It's Spring @ JLF!

Just Local Amig@s,

As you may have felt, smelled, heard or generally sensed, spring has officially sprung! Our nights are just about as long as our days, buds are popping, gardens are being planned and started (indoor seed starts are a great idea around this week or possibly next), bikes are being tuned up, picnics are now possible, spring cleaning of our homes and our general hibernating state is continuously crossing our minds.

Some new ideas that have come to fruition this spring at your neighborhood grocery store...

Dr Bronner's Sal Suds is now in BULK! Bring in your own container or use one of ours to enjoy this versatile cleaner in your home.

Think Easter with Obsession Chocolate, fresh free range eggs (brown or white), freshly cut salad and micro greens, fair trade, organic and kid friendly easter basket fillers, many selections of ham, lamb or grillables for family and friends, cake and brownie mixes... Come on in and look for examples of spring baskets around the store!

eggs

Caretakers of our local layers, Matt Buvala and Mary Kummer, have been bringing in great quality eggs for us all to enjoy for a few years. Early this winter, you probably remember when the chickens took a vacation from laying for awhile. They are now well rested and have had a great winter. With spring upon us, the chickens are running wild and we've got plenty of eggs for you! If you've hardboiled these fresh eggs in the past, you probably noticed they are usually hard to peel.

In anticipation of your easter hardboiling endeavors, we have stocked up on eggs a little early. The advantage is, that by letting the eggs sit refrigerated for another week or two (still within their shelf life!), the shell has a chance to disengage and make for a much easier peeling experience. Last night I hardboiled a full dozen of Matt's Eggs and the peels practically fell off. I don't know if the Easter bunny snuck in last night or the kids slipped them in their school bags, but they're gone already! So consider this your formal invitation to stop down and stock up.

Hardboiled egg-related bonus: Have you heard of the scotch egg? Basically a hard boiled or pickled egg, wrapped in sausage, rolled in some sort of breading and deep fried (or baked for the faint of heart). I'm making these this week, just local style, I'll let you know how they turn out...

Pictured: scotch egg from chotda

holiday news

Howdy! Hope all is well.

We've got some quick news for you, hoping you'll stop down for a quick visit to fill your fridge and fruit bowls!

Doesn't a fresh salad with lots of greens sound good right now? If you're like me, you've eaten a lot of heavy and sugary foods recently - well, more than usual anyway. A fresh green salad wouldn't only hit the spot, it will give your body a boost of vitamins, minerals and the building blocks for new red blood cells - chlorophyll! We are so proud to work with Maurice and Gail at Dragsmith Farms, and are quite flattered that they bring us their fresh locally grown greens every week, even though they have a lot of requests and not enough growing! Help make us proud and keep the greens coming by stopping in today to help us sell out!* SOLD OUT 12/29! more thursday...

Fresh micro (mississippi) greens pictured here, colorful short leaf mixed (wissota) greens, and tender small hand picked spinach leaves. I just have to say one thing about spinach here. When it is grown patiently and carefully in the winter, the plant has plenty of time to build up some cold tolerance - some oomph, flavor and a shelf life you'll never experience because you'll eat it right up. These beautiful bags of baby spinach are seriously grown over an hour North of here. Why would you bother with mystery greens when we can get these? (at least for awhile)

If you're not convinced, how about we give you a seven+ dollar bottle of Native Harvest maple or strawberry vinaigrette (dressing) completely free with a purchase of a $3.70 bag of spinach. While supplies last, which means I shouldn't probably bother to send this out!

So that's why we're also giving away Native Harvest jam with any purchase of Positively Third Street bread (most $3). We have an abundance of freshly baked bread from Duluth's longstanding worker owned cooperative bakery. Take a loaf, and some jam.

From the produce case I'd like to feature the local items (instead of the incredible (but limited) supply of domestic seasonal fresh organic citrus) that include:

• the greens mentioned above from Dragsmith in Barron
• organic soup mix from flood devastated ($750,000 loss) but still harvesting Harmony Valley near LaCrosse
• two kinds of big radishes (black or white!) and red sunchokes (recipe), also from HV
• hydroponic tomatoes from Blair
• organic white mushrooms from Eden
• red cabbage from minnesota

Also fresh: another crate of freshly picked, crispy and nutritious (florida) green beans, fresh ginger, broccoli, kale, green peppers...

And remember, that empty spot on the shelf - that doesn't mean we're careless, it means we're waiting for the fresh, good stuff. We don't keep a whole warehouse full of food sitting around waiting for you. Next week's milk is grass yet to be eaten by the cow, next week's spinach is super baby sized and being prayed over (grow, grow grow! along with a sun dance), and next month's ground beef may very well be wandering along the shores of the Chippewa (thank you, dear animals)... thank you for your understanding and sharing this vital information with your friends, so they start to understand how our store is different too!

By the way, the chickens are totally into winter now and we have local EGGS coming out our ears! Make deviled eggs, or an omelet this weekend, or pickle a bushel, just come in and buy eggs! You were just complaining last month about how we didn't have any!

*sorry if we already did sell out of greens, they come in late Thursday if you want some next week, or call and have us set one aside for you!

eggs and nog

As of today we have plenty of fresh free range brown eggs. Mary's chickens have started to lay again. We also have a consistent but small supply of organically fed eggs coming from Matt Buvala. the price of Matt's eggs have gone up, a direct result of organic chicken feed prices going up, which is mostly a result of higher corn prices overall in the area. Ethanol is made from mostly genetically modified corn varieties, not the organic corn that Matt includes in a balanced diet for his chickens, but the price goes up anyhow!

Have you had any eggnog yet? It will only be around another few weeks. We have organic egg nog from Organic Valley, a regional farmer-owned cooperative that has this to say about their eggnog:

What is Organic Valley Eggnog?
Eggnog is a thick, creamy and sweet drink made by beating certified organic egg yolks with organic milk, cream, sugar and sweet spices. Traditionally served from late fall to mid-winter, Organic Valley Eggnog is a favorite holiday treat.

What makes our Eggnog organic?

The eggs, milk, and cream for rich, satisfying, and delicious Organic Valley Eggnog are produced by cooperative family farmers working in harmony with nature.

just local news early december

just local news early december

inside:
wreaths
eggs
spices
this saturday: winter market, anderson tasting & art opening
share your thoughts?

Wreaths

We have only 8 sustainably harvested wreaths remaining. No trees were cut down, and in fact they come from a co-op of responsible landowners working to preserve our forests for generations to come! Please stop in and pick one up for your home or tie it to the front of your SUV or bike. These wreaths come to us form longtime customers and friends Linda and Jack Corey, who are part of the co-op that produces the wreaths. Thanks, folks!

Eggs!

It happens every year. A few times even. The local egg "market" gets sketchy and noody has eggs for awhile. Why? Well, let's start with why you buy eggs from Just Local Food and local farmers in the first place. You want to know where they come from – a local farm, and you want them to run free when they want. And we try to bring you this consistently. You want the chickens to live a "natural" life, which means when the weather changes – it gets really hot or cold, for instance – the chickens don't "naturally" lay eggs. So, the weather changed to cold recently and the chickens that reliably lay for you most months of the year are holding out. What do we do as a store dedicated to local food? Do we buy sub-par, inferior factory eggs to make up? No. We work with other farmers that meet (y)our standards (we've called over 12 local egg suppliers in the last two weeks – NONE have eggs, well, Matt brought in 15 dozen but they disappeared in as many minutes), and if we can't find anything, we patiently wait for Mary's chickens to start laying again (they will), and try to explain why we don't have eggs to our customers, and HOPE they don't get angry (and when they do, we try not to take it personally!)... so thanks, really, to the chickens, who will soon get used to the cold...

Spices

We've stocked up on spices this month to meet the needs of your holiday culinary demands, and we've added some new flavor to the existing flare on the shelves. Bay leaves for your traditional, chili powder for your pot of warmth, lemon pepper per request and some cayenne to answer that winter chill. We've also got some new seasoning blends: Mama Garlic and Pepperman. Stop in and stock up!

This Saturday, December 8:

Lynn from Anderson Farms is coming with corned beef, kielbasa, and ground beef to sample and sell starting at 10am. In the evening, Just Local Food presents an art exhibit: A Taste of Place ~ works by Paula Gorski, Tere Hering, Dana Johnson, Christine Dickman Loew, Noriko Slowinski and Barry Weiss Opening reception, 5-6:30 pm.

We'll also be tabling at the Winter Farmer's Market at St. Raymond of Penafort Catholic Church, S10444 Hwy 53 (1 ½ miles south of Brackett, WI on Mallard Road) between 9:00 am-1:00 pm. There should be 12-15 farmers there bringing a variety of excellent meats, cheeses, dairy, honey, pork, maple syrup and more.

Give us your thoughts?

Hey, here it is that time of year, the giving season. We would very much like to show our appreciation and listen to you tell us how we can do our job better. We are open to suggestion, criticism and even detailed accounts of how your shopping experience at Just Local Food can improve. We would like nothing more than to give you, our valued customer, the gift of knowing that we are listening, interested and willing to make Just Local Food Co-op your favorite grocery.

As always, thanks for reading!

~aaron, jen t and the many merry jlf elves