West Coast Living

Salmon, Berries, and Hazelnuts: Northwest Pantry Staples

The Northwest pantry is built on a short list of foods that define the region, and you can buy all of them close to home. Salmon, berries, and hazelnuts turn up everywhere here, and knowing a few ways to use each one covers a lot of weeknight dinners.Salmon, the easy weeknight centerpieceA fillet of

Cooking with What Grows Here: A Northwest Seasonal Kitchen

Cooking in the Portland metro is easier when you cook with the calendar instead of against it. The growing season here is long and mild, so the best-tasting produce is often what is growing a short drive from your kitchen, from the Willamette Valley out to the Columbia Gorge.Shop the season, not the

Fall and Winter Garden Chores for Northwest Yards

Fall is not the end of the gardening year here, it is the start of the next one. The work you do between October and February is what makes a Portland metro yard easier to handle when spring finally arrives. Why fall matters more than spring Our mild, wet winters give you months of workable ground.

Raised Beds in the Rain: A Beginner's Garden Plan

Raised beds are the simplest answer to the two things that make gardening here tricky: wet soil and a short stretch of real warmth. If you are starting from scratch in the Portland metro, a few boxes filled with good soil will get you further than fighting the ground you already have. Why raised bed