yearofplenty

What If Housing Developments Required Food Not Lawns?

I recently visited family in the outskirts of Sacramento and came across a housing development called “The Vineyard.” The entrance sign sports standard McMansion housing development cursive font but instead of traditional landscaping, there are rows of grape vines surrounding the sign. I was a little confused. Is it a housing development or is it a vineyard? I meandered through recently paved streets to find $750,000 homes interspersed with empty lots, that all had rows of wine grapes growing in the front yard instead of the standard lush green lawn. See one of the homes pictured above.

I guess the concept is living on your own private vineyard. I noticed that all the grapes were shriveling up on the vines. Maybe the plants were too young to be much good for harvest but the clear intent of the development is to cash in on the vibe of the local food system, the working vineyard down the road. It’s more about looks than substance.

I have to give them an “A” for effort. It’s definitely a step in the right direction. Here are my recommendations for a more substantive development concept. How about “The Pumpkin Patch” and instead of a front lawn everyone gets a pumpkin patch plot where they compete annually for the largest pumpkin and have a massive Fall festival that everyone looks forward to all year. Or how about “Berry Lane” where everyone grows various kinds of berries and has a whole week they set aside to make berry jams and jellies. Or how about “Salsa-lito” where everyone has a salsa garden with onions, cilantro, tomatos and tomatillos. Or how about “Pickle Palaces” where everyone has a front yard of pickling cucumbers, garlic and dill plants.

Feel free to offer your own ideas on the housing development of the future. Let me know if your interested in putting up a couple of million dollars to get one of them rolling here in Spokane.

Compost Your Food Waste - It's the Law In San Francisco

Heard this on NPR this morning about a law that goes into effect today requiring San Francisco residents to compost food waste. We started composting most of our food waste a couple of years ago and it's amazing how much it reduces the amount of garbage. It also makes great soil for the garden. There are a lot of complex contraptions you can buy to compost but it can be as simple as just piling it up in a hidden corner of the yard.

I'm curious what composting facilities Spokane has. I know solid waste management takes in a lot of clean green waste, but I'm not sure what they do with it. Do they compost it and sell it or give it away? Who has the scoop on Spokane composting?

What Are Your "Food Rules?"

Earlier this year Michael Pollan gave a shout out to his blog readers for their best "food rules." His 20 favorites are listed here. Here are my faves from his list:

"You don't get fat from food you pray over." (In other words, gathering around a table of food prepared at home is much healthier than food eaten on the run)

"Don't eat anything that took more energy to ship than to grow."

"Don't eat anything you're not willing to kill yourself."

And my number one favorite:

It's better to pay the grocer than the doctor.

Anyone have any of your own food rules to share?

The Horrifying Truth of What Makes a Burger Patty (NSFFFH)

(NSFFFH stands for Not Safe for Fast Food Habits.)

The New York Times has a must-read article profiling a woman who was paralyzed by a nasty burger induced e-coli infection. While the woman’s story is compelling, the reporting on the burger making business is what makes the article a must read. I’ve read Fast Food Nation and all the other books of that genre but for some reason this article is what may have finally cured me of the ubiquitous American burger patty.

Key quote:

The frozen hamburgers that the Smiths ate, which were made by the food giant Cargill, were labeled “American Chef’s Selection Angus Beef Patties.” Yet confidential grinding logs and other Cargill records show that the hamburgers were made from a mix of slaughterhouse trimmings and a mash-like product derived from scraps that were ground together at a plant in Wisconsin. The ingredients came from slaughterhouses in Nebraska, Texas and Uruguay, and from a South Dakota company that processes fatty trimmings and treats them with ammonia to kill bacteria.

Read on if you dare.

Cargill’s final source was a supplier that turns fatty trimmings into what it calls “fine lean textured beef.” The company, Beef Products Inc., said it bought meat that averages between 50 percent and 70 percent fat, including “any small pieces of fat derived from the normal breakdown of the beef carcass.” It warms the trimmings, removes the fat in a centrifuge and treats the remaining product with ammonia to kill E. coli.

With seven million pounds produced each week, the company’s product is widely used in hamburger meat sold by grocers and fast-food restaurants and served in the federal school lunch program. Ten percent of Ms. Smith’s burger came from Beef Products

Go here for a handy chart of the sources for the burger.

I will gladly pay $5/lb for ground beef from locally raised grass fed cows that are naturally low in saturated fat and free of Ammonia and “Beef Product”. We get ours from Susie David’s Beef and Rocky Ridge Ranch. Both are available at the Millwood Farmers’ Market which goes indoors this week right next to the usual location from noon to 5pm.

Cowgirl Co-Op In Greenbluff Area Has Big Plans: Community Canning Kitchen, Local Food & More

One of the cowgirls from the Cowgirl Co-op located on the "Back of the Bluff" as they call it, stopped by the Millwood Market last night to chat. They've got some big dreams including a community canning kitchen, local food and products store and mercantile, cowgirl castoffs flea market, kids garden, art displays and sales and a bunch of other stuff. They are located on a working horse ranch not too far from Harvest House in Greenbluff.

Their opening day for the whole operation is this Saturday, October 3. Here's their rundown of activities:

- Come watch a sneak preview of an Xtreme Trail Clinic ~ open to the first 25 riders
to sign up ~ Sat Oct 3    9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
- The Cowgirl Merchantile will be open featuring fine art and craft by 30 artists
- Produce avaiable: carrots, potatoes, herbs, squash, pumpkins
- Trade at the Cowgirl Trading post  and look for past flea market treasures at the
Cowgirl Cast Offs
- Pose for pictures with 'Donk" the miniature donkey and Ruben the goat
- Take the mini tour of our Historic Dairy Farm... homesteaded 1900 by Swiss farmers

They are located at 20424 N Dunn Rd, Colbert, WA 99005.