Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Bananas, cashews and gas prices

So I put cashews in the banana bread. One of those voices up there said hey wait, it's supposed to be walnuts isn't it? I rationalized that cashews are yummy, and bananas also tasty, I can't see anything wrong with putting the two together. Well I'll tell you what's wrong with cashews in your banana bread, they don't adhere to the mix. It's like the bread thinks the cashews smell and forms little bubbles around each piece. (They were whole but I scrunched them up in my hand first.) What that means is that you have the nuts just tumbling out of the bread as you eat. Sara's having a ball scouting out the fallen nuts. Anyway. Now you know.

Gas prices went up 12 cents yesterday, from 1.27 to 1.39 a liter. (from $4.82 to $5.28 a gallon) It costs me eight dollars to go to and from my suburbia classes. I'm grateful they end next week. The pattern here is always the same. Hike the price sometime between Monday night and Thursday. Then the price descends a penny at a time until the next week. Then they raise it slightly higher than the previous week's high. I always check this website, because citizens write in with prices. See, some stations hike it a few hours before others (although they all go up in the same 8 hour window) and if you have this info, you can know exactly when to get the cheapest gas that week.


Here's a shot of the station across the street just before prices went up. The place was packed until 9pm when the price change went into effect. I don't see how supply and demand has anything to do with the pattern of pricing changes, because it's always the same pattern.

21 comments:

Snooze said...

Thanks for the tip about cashews in banana bread! I would have been so annoyed to have nuts falling out from every piece.

My adventures said...

Gas prices are outrageous!! It's a sin! And, good for Sara, she needs treats too!!

Birdie said...

I remembered something about nuts dogs should not eat, so I looked it up. Cashews are okay, walnuts and macadamia nuts are not. Here's the link. We call "Clean up!" to bring our dog running for crumbs that fall.

My stomach clenches reading about gas prices; it's the new horror genre.

Lemuel said...

H/T to Birdie for the link. My princess *loves* cashews and almonds. I see they are not on the list of forbidden nuts.

I never have put cashews in my baked items, mainly because they never make it from my hand to the mix without being rerouted to my mouth.

I understand the concept of supply and demand. I also understand the concept of greed and of artificial control of the markets to feed that greed.

Patricia said...

Sometimes if you toss the nuts (or raisins or blueberries or other add-ins) with a couple tablespoons of flour before mixing them into the batter/dough, it'll help them stay put. Sorry, Sara, don't mean to spoil your fun, sweet thing!

Polt said...

Supply and demand have nothing to do with the price of gas. That's determined by the greedy sons-a-bitches that run the oil companies. It's all about gouging us for as much as they can, while they can, and has nothing to do with supply and demand.

I'm happy for Sara though. I bet she enjoys the treats.

HUGS...

don said...

Amazing how those gas prices go up just before the holiday weekend. FTW!

Hopefully Sara didn't eat too many of those cashews or she might have some 'splaining to do when you get home from work tonight. Heh heh

Butch said...

I wonder if using crushed pecans in your banana bread if you would like a change in nuts, would fix that problem for you. . . cachews come with a ton of salt and it could be some reaction with it. ( I don't know that for sure, but it may be the culprit. )

I personally think the price fixing is criminal. I read recently that the oil companies control the supply and the demand, period. The sooner we can get away from their clawing grasp of our wallets ( electric car ) the sooner they will find a way to control that market as well, I guess. It's a "win-win" for them, always. In any event, weaning ourselves off the oil teat would be the best solution, in my opinion. Since I'm an avid shopper at the local Costco, I have found that their fuel prices are the lowest in our area, so that is where I buy the gas. Besides, one of the attendants is kind on the eyes. ;-)

mare said...

Cashews are greasy because they are toasted. In baking you have to use raw nuts like almonds, pecans, hazelnuts etc.

And gas prices aren't high enough yet. I know that'll hurt the working poor the most since they have old gaz guzzling cars, live far away in suburbia or in the countryside because they can't to live in cities. But in order to consume less, of oil prices should be around $10 a gallon. That'll make investments in high speed trains and other forms of public transport really worthwhile.

I try to use my bike as much as I can. Unfortunately I often have to haul tools and materials around. I should go back into the computer business.

Anonymous said...

That's ok, not only are our gasoline prices hovering around $4.00 a gallon, but it was just announced that National Grid is seeking electric and natural gas increases.

Seeing that we currently pay .14 cents a kWh this is going to get interesting.

TED said...

Supply and demand are at work here, in one form or another. For example, the prices are probably lowest on the days of the week when the fewest people are filling up their cars (least demand). And certainly a major part of the increase in oil prices is that worldwide demand continues to increase. A significant part, also, though has to do with a perceived unreliability of future supply, because of war and other unrest in major oil-producing countries.

There's also the weakness of the dollar, but that shouldn't matter where you are.

It's a very complicated issue, and I doubt that anyone can say with any certainty how much of the price increase is attributable to which factors. I think it's fair to say, though, that even without political factors, the prices would be significantly higher now than five years ago. And it's also fair to say that without political factors, the price would be significantly lower than it is now.

lattégirl said...

I, too, have noticed that gas prices always go up just before the weekend, and especially holiday weekends.

There is one station here in town that consistently has higher prices (usually 10-15 cents + per litre) than his competitors - nobody I know fills up at his station (his main specialty is tires, anyway, not gas). I wonder why he bothers selling fuel at all.

GayProf said...

I drive a Civic that I consider reasonable on the gas. Yet I still nearly faint when I have to fill up. I can't imagine what people with giant SUV's and pickups do.

Anonymous said...

I'm going to trade my minivan in on a donkey. That way he can mow the lawn too. And fertilize me next garden spot.
-Rox

cb said...

Here's a little known rule about nuts and sweet things:

Don't ruin sweet things by adding nuts.

Just say "no" to nuts in banana bread, cookies, brownies, cakes, etc. Its just WRONG!

travelling, but not in love said...

Cashews are like the nuts sent directly from heaven - along with Macadamias and Pecans and Pistachios and good old Peanuts...it sounds like I'm some kind of nut freak. I'm going to stop typing now.

Anonymous said...

I haven't seen the needle hit the "F" on my gauge in months! I gave up on that.

Anonymous said...

They haven't built a new refinery in over 30 years. Why? because if there is plenty of gas they will have to lower the price. That is the only reason. Ed

dykewife said...

according to the prices i saw on my walk home (yeah, who'd a thunk that i'd be happy to not own a car?) the co-op was selling gas at $1.31/l.

Greg said...

I was going to suggest the flour thing, but Patricia beat me to it--I bet its the oils that keep the cashews from adhering...still, nice for Sara!

We should change to liters here...the price per sounds so much more reasonable, and it's still less than so many places...I'm sure that won't last long.

I love how you say "citizens", Torn. You sound like Batman. : )

Phronk said...

I bet the cashews would've been awesome in there if they stuck right.

And thanks for making me feel somewhat better about not having a car.