“Peg” Margaret Caliendo grew up in Patterson, California, a small Portuguese farming community.  Her grandparents immigrated to California from the Azores Islands of Portugal.  Peg’s father sold ice from a horse and cart during the Depression.  With the $850 he saved, he opened a local department store that he operated for 40 years.  Born in 1954, Peg is the seventh of eight children born over a two-decade span.

Peg fondly remembers going to her Uncle Clifford’s apricot orchard with her mother to pick apricots for jam.  She remembers wandering through the orchard near sunset, the air perfumed with the scent of ripening fruit.  She fondly recalls the simple joy of standing on an orchard ladder eating freshly picked apricots, then carting them home to make the jam.

Peg learned to cook from her mother, grandmothers and Julia Child’s French Chef television show.  Her mother was a terrific candy maker, and made excellent chocolate fudge, divinity and taffy.  Another one of Peg’s favorite food memories is of taffy-pulling parties, where friends would gather around the large kitchen table, butter their hands, pair into twos, and stretch and pull until the taffy was pliant and satiny.

In her early teens, Peg became involved in the planning and organizing of family reunions attended by as many as 60 or 70 relatives at the family’s property in Yachats, Oregon. Peg facilitated and coordinated these events, creating menus that paired Oregon’s bounty with the signature dishes of her relatives.

Peg attended Marylhurst University where she earned her MBA.  She operates her own business, where she works with community and government agencies to develop a culture of collaboration

M.O.M. Menu

Lunch

Grilled Fresh Halibut Skewer with Fennel, Orange & Olive Salsa

served with rice pilaf

Dinner

Grilled Halibut Skewers with Fennel, Orange & Olive Salsa

served with rice pilaf & sauteed spinach

Curried Prawns (Gambas com Caril)

a slightly spicy dish with onions, prawns & a hint of curry, served with rice pilaf

Dessert

Oregon Strawberry Shortcakes

homemade cream shortcakes topped with local berries & whipped cream

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