B
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Gardening
as escape
from the
world’s
troubles
By Liz Douville
For The (Bend) Bulletin
The onset of the 2020 COVID pan-
demic has seen more and more people
turn to gardening as an escape. Gyms
have closed or are on a limited capac-
ity and the long-term working at home
has brought gardening back in favor as
a centering point for mental health as
well as physical health.
There are many individual reasons
to use gardening as a new tool for some
at-home therapy. The National Gar-
den Bureau credits author Janis Kiefi
for compiling a list of “10 Reasons to
Garden.” I have added some of my own
thoughts.
• Garden for safe, healthy food:
Reports of food-borne illnesses and
contamination regularly appear in the
news. There are growing concerns over
the use of pesticides, which has led to an
increased interest in growing or at least
purchasing organic produce.
There is also the issue of preserva-
tives and additives in our food. As a
test, or maybe boredom, I bought a loaf
of a popular white bread to see how
long it would keep in the refrigerator
(not freezer) before it started getting
unusable. After two months, I got tired
of moving it around, and I put it in the
freezer to use as French toast. At that
point, it was still usable, only slightly
dried out.
At present, I am most concerned with
the fresh food supply as affected by the
weather. An alarming report out of Tex-
as regarding the fresh greens crop that
was just about ready for harvest when
the bad weather hit, declared it was a
total loss. That would include many of
the salad greens, plus fi elds of cilantro.
Central Oregon probably isn’t on the
distribution route of Texas greens but it
brings to mind that perhaps we should
be more self-suffi cient. Who knows when
our fresh food chain may be disrupted?
• Garden for exercise: Gardening is
as good an exercise as a trip to the gym,
which may not even be open. Gardening
activities provide both cardio and aerobic
exercise. Studies show that an hour of
moderate gardening can burn up to 300
calories for women, almost 400 calories
for men. For older people, especially
women, gardening can help reduce
osteoporosis.
The weather will start changing
soon, at least to the point that Eastern
Oregon gardeners can be doing some
prep work.
See Gardening/Page 2B
Hillary Levin/St. Louis Post-Dispatch-TNS
French fries are just one of the ways to make use of the humble but immensely versatile potato.
D ON ’ T D ISCOUNT
T HE H UMBLE S PUD
I started with the easiest and most famil-
iar, french fries. It seemed like the American
Some people look down their noses at the thing to do.
humble potato.
As a food writer, I am required by law to
But when the chips are down, what other state that homemade fries are better than
vegetable will always be there for you? Oth- any you can get at a restaurant. But here’s
ers stay rooted where they are, half-baked.
the thing: Homemade fries are better than
Potatoes will leap out of the frying pan and
any you can get at a restaurant.
into the fi re for you, leaving their tots behind.
They are better because you can do the
When you say spud, you’ve said it all. The same trick restaurants do to make them
common taters agree: The eyes have it. Po-
breathtakingly crisp on the outside and
tatoes are the root that made Idaho famous. creamy and soft and lovely on the inside.
How famous? You can watch all their videos
Simply fry the potatoes for a few minutes
on YouTuber.
at a relatively low temperature, which cooks
The time has come to elevate the potato
them all the way through. Then, when you
to its rightful place in the American pantry,
are ready to serve them, cook them again for
to honor its nobility and grace. Potatoes, this a shorter time at a higher temperature.
spud’s for you.
This second frying leaves the exterior
OK, that’s enough of that. But the point
nicely browned and crisp, while keeping
is pertinent. Though it is often overlooked,
the inside tender and sweet. It’s french fry
the hard-working potato is the most popular perfection.
vegetable in the United States. And when
Next, I made what I’m calling Potato
prepared properly, they can be the absolute
Puffs (their real name, Cream Puff Potato
highlight of a meal.
Fritters, strikes me as a little excessive). If
I made fi ve different kinds of potatoes, and you try them, you may fi nd yourself want-
I am here to tell you that each one was amaz- ing to throw a party just so you can serve
ing. I can’t even pick a favorite; they were
them.
simply all that good.
Unfortunately, they are a little hard to
Daniel Neman
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
make, or at least time-consuming. I wouldn’t
recommend the recipe to beginners. So if
you are not at least a moderately expe-
rienced cook, it might be time to become
friends with someone who is, and then ask
them to make Potato Puffs.
The dish is actually two recipes in one.
The fi rst is for mashed potatoes, which are
straightforward enough. The second is for
pâte à choux, the dough that makes pastries
with a big air hole in the middle — eclairs,
cream puffs, profi teroles and the like (more
on that next week).
You mix the mashed potato into the pâte
à choux dough, and then fry it in hot oil.
The result are puffy little doughnut holes
that taste a bit like mashed potatoes, and
they are undeniably addictive. Apparently,
they are a regular feature at some small
restaurants in France. I want to go to those
restaurants.
Just as impressive at a dinner party as
the Potato Puffs was the next dish I made,
Pommes Anna. This is one of those side
dishes that I pull out when I want to show
off without having to do too much work.
See Potatoes/Page 2B
Medical transportation a major driver in rural health
T
en trips to the moon
and back. That’s not a
NASA shuttle travel
log — that’s how many miles our
Non-Emergent Medical Transpor-
tation (NEMT) program clocked in
a recent year.
Transportation is a crucial part
of overall health and life in East-
ern Oregon, where vast distances
stretch between communities, and
access to public transportation var-
ies greatly depending on where you
live. People call 911 for emergency
medical transportation needs. But
one of the most overlooked aspects
of accessing nonemergency medi-
cal care relates to how people get to
their various healthcare appoint-
ments — especially critical in our
rural setting.
That’s where NEMT comes in
with solutions in partnership with
caring community volunteers. At
fi rst glance, people usually have
a list of questions. Who runs the
program? NEMT is part of Greater
Oregon Behavioral Health Inc.
GOBHI administers this ride ser-
vice program on behalf of Eastern
CRYSTAL
ROSS
Oregon Coordinated Care Organiza-
tion.
Who is eligible for NEMT rides?
NEMT program connects Oregon
Health Plan members to physical,
behavioral, and oral healthcare ser-
vices. It serves members in 14 coun-
ties, including Baker County and
Union County, in Eastern Oregon
and the Columbia Gorge.
How does it work?
Oregon Health Plan members
who are seeking a ride may call
GOBHI during offi ce hours, Monday
through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at
877-875-4657. For TTY users, 711
or 1-800-735-2900. Riders are asked
to call to schedule at least two busi-
ness days before their healthcare
appointment, if possible. Those who
don’t know if they qualify for this
program can call 877-875-4657, and
One example is Garry Cassidy,
our staff will help with eligibility
a GOBHI NEMT volunteer driver
questions.
from Baker City, who shared these
words about his experience:
What does it cost?
“As a journal writer, I’m always
There is no cost to Oregon Health looking for new material. When this
Plan members, as NEMT is a
began two years ago, I had no idea
covered benefi t. NEMT partners
what was involved, who I would
with local transportation companies meet, nor the experiences we would
and volunteer drivers to provide
have together.
free rides for members to and from
“One thing I discovered was: The
scheduled medical appointments.
people we serve are in serious need
The impact of the volunteer driv- of help. By the time we see them,
ers can be called “astronomical,”
they have gone through numerous
and that’s part of why we measure
challenges in medical treatment and
it in miles to the moon. Community are seeing specialists for, in many
members help others get to medi-
cases, diffi cult diagnoses.
cal appointments. In 2019, GOBHI
“I’m acutely aware of how blessed
NEMT transported 5,571 individu- my life has been: no serious injuries,
als. They provided 121,283 trips for still ambulatory and moderately cog-
a total of 4.5 million miles — equal- nitive. This job requires compassion,
ing roughly 10 trips to the moon and being a good listener — and trying
back.
to introduce a little humor now and
We need your support. Volunteer then helps. Kindness goes a long
drivers receive training, support,
way. Looking back at the 100 or so
and reimbursement at the fed-
strangers I encountered, more than
eral rate. Drivers come from many
a few have become real friends.
backgrounds, but share their love
“Last, I like the job because you
to drive, giving back to others, and
know you will hear stories you could
eagerness to help their neighbors.
have never dreamed up yourself.
Plus, it gets you out of the house and
on the road in beautiful country. You
might even have the adventure of
meeting a herd of black Angus cattle
at 4:30 in the morning. They caused
us a lot of trouble, but the passenger
and I won’t forget that morning.”
NEMT appreciates Garry and all
of our drivers. The need for volun-
teer drivers is continuous in many of
our communities. If you are inter-
ested in becoming an NEMT driver,
or have questions, please contact
me at: 541-288-9303 or cross@gobhi.
org. Please help us spread the word.
Together, we help people get to the
medical treatments they need. While
we can measure the miles traveled
as compared to lunar trips, we know
the impact on individual lives is
far beyond that in positive health
outcomes and quality of life. We’re
honored to partner with drivers and
everyone who contributes to this
program.
Crystal Ross is the Non-Emergent
Medical Transportation operations
supervisor at Greater Oregon
Behavioral Health Inc.