Celilo Restaurant and Bar
Amie Sue Oldfather packages Monkey Brittle in her commercial kitchen (photo by Shelly Peterson).
Spring. Time to think fresh! free products. In addition to the raw food brownie, which is made one batch at a time, they also sell Crispy Monkey Brittle, a healthy snack similar to trail mix, but made with organic bananas, raisins and sprouted nuts. (The brittle is available in a number of places in Hood River, including Doppio Coffee & Lounge, Mother’s Marketplace, the Farm Stand and China Gorge Restaurant). Now a “flexitarian” who eats mostly raw but some cooked food, Oldfather constantly experiments with recipes. She is concocting a Raw Fruit Twizzler that sounds a little like fruit leather and a savory cracker. The benefit of cooking raw, she says, is that if the recipe she’s experimenting with doesn’t work, she Cracked Black Pepper and Cayenne Brownies sold in Hood can always convert it into something else. River (photo by Amie Sue Oldfather). One of her best mistakes was an attempt at a raw key lime pie. The ingredients wouldn’t stick together and oozed all over, so she scooped it up and put it in the ice cream machine. “It was heavenly!” she says. For more, go to oldfatherfarms.com and nouveauraw.com.] Ruth Berkowitz is a lawyer, mediator and writer. She lives with her family in Hood River and Portland and is a frequent contributor to The Gorge Magazine.
Open Daily Lunch 11:30-3, Dinner from 5 Happy Hour from 5-6
Serving Pacific Northwest cuisine with an emphasis on locally grown products, extensive wine menu and full bar
Catering Weddings • Private parties • On/Offsite
541-386-5710 16 Oak Street, Hood River OR www.celilorestaurant.com
the gorge magazine // spring 2014 63