EW ’s
gift guide 2007
HOLIDAY MARKET CATCH
Venturing away from the market, much
as we love it, we sometimes drive to
Corvallis, and we never, ever take I-5. Why?
Because on Hwy 99W, just after the bridge
reconstruction and just before you hit that
long 50 mph stretch outside of Corvallis
proper, lies just about the yummiest place in
all of Oregon: Hazelnut Hill .
Proprietors Sally and Robert Hilles have
been running the company for over 20 years
since the timber industry crash prompted
them to sell their mill and start raising hazel-
nuts instead. Oregon grows almost 100 per-
cent of U.S.-based hazelnuts (other hazel-
nuts mostly come from Turkey), and the
Hilles duo have been able to thrive selling
their tasty treats alongside six varieties of
apple, dried berries (sometimes covered in
chocolate) and Umpqua ice cream (avail-
able at the store). The center of the business,
of course, comes from the nuts.
But they don’t simply harvest hazelnuts
(not that it’s “simple” — Sally Hilles
explains that during harvest season, they
employ 20 people and work a lot of early
mornings and late nights). They roast the
nuts, make them into candy (the Dark
Chocolate Hazelnuts with Guittard
chocolate coating that rich nut meat …
wow), get spicy with them (according to
one employee, it’s possible to eat the Hot
& Spicy Hazelnuts all day long) and
create hazelnut Pancake/Waffle Mix,
Hazelnut Butter and Hazelnut
Flour . Really, there’s no need to go a sin-
gle meal without the products of Hazelnut
Hill (which are also available online at
www.hazelnuthill.com).
If you’re a specific kind of locavore, you
probably harvested, froze, canned, dried and
bottled all kinds of treats of your own over
the summer months. Consider setting up a
local food exchange ; maybe your
friends specialized in plum chutney while
you focused on tomato sauce. A holiday
trade shares the bounty of our valley, moun-
tains and coasts while building community.
But you can also build community by
sharing your income with some of our
area’s many local food producers. And hey,
being a locavore? It’s the new in thing. Just
ask the folks at the dictionary.
■
Health and Beauty Shoppe
2868 Willamette Street,
in South Eugene
Mon-Sat: 10 am – 8 pm
Sunday: Noon – 5 pm
-S
a nd
AH
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of H
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Ble
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a l th
nd B
ea
ts,
roduc
ut y P
and Gifts for the senses
20% OFF!
Any Custom Blended
d
Perfume, Bath & Body or Home
Fragrance Products from our Blending Bar
Holiday
Gift
Store
(Within Gallery)
Prints, Cards, Jewelry,
Locally Handcrafted Toys
by Gallery Artists
Off er good through November 30, 2007
Announcing!!
Thurston High
School
Choir’s
Holiday
Craft Faire
Friday & Saturday
10am - 6pm / 10am-5pm
O PENING F IRST F RIDAY
D ECEMBER 7 th
With Reception
Open thru December
Tues.-Sat. • Noon till 6
www.newzone.org
164 W. Broadway • (541) 683-0759
11/23
& 24
Hand-Crafted Items!
Food!
Movies for Kids!
FREE
ADMISSION!
Thurston High School
333 N. 58th St
Springfield, OR 97478
Bring Donations for Food for Lane County!!
Seasonal
Gifts
• Amber & Silver Jewelry
• Candles • Incense • Meditation
Cushions • Yoga Mats • Journals •
Books • Aroma Therapy Products
• Prayer Flags
RUBY
CHASM
152 W 5th @ Charnelton
344-4074
M-Sa 10-6 • Su 12-5
Eugene Weekly’s Gift Guide 2007
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