Wasabi and Meat; Lots of Meat. Oct. 11 2015 Nicky USA Wild About Game

Wasabi Fans,  Frog Eyes is strutting its stuff at the 15th Annual Wild About Game hosted by Nicky USA meat purveyors.  Join us at the Resort at the Mountain on October 11th for a taste of all of the cook-off action and to sample your way through the Jacobsen Salt Co. Artisan Marketplace, featuring the best bites and sips in the Northwest. Tickets on sale now at MercTickets.com  The match ups have all been set and the game has been paired for the Game Cook-Off Competition at Wild About Game. We can't wait to see what this amazing group of chefs cook up with our signature Nicky Farms game meats.

Wasabi is quite versatile with proteins.  With the diversity of meat on offer, food fans, epicureans and gourmands will be able to determine which type of meat that best pairs with wasabi.  We will be hosting a table and providing wasabi samples.  Rumor has it that we may even have a wasabi-infused vodka for the after party (yes, it's infused with Frog Eyes Wasabi).  Taylor Stark from Departure Restaurant in the Nines hotel in Portland (executive chef is Gregory Gourdet of Top Chef and a friend of Frog Eyes Wasabi)  and beef from Nicky's source Creekstone Natural Beef.

Wasabi and Steak is a Japanese delicacy for a reason.  Wasabi pairs well with nearly any protein (and starch for that matter - mashed potatoes or cold noodles is particularly good).

We will be Instagramming from the event and will have heaps of protein-paring ideas.  Don't get me wrong; I love sushi and fresh wasabi with fish, but with red meat it's just decadent.  Unlike a sauce, it doesn't alter the meat flavor or hide the meat at all.  Like a salt, it just augments and brightens flavors.  With Jacobsen Salt hosting the market, we'll try the ti-pairing of salt, wasabi and meat.  I'll report back.....

Summer Garden Wasabi: Maintain Hope. Keep Watering

Wasabi Fans. Wasabi is indeed a great garden plant.  It grows in full shade and can withstand lots of rain, doesn't get out-competed easily and best of all, it's all edible.  Combine wasabi with brussels sprouts, and kale and you have greens through the winter.

The past several months I've been showing off my garden wasabi (that which is not grown in the greenhouses at Frog Eyes Farm).   The below photo example is from the springtime showing full, lush plants.  The latter photos are taken last week after a very hot and dry summer here in the valley (as opposed to the coast where Frog Eyes Farm is located).  I've not taken my own advice on this blog and I didn't water daily  I averaged once each three days.  These plants also received full sun for a couple of days for a couple of hours; also violating my previous recommendation.  But, it was an experiment and will continue to be one.  I'll update this blog on the conduit of these same plants as the days grow cloudy and the rain commences.  I estimate half of the plants will return and sprout healthy edible leaves once again.  Those plants with a healthy apical meristem will be fine.

This autumn, I'll plant some garden plants following my advice and show a comparison between the two.

This was taken in the late spring 2015 after several months of growth (the plants were planted mid September 2014).

The following were taken in late August 2015.  Same wine barrel; same plants.

Rhizomes in October 2015!

Wasabi Fans, I hope you're as excited as we are.  We have great news all around.

1. We expect to harvest our first crop of 2015 in late October.  We apologize for the delay.  We want to assure that the crop is uniform in size to continuously harvest from that date forward. The test harvests have good, green rhizomes (aka "roots").  They are sweet, hit several taste registers, are hot and have a pleasant aftertaste.  Please sign up on the waiting list and we'll send you specifics when they are available.  As the old saying goes: first come-first served.

Here's a taste (pardon the pun) of the new crop.  It grates up nice and green.  The taste lingers more than previous crops with a constantly pleasant sweetness with no bitter aftertaste.

            

2. We are replanting two additional greenhouses.  This will, in one year, increase our weekly output.  The difficulty is that the Oregon Coast gave up Spring and put on its Hawai'ian shirt and didn't show any sign of the typical June Gloom which can either seem like November or March depending on which way the wind is blowing.  This means that with the heat, (lack of fog) the plants grew a bit more slowly than typical this summer.  Thanks to the El Nino warm water blob.  But, my opinion is that the plants are concentrating flavor and heat.  This crop tastes wonderful.  It's uniformly healthy and robust with a delicate taste.

Again, thanks of reading and I'll soon send out some food tasting notes from our first few events of the wasabi re-release.

Customer Appreciation Day

I love hearing customer feedback.  Where did you plant your starts; how did you grow them; when did they flower: have you clipped any leaves and into what dish were they added; what was the heat level? One of our customers, Robert recently sent the progress of his plant starts.  The below shows his initial planting in March and a July/August update.  (Note, full shade.  Very important.)  He's authorized us to use his communication verbatim:

Markus,

“My wasabi plants have almost reached their one year! Besides a few set backs the plants have been great. The rhizomes are about two inches long and growing well. I just started seeing flowers on one plant...is that a sign of the end or will it keep growing? Should I cut it?  Again thanks for your time and amazing business!  … The set backs I mentioned were mostly do to aphids and heat in the summer. I added shade cloth for the heat and neem oil for the aphids. The plants lost most their leaves but came back fast.”

~Robbie

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Customer Plant in Willamette Valley Oregon.  Planted late summer 2013 and still so happy it's flowering!  Photo in late Spring 2016

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1-year old plant grown in Portland Oregon.  Thank you Hac  https://www.instagram.com/rottenkoala/

WASABI: CULTIVATION AND CULTURE, BY ZOË TEMPLETON - Buckteeth Magazine

Wasabi Fans, Do you know the feeling when somebody tells you that the thing you've created excites them?  Well it's a rhetorical question, but please indulge me while I tell you how it feels to me.  It's the primary reason I do this.  Providing something that brings people pleasure on so many levels: the obvious palette pleasure, the pleasure of something new (for many), the pleasure of fond memories  (for some), and the pleasure of helping others refine their art (cooking in this case).  I get as much pleasure as my customers; if not more.  And, how to feels to have that pleasure returned in the form of an appreciative article  - and one that was produced without my prior knowledge?  Few other things in life feel that good.

So, the following article is a little about wasabi, wasabi in the PNW and why wasabi is so rare and appreciated.

I hope you derive as much pleasure from this article as I did:

WASABI: CULTIVATION AND CULTURE, BY ZOË TEMPLETON