Luscher Farms Chicken Coop

Luscher Farm chicken coop dedication honors efforts of Riccardo Spaccarelli
By Cliff Newell The Lake Oswego Review, Jan 7, 2010

Usually it is things like ships, statues and buildings that receive dedication ceremonies.
But the chicken coop at Luscher Farm was deemed suitable for this honor by

the Friends of Luscher Farm.
After all, without the chicken coop there might no longer be a Luscher Farm.

And for the chicken coop, Lake Oswego must thank Riccardo Spaccarelli.
“We wanted to dedicate the sign as a way to thank Riccardo for all he’s done,” said Laura Masterson, director of 47th Avenue Farm. “It is also a way for people, when they come to the farm, to learn more about what the Friends of Luscher Farm group is doing.”

So recently, a friends group – Spaccarelli, his daughter Maria Morrison, Kathe Worsley, Tom Scheile, Russell Jones, and Masterson – showed up in cold, drizzling weather to dedicate the sign.
Also in full attendance were the chickens and all of the other birds who live in the coop, and they handled the frigid weather much better than the humans.
But the beautiful sign was worth the effort. On it, Spaccarelli explains the history of the chicken coop. There is also a photo of Spaccarelli, his dog Buck, and his old pal Rudie Luscher, the late former owner of the farm.
“There was no Rudie Luscher signage around here,” Spaccarelli said. “We needed to have some. Rudie sold this farm to the city and made the project possible. He started a precedent.”
The Riccardo-Rudie friendship began one day in the early 1990s when Spaccarelli was out running with his dogs near the hills of Luscher Farm.
“I was wanting to have access to the property and also do some bird training,” Spaccarelli said. “I decided to come to the farmhouse and knock on the door.

I introduced myself to Rudie and he was very kind. We developed a friendship.
“Rudie loved to chat. I used to come over and talk to him for an hour before running my dogs.”
Luscher ended up almost like part of the Spaccarelli family. He allowed Spaccarelli to build a bird run to raise pheasants, quail and other birds. Spaccarelli repaid him by picking berries for Rudie’s wife Georgette to bake pies.
“Rudie became part of my extended family,” Spaccarelli said.
As the friendship evolved, so did the dream of Luscher Farm – as a rural spot in an urban setting, as Lake Oswego’s experiment in sustainable living. The city of Lake Oswego took over the farm after Luscher’s death in 1997 and allowed Spaccarelli to keep raising his birds.
That set the tone for everything that followed. The city liked what was happening at Luscher so much that it continued to purchase agricultural property, and now has 100 acres. To preserve “this special property” the Friends of Luscher Farm,

a non-profit organization,was formed in 2004.
While Masterson farms the land, the chicken coop thrives.
“The coop is a big draw to kids,” said Worsley. “They love to come watch the birds.”
All of this makes Spaccarelli quite happy.
As he says on the sign: “Perhaps the best legacy of my friendship with Rudie Luscher is this development of the FOLF through which we can support ongoing farm projects.
“Specifically, we hope to endorse projects which are consistentwith the dreams of Rudie Luscher.”

Epitaph for a tree

I love Luscher Farm. I have gardened at Luscher Farm for years. Over these years I have grown bushels of tomatoes and potatoes, harvested peas, beans, garlic, onions, winter and summer squash, carrots, herbs and a variety of flowers from spring through late fall. Some cool weather crops like spinach, chard and broccoli have even provided us with fresh vegetables all through the winter. As the years passed I added perennial crops such as asparagus, hops and the ubiquitous rhubarb that our family had never eaten before. Spicy Rhubarb salsa has become a family favorite.
Along with growing all these wonderful organic vegetables for my family and friends there were unexpected harvests. New friendships were
established and rooted in sharing seeds, experience, help and vacation watering. Leaning across a row of beans to chat with a garden neighbor I would learn lots of garden tricks; gardeners love to share information.
Meanwhile, during the years that I was growing food at Luscher farm, the farm was also growing. The community gardens began with 20 Adult Community Center plots and at this point there are about 125 garden plots. It is absolutely wonderful to watch all the families learn and play while growing their food. It is such a healthy and happy environment . The city has done a great job of organizing and managing the community gardens and providing a wonderful learning environment for everyone.
A huge part of Luscher Farms’ learning environment is the surrounding landscape and wildlife habitat. While we garden we are surrounded by
visible and not so visible mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds. Some are more discreet than others. The Coopers Hawk will sit on top of the chicken coop and could care less if you get close. The Killdeer are always present in the community gardens (literally underfoot ) and every year some nests have to be flagged so no one accidentally walks on them. Deer and coyote are around but not as obvious as those darn moles who challenge us every year. Frogs can be heard in the wetlands below the gardens.
American Kestrels nest every year in the big Douglas Fir tree in front of the barn. Last Friday Riccardo Spaccarrelli and I looked up at the tree and watched as two Kestrels flew in and out of the Douglas Fir. Wow. They are here.
Today the iconic Douglas Fir was cut down by the city. Our tree and wildlife habitat is gone. It really is very sad. Near the barn is a sign that reads:
“Backyard Wildlife Habitat: This property provides the four basic habitat elements needed for wildlife to thrive: food, water, cover and places to raise young. It has been certified by the National Wildlife Federation as an official Backyard Wildlife Habitat site.” Oh really?

Where the American Kestrel nested for at least 15 years.

The logger just doing his job-at least we managed to

have them check all the holes for eggs before the tree

was removed.

This is all that was left. Gary Evans of the city refused to

have a snag left for valuable wildlife habitat. He didn't

want the visual reminder of what had been there for at least 150 years.

Really too bad as it would have been a wonderful sorce of learning

for all ages.- not just children.

D is for Dopiaza

(double click to enlarge recipe)

Dopiaza means double and in cooking curries it means double onions. Well, I never met an onion that I didn't like let alone a recipe that asks for double onions! Our good friends from Cody Wyoming were here in town for a Bible Study Fellowship conference. They were able tomake time to see us on their last full day. Unfortunately Dave had too many full days and rested at the hotel while we took Toni to a local Lebanese Restaurant that we love. Hoda's is located in the Belmont area of Portland. http://www.hodas.com/

Meanwhile, once Toni and Dave got home they ordered this cookbook for us The Great Curries of India. They recommended this recipe found on page 106! Thank you Toni and Dave!

So here we go.......................

Two days later our house still has an odor of India in it-whew

so many onions made the house stink-it stunk so much we

opened up the house and lit many sticks of incense...man o man

that is a doozy of a recipe. It took about an hour of prep work

before I could really start making the dish-

But the food was delicious and well

worth the stench and work!

I served it with a big citrus salad of oranges and grapefruit

with dates, pecans and lettuce (no onions! )

All of us enjoyed it!

Carmelized Cumin Roasted Carrots

Our paper mache elephant in the early evening light...

Here's the last "C" recipe....next week "D" is for ???

Carmelized Cumin Roasted Carrots

from http://www.epicurious.com/

serves 6

Ingredients

Non-stick vegetable oil spray

12 med to large carrots, peeled, cut on diagonal in 1/2" slices

2 tablespoons EVOO

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds

2 teaspoons kosher salt (I think this is too much)

Pre-heat oven to 400. Spray large rimmed baking sheet with

non-stick oil spray (I used parchment paper)

Combine carrots and all remaining ingredients in large bowl,

mix thoroughly and spread in prepared baking sheet.

Roast carrots until tender and lightly carmelized,

turning carrots over once for a total of 20-40 minutes.

Enjoy...they were tasty with our Spanish Rice

and Rosemary Chicken

C is for Cinnamon Raisin Bread !

To make this recipe one must first make the starter dough

using the Buttermilk Bread recipe from the great bread book:

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

here's that recipe:

Buttermilk Bread

2 cups lukewarm water

1 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 Tablespoons granulated yeast

1 1/2 Tablespoons salt

1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar

6 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

butter for greasing the pan

mix the yeast,salt and sugar with

the water and buttermilk in a 5 qt bowl

mix in the flour with a wooden spoon until totally mixed

don't allow any dry flour to show-it must be totally mixed

cover dough with a non-airtight cover for 2-3 hours.

Refrigerate for at least 3 hours and use up within 7 days.

NOTE: THIS MAKES ENOUGH DOUGH FOR 3 LOAVES

OR 3 BATCHES OF THE CINNAMON RAISIN BREAD

USE UP WITHIN 7 DAYS

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

• butter a 9x4x3 inch loaf pan
• take one cantalope size piece of the Buttermilk dough
• dust it with a bit of flour and quickly shape into a ballby stretching the surface of the dough around thebottom on all four sides-rotating 1/4 turn as you go
• with a rolling pin roll out the flour dusted dough to 8"x16"
• beat an egg with 1 T water and wash lightly over dough
• sprinkle 1/3 cup sugar mixed with 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon over dough
• sprinkle 3/4 cup raisins evenly over dough
• rollup dough from short side jelly roll style- pinch edges and sides together- tucking the ends under
• place the loaf seam side down in the prepared pan and let rest for 1hr 40min
• preheat oven to 375 and bake for 35-40min
• allow to cool (if you can wait) before slicing....YUM

Dough ready to be rolled up...

I made two loaves at once!

Heavenly delicious.......and it toasts well too!
as Julia would say "Bon appetit!!"
These two loaves didn't last long.....

Recipe #3 for 2010- C is for Caulliflower!

I actually have NOT made this yet-but thought I should at least post it-perhaps someone else will want to try it out and let me know? I have been too busy making and eating!!!! Cinnamon Raisin Bread!

Bacon and Spicy Mac 'n Cheese with Cauliflower


Ingredients:

• Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling


• 4 thick slices of smoky bacon chopped into 1/4" dice


• 1 head cauliflower trimmed and cut into bite size florets


• salt and pepper


• 4 T butter


• 3 T flour


• 3 cups milk


• 1/4 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg


• 1 pound rigatoni


• 3 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese-divided


• 3 rounded Tablespoons spicy hot mustard (or horseradish)


• 1/4 cup chopped chives or scallion tops

Preparation:

Bring a large pot of water to boil. While the water comes up to a boil, heat a bit of olive oil in a small skillet over medium-hi heat. Add the bacon and crisp-5 minutes. Drain on paper towel and reserve. Salt the boiling water and add the cauliflower. Cook for 4-5 min-remove from the pot with a strainer and reserve the pot of boiling water. Run the strainer of cauliflower under cold water to stop cooking process. Place a medium size pot over med heat. Melt butter and whisk in the flour. Cook for 1 min, then whisk in milk and seaon with salt ,pepper and nutmeg. Cook for a couple of minutes until thickened. Preheat the broiler. Drop the pasta in the same boiling water you used for the cauliflower and cook til just shy of al dente. While the pasta cooks, remove the sauce from the heat and add 2/3 of the shredded cheese and the mustard or horseradish to taste, the bacon and chives/scallion tops. Stir to combine. Drain the pasta over the cauliflower to reheatwith the hot water. Place the pasta and the cauliflower in the hot pot and add the cheese sauce. Stir to combine. Transfer to a baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Place under the broiler to brown the top. Serve with a spinach salad and some crusty bread. Enjoy!

It's February already???

A picture is worth a thousand words

and this picture only begins to tell the tale

of the huge blizzard in the Mt Sasta area of California.

Granted-they need the snow-but the destruction

was not an added bonus.

Our friends in Weed are digging out and revving up

their chain saws to take care of trees on barn roofs

and on their acreage. Good thing they have a woodstove!

Meanwhile- here in Oregon we are enjoying

finding new places for a sip or two and

several bites of yummy food.

This photo was taken at Prost. A new German pub

in a beautifully renovated house on N Mississippii
in North Portland.

http://www.prostportland.com/

And finally....we had out of town guests from Baker City

last weekend-so I tried out a Sticky Pecan Caramel Rolls

recipe from the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day

cookbook.....delicious and we ate the whole thing!

http://artisanbreadinfive.com/
YUM! and very easy!

Next on my list of breads to try is the Buttermilk Bread

and the Cinnamon Raisin Bread......burp....pardon me!