OH TOURISM!

Many of the people that live full-time in Cannon Beach count on the business brought in by people visiting from out of town.  Many of us tend to forget about that while we are driving behind them or have to wait an extra 30 seconds for the crosswalk to be passable.  One of the things that I have noticed over the years happens both in and out of the car: I often notice actions that I would interpret as coming from a person who is uptight and unprepared.  My favorite example of this is  normally observed from my driver's seat on the windy part of the main drag in Cannon Beach that we all call the S-curves.  It is a well named part of the road with blind corners and, in some places, no shoulder at all.  This is not the best place for a person who is lost to do a U-turn.... But for some people - when they are stressed out and have no idea how small our town really is - apparently it is. It is very hard to get lost in our little town so keep driving until it is safe my friends.

Just a few days ago I was stopped by a woman who was looking for tide pools and a place that she had heard about that "was like a stream or something" where here kids could swim.  As I was attempting to guide her in the correct direction, I started to sense the same feeling I get from the U-turn people.  She was asking questions like she was afraid she was going to miss Ecola creek and even when I told her that it runs all the way from the mountains to the ocean and that they would run into it if they walked north on the beach, she still seemed stressed out.  What kind of vacation is she on?  At that point I decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to tell her about the 27 horses that like just up stream from where her kids would be  swimming.  She didn't look like she could have handled the task of finding another swimming place for the kiddos. 

So here is my advice to people coming to visit my town or maybe before you go on vacation anywhere...

Cannon Beach is a small town and not too complicated in which to get around.  Before you make your way out here look us up on Google map and just get an idea of the layout.  When you feel like you are getting lost or confused about where you are, just go with it.  More than likely you don't really have a time frame for relaxation... and if you do you're not doing it right.  Some of the best things done on vacations can be the things you find by accident.  Look for a farmers market, too... I hear there are some good eats at those. ;p

RAIN OR SHINE

This is the third or fourth time I have attempted to write this blog.  It seems that every time I make an attempt I get a block and set the computer aside to take a break and when I make it back it freezes up.  So perhaps this time, due to how many times I have tried, I will be able to get this out all in one sitting.  It may be rough with the sun being out...

The weather report is all sun... until this coming Tuesday.  The past two Tuesdays have shown us some rain and some shine.  They have also been two of the best markets we have seen yet.  It has been nice to see the people out and doing things even when the rain is threatening.  I think that the northwest spirit must rub off on the out-of-towners.  We met a couple from the south two weeks ago who was here on vacation.  They came back for seconds even though it rained almost the whole time they were there.  That is the way things tended to go the last two weeks.  When it rained and I was hanging out under the tent, we would get busy and I would be grilling.  Grilling in the rain... that is so NW.  

The computer did freeze again but thanks to Google Chrome I was able to get it back! Thanks for nothing Internet Explorer. 

LOTSA THOGHTS

It has been an interesting week for me and I've had many things to think about.  The market wasn't as busy as I thought it was going to be so I have been selling my extra fish to friends and today a stranger.  However things turn out you still have to make the best of them.  Last market was also the first time I served iced tea.  I chose iced tea because I had many people tell me to do it as they thought it would be a hot seller and they would buy it.  None of those people came to buy it and .... that could be because I didn't tell them I had it.  None-the-less I think lemonade is still the thing everyone seems to be in the mood for. 

MEAT!  Meat is one of the other things on my mind lately.  Some say that if I serve meat then I would be going against my name. Fish X Salad mentions nothing about meat.  Perhaps a surf and turf is in order?

I have also been rolling the idea of some packaged dressings or pesto.  Anything that will get more people to the booth.  I have a lot of rosemary and have been dreaming of making a pesto out of it with some garlic scapes.  What would you want to buy at the market to take back to your hotel if you were here in Cannon Beach?  We do have some amazing cheese being sold at the market that could be made into a dip or spread.  Really the possibilities are endless.

LOVING WORK

Some of you may know what I do for work every day.  For those of you that do not I spend my days weeding, deadheading flowers, and watering plants.  So when it comes time to do all that stuff at home you would think that I would try and avoid it.  Yesterday I spent a few hours in my garden weeding, planting, and watering.  It may have been the beer I was able to enjoy while I was doing it but I had a great time.  It is really cool to see the difference between work work and fun work when they are basically the same thing.  In one case I guess you could say that I am like an office worker that has to send email at work and then all so enjoys doing in my spare time. 

Don't get me wrong my friends, I love my job and think about how lucky I am almost every day.   When it rains I am not always so in love with my profession.  None the less it is amazing being outside all day.  That is one reason Seaing Greens has been so much fun.  Most likely I will reach the same or close to the same conclusion about cooking outside as gardening outside when it rains on me the first time.      

FROM MY FOOD SOUL

Lately, I have had some people come up to me and say things like,"Don't ever stop cooking."  I enjoy hearing those things but at the same time I find it kind of silly.  When someone says that to you after only eating your food one time... well, it's kinda strange.  I will just be honest and say that I don't really feel I am cooking anything special.  What I do with food just comes natural to me;  food is such a part of my life that it is really hard to explain the connection I have with it.  So to the people that are really impressed with my food, I say thank you and don't worry, I don't plan on getting out of the food world any time soon.  It all just depends on what the food world throws at me next. 

The health department likes to make rules that show us that the people making the rules haven't worked in a kitchen and have no idea how ingredients need to be treated.  Corporate farms keep getting bigger and caring less about quality and more about the money.  Television like the Food Network tend to glamorize chefs and make it hard to face the public in out coats for fear of some wannabe foodie will want to "talk shop" with you because they cooked a thirty-minute meal with Rachel Ray.  All of these things are reasons that I have left the business in the past.  I tend to just get fed up with things and want a more simple life.  I just want to cook really fresh, good tasting, simple food.  That is it. 

Some one else can have the glamor - just give me the flavor.

AM I FLYING TIME OR IS IT FLYING?

Wow WEE its been a close to a week since I last Blogged.  I am starting to figure out that blogging is much like a religion.  If let yourself fall behind on studies or meditation it gets harder and harder to get back into in.  I really enjoy blogging and was getting to a point were I was really looking forward to getting off work just to put down my thoughts.  After the last market I was so sleepy I decided to skip my blog that night after I started to fall asleep trying to find something to watch on net flix.  When I woke up and noticed that I had not even signed in I thought that maybe it was time to sleep.  I actually did have a blog all ready to go the next night but my computer froze up and I lost it.  I didn't like that one anyhow so I guess the universe knows whats best.  The next night I helped some friends move and made dinner.  After a long day of deadheading flowers and being bent over for 8 hours the last thing you want to do is move a bunch of heavy things.  And the last thing you feel like doing after work and moving is... well you don't feel like doing anything at all.   So here I am wondering where all the time went.  Seems like I should have enough time to sit down type for a few minutes at least every day.  So if you follow this blog and you don't get anything new to read I would love it if you called me out.  I always have something to say... just not sure you are always going to want to hear it ;P

SAME OLE SAME OLE

The market tonight was fun once again.  We did just about the same amount of sales but it did not feel as busy.  I hope its just getting easy and was not just a slow market.  We did rockfish tacos today and sold out in almost an hour.  I don't know what it is about fish tacos but people just seem to love them.  It was really funny because even when we were out I has some people come up an ask if we still had tacos left.  When I told them no they said that they were not going to get them anyway... they just wanted to know if we still had them.  I think they were on a diet or something and maybe they were not feeling deprived enough.  Whats up with that?  So even though it wasn't really the same ole thing product wise, it was on the numbers side.  It does not bother me. In fact it makes me happy because I know that we are really going to kill it next month when all the kids have been out of school a bit longer.  Now is the time to start thinking about products that can be taken back to a hotel room.  Any suggestions?

QUICKIE

Rhubarb-lemonade...I'm out (dropping drumsticks)

TEAZ ME

After a great yoga session yesterday I was chatting with my teacher about my lemonade dilemma.  She bought up another solution that has been suggested to me before.  I think iced tea is something that a lot of people love.  Again the problem for me is that tea is not something that people grow and harvest here in Oregon.  She had a solution to that also.  There is a tea company here in Oregon that makes a really tasty mint tea.  Steve Smith is someone a lot of you know about but maybe not by name.  Smith is the master mind behind Stash tea and also Tazo.  After selling those two companies you would think he would just kick back and live the stress free life but not this guy.  Smith tea is all made in small batches and just like Stash and Tazo they are put together in Portland.  Even better for me and my insane need to have as much of my product from local sources, the mint tea is straight mint and from Oregon! So mint tea is to come and some lemonade from time to time. That could make one heck of an Arnold Palmer!

TO LEMONADE OR NOT TO LEMONADE

This is the question!  Before I knew I was going to be participating in the Cannon Beach farmers market I can remember stating my opinion of the rule that only lemonade and bottled water could be sold by the food vendors.  I thought is was really stupid for many reasons.  First off why are we using lemons when they are not local?  Is the focus of this market not local products? Why are we encouraging the sale of more plastic?  I could just be making a big deal out of nothing. I am sure that many people think that.  The big problem now is that I have made these things a subject of many of my conversations about the market.  Now that it is clear that I do need a drink to serve at the market I am looking for a drink I can make out of local things that will also go well with fish.  I don't want to say it but the best thing I can think of is LEMONADE!  So is it ok to make it now that I have trash talked it and the people that just may be thinking of doing that despicable and horrible thing?  I think it is... but only if i put some local things into it.  Anyone up for some rosemary infused lemonade?

WHERE I SHOULD BE

While I was cooking at the last market one of the guys I work with at my other job made a comment that really struck a cord with me.  He said that it was nice to see me cooking again and that I was doing what I should be doing.  I had to smile to myself because I was having a great time and very much agreed with him.  I got out of the chef trade for many reasons.  All of the reasons I got out of it for I am able to keep in check with my new venture.  One of the biggest problems with the food world in my opinion is the way that the food gets to your plate.  They're really are to many stops between the farm and the table.  And because of that maybe we are all missing out on the excitement of the seasons and what each can bring to our table.  I remember being a kid and wanting a watermelon or corn in December and not being able to get it.  Summer ended up being my favorite time of year because I could have corn on the cob and cantaloupe.  Now I can have that any time of the year.  I have to ask myself a question when I see those things on the table or on a menu out of season. Was it really worth it for someone to spent the extra money on shipping this to me? And if it costs more to ship something from Chile than it does to drive it up the road from a local farm why is the foreign products cheaper?  Cooking at a farmers market helps me not have to worry about any of that because when I run out of veg or salad all I have to do is walk a few feet and get some more.  That even takes some of the stress out of shopping too!   

KILLING IT THE FIRST TIME

Cannon Beach Farmers Market went well on Tuesday. So well that I did not get a blog up like I had planned because of my lack of energy.  I am still lacking the brain power to type and make sense so I will make this short.  The big news of the day for me came from my friend Jen that runs the market.  She suggested to the CBFM board that I be there every week like she had suggested months ago and I had wanted all along.  I guess they liked Seaing Greens because they said yes!  So I will be cooking every Tuesday.  Salmon and Sturgeon will most likely be on the menu again and I hear talk of some rock cod being avalible.  I am also thinking I will be using some of the local strawberries to make a strawberry basil dressing. 

SWIMMY THINGS

Hey all!  I will be getting up supper early on Sunday to go to Astoria and pick up my Chinook salmon and my sturgeon!  I am getting very excited about this new adventure in my life! Starting a business has always been something I have looked forward to.  Every one I know that has went into business for themselves has always told me that is was one of the scariest things they have ever done.  I am starting to see what they were talking about.  Putting the fear aside it is very exciting and already fulfilling.  No matter what emotion is playing in my head Tuesday I plan on bringin it!  

CRUNCH TIME!

One week and counting till the first Cannon Beach Farmers Market!  I had a chat with the fish people last night and it looks like if I am lucky, or if the fishermen are lucky, I will be grilling king salmon and sturgeon.  I will be serving those over organic greens with your choice of dressings.  I will have three dressings to choose from but not sure what they will be till I see whats fresh. Guess you will just have to show up and to find out what they will be.  Hope to see you there!

Growing up!

Cannon Beach Farmers Market starts in a few weeks and I am going to be a part of it.  I have thought for years about how nice it would be to be my own boss and now I am going to be giving it a try.  I have planted a garden and have been planning a menu.  This is the big test!  stay tuned to find out what tasty treats i will be grilling up!