By Guest Author: Matt Wastradowski
Around the towns of Wilsonville and Canby, “farm-to-table” isn’t just an expression — it’s a commitment to spotlighting the growers of Clackamas County. It’s a mindset that celebrates our local producers and farmers. And it’s a collective belief that truly delicious fare reflects the time, care and passion put into crafting creative dishes.
In many cases, you don’t even need to leave the farm to enjoy genuine farm-to-table fare.
Across the foothills of Mt. Hood, TMK Creamery serves cheese and vodka from cows who reside mere feet from the tasting room. Fir Point Farms crafts filling sandwiches with house-baked bread and sells locally sourced jams, jellies and honey from nearby growers. And Triskelee Farm, not far from where the Canby Ferry shuttles visitors across the Willamette Valley, takes a creative approach to lunch fare with sandwiches, sliders and salads made from farm-raised ostrich and lamb.
So as you look to savor the flavors of the Willamette Valley, bring your appetite to these stops on your next visit — where you’ll find delicious dishes crafted with ingredients produced on the farm where they’re served.
Just five miles south of Canby, TMK Creamery is home to a number of Holstein cows — and finds a variety of inventive ways to celebrate its adorable residents (dubbed “cowlebrities”).
For starters, an on-site market and food cart dish up snacks and light bites that use numerous farm-raised ingredients — including fried cheese curds, macaroni and cheese, soft-serve ice cream and meat-forward dishes (including burgers and corn dogs) made with farm-grown beef. Throughout the year, limited-time specials spotlight seasonal ingredients — including grilled-cheese sandwiches topped with fresh berries. Visitors 21 and older can wash it down with cocktails made from TMK’s own vodka — produced with leftover whey from the creamery’s cheese-making process.
If you’d like to learn about how it all happens, pick up a farm map at the cash register and take a self-guided tour of TMK’s facilities — which head past the on-site distillery, show how (and where) its cheese is made, and pass the barn where at least a few cowlebrities are almost always munching on grass. If you’d like to take a taste of TMK home, pick up cheeses, meats and fresh vegetables in the market. TMK is typically open Fridays through Sundays but occasionally closes on certain weekends; check TMK Creamery’s Instagram account before visiting to verify it will be open when you stop by.
Whether you're new to farm visits or have your favorite stops in the Willamette Valley countryside, you'll find a little of everything that makes our agricultural scene so special at Fir Point Farms just west of Canby.
Fir Point’s deli serves sandwiches that use fresh-baked bread, salads with flavorful ingredients, homemade soups and other hearty lunch dishes — all of which can be enjoyed under a covered patio or at picnic tables in a grassy field next door. (Be sure to grab the farm’s house-made pastries and other baked goods for your trip home.) Next door, stock up with locally crafted jams, jellies, honey and fresh produce at Fir Point’s Country Market.
The fun doesn’t end after lunch. Purchase a cup of feed for the resident miniature goats and horses, as well as Fir Point’s turkeys and chickens; stroll through an on-site greenhouse; and pose for photos on old-school tractors stationed around the farm. Every autumn, the Fir Point Farms Harvest Festival welcomes kids of all ages with a u-pick pumpkin patch, corn maze, hay wagon rides, a petting zoo and other activities.
Nikii and Daniel Linehan, the husband-and-wife duo behind Triskelee Farm, strive to make their slice of the Willamette Valley a fun, educational and well-rounded experience for visitors of all ages. One of their most popular offerings is a baby-animal tour available throughout the year.
On weekends, guests can sign up for a 40-minute tour that includes visits with Triskelee’s resident ostriches and chickens, along with stops to see baby alpacas and goats. Visitors are welcome to feed the animals at each stop — and even cuddle the goats (provided you don’t try to smuggle one out). Throughout the tour, Nikii shares fun facts about each animal and explains how they care for the non-native species. Keep an eye out for the farm’s roaming peacocks, too.
After the tour, relax in an Adirondack chair on the farm’s spacious lawn or head to Triskelee’s barn, which has been converted into a market and taproom. The food menu — including sliders, sandwiches and salads — features farm-raised lamb and ostrich meat. The latter is a lean poultry that tastes similar to beef. Pair your meal with regional craft beer or cider on tap.
Check Triskelee Farm’s website and social media for upcoming events, summer happy hours, seasonal markets and additional tour offerings.
Matt Wastradowski loves the Pacific Northwest more than any rational human should — and has written extensively about the region's best craft beer, natural beauty, fascinating history, dynamic culinary scene and outdoor attractions for the likes of Outside, Portland Monthly, AAA's Via magazine and Northwest Travel & Life.
Since 2018, he's also authored three Oregon-centric guidebooks for Moon Travel Guides — one on scenic hikes, one on the Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood and a general guidebook to the Beaver State's top sites.
