12/06/10 - Around Port Angeles

We were exploring downtown Port Angeles and dropped into the new Blow Hard Glass Gallery which is down on Railroad Avenue. Railroad Avenue always seemed like the industrial poor sister to Front and First Streets, which was a pity as it is the first street one sees getting off a ferry from Victoria. The new bus terminal and related work seem to have improved things a bit, and the new glass gallery is a great new addition. (Yes, we know, they opened in May, but readers of this site know that we are always months and often years behind the times.)

We also dropped into the Princess Valiant Coffee shop, and picked up some of their fresh roasted coffee. We were pleased to see that they also sell Dry Creek Farm eggs among other things.

We then dropped into Port Book and News, but we've entered the Christmas book embargo. Basically, no one is allowed to buy him or herself any books lest this interfere with the other's gift book buying. There is a reason we call this the most skulkiest time of the year. We really liked the little motorized amusement park in the front window. It's a great holiday season touch.


Click the image for video

Prince Valiant, more than coffee

Lots more than coffee

Blow Hard Glass Studio

More glass

Keywords: christmas, dry creek farm, port angeles


07/30/09 - Farmers' Market Update

We haven't been reporting on the Port Angeles Farmers' Market lately, so it's time for an update.

Right now, the market is in full swing. We've seen the Johnston Farm, Lazy J, Nash Huber, Red Dog, The Family Farm, Westwind, Rick's, Black Sheep and a number of others including the Korean lady who has great garlic. We've probably missed a few in that list, so we'll apologize now, and next time we'll take better notes.

One farmer we had been waiting for was Harley of Dry Creek, who has excellent organic eggs. He had been between flocks of chickens, but we had expected him in late June. Now he's back, and we're glad to see him.

We've been to the Saturday market and the Wednesday market at the Gateway, and this last Wednesday we noticed a new non-farm vendor, Chocolate Serenade with handmade chocolate truffles. We particularly liked the cayenne pepper truffles, but, then again, we like spicy food.


Dry Creek Farm is back

Lazy J

Chocolate Serenade

The Johnston Farm

Black Sheep Farm

Keywords: dry creek farm, farmers' market, johnston farm, nash huber, port angeles


05/10/09 - Farmers' Market Update

The Port Angeles Farmers' Market is really gearing up with more and more vendors arriving each weekend. The stalwarts, Westwind, Johnston and Nash Huber, were there along with a lot of others including Red Dog, Bob's, Black Sheep, Lazy J farms. (We apologize if we missed a few.)

The big news this week is that Westwind Farms has their amazing asparagus, but do come early.

Tuna Dan was the first regular at the market selling seafood, right now halibut and ling cod; he has been joined by at least two others include Wild West and Quil Bay. The latter two are selling clams and oysters, as well as fish. This has been a great new addition to the market.

There were also two bakeries at the market. Bell Street Bakery had their own booth from Sequim and Joy's mom was selling her own from another booth. Joy runs Joy's Wine Bistro in Port Angeles, in case you were wondering.

The Kim Chi lady was selling her Korean pickled cabbage and other Korean goodies. There is nothing like good strong Korean garlic. We also found out that it was Dynasty Restaurant selling dim sun. This time they had a nice sign.

We also saw Harley of Dry Creek Farm, though we didn't get a change to talk to him. We're hoping his chickens will be laying in June, and he'll be back with his Dry Creek stand.


Local produce is what it is all about.

Clams, oysters and fish - free nettles, what an incentive

More clams, oysters and seafood

Bell Street Bakery

Joy's Mom's bread

Vegetables and ...

... more vegetables

Dim sun from Dynasty

Kim Chi and other Korean goodies

Keywords: dry creek farm, farmers' market, farms, nash huber, port angeles, oysters, westwind farm



01/17/09 - Kim Chi Pancakes and the Port Angeles Farmers Market

The winter isn't a great time for the Port Angeles Farmers' Market. It is still held every Saturday in the Clallam County Courthouse parking lot from 10AM to 2PM, but there are only a few farmers and venders there. The regulars include Westwind Farm, Dry Creek Farm, Tuna Dan and Nash Huber.

Harley at Dry Creek Farm says his hens are laying through the winter thanks to his new henhouse and the new breed of hens he has. He sold 100 dozen eggs in perhaps an hour this last Saturday, so come early. Also, in February, he will be selling stewing hens. He says the new lot is not quite as fatty, and the birds are a bit smaller, but we know that there is nothing quite like a good old stewing hen, braised for a winter dish.

A new regular at the market is the Korean kim chi and garlic lady. We haven't gotten her name yet, but she sells great big heads of garlic which seem to be much stronger than a lot of local garlic. She also sells jars of kim chi, Korean spicy pickled cabbage, and kim chi pancakes. We haven't tried the kim chi proper, but the pancakes are delicious. No, they aren't horribly spicy, but they have a nice light burn.

We don't expect a lot of action at the market this time of year. We've been enjoying the steelhead from Tuna Dan, and we've been rounding up the usual vegetables at Westwind and Nash Huber's. Things may be a bit slow, but the market is open, and it is still worth a trip.

Keywords: dry creek farm, farmers' market, nash huber, port angeles, winter, westwind farm, birds, garlic lady



The Port Angeles Farmers' Market at the county courthouse

10/11/08 - Farmers' Market Update

We've been regulars at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market, but we haven't said much about it lately. We really should. This cool summer has delayed a lot of the produce, but now the lacinato kale, the pumpkins and winter squashes, the potatoes, the braising greens, the fennel and garlic are all in. The Johnston Farm still has a few of their melons. Dry Creek Farm is out of stewing hens until January, but they still have their wonderful eggs. Some farmers still have a few tomatoes, but the real fall harvest is coming in. For more info, check out the market website, or our market fan site.

Keywords: dry creek farm, farmers' market, johnston farm, port angeles, kale


02/09/08 - Eggs At The Market

The winter is the slowest time of the year for hens, so it is sometimes hard to get farm fresh eggs. The good news is that Westwind Farm has been selling their eggs through the season, and they've been excellent. The other good news is that Dry Creek Farm is back with a new flock of chickens, so there are now two stands selling eggs at the market. Don't be surprised if some of them are double yolkers. Young hens often lay eggs with two yolks in them.

The final good news is that Dry Creek Farm is selling stewing hens again. For more on the glories of stewing hens and our coq au vin recipe, see our Stewing Hen Page. You can call Harley and arrange to pick up a frozen bird or two at 360 457 2943. These might be tough old birds, but they are delicious stewed.

Keywords: birds, dry creek farm, winter, farmers' market, westwind farm, recipe


01/13/08 - Dry Creek Farm Update

We dropped by Dry Creek Farm to buy some eggs. There were no eggs, but there was an explanation. Harley, once again, is between flocks. He has 179 hens ramping up for production starting in late February. That's a lot of chicken power. We'll miss his eggs, but we'll save the date.

Keywords: dry creek farm, farms


07/10/07 - Death Cake 2007: The Best Ever

This year's death cake was special. Instead of good old fashioned Baker's chocolate, we used 100% Plantations Arriba chocolate from eChocolates.com. Hands down, this was the best death cake ever!

Of course, some of the difference may have resulted from our using Dungeness Valley Creamery milk and Dry Creek Farm eggs. If you study our recipe, you'll see that an important component of the cake is a chocolate pudding made of milk, brown sugar, egg yolk and chocolate. We used a full bar and a bit more of a Plantations bar (over 4 oz), and the chocolate flavor had a magnificent bitter note that was missing in earlier death cakes.

We also used a bar of chocolate for the fudge Cockaigne icing. It didn't dissolve all that well. There was a bit of chocolate residue that formed while we brought the batch to the soft ball stage, but the icing was creamier and richer than usual.

The death cake can be a challenge to make, but the proof is in the eating. As far as we Kalebergs are concerned, this is the best chocolate cake ever.

Keywords: food, dry creek farm, dungeness, milk, recipe, kale



05/05/07 - Peashoots and Asparagus at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market

We are just back from the Farmers' Market, and we have to report that spring is moving along.

Westwind Farm has the most amazing asparagus. We've never tasted any this good before. Go for the big fat ones, if there are any left when you get their. When you get them home, peel them and steam them, or boil them. Also, this may be the last week they have their nettles, so hurry up if you want to dry making nettle soup or ravioli.

The Johnston Farm is selling pea shoots, a sure sign of the season. They also have their baby potatoes, lots of herbs, carrots and coriander.

Harley at Dry Creek Farm says that his salad greens are doing nothing, but he does have his eggs. His organic oats are also doing well, but the cold weather has slowed things.

Nash Huber has great looking Swiss chard and lots of little cauliflowers. We bought three bunches of the stuff, so we'll be making our Swiss chard and tuna spaghetti again real soon.

Keywords: farms, nash huber, dry creek farm, johnston farm, food, spring, farmers' market, westwind farm


12/02/06 - Dry Creek Farm Updated

We hadn't heard from Harley or seen any of his eggs at his stand or in the markets, so we were wondering. Luckily, Port Angeles is a small town, so we just ran into Harley at the local supermarket and got the story. Basically, it's the season. Less light and an aging flock mean fewer eggs. The big snow last Sunday was a big problem as well. Chickens are tropical jungle fowl, so they tend to stay in the coop when there is a foot of snow on the field. He hopes to have his new hens settled in and laying this January, so we have something to look forward to in the new year.

Keywords: dry creek farm, farms, port angeles


11/01/06 - Dry Creek Farm: The Chicken AND The Egg!

We had not been seeing Harley at the Farmers' Market so we dropped by the farm and checked out the farmstand. We didn't see Harley, but the farmstand was there, and someone was gathering the eggs, greens and other goodies. The eggs were as good as ever, and having loaded up on these wonderful certified organic eggs, we decided it was time to take one of our Dry Creek Farm stewing hens out of the freezer and cook Moroccan.

The dish you see on the right does not look like much. Yes, that is a later of eggs and herbs on top. The black things sticking out of it are kalamatas olives, and the yellow things are bits of pickled lemon. Underneath it all lies the savory cooked hen. We use the recipe in Paula Wolfert's immortal Couscous and Other Good Food From Morocco, but in some ways ours is more farm house authentic. After all, what sensible Moroccan house wife would serve up a hen who was still laying eggs. Sure, the local emir might serve up some spring chickens, but the real home recipe was probably a version adapted for stewing hens.

The secret is simple. Just ignore Paula Wolfert's timing and cook the hen until the meat is tender, about two hours in our case. We've adapted her recipe for Djej Masquid Bil Beid:

We rub our stewing hen with garlic and salt then put it in a big pot with 1 cup chopped parsley, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 cup grated onion, a pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1 tsp black pepper, 1/4 cup of butter, a pinch of saffron, and 3 cinnamon sticks. We fill with water to cover the bird and then bring it to a boil and simmer it forever, maybe two hours, maybe longer. The meat should be tender, taste it.

Then, we put the chicken in a deep baking dish, tossing any loose skin, bones and the cinnamon sticks and we cook down the boiling liquid while we crack and beat a dozen eggs and add two dozen split, pitted kalamatas olives, a couple of salt cured lemons and 1/2 cup of chopped parsley. When the liquid has cooked down perhaps by a factor of two, maybe a bit more, we pour it over the chicken and then pour on the egg mixture which will comprise the upper layer.

To finish, we put the casserole covered in a 350F oven with the lid on for about 20 minutes. Then we take off the lid and let the eggs brown, raising the oven temperature if we are in a hurry.

The Dry Creek Farm Honor Stand

Chicken Meshmel also known as Djej Masquid Bil Beid

Keywords: farms, dry creek farm, food, spring, farmers' market, recipe


Stewing Hen

06/17/06 - Dry Creek Farm Stewing Hens

While we were buying eggs at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market, Harley informed us that Dry Creek Farm will be selling stewing hens this coming Friday, June 23rd Monday, June 26th, after 3PM at the farm on Rife Road. These are tough old birds, literally, but properly braised they are amazingly flavorful. They also make wonderful chicken stock, so get one while you can.

Keywords: birds, farms, dry creek farm, food, port angeles, farmers' market


Potato, red pepper, broccoli and onion omelet

06/20/05 - Our Dry Creek Piperade

We really like this omelet, and we haven't made it for a real long time. It is a good hearty breakfast, but also makes a good lunch or dinner. It uses Yukon Gold potatoes, red peppers, sweet onions and the magic ingredient, at least around our house, broccoli. We try to use farm fresh ingredients, but this time of year, we just settle for organic. Later this summer we'll try it again with local produce, but we always use Dry Creek Farm organic eggs.

Click here for an illustrated how to guide.

Keywords: food, farms, dry creek farm