Stone-Buhr / Shepherd's Grain Flour

I often attempt to buy at least some of my food from trace-able sources, and this is often not easy to accomplish. Mega-stores like Whole Foods are probably no better, and it could be argued are actually complicit in the attempts to reduce traceability and consumer knowledge of food sources and composition. Many so called organic products are actually distributed and packaged by some of the largest agricultural entities in the world. Just look at the organic spinach fiasco from 2 years ago propagated by some of the biggest food companies. All you have to do is look at who owns who and you realize that real spinach grew in the ground and needs to have the dirt and sand washed off in a sink.  It doesn’t come pre-washed, in little plastic bags pumped full of just the right amount of inert nitrogen and product, then shipped from the Salinas Valley in California to Washington state via Texas. Similarly the peanut butter fiasco of a couple of years ago doesn’t lend any feeling of a safe or trace-able food chain … even companies like locally owned Cougar Mountain cookies were misinformed about the provenance of the peanut butter they were purchasing.

A few years ago, I tried to alter at least some of my buying habits to enhance my knowledge of the products I was purchasing, and the companies that made them, and the chain down to the farmer level. As at least some of you know, I make bread, and lots of it. A natural place to start, no?

50 pound sack of unbleached or bread flour from Costco … good price, wow that stuff is cheap … bakes up pretty good too … but ConAgra foods … located pretty close by in Kirkland … “one of North America’s largest packaged foods companies … spent heavily to defeat Oregon’s measure 27, which would have required food companies to label products that contain genetically modified ingredients” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ConAgra_Foods) … need to look elsewhere. The bulk bins offered no comfort, just exorbitant prices and no labeling I could take home and investigate … no lot codes or expiration dates. This is going to be tougher than I thought.

Wheat Montana Flour

Five or six years ago, as I was perusing the bulk department at Central Market in Shoreline (http://central-market.com/), out of the corner of my eye, I spotted clear 10 pound plastic bags of flour from Wheat Montana (http://wheatmontana.com). I checked ‘em out … family farm (Folkvord), operate their own mill … 12000 acres … Montana … sustainable farming practices. It’s very nice flour (Natural White, Prarie Gold, Bronze Chief). The Natural White, an unbleached flour has more gluten than a lot of “bread” flours, and the baked goods are great. The mill uses an impact milling process, so the flour only gets to about 95 F during milling. The ingredients list is really short and sweet. Great example of complete control of the growing, milling and distribution chain. And I can find the entire operation on the map. This one’s a keeper.

I recently learned that Stone-Buhr (http://stone-buhr.com) sources the wheat berries for its flour from sustainable, independent, small growers right here in the Northwest. Stone-Buhr’s original mill used to be in Fremont (http://stone-buhr.com/story.php). Their all purpose flour is made with wheat from Shepherd’s Grain (http://shepherdsgrain.com). Shepherd’s grain is an alliance of Northwest family farms that promotes something called “sustainable agriculture.” Stone-Buhr has a bit of a checkered past. It began in 1908 and was independently owned and operated until the early 1980′s when it was sold off. Through a series of sales, mergers, acquisitions it ultimately became a brand of Unilever. Josh Dorf and his company JOG distribution acquired it and have partially returned the brand to its roots. JOG is headquartered in San Francisco. The Washington White, Shepherd’s Grain All Purpose Flour has a date code on every bag which allows you to find the farmer (http://findthefarmer.com) who grew the wheat used to make the flour in the bag. The flour is relatively low in gluten content in comparison to Wheat Montana’s offering, so it works very well in cakes, cookies, muffins, pizza dough and other baked goods which don’t require the development of massively elastic doughs.

As a baker, I have noticed significant differences between flours, and this is exactly what you should expect when buying from smaller operations. Wheat berries grown in Montana or Washington have different characteristics than if grown in North Dakota, Nebraska or Manitoba. When buying from the the little guys, grains aren’t blended into an anonymous, untraceable mish-mash of pulverized grain speculated on by commodities traders from all over the world, then delivered to your supermarket shelf in a tidy little paper package.

In short, we have here, two great examples of traceability, and smaller operations making a difference. Both of these products cost more than the non-traceable product. In both cases, its nice to know there are companies out there, not part of the merger mania interested in delivering quality food grown by farmers and processed by real people at identifiable places.

Sustainable Crown Hill is putting on a Sheet Mulching and Lasagna Gardening Workshop.  These are methods for converting lawn and other areas into the healthy soil and garden space the easy way.  This workshop is for both people wanting to learn and those who are ‘old hands’.   Bring your curiosity, questions, and experience to share.  Using layers of different materials including cardboard, straw, manure, burlap, and even feathers, we will put into practice what we’ve learned help to covert a lawn to future garden space.

Please wear  garden clothes and sturdy shoes.  Work or garden gloves will be a plus.
For directions and information contact Kit at
tehama@speakeasy.net or 206.706.7663 evenings and weekends

Snail (Helix aspersa on Hosta leaf)

Caught this not so little snail (25 mm high, 35 mm diameter) in the garden this morning rapidly devouring a Hosta leaf. Looks like the snail found all over California brought to this continent for eating purposes.

I wasn’t aware we had them here in Seattle. A quick trip to the “Identification Guide to Land Snails and Slugs of Western Washington” (http://academic.evergreen.edu/projects/ants/TESCBiota/mollusc/key/webkey.htm) and following the dichotomous key I ended up at Helix aspersa (http://academic.evergreen.edu/projects/ants/TESCBiota/mollusc/key/hel_asp/hel_asp.htm). Indeed it is a European intruder.

Hey that was fun, following a branching (dichotomous) key answering one question at each step to arrive at a definitive ID.

Couple of questions here: 1) Are you seeing these voracious land molluscs in your yards? and 2) Ecological/Organic control methods?

I recall as a young lad in the Silicon Valley getting 50 cents a bucket for collecting them by hand, and there was a never ending supply. We then poured rock salt into the bucket to keep the snails from ending up back in the yard.

Have you heard??  We’re going to have to start paying for our plastic habit at the grocery store.  You can avoid the hit to your pocket book, reduce your dependence on plastic and feel good about using something you made yourself.  Your bag will be a better conversation starter than your latest hairdo.

Join us on August 22, 2008 from 6:30 to 9:00 pm to make your own original bag (or 2 or 3) to store in your car or bike basket for your next shopping trip.  These one of a kind bags are made from fabric that was saved from the landfill and your personal *trash*.  The pattern is easy enough for beginning sewers and there will be others to help you out if you get stuck.

Bring a snack to share, your sewing machine, scissors, thread, rotary cutter and a cutting mat if you have one.  Also, if you want to incorporate a fancy pocket – bring a little *trash* goodie – something that shows off your decadence, your midnight indulgence, your organic-ness or whatever you just tossed in the trash can!

Hope to see you there!

August 22, 2008
6:30 to 9:00 pm
Abundant Life Church
9204 11th Ave NW
(in the church basement)

Carol K & Doug brought a new (at least to me) dessert they made with raspberries and blueberries picked that afternoon in their garden. Can’t beat homegrown for local. The fruit bakes in the middle between the top and bottom layers of a cake like batter. The dessert’s called Jay’s Clafloutie. The fruit plays the leading role in this not too sweet dessert. I’m adding clafloutie to my list of favorite fresh fruit desserts. Others include buckles, slumps, grunts, as well as the old standards: crisps, crips, cobblers, and pies. Oh and here is another one, pandowdy. I believe we have New Englanders to thank for many of names*.

Back to the potluck. Dennis and I had better luck at the Central Market for local Washington State produce. I learned Bingen, WA is down the road from White Salmon and across the Columbia River from Hood River. It is also the home of Dickey Farms–source of the green beans we cooked up with some fresh garlic from our garden.

Dennis picked up Golden Raspberries from Sterino Farms from Fife, WA for the raspberry sorbet. He sweetened it with Silverbow Honey http://www.silverbowhoney.com now based in Moses Lake (originally west of the Cascades). Silverbow’s a Washington label since early 1900′s. They process much of the honey from beehives used to pollinate our state’s tree fruit orchards.

Then Carol B’s neighbor dropped of some salad greens from his garden and along with greens Carol and Doug brought over we topped of the meal with a Crown Hill Salad.

Hope you can join us next time!

*From the The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion (The best baking cookbook I’ve ever used):

• buckle = streusel and fruit topped coffee cake. In the oven, the two cups of fruit sink while the batter rises. It “buckles” as it cooks.
• grunt or slump = dumpling affair – no chicken, just biscuit dough dropped into simmering fruit and sugar.
• pandowdy = No experience here, just a description from a cookbook. A fruit custard baked in a pie shell. After it is out of the oven, the cook “dowdies” the pie by breaking up the crusts (top and bottom) and mixing pieces into filling. Somehow the pieces of crust stay crisp. hmmm.

1. If you have fruit you won’t be using, let me know and when it will be ripe.
2. If you know a neighbor who has a tree that they might be willing to donate from, go ask them and then let me know.
3. If you’d like to join in on a picking session one weekday evening or weekend day in the next few months – you guessed it – let me know!

1. Put together a list of trees that need to be picked.
2. When one or more trees is ready to be picked I’ll send out a call to everyone that has said they’d be willing to pick to show up at a certain time and place if they’re able.
3. Make sure we’ve got the tools and supplies we need to pick, package, and deliver everything to the food bank.

We had a fun evening June 13 cutting fabric, snacking, gabbing, and sewing – a veritable hen fest.  We’d love to have some men join us this next time around.  We won’t be able to work as late since the second Walkable Crown Hill design charettewill be the following day.

On Friday, July 11 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at Abundant Life Church (9204 11th Ave NW), we’ll make some more bags.  We cut out material for two sizes thanks to a pattern that Nikki found.  Feel free to invite others who might enjoy.

We didn’t get around to stenciling but if anyone knows how to do this or has materials, please bring and teach the rest of us.

Hope to see some friendly faces.

Danielle

PS. Things to bring:
snack to share
sewing machine
scissors
thread
rotary cutter and mat (if you have one)
pins

On Friday, July 11 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at Abundant Life Church (9204 11th Ave NW), we’ll make some more bags.  We cut out material for two sizes thanks to a pattern that Nikki found.  Feel free to invite others who might enjoy.

We didn’t get around to stenciling but if anyone knows how to do this or has materials, please bring and teach the rest of us.

Hope to see some friendly faces.

Danielle

PS. Things to bring:
snack to share
sewing machine
scissors
thread
rotary cutter and mat (if you have one)
pins

Since this will be our first meeting we’ll need to decide several key things that will shape the future of the project.  We have lots of fabric so we don’t have to limit ourselves to making bags, should the creative inspiration hit someone.

If you have a sewing machine, bring it.  Also, bring scissors or rotary cutters, thread, pins, measuring tape – all that good stuff.  If you know other people who might be interested, feel free to bring them along.  If you have ideas for stenciling or painting on fabric, bring those ideas and materials you don’t mind sharing as well.

If everyone could bring a munchie or snack to share – it might help keep the ideas and fingers flying.

Friday, June 13th
6:30-9:00 PM
Abundant Life Church Basement
9204 11th Ave NW