yearofplenty

All Time Favorite Flower

Purple Coneflower in our herb garden, also known as Echinacea purpurea.

Where Does Spokane Gasoline Come From? (Update)

In my previous post I set a goal of sourcing our fuel to see if there are any meaningful decisions we can make around our gas purchases. Here's what I've discovered so far.

There are two primary ways refined fuels get to Spokane. There is a pipeline from Billings, Montana that runs through Spokane to Moses Lake. There are three refineries in Billings that process crude oil coming from Canada, probably the Calgary area.

There is a pipeline from Pasco to Spokane that transports fuel from a pipeline in Utah (that often is actually the fuel processed in Billings), or from fuel transported by barge from Portland along the Columbia River. This Portland fuel comes primarily from four refineries in Western Washington; Anacortes (2), Ferndale, and Tacoma, These refineries get their crude oil from Canada, Alaska and "foreign sources".

All this refined fuel is not only mixed together in the pipelines and tankers, but is also mixed together in holding tanks once it arrives in Spokane. This fuel is than pumped into the trucks with the proprietary cleansers and mixers that make the fuel a Conoco, Exxon or Costco etc. product.

So I can say with some certainty that most of the fuel at gas stations in the Spokane area comes from crude oil in Canada and Alaska, but there really is no way of sourcing fuel by choosing one gas station over another. They are all getting their fuel from the same pot of mixed up fuel sources.

I did find out that Grays Harbor, WA is home to one of the largest biodiesel refiners in the country, but after a year in operation it's not going so well. I wonder, is anyone in Spokane using cooking oil from local restaurants to run their cars?     

Real Raspberries in Eastern Washington

I discovered real, big, juicy raspberries today. Not the usual small. limp ones typically grown around the Inland Northwest. Washington produces almost 95% of U.S. red raspberries, but it's the west side of the state with all its moisture and rich soil that have bragging rights on that. In talking to those at the markets around here who sell berries, and from my own experience, I've learned that Eastern Washington is just not a great place to grow raspberries. Too dry and too hot. I'll keep trying though.

If you want some real juicy ones, Mo and Martha Bereiter from Newport will have them for another week or so. I guess the altitude and cedar forests surrounding their place keep up the humidity enough to get great berries. They sell at the Millwood Farmers' Market on Wednesday 3-7pm and at the Humbler Earth market on Sundays from 10-2pm. They also sell huckleberries, mushrooms, and other great stuff.

Master Food Preserver Week 5 - Canning Vegetables, Meat, Seafood, and other Low Acid Foods

I was talking with a canning veteran about food preservation the other day and she said in a forboding voice, "Don't can green beans." The implication was that it isn't safe to can a low acid food like green beans because of the risk of deadly and debilitating botulism. The truth is that low acid foods are safe to can as long as you follow tested recipes from here, here, or here. It is also true that improperly canned low acid foods can be deadly.

The key to safely canning low-acid foods is the proper use of a pressure canner which will get the foods to the 240-250 degrees necessary to kill botulism. You can use a pressure canner with a dial guage, that shows a number reading of the internal pressure, or a pressure canner with a weighted-guage that makes a jiggling noise when at proper pressure. The plus side of a dial guage is more flexible adjustments for needed pressure, especially when you need to make adjustments for altitude. For example, if a processing recipe at 2,500 feet of elevation calls for 12 pounds of pressure on a dial guage you can make the adjustment with some precision. Your only option with a weighted guage is to use the 15 pound setting. The down side of a dial guage canner is that it must be tested every year for accuracy and in general is less precise than a weighted guage.

I'm going with the weighted guage. I've been told that there is minimal loss of quality using the canner at 15 pounds, and I have more of a comfort level with the weighted guage being more accurate.

Here are some things to know about canning low acid foods.

• It is important to vent the canner for 10 minutes to get out air pockets. This includes "self-venting" canners. Otherwise the food will be under-processed.
• It is recommended that all properly canned low acid foods be boiled before eating for 10 minutes to ensure safety. Above 1,000 feet of elevation add a minute for every 1,000 feet.
• The cool down time is not optional. It is actually part of the processing time built into the recipe. (30 minutes with pints and 45 minutes with quarts in older canners. New canners have a vent lock indicator.)
• Loss of liquid may be caused by fluctuations in temperature during processing.
• Yellow,gray or black crystals on asparagus are probably rutin, a safe, naturally occuring pigment.
• If the pressure sinks below the recommended pressure during processing you've got to bring it back up to pressure and make sure it is processed at the proper pressure without interruption for the entire processing time.
• I've been told canned meats, beef especially, and stews are very good when pressure canned.
• "Pressure cookers" should not be used.

Helpful Links:
- Canning Seafood pdf
- Instructions for canning asparagus, beans or peas (shelled), snap beans, beets, carrots, mixed vegetables, peppers, soups, and others.
- Instructions for canning poultry, red meats, and seafood (including chili)
- Special instructions for canning pumpkin
- Resources for preparing Venison   
- Using and Caring for Your Pressure Canner

   

Is it possible to buy local gasoline?

I am going to put on my investigative reporter hat this week and see what I can find out about where the gasoline I buy at our local gas stations comes from. According to our rules we'd have to use used cooking oil or bio-fuel from Canola Oil produced in Eastern Washington. This hasn't been an option for us so we've gone to one vehicle as a compromise to limit our consumption of fuel, but we're still going to gas stations and pumping gas of unknown origins into our tank.

I'm wondering if we can't do better. Is there any way for us to make a more meaningful decision in where we buy our gas and who we buy it from? Are there any independent gas stations left out there that might feed the local economy more than the national brands? Is it possible for us to at least buy fuel that comes from domestic sources? If people were presented with this as an option would they be willing to pay more for it? I probably would.

My only data point so far is that there is a fuel pipeline (Yellowstone Pipeline operated by Conoco) that runs from Billings Montana, through the heart of the Spokane Valley, all the way to Moses Lake. I found this out by riding my bike through the industrial district of Spokane Valley on my way to the Master Food Preserver class. Here's a picture of the pipeline.

   

You might notice on the map that there is a big gap in the pipeline over the Flathead Indian Reservation. I guess the tribe didn't like the 3.5 million gallons of fuel that spilled during it's use. They now truck the fuel over that section. I'm guessing there is a refinery in Billings and the oil for refining is coming from coal sands in Canada, which are being transported by the blue crude oil pipeline indicated on the map - but just a guess. So does that mean if we buy fuel from Conoco that it has Canadian origin?

Does anyone know anything about this subject? Have any insights on making choices about fuel consumption? Any help would be appreciated. 

The Lawn is Gone. Is the Driveway Next?

Check out this interesting illustrated story of a couple that decided to replace their driveway with a plants and stuff. They battled conventional wisdom and the city of Toronto to see their vision come to reality. So it's the rise of the anti-lawnists AND the anti-drivewayists too. What's next? If I were a parking lot I'd be getting a little nervous at this point. (Thanks for the link April.)

Spokane County Fair Deadline is August 5

Last year the girls and I entered a bunch of stuff in the fair including our 80 pound giant pumpkin. We're hoping for something over 100 pounds this year. We also entered some sunflowers, and other items from the garden. It was a great shared experience for me, Noel and Lily and they even got $25 out of the deal.

The Deadline for getting in your entry form in is August 5 and you turn them in at the Fair office right by the main entrance to the fairgrounds. Just enter everything that you think you might conceivably have to offer in early September and you can sort it out when you arrive with your items. The entry form is here.

Here are some of the categories: Food Preservation, Floral, Baking/Cooking, Wine, Beer, Fruits/Vegetables (including the Giant Pumpkin contest.)

Go here for the full list. Good luck

Sugar, Sugar...I Just Can't Believe the Loveliness of Loving You

So goes the song by the Archie's, and so goes my response to waking up with fresh baked, sugar laced raspberry muffins awaiting me in the kitchen this morning. After over 6 months with no granulated sugar, last week I bought Nancy a mondo bag of sweetness from Amalgamated Sugar/White Satin in Boise, Idaho, available at URM.

When we started our year, we swelled with the excitement of finding out about a beet root sugar processor in Moses Lake, only to have our hopes dashed when we learned it went out of business a couple of years ago. I knew about the Boise sugar processor, and I knew that there were likely Eastern Washington sugar beets finding their way into their sugar, but in general we have considered Boise outside our geographic area. So we decided we'd get by with Honey and Thai Palm sugar, which we have enjoyed and will continue to use, especially the honey.

(Go here for the crop profile of sugar beets in Washington State. In 2000 Eastern Washington produced 21,000 acres of beets. What little I learned about the sugar beet industry raised a lot of concerns about traces of chemicals finding their way into the sugar, but that's for another post.)

For Nancy's birthday I decided to surprise her and get a bag of sugar. After all that she has put up with this year as the primary baker/chef in the house, I figured she deserved some momentary sanity in meal planning and preparation. I was thinking a one pound pick me up would do, and for this purchase I wasn't too concerned about where it came from. This was an "off the grid" transaction. But as I rounded the corner of the aisle at URM, I was shocked to find a 50lb bag of sugar crystals with the bold letters, BOISE, IDAHO emblazoned on the side. What happened next is a bit fuzzy for me. There was a flurry of inner negotiations that I think blew some circuitry. It could be the onset of a new form of diabetic coma, induced by being in the presence of large quanitities of sugar, after not consuming it for long periods.  To the best of my recollection I grabbed/hugged the pillowy bag of baker's special and slinked back to the car, looking left and right, like I'd just pulled off a drug deal. Really, all I remember is finding myself driving home with a 50 pound bag of sucrose in the passenger seat, wondering if Nancy had been turned into a pillar of sugar.

The challenge now is figuring out what to do with 50 pounds of sugar. Anyone need a little baggy or two. I'm dealin.

In other news the Greenbluff growers site has linked to yearofpleny's posts on food preservation. The pressures on. I've got to get the rest of my posts up on pressure canning, pickling, drying, and jams.

 

Rise of the "Anti-Lawnists"

Andrew Sullivan takes note of "Turf Wars and the Anti-Lawinsts".

What About "Inland Northwest Local First"?

I am back from our family vacation in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. It was interesting to be cut loose from the womb of the Inland Northwest that has sustained us for the last six months. We took a mini vacation from our rules but enjoyed attending the local farmers' market, where they had southern specialties like okra. I was impressed at the level of awareness around local foods. I didn't expect that in South Carolina. One of the reasons for this may be organizations like Low Country Local First. Here is their mission statement:

Lowcountry Local First advocates the benefits of a local living economy by strengthening community support for independent locally owned businesses and farmers.

We are an alliance that educates the public on the importance of supporting the local economy, and encourages businesses and consumers to be environmentally sustainable and socially responsible. We are one of 52 chapters of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE)

We envision a sustainable global economy as a network of Local Living Economies, building long-term economic empowerment and prosperity in communities through local business ownership, economic justice, cultural diversity and a healthy natural environment. Independent businesses create wealth by engaging local people in the production, marketing, and consumption of goods, they pay taxes, and reinvest in our communities.

We educate the public to:

• Reduce material and energy costs

• Recycle and reuse waste

• Buy and sell locally.

• Support local agriculture

One of the things that impresses me is that the organization is sponsored by grocery stores like Piggly Wiggly and other local businesses. I think too often the sustainability/locavore movement has rejected local businesses in favor of a more independent operation, free from the influence of large wholesalers. But let's face it. The only way to innovate substantial change in a community's consumption, that is more than a small niche economy in church parking lots, is to reform and enlist the current supply lines.

For example, I noticed that Yoke's just rolled out a large organic foods section at the Argonne location, and it's full of items from New Zealand and other far off places. What if they incorporated into that a local foods section?

I get excited about the prospect of an Inland Northwest Local First organization. Anyone interested? Yoke's, are you listening? How about The Inlander? Or Mountain Gear? Or the Rocket Bakery? Or URM? Or Avista? Or Waste Management? Holler if you hear me.