CO-OP NEWSLETTER - NOV. 19, 2018
Weekly News & Updates


Dear Members and Friends,

Make a list, check it twice, and shop early this week.
Thanksgiving is Thursday and your Co-op will be closed so everyone can celebrate the feast day!  
 
 


TODAY 
 
Sampling Event at the Co-op
Today, November 19th 3-5 pm

Girl Meets Dirt will be in the store today, sampling their cutting and spoon preserves, all made on Orcas Island from locally sourced, heritage fruit. Come on in for a taste while you shop.
You'll find the perfect pairing for your upcoming holiday meals.




Maggie Olsen,
Produce Manager
In the Store This Week

 
Produce
 
 
Local:

Dog Island: shiitake mushrooms

Federico Farm: micro-greens

Horse Drawn Farm: kale, chard, Amarosa & french fingerling potatoes, cabbage, cilantro, blue ballet, delicata, & kabocha squash, broccoli shoots, aji cristal peppers, savoy & red cabbages

Mitchell Bay Farm: Asian pears

Nootka Rose Farm: carrots, chard, cilantro, lettuce mix, spinach, arugula

Sweet Earth Farm: Macintosh, and Sweet 16 apples, hubba hubba, delicata, red kuri winter squashes, winter luxury pumpkin (great pie pumpkin!), Concord pears, jerusalem artichokes

Old Copper Farm: garlic

Maple Rock Farm: celeriac, beets

Zach Chan: Romanesco cauliflower

 


 
Regional:
 
All Seasons, Langley, BC:  crimini mushrooms

Hedlin Farms, LaConner:  brussels sprouts, celery, greens beans

Boldy Grown Farm, Burlington: Treviso radicchio

Top Hat, Salem & Scio, OR:  shiitake mushrooms

Ralph's Greenhouse, Mt. Vernon: carrots, parsnips, leeks

Crow's Farm, Bow, WA: watermelon radishes, garlic

Caruso Farm, Snohomish: Turnips

Maria & Brian Dennis, Orondo, WA:  apples, walnuts, grapes


 
Beyond:

Feijoas*
Avocado
Bananas
Grapes
Grapefruit
Oranges
Lemons
Limes
Satsumas
Pomegranate
Mango
 
* Feijoas are also called "pineapple guava" or "guavasteen."  They have juicy flesh and a sweet aromatic flavor. The outside remains green even when ripe; flesh is clear and jelly-like when ready to eat. Cut it in half and scoop with a spoon, or just bite it in half and squeeze it into your mouth. The skin is tart but edible. 
 

Wine, Cider

So, what to drink with Thanksgiving dinner? Some say American only, since it's our holiday. Some say we're a nation of immigrants and should take advantage of that. White? Red? Cider? Cold stream water, in keeping with the puritan roots of the holiday?

In terms of pairing flavors, there's a lot to think about. A host of sides, many of them rich, cranberry sauce with some tartness and sweetness, turkey (though we've been known to roast a salmon, which sends things in a whole different direction). So you want something that plays well with lots of different flavors.

How many people are going to be at your dinner? If it's just a few, champagne is a great way to go: festive and one of the great food wines of the world, goes with almost everything (maybe not big, dry aged steaks, but almost everything). If you don't feel like spending quite that much, a less famous sparkling wine is still a good choice: Antech Emotion has a lot of champagne-like notes going on, while the Cecilia Prosecco extra brut is a bit more floral, which plays nicely with some parts of the feast. Or think a red sparkling wine, like our organic Cantina Coviolo Lambrusco, which is a truly wonderful wine, with lots of bright fruit, fine tannins and hints of forest floor and fall rain.


If you like whites our locally grown Siegerrebe and Madeline Angevine are great choices, from either San Juan Vineyards or Lopez Island Vineyards. Siegerrebe tends to be spicy and aeromatic and made in an off dry style, so if you like Gewurtztraminer with a hint of sweetness this is the wine for you. Madeline Angevine is lighter, with delicate floral aromas and occasional hints of the sea. I'd also consider Quail's Gate Gewurtztraminer, an organic white we have from BC on sale for $9.95, or You Can Have It All Sauvignon Blanc, which is a lovely take on the richer end of the spectrum from the Columbia Valley.

If reds are your thing, you want to think about getting lighter reds, like Pinot Noir, or Populis Reversee or La Clarine "El Dorado" Syrah, a couple of surprisingly light and balanced natural wines out of California. If you want bigger reds, consider Hedges or Memaloose, both from Washington, doing some gorgeous Biodynamic and organic wines.

Rosé is one of those things we don't think about much once the sun starts to go down early, but we should. If there's a perfect pairing out there for the Thanksgiving feast it's a good rosé. Anything we have should go beautifully.

Hard Cider is another good choice. If you like cleaner styles, think Westcott bay, Art and Science if you want a more wild experience, with Boat House and Madrone lying somewhere in between the two. Madrone's dry Marrionberry cider would be an especially nice choice.

-- Jeremy


HABA

You requested it, and now SUN POTION is here, offering medicinal plants, superfoods and tonic herbs from different traditions around the globe. This is a California based company that is committed to high quality, organic, and sustainably harvested product. 

Pearl Powder, Green Adapatogens, Brain Tonic -- Rhodiola, Astragalus, Anadamide -- are a few of our beginning selections. Let me know what else you would like to see on the shelf. 
-- Adrienne


New
 
Edward & Sons Single Serve Miso-Cup with Seaweed

Pamela's Gluten-Free Crispy Ginger Cookies (great for pie crusts)

Purely Elizabeth Bars and Granolas, sweetened with coconut sugar and containing healthy ingredients such as Reishi mushroom


Back
 
Field Roast Celebration Roast -- gourmet vegan roast for the holidays -- is expected this week.

Aunt Patty's Tamarind Paste

Silk Dairy-Free Egg Nog
 
Beyond Meat Grilled "Chicken" Strips (vegan) 


and ...

5B's Gluten-Free Stuffing Mix and Dinner Rolls. There are also apple/cranberry Handpies; just the thing for Thanksgiving.


Discontinued
 
Housing Crunch is no longer offering pre-bagged granola. From now on it will only be available in the bulk section.
 

Disruption of Service -- Barn Owl

There will be no Barn Owl delivery on Friday, November 23rd. However, we will be getting the Heritage Loaf along with larger amounts of our usual Monday offerings. Fans of the Country Bread and Toasted Sesame will have to wait until next Friday, November 30th. We do have some in the store right now, however.




Red Russian kale:   As Roger pointed out to me, it's a different looking kind.  I got the seeds from Siskiyou Seeds, maybe a special one he's developed.  It's a bit tougher than what I've grown in the past, but isn't it gorgeous? I haven't over-wintered any of this one yet--curious to see how it holds up.

How are Your Brassicas?


Since we're having late warm weather and not enough rain, I've been spending more time out in my garden than I would if winter was actually here. 

So I've taken some photos of my brassicas for you to critique. 

As you know from seeing pictures of my garden in the past, it's not pristine -- far from it -- so my crops are nothing to write home about.  But as you can see, there are plenty of edibles out there. 





Dinosaur kale:  Always a trouper, very hardy.  I'm already using mine.
I probably won't even have to cover it unless we have a cold snap.
Savoy Cabbage:  This is a lovely one that I need to use soon.  Time for cabbage rolls.
























<< Broccoli: I've grown Arcadia broccoli for several years, we have it in the demo garden too.  Yes, it is a hybrid, but it seems immortal.  We have plants in the demo garden that are at least 2 years old and still pumping out the shoots.  We keep thinking we should pull it but then find more to harvest.  As you can see I've harvested the main heads, and I think one crop of side shoots already.  It just won't quit!

Ah yes, baby brussels sprouts. >> Things look a little funky in my bed; I think a grooming would help.  I trust they will keep at it; I'll no doubt cover them with low tunnels in a while.




Baby kales:  Yes, yes, I know  
I planted them awfully late but it's always worth a try.   
 
They are happy in the greenhouse now and I'll set them out in low tunnels after they get bigger, nothing to lose at this point.  I think I'll start some Asian greens too.  One year I had a bed out under plastic all winter, figured they were toast, but when I uncovered them in February there was a jungle under there, it was amazing.  I'll try it again!




I don't think my winter garden is the best I've had; I'm sure there are others that shine.  I expect I'll see some real stars at the Farmers Market tomorrow, and the coop produce section looks lush and tasty. 

My friend Jim Nollman told me he's got a great winter garden going this year and I've got to get over to see for myself.  I'm sorry the demo garden hasn't more to harvest right now. I'm not sure how I missed the boat on that, but as always, no time to cry over spilt milk: just make a note to self to get more in sooner next year.
 
-- Alice Deane  



Egg Cartons, Glass Jars, & Recycle/Reuse

The Co-op thanks those who help with keeping our supplies of reusable paper bags and clean reusable jars and containers for bulk foods and household/personal care products well supplied. 

Please see the lists below of the items we accept and do not. We need to keep organized so our staff can attend to store duties and not have to recycle items we do not collect.

YES:  We collect containers -- plastic or glass -- for shoppers to use for bulk food/cleaning products, but there's only room for so many. Please make very sure they are odorless and clean.

NO:  We do not accept quart honey or yogurt jars anymore; people do not use them often and we end up taking staff time to sort and recycle them. Thanks for your cooperation and understanding.

YES:  Things we collect and return for reuse by vendors/producers:
 

- Federico Farms egg cartons
- Double Mountain beer bottles
- Sunnyfield Farm goat milk yogurt jars
- Hummingbird honey, coconut oil, hazelnut chocolate spread jars
- Milk bottles returned for deposits: Twin Brook & Fresh Breeze


Sunnyfield Yogurt jars

 

 








NO:  Items we cannot take back; put these in your home recycling:

- All other egg cartons
- All other honey jars
- All other yogurt jars
- Fruit baskets from berries and such

-- Thank you for your help!  

Membership Cards

Members who have signed up or renewed their membership this year and have not picked up a new membership card made of non-plastic sustainable recyclable composite material can find theirs at the register the next time they come in to shop. They're piling up!


Your San Juan Island Food Co-op membership card entitles you to shop at member prices at most food co-ops everywhere.



San Juan County Hazard Mitigation Plan 2018

A countywide effort is underway to make sure we are all prepared:

"We cannot prevent the infrequent disastrous acts of nature, but we can implement strategies designed to reduce the property damage, disruption of services, devastation to the local economy, and the long-term risks to people that typically follow a natural disaster. This is hazard mitigation." Read more:

http://www.sanjuandem.net/About/PDFs/HazardMitigationPlan.pdf

 
*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * 
 
Disaster Preparedness

"Individual preparedness is the first step to being ready for a natural disaster. If you're doing nothing to prepare, it means you're counting on others to take care of you."  
 
Every household should be prepared to take care of itself for up to a month without water, power, services, supplies.




*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Handouts

You can find the Department of Emergency Management handouts at the Co-op so you can start your preparations any time. With a few purchases and one or two things to attend to each month, at the end of one year your family will be prepared in the event of an emergency which could cut our island community off from services and supplies.
 
1. 12 month Household Preparation Calendar
2. Neighborhood Preparation Calendar
3. Immediate Response -- "Disaster! Now what?"




Volunteer at the Co-op!
 
Volunteer Benefits:

In addition to the rewards of donating their time, volunteers earn co-op cash to spend in the store at the rate of $4.60 for every two hours of work. Any hours worked within the quarter will count towards co-op cash. All cash earned during the quarter is to be used during the following quarter, with transactions recorded at the check stand.


Contact Information:

If you would like to volunteer, please email Sarah at the co-op with "VOLUNTEER" in the subject line: sanjuancoop@gmail.com

Or phone the co-op at  360-370-5170.  You can also leave a message with the cashier.  

Thank you!       
 -- Sarah  


SPECIAL ORDERS
 
Information about special ordering
 
Special Ordering is a Member Benefit. Save on items you use often--bathroom tissue, pet food, canned goods, pasta, bulk beans, and even chill or frozen items. The markup on member special orders is 20% over wholesale for taxable and non-taxable items. You can request a special order information sheet at the store or via email:  sanjuancoop@gmail.com
 

Distributors:

UNFI

UNFI orders are every week.
Order deadline is Midnight Saturday
Pickup: after 3pm on Tuesday
Please be prompt for chill and frozen items.

 


azure
    
   
Azure Standard orders are every other week. 
Next order deadline:  Midnight November 24 
Pickup: After 10 am Friday November 30

   
  

STORE HOURS

Monday - Friday:  10 - 7             //            Saturday & Sunday: 10 - 5
   
Closed Thanksgiving Day   
 
Phone:  360-370-5170            //        Email:  sanjuancoop@gmail.com 
 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Monthly Meetings

This evening, November 19
December 17, January 21, February 18
Heritage Bank meeting room at 6:30 pm.
 
All members are welcome to attend meetings.

Any member is welcome to speak at the beginning of Board meetings.  Please contact the Chair or any Board member at sanjuancoopboard@gmail.com about the topic of interest, with the understanding that due to the amount of business the Board has to attend to, brevity is appreciated.
 

NEWSLETTER

Editor: Eleanor Hartmann

Contributors:  Paul Richards, Sarah Benson, Maggie Olsen, Alice Deane, Adrienne Brooks, Bethery von Dassow.
 
Thank you for supporting your San Juan Island Food Co-op 
Mission Statement
The San Juan Island Food Co-op strives to provide access to local and regional food and goods that are organic, sustainable, and fairly produced, with the smallest carbon footprint.
The Co-op encourages conscientious consumption
and nurtures community connections.
San Juan Island Food Co-op | Friday Harbor | 360-370-5170
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