Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market

The Oregon Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market started in mid-March (we were waiting for better weather to annouce the opening--hee, hee) and is in full-swing now. The Market hops around the Rogue Valley at the end of each week--Tuesdays in Ashland, Thursdays in Medford, and Saturdays back in Ashland.

We're here to tell you that the RV Market serves up some of the most delicious baked goods ever. A visit to any of the Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market vendors will not disappoint. Many of our good, good Rogue Valley friends sell at the market. People like Pennington Farms (they were just featured in "Edible Portland"), Saucy Sisters (gotta love the name!), and Emz Blendz Soaps. Just cool, cool people with really fresh produce/products.

At this time of year, the Market offers a wide variety of fresh vegetables like arugala, broccoli, and even some bedding plants for those gardeners that can't wait to get their gardens planted.

So venture out this Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday morning and fill your market basket with the freshest, choicest local ingredients made and grown by the Rogue Valley's finest.

Historic Oregon Mailboat Runs

Here's an interesting factoid. There are only two rural mailboat routes operating in the United States--and they are both in Oregon. The photo above was taken of one of these historic mailboat runs on the Rogue River circa 1920 - 1930.

In 1897, a post office was established in the mining town of Agness, thirty-two miles from the mouth of the Rogue River in Curry County. Mailboats delivered mail and supplies to the outpost from the port town of Gold Beach. The town's first postmaster, Amaziah Aubery, named the town for his daughter. According to Oregon Geographic Names, by Lewis A. and Lewis L. McArthur (OHS Press), the unusual spelling may have been the result of an error.

Due to the mountainous and isolated terrain of southern Oregon, early settlers used boats on the Rogue River to transport themselves and goods from the ocean port at Gold Beach to interior settlements. Gold miner and farmer Elijah Huitt Price established the first mailboat service on the river in 1895 to deliver mail to about a dozen households. Mailboat operators used an eighteen-foot, double-ended rowboat, made by local resident Henry Moore, on weekly trips to pick up and deliver mail between Illahe, about forty miles from the mouth of the Rogue River, and Gold Beach. River travelers used poles to move the boats through shallow areas and pulled their boats by rope over the more treacherous rapids.

Today, the mail is still delivered to Agness by jet boats. When the Rogue River Mail Boat Company takes tourists on the river it delivers the mail from Gold Beach to Agness and back, six days a week in the summer and three days a week in the winter.

Is it the Rogue River or the Rouge River?

Here in Oregon, we spell our whitewater rafting river R-o-g-u-e. In Canada, they spell their river, R-O-U-G-E. And to make matters even more confusing, in the great state of Michigan, there is a Rogue River and a Rouge River! Whew. Almost too much Rogueness (or should we say Rougeness?).
Interestingly, both the Rogue River in Oregon and the Rouge River in Canada, each tout themselves as "one of the best whitewater rafting excursions in America, offering first class rapids throughout summer." Hmmm...it wouldn't be such a bad summer adventure plan--rafting both the Rogue and the Rouge--and then deciding for yourself which you like the best! Whichever river (or spelling) you choose...you're sure to have a top-notch whitewater rafting experience!

New Book: Rogue Valley Wine

We learn a lot from our fellow southern Oregon bloggers. The Southern Oregon Wine Blog (SOWB) just brought the newly published book, Rogue Valley Wine, to our attention. According to SOWB, the book will be released through Amazon on Monday, March 28th. Here's what SOWB had to say about the book's content:

Winemaking in Oregon began more than 150 years ago when Peter Britt of Jacksonville brought grapevine cuttings from California to create his Valley View Vineyard. By 1890, the Southern Oregon State Board of Agriculture forecast a vineyard-dotted Rogue Valley to rival "the castled Rhine... the classical vales of Italy and the sunny slopes of France." But, prohibition, which became law in Oregon four years before the rest of the country, killed the nascent industry. Not until the 1970s, when American discovered a passion for wine, was winegrowing in Southern Oregon's Rogue Valley reestablished. Pear orchards were converted to vineyards, and winemaking - not on a California scale, but rather in boutique wineries tucked away along scenic country roads - began anew and thrived.

Author Eric Weisinger grew up in the Rogue Valley wine business and now splits his time between winemaking in New Zealand and consulting for wineries in Oregon. Freelance writer MJ Daspit resides in Ashland, Oregon and pens articles on its past and present periodicals. This volume's photographs come from the Southern Oregon Historical Society and the people of the Southern Oregon wine industry.

The book will be released on Amazon on March 28, 2011. You can preview the book and pre-order now!

Rogue River Salad

At triple "W," we love Oregon hazelnuts. So last week, we had an over-the-top moment. Lucky us. We got the Oregon grower, Darlene Chambers (left hand side of the photo above), and renown cookbook author, Jan Roberts-Dominguez, together to talk hazelnuts and preview the new "Oregon Hazelnut Country" cookbook. Jan is a talent. She researched, wrote and designed the recipes/stories for this unique cookbook. She also included many of her beautiful watercolors sprinkled throughout the cookbook's recipes and stories.

Interesting factoid:  Oregon produces over 99% of the nation's domestic crop of hazelnuts (also known as filberts).

We were lucky enough to have Jan sign the book and, to our surprise, she included in the cookbook the recipe for "Rogue River Salad"--and the story behind the recipe. See, about a year ago, triple "W" contacted Jan after seeing her recipe for Jan's hazelnut caramels. We figured if she could create something that great with sugar, she might be able to improvise a unique hazelnut river salad--designed just for our lucky Rogue River guests. And that's exactly what Jan did. Below is the fabulous recipe she created especially for Whitewater Warehouse's lucky river guests but you'll love it too--on or off the river.


Want to get your hands on this unique cookbook? You can order it through the Oregon Hazelnut Marketing Board or directly off Jan's own website. Price is $24.95 plus shipping. Want to read a longer review of Oregon Hazelnut Country before buying it? Click here for more information about the Oregon Hazelnut Country cookbook.

Rogue River Rafting Trip Celebrates Oregon Craft Beer Month

OK, OK, so it's only March but, people, you've got to put important dates like this on your calendar! July 17 - 19 (coincidently July is Oregon Craft Beer month) Whitewater Warehouse is sponsoring an Oregon Craft Beer-Rogue River rafting trip--featuring the uber-popular Ninkasi Brewing Co.

To hop things up a bit more, Ninkasi's president, Jamie Floyd, will be on the rafting trip to answer questions about the variety of craft beers the company brews and the process that each beer goes through to acquire that unique, one-of-a-kind Ninkasi taste. Ninkasi's popularity has shot into the Craft-Beer-Drinking-Stratophere. The company's Facebook page has almost 16,000 "likes" (fans) and counting!

Making the trip even more brew-cooler (if that is possible), Ginger Johnson creator of the popular site, www.WomenEnjoyingBeer.com will be along to show how Ninkasi's different beers pair with unique food combinations. She and Jamie will be available during the beer tastings each evening before dinner to discuss the various beers' subtle and distinctive flavorings. "I'm thrilled to be a part of Whitewater's 2011 Rogue River Craft Beer trip again this year. Last year's trip was such a blast and I expect this year's trip will be fabulous too. Itching to go!"


What could be better than sun, fun, warm water, and yum-o-licous brews from Ninkasi each evening? Nothing. So book this unique July 17 - 19, 2011 Rogue River rafting and craft beer tasting trip today by calling the friendly folks at: 1-800-214-0579.

Cost is $950 per guest (double occupancy). You'll spend three days rafting the wild and scenic Rogue River, two nights at different lodges along the way, everything from lunch the first day through lunch the last day is inclusive in this price (shuttle back over the mountain too), and, of course, Ninkasi craft beers and food pairing each evening as well.

Get Your Grin-o-la On!

This video of Whitewater Warehouse's guests' smiling faces will instantly give you "happy face." And, heck, we all need to a have an injection of grin-o-la every now and then.

2011 Oregon Chocolate Festival

The best and most innovative Oregon chocolatiers will be featuring their sweet-treats this weekend in southern Oregon at the 2011 Oregon Chocolate Festival. This is the 7th annual Chocolate Festival and will be held at the Ashland Springs Hotel this coming weekend: March 4 - 6.

The Chocolate Maker's Dinner is already a sell-out, but you will find plenty of other things to eat and enjoy throughout the weekend (see poster below).

The Life of a Rogue River Miner

In 1957, Lou Martin moved into the historic Whisky Creek Cabin on the Rogue River. Lou spent much of his life living in the cabin. He died in 1977 at the age of 83. Shortly before his death, Lou shared his recollections of life in the Rogue River Canyon. The following is just one passage from his thoughts...

"You see, when you mine for yourself, you don't put 8 hours in. It's 12, 14 hours a day; time you get your breakfast, time you sweep up, do the dishes, then go to work and come in and do your cooking again. Your mind's occupied all the time. In summer you get up about 4 a.m. As soon as daylight you go to work. By 11:30 a.m. you'd have to quit because in them canyons it gets hot. If you want to take a day off and go fishing, you take a day off and go fishing. Which I did--for steelhead. After trout, it'd be in Whisky Creek; after salmon, it'd be the Rogue.
 
Even in the winter time, tho, you're always working. If you can't mine cause the creek's too high, you cut your next year's wood. I had to use a crosscut saw. I despised that thing. I never hit first base with it. But I still had to cut my wood with it, until the chain saws came out. Pile it up, tier it up, and be dry for the next winter. If you're going to stay always have to think ahead. Couldn't be like a grasshopper, play around all summer, wouldn't have nothin'."