A couple years ago I wrote a story about locally grown horseradish (wasabi grows in the Pacific Northwest too by the way) and for that I interviewed the Krizos in the Klamath Basin. It was a really interesting story to research and then I didn't talk with the Krizos for a couple years.
A few weeks ago I got to see the working cover design for my bookFood Lover's Guide to Portland. I love it and I should because I took all of the cover photos except one -- the one of the Krizos' harvest truck.
So I got to check in with them about this agricultural shot of their truck filled to the brim with horseradish. They gave the green light and that opened up the dialogue. A couple weeks later I heard from their son -- Ira Krizo -- who lives in town and runs a thriving local, wholesale food business -- White Pine Products. Ira provided the recipe to go with that seasonal horseradish story in 2007 -- horseradish crusted filet mignon with a blue cheese cream sauce.
In 2007 Ira's all-natural (some organic) White Pine Products -- granolas, candied nuts, pancake mixes, and more -- were only in a few stores. Since then WPP has grown and diversified. You can now find White Pine Products in local Whole Foods Markets, Market of Choice stores, and other food and drink shops around town.
The past few weeks I've been lucky enough to sample several White Pine Products and here are a few of the tasty treats I've enjoyed as a result...
Caramalized onion, feta, white wine and spinach spaghetti topped with candied pecans.
Butter lettuce, bacon, egg, and maple spice hazelnut salad with a miso lime vinaigrette.
As you can see from the photo below there's a lot more to White Pine Products than spiced nuts (Although WPP's are so fresh and perfectly spiced they takes spiced nuts to a whole new level.) I'll let you know how the pancake mixes, granola and muesli are next time...
White Pine Products line-up.
White Pine Products 503.794.4083 www.whitepine.usWPP online store