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Summer 2024

Agriculture

Greenbank Farm native plant garden path
Summer 2021

Wild berries at Greenbank Farm

Nancy Hindes often finds wild creeping raspberries while walking along the road in front of her home south of Coupeville on Washington’s Whidbey Island.

“It grows along the ground. It’s not a very dominant plant, but I think it really likes gravelly soil, and that’s why it grows right next to the road,” she says, cautioning those unfamiliar with the wild plant to take care. “It will trip you.”

In summer, she keeps an eye out for its bright red fruit. “It’s one of the best raspberries I’ve ever eaten. It’s very sweet and very flavorful. When I see it, I’ll stop and have a … » More …

Summer 2021

More wild berries

Numerous wild berries can be found in summer and fall around Washington state. Here are more varieties to look for.

Read about wild berries in the Pacific Northwest.

Black chokeberries (Aronia melanocarpa)—A great natural source of pectin, these tart, dark berries are perfect for processing into jam and jelly.

Black hawthorn (Crataegus douglasii)—These tart reddish purple berries—best in jam, jelly, sauce, and vinegar—are prevalent west of the Cascade Range in damp clearings and thicket margins.

Black huckleberries (Vaccinium membranaceum)—These are among the tastiest and most popular berries in the Pacific Northwest.

Blackcap raspberries (Rubus leucodermis)—Unlike blackberries, these berries have a hollow middle, like … » More …

Summer 2021

The secret life of huckleberries

Matt Carroll studies people’s connections to land, particularly fire risk and human communities throughout the West. But he’s also researched an important Washington state staple: the wild huckleberry.

He’s a professor and associate director of graduate programs in the School of the Environment at Washington State University’s College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences. While most of his work centers around wildfires, he has also examined the social ecology of the huckleberry in and around the Colville and Panhandle National Forests in northeast Washington and northern Idaho.

“Huckleberries have a very deep history in our region,” Carroll says. “Indigenous people … » More …

Blackberry stalk
Summer 2021

Bullying blackberries

The blackberries are not what they seem.

They seem native, growing wild wherever they want, thriving along riverbanks, roads, railroad tracks, and trails; inside state, county, even Seattle city parks.

These abundant berries—great for pie and jam—are synonymous with summer in Washington state, particularly on the west side, where they take over greenbelts and backyards, abandoned lots, urban alleyways, and logged lands.

They grow, as it were, like weeds.

Emphasis on weeds.

Himalayan blackberries (Rubus armeniacus) are not only not native, they’re invasive. And they’re not actually Himalayan.

Call them the state weed of Washington. The plump, juicy, deep purple, and delicious weed of Washington.

… » More …

Coffee making equipment
Spring 2021

Brewing the perfect cup of coffee

Coffee is both simple—just ground beans and hot water—and complex, with hundreds of volatile compounds that give each roast its unique flavor. Really good coffee is something special, even sublime. And, with so many of us spending more time at home during the persisting novel coronavirus pandemic, a cup of hot, delicious coffee seems especially comforting.

When preparing your favorite style of coffee, here are several points to consider.

The cup—Size and shape do matter. Big wide-rimmed mugs hold a lot, but also cool coffee quickly. Porcelain and ceramic surfaces influence the temperature and taste of the coffee. Both are neutral so you … » More …

Jar of jelly
Spring 2021

Food preservation and the pandemic

Stephanie Smith is a statewide consumer food safety specialist at Washington State University. She performs food safety research, writes a monthly food safety column in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, and provides technical support and training for WSU’s food safety specialists in more than thirty counties statewide. She also provides technical expertise and training to retail food businesses and workers, and very small food processors and growers.

How has the pandemic impacted WSU’s county-based food specialists?

The county offices have been mostly shut down because of the pandemic. They’re still returning calls and emails, trying to do what they can. In general, there … » More …

Roast lamb with mint
Spring 2021

Colleen Taugher cooks lamb

Her go-to preparation features hand-ground anchovy-herb paste.

But don’t worry: the anchovies don’t come across as tasting fishy. They simply add a salty, savory flavor that beautifully blends with the distinctive-tasting lamb meat.

Colleen Taugher, co-owner of the 85-acre Mellifera Farm in Troy, Idaho, and recently retired director for global research and engagement in the Office of International Programs at Washington State University Pullman, typically makes the paste with rosemary.

That’s how she prepared it when she served her farm-raised Iceland lamb to a delegation of 18 student journalists from Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. They were visiting WSU in summer 2019 … » More …

Roast lamb with mint
Spring 2021

Lamb and mint recipes

Unlike your grandma’s store-bought neon green mint jelly, scratch-made mint jelly is naturally golden-hued. Make your own at home to pair with lamb and consider these other lamb-and-mint recipes, too.

Roast Rack of Lamb with Fresh Mint Vinaigrette

from Linda Burner Augustine (’83 Home Econ., Honors)

via ayearatthetable.com

Roasting a rack of lamb is easier than you might think. The key is to begin with a high-quality rack of lamb purchased at a reliable meat department or butcher. Most lamb racks have eight bones in them which means eight chops. They are usually “frenched,” and this simply means the meat has been … » More …

Winter 2020

Cosmic Crisp recipes

Sweet, tart, juicy, firm. These traits make the Cosmic Crisp® super versatile in the kitchen.

The new apple, developed at Washington State University and grown—at least for now—only in Washington, is good in both sweet or savory dishes as well as raw or cooked, standing up to heat and holding its shape and texture.

Its myriad culinary uses include brightening soups, sauces, salads, slaws, and salsas⁠—and even topping pizza. Of course, with its satisfying snap-crunch, the flavorful Cosmic Crisp, a registered trademark, is a good eating apple, too—raw and right out of your hand, or sliced and served with brie or dipped in peanut butter or … » More …