Always looking for ways to improve on the basic burger, I eagerly took some advice from a farmers’ market produce peddler last week.

I bought one of the thickest leeks available at her stall and sliced it cross-wise into paper-thin rings. These I embedded in a homemade salmon burger and grilled. The leeks were indeed sweeter than onion and so succulent that they didn’t at all compete with the salmon’s delicate texture.

It’s easy, by the way, to make your own salmon burgers rather than relying on the prepackaged variety. This is also a great way to use up leftover baked fillets.

The concept is similar to a fritter. Chunk up your leftover salmon or a good-quality canned variety (make sure it contains no skin). I prefer salmon canned at Chuck’s Seafood in Charleston, previously mentioned in this blog. Add one egg and dry bread crumbs just until the mixture holds together. I like to add fresh or jarred, minced garlic, green onion, parsley or whatever other fresh herb I have on hand. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne, smoked paprika, mustard powder and a dash of Worcestershire. Form into two patties and pan fry in just a little olive oil.

I love these burgers with wasabi-spiked mayonnaise and fresh enoki mushrooms or sauteed wild mushrooms, depending on the season. And now, leeks!

More than two months after a massive freeze damaged much of California’s agriculture industry, it’s apparent grocery stores still have plenty of lemons, limes and oranges.

However, as most of you have likely noticed, the fruits aren’t all that attractive. The skins are often blemished (definitely not conducive to zesting). On a few occasions, I’ve even sunk my thumb right into a mushy lemon while digging through the produce bins at my local grocery store for the more promising specimens.

The good news is: Grapefruits look marvelous. Most of the fruit was grown in Texas, which apparently didn’t suffer any adverse weather prior to harvest. So I’ve been really upping my grapefruit consumption. Even my husband, previously dedicated to oranges, has been grabbing grapefruit for a snack.

Our new favorite salad combines grapefruit sections (freed of pith and membrane) with avocados (which also have been superb) atop watercress or another peppery green like arugula. Top with some seared sea scallops or lightly sauteed shrimp and fried wonton strips. As we’re usually too lazy to fry off wonton dough, we substitute ready-made ones sold under the label Fresh Gourmet. I serve this salad with a homemade raspberry vinaigrette.

If you’re anything like me, cheese takes center stage at your festive events. Indeed, cheese shows up in so many of my favorite appetizers and desserts that I’ve taken to calling party spreads “Sarah’s Festival of Cheese.”

This weekend, Rogue Valley residents can truly celebrate cheese with some of our local masters.

Rogue Creamery will host the Oregon Cheese Festival from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at its Central Point headquarters, 311 N. Front St. A $5 entry fee buys tastings and demonstrations. For another $5, visitors can take home a commemorative wine glass etched with the Oregon Cheese Guild logo.

Numerous Oregon and Northern California creameries will sell cheese and offer samples this weekend. Participants include Fraga Farms, Juniper Grove, Pholia Farm, Tumalo Farms, Tillamook Cheese Co., Willamette Valley Cheese Co., Fern’s Edge Dairy, Rivers Edge Chevre, Ancient Heritage Farmstead, Vella Cheese and Rogue Creamery.

Other participating culinary artisans are Lillie Belle Farms, Dagoba Organic Chocolate, Gary West Meats, Rising Sun Farms, Applegate Valley Artisan Bread Co., Butte Creek Mill, Pennington farms, SOS Pear Station, Slagle Creek Winery, Cliff Creek Vineyards, Madrone Mountain Vineyards, Eden Vale Winery, Paschal Winery, Agate Ridge, Troon Vineyard and Rogue Ales. For more information, call Rogue Creamery at 665-1155, ext. 123.

In the annals of Mail Tribune history, few topics have incited readers’ passions like “Pink Sauce.”

I’m talking, of course, about that ubiquitous sweet dipping sauce at the long-running but now-defunct Kim’s restaurant. Alas, when Kim’s closed in 2005, patrons thought they lost their beloved condiment. Other local Chinese eateries have tried to replicate Pink Sauce but don’t quite fill the bill, purists report.

Amid a flood of requests for Kim’s list of sauce ingredients, the newspaper in July received an unassuming package. Lo and behold, the contents — a bottle of pinky-orange sweet and sour sauce — purported to be the answer to readers’ prayers: a Pink Sauce clone.

I took it home to my husband, a bit of a Pink Sauce connoisseur, for his verdict. While not quite as good as the original (it does lack Kim’s seductive sheen), Will pronounced it good enough to become a pantry staple. He now eats it once a week with eggrolls and potstickers.
Not a fan of gratuitous dipping sauces (and pink ones, at that), I found a justified use for Keli’s Hawaiian Sweet and Sour Sauce in an Asian-flavored cole slaw I concocted one night to accompany roast pork.

Combine 2 tablespoons of Keli’s Hawaiian Sweet and Sour Sauce with 2 tablespoons mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon rice-wine vinegar. Add 1 teaspoon jarred, minced garlic and 1⁄2 teaspoon jarred, chopped ginger; 1 tablespoon minced, fresh cilantro; 1⁄4 teaspoon toasted black sesame seeds; a dash of cayenne pepper and black pepper, to taste. Whisk ingredients with 1 tablespoon of rice or canola oil. Pour dressing over about 4 cups of shredded cabbage and carrot. You could even add a little grated daikon for more zing. I like a less soupy cole slaw, so if you prefer more sauce, consider doubling this recipe, which makes about 1⁄2 cup of dressing.

Keli’s Hawaiian Sweet and Sour Sauce is available in the Asian foods aisle of several local grocery stores, including Food 4 Less. Try it and tell us if it’s as good as the real thing.

I’ve just returned from a weekend trip to my hometown of Coos Bay. As usual, the voyage had dual purposes: visiting my parents and stocking up on seafood, this time flash-frozen fish processed at Chuck’s Seafood in Charleston. As the fish are vacuum-sealed and frozen solid, they easily weather a three-hour car ride if placed in a cooler.

Of course, local readers have a relatively new option for fresh fish. Rogue Valley Fresh Seafood Co., the first bona fide fish market to open locally in about a decade, deals in never-frozen products delivered daily from Pacific Seafood in Portland. But the wares aren’t local products per se, hailing from Alaska, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere.

Buying from a small coastal outlet like Chuck’s supports local fishermen. The ling cod and halibut I purchased were caught off Oregon’s coast within a day of being cleaned, flash-frozen and vacuum-packed. We could debate the merits of frozen versus “fresh” fish all day. But for my money, I prefer to know a fish came directly off the boat and traveled a few blocks to the processor without any intermediate steps.

I’m not advocating a three-hour excursion just to bring home some fish for dinner, but if you’re planning a trip to the coast, throw a cooler in the trunk, bring home some of Chuck’s frozen fish and see if you can taste the difference. Chuck’s also sells a wide variety of canned fish. Try it, and you’ll never buy tuna in the grocery store again.

Chuck’s is located on Charleston’s Cape Arago Highway. From Coos Bay, follow signs from downtown to ocean beaches.

Once you’ve secured some really great fish, keep preparation simple. White fish, in particular, only needs to be pan-seared over medium-high heat in butter and olive oil. Cook it too long, and it becomes mushy and falls apart in the pan. When done, fish should just flake away from the bones and still look a little shiny in the middle.

Readers of Wednesday’s A la Carte story may be wondering if farm-fresh eggs are really that much different from those in the store. In a word: yes.

I discovered the delights of just-laid eggs while attending school eight years ago in Angers, France. Eggs were one of the few reliable sources of protein that fit into a student’s budget. But like many other foodstuffs in France, they aren’t packaged in quite the way Americans expect. Most, in fact, are completely devoid of packaging but rather heaped in baskets at open-air markets, along with the freshest fruits and vegetables.

Accustomed to sterile, pasty orbs languishing in foam containers, I was somewhat taken aback by French eggs with their irregular colors, sizes, shapes and bits of feathers still clinging to them. But craving a breakfast of fried eggs for months, I bought these intimidating specimens anyway.

When I got them home and cracked them open, I felt as if I found hidden treasure. The yolks were so golden they were positively orange. Scrambled eggs and omelets became a meal-time staple.

And when funds ran low, I stretched eggs and leftover rice into fried rice, not typical to Chinese restaurants in France and, therefore, a treat. Even if you’re not on a student’s budget, homemade fried rice is a great way to use up the leftover grain, maybe a few assorted veggies and, of course, eggs.

Simply stir-fry some diced onion, garlic and ginger in a few tablespoons of oil. If using raw vegetables, add them at this point and saute for several minutes. Add several cups of cold, cooked rice to the pan and stir. After a minute or so, add about a tablespoon of water to the pan and cover to let the rice heat through. (If using leftover, steamed veggies, add them now). Once the rice is hot, beat 3 eggs and pour into a well in the center of the rice. Immediately scrape the bottom of the pan, gradually drawing the rice into the eggs. Top with a little sliced green onion and minced cilantro. Voila!

Recent wintry weather kept me from hardly believing that spring was just around the corner. And with it, hope of ditching my cold-weather menu.

But now, despite the rain, spring is here! And if you’ve never attended weekly gatherings of the Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market in Medford and Ashland, there’s nothing like the freshest produce to reinvigorate a cook’s repertoire.

Market manager Mary Ellen DeLuca promises farm-fresh eggs, local honey, Rogue Creamery cheese, artisinal bread, organic produce and lots of plant starts for the gardeners out there. Expect to find vibrant broccoli, cauliflower, peas, spinach, kale, chard, lettuces and salad mixes at Fry Family Farm’s stall, always among the first to pop up with spring.

The market starts Tuesday in Ashland at the city’s armory, 1420 E. Main St. Medford‘s version debuts March 15 at the Medford Armory, 1701 S. Pacific Highway. Both run from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Food. It’s necessary for survival. Sharing it is among humanity’s most significant social behaviors.

I absorbed this value at an early age, watching my mom churn out guests’ favorite dishes or just a simple bacon-and-eggs breakfast for her husband and children. Years later, my own husband says I express love through food. And friends attest to my unconscious habit of peppering conversations with talk of what I’ve cooked lately (even culinary flops) or a new favorite product or kitchen utensil.

Serving as Mail Tribune A la Carte editor, I revel in relating the diverse stories of Rogue Valley food producers, chefs and others in the industry. Food isn’t just a conversation piece, it’s a weekly newspaper showpiece. Now Mail Tribune blogs allow readers to share even more local stories.

I hope The Whole Dish will inspire other cooks to pull up a chair and dish out their own thoughts, critiques and recipes. Let the feast begin!