August saw the addition of many new and interesting local reads to the pages of WhatcomTalk. Each month we like to take a look back at what most resonated with our community. Here are some of WhatcomTalk’s most read stories in August:
Lee Becker sees much of Whatcom County from the seat of his bicycle. Photo credit: Dan Burwell.
Lee Becker is commonly seen around Whatcom County. But do you know the real story behind this fascinating local character? WhatcomTalk writer Dan Burwell took a bike ride and got to know the man on the bike.
The new ivy heart is thriving. Photo credit: Dan Burwell.
Alex McLean is the man behind the removal and subsequent reconstruction of Bellingham’s ivy heart—the iconic symbol that had graced the side of the Granary building for the past decade. The vines, “some thick as a baby’s arm,” as McLean described them, had broken through a window and had caused significant damage to the wall. Learn more about the man who is bringing it back to life.
Kids love exploring the flora and fauna of Fairhaven Park. Photo courtesy: Melissa and Patrick Fallon.
Through Feather & Frond Forest School kids learn to claim their place in the forest – to watch and listen, to decipher bird language and internalize the layers of awareness that arrive after returning to study the same place. Families reclaim their forest senses beneath the wood’s ancient canopy, their knowledgeable children leading the way.
Discover perfectly tucked away alpine lakes. Photo credit: Kate Galambos.
If you live in Whatcom County, you probably know of some of the quintessential hikes out there that you have to do. I’m talking Oyster Dome, Pine and Cedar Lakes, Blue Lake and Galbraith Mountain. With so many high-quality hikes it can be easy to miss some of the lesser-known gems. Don’t let these diamonds in the rough go unnoticed, check out these seven summer hikes you need to go out and do today. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
WhatcomTalk is a digital media company sharing positive stories about people, places and businesses in Whatcom County. WhatcomTalk offers content marketing and online options to advertise across our community social network in Bellingham, Lynden, Ferndale and beyond. Advertise with WhatcomTalk to reach your target market, grow your brand, and measure results.
Rosanne Cash will play with husband John Leventhal a deep catalog that includes blues, gospel, folk, country and rock. Photo credit: Clay Patrick McBride.
Describing music by genre is subjective and sometimes even controversial. There are more than 25 commonly agreed-upon genres and within each are many subgenres and thousands of styles, subdivided by musical techniques, cultural context, content and the spirit of the music.
Husband and wife duo Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn command the banjo across multiple genres. Photo courtesy: Mount Baker Theatre.
Many genres evolved from earlier genres. For example, rock and roll evolved from gospel and blues genres, and the blues genre evolved from traditional African folk music. So rather than separate isolated categories, the boundaries between genres are rather gray. Folk and rock have separate definitions, but folk rock contains elements common to both.
So one artist or album that you think of as “country” might self-identify as roots, gospel, Americana or just something different for every song!
Ultimately, you probably just know that sound you like and want to hear more of it, or appreciate it live. Here are some examples of what world-class live acts you can find within different genre descriptors at Mount Baker Theatre (MBT) this year!
Country and Country Rock
Country music is a term used to describe American popular music that began in the rural regions of the Southeastern United States in the 1920s. It began in southeastern American folk music, especially Appalachian folk and Western music. Blues modes have also been used extensively throughout its recorded history.
Headed to Mount Baker Theatre on Saturday, September 16, is American country music band Sawyer Brown, which was founded in Florida in 1981. The five members first worked together as part of the Don King road band, performing in the country genre in the style of Nashville sound. But Sawyer Brown is not simply country. They’ve been described as, “the Rolling Stones of country music,” and they were known for their country rock vibe well before Garth Brooks became a household name.
Although most people think of Rosanne Cash as a traditional country singer, the catalog she’ll perform at MBT with her Grammy-winning musical director, guitarist and husband John Leventhal on Friday, January 26 includes American roots songs encompassing blues, gospel, folk, country and rock. The four-time Grammy winner and member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame will present an acoustic evening that celebrates her prolific and deeply-rooted program.
Rock and Roll
Two sets of brothers make up We Banjo 3 and are credited with creating the “Celtgrass” genre. Photo courtesy: Mount Baker Theatre.
Rock and Roll refers to a genre of popular music that began in the U.S. during the late 1940s and early 1950s and evolved from African American musical styles including gospel, blues, jazz, boogie woogie, rhythm and blues, and country music.
Elements of rock and roll can be heard in blues records of the 1920s and country records in the 1930s, but the genre didn’t get its name until 1954. The beat is made up of a blues rhythm with an accentuated backbeat almost always provided by a snare drum. Classic rock and roll is usually played with one or two electric guitars, a double bass or string bass or (after the mid-1950s) an electric bass guitar and a drum kit.
Rock and roll went on to spawn other genres that often lack the backbeat, now commonly known as “rock.”
Saturday, October 14 is your chance to relive your favorite songs by one of the most powerful female singers of her time, Janis Joplin. The show, A Night with Janis Joplin, tells the story of her unique, distinctive voice, emotionally honest messages and powerful, short life through Broadway-style storytelling. As a Texan performing in the mid and late 1960s, she was influenced by the great blues, soul, gospel and rock singers of her time—Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Odetta, Nina Simone and Bessie Smith. You’ll hear their contribution to her sound in songs like “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Piece of My Heart,” “Mercedes Benz,” “Cry Baby” and “Summertime.” Although her music contains elements of many genres, she is known as, “the queen of rock ‘n’ roll.”
Folk (Including Folk Rock, Celtic, Roots, Bluegrass and Acoustic)
Shemekia Copeland was declared “the New Queen of the Blues.” Photo courtesy: Mount Baker Theatre.
Folk music is a genre that includes both traditional music and the more modern genre that evolved from it during the 20th century folk revival. Traditional music includes songs that have been performed over several generations, passed down through local customs, including types of dance. Although the term “folk music” originated in the 19th century, it includes music much older than that. It is a window into the cultural life of the groups that made it, including Americans of European ancestry, southern African Americans, Native Americans, Mexican-Americans and Cajuns. The folk genre was popularized in the 1960s. Some types of folk music are also called world music and the genre encompasses acoustic, bluegrass, Celtic, roots and Americana music.
Celtic music refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music of the Celtic people of Western Europe and contemporary recorded music. Americana is contemporary music that incorporates elements of various American roots music styles including country, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass, R&B and blues, resulting in a distinctive roots-oriented sound that lives in a world apart from the pure forms of the genres from which it draws.
The term “roots music” is now used to refer to a broad range of musical genres, which include blues, gospel, traditional country, zydeco, tejano and Native American pow-wow.
You can take a stroll through folk and folk rock history with one of the world’s most successful American folk rock duos through the The Simon & Garfunkel Story on Sunday, October 29. They became counterculture icons of the 1960s social revolution, alongside Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan.
Both Simon and Garfunkel were born and raised in Queens, New York. They were influenced by their love for rock n’ roll, especially the country-influenced Everly Brothers. Simon and Garfunkel first learned to harmonize together as young teens in a doo-wop band. Their original folk song, “The Sound of Silence,” made them famous only after being rereleased as folk rock in overdub, with added electric guitar and a drum kit.
You can hear the influence of both traditional folk and forms of rock n’ roll in songs like “Mrs. Robinson,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Homeward Bound,” “Scarborough Fair,” “The Boxer” and “Cecelia.” Simon & Garfunkel won 10 Grammy Awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
On Sunday, November 26, the husband and wife duo Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn described by NPR’s All Things Considered as, “two monsters of the banjo,” will bring their multi-genre music to MBT. Béla Fleck is a 16-time Grammy Award winner while Abigail Washburn is a singer-songwriter and clawhammer banjo player. The pair’s self-titled debut took home the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Folk Album.
The Billboard #1 World Album-charting We Banjo 3 will return to MBT on Saturday, February 10. They consider themselves the creators of “Celtgrass” music, a combination of old-world Irish tradition and authentic Americana that continues to grow in popularity. These two sets of brothers from Galway, Ireland bring music magic with their talented, energetic performance on banjo, fiddle, guitar and mandolin.
Celtic Nights—Oceans of Hope will take you on a trip—full of Irish song and dance—on Saturday, February 24. This Broadway-style storytelling follows the brave and adventurous Irish people who left behind their families and lives, traveling across the challenging seas to new opportunity in the wilds of America and Australia.
The influence of the old music on what became American sounds is evident in this production. You’ll recognize hints of bluegrass, Appalachian, country and Western. Favorites like “Danny Boy,” “Isle of Hope,” “Whiskey in the Jar” and “My Love is in America” will have you foot tapping in your seat.
Blues (Including Boogie Woogie)
Blues evolved from African spirituals, African chants, work songs, rural fife and drum music, revivalist hymns and country dance music. The blues grew up in the Mississippi Delta just upriver from New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz.
On November 3, Shemekia Copeland & Matt Andersen take the MBT stage with great examples of contemporary blues, roots and soul music. Copeland is an internationally acclaimed singer declared by the state of Illinois as, “The New Queen of the Blues.” Multi-award-winning Matt Andersen is a powerhouse performer with a giant, soul-filled voice and commanding stage presence. He has toured worldwide, both solo and with greats such as Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy, Greg Allman and Randy Bachman.
You can see a great example of a subgenre of the blues, New Orleans Boogie Woogie, with Michael Kaeshammer on Saturday, November 18. Boogie Woogie is a form of instrumental blues, especially for piano, using melodic variations over a constantly repeated bass rhythm.
German-born and based on Vancouver Island, Kaeshammer blends jazz, boogie-woogie and classical arrangements at breakneck speeds. A stellar pianist, vocalist, composer, arranger and producer, Kaeshammer has won two Juno awards out of seven nominations and Western Canadian Music Award’s Musician of the Year and Entertainer of the Year.
Whether you want to explore a new genre or relive history through your old favorite, MBT will likely have a show that fits the bill. Reserve your seats now to see some of the world’s best renowned sounds right here in your own back yard.
Atwood Ales' farmhouse beers are meant to be paired with food. Photo credit: Sara Holodnick.
Tucked away against the rolling, pastoral backdrop of north Whatcom County, Atwood Ales is Blaine’s first brewery. The unique setting offered by the 100 year old farmhouse, barn and the surrounding acreage, provides countless opportunities to incorporate estate and locally grown ingredients into their small batch beers. The family owned and operated farm and brewery produces a variety of ales, many inspired by the traditional farmhouse beers of Belgium, northern France and western Germany.
Atwood Ales is a family affair. From left to right: Leslee Smith, Stephen Smith, Josh Smith and Monica Smith. Photo credit: Sara Holodnick.
“Beer was brewed for farmworkers and for farmers,” shared Atwood Ales Co-Owner and Director of Sales and Marketing, Monica Smith. Farmhouse ales have a long tradition of offering refreshment as well as acting as a type of currency to be traded with other farmers and merchants. “It was something to quench their thirst, but it was also often better than drinking water because the water wasn’t really safe in many places.”
The beer was being produced with fruits and grains grown on or near the farms, so it was essentially growing up side by side with the food. Because of this, farmhouse beers are made to be enjoyed with delicious meals.
“We’re going back to the tradition of beer and food,” Monica shared. When we think of food and beverage pairings, the first thing that comes to mind for many of us is wine. But Monica and her husband – Atwood Ales Co-Owner and Brewer, Josh Smith – are passionate about reviving the long tradition of food being thoughtfully paired with beer.
Although there are now a number of breweries producing “farmhouse style” beers in North America, Atwood Ales is one of only a handful of rural, agricultural, farmhouse breweries keeping the tradition alive by brewing in a barn on the Smith family’s 100 year old farm. Photo credit: Sara Holodnick.
“It’s where our hearts and our minds are,” Monica explained. “Wine and food have been around forever and so has beer and food but not so much in this area, and not so much in the United States.” If you’ve gone out for dinner recently, you’ve probably noticed the lengthy wine lists with pairing notes but beer rarely gets the same attention.
“If you look at beer menus when you go into restaurants and compare them to the wine and champagne menus, or the spirits menus, it doesn’t even match up,” Monica continued. “Because of the flavors and the style of beer that we brew, it really compliments the food by accentuating the flavors. We see ourselves having bottles available in restaurants and doing dinner pairings.” They’ve begun this crusade by working with local restaurants to offer special pairing meals inspired by their beers. “We really want to change people’s minds about beer,” she said.
Although there are now a number of breweries producing “farmhouse style” beers in North America, Atwood Ales is one of only a handful of rural, agricultural, farmhouse breweries keeping the tradition alive. A majority of the hops, fruit, vegetables, herbs and other products they use are grown, harvested and processed right on their farm. Also they are using 80 percent Skagit Valley Malting for grain needs as well as some imported varieties.
A portion of the hops (shown here on the vine), fruit, vegetables, herbs, grains and other products Atwood Ales uses are grown, harvested and processed right on their farm. Photo credit: Sara Holodnick.
The small scale of their brewery, combined with the seasonal flavors provided by their crops, help Atwood Ales craft unique artisan brews that stand out, even in an area swimming in delicious locally made beer like we are in Whatcom County. From their Dark Harbor Oyster Stout (using whole bivalves from Drayton Harbor Oyster Company) to the seasonally rotating Mo’s Saison (one recent iteration featured nasturtium flowers), Atwood Ales celebrates the bounty of their farm and the surrounding natural landscape with every bottle.
And because their batches are smaller than most breweries, Atwood Ales can afford to be a bit more experimental without fearing a huge loss if things don’t go their way.
“We’re able to take risks on things and it’s not a huge loss if it doesn’t work out,” explained Josh. “It’s still a loss, but if one batch doesn’t turn out we’re dumping two barrels of beer instead of 10, 20 or 30 barrels. Or if something is good but it doesn’t move really well, we’re only trying to move 26 cases of it as opposed to hundreds of cases.”
Atwood Ales’ farmhouse beers are meant to be paired with food. Photo credit: Sara Holodnick.
And this scrappy, experimental effort truly is a family affair. Josh’s parents, Stephen and Leslee Smith, are brewery co-owners, plus his dad manages the farm that produces many of the fresh ingredients Atwood uses in its beers. The whole family – including their teenage son, Xavier, and Monica’s parents, Steve and Nancy Felmley – help bottle and package beer and represent the brewery at the Bellingham Farmers Market. Plus Xavier has the important job of naming some of the beers.
“‘No Whey Bro’ is one of mine,” he shared.
“It takes everyone to do this,” said Monica. “We’re keeping it small and unique. These bottles are handled many times by each of us. There’s a lot of love in these bottles that are going out to people!”
And just like that, the official months of summer are over. Welcome to September—the start of school, the start of fall. But while August has come and gone, there is still plenty of fun to be had. Make sure to welcome in fall by taking part in some of these great Whatcom County weekend events for Sept. 1—3. And be sure to check out our great local farmers’ markets. They are still in full swing. The produce is ripe and ready to enjoy! And don’t forget to check our full events calendar for all the great local happenings this weekend.
WhatcomTalk aims to be your source for positive information and events happening in Bellingham, Ferndale, Lynden and throughout Whatcom County. If you have a suggestion for a post, send us a note at submit@whatcomtalk.com. For more events and to learn what’s happening in Bellingham and the surrounding area, visit our events calendar. To submit an event of your own, visit our events calendar and click on the green “Post Your Event” button.
This September is Eat Local Month – an event specific not only to Bellingham, but to all of Whatcom County. Sustainable Connections, the local nonprofit that orchestrates Eat Local Month, works with farmers, restaurateurs, food businesses and fishermen to help bring all together to honor and celebrate the amazing food Whatcom County has to offer.
These deliciuos truffles from Evolve Truffles in Bellingham include ingredients from Whatcom and Skagit Counties. Photo credit: Shannon Fox.
Eat Local Month will be broken into four separate weeks, with each focusing on a different part of our local food scene: farm week, market week, seafood week and restaurant week. Each week will have its own unique events and different ways to get involved, like the Whatcom Food Fest (Sept 8-10) that includes the two-day Whatcom County Farm Tour, a spirits and bites tasting, Farm Tour brunch, beer and food pairing, a fried chicken picnic and more. Market Director of the Bellingham Farmers Market, Caprice Teske, says the market will not only participate in the market week, but will be involved in all aspects of Eat Local Month.
The Bellingham Farmers Market will have their Demo Days booth on Saturday, September 9 during the first day of the Whatcom Farm Tour. During Market Week (Sept. 16) Chefs Justin Hawkinson of Crave Catering and Andrew Clarke of Acme Farms + Kitchen will host their Chef in the Market booth, complete with recipes and samples. And Restaurant Week (Sept 24-30) will find Bellingham Farmers Market highlighting their prepared food vendors who utilize local ingredients in their products. Special local market meals will be available during restaurant week and the Bellingham Farmers Market will work closely with their vendors to make sure it is an Eat Local Month to remember.
“From a market perspective, our mission is to support local agriculture,” Teske says. “We want local food to play a vital role in people’s lives. It takes cooperation to make local agriculture work.”
The wood fired pizza oven at Gusto Wood Fired Pizza can get up to 900 degrees and cook pizzas in two minutes. Photo credit: Kenneth Clarkson.
Teske says they have been working with their prepared food vendors to encourage them to use local products whenever possible and that their vendors are doing a stellar job.
Cooperation is not new to the vendors at the Bellingham Farmers Market. Many of them use each other’s products in order to craft their various foodstuffs. Both collaboration and cooperation are very apparent among the different food producers.
Sophie Williams of Raven Breads says the reason she is in business is to make the best product she can, add substantially to her community and cause as little harm as she can to both people and the environment. “Using local [and regional] ingredients from farmers and producers I know is the only way I can fulfill all three of these objectives,” Williams says.
In addition to using ingredients from local farmers and producers herself, other vendors and producers also use the bread Williams makes in their food. Cafe Vavilov uses whole grain bread from Raven Breads in their Vegan Farmers dish. The cafe, run by Erica Budzynski incorporates a slew of locally sourced and grown ingredients in their meals, and has a booth set up at the farmers market on Saturdays, during which they use enamel plates to serve food and cut down on waste.
The Bellingham Farmer’s Market will participate in Eat Local Month during September. Photo credit: Kenneth Clarkson.
Williams doesn’t just cooperate with fellow humans though, she also cooperates with nature when she bakes her bread. In the summer, she forages blackberries for her Danishes and apples for her Bavarian rye bread.
Russ Kendall of Gusto Wood Fired Pizza recognizes Bellingham and the greater Whatcom County area as one of the best food-centered communities in the country. He says in general it just makes sense to support local business and help each other, and Whatcom County is one of the best places to do so. “We can get virtually everything you need from the 50 miles around us,” he says. “Seafood, berries, livestock, flour – you name it and we can get it. Why would I want to buy food from a plant in Chicago when I can support local business and jobs right here?”
In Whatcom County, we truly have amazing local food. Photo credit: Theresa Golden.
Co-Owner and Co-Founder of Evolve Truffles Shannon Fox says using and sourcing local ingredients has been their motto from the very beginning. Evolve gets almost all of their ingredients from Whatcom and Skagit County. “Obviously we can’t get our cacao from here, but it is crucial to use what’s around you,” she says. “We have heavily played a part in this grassroots food movement in Bellingham and the greater surrounding area.”
With their vendors on board, Eat Local Month will be able to bring the best locally-sourced meals to customers that visit the Bellingham Farmers Market during the month of September. Eat Local Month is sure to educate and inform the public on why it truly is important to buy, sell and most importantly, eat local. For more details and tickets for the Whatcom Food Fest, visit www.eatlocalfirst.org
With a place to sit and peruse the materials, Launching Success creates an environment encouraging families to look, touch and review before purchase. Photo courtesy: Launching Success.
Homeschooling is one educational option that many families in Whatcom County choose for their children. There is a lot of information that families need to know before even getting started, however. With a passion for creating fun in learning for all children, Bellingham’s Launching Success is an incredible support system for homeschoolers. They provide state-required information as well as materials based on best practices.
Zimmerman shows one of the books available for support material. It presents a lot of information in a fun and creative way. Photo courtesy: Launching Success.
“We first start by talking to the families,” says Jen Zimmermann, co-owner of locally-owned Launching Success. “We talk about the general do’s and don’ts of homeschooling and how to get started.”
Zimmermann goes on to say that the first conversation with a family considering homeschooling involves understanding goals and objectives. She explains that it is important to understand what you hope to achieve with homeschooling along with understanding the requirements for education in the state of Washington.
She also explains that there are various reasons and different perspectives that would lead families to choose homeschooling as an option for education. The first place they send a family considering home schooling is to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Education where they can see all of the criteria for general K through 12 education as well as the requirements necessary for homeschooling based on Washington state law. This website provides an incredible amount of information to give homeschooling a solid starting point.
Launching Success has a comprehensive section devoted to Homeschooling support materials as well as curriculum. Photo courtesy: Launching Success.
In the state of Washington parents can choose homeschooling and receive resource support, providing certain rigorous requirements are met. Choosing not to receive resource support is an option but Washington state laws, such as school testing, still need to be met in order to receive a high school diploma.
“The resource support varies based on many factors,” explains Zimmermann. “We talk to families about the accountability requirements of home schooling, such as providing regular lesson plans for review and belonging to a local homeschooling group, to qualify for resource support should they choose that direction.”
This is where Launching Success really excels. They have created an environment for homeschool families in their store that is full of resources, a space with a table to sit and review and catalogs to peruse for ideas and products.
The staff at Launching Success knows the various materials available and understands the regulations and requirements for homeschooling. This is why they are the local resource for providing any level of support needed for any family involved in educating kids. To that end, Launching Success has created a series of packages based on best practices and supplies for kindergarten through eighth grade and for each subject area.
With a binder full of resource materials and an array of catalogs, Launching Success is a great resource for getting started with homeschooling. Photo courtesy: Launching Success.
When you walk into Launching Success’ homeschooling section, you are encouraged to touch, feel and look through the materials before you make a purchase. Here you’ll find a binder full of information that supports the successful implementation of homeschooling. You’ll also find an array of catalogs with a plethora of great products.
“If a family comes in with a suggestion for a certain product to carry, we do our best to get those products in the store,” says Zimmermann. “We can offer new curriculum based on family recommendations.”
In order to receive resource support from the state, homeschooling families must become part of a local organization such as the Bellingham Family Partnership or Lynden Academy, among others. Launching Success provides a list of resource support-based organizations, as well as those that are not resource support-based, to anyone needing that information. The difference between the two types of organizations are the Washington state accountability requirements in order to qualify for resource support.
With a place to sit and peruse the materials, Launching Success creates an environment encouraging families to look, touch and review before purchase. Photo courtesy: Launching Success.
Launching Success, through its relationships with these partnerships and families, is truly a local resource supporting Whatcom, Skagit and Island Counties along with Oak Harbor. In fact, they have an open week for Oak Harbor families to shop for supplies and will even deliver supplies to their local partners. “We want to support families and children wherever they are learning,” says Zimmermann. “It’s what we do and that’s our mission.”
At Launching Success you’ll find support materials such as books, science kits, art and even foreign language materials, in addition to basic curriculum. “It is great information presented in a fun way,” Zimmermann describes.
Launching Success provides educational materials for teachers and homeschool, as well as fun items that encourage kids to learn. Stop in and spend some time in the store, taking in all of the fun ways there are to learn just about anything!
You'll love these Pickled Romano Beans with Rosemary. Photo credit: Frank Koterba.
Submitted by: Joe’s Gardens, written by Frank Koterba
Joe’s Garden’s presents another delicious recipe by Frank Koterba—Pickled Romano Beans with Rosemary and Lemon. Enjoy!
You’ll love these Pickled Romano Beans with Rosemary. Photo credit: Frank Koterba.
I really didn’t have much experience with Romano beans until we moved here a little over 10 years ago. I have had them braised, grilled, sautéed, steamed and roasted. At some point it occurred to me that you could have them pickled.
These are a step beyond pickled green Beans. They are great on their own and a friend also ensures me that they are the perfect complement to the olives in his martini.
My favorite version combines lemon, rosemary and a little heat. But I have used combinations of garlic, fennel, dill, cumin and coriander. The choice is yours. This is an adaptation from a recipe from “Dispatches from Whitcomb Street.”
For each pint you will need about ½ pound of beans. I pick out the straight one to make packing the jars easier. Wash and trim the beans to fit vertically in the jars. Each jar will use a wide strip of lemon zest three inches long and a sprig of fresh rosemary about the same length. I also add a generous quarter teaspoon of Aleppo pepper.
For the brine, bring 1/3 cup water and 2/3 cup 5% white vinegar for each jar to a boil. Dissolve two teaspoons of sugar and 3 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Keep this mixture hot.
Sterilize your jars, lids and rings and keep them hot.
Get your canning pot to a boil.
Densely pack the hot jars with the beans, zest and spices. Add the brine until it reaches ¼ inch from the top. Wipe the rims and sides, then seat the lids and the rings.
Process the jars for 10 minutes starting when your pot returns to a boil.
PeaceHealth Medical Group (PHMG) has welcomed three new board-certified providers to Bellingham practices.
Angela Bradley, MD
Angela Bradley, MD, became a member of PHMG’s Gastroenterology team of providers. Photo credit: Mark Turner.
Angela Bradley, MD, became a member of PHMG’s Gastroenterology team of providers. Dr. Bradley earned her medical degree at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque New Mexico and completed her Internal Medicine residency at Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, in Scottsdale Arizona. She then completed her Gastroenterology fellowship at Good Samaritan/VA Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Dr. Bradley returned to Mayo Clinic Arizona to complete a second fellowship in Transplant Hepatology. Prior to joining the PHMG team, Dr. Bradley served PeaceHealth patients on an on-call basis. She is fluent in Spanish and has a particular interest in chronic liver disease and is passionate about organ donation. Dr. Bradley shares she entered medicine because “I wish to ‘do good’ in my community. For me, the patient’s interest is the only interest to be considered.”
Leslie Chamberlain, PA-C
Leslie Chamberlain, PA-C, joined PHMG’s Same Day Care Clinic team of providers. Photo credit: Mark Turner.
Leslie Chamberlain, PA-C, joined PHMG’s Same Day Care Clinic team of providers. Chamberlain earned a Masters of Physician Assistant Studies at the Oregon Health and Science University, Division of School of Medicine in Portland, Oregon. Prior to joining PeaceHealth, Leslie worked at The Everett Clinic and before that she was part of the Family Care Network at Squalicum Family Medicine in Bellingham. She has also served with Team Health Emergency Physicians at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center’s Emergency Department. Leslie finds her work as an urgent care provider richly fulfilling and enjoys seeing patients from all backgrounds and circumstances.
Gur Raj S. Deol, MD
Gur Raj S. Deol, MD, joined PeaceHealth’s Pulmonary Medicine team of providers. Photo credit: Mark Turner.
Gur Raj S. Deol, MD, joined PeaceHealth’s Pulmonary Medicine team of providers. Dr. Deol completed his medical degree at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College in Punjab, India and then served as a resident surgeon at Dayanand Medical College in Ludhiana, India. He completed his medical residency in internal medicine at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Prior to joining PeaceHealth, Dr. Deol was a consultant in Pulmonary and Critical Care at Olympic Medical Center, North Olympic Peninsula serving the Washington communities of Sequim, Port Angles and Port Townsend. Dr. Deol has extensive medical research experience and has been published in respected peer-reviewed journals. He believes it is a privilege to have an opportunity to play a pivotal role in the health and well-being of his patients.
More information about each of these providers can be found using the “Find a Doc” tool at www.peacehealth.org.
WhatcomTalk is expanding its writing team. Join our team of paid, professional writers that live, work and play in Whatcom County.
WhatcomTalk publishes positive stories about people, businesses and organizations doing good things in communities across Whatcom County. Our stories are published online and distributed via social media. Our platform reaches people that want to know about great things happening around us.
Joining the freelance writing team of WhatcomTalk gives you an opportunity to release your creative spirit, meet new people around the community, explore things that you are interested in, and contribute to a locally owned, growing business. Some of our writers craft more than 10 articles per month, others write just one — and everything in between. The position is very flexible, based on a writer’s time availability and interests.
Job Requirements:
Proven experience creating error-free articles on deadline
Ability to interview and interface with local business owners
Interest in writing advertising and marketing materials as well as business articles
Skills to snap quick photographs during interviews to submit with stories
Initiative to pitch story ideas on a monthly basis
Sincere passion for sharing the positive stories happening in our community
Lovitt is located in Fairhaven on Harris. Photo credit: Kali Klotz-Brooks.
If you haven’t tried Fairhaven’s newest restaurant, you should definitely consider making it your next night out. Lovitt Restaurant, owned by Norman and Kristen Six, has been feeding the community local farm-to-table food since March of this year. Lovitt’s cooking practices include the use of whole animals in their entirety, fresh fish bought the morning of and locally sourced, organic produce and dairy.
Many items on the menu are made using sourdough. Chef Norman Six uses a 15 year old starter. Photo credit: Kali Klotz-Brooks.
Keeping things fresh and local, however, means constant change. “We change things weekly,” Norman says. “We have to change because you can’t always serve lamb chops and shanks. We buy maybe twelve lambs a year and so you can’t always have it on the menu once you are out of shanks. They are on for four to five days and then gone.”
This way of cooking means you can count on eating only the absolute best ingredients with the most nutrients, but one thing that doesn’t change is Lovitt’s use of cast iron for nearly everything they make. I am told that this practice alone has health benefits in and of itself. Norman explains that it is better than the typical stainless steel pans which are lined with non-stick Teflon which is not good for us if scratched off into our food. However, with cast iron Norman says, “When you scratch the surface you end up with more iron in your diet, not Teflon. If you use cast iron pans regularly, it’s been proven that you have a higher amount of iron in your blood.” Anemia, or iron deficiency, is fairly common and thus it can be extremely beneficial to eat foods prepared in cast iron regularly.
The restaurant is family friendly and is home to both a lovely bar and fun kid’s area. Photo credit: Kali Klotz-Brooks.
It could even behoove you to get your own – both for the health benefits and financially. “Cast iron is cheap – $25 – $30 dollar pans,” Norman says. “Plus, they never break.” I look over to a tall stack of the black pans behind Norman and he says, “In 20 years, I’ve lost three of them, maybe.”
Plus, unlike Teflon coated pans, you can’t really ruin them. Stainless steel warps overtime and the non-stick wears off, but with cast iron, the pan only gets better with age. “If you do destroy one – or cook the surface off – you are halfway to fixing it. Once the surface is off, you can re-season it super easy. Oil the pan and heat it to 350 degrees in the oven,” Norman explains. Voila! Good as new, if not better. Storing the pan in a warm, dry place also keeps it in best condition. Norman keeps his on or near the stovetop. That way, he explains, “When you go to make coffee and your pan is sitting next to your boiling water, it will absorb some of that heat and keep it super dry.”
Kristen and Norman Six worked for many months getting the space ready for customers. Photo credit: Kali Klotz-Brooks.
But wait, there’s more! Not only does cast iron provide your body with an essential mineral and is unbelievably easy to maintain, it naturally seasons foods. “Repeatedly people ask, ‘What else is in here?’ When we are using pepper, salt, oil and nothing else,” Norman says.
Something else that is consistent at Lovitt, is their use of sourdough. Sourdough is unique from other bread dough in the fact that it has been formed through a fermentation process of yeast and good bacteria. Norman explains that Lovitt Restaurant’s sourdough starter is 15 years old! It is turning the flour into proteins, acids and complex sugars. This process makes the dough easy to digest in our stomachs. He even mentions how one of his cooks has gotten over his gluten-intolerance from eating sourdough in the restaurant. “A lot of people are eating raw flour when they are eating bread. In a factory, a loaf can take under an hour to go from raw flour into the oven. Whereas the flour in our bread has been processed by the sourdough for weeks.”
The stage from the bar occupying the space prior to Lovitt is no longer there, but that does not keep music out of the restaurant. The space has great acoustics! Photo credit: Kali Klotz-Brooks.
Like cast iron, Lovitt Restaurant uses sourdough in everything. They use it in their fried foods, like their chicken where they let the meat sit in a sourdough batter overnight, resulting in a tender and flake-free texture. They also use it as a thickener like, in particular, their coleslaw. “And it’s great for catering in the summer because you don’t have to worry about the raw eggs in the sunshine,” Norman says. Not to mention, it adheres to vegan diets.
There are a plethora of positives associated with sourdough, but still, Kristen Six says that the flavor is pervasive in a lot of Lovitt’s food and not everyone is a fan. Lovitt isn’t budging though, she explains, “Food is like an art. Just because a handful of people don’t like your painting or music doesn’t mean it’s bad art or music.”
Lovitt is located in Fairhaven on Harris. If you haven’t visited yet, you must! Photo credit: Kali Klotz-Brooks.
I was introduced to Paige, Kristen and Norman’s daughter. “She eats three meals a day here. We all do,” says Norman.
You can rest assured that the Sixes have put much dedication into making your experience at Lovitt Restaurant both flavorful and the most nutritious. It’s more than just a restaurant, it’s like Norman and Kristen opening up their home to feed the rest of the community the very best they have.
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