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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 2019)
Wednesday, October 23, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Food & Home 13 Western accent makes a house a home By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief Autumn is the season when hearth and home come back to the center of our lives. As we go into the long gloam- ing, we want nothing more than a cheery fire in the wood stove, a fine meal, a drink, maybe a book or a juicy tale on Netflix& For many folks in Sisters Country, the ideal <nest= evokes the West and/or the North Woods, resonant of pine-clad slopes, sage mead- ows, the scent of pine and juniper smoke. Some aspire to the ultimate expression of that aesthetic: building a log home. <With a log home, often- times it9s something they9ve dreamed of since they were a kid,= Rebecca Richardson of Richardson Log Homes told The Nugget last year. <It9s something that9s been in their hearts for years.= What started as a shel- ter of necessity on the North American frontier (with a her- itage that dates back to Bronze Age Scandinavia and Eastern Europe) is now a versatile style that can go from rustic cabin to magnificent lodge. You don9t have to go all the way in building a log home to get the flavor of the aesthetic. Log accents like mantles, stairs and entry gates to a property can add a Western or North Woods flare. Many people add a touch of the West to their décor and mix it with other elements for a particu- larly Pacific Northwest or spe- cifically Sisters style. <It9s usually a mixture of warm tones and wood,= said Jaimi Warren of Antler Arts in Sisters. <You can make a room 8Western9 just by adding a cowhide and nothing else.= Juniper accents are a particular Sisters aesthetic, Warren says. <It9s a native wood and it9s beautiful,= she said. Warren says her clients tend to start with a single piece and add incrementally to build their aesthetic. The centerpiece is often an antler lamp or chandelier. <An antler lamp is really classy,= she said. <It can either go with a cabin décor or it can go with a very fancy décor.= Warren noted a recent cli- ent who had a very specific need. <She wanted a very com- pact antler chandelier for her nursery,= she said. <She was going with a very classy lodge décor.= Cozy cabin or grand lodge 4 it9s the kind of home that fits Sisters Country. It9s an artistic endeavor in its own right to pull together the construction and the décor ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/ALABN Western accents fit any kind of home. 4 log accents, perhaps some wrought iron; warm wood furniture and antler fixtures; perhaps a paint- ing or a sculpture or two by some of Sisters9 multitude of talented artists 4 you have a home that is a plea- sure to inhabit as the nights grow long and chilly and the winds of winter begin to creep over the Cascade crest. What’s the beef with locally raised cattle? By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief Eating a steak or a burger seems like it should be a sim- ple enough endeavor. But, like so much in modern life, we9ve complicated it. Is red meat healthy or not? Where does our beef actually come from? What9s the difference between grass-fed and grass- finished 4 and does it make any difference? Sisters is now home to a variety of cattle-raising operations 4 some as agri- cultural businesses, some as church-based charity operations 4 all offering locally raised beef on the hoof. Small, local operations are suddenly economically viable. Q u a l i t y, h e a l t h y beef sold to the local market is part of a growing local-food movement, a cul- tural shift toward a more con- nected way of life, shortening supply chains and improving diet. <There9s two components to it,= said Sisters rancher Kathryn Godsiff of the grow- ing popularity of local beef. <There9s the emotional one, where you know where your food comes from and you know who produces it.= In an increasingly de-per- sonalized world, that emo- tional component is impor- tant. But it wouldn9t sustain a local industry if the product wasn9t good. And Godsiff says that the product can be superior. Raising an animal on a ranch and on-farm killing instead of trucking animals to the slaughterhouse makes for a better product, Godsiff says. <The stress on the animal is so much less, the eating experience is going to be so much better.= Kathryn and Allan Godsiff have been in operation for more than eight years with Willows Ranch Beef. They raise grass-finished beef 4 which means that the animal has eaten grass its whole life, right up to slaughter, which is timed for optimal quality. <The grass is at an active growing stage,= Godsiff said. <When the grass is actively growing, it produces a more tender cut of beef.= <The ideal is a high pro- portion of clover and grass,= Allan said. <You don9t want them eating a lot of sagebrush.= Preparation of grass-finished beef requires a little more care than your average supermarket cut 4 but not that much. <Well-done is not your friend in grass-finished,= K a t h r y n G o d s i ff s a i d . <Medium is about as far as you9d want to go, because it will get tough. Low-and- slow works well (for prep- aration). Instapots work well with shanks and cuts like that. Crockpots are good.= <It9s really overcooking that you want to avoid,= Allan affirmed. The desire for locally produced foodstuffs 4 from produce to beef 4 seems like it9s here to stay. The Godsiffs encourage consumers to learn as much as possible about their food sources. Take advantage of the local nature of the transaction and know your producer. <Make sure they actually have good grass,= Kathryn said. <It9s all part of being an informed consumer, isn9t it?= Local Beef That Restores The Land Taste real meat, raised right. Scottish Highland cattle are among the many breeds local ranchers raise for meat. What makes Sisters Cattle Co. beef so fl avorful? • Foraged on more than 30 plant species • High in nutrients like B12 and Omega-3 • ZERO fertilizer, poisons, or GMOs • Raised with regenerative land-management practices • Owned and operated by a local Sisters family Order today at www.sisterscattleco.com or call 541-514-8598 ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/ IDIGITIZE