Saturday I went on the Fruit and Veggie Tour in Corvallis, Oregon. Corvallis is the the town Oregon State Beavers call home. OSU is Oregon’s “Ag school.” But the tour itself was sponsored by the USDA and Oregon State University.

My husband and I had a great time touring the farm, sampling new varieties, and learning about the agricultural and food science research taking place.

Did you know that the potato disease that was responsible for the Irish potato famine is still around and kicking? The research team at OSU has a field that they planted late to induce that same fungus to grow. They were cleared to engage in this research because western Oregon is far enough from Idaho and the eastern parts of Oregon and Washington State–big potato producing areas.

They plan to pick infected plants and manually walk through the field, brushing those infected plants all over the entire crop, getting it all good and diseased. Then, they will wait to see which plants survive. These survivors are the plants they’re interested in studying and, presumably, propagating.

Beyond the potatoes, they are creating new varieties of berries. Here’s a picture I took of the latest blackberry soon to be released to market. It’s not named yet, but they think it will be called Onyx.

The whole table had these little bowls full of blackberries, black raspberries, and red raspberries. It was interesting to taste all the different flavors. Some of the blackberries had a smoky flavor while others had a citrus flavor, almost like pineapple.

While I was busy sampling the berries, Russell (my husband) was chatting with the man who cares for the pear genebank. They have over 1,000 varieties of pear trees growing on the farm, in an effort to preserve the genetic diversity of the pear. We received a list of the ripe varieties and were encouraged to go walk to field and sample the pears straight from the tree. My favorite was the Junsko Zlato, a yellow early ripening pear from Yugoslavia.

There were pears of all different colors and sizes. And the foliage and tree characteristics were interesting too. Check it out:

We were curious about these colorful tents (see last photo). Turns out they cover organic cherry trees and the colorful covers aren’t just for fun. Researchers are studying how increasing the blue or red wavelengths in light, impact organic cherry tree growth and yield. The research will take 2 more years to complete.

There was a lot to see that day and I’ll definitely head back next year. We arrived a little too late to see everything. We were impressed by the friendliness of the staff and the variety of projects going on. I especially want to visit the blueberry genebank next year and sample as many varieties as I can. Yum!

I’ve been working hard to find easy recipes that “use it up.” This week, my ingredient to use up was the remaining 6 red potatoes from the 5 lb. bag I bought a week or so ago. I decided to finish it off by trying the “Crash Hot Potatoes” offered up by ThePioneerWoman.com.

Have you checked out her site? It’s very fun to look at her pictures and read what life is like on her Oklahoma ranch.

As ThePioneerWoman notes, this recipe is very flexible. You should feel free to use herbs and seasonings your family likes. I made my potatoes with oregano, basil, but less salt. I’m rosemary-ed out lately, so decided against using it. But added a sprinkle of feta.

I’ll definitely make these again at my house. The last crash potato that wasn’t eaten is in the fridge right now. Tomorrow I think I’ll have it for breakfast with a scrambled egg and a slice of toast. Yum!

I’m so excited to announce our new podcast, The Saver’s Kitchen!

In our first “quickcast” we share an email from Ginger, a reader from Maryland, that wrote in to tell us all about her new cooking club. She even gets down to the nitty-gritty of meal costs and how they structure their group. Thanks Ginger!

Lindsay and I have many money and time saving tips to share beyond freezer cooking and make-ahead meals. We hope you’ll check out our podcast and write in to tell us what you think. Is there something special you’d like to ask? Do you have a money or time saving tip to share with the rest of our listeners and readers? Please send us a note. Be sure to let us know how to contact you and if it’s okay for us to quote you in the podcast.

And don’t forget: you can subscribe to our podcast feed so that you’re automatically updated when a new quickcast comes out. You can find The Saver’s Kitchen on iTunes, Podcast Alley, and other podcatchers soon. We’re only planning on short 3-7 minute segments about twice a month. For now. Probably.

Subscribe to The Saver’s Kitchen podcast now!

Last time I wrote about warehouse savings on Cheddar cheese. I’m planning on doing a few more food comparisons for you, but today I want to take a detour and talk about freezer bags.

My warehouse club frequently offers coupons on boxes of Ziploc brand plastic freezer and storage bags. And whenever I see one of these coupons, I clip it right away. They are a fantastic deal. Remember, I buy only national, name-brand plastic food products because they have all pledged not to use Bispherol-A, or BPA.

So two weeks ago, I took advantage of the $2.00 off coupon on Ziploc quart freezer bags my warehouse club was offering. I bought a large multi-pack box for $6.89, after the coupon. The large box contains 216 bags, which brought my per bag cost to 3 cents each. (And truth be told, I bought the coupon limit. Since oil is going up and plastic is a product derived from oil, I figure it’s only a matter of time before prices increase.)

Next I checked out prices at the no-frills grocery store. There, the largest box of Ziploc brand quart freezer bags was $4.73 for 40 bags. If i used my “save $1.50 on 2″ coupon, each box would cost $3.98 or 10 cents per bag.

Next I checked out a local supermarket that allows double coupons. Their 40 bag box retails for $5.99. With my coupon, that box would be $5.24. Adding the double coupon (up to 50 cents face value), brings the final box cost to $4.74, or 12 cents per bag.

A new coupon book for my warehouse club arrived in my mailbox recently with a coupon for gallon freezer bags. Because these bags are 3 to 4 times MORE expensive at the grocery store, even after I factor in coupons, I will be stocking up. You may want to also.