Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Book Review by Judith Bishop with In Good Taste!


Join us on Sunday December 19th at the Ashland Food Co-op for our last author signing for the Holidays with free samples from 12-3pm. Don't forget to take advantage of our free shipping until Christmas! Go to our website buckhornsprings.org to order.

Book Review

Judith Bishop who reviews for Portland's 'In Good Taste' gave us great marks! Check it out ...


Book Review-Buckhorn Springs Heritage Cookbook
Buckhorn Springs Heritage Cookbook
By Lauren, Leslie, and Bruce Sargent

I was recently contacted to review Buckhorn Springs Heritage Cookbook, by Lauren, Leslie, and Bruce Sargent. This is a unique cookbook that celebrates a family’s dream and those people the dream has touched. There is passion for the land, its history dating back to the American Indians, and how various owners tried their luck. The winners are the Sargents' who bring skill and love to a dream with success.

The book is woven like a tapestry. A cast of many lend their voice and stories about how Buckhorn Springs influenced them and lingers in their memories. Pictures are copious with before and after shots of the buildings, children growing up, and tempting food.

The stories and recipes are divided by the time of day; beginning with Morning and a selection of quick breads, a frittata, granola, and pancakes. All recipes are simply laid out and easy to follow. Noon’s offerings are many with various wraps, salads, and soups, just the right sustenance for a break in the day. Night is more substantial with many filling and mostly vegetarian dishes. After Hours has the kind of offerings that you want to take back to your cabin for a midnight snack.

Leslie Sargent is the driving force in the kitchen. She found her culinary infatuation at twelve when she began cooking for her family. The Buckhorn Kitchen philosophy is to create dishes “simple and fresh, with ingredients from the harvests of local farmers”. Her challenge has been to serve food that fits the wide variety of clients who pass through, taking into account diets, allergies, and food restrictions.

With that in mind, the recipes are stand alone terrific but with room for additions and subtractions to fit assorted diets. Leslie gives credit to her inspirational sources and suggests changes a cook may try. Always take note of the serving sizes because they vary.

If you try only one recipe in the Morning chapter it has to be Very Lemon Bread. This is a straight forward quick bread with the addition of a Lemon Pour that is poured over the bread while still warm. The pour soaks in and adds a fresh lemon infusion to the cake. Divine!

Lunch and dinner recipes embrace global flavors. Ginger Marinated Tofu Wraps with Peanut Sauce reside next to Sweet Potato Quesadillas and Minestrone for lunch. Aside from the usual salad suspects Leslie has included Quinoa Salad with Oranges, a brightly flavored dish with Middle Eastern spices, raisins, and almonds. Her Farro Salad has the addition of vaquer beans (sometimes called vaquero beans) that add protein, a unique color, and great texture. The dish is worth the adventure! Www.RanchoGordo.Com in Napa Valley, CA carries them.

A perfect hostess always sends her guests to bed with a little sweet. Leslie has that covered with a selection that appeals to all tastes and dietary restrictions. Vegan Wheat-Free Cashew Cookies, Summer Squash Spice Cake, Buck Bars (Leslie’s tasty answer to Cliff & Luna bars), and don’t forget Leslie’s Brownies or Lauren’s Oatmeal Granola all put a smile on visitor’s faces.

Buckhorn Springs Heritage Cookbook is an amazing story that one feels is ongoing and not yet at the end. It is a wonderful example of our unique state and what it has to offer the world.

I can’t wait to read the next installment!

Read! Eat! And Enjoy!

Judith Bishop

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Free Shipping until Christmas!


Hello Friends of Buckhorn,


We will be offering FREE SHIPPING of the Buckhorn Springs Heritage Cookbook from now until Christmas! Go to our website by clicking here: Buckhorn Springs or call 541.488.2200 to take care of your holiday gifts today!

Our next book signing event will be at the Northwest Nature Shop on Saturday, December 11th from 12-3pm. The Northwest Nature Shop will have a selection of food from the book (!) We're excited to see what they cook up.


Don't miss our article in the Ashland Sneak Preview, find us on Page 35 ...




We hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. We had enjoyed a snowy day with a great group of friends and family out for yet another delicious meal. Thanks to the crew that helped move Bruce's tools to his new shop.





Please enjoy this Buckhorn Biscotti recipe for the Holidays. Although softer than most biscotti, it is best dunked in coffee or earl grey tea and enjoyed with a close friend!


Enjoy,
Lauren




Buckhorn Biscotti

Makes 2 dozen

Quinn loves biscotti but prefers to have it dipped in chocolate or with chocolate chips rather than the cherries. Use whatever you like best!

Cherry Mixture:
1¾ cups dried cherries or cranberries ½ cup amaretto

Wet Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons butter 1 cup sugar 3 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla
Dry Ingredients:
3 cups unbleached organic white flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt ¾ cup slivered almonds, finely chopped (optional) ½ to ¾ cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350˚.
  2. In a small saucepan simmer cherries in the amaretto for 6 to 8 minutes.
  3. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at time and then the vanilla.
  4. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl then gradually mix into the wet ingredients. Add the cherry mixture.
  5. The dough will be very loose. Divide dough in half and shape each half into a flat log on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
  6. Bake for 20 minutes but check after 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 20 minutes. Slice into ¾ inch thick pieces.
  7. Turn oven down to 300˚ and bake again for 4 minutes on one side.
  8. Flip the biscotti and bake for 4 minutes on the other side. The number of minutes depends on how hard you want the biscotti.


Sunday, November 21, 2010

Irish Soda Bread for Thanksgiving!





Check out our Irish Soda Bread recipe (below) for Thanksgiving this year. It's one of our favorite special occasion bread recipes, and makes amazing toast! We hope to see you at our book signing at Bloomsbury this Sunday the 28th from 2-4pm with a selection of samples from the Buckhorn Springs Heritage Cookbook. If you can't make it then, join us for First Friday in December at Nimbus on the Plaza.



Bruce and Leslie had a very successful book tour and we are happy to have books selling in Seattle, Portland, Corvallis, Eugene and Jacksonville. We hope you enjoy this festive recipe and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Lauren






Irish Soda Bread

Makes 2 loaves

This is adapted from the first cookbook that I ever used (decades ago!), The Sunset Cookbook of Breads. With some adjustments it has become a wonderful recipe accompanied with soup on a cold rainy day in Oregon.

Dry Ingredients:
2 cups unbleached organic white flour 2 cups organic whole wheat pastry flour 1 teaspoon salt 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon coriander ¼ cup butter, cut into thin slices
Wet Ingredients:
1 egg 1¾ cups buttermilk

  1. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and coriander. Add butter.
  2. I use my Hobart mixer and blend until the mixture begins to crumble.
  3. Beat eggs slightly with buttermilk. Add this to dry ingredients, stirring until blended. Turn out onto a floured board and knead until smooth. Divide dough in half and shape into round flattened loaves.
  4. Place in two oiled 8 inch cake pans, or place on a sheet pan, pressing the dough down to flatten a little.
  5. Cut crosses into the top with a sharp knife or razor blade.
  6. Bake in a 375ยบ oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until bottom is well browned. Let cool before serving.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Final Retreat, Bookstores and a Review from the Oregonian!


Hello Friends of Buckhorn!

Dot Fisher-Smith's WOMEN AT THE SPRINGS RETREAT concluded Buckhorn's season of operation before closing for the winter.


It was a dynamic group of women, who enjoyed, "A unique opportunity for self-discovery, for you and your muse to dance together, rest, relax, reflect, renew and nourish your creative spirit in the quiet, secluded natural beauty of Buckhorn Springs. Leslie's meals are a visual feast as well as being the most delicious food you'll ever taste! " -Dot Fisher-Smith



Annie Drager, who took these photos, describes the experience as follows, "Each time I return to Buckhorn Springs I feel that I am coming home. The loving attention you and your family give to making me and others feel cared for is special. You honor this beautiful sacred land and its creatures. I feel privileged to return again and again."


We were happy to host yet another lovely group facilitated by Dot! If you know anyone who would be interested in attending the upcoming Spring Women's Retreat please contact Dot at: dot@opendoor.com

Heritage Cookbook News:

The Buckhorn Springs Heritage Cookbook has been received very well by the Rogue Valley and beyond. We are excited that Bloomsbury, Roxy Ann Winery, Nimbus, Northwest Nature Shop, SOU Bookstore, The Ashland Co-Op and Barns and Noble are now selling our book! We will be having book signings at all of these locations before Christmas!



Bloomsbury will be hosting us on
November 28th from 2-4pm.
We hope you can join us for a "taste" of the book, literally!



Bruce and Leslie Sargent will be taking a book tour on Tuesday, November 16th up to Seattle, Portland and Eugene to visit bookstores who may be interested in selling our book. We hope they will help us reach the goal of raising enough money through our Non-Profit Buckhorn Mineral Springs to restore the "Physio Therapy" Clinic into the Buckhorn Museum. Please contact us if you have any suggestions as to how we could reach this goal!

Thanks to The Oregonian for this book review:

ON OUR DESK


Buckhorn Springs Heritage Cookbook
Lauren, Leslie and Bruce Sargent
Buckhorn Springs, $34.95, 240 pages



In a nutshell: Buckhorn Springs, tucked in a corner of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in southern Oregon, started as a resort in the 1890s and is now a retreat center run by the Sargents. This book is the family's answer to years of requests for its wholesome recipes. As you would expect, the emphasis is on local, seasonal and organic. But we liked that the recipes are deliciously balanced between celebrity spa cuisine and hippie-commune fare. We felt healthier just reading them.


Take a taste: Ginger Chana Dal Soup; Cucumber Daikon Salad; Soft Corn Tacos With Garlicky Greens; Cherry-Vanilla Ricotta Muffin.


What's hot: This is a deeply personal book that celebrates the long history of Buckhorn Springs and its Oregon roots. What it lacks in polished graphic design it more than makes up for with soul.

-- Katherine Miller




Thank you and stay tuned for more book events!


Lauren

Sunday, October 24, 2010

The book made it into the Mail Tribune!



BUCKHORN SPRINGS

Like most delectable ideas, the "Buckhorn Springs Heritage Cookbook" was cooked up in the kitchen.

"The guests eat out in the dining room and they just kept asking my mom for her recipes," said Lauren Sargent, whose family owns the historic Buckhorn Springs lodge and retreat a dozen miles east of Ashland.

"They'd say things like, 'Oh, my gosh! That's so good! I want this one and I have to have that one,' " she added.

"And would I tell them I really didn't know what all I had done with it," interjected her mother, Leslie Sargent, chef at the resort.

As is the case of many folks who know their way around a kitchen, she knew each recipe like the back of her hand. But she didn't have it precisely written out.

So the family, including father Bruce, a self-described history buff, put together a 240-page hardback book chock full of recipes and history articles about the resort, whose roots tap into the 1800s. The subtitle of the book is appropriately: "A Place where Family and Food Feed a Historic Journey."

The family will celebrate release of the book from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Roxy Ann Winery, 3285 Hillcrest Road, Medford, in an event open to the public.

In the book, readers can feast their eyes on more than 100 recipes from apricot tea bread to Pad Thai stir fry with peanut sauce, or sample historic accounts from the construction of the resort guest cabins in the early 1890s to the Buckhorn Mineral Springs Sanitarium, run by Vienna-born physician Herman Wexler's in the 1940s.

The Sargents, who have owned the land for more than two decades, also serve up color photographs of the food as well as photographs from back in the day.

"The world has many cookbooks but this one features ingredients of history, family devotion, living local and the resonance of a place like no other," wrote Oregon poet Kim Stafford in the foreword to the book.

All the proceeds from the $34.95 book go to the Buckhorn Mineral Springs, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. The Sargents — Lauren's siblings Russell and Quinn are also featured in the book — are using some of the funds to establish a museum on the property.

Native Americans were drawn to the mineral springs, now surrounded by the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, long before white settlers arrived, Bruce said.

He pointed out a small circle of large rocks near the circa-1930s building with an old sign reading, "Carbon Dioxide Vapor Bath." The stones, which make a rough outline of a bath tub, are believed to be remnants of a vapor bath used by Native Americans, he said.

Inside the building are half a dozen baths which have hinged wooden covers, each with a hole cut out for the bathers head.

"They would sit down in them," Bruce said. "Their heads would stick out."

If they didn't keep their heads above the vapor bath, they wouldn't be able to breathe, he said.

"No oxygen," he explained, adding that a lit match held in the bath is automatically extinguished for the same reason.

Emigrant Creek percolates — literally — through the middle of the property. Gases from deep underground form bubbles in the water.


Near the vapor bath is an old hand pump over a shallow well.

"Old timers would come and bring their extracts and mix it with the carbonated mineral water," Leslie said.

The mineral water takes a little getting used to, she acknowledged.

"I tell people to take at least two sips because after the first one you are ready to accept it more," the chef said.

The core of the old lodge, built just north of the stream, was constructed when the nation was still embroiled in the Civil War, Bruce said. He bases that on historic documents as well as interviews with folks like old-timer Vernon Hopkins, who died a few years ago at age 93.

"Vern told us that his brother Elmer Hopkins said the core of the lodge was built in 1864," Bruce said.

Using old photographs, Bruce reproduced the second floor and railing around the lodge to faithfully reflect its early-day appearance.

"The top floor had burned off and the roof was different when we got it," he said. "Like any place, it had its ups and downs over the decades."

When Lithia Springs in Ashland was a going affair, with folks bathing in its mineral water a century ago, Buckhorn Springs was also attracting like-minded people, he said.

"But in the 1930s there was a major downturn," Bruce said, referring to the Great Depression.

Since acquiring the place where the three siblings were reared, the Sargents have painstakingly restored it.

They have also added a greenhouse and an expansive garden in the form of a circle to provide fresh produce for the lodge, thanks to the expertise of gardener Aiyana Hart-McArthur.

"I like adjusting the recipes to what is growing at the time," said Leslie whose is the author of most of the recipes, although others connected to the resort over the years have also contributed.

"I love cookbooks — I love to read them," she said.

"But I had to hang around to watch how she was making something or pin her down for an exact measurement," added Lauren with a laugh.

Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at pfattig@mailtribune.com.

Thanks to everyone who made it out to Roxy Ann for another successful afternoon of book signing!

Lauren



Sunday, October 17, 2010

Dot the Movie

Hello all!

The premiere of "Dot: An Ordinary Life, an Extraordinary Person," a documentary on the life of Dot Fisher-Smith, was shown last night at the Havurah Shir Hadash in Ashland. And wow, what a movie and what a great turn out! Over 200 people came to support Dot (who stresses the movie was "not her idea.") and the dedicated film crew.


Fisher-Smith trekked in Nepal, started non-violence training for protestors, guided women's groups in empowerment and overcoming the wounds of domestic violence — all the while claiming no special wisdom or answers to the complex problems of modern life.


The event was also a great opportunity for people to get a Buckhorn Springs Heritage Cookbook, offered at a reduced rate. Everyone who purchased the book was directed to page 154 to find Dot's piece on her women's retreats at Buckhorn titled: "Women at the Springs". Dot's women's retreats have been wildly popular and in constant demand. If you are interested please contact Dot at dot@opendoor.com for information about the winter retreat on the weekend of November 5th.

We hope you can join us for our next book signing at
Roxy Ann Winery on Sunday, October 24th from 2-5pm. The book will be offered at a reduced rate with samples too! I'll leave you with this sample recipe from the book!

Until next time,
Lauren


Pecan or Almond Sandies

Makes 2 dozen


These Sandies and the butterballs remind me of Christmas, winter snow days, and a cup of Earl Grey tea with milk and honey.

Wet Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
¹⁄³ cup sugar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla

Dry Ingredients:
2 cups unbleached organic white flour
1 cup chopped pecans or almonds


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325˚.
2. Cream butter and sugars in a bowl until smooth and pale yellow. Stir in water and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients.
4. Add dry ingredients slowly to the wet ingredients.
5. Once mixed, split dough in half, roll out into logs, place on parchment lined cookie sheet and refrigerate until firm.
6. Once firm, cut logs at a diagonal into ¼ inch thick pieces. Place cookies face down on cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.


Sunday, October 10, 2010

Book Signing at Roxy Ann Winery!

(Bruce selling more books while Quinn observes.)

Hello Friends of Buckhorn!

With such a successful Book Opening at Buckhorn we decided to have another signing at
Roxy Ann Winery on Sunday, October 24th!


We hope you can join us from 2-5pm for another food sampling from the book, sneak peek at the printing process, book signing not to mention critically acclaimed local wine and a special reduced price!


(The spread of samples from the Heritage Cookbook.)

(Beth and Craig Martin, excited to finally get their copy!)

We hope you can make it out to Roxy Ann and we'll leave you with one of our favorites:

Vegan Wheat-Free Cashew Cookies

½ cup dried apricots, chopped

½ cup cashews, roasted and chopped

½ cup dates, chopped
½ cup coconut, shredded
1½ cups brown rice flour
½ cup tapioca flour

½ teaspoon xanthum gum
½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ to ¾ cup maple syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla

½ cup oil


Variation:
1 cup rolled oats

Sunday, September 19, 2010

The Heritage Cookbook: Made from Good Resources, Full of Good Food and for a Good Cause


When Bruce began looking into printing companies for the Heritage Cookbook, one of our requirements was that they could guarantee FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification. The company that we chose, Friesens, met all of our expectations.


“Being FSC certified shows that you comply with the highest social and environmental standards on the market.”


Essentially, FSC certified products guarantees that the timber was harvested using legal and sustainable forestry practices. “FSC Controlled Wood…products avoid timber from the most destructive and harmful practices, such as illegal logging or human rights abuses.


We also opted to use paper that was chlorine free made with 10% post-consumer waste.
(Check out the graph below to see the resources we saved.)



When we purchased Buckhorn 21 years ago, the first thing Bruce did was put Buckhorn on the National Register of Historic Places as a district, in 1989. This put us on the map, literally, of the Nation’s official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation.


These decisions are aligned with our business practices and lead us to put all proceeds from the book towards Buckhorn Mineral Springs a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Each purchase is tax deductible, with the funds we raise going towards the restoration of the Historic Buckhorn Springs Physiotherapy Clinic.




Come out for our book opening on October 3rd to see the Physiotherapy Clinic in its early stages before restoration starts. Help us preserve Oregon’s history!


Get your copy early by purchasing it online through our website!

Until next time,

Lauren

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Heritage Cookbooks have Arrived!


The Buckhorn Heritage Cookbook finally arrived to the loading dock of Ashland's Caldera Brewery!



It arrived on a semi-truck via six one ton pallets. Lucky for us, Caldera has a loading dock and fork lift which made unloading a lot easier.





If you just can't wait until the book opening on October 3rd, then you can purchase your copy early. It will be available through our website next week, or you can contact us directly:



Each book you purchase is a tax deductible contribution to Buckhorn Mineral Springs, a 501(c)(3) organization. Your contribution will help restore the Physio Therapy Clinic, payments above the price of the cookbook are greatly appreciated and will add to your tax deduction. Upon purchase we will send a receipt, which you should save for your tax records.



Otherwise, we'll see you at the book opening on Sunday, October 3rd from 1-5pm.

Hope to see you all there!



Lauren

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Book Opening with Special Early Bird Price!


Join us on Sunday, October 3rd, for the Buckhorn Springs Heritage Cookbook Opening from 1-5pm at Buckhorn Springs.




The event will be featuring food from the cookbook, Caldera beer and book signings. Also we will have a sneak peek into the printing process and a behind the scenes look at the production.



We will also be offering the cookbook at an early bird price for our first customers! Bring a friend and come enjoy an afternoon with a good book, delicious food and local brews.

Hope to see you there!

Lauren and the Sargent Family


Sunday, August 29, 2010

Buckhorn Springs Heritage Cookbook is here!!


Hello again Friends of Buckhorn!

While we were wrapping up the
Buckhorn Springs Heritage Cookbook we decided to put the blog on hold. With recipes by Leslie, design by Lauren and history by Bruce at long last, dare I say that it is finished.



After a family backpacking trip to Montana, Bruce and Leslie Sargent made their way to the printing site in Altona, Manitoba Canada. Upon careful investigation, Friesens was the printing company we decided to go with. Bruce and Leslie were met with a hard working team of experts and a plethora of huge (and fast) equipment.



The Sargent’s stayed at the printing site all day as each double-sided 16 page sheet of the 240 page book was approved and sent through the massive printer. They literally got to see thousands of copies printed in front of their eyes in a matter of hours. Although some last minute changes had to be made to the dust jacket, everything went smoothly.



On September 10th, 3,000 copies of the long awaited Buckhorn Springs Heritage Cookbook will arrive in Ashland Oregon, hot off the press. We are planning a book opening on Sunday October 3rd at Buckhorn, we would love to see you all there.

Stay tuned for more information about this special event, where you will have the opportunity to purchase your very own Buckhorn Heritage Cookbook at an early bird rate!


Until next time,

Lauren