Genuine Skagit Cooking

Blake Van Roekel and Stefanie LeJeunesse

Genuine Skagit Cooking, from the program Genuine Skagit Valley, features over 45 recipes from food producers, small-business owners, and residents around Skagit Valley, Washington, that highlight the unique agricultural diversity of the region. Readers will discover recipes for every meal of the day, all utilizing some of the distinctive produce grown in this fertile Pacific Northwest valley, as well as profiles about Skagit Valley farmers and producers. Paired alongside food photographer Charity Burggraaf’s photos of recipes and locally grown produce, Genuine Skagit Cooking paints a vibrant picture of the region’s agricultural way of life, inviting both locals and others across the country into the kitchen to cook the Skagit way.
 

The Skagit Valley, nestled in the Pacific Northwest between Seattle and Vancouver with views of Mount Baker and the San Juan Islands, is the most important agricultural valley remaining in the Puget Sound region. Since the first commercial harvest of potatoes in 1853, Skagit farmers and their fertile soil have supplied the Northwest, nation, and world with nearly every crop imaginable. Genuine Skagit Valley is an initiative designed to increase awareness of Skagit Valley agricultural products and services. They are administered by the Northwest Agriculture Business Center and partner with the Port of Skagit to enhance the local agricultural industry, promoting innovative approaches that combine research and technology producing new jobs and a robust economy centered on the valley’s rich agricultural resources and heritage.

About the Authors

Blake Van Roekel is the director of Genuine Skagit Valley, a program designed to heighten consumer connection to the agriculture of the Skagit Valley. Her 15 years in the farm and food industry of the Pacific Northwest include running a cooking school and farm tour company, starting a farmers market, and consulting for food and farm establishments. She thrives in developing successful communication strategies to grow and gather community. Blake resides in Alger, Washington, where she can be found building forts in the forest with her daughter, gardening, and enjoying the exuberant symphony of geese, goats, and sheep that live next door.

Stefanie LeJeunesse is a queer, Jewish writer and editor with over 20 years of experience in publishing everything from flash fiction eulogies to ghostwritten novels. Her podcast, Cancer for Breakfast, has been featured on Oregon Public Broadcasting, in Portland Monthly, and Shoutout LA. As a community organizer, she founded the Mount Vernon LGBTQ Pride event, the Breast Cancer Care-a-Van, and the Mount Vernon Period Pantry as well as being a founding member of Ladyfest Bellingham and Sunday Assembly Bellingham. She lives in Washington’s verdant Skagit Valley with her husband, three children, fancy geese, and beloved dog.