Spell Check will tell you that spelling “Pharmacy” with an “F” is wrong, but Annie McHale and Curt Gray, owners of ROOTS Farmacy in Stevenson, Wash., will tell you it’s just right. As they describe their business on their website, “ROOTS Farmacy is all about food. And health. And quality of life. Because they go hand-in-hand.” Food. Farm. Family. Friendship. Fun. The “F” word reimagined.
WELL SAID: “Making a career of art is like baking bread. You put the various ingredients into the bowl ... If it’s too wet, you add a bit more flour; if it’s too dry, then a bit more liquid. You let it rise and then you punch it down to let it rise again. You slap it around on a counter to force some elasticity into it. Eventually it starts to take shape and you can envision the nice crusty brown loaf with the perfect amount of chewiness and tenderness it will become. I’m somewhere in that slapping around phase, I think.” — Mt. Hood artist Rachel Harvey, in her February email newsletter.
I must admit that I’ve always subscribed to the philosophy that when a baguette or loaf of bread gets hard and stale, it’s toast (pun intended). Today’s first tipster has convinced me that there just might be a clever way to bring it back to a fully edible condition.
At Panzanella Bakery & Deli, you won’t find smoked turkey or alfalfa sprouts. And don’t expect to pull a chair up to a table. There aren’t any — of either.
