Nate & Jude

I can’t help it, if a farmer winks at me, it’s like a firefighter winking at me. Kinda makes the knees buckle. I guess I’ve had this mark on me since I was a little girl. I hold my  Dad mostly  responsible. Not only did he raise us on a small dairy farm in Bayford, England for five years where we knew every one of the farmers and the cows by name, he would also take us to visit his seven uncles down in Central California every summer we had the chance to visit . Most of them were Almond farmers with acres and acres of beautiful groves. Long walks and many lessons later, five kids asking multiple questions, Uncle Rene, Dale,  and Winfred  all used to wink at us and it would always make me smile. I admired their passion for their land and the intense physical labours they endured daily to provide for their families. They never had a clean nail or a clean pair of pants between them, but they certainly knew how to laugh and they lived the walk they talked. Your food should come from as close to home as possible

After twelve years at Tuscany Grill and for the majority of that time always using local produce, it wasn’t until we opened this store that I personally got to develop such great relationships with our own local farmers.  I can listen to each and every one of  them for hours. Each person is so dedicated to their land, to the organic efforts that they practice,and to bringing to our table the freshest produce available in the N.W.  I’m amazed and in awe when I get the opportunity to talk to them. Why anyone would buy bulk from Mexico or outside of Oregon right now is just  mind boggling to me. We are some of the very luckiest people on this planet and for it to be so affordable is such a grace.

Our  neighborhood, down here in S.E. is pretty darn fortunate. Our farmers produce on a semi small scale, providing most of Portland’s upscale restaurants with their fresh ingredients. Because we are not a major chain, or a large grocery, they are also able to provide us with their premium produce. I don’t  think there is any other store in Portland  on the small grocery scale, aside from Pastaworks on Hawthorne, that works with so many local farmers. I’m really proud of that.

This post is just a shout out to all our wonderful hard working men and women in the fields. They work day and night to bring us the best available. Some are outside Eugene, some are near Corvallis, and one is practically right in our own back yard……  Gathering Together Farms, Creative Growers, Nature’s Fountain Farm, Sweet Leaf Farm, Greenleaf Farms and Cycle Crops Farm. I am so excited for this season and what it brings.

Remember, if you can’t make it to the farmers market, know that our market has what is available and what is in season right now!  If you have your own plot, bring in what you can’t use, we gladly have a communal crops table. Bring what you have, take what you don’t.

e.moreland market & KITCHEN makes fresh mozzarella daily. Get that basil in the ground and enjoy a Caprese salad with house dried sun dried tomatoes. Our fantastic tomatoes are a good seven weeks out, but we can dream of them! I love Oregon..

We are making fresh soups, salads and meals to go with the local produce provided in our store.

Happy  Spring! Happy Planting!

It’s been a great week! I think the most prominent part of the week that has been on my mind is our incredible Blazer Boys!!! Max and I were in the 300 seats with die hard fans on Monday and walked away wondering why we are not season ticket holders! What a scene! What a wonderful part of Portland to experience! I came back into work on Tuesday and said the same thing… what a great part of Portland e.moreland market is. We reach so many people in various ways, I constantly wonder how we can become a team in this neighborhood. We work every day to bring you the best we know how in such a small space. The fact that so many of you celebrate that just makes us want to come to work daily. Thank You!!!

This email is a celebration of you and the fact that we love Rudy Fernandez of the Blazers and we will be celebrating his outstanding rookie NBA  record breaking 3 pt. shots this season with his own sandwich,

The 3 Point Rudy

Because Rudy is from Espana we will commemorate a  ” Bocadillo de Calamares con Jamon Serrano y Queso Mahon on Friday and Saturday for lunch.

Also, we just hit the news wave, check us out at wweek.com/story.php?story=12424&hood=7

William and his parents are regular customers of Eastmoreland Market & Kitchen, and he is asking your help to get his family to Europe.

The Port of Portland and KGW are holding a contest called “Be a Local Superhero” to promote nonstop overseas flights from Portland. William’s parents thought it would be fun to make a short video, and it  ended up being chosen as one of the 3 finalists. The overall best video is being chosen by public vote, and that’s where you come in. William really wants his parents to win the four tickets so that he can go to Europe too. William’s 2 favorite items at Eastmoreland Market & Kitchen are the arancine and the tortilla espanola, and he would love to experience them first-hand in Spain and Italy (although we are all pretty certain that it doesn’t get any better than what Pat & Colleen are serving up right here in Portland). So please see his video and vote.

http://www.kgw.com/contest/flypdx/

William and his parents thank you in advance!

With the unemployment rate in Oregon at over 10% and rising, more Oregon families are experiencing hunger for the first time. As a result, local food resources are being taxed to the breaking point. Blog for Food is an effort on the part of Oregon bloggers to help by raising funds for the Oregon Food Bank, the hub of a network of 915 hunger-relief agencies in Oregon and Clark County, Washington. And when you donate, please enter “Blog for Food” in the “Tribute Gift: In honor of:” space on the donation form so we can update you on how it’s going. Thanks for helping those less fortunate!

The last couple of weeks have been lots of fun at the market. We are so lucky to be the “hub” or as one regular called it, the ”chalet”  of the neighborhood. It was beautiful to watch the snow falling from our open windows while soups were simmering. It felt like the whole neighborhood came out to say hello. As Pat and I looked at each other at the end of each day, we both said ” Everyday should be a snow day in Eastmoreland! ” .

We look forward to 2009 as change is around the corner . We have been at the store for one year and so much has happened during that  short time.  Twelve years owning Tuscany Grill in N.W. Portland, we never imagined owning the little store in our own neighborhood. Circumstances and a leap of faith landed us where we are. We wanted to change the store to reflect what we really love but also wanted to keep the spirit of what it has always been. After twelve months of butchering, stocking, ordering and cooking, we are finally coming into what we envisioned eighteen months ago. We love this store and have come to know so many wonderful people because of it.

Thank you for your continued support and we wish you and your families a very Happy New Year!!

Pat, Colleen, Jesse, Carlos, Jon, Cody and Nathan

We are now featuring 6 mouth watering sandwiches, three hot, three cold. Think piled high muffeleta on round Italian bread — the olive mixture is melding together right now. Or perhaps you would prefer the Reuben with Jessie’s spicy slaw. We also are serving turkey breast with daily chutney, portabello, havarti and mixed greens on ciabatta and our tender pulled pork. And, don’t forget the killer burgers.

In addition, you can always build your own sandwich, but with these options, we don’t know why you would want to.

Fall is here, and our produce case is full of delicious locally-harvested fruits and vegetables, including:

• Fresh Local Apples
• Fresh Local Pears
• A Variety of Sweet and Spicy Peppers
• Pumpkins
• Winter Squash
• Fresh Greens

Photo by Caitlin Barringer