Tuesday, January 29
Tuesday's Produce
Did anyone ask for fresh green vegetables? Today we got in green chard, bagged spinach, mixed baby romaine, beautiful broccoli and celery. We also have green beens, green cabage, green avocados, green kiwis and green limes. A side from greens we also recieved local mushrooms, white onions and D'anjou pears.
What's Local?
This time of year it seems to get grim in the fresh produce department, at least if you're looking for local. While it is hard to make a complete meal of fresh 100% local veggies or fruits right now, remember pretty much everything else can be local, or regional farm-direct like the grains from Whole Grain Milling Company, pictured.A quick review of what we've got:
Fresh fruits and veggies. We do have a regular supply of hothouse organic local tomatoes. Try them! We also almost always have local fresh mushrooms, sometimes sprouts and root vegetables too. And of course the greens that come in every Thursday afternoon. And a few bushels of Connell Reds are left too. (All of the other fresh, non-local produce we carry is Certified Organic or biodynamic).
Frozen fruits and veggies, most of which are grown on or near the farm that anchors/founded Sno-Pac frozen foods in Caledonia Minnesota. We get these direct from the farm.
Meat. If you eat meat, all of our beef, chicken, turkey, pork and bison is local. Eat My Fish. (We do have a few convenience items that don't qualify) Try something new.
Dairy. Going strong. Cheese, milk, yogurts, butter, cheese, and cheese. Local and farm-direct.
Grains. Whole grain milling and Great River milling are grinding out the flours, meals and cereals. We're still looking for a reliable way to get more Great River products fresh from the mill.
Sunday, January 27
sweet potato or yam?
Ever wonder the difference? So do I! We sell a variety, but after some more research, it looks like they end up being all sweet potatoes technically. Certified organic from California is the best we can get, coming to us via a produce distributor called co-op partners. Types that we've carried are jewel, garnet, beauregard and the appropriately confusingly named sweet potato yam. Each is a different variety with their own characteristics. Colorwise, the whiter ones are more starchy, the darker ones more sweet. There was a discussion of sweet potatoes this week on the Splendid Table (on public radio or podcast), which prompted this post along with lots of questions in the store, "are these sweet potatoes or yams?"I'll suggest this recipe, one of my favorites for sweet potatoes, it hits the greasy fix anyway, Ingredients are only sweet potato, butter and salt.
Thursday, January 24
Thursday's Fresh Produce
New today we received Willey's carrots from Cali., spaghetti squash and green cabbage. We also got Pink Lady apples, more bananas, Dragsmith greens, Cara Cara oranges and butternut squash. Just to remind you, you can always have us deliver the fresh produce to your home Friday mornings with your milk.
Quinoa Burgers
Last night we had a lovely meal entirely from Just Local Food and I thought I'd share it with you. We had Quinoa Burgers.
1 cup quinoa - cooked
4 carrots chopped
1 onion chopped
garlic chopped
broccoli chopped
(you can add any vegetable you wish)
1 - 2 eggs
spice as you like (I add mock chicken broth, salt and pepper)
flour as needed
mix all together. form patties and pan fry (we used canola oil from the store) until golden
I then add a dollop of BBQ sauce and a slice of gingerbread Colby cheese and bake in the oven for a few minutes.
Serve this up on a bun or not, serve with Sno Pac french fries and some fresh green beans from the store. Delicious.
1 cup quinoa - cooked
4 carrots chopped
1 onion chopped
garlic chopped
broccoli chopped
(you can add any vegetable you wish)
1 - 2 eggs
spice as you like (I add mock chicken broth, salt and pepper)
flour as needed
mix all together. form patties and pan fry (we used canola oil from the store) until golden
I then add a dollop of BBQ sauce and a slice of gingerbread Colby cheese and bake in the oven for a few minutes.
Serve this up on a bun or not, serve with Sno Pac french fries and some fresh green beans from the store. Delicious.
Wednesday, January 23
snowshoe red ale
JLF is the first store in Eau Claire to offer this unique beer from New Glarus this season. Hope you enjoy.Settle in with Wisconsin's Snowshoe Ale. This beer is brewed with a blend of American and German malts. A complicated decoction mash process ensures a rich malty flavor. We also infuse generous amounts of Yakima Golding and Bavarian Hallertau Hops to add a special note of warmth for your winter evenings enjoyment.
Expect this beer to be a beautiful copper-red, with a fruity ale body and a spiced hop finish. Then sit back and rejoice in the season because it's these Wisconsin winters that keep the whiners out.
| Style | Red Ale |
| Flavor | Rich malty flavor with notes of warmth |
Tuesday, January 22
New This Week in Produce
Tuesday January 22, 2008
Organic Blood Oranges from California, always sweet with a red fleshy center. If you never had one, stop in and get one today.
We also recieved; red chard, cucumbers, broccoli, avocado, turnips from Harmony Valley,baby romaine and mushrooms. We did not get any more bananas because the distributer was out of fair trade, they should be back in Thursday.
Organic Blood Oranges from California, always sweet with a red fleshy center. If you never had one, stop in and get one today.
We also recieved; red chard, cucumbers, broccoli, avocado, turnips from Harmony Valley,baby romaine and mushrooms. We did not get any more bananas because the distributer was out of fair trade, they should be back in Thursday.
Friday, January 18
just local food in the "news"
Please check out a fairly in-depth article in the Chippewa Valley Business Report that touches on a few key aspects of our business.
This Week in Produce
Produce Thursday January 17, 2008
Just to update you we this past Thursday we recieved; Red Kale, Deglet pitted dates, green beans, broccoli, lemons, cara cara oranges, navel oranges, limes, pink lady apples, Dragsmith greens and green tip bananas. I also wanted to let you know about apple fest, Saturday morning. The last locally grown Connel Red apples will be at the store to sample and buy. There will also be apple sauce pie and dehydrated apples to sample. You can buy sauce apples or good eating apples.
Thursday, January 17
NEW PIZZA + more new frozen items
Sadly Jenny Elliot of On Fire! Ovens in Menomonie, our local pizza maker, is not making pizzas because of health reasons. We have supplemented this loss with a new variety of pizza. Nonna Rose's Pizza from Iowa. It's a 12 inch frozen pizza that is all natural with a hand stretched crust. We offer a Four Cheese with a Roasted Garlic Crust for $8.59 and a Sausage and Four Cheese variety for $10.39.
Other new frozen items are Ezekiel English Muffins, Castle Rock Sweet Cream or Molasses Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, Ian's French Toast Sticks, Chicken Nuggets and Fish Sticks, and Nature's Path Frozen Waffles.
SnoPac is now offering 80oz (5lb) bags of your favorite frozen vegetables! These bags come in Peas, Mixed Veggies, Sweet Corn and Green Beans. All for $12.39.Sno Pac also now has Crinkle Cut French Fries!
Wednesday, January 16
New Single Batch Beer from Furthermore
I'll let Aran and Chris of furthermore beer describe this one...
Makeweight: An Ecumenical Mash-Up
Our triple pale is a bastardization of three regionally distinctive recipes that were stacked in unequal measure in order to make a beefy beer which highlights each recipe’s finer points: Esters from a dominant Flanders yeast are reigned-in by cleaner American and London strains; Kent Golding hops provide mild bitterness, giving English and Belgian specialty malts room to breath; Oregonian hops offer a fragrant nose; Belgian candy sugar boosts the strength of this mash-up to 8.5% ABV.
ready,fire!aim.
Tuesday, January 15
mid january news
New bulk section growing, what would you like to see?
One of our number one requests from customers is for bulk food. We have been working on the proper licensing and equipment needs in order to make this happen. We're really close, and want you to now let us know if there is something you want to buy in bulk from us. Many things will have to be bagged "weavers" style, but we do have a few bins that will allow you to fill up your own container. We won't have a ton of these bins to start out with, as they cost anywhere from $75 on up per bin, but that is our long term plan. Thanks for helping us get there with your support!
Why we carry what we do.
We have customers that come from all over to get their hands on great local food. I'm always flattered when someone says they drove 50 miles to visit our store. I was thrilled the other day when a familiar couple from Ladysmith was checking out. They love our store, and always challenge me to do better. They asked why we expanded beer when they want to see us expand our produce section. It's a good question, one I've heard before, and one I'm not afraid to answer. Of course, our name is Just Local Food and as such we set ourselves up for some flack when we stray from that pretty confining moniker. So why did we choose beer over more produce, or cheese, or anything else?
Well, we are more than food, and more than local. You know that. We're also a business, and we need to sell things (food mostly) to make money so we can pay the farmers and the workers. Unfortunately, not everything people want to buy brings in money for our business. Fresh produce is one of them. Sometimes it tastes great but is ugly so people don't want to buy it. Sometimes it has a weird name, or color. And sometimes we sell out of something, then get a bunch more in and it doesn't sell. Unfortunately we can't just put the produce in the warehouse (as if we had one anyway) and wait until we think folks are ready to buy it. No, it rots. Our fault? Sometimes. Your fault? No. That's just the way it is. We have set a goal of having the best produce section in town, so we're not going to quit.
So. Why beer? We had room on our shelves, some customers asked for it, and
there are quite a few great microbreweries around here. We also want to provide as many different items as possible - not only to increase sales overall, but to remind people that we live in an area that really can provide for most of our needs! And it makes our art openings easier since we have an in-house supply of beverages!
Grow your own.
The best way to ensure your own supply of fresh produce is to grow your own. We want to help. We're starting by ordering a bunch of seeds through Seed Savers exchange. You'll see them in the store soon. We'll also be working with Dragsmith Farms, the folks who bring us the incredible greens every year, to supply you with other gardening supplies and starter plants when the time comes in Spring. Start planning now!
One of our number one requests from customers is for bulk food. We have been working on the proper licensing and equipment needs in order to make this happen. We're really close, and want you to now let us know if there is something you want to buy in bulk from us. Many things will have to be bagged "weavers" style, but we do have a few bins that will allow you to fill up your own container. We won't have a ton of these bins to start out with, as they cost anywhere from $75 on up per bin, but that is our long term plan. Thanks for helping us get there with your support!
Why we carry what we do.
We have customers that come from all over to get their hands on great local food. I'm always flattered when someone says they drove 50 miles to visit our store. I was thrilled the other day when a familiar couple from Ladysmith was checking out. They love our store, and always challenge me to do better. They asked why we expanded beer when they want to see us expand our produce section. It's a good question, one I've heard before, and one I'm not afraid to answer. Of course, our name is Just Local Food and as such we set ourselves up for some flack when we stray from that pretty confining moniker. So why did we choose beer over more produce, or cheese, or anything else?
Well, we are more than food, and more than local. You know that. We're also a business, and we need to sell things (food mostly) to make money so we can pay the farmers and the workers. Unfortunately, not everything people want to buy brings in money for our business. Fresh produce is one of them. Sometimes it tastes great but is ugly so people don't want to buy it. Sometimes it has a weird name, or color. And sometimes we sell out of something, then get a bunch more in and it doesn't sell. Unfortunately we can't just put the produce in the warehouse (as if we had one anyway) and wait until we think folks are ready to buy it. No, it rots. Our fault? Sometimes. Your fault? No. That's just the way it is. We have set a goal of having the best produce section in town, so we're not going to quit.
So. Why beer? We had room on our shelves, some customers asked for it, and
there are quite a few great microbreweries around here. We also want to provide as many different items as possible - not only to increase sales overall, but to remind people that we live in an area that really can provide for most of our needs! And it makes our art openings easier since we have an in-house supply of beverages!Grow your own.
The best way to ensure your own supply of fresh produce is to grow your own. We want to help. We're starting by ordering a bunch of seeds through Seed Savers exchange. You'll see them in the store soon. We'll also be working with Dragsmith Farms, the folks who bring us the incredible greens every year, to supply you with other gardening supplies and starter plants when the time comes in Spring. Start planning now!
Saturday, January 12
local apple fest!
Local apples in January? Only at Just Local Food!
Check them out today (Saturday) at the Winter Farmers Market (from 9-1 at the Unitarian Church on Farwell) and at the store.
If we have any left, we'll do it again next weekend!
For info on the great local Connell Red Apples we're selling, click here.
UPDATE: THANKS for coming down to the winter market and buying apples! We sold out of this batch and we'll be retrieving the rest of our local apples for next weekend!
Check them out today (Saturday) at the Winter Farmers Market (from 9-1 at the Unitarian Church on Farwell) and at the store.
If we have any left, we'll do it again next weekend!
For info on the great local Connell Red Apples we're selling, click here.
UPDATE: THANKS for coming down to the winter market and buying apples! We sold out of this batch and we'll be retrieving the rest of our local apples for next weekend!
Thursday, January 10
Thursday's Produce
Fresh produce in this Thursday.
We received organic pistachios, org. chestnuts from Iowa, more broccoli, bananas, local org. conell apples, org. kale, org. celery and more red onions. Earlier this week we also recieved local org. horseradish, cara cara oranges and org. red leaf lettuce. We also have lots of apples that aren't pretty but they make great sauce. Check out the price list below.
Fuji Apples, 3lb bag...4.69/ea Ambrosia Apples...1.59/ea Conell Red Apples....99/lb
Avocado...1.19/ea Bananas....99/lb Broccoli...2.79/lb Cabbage....99/lb Carrot 2lb bag...2.59/ea Carrot, Baby Peeled 2 lb bag...4.19/ea Celery...2.79 Chestnuts...9.69/lb Cucumber...2.49/lb Dragsmith Parsley...1.75/ea Dragsmith Marjoram...1.75/ea Garlic...5.00/lb Ginger...6.69/lb Grapefruit...1.79/ea Mississippi Greens...5.30/lb Spinach...3.70/lb Wissota...3.90/lb Horesradish...7.39/lb Kale...1.99/ea Kiwi...2.99/lb Meyer Lemon...3.59/ea Lime...2.49 Red Onion...1.19/lb White Onion...1.19 Yellow Onion....89/lb Navel Orange...1.49/lb Cara Cara Orange...3.69lb Navel Orange 4# bag...5.99/ea Valencia Orange....49/ea Pear...1.99 Baby Pepper...3.19 Green Bell Pepper...1.99/lb Pistachio...9.69/lb Red Potato 5# bag...4.69 Russet Potato 5# bag...3.59 Yukon Gold Potato 5#...4.69 Radishes...2.79/lb Red Leaf Lettuce...1.89/ea Golden Shallot...8.39/lb Acorn Squash...1.49/lb Butternut Squash...1.29/lb Delicata Squash...1.49/lb Sunchokes....99/lb Tangerine....99/lb Local Hydroponic Tomato...5.99/lb Yams...1.99/lb
Don't forget you can have any of this wonderful produced delivered right to you with your milk delivery.
We received organic pistachios, org. chestnuts from Iowa, more broccoli, bananas, local org. conell apples, org. kale, org. celery and more red onions. Earlier this week we also recieved local org. horseradish, cara cara oranges and org. red leaf lettuce. We also have lots of apples that aren't pretty but they make great sauce. Check out the price list below.
Fuji Apples, 3lb bag...4.69/ea Ambrosia Apples...1.59/ea Conell Red Apples....99/lb
Avocado...1.19/ea Bananas....99/lb Broccoli...2.79/lb Cabbage....99/lb Carrot 2lb bag...2.59/ea Carrot, Baby Peeled 2 lb bag...4.19/ea Celery...2.79 Chestnuts...9.69/lb Cucumber...2.49/lb Dragsmith Parsley...1.75/ea Dragsmith Marjoram...1.75/ea Garlic...5.00/lb Ginger...6.69/lb Grapefruit...1.79/ea Mississippi Greens...5.30/lb Spinach...3.70/lb Wissota...3.90/lb Horesradish...7.39/lb Kale...1.99/ea Kiwi...2.99/lb Meyer Lemon...3.59/ea Lime...2.49 Red Onion...1.19/lb White Onion...1.19 Yellow Onion....89/lb Navel Orange...1.49/lb Cara Cara Orange...3.69lb Navel Orange 4# bag...5.99/ea Valencia Orange....49/ea Pear...1.99 Baby Pepper...3.19 Green Bell Pepper...1.99/lb Pistachio...9.69/lb Red Potato 5# bag...4.69 Russet Potato 5# bag...3.59 Yukon Gold Potato 5#...4.69 Radishes...2.79/lb Red Leaf Lettuce...1.89/ea Golden Shallot...8.39/lb Acorn Squash...1.49/lb Butternut Squash...1.29/lb Delicata Squash...1.49/lb Sunchokes....99/lb Tangerine....99/lb Local Hydroponic Tomato...5.99/lb Yams...1.99/lb
Don't forget you can have any of this wonderful produced delivered right to you with your milk delivery.
Tuesday, January 8
artist reception this saturday!
"Monday Night Drawings" by Mark Kasiewicz
Stunning Vistas, abysmal precipices, sexual islands, illusionary portraits, marauding shadow dancing totems, intentional misrepresentations and revisionist self-perceptions in ink, pencil and pastel, manipulated beyond traditional application and sips of Monday night wine and blocks of time.
Where: Just Local Food Co-op, 772 First Avenue (JLF phone 577.5564)
Artist's Opening Reception: Saturday, January 12th 5:30 - 7:00
Cost: free
Show length: from Jan 4 – January 31
Thursday, January 3
now open sundays!
That's right. No longer do you need to substitute crummy weak white eggs in your Sunday omelette because you forgot to pick local free range eggs at JLF on Saturday. We are open. Stop in.
When we posed the question "should we be open Sundays?" a few months ago the overwhelming response was "NO!". We were shocked, really. Our customers wanted us to rest & take a break. You said you were willing to wait until Monday, and that "the organization" needs time to rest.
Well, we agree with all of that. We do want to rest, and will. The thing is, we now support nine workers instead of four or five. And some workers actually want to work on Sundays, and who are we to deny them their right to work? All of us can still pick a few days off if we'd like, and we can hopefully serve more and more people because we're open seven days a week. Considering we are one of the only places to buy food downtown (there are several other small grocery stores, and Kwik Trip sells bananas) we really felt an obligation to be there for our neighbors as well.
So thanks for supporting us, no matter what day you shop!
When we posed the question "should we be open Sundays?" a few months ago the overwhelming response was "NO!". We were shocked, really. Our customers wanted us to rest & take a break. You said you were willing to wait until Monday, and that "the organization" needs time to rest.
Well, we agree with all of that. We do want to rest, and will. The thing is, we now support nine workers instead of four or five. And some workers actually want to work on Sundays, and who are we to deny them their right to work? All of us can still pick a few days off if we'd like, and we can hopefully serve more and more people because we're open seven days a week. Considering we are one of the only places to buy food downtown (there are several other small grocery stores, and Kwik Trip sells bananas) we really felt an obligation to be there for our neighbors as well.
So thanks for supporting us, no matter what day you shop!
Thursday's Produce
Just in Thursday Morning!
We received Ambrosia apples, broccoli, carrots (peeled and regular), celery, Rio Star grapefruit, Dragsmith greens, fresh Meyer lemons, Cara Cara oranges, Baby Mixed Peppers, Butternut squash, tomatoes and fresh yams. Don't forget we also have delicious red cabbage from Minnesota and lots of green bell peppers.
We received Ambrosia apples, broccoli, carrots (peeled and regular), celery, Rio Star grapefruit, Dragsmith greens, fresh Meyer lemons, Cara Cara oranges, Baby Mixed Peppers, Butternut squash, tomatoes and fresh yams. Don't forget we also have delicious red cabbage from Minnesota and lots of green bell peppers.
Wednesday, January 2
happy new year!
Hey there.
We are so pleased you've chosen to support our store. And thanks to you, we're looking forward to another great year of local food!
This year you can look forward to our coop improving in many ways: more produce, better customer service, more labels, and how about some bulk? What else do you want? Let us know..
We are so pleased you've chosen to support our store. And thanks to you, we're looking forward to another great year of local food!
This year you can look forward to our coop improving in many ways: more produce, better customer service, more labels, and how about some bulk? What else do you want? Let us know..
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