Avery Yale Kamila's Page

Organic eats at the Common Ground Fair

A fabulous cocktail party Friday night (thanks David, Vanessa and Lauren!) delayed our departure last Saturday morning for the 33rd annual Common Ground Country Fair. But eventually Adam and I hit the road for Unity, a tiny college and farming town in the central part of the state.

The celebration of natural living always draws a big crowd, and the day we showed up so did 26,000 others. We all wanted to check out such things as the state's only organic farmers market, the renewable energy demonstrations and the angora bunnies and pygmy goats.

Without a doubt, the food court is the biggest attraction at the fair. The walkways along the concession booths were jam packed throughout our visit. By closing time many stands had run out of popular items.

The fair's vendors use local and organic ingredients whenever possible, and the emphasis is on freshly prepared whole foods. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free offerings abound, without forgetting fair staples including organic fried dough and locally grown french fried potatoes.

I snapped these photos of a few of the booths we sampled from:













Even with food everywhere and more than 700 talks and performances, my favorite thing about the fair continues to be finding myself surrounded by natural foodies as far as the eye can see.

Put purslane back on the plate

The lettuce at Sunshine Farm has gone by for the season, but that doesn't mean I go without greens when we arrive for an early autumn visit. Instead I enjoy the taste, texture and amazing nutritional profile of purslane. Too often overlooked as a common weed, purslane is a superfood packed with omega-3s and antioxidants.

This peppery plant has a rich culinary history in countries such as Greece, China, Mexico and India, its original home. Here in America, purslane was standard fare in Colonial kitchen gardens before it declined into obscurity.

Due to its wild pluckiness, purslane isn't something my parents need to cultivate in their organic gardens. Instead, the low-growing succulent reseeds itself between the rows. In the photo above, you can see some of it growing in my dad's garden, with the strawberry patch, the Honeymoon Cottage and the Middle Cottage in the background.

Purslane is so tenacious, it even grows between the sidewalk bricks in downtown Portland.

During our most recent time at the farm, I paired fresh purslane with my long-time, go-to veggie burgers. It's an easy to prepare meal that goes well with a range of toppings, including superfoods masquerading as weeds. Pick some, you'll see.

Chick-n-Rice Burgers

16 oz. cooked chickpeas
3 cups cooked brown rice
12 0z. tomato paste
1 medium onion, diced
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried dill
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. xanthan gum
salt & pepper to taste

In a large bowl, mash chickpeas with a potato ricer. Add rice, tomato paste, onions and spices. Blend together with a wooden spoon. Form mixture into patties and cook on an oiled skillet over medium heat. Cook until brown on both sides. Serve with burger toppings - especially purslane!. Makes 10 burgers.

Make Ahead: The burgers hold together on the grill much better after being refrigerated, so if you have the time this is the way to go. Form a handful of the mixture into a patty and place it on top of a square of waxed paper inside a food storage container. Place a piece of waxed paper on top and then add another burger and another piece of paper. Repeat until mixture is gone.

Vegetable Hash: If you're not in the mood for burgers, you can saute the burger mixture in a skillet like you would a hash. Serve it browned and crispy as a breakfast dish or rolled inside a warm tortilla with your favorite Tex-Mex toppings.