The Sustainability Review – Rainwater Calculations

By Mike Forbes, Co-op Volunteer Writer

Break out your thinking caps, actually just your middle school math skills for this month’s article. We are going to figure out your actual water usage and see if rainwater can supply your household needs (or agricultural needs).

One realistic caveat to supplying your house with rainwater, you must be committed to using water wisely and installing efficient water using appliances in your home.  This doesn’t mean living like you are on a boat but it does mean buying low flush toilets (dual flush preferably), low flow showerheads and faucets, a modern dishwasher, and a front loading clothes washer.  It also entails using those appliances wisely. No expectation of 2 minute lather/rinse shower is being made just not the 30 minute shower experience or daily 60 gallon bath.

Our goal is to find out how much water we use per day on average (we’ll put a fudge factor in at the end to cover unexpected extra use). First we need to make a list of all the water-using devices in your home and how much water they use measured by use or time.  I created a spreadsheet for this that helped dramatically with the calculations.  Let’s look at your shower as an example.  On the showerhead there is most likely going to be a marking that shows the flow rate in gallons per minute or gpm.  Ours is 1.5 gpm.  For every minute our shower is on 1.5 gallons are coming out of it.  If I take a 10 minute shower I can conclude that 15 gallons of water were used (10 min x 1.5 gpm = 15 gallons).  Many appliances it isn’t that simple.  Let’s take the dishwasher for example.  In the owner’s manual there is probably a table that shows water consumption per load for each different cycle.  This is the number you are looking for.  Some dishwashers adjust the water based on how dirty the dishes are so I’d use the higher number to be safe.  If there isn’t a number you can test the usage by running the appliance and capturing the water in buckets and measuring the discharge.  Not the most convenient of methods but it does work and I’ve found the published numbers to be remarkably close to my tests.

Once you know the water usages for all devices you’ll need to make some estimates as to how often you use them.  I would recommend erring on the high side but also keep it realistic.  You could even track your usage before making this calculation on a notepad for several days or weeks.  The longer you track your usage the more accurate the number.  For example, I estimated that each person in our household will flush the toilet 4 times on the #1 flush (.8 gpm) and 2 times on the #2 flush (1.6 gpm).  Doing the math I get (4 flushes x .8 gpm) + (2 flushes x 1.6 gpm) = 3.2 gal + 3.2 gal which totals to 6.4 gal/person/day.  For the four of us our total toilet water use equals 25.6 gal/day.  This is probably high and over the years I’ve found it to be but for estimations sake it is a safe figure to use.  Do this for each device and you’ll get a total water use per day for your household. To account for waste, guests, and unexpected water use I add 10-20% to this number to get my daily household water use figure.  Hopefully you’ll find that your daily usage is much lower than the US average at 80-100 gallons per person. 

All of these calculations above refer to using rainwater for indoor domestic water use.  There is no reason why these calculations can’t be used in the garden.  Drip systems are generally rated in gpm per dripper and water meters can be purchased affordably to measure total water flow through a sprinkler system.

Once we have obtained our daily water usage we can then come together with our expected annual rainfall figure we estimated in the September article.  With these two numbers in hand we’ll start the discussion on water storage.  It however will have to wait until January.

Mike is can be reached at mike@technicalrescue.net and would be happy to share his spreadsheet with you if you wish to start the journey to rainwater usage.

Case Salad Update

Available Now through Jan. 8th:

• Mango Curry Chicken Salad
• Sumi Salad
• Orange Quinoa
• Potato Salad with Chipotle Aioli
  

Do You Miss the Lightening Up Column?

Jeanne Leffingwell is a local artist and teacher whose column, “Lightening Up” has appeared in a dozen past issues of the Co-op's Community News. Her volunteer column was discontinued with this issue.
She recently shared with us, “I’m a little worried that I’ll lose momentum with the ‘Saga of My Stuff’ and how I’m getting rid of it, without those deadlines.” She’d like to encourage anyone interested to send her an email with the subject line: More Lightening Up. If I get even 6 or 8 people who want to hear about this, I’ll keep reporting from the field... or maybe put it on a blog. Thanks!” Her email: jleffingwell4@gmail.com

Comments, Complaints and Compliments December 2010

By Kenna S. Eaton GM

The new tables are so much nicer! Anonymous

Thanks- we like ‘em too- but they aren’t actually new. As the previous decoupage of Co-op newspaper cuttings was wearing thin, we decided to recover them with bamboo from Natural Abode. - Kenna

Another scale in the front of the produce area would be helpful- Peter A

I contacted Peter and asked or more information regarding the scale. Here’s his response “The scale currently there seems fine as it is, but I had the hardest time finding it when I was at the front of the produce section, by the tomatoes. I would think about placing one right there-maybe a manual tabletop model. This seems to be an issue wherever I shop-not enough scales, or they're too hard to find.  Thanks for listening."

Pete- thanks for your comment and suggestion. The scale did use to live above the bananas, nearer the front of the store- we decided to move it back to its current location to see if it worked better for our customers. We’ll consider moving it back to its previous location next time we re-arrange tables in there.-Kenna

The Kitchen Gadget I Can't Live Without

by Jesica DeHart, Co-op Product Promotions and Education Coordinator, demo@moscowfood.coop

We call it the vegetable spiraler around my house and what it does is truly just simply magic! My children devoured vegetables of all kinds for years up until the notorious moment when they went to school and some child informed them that veggies were gross. Now being somewhat skeptical children they did not buy the "gross" statement completely but their passion for veggies did begin to dwindle and become quite selective. Some say that it is a naturally occurring shift that happens in children due to taste buds and the sort but I think their entrance into the world of outside influences played a large part in it. Around this same time, through a raw food demo, I discovered this incredible kitchen gadget that transforms any firm veggie or fruit into spiral noodles or paper thin slices. I watched, at the demo, as my child devoured a plate of spaghetti made with raw zucchini noodles and promptly went home and ordered one for our family.

I found that beets, daikon radish, carrots, zucchini, cucumber, squash, eggplant, sweet potatoes and more could easily be transformed into various size noodles to be eaten raw or lightly cooked depending on the vegetable and my kids loved them again because, well how can you not like eating something that boinnggs and is in such a fun shape. We add them to soups at the very end of cooking for an incredible rainbow affect that kids love. Beets in particular are very striking in a soup especially if you use a variety of colors of beets. I make spring rolls and fill them with either a mixture of rice noodles and raw veggie noodles or only the latter. I love arriving to a potluck or friends for dinner with a bowl of raw spiraled veggies of all colors, tossed with a simple tangy dressing and watch the oohs and ahhs and the bowl quickly empty.

Now where can you find one of these magical kitchen gadgets for yourself you ask? Well thanks to my trusting friends in the Health and Beauty department of the Co-op we are now carrying this incredible gizmo so that the children and adults of the Palouse can have as much fun with their veggies as we do at our house. Whether as a garnish or main ingredient, this is a kitchen must have. During my initial search for one years ago, I tried out a wide variety of them and found that for the price and quality that the World Cuisine model is my favorite which is what I have at home and what we now have on our shelves at the Co-op. I will be doing a plethora of demos in the coming months to showcase this fun spiral vegetable slicer. I am also more than happy to schedule a demo for you if you want to see how it works. Just send me an email demo@moscowfood.coop

November Case Salads

Here are the case salad selections for the following two weeks. For those of you wondering what happened to last month's menu: I experienced a bit of a hiccup in the process of figuring out what salads would be available, but everything is now in order and I will be making regular updates once again. Thank you for being patient with me while I sorted things out.

Several salads are new to the Co-op this month, and I invite everyone to stop in and sample some of them if you get a chance. I've marked all of the new salads in the list below.

Now through Nov. 20th:

• Chicken Salad with Apples and Walnuts
• Udon with Garlic Sauce
• Sumi Salad
• Roasted Squash and Red Onion Salad *New*
• Three Sisters Salad

Nov. 14th through Nov. 27th:

• Vicki's Roasted Brussel Sprouts
• Tortellini with Bacon and Onion *New*
• Creole Roasted Yams *New*
• Honey Mustard Potato Salad
• Wild Rice with Apricots

November News

During this time of year I often find myself waking up with a question in my mind which, before I have so much as set foot outside of my bedroom, must be answered if I am to properly begin my morning routine. I clumsily jump out of bed, with a mind still half-dreaming, wondering if that glow I see around the edges of my curtain seems brighter than usual, or if my eyes just haven't quite adjusted to the faint morning light. Hoping for the former, I dash to the window, cross my fingers, and pull the curtain aside. Every morning for weeks I have done this, and every morning I have found only the same aging landscape of fading fall hues waiting for me on the other side of the glass. Is it too early for snow? Did it come and go in the night, melting away before I had a chance to see it? “Maybe tomorrow,” I think to myself. “Tomorrow will be different.”

For a lot of us, myself included, cold weather isn't really justified until it is met with a healthy dose of white, powdery snow to play in. To another, perhaps more sound-minded group of individuals, a lack of snow this far into the season is a fortunate turn of events, as it means safer travels, (relatively) dry clothing and a few extra days to ride bicycles before things take a turn for the worse. No matter what your preference in winter weather may be, everyone always seems to agree that now is the time for delicious food, and more of it. At the Co-op kitchen, we've heard what you're collective appetites have been trying to tell us, and have come up with a number of new and exciting flavors in every one of our kitchen departments to help you feel happy and content no matter what the weather may bring.

Most of you are used to the wide variety of drinks and flavors available at our coffee bar, and some of you are even known to our baristas by both name and drink preference, in no specific order. Why not keep them on their toes? For the next few months we will be offering both eggnog and soynog lattes, and both 'nog varieties will be available to add to all of your other favorites, as well. If that isn't enough to put you in the holiday spirit, we have also added pumpkin spice and gingerbread syrups to our list of flavors, both of which should send you well on your way to carving Thanksgiving turkeys, and will see you through to your last Christmas carol and beyond. For those of you who prefer to have tea with your holiday cheer, we have recently replaced our Awake variety of black tea with Fair Trade organic tea. Give it a try—it's sure to warm your spirits on a cold day.

As usual, our pastry bakers have been working harder than ever to bring you some of the best desserts in the Moscow-Pullman area, just in time for the holidays. I wouldn't make such a bold claim if I hadn't tasted many of them myself, but I can assure you that each and every one of them is delicious, delectable and delightful—and that's just one letter of the alphabet. I could go on, but I'll let these desserts speak for themselves. For the vegans who often wish they could have something as tasty as cheesecake without the bit about cheese, we now offer vegan cheesecake in a variety of fruit flavors. Made with soy products instead of dairy, they taste every bit as good as the real thing and are convincing enough that even I had a hard time telling them apart. Also fresh out of the oven—your oven, to be precise—are our take & bake apple pies, bringing you all of the smells and flavors of a freshly baked pie with very little hassle. Should pumpkin be preferred, ready-to-eat pumpkin pies are available for only $9.99, with proceeds going towards Backyard Harvest. If you're in the mood for seconds but can't find the room for another slice of pie, why not try our baked peppermint merengue? Both light and delightful, it delivers a rich, minty flavor without adding much volume to your already crowded stomach. Seeing as how no holiday meal is complete without hot chocolate, we invite you to wash your dessert down with a glass of our Co-op hot cocoa, available as a mix in three different flavors: Mexican, mocha and classic. For those of you who just come for the cupcakes—and because it's hard to eat just one—we're now offering them in packages of six for $5.99. That's a savings of almost $2.00 per package, which ought to please both Scrooge and Cratchit alike.

Bread is an integral part of any holiday meal, and our bread bakers have not forgotten. Returning this month after a long hiatus is our stuffing bread, complemented by our brand new cranberry sourdough and Argentine chimichurri breads—three breads which, together, are practically a meal unto themselves. For those of you wondering just what chimichurri bread tastes like, imagine mixing cayenne, onion, garlic, oregano and parsley into a dough, kneading that dough until it feels smooth and consistent, and placing it in your oven, allowing the rich aroma of all of those herbs and spices to fill your house and make your mouth water. Now take a bite. Could you taste it? If not, I know a better way: come to the Co-op, bring a loaf home with you, and give your imagination a much-needed rest.

Now, with all of our other departments covered, we arrive at the kitchen. While it may not seem as though much has changed at first glance, we have reached the end of the local growing season. We will still be offering local beets, onions and potatoes well into the winter, but our supplies for many of our other, more short-lived produce items are disappearing fast. This month will be your last month to experience local leeks, pumpkins and cabbage before they will be replaced by organic offerings from warmer climates, so get them while you still can! Also, so as not to be left out of all of the holiday festivities, the kitchen will be preparing dishes made from squash, pumpkins and yams, with baked yams available in the hot bar several times this month. I'm certain that the cooks have more recipes than I'm aware of in their repertoire of hot seasonal specialties, so be prepared for the unexpected and unequaled throughout the coming months. Something you can expect, however, is our new Tuscan Cream Cheese Spread, available in the grab & go at this very moment.

More seasonal treats will surely be made available as we come closer to Christmas, but until then we invite you to try one of the many new things we have to offer this month. We at the Co-op wish you a safe and happy Thanksgiving, and hope that, when you look out your window tomorrow morning, the weather brings you exactly what you're wishing for. Just what sort of weather that is will remain a secret, unless your excitement gives it away. Until next time...