Patience pays off when perusing South Perry

Posted on Aug. 3:

Let’s put it this way: it’s a wee bit difficult to get to South Perry these days – but all the businesses up here are open, though many of the main access routes are closed.

You can’t go north from the intersection of South Perry Street and Southeast Boulevard – Perry is one lane southbound only from around the windmill (12th Avenue) and up the hill.

At the other end of the business district, Ninth Avenue is closed (torn up) in front of Grant School and Grant Park (west of Perry) and by the Hi-Co Station toward Altamont Boulevard (east of Perry).

Drivers can come up the usual ways from downtown, from Sherman Street and the freeway overpass, and hit the north end of the business district. Southbound drivers are then detoured around the park and over to Southeast Boulevard. Coming down from 29th Avenue is a little more tricky as you can’t go north on Perry – you’ll be detoured over on Southeast Boulevard, be patient, follow the signs, don’t try to cut across until you hit 11th or 12th Avenues – 12th Avenue will deposit you right in the middle of the business district, north of the main construction zone.

Confused? Hopefully not – and please feel free to share your favorite short cuts. Construction is due to water main line and sewer repairs – and yes, some new pavement will be a pleasant side effect of all the digging.

Posted on July 29:

Today the blog will feature a visit with some of the vendors at the South Perry Farmers Market and the first one on the list is Arabesque Farms and Bakery. Why? Because the bread is amazing.

Baker Louise Tuffin explains that she took a fun class at the San Francisco Baking Institute and kind of got hooked. “So I came back and took a one-week class and then we forged ahead with two bags of flour and a church kitchen,” Tuffin explains, in between handing loaves of cinnamon bread over the counter. Her bread and pastries are made with all organic ingredients using pre-fermented dough and a natural starter.

“We get some of the bubbles and that ‘tang’ but it’s not as sour as sourdough, we think it’s pretty good,” Tuffin said, laughing. She makes 75 loaves of bread per outing – and 150 for Saturdays. Find her at South Perry Farmers Market, at the Millwood Farmers Market on Wednesdays from 3-7 p.m. and at the downtown Spokane Farmers Market on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Posted on July 29:

Jane Keolker owns Quail Ridge Ranch and she’s at the South Perry Farmers Market together with her friend Hannah Kirk, of Harvey Creek Goats. The two both bring baked goods – Keolker brings a variety of gluten-free breads and cookies, and Kirk brings pies, cookies and pastries. And they both bring goat meat. Yes, goat meat.

“It’s leaner than skinless chicken breast and I just wish more people would give it a shot,” said Keolker. “I make kebobs from it, I marinate it and as long as you cook it slowly you are fine.” The meat comes from a South African goat breed, the Boer. “It’s like a very lean red meat,” said Keolker. “It’s easy to use it instead of hamburger in breakfast sausage and chili.” If you pick some up, the friends will make sure you also get a handful of recipes to get you started. You can also find the two at the Liberty Lake Farmers Market on Saturdays.

Posted on July 28:

The Spokane Regional Solid Waste System now accepts colored ‘code 2’ plastic bottles and jars in the blue curbside recycling bin. Previously, only noncolored code 2 plastic was accepted in the bins.

The easiest way to determine what kind of plastic container you are holding in your hand is to turn it over and look for the number inside the triangle on the bottom of the container.

Code 2 plastic is often used for milk, bleach, detergent and shampoo containers. Tubs and dishes can’t be recycled in the blue bin at this time.

Containers that have been used for automotive products like oil and antifreeze, pesticides or other garden chemicals, can not be recycled. They should be put in the normal trash can or taken out to the transfer station by the Waste-to-Energy Plant.

Do you recycle in the blue bin? What do you wish you could recycle in the blue bin?

Spokanecougar: Yes, it’s about time.

Mikewsu: This is great news, along with now being able to put food scraps/waste into yard waste bins for compost.

Spokane’s recycling program has advanced more in the last month than it has in years.

We would still love to be able to recycle non-corrugated cardboard boxes and HDPE tubs/dishes in our blue bin.

Rpatterson: It would also be nice to be able to recycle all no. 1 plastic containers. Currently only bottle shaped no. 1 PETE plastic is accepted but many of the clear plastic cups and deli containers are also PETE plastic.