Our recent trip to Southern Oregon confirmed firsthand one of the laws of domestic road trips: it is almost always tough to find real food in unfamiliar places. When you are highway traveling, you find that gas stations, corner stores, and fast food are the most common options, and with two kids who seem to get hungry every once in a while for no apparent reason, your decision process sometimes leaves something to be desired.

However, If you can spend a little time in smaller highway towns, once you ask a few locals and learn the schedules of the mom and pop outfits (hours in small restaurants and food retailers are often odd), you can generally find what you’re looking for, or better yet, discover an unexpected culinary surprise.

Based on our frequent trips south, I know for certain that this is true of the towns on the South Coast of Oregon. We are fortunate to have close friends who live part-time in a house near the beaches of Port Orford, Oregon, and at the end of our camping trip on the North Umpqua, we headed West for a visit on the coast.

Locally grown food – even in tiny Port Orford

Port Orford is a sleepy fishing village on the South coast of Oregon that is home to some of the most stunning beaches and ocean vistas in North America. In addition to the beaches, Port Orford includes the lighthouse at Cape Blanco, the Western-most point in Oregon. If you ask a local, they will flatly state that Cape Blanco occupies the most Westerly point in the contiguous United States. Most people believe that Cape Alava in Washington actually holds this title.

Whether you bring this up while you are perched on a barstool next to a local depends on whether you’d like to drink your beer, or wear it.

What is not immediately obvious about Port Orford and the surrounding areas is that this region is home to a tremendous number of sustainable family farms (as well as gigantic cranberry bogs). This isn’t because of a desire to follow current popular trends – the farms here are sustainable for one big reason: this area is reasonably remote, and getting food from elsewhere is not always convenient or affordable. So, people here are doing what folks in remote areas have always done: they grow and make their own. Following practices like crop rotation and creating small sustainable ecosystems in their pastures only makes sense if you’re in it for the long haul.

Our visit to Ma Petite Maison

Our friends J. and G. own a view home that they have completely remodeled and divided into a duplex, which they rent to travelers. The rental home is named Ma Petite Maison, and while I of course must fess up to some bias since they are our friends (consider this my disclosure), I have to say, I was truly blown away by what they’ve done with the place.

Like April and I, J. shares a strong affinity for France as well, and her decorating style reflects those sensibilities. She designed the rooms to feel like the nicer places at which she has stayed in France, as well as the getaways at which she would have liked to have stayed but couldn’t afford. And in my opinion, she really got it right. Beyond our own experience in France, the quiet elegance of Ma Petite Maison reminds me of many of the scenes depicted in Robert Arbor’s Joie De Vivre, a favorite book of mine which I referenced in the first edition of Almost Fit’s Thursday’s Real Food Resources.

Ma Petite Maison is located in the heart of Port Orford, which includes a few hidden food secrets that are well worth mentioning. The Seaweed Natural Grocery store and Cafe, which carries a nice selection of locally grown, organic produce, natural products, and high quality cheeses, is the best source we’ve found for real food. Restaurant-wise, Paula’s Bistro is a good bet. The newly opened Hard Rain Cafe is also building a good reputation for quality food items.

On a recommendation from J. we picked up some fresh fish for Sunday evening’s dinner. When we returned to the house, J. prepared a delicious dish of baked halibut with mango salsa accompanied by wild rice. J. has also been experimenting with the bread recipe that I wrote about (Can you make artisan bread like this? In only 5 minutes a day?), and a freshly baked baguette was included with the evening’s fare.

And let me just say, dinner was incredible.

One last word on Ma Petite Maison: from a real food perspective, you will also find that J. has made sure that the provided dishes, linens, and fully stocked cook’s kitchen make eating real food in moderation not only possible, but a pleasure while on vacation. When we prepared meals during our stay, it felt like we were completely insulated from the rest of the world, comfortably lost in a small coastal Mediterranean village in the south of France, eating locally purchased fine cheeses and fresh bread, enjoying several glasses of wine and a cocktail or two, lounging on the couch in the afternoon sun or reading comfortably at the dining table, leisurely waiting for the fog to roll in.

Friday Recipe: Ma Petite Maison’s Fresh Lavender Martini

In addition to spending evenings over long dinners chatting about everything from art and politics to the latest finds in cheeses and chocolates, one of the many interests we share with J. is new recipes. We often excitedly exchange newly-discovered recipes over the phone, or trade photos through email of the latest food successes. J. is our “go to” person when we’re in a pinch for ideas on something quick and delicious to eat, or or need to remember how to make brownies.

Ma Petite Maison’s Fresh Lavender Martini is one of those recipes. The trick to this drink is not so much in the ingredients of the liquid as it is in the lavender sugar that rims the glass. When you first taste the drink, the essence of lavender permeates the sip, bringing a hint of lavender without an overwhelming floral sense.

The local twist? The culinary lavender for this recipe came from the Merritt Lavender Farm in Bandon. Locally grown apparently applies to drinks too. (Now if I can only find someone who grows hops locally……………)

Ingredients

2 shots blood orange vodka
1 shot Parfait Amour
1/2 shot fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
1 shot cranberry juice

1 lavender sugar rimmed martini glass (see below for instructions)

Preparation

For the lavender sugar: in a spice grinder, combine 1 teaspoon of culinary lavender with 1/4 cup of organic granulated sugar. Pulse for 30 seconds or so, or until lavender is finely ground and sugar is of a superfine consistency. Store excess in an airtight container.

To rim the glass, dip the rim into a saucer of water and a few drops of lemon juice, and then quickly dip the rim into a saucer of the lavender sugar.

For the drink: combine ingredients in a shaker, add ice, and shake. Pour and serve.

Tips

One variation that we tried which does NOT work well is to garnish this drink with fresh dried lavender. Lavender bits in the teeth are not ideal.

Lavender sugar is very simple to make, and is a nice pantry item that improves over time.

Epilogue: Port Orford – Writer’s secret

As a writer, one last thing that I couldn’t help but mention: Jules Verne may have written a bit about Port Orford (or it’s immediate coastal vicinity). In his book, The Begum’s Millions, Verne describes a town called Ville-France, which has some striking similarities to the history and physical location of Port Orford (including references to the lighthouse at Cape Blanco).

I think Jules may have been on to something.

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