OPB’s “Superabundant” explores the stories behind the foods of the Pacific Northwest with videos, articles and this weekly newsletter. To keep you sated between episodes, Heather Arndt Anderson, a Portland-based culinary historian, food writer and ecologist, highlights different aspects of the region’s food ecosystem. This week she offers a recipe for an Oregon spin on classic Mormon funeral potatoes.

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It’s been creeping up for a while, but now that it’s dark and chilly all the time, it feels like Spooky Season is officially upon us (it’s so hard to take Halloween seriously when it’s still sunny and warm, isn’t it?). The veil, as they say, is thin. Sure, candy may steal the show this time of year, but we’re creeps and keep gravitating toward funeral food like the creamy hotdish in this week’s newsletter. Symbolic foods have been a part of mortuary customs since the Stone Age, and this is the perfect time of year to honor this intrinsic part of our humanity. What was the earliest funeral food? Read on to find out!

First Foods, a new veggie volume, going fallow, and good things in markets

Freshly picked morsels from the Pacific Northwest food universe:

A celebration of Northwest First Foods

In observance of Native American Heritage Month (which begins Nov. 1), Allison Inn and Spa in Newberg will host a five-course dinner prepared by chef and Siletz tribal member Jack Strong. Tickets include wine pairings, and Alaska Native journalist Elaine Chukan Brown will talk about their work as an Indigenous wine writer. Tickets are available here.

‘Edible’ is a tribute to the vegetable kingdom

A new book from London publisher Thames & Hudson celebrates the plants that may change the way we eat. With a focus on sustainable and less-known fruits, vegetables and grains, “Edible” not only introduces readers to new foods that could save the planet; it also happens to be illustrated by Oregon-based illustrator/zine-maker/organic farmer, Katie Kulla.

In the “Superabundant” garden this week

Now that we’re facing down “a freight train of cold air,” it’s time to tuck most of the garden in and let it rest for a spell. We’ll pop out here and there as needed for greens and herbs to cook with (and the tomatillos and persimmons still need harvesting), but otherwise, we’ve got solid plans to just…let things die. Leave the leaves, maybe apply a layer of mulch if you want, but other than that, it’s OK to send Persephone off to the Underworld, so to speak. That said, much of the Northwest never stops being green, and incidentally, now is the ideal time to plant fruit trees and berry bushes for next year’s blooms and bounty. In the words of 16th-century English poet and farmer Thomas Tusser:

“The Barberry, Respis, and Gooseberry, too, Look now to be planted, as other things do.”

Good things in markets

We absolutely adore grocery shopping this time of year. We have the pumpkins, apples, pears, persimmons and wild mushrooms at their autumnal peak, and the first root vegetables and sturdy winter greens are trickling in, novel and tender. The stuff we usually have to wait until spring for — perfect little turnips and breakfast radishes, pretty pink chicories and crisp kohlrabi — are thriving in this cool and damp weather. When it comes to building a salad, fall may be stealing summer’s thunder.

OPB’s Gemma DiCarlo recently reported that Oregon’s farmers markets are still on the post-pandemic rebound. Oregon Farmers Market Association executive director Ashley Hess has a few theories as to why. She recently spoke about it with “Think Out Loud” host Dave Miller — listen to the full conversation here.

Recipe: Funeral potatoes

This week, in honor of Halloween and Día de Los Muertos, we wanted to take a look at culinary mortuary rites — funeral food. Eating bread or cake to commemorate the dead is a tradition nearly as old as humanity itself, first with the practice of literally consuming the dead (endocannibalism dates back to the Paleolithic era). It eventually evolved into eating the symbolic body — bread — with the ancient Egyptians 4,000 years ago, and it’s still practiced today by anyone who takes the Eucharist.

Of course, breads and funerary seedcakes aren’t the only foods associated with the dead. In Indonesia, a pointed cone of rice called tumpeng is presented at funerals to ease the dead through their life’s final journey. In China, eating chicken at a funeral will help the departing soul ascend to the heavens.

No one is sure about the origins of funeral potatoes, though. All we know is that the dish, while looking very Midwestern, is primarily associated with Utah (the Latter Day Saints, to be specific). We argue that this dish could easily have been invented in Oregon. The potato is Oregon’s state vegetable, after all. The casserole’s binder (classically a can of cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup) is made from the state beverage (milk) and the state mushroom (chanterelles). And don’t forget (never forget!) that Oregon currently holds TWO global cheese awards. Does this version take slightly more effort than opening a can of cream of whatever soup and a bag of frozen hash browns? Perhaps, but your dead loved ones deserve nothing less. Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

2 large russet potatoes (about 1 ½ lbs)

3 tbsp unsalted butter

½ cup diced onion

1 lb chanterelles (and/or other mushrooms), chopped

2 tsp fine sea salt

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp garlic powder

Couple pinches of MSG (optional but effective!)

2 tsp chicken bouillon

¼ cup AP flour

2 cup whole milk

¼ cup sour cream or plain yogurt

1 cup shredded cheese

½ cup panko or other toasted bread crumbs

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375º. Peel and shred the potatoes, then sprinkle them with a couple of pinches of salt and set them in a colander over a bowl to drain.
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onions and mushrooms for a minute, then add the salt, pepper, garlic powder and MSG (if using). When the mushrooms begin to release liquid, stir in the bouillon powder and increase the heat to medium-high.
3. Sauté until the mushrooms and onions have softened and the liquid has evaporated, about 8-10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and sprinkle on the flour and stir well — it’ll form a dense paste, but don’t worry!
4. Pour in the milk and sour cream and stir until thoroughly combined with the mushroom paste. Simmer until thick and bubbly, another 10 minutes. Turn off the heat.
5. Gently squeeze the excess moisture out of the shredded potatoes and stir them into the mushroom sauce with ½ cup of the cheese. Scrape the mixture into a 9″ x 13″ baking dish and top with the remaining cheese. Sprinkle on the panko and tightly cover the pan with foil.
6. Bake for 50 minutes, then remove the foil and bake until the top is golden brown and edges are bubbly, an additional 10-15 minutes. Let the casserole rest for 10 minutes before serving.

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