FRUITFROMWASHINGTON.COM WEB-LETTER
March - April, 2005

FFWManufacturing Smoker Cart - Regular Price $460.99 (including shipping).

Order redwood or cedar outdoor furniture from our Classic Garden Catalog* such as this Smoker Cart made by FFW Manufacturing of Ellensburg, Washington. The Redwood Smoker Cart is specially designed to hold the large sized (21-inch) smoker unit called The Big Green Egg® (known as the "World's Best Smoker and Grill"®) or a similarly sized model such as Grill Dome or Primo™ Cooker (please call 1-877-AT-FRUIT to inquire about a custom order for any smoker model other than The Big Green Egg®).

Go to the Printable Order Form to place an order for Fruit From Washington's Yard and Garden Furniture including the sale priced Smoker or Barbecue Cart *Free shipping on furniture, UPS Ground to addresses in 48 contiguous states.

Classic Garden Furniture Catalog
Read our Customer Satisfaction and Order Fulfillment policies as well as more information for business gift giving on our Corporate Gift Giving page!

This month's featured apple is Washington Grown Fuji Apples! Place your order now!

How to Place An Order - Place your order for a 15-count Gift Box of fruit or order a fruit subscription by phone - call our sales desk toll-free at 1-866-448-9442 or print a copy of our fruit order form and send it by fax to 1-509-968-3655 or mail it to us at:
Fruit From Washington
PO Box 877
Ellensburg, WA 98926

Apple of the Month - We ship one of our varieties of Washington grown apples based on the pick of what's in season during harvest or what's fresh out of cold storage during the remainder of the year each month that your fruit subscription is in effect. Some of our featured apples include Jonagold, Granny Smith, Gala, and Red Delicious. Available in 3, 6 and 12 apple of the month subscriptions

It's always easy to buy gift boxes of Washington grown apples from FruitFromWashington.com! - Printable Order Form for Fruit From Washington.com Fruit Gift Boxes. For all phone orders, call toll-free 1-877-AT-FRUIT.

When from the opening chambers of the east
The morning springs in thousand liveries drest,
The early larks their morning tribute pay,
And, in shrill notes, salute the blooming day.
- James Thomson (1700-1748), The Morning in the Country

We turn over another calendar page and note with some wonderment that spring is nearly upon us. Longer days, each brilliant sunrise, add to a desire to describe the season in excessively glowing terms. Spring, at Eberhart Orchards in Ellensburg, Washington, is really a lovely time of year. You will find puffy clouds artistically arranged against the bluest sky, birds chattering noisily in the yards and beyond, trees budding stickily under the influence of rising sap...but wait, mention of sap was really too much. You must think this is all make believe! I promise to berate myself soundly for trying your patience. There will be no more prattling on about spring. Now to move on, perhaps, to the subject of...say...advertising?

The other day, a friend of mine, who professes all the intimacy of a bad conscience with many of my thoughts and convictions, came in with a bulky book under his arm, and said, "I see by a guilty look in your eye that you are meaning to write about spring." "I am not," I retorted, "and if I were, it would be because none of the new things have been said yet about spring, and because spring is never an old story, any more than youth or love." "I have heard something like that before," said my friend, "and I understand. The simple truth of the matter is that this is the fag-end of the season, and you have run low in your subjects. Now take my advice and don't write about spring; it will make everybody hate you, and will do no good. Write about advertising." He tapped the book under his arm significantly. "Here is a theme for you." - William Dean Howells, The Art of the Adsmith from Literature and Life, Entire.

At any time of year, not particular even to spring, our society is more about shopping than it is about growing your own. We head for the nearby monolithic super-mega store, for all things cheap and quick under one gigantic roof. We buy there to stretch the household budget with slashed prices and sale items, not caring to think about suspect social costs that some whiners claim is the fall-out from our dollars going to these behemoths. Besides, the whole complaint against the super-megas smacks of one of those nasty "isms"...anti-capitalism, socialism or worse, liberalism. Like Alfred, the kid who worked as a sweeper at Macy's in Miracle on 34th Street, said, "...there's a lot of bad 'isms' floatin' around this world..." and he adds, "But one of the worst is commercialism...."

We like it that the super-megas carry stuff that costs less, and what's so wrong if everything we use from the ground up is made in China? Have you shopped for a pair of shoes lately? China. Your fashion knock-offs? China. How about reading glasses? China. Tire chains? Yup, made in China.

You've heard about a little thing called the trade deficit. You might even ask yourself, rhetorically, how can it be such a big deal? There's not much comment on it in the news. Besides, like the federal deficit, the kids can deal with it later.

But back to groceries, and produce in particular. If we don't shop at the super-megas, you say, then we'd have to go to that old grocery store in that other part of town, and you can't find 10 packages of Mac & Cheese there for $1, or 5 lbs. of apples grown out of country priced at less than $3; and Winn Dixie's just the name a kid gave to some ol' dog in a book that's now a movie, right? The super-mega's television ad blitz shows smiley, respectable, working people, busy parents, like you, who are quite convincing with their message that you can only find quality of life by shopping there; the ads pitch how you and your neighbors actually are helped, in your own community, by their beneficence. It's really becoming the only game in town and many ad dollars are being spent to make you feel better about it. As we vote with our feet (and pocketbooks) as to who stays and who goes, we can be happy with our bright and shining choice of the super-mega. It's all there in the advertising.

How much do you want to know? Another first for American Agriculture - the new Trade Imbalance: White House Can't Explain Lurking Trade Imbalance, Dec. 2004.

Victory Gardens, gardening for self-sufficiency and the common good, was a cause promoted by federal, state and local governments in 20th Century America. Through advertising and art, the general population was urged to become participants in their own food production during an era which encompassed two World Wars. Many generations later, the idea of growing one's own food as part of a war effort on the home front seems quaint; kind of a "back to the land," even "hippie culture" thing to do. Gardening requires sustained effort and if you don't do it already, likely it would take a major "life style change" for you to get started. But sunny days just might tip the balance and those looking for gardening pointers should see this excerpt from "Help Your Country and Yourself by Raising Your Own Vegetables," published in Bolton Hall's Three Acres and Liberty. Some rarely seen Victory Garden posters and photographs dating from both World Wars may also be of interest.

Gardening is not a rule of thumb business. Each gardener must bring his plants up in his own way in the light of his own experience and in accordance with the conditions of his own garden. A garden lover who has a bit of land will speedily learn if his eyes and his mind, as well as his hands, are always busy, no matter how meager his knowledge at the beginning. (Source: Three Acres And Liberty by Bolton Hall in the Project Gutenberg Etext #4509).

I have lawns, I have bowers,
I have fruits, I have flowers.
The lark is my morning charmer;
So you jolly dogs now,
Here's God bless the plow--
Long life and content to the farmer.
- Rhyme on an old pitcher of English pottery

From the FruitFromWashington Mailbag...
FruitFromWashington.com enjoyed a bit of website recognition in February 2005!
It is our pleasure to feature your site this week on Food Site of the Day. If you will send us an email address, we will send you a little award we give to sites we like. Best, M.M., 2/8/05

My grandchildren will only eat Cameo® apples! Our grocer says they are in the stores for about a month. Please start growing more of these wonderful gems. They are the best we've ever had. - M.W., 2/10/05

Your site is great, I only found it by reading an article on mcdonalds adding apples to their menu, which the article mention cameo apples, so I research cameo, clicked on your site, which I am happy I did. I also emailed a few friends your site! :) - E., 2/20/05

I have been purchasing Gala apples for about a year now, and it's one of the finest apples I've ever sunk my teeth into! - S.C., 2/9/05

Need to know how to make fruit roll ups with a Dehydrator. Just got one and would like to make for grandkids. Could you tell me or send me some recipes on this? Thank You! - D., 2/24/05 Editor: Here's a link to our basic fruit leather and fruit roll-ups recipes!

I totally love your site. It has made my life so much easier to be able to take recipes and change them to serving sizes that I need. Thank you for having this site. - S.F., 2/27/05

Eastern Washington acreage for sale Vanderbilt Country Estates (VCE) is located within the orchard districts of the south hills of the Kittitas Valley in central Washington, on the eastern side of the Cascade Mountains. Covenants are attached to land sales to protect the overall quality of the entire development. VCE features amenities such as a pedestrian and equestrian trail system for the private use of members of this rural development. Some of the lots that are currently available vary in size from about three acres to about seven acres in size and prices vary accordingly. (Click for more).

Laughing ever in the sunlight, primrose brakes the hillside cover,
April breezes stir the petals till they smile e'en in the twilight;
They are sweet, oh they are sweet.
- Owen Wyn Jones

Spring Cleaning? Time to ask yourself: Which is better for you--Clean a whole room at a time? Or do the same job in every room before you change tools?

Here are seven tips, somewhat timely, to keep household chores from wearing you out, from an Extension Service pamphlet published in 1972.

1. Don't try to do too many jobs in one day.
2. Look for tools and ways to work that make the job easier.
3. Bend, reach, and stoop less.
4. Long-handled tools may help.
5. Work with both hands.
6. Take fewer steps.
7. Try some new ideas.

More cleaning tips for tackling the Kitchen, Living Room and Dining Room. (Title: When to Do House Cleaning Jobs, 09/1972. Home Economics Extension Service of the Department of Agriculture. Source: National Archives & Record Administration, ARC Identifier: 306737)

This 1970's Home Economics brochure is so stereotypical. You would think that we could do better than showing you "June Cleaver" with a mop or broom. So here's a new angle for you. Yoga. When sister Barbie saw this, she immediately thought it should advise us to bend, stoop and reach more, not less. She felt that since most of us do not live in caves, and must do these cleaning tasks anyway, we could at least apply yoga principles of breathing and movement to do them in a healthful, mindful way. Barbie asked her Yoga teacher, Jane Tibbetts , for comments.

Oh, yes, of course, I have some comments. I agree "bend, stoop and reach" MORE, with proper yoga movement principles applied in the movements. Did you happen to read the article in the paper that I wrote about movement principles in the garden? In it I suggest a few yoga movement principles that will help soothe a gardener's body and keep it healthy and strong. This would apply to spring cleaning of any kind as well. To summarize some of those principles very briefly:

• Breathe mindfully while performing tasks;
• Never bend from the waist - always from the hips;
• Kneel if no knee pain - if knee pain, sit on a stool with center of gravity (pelvis) as low to the ground as possible;
• When sweeping, raking, shoveling, use your whole body in the movement, moving directly from center of gravity (pelvis).

I think back in the '70s when these tips were apparently written, we were still staying in the hospital for 7-10 days following treatment/surgeries. Immobilization was thought to help. We have learned now that immobilization or limiting movement is not so good for us. So, just as you thought when you read the tips about bending, reaching, stooping less, I agree, more is in order here (with proper yoga movement principles applied). But then we yogis think a little differently than the average person. Love, Jane

Household Hints are making the Cyber Rounds— Just last month we received a long list of helpful household tips that a relative sent to us by email, which she had received from her niece, who had passed it on from someone else, who had passed it on before that from, well, you get the idea. This particular "hints list" appears on the web on message boards, in online newsletters, on school web sites, granny web sites and no telling when if ever it will finish making the rounds. If you haven't received a direct email of this helpful household hints list from someone who has your address in their email address book, and you just have to know what it's all about, here's where you can go to find out uses for alka-seltzer tablets, methods of cleaning artificial flowers and what smelly things you can do with fabric softener sheets. Actually, this is the only link worth recommending as it comes complete with comments by a rather sarcastic cat!

"But I have been thinking this matter over very seriously, and I believe it is going from bad to worse. I have heard praises of the thorough housekeeping of our grandmothers, but the housekeeping of their granddaughters is a thousand times more intense....The reason why our grandmothers could be such good housekeepers without danger of putting a stop to the eternal-womanly was that they had so few things to look after in their houses. Life was indefinitely simpler with them. But the modern improvements, as we call them, have multiplied the cares of housekeeping without subtracting its burdens, as they were expected to do. Every novel convenience and comfort, every article of beauty and luxury, every means of refinement and enjoyment in our houses, has been so much added to the burdens of housekeeping, and the granddaughters have inherited from the grandmothers an undiminished conscience against rust and the moth, which will not suffer them to forget the least duty they owe to the naughtiest of their superfluities."
"Yes, I see what you mean," I said. This is what one usually says when one does not quite know what another is driving at; but in this case I really did know, or thought I did. - William Dean Howells, Standard Household Effect Co.

Fat reduction in recipes and diet is of interest to us. One suggestion is to use applesauce as a substitute for some portion of the butter or oil used in some baked goods. This seems to work well in various cake recipes such as the Depression Era Applesauce Cake from the New Delineator Recipes cookbook which appears on our desserts recipe page. The third of a cup of butter which it calls for is far less an amount than that used in comparable cake recipes, with applesauce making up the difference.

Katie mentioned that a recent favorite 'diet and exercise' web site is www.stumptuous.com/weights.html. This site uses 'frames' so click on 'eating' then click on 'dietary fat why you need it', also on any other of the links on the 'eating' page. People should be sure that they really want to reduce fat in their diets (read 'dietary fat why you need it' link referred to above). If a person decides to eat less fat they might as well start by reducing consumption of the useless and possibly harmful fats such as those found in fast food french fries, greasy chips, giant greasy hamburgers, pie crusts, etc.

Then there are the so-called good fats (see the page above for further explanation, or many other web sites). It seems that by the time people think about the value of flaxseed meal they may already be using better oils for cooking (like Canola and Olive oils) and actually know what's an Omega-3 and Omega-6 fat. (I was thrilled to find out that avocados are actually good for you, even though high in calories!)

You're supposed to be able to substitute 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed for 1 tablespoon of fat in cooking. However, that definitely doesn't hold true where the fat (shortening or butter) is important to how the product turns out (like pie crust or biscuits -- ask mom about her biscuits). I made the "carrot, seed, raisin, honey cookies" that I've made before but tried replacing half the oil with flaxseed meal. They turned out ok but the flavor was flat. Next time I make that recipe I will reduce the oil less, try to grind the carrots finer to get more moisture out of them, and use less flaxseed meal.

So, what I'm saying is (1) try to figure out why you're substituting flaxseed meal for other cooking oils and fats and (2) the 3-to-1 rule of thumb seems to be a starting point. Experiment.

We've been paying a lot more attention to dietary fiber than to fat lately. It turns out that 'steel cut oats' have quite a bit more dietary fiber than regular old-fashioned rolled oats. My favorite breakfast lately has been steel cut oats as oatmeal (2 servings) fixed like: 1. Put sufficient water in bottom of double boiler pan* 2. Put 1/2 cup steel cut oats and 1 cup water in top of double boiler. Stir. Cover and bring to a boil. 3. Set temperature on medium and set timer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile slice a banana, thaw a cup of strawberries (remember this is for 2 servings), and when the timer goes off, heat a cup of soy milk or cow's milk in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Then put your share of the oatmeal in a bowl, add banana slices and strawberries, a little bit of honey, the warmed milk and 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal.

* If you don't have a double boiler follow the directions on the steel cut oats package and be sure to stir frequently. - K.E.

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April 7, 2005

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