Friday, 13 December 2024

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LAKEPORT – In an effort to positively impact a history of low student performance, the California Department of Education has moved to step in and take control of the struggling Round Valley School District located in Mendocino County by appointing a state trustee.


Chris Thomas, deputy Superintendent for Lake County Office of Education, received a unanimous vote as the chosen candidate and will assume her position as State Appointed Trustee to the Round Valley School District beginning in March.


“Receiving this appointment has been bittersweet,” said Thomas, who has served at LCOE for the past 16 years. “I am excited to take on the challenge of working to improve outcomes for the students at Round Valley; however, it is difficult to say goodbye to the dedicated staff at LCOE.”


Thomas began her career at LCOE as the director of Educational Support Services, became the assistant superintendent of Educational Services in 1997 and in 2007 was appointed to her current position of Deputy Superintendent.


Over the span of her 36-year career, Thomas has received numerous commendations, such as being named Lake County Administrator of the Year in 2000 by the Association of California School Administrators.


Many services now offered through the County Office of Education were initiated or expanded under her leadership, including child development programs, Healthy Start programs, Safe Schools/Healthy Student programs, and curriculum and instruction support services.


“This is an incredible opportunity for Chris Thomas, and a testament to her leadership, experience and expertise,” said Superintendent of Schools Wally Holbrook. “She has had a significant impact on the County Office of Education, and her shoes are not easy to fill.”


Holbrook added, “However, this situation provides us with a unique opportunity to analyze our current structure and evaluate how to best utilize our resources to serve the students, families and educators of Lake County.”


Holbrook indicated that LCOE will be releasing a reorganization plan in the coming weeks, as well as a report to the community on the Program and Services Review, a process he initiated as a part of his 100 Day Plan for leading the County Office of Education after his election last year.


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Reynaldo Robledo Sr. pours his renowned wine at Wine and Chocolate on Saturday, February 19, 2011. Photo by Gail Salituri.






LAKEPORT, Calif. – Now in its fifth year, the annual fundraiser that pairs ultra-premium Lake County Wines with delicious chocolates – the Lake Family Resource Center's Wine & Chocolate Festival – once again attracted hundreds of people who enjoyed an afternoon of decadence on Saturday.


With more than two dozen local wineries pouring one or more varietals that were perfectly paired with a specific chocolate, including locally handmade truffles, event goers also had the opportunities to taste savory bites from local restaurants and caterers, bid on lots at a silent auction and participate in several educational presentations.


The event was once again held at Mt. Konocti Growers, a vast pear shed with many buildings that also is a winery with its own label and is the wine-making facility for many professional and amateur winemakers alike – meaning the cavernous buildings are lined with wine barrels, the perfect setting for such an event.


Each event-goer received pairing and tasting notes for a selection of the varietals poured, as well as a wine tasting comparison chart and a ballot to vote on their favorite pairing, favorite wine, and favorite food.


This annual event is a major fundraiser for the Lake Family Resource Center. It's proved an important source of funding for this nonprofit organization, raising more than $20,000 during previous years.


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Sommelier Stephanie Green and local attorney Doug Rhoades enjoy the fifth annual Wine & Chocolate event in Lakeport, Calif., on Saturday, February 19, 2011. Photo by Gail Salituri.
 

 

 

 

 

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Locally produced varietals are lined up for Wine and Chocolate on Saturday, February 19, 2011. Photo by Gail Salituri.
 

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Alvaro Valencia works on installing the latest quilt block in the Lake County Quilt Trail on Dennis West's barn in Clearlake Oaks, Calif., on Saturday, February 3, 2011. Photo by Tera DeVroede.



 

 


CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – A beautiful new addition to the fast-growing Lake County Quilt Trail now hangs on the barn at yet another historical location – this one in Clearlake Oaks adjacent to High Valley Vineyard.


The quilt block was installed on Mr. Dennis West’s barn on Saturday, Feb. 3.


West has lived on that homestead, which he inherited from family, for more than 25 years. It was originally part of Pluth Ranch, he said.


This quilt is the second to adorn the Northshore, according to Marilyn Holdenried, owner of Wildhurst Vineyards and major sponsor of the Kelseyville Pear Festival’s Lake County Quilt Trail. The other hangs high on the breathtaking property of Tulip Hill Winery in Nice.


The new quilt pattern resembles a basket of grapes, therefore this quilt block is appropriately named, “Grape Basket,” she said.


“The pattern and colors were chosen by the committee from the Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven Business Association,” Holdenried said. “They wanted the purple for the fruit, grapes and the green frames for the leaves to match the greenery there around the valley. There are vineyards in the area and the committee wanted to reflect the surroundings.”

 

 

 

 

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Ellie Rilla, co-author of "Agritourism and Nature Tourism in California," spoke about agritourism across Europe at the "Growing Agritourism" workshop in Ukiah, Calif., on Wednesday, February 16, 2011. Photo by Terre Logsdon.





UKIAH, Calif. – With cutting-edge policies in place to support small family farmers and tourism, Lake County was held up as the agritourism model for the neighboring counties of Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte at the recent “Growing Agritourism” workshop.


Sponsored by the University of California Small Farm Program and the University of California Cooperative Extension, the workshop was held in Ukiah on Wednesday, Feb. 16, and drew participants and presenters from across the North Coast region of Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Sonoma, Humboldt and Del Norte counties.


Agritourism is defined as the, “business conducted by farmers or ranchers on their working agricultural, horticultural, or agribusiness operations for the enjoyment and education of visitors,” that is intended to promote farm products and to generate additional farm income, according to Ellie Rilla, co-author of “Agritourism and Nature Tourism in California,” a book that is practically required reading for any ag operator considering welcoming the public to their farm and presenter at the workshop.


Rillia also was a speaker at the event, discussing agritourism across Europe.


“You don't need a carnival,” explained Karen Bates of the Philo Apple Farm, “just let people see what you do in your daily life on the farm – that's what they want,” and they are willing to pay to participate, she added.


Bates further explained that co-marketing with other area businesses – talking up a nearby hotel, bed and breakfast, or restaurant, and then having them refer guests to you – is a key to success in rural areas that welcome urban tourists who are passionate about knowing and meeting local farmers.


She also cautioned participants to find their balance in maintaining enthusiasm – both for farming and the educating the public.


“If you lose your enthusiasm,” Bates noted, “you have nothing to sell,” and nearby urban areas have thousands – if not millions – of residents who care about local foods from small and sustainable family farms who are willing to buy an experience that you have to offer.


Richard Strom, director of Tourism Development for Visit Mendocino County, said that more than 70 percent of visitors to Mendocino County want locally grown food and many want an on-farm experience.


While exact statistics for tourism to Lake County cannot be generated due in part to a lack of a tracking mechanism – Mendocino County has a partnership between the Mendocino County Promotional Alliance and the Mendocino County Lodging Association that formed Visit Mendocino County, with representative board members and staff, to promote and track tourism to Mendocino County – urban visitors to Lake County should have similar desires.


That's because of the nationwide growth in interest of locally grown food, including the United States Department of Agriculture's launch of the “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative.


With a long tradition in agriculture and cutting-edge polices that support agritourism operations, combined with the cleanest air in California, world-renowned Lake County Mountain Pears and walnuts, a rising reputation for award-winning wines, numerous farmers' markets, and two online ordering systems for locally grown foods (www.lakecountygrown.com and www.lakeco-op.org), Lake County is poised to expand agritourism operations as the enthusiasm for local food grows.


Speaking to the challenges of beginning an agritourism operation, Dan Desmond of Perini Ranch and Joey Luiz of Vigilance Winery, both in Lower Lake, noted that startup capital and managing urban visitors expectations to a rural area can be a challenge that requires planning.


Lake County Community Development Director Richard Coel spoke about proposed changes to the Lake County zoning ordinance which would benefit agritourism operators.


The benefits would come in the form of allowing wine tasting on 10-acre or larger vineyard sites without developing an on-site winery with approval of a minor use permit, allowing wine-related special events as part of winery or tasting room entitlement with approval of a minor use permit, relaxing permit requirements for commercial stables on 10-acre and larger parcels with equestrian-oriented special events, and simplifying the farmers' market permit process by allowing a market with a zoning permit at developed commercial and ag sites that have a permitted winery or another agricultural service establishment in operation.


The importance of social media for engaging the public in agritourism venues was presented by Christian Ahlmann of Six Sigma Ranch and Vineyards in Lower Lake.


Ahlmann gave participants statistics on why Facebook is an important tool to use – more than 500 million users, 50 percent of users log in each day, how to use it effectively and more.


He also noted that by connecting and commenting – or co-marketing – on other nearby venues and businesses, it entices your followers to plan their next vacation near you.


The “Growing Agritourism” workshop had more than 30 farmers or ranchers considering agritourism registered, as well as many tourism professionals, current agritourism operators looking for new ideas, and educators in attendance.


The local food movement – also referred to as “regional food” or “food patriotism” – is a “collaborative effort to build more locally based, self-reliant food economies – one in which sustainable food production, processing, distribution, and consumption is integrated to enhance the economic, environmental, and social health of a particular place,” according to Dr. Gail Feenstra, food systems analyst at the University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program and the Agricultural Sustainability Institute.


Feenstra offered that definition in “Creating space for sustainable food systems: lessons from the field.” She presented at the“Growing Our Local Food Economy,” in Lakeport, as reported by Lake County News, in October, 2010.


The combination of the passion for local food, tourism, and the stunning natural beauty in Lake County can be an economic benefit to all of Lake County – residents and visitors alike.


For residents, it can mean an increase in food available locally, and for tourists, visiting a Lake County farm can mean an educational experience that can last a lifetime.


In full disclosure, this reporter presented on agritourism Web sites and the importance of listing events and information.


A list of Web sites is included below, where you can learn more about Lake County and other agritourism venues, events, farms and gardens.


www.lakecounty.com/things/Farms.htm

www.lakecounty.com/things/Wines/Wineries.htm

www.lakecounty.com/Accommodations/Type/farm.htm

www.visitredwoodcoast.com

www.calagtour.org

www.sleepinthehay.com

www.sleepinthehay.com


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LAKEPORT, Calif. – A routine business check by sheriff's deputies has resulted in the felony arrest of a repeat offender and the recovery of stolen property.


Early Thursday at about 3 a.m., sheriff’s deputies were conducting a business check of the Konocti Vista Casino in Lakeport when they contacted 30-year-old Jeremy Lee White of Santa Rosa, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.


White drew the attention of deputies by exhibiting symptoms of being under the influence, Bauman said.


Bauman said that, subsequent to his detention, White was arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance.


Incident to his arrest, deputies seized a 200,000 volt Taser from White’s jacket pocket and suspected methamphetamine from his pants pocket. Bauman said that a subsequent search of White’s vehicle parked outside of the casino revealed several items of stolen property.


A GPS unit, a laptop computer, and a leather laptop bag allegedly found in White's car had all been reported as stolen to the Clearlake Police Department on Feb. 14, Bauman said.


White was booked at the Lake County Jail on felony charges of possession of a controlled substance, receiving stolen property, and misdemeanor charges of being a felon in possession of a stun-gun and being under the influence of a controlled substance, Bauman said.


White was out on bail at the time of his arrest and already had several open felony cases pending adjudication in both Lake and Sonoma counties, according to Bauman's report.


Due to White's alleged continued commission of felonies while out of custody on bond, a bail enhancement of $250,000 was granted for Thursday morning’s arrest and he remains in custody at the Lake County Jail.


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It's official: The sun is a sphere.


On Feb. 6, NASA's twin STEREO probes moved into position on opposite sides of the sun, and they are now beaming back uninterrupted images of the entire star – front and back.


“For the first time ever, we can watch solar activity in its full 3-dimensional glory,” said Angelos Vourlidas, a member of the STEREO science team at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, DC.


NASA released a “first light” 3D movie on, naturally, Super Bowl Sun-day.


“This is a big moment in solar physics,” said Vourlidas. “STEREO has revealed the sun as it really is – a sphere of hot plasma and intricately woven magnetic fields.”


Each STEREO probe photographs half of the star and beams the images to Earth. Researchers combine the two views to create a sphere.


These aren't just regular pictures, however. STEREO's telescopes are tuned to four wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet radiation selected to trace key aspects of solar activity such as flares, tsunamis and magnetic filaments. Nothing escapes their attention.


“With data like these, we can fly around the sun to see what's happening over the horizon – without ever leaving our desks,” said STEREO program scientist Lika Guhathakurta at NASA headquarters. “This could lead to significant advances in solar physics and space weather forecasting.”


Consider the following: In the past, an active sunspot could emerge on the far side of the sun completely hidden from Earth. Then, the sun's rotation could turn that region toward our planet, spitting flares and clouds of plasma, with little warning.


“Not anymore,” said Bill Murtagh, a senior forecaster at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado. “Farside active regions can no longer take us by surprise. Thanks to STEREO, we know they're coming.”


NOAA is already using 3D STEREO models of CMEs (billion-ton clouds of plasma ejected by the sun) to improve space weather forecasts for airlines, power companies, satellite operators, and other customers. The full sun view should improve those forecasts even more.


The forecasting benefits aren't limited to Earth.

 

 

 

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An artist's concept of STEREO surrounding the sun. Courtesy of NASA.
 

 

 


“With this nice global model, we can now track solar storms heading toward other planets, too,” pointed. “This is important for NASA missions to Mercury, Mars, asteroids … you name it.”


NASA has been building toward this moment since Oct. 2006 when the STEREO probes left Earth, split up, and headed for positions on opposite sides of the sun (movie). Feb. 6, 2011, was the date of "opposition" – i.e., when STEREO-A and -B were 180 degrees apart, each looking down on a different hemisphere.


NASA's Earth-orbiting Solar Dynamics Observatory is also monitoring the sun 24/7.


Working together, the STEREO-SDO fleet should be able to image the entire globe for the next eight years.


The new view could reveal connections previously overlooked.


For instance, researchers have long suspected that solar activity can “go global,” with eruptions on opposite sides of the sun triggering and feeding off of one another. Now they can actually study the phenomenon.


The Great Eruption of August 2010 engulfed about two-thirds of the stellar surface with dozens of mutually interacting flares, shock waves, and reverberating filaments.


Much of the action was hidden from Earth, but plainly visible to the STEREO-SDO fleet.


“There are many fundamental puzzles underlying solar activity,” said Vourlidas. “By monitoring the whole sun, we can find the missing pieces.”


Researchers say these first-look images are just a hint of what's to come. Movies with higher resolution and more action will be released in the weeks ahead as more data are processed.


Stay tuned.


Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.


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NICE, Calif. – Two men were arrested late Monday morning for felony burglary within hours of committing the crime at a Kelseyville business.


Taken into custody were Craig Allen Snyder, 50, and Dennis James Blaine, 57, both of Nice, according to a report from Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.


At about 7:21 a.m. Monday a hired security guard at the Ag Unlimited business on Finley East Road in Kelseyville called sheriff’s dispatch and reported two men had entered an adjacent warehouse and were stealing property, Bauman said.


Bauman said the suspects fled the area in a white Lincoln sedan before deputies arrived.


When the deputies got to the scene a short time later, Bauman said they learned that the two men had entered the closed business through a gap in the surrounding fence and had allegedly stolen numerous items from inside the business.


While deputies spent the next several hours looking for the suspect vehicle, the investigation revealed that one of the suspects was likely Snyder, Bauman said.


Deputies checked for Snyder’s vehicle at his residence in Nice periodically throughout the morning and, at about 11:30 a.m., they found it parked in front of his house, according to Bauman.


The deputies contacted Snyder and Blaine, and found Snyder’s car was loaded with property allegedly taken from the warehouse, Bauman said.


In addition, Bauman said items stolen from the Ag Unlimited business office were allegedly recovered from inside of Snyder's home.


Both Snyder and Blaine were arrested without incident, Bauman reported.


Both were booked at the Lake County Jail on felony charges of first degree burglary, receiving stolen property and criminal conspiracy.


As of late Monday afternoon, both men remained in custody on $25,000 bail each.


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The storms that began on Thursday, February 17, 2011, damaged power equipment, such as this downed pole located near Cobb Mountain Elementary School in Cobb, Calif. Photo by Jennifer McConlogue.





LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Pacific Gas & Electric company crews were continuing to work through the weekend to restore power to customers who have been without electricity since late last week due to the winter storms.


PG&E spokesman J.D. Guidi said late Saturday that 2,630 customers in Lower Lake, Cobb, Hidden Valley and Middletown still had no power.


Guidi said the majority of the customers waiting for power were in Middletown.


Most of the customers involved had not had power since about 7 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 17, Guidi said.


Accessing equipment due to terrain and snow remains an issue, Guidi said.


The company had mobilized crews to make repairs in Lake County, bringing them in from less impacted areas of the state.


“Crews will continue to work around the clock to restore power as quickly and safely as possible,” Guidi said.


He added, “At this time it looks like we expect a majority – if not all – to be restored by Sunday evening at the latest.”


The National Weather Service issued a hazardous weather outlook for Lake County on Sunday, warning of low temperatures in the days ahead, but no snow or rain until the middle of the week, when chances of showers return.


E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Friday ended with more snow, more road closures and more concerns about the weather to come as Lake County entered the weekend.


The National Weather Service on Friday evening said snow was likely to continue overnight, with the chances of snow showers decreasing on Saturday.


That overnight prediction proved accurate, as late in the evening snow was widely reported around the county – including in Upper Lake, Nice and parts of Lucerne, where sustained snowfall hadn't taken place previously.


On the other side of the county, in Cobb and Kelseyville, snow once again clogged roadways.


Shortly after 7 p.m. the California Highway Patrol reported several vehicles were spun out in the snow on the Glasgow Grade near Lower Lake on Highway 29.


At about the same time on Highway 175 over Cobb, just south of Harrington Flat Road, a big rig pulling a flatbed trailer with two telephone poles on it was stuck in the now, the CHP reported.


On the Glasgow Grade the snow was making the highway passable only for four-wheel drive vehicles or those with chains, according to the report.


While a tow company pulled vehicles out of the snow, Highway 29 between Lower Lake and Kelseyville was closed for several hours, finally reopening shortly before midnight, the report said.


Meanwhile, back on Highway 175 over Cobb near Harrington Flat, the CHP reported that power lines above the roadway were coming down and arcing over vehicles shortly before 1 a.m.


Pacific Gas & Electric – which has had crews out in full force over the last few days in order to repair damaged equipment and restore power to customers – planned to respond to the area before 2 a.m., according to the report.


Regarding other highway conditions, Caltrans reported that Highway 29 over Mount St. Helena was closed once again due to snow.


Highway 175 was closed from the junction of Highway 29 to five miles west of Middletown due to downed trees, Caltrans said.


The CHP reported early Saturday that all of South Highway 175 was under chain requirements.


For the most part, Friday was quieter for local first responders, who reported call volumes were down from the previous day.


Sgt. Tim Hobbs of the Clearlake Police Department said during his daytime shift on Thursday the department took 115 calls for service, of which he said 105 were related to weather, crashes and power lines being down.


“It was definitely busy,” he said.


CHP Officer Joe Wind said Friday, “It's calmed down greatly since yesterday,” noting that Thursday was “crazy,” with a call volume three to four times the normal amount.


He said all available personnel remained on the roads on Friday.


“Yesterday we had the snow, today we had the ice,” said Wind.


One of the positive benefits of the winter storms – Clear Lake's level jumped from 5.80 feet Rumsey – the special measure used to record its depth – to 6.73 feet Rumsey at about midnight Saturday, its highest level for February in five years, according to Lake County Water Resources records.


E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

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Each vanilla bean contains thousands of tiny seeds, shown here scraped from the pod in their black, paste-like form. Photo by Esther Oertel.




I’m dating myself here, but back in the 1980s a book was written by humorist Sandra Boynton for chocolate lovers called “Chocolate, the Consuming Passion.” (I, of course, devoured every word.)


The book extolled the virtues of chocolate (rightly so, I might add), but there was an overtone of discrimination against vanilla, as though those who prefer its flavor over chocolate are somehow lacking.


I must admit that I’ve been party to that kind of chocolate snobbery much of my life, but somewhere along the way my eyes were opened to vanilla’s vastly valuable qualities.


Not only does it stand alone as a marvelous flavor, it provides a back note to an amazing array of otherwise-flavored items, kind of like an unseen but important backstage helper.


Vanilla is the most widely used flavoring in pastries, confections and other desserts. What would chocolate brownies or banana bread be without its requisite shot of vanilla?


Unfortunately, the word “vanilla” is often used to describe things that are boring, ordinary or overly homogeneous.


When I plugged the word into my Internet search engine, for example, an article popped up that opined on whether a certain NASCAR driver was “too vanilla.” In that case, it meant boring, without much personality.


But vanilla is anything but. It’s exotic, sultry, enticing, subtle and sweet. It knows it doesn’t have to shout; instead, it persuades quietly. In a culinary context, it may be the most “come hither” scent aside from garlic.


And no wonder. It hails from the tropics deep within Mexico, where, I would imagine, the flora is dripping with mystery.


Vanilla beans are the seed pods of the pretty vanilla orchid, a tropical climbing vine that sports a delicate white or pale yellow flower.


These pods are painstakingly cultivated, a process that includes laboriously pollinating them by hand at a very specific time of day when blossoms appear on the vine for a short one-month flowering period.


Some vanilla blossoms last only a day, so farmers must be diligent about observing flowers in bloom.


Hand harvesting of the pods occurs four to six months after the fruit appears on the vine (some sources say it takes nine months for the pods to reach maturity), requiring much patience on the part of the farmers.


After harvest, the pods go through processes lasting another six months where they’re “killed,” “sweated,” slow-dried and “conditioned,” sort of like spa treatments for spice.


“Killing” the pods refers to the process of stopping the vegetative growth and initiating the enzymatic reactions responsible for vanilla’s aroma. There are a variety of methods used for this, the most popular being a hot water bath.


The pods are then wrapped in woolen blankets to “sweat” in the sun for at least an hour and up to ten days, allowing enzymes to catalyze the reactions begun during the “killing” process. This allows the pods to develop not only vanilla’s characteristic aroma, but its color and flavor, as well.


The pods are then slow-dried in the sun to prevent rotting. This curing process also locks the aroma in the pods.


Once slow-dried, “conditioning” (or fermenting) occurs over a period of months via storing the pods in closed boxes so the flavor develops.


The beans are then sorted by quality and graded by the length of the bean. The longer beans contain more vanillin, the main flavor component of the 171 aromatic compounds identified in vanilla beans.


Grade A beans are the longest and are considered gourmet or prime beans. They’re typically sold whole.


Grade B beans are also called “extract beans,” and, as implied, are used to make vanilla extract.


It is interesting to note that vanilla orchids growing wild in Mexico were pollinated by bees or hummingbirds capable of penetrating the tough membrane that separates the plant’s pistol and stamen.


Until the mid-19th century, Mexico was the largest producer of vanilla beans.


In 1819, French entrepreneurs shipped vanilla beans from Mexico to tropical islands in the Indian Ocean under their control (namely, Mauritius and Reunion). They hoped to cultivate vanilla there.


While vanilla orchids grew well in the new tropical locales, seed pods were not produced because the plants weren’t being pollinated. Importation of Mexican bees proved unsuccessful.


It wasn’t until 1841 when a 12-year-old former slave on the island of Reunion developed a method for hand pollination of the vanilla orchid that cultivation in places other than its native Mexico became successful.


This young vanilla bean husbandman, Edmond Albius, fertilized the plants using a bamboo skewer to lift the plant’s membrane and his thumb to smear the pollen. His method is still in use today, even in Mexico.


The hard work (not to mention investment of time) involved in harvesting vanilla makes it the most expensive spice next to saffron and cardamom.


Today most vanilla is cultivated in Madagascar. The vanilla produced there and in Mexico is considered superior to that produced in Indonesia or Tahiti, though Tahitian vanilla is beautifully aromatic and used in perfumes.


The dark brown, slender vanilla beans contain thousands of tiny black seeds which may be scraped, paste-like, from within the pod to flavor food.


The pod, with or without its seeds, may be used to flavor liquids and sauces. The longer it steeps in the liquid, the stronger the flavor. Use about one pod per pint of liquid if a strong vanilla flavor is desired.


One method is to bring the liquid to a boil, turn off the heat and add the bean(s) to steep for about an hour as the liquid cools.


I generally allow the bean(s) to simmer in the liquid. I use them when making syrup or flavoring a hot beverage, such as spiced cider.


Believe it or not, a whole bean may be used more than once if washed, dried and stored in an airtight container.

 

 

 

 

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Vanilla sugar may be made by storing one or more vanilla beans for several weeks with sugar in an air-tight container. These beans will need to be covered completely with sugar before storing. Photo by Esther Oertel.
 

 

 

 


An interesting way to store vanilla beans is in sugar. Use a jar with a tight-fitting lid and bury the beans so that no light hits them. After two or three weeks, the resulting sugar is vanilla-flavored and may be used in recipes or to flavor drinks. (It’s great in coffee, iced tea or hot cocoa.)


When selecting vanilla beans, choose plump ones, as they contain more seeds. The bean should be dark brown, almost black, and pliable enough to wrap around your finger without breaking.


If beans have hardened, they may be softened in the liquid of your recipe before use.


If you discover what looks like sugar crystals inside a bean pod, it means you’ve found pure vanillin crystals.


In the U.S., vanilla extract is more widely used than whole vanilla beans, though they’re gaining popularity. In Europe, whole beans are generally preferred.


Extract typically uses alcohol as a flavor carrier, though some are made using glycerin instead.


Vanilla powder is also available commercially, which is made from grinding vanilla beans.


Homemade vanilla extract is a treat, and I’ve heard professional chefs and home cooks alike remark about the difference it makes in their food. The vanilla extract procedures below are courtesy of About.com.


Enjoy, and remember, vanilla is anything but boring!


Homemade vanilla extract


To make your own vanilla extract, chop three or four vanilla beans into small pieces, being careful to retain all the seeds and crystals.


Put into a clean jar and cover with about a half cup of brandy liquor. Let steep for one to six months. Strain and use with or without the pieces as your recipe defines.


The mixture keeps indefinitely, and you can continuously add to it. If you find the brandy flavor too strong and have more time, use one split bean steeped in 3/4 cup of vodka, letting it stand at least six months.


Esther Oertel, the “Veggie Girl,” is a culinary coach and educator and is passionate about local produce. Oertel teaches culinary classes at Chic Le Chef in Hidden Valley Lake, Calif., and The Kitchen Gallery in Lakeport, Calif., and gives private cooking lessons. She welcomes your questions and comments; e-mail her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..


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The California Highway Patrol reported that the crash near Upper Lake, Calif., on Friday, February 18, 2011, resulted in minor injuries. Photo by Gary McAuley.



 

LAKE, Calif. – A single-vehicle crash on Friday resulted in minor injuries.


The collision was reported just after 11:15 a.m. on Elk Mountain Road a quarter-mile north of the Mendocino National Forest Ranger Station, according to the California Highway Patrol.


A small Ford two-door car driven by a 19-year-old woman with a 20-year-old female passenger went off the road and into an orchard, with the passenger side of the car hitting a tree, according to reports from the scene.


California Highway Patrol Officer Joe Wind said a full report on the crash wasn't yet available, but said initial indications were that the crash was not weather-related, and that it appeared the driver may have been going too fast and lost control in a curve.


The CHP said the crash resulted in minor injuries. The names of those involved and specifics about their injuries was not immediately available.


Northshore Fire Protection District responded to the scene to give medical aid to the two young women.


E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

 

 

 

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A single-vehicle crash involving this small Ford and a tree occurred late on the morning of Friday, February 18, 2011, near Upper Lake, Calif. Photo by Gary McAuley.
 

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