Brew News - July 2009

1. Summer Seasonal Beers

2. Viking Brewery & Alchemy/Esca Ars Sampling

3. Walter’s Beer

4. Updated Mix ‘n’ Match Beer Pricing

1. Summer Seasonal Beers

Summer is a great season for us beer lovers (although, who am I kidding - aren’t ALL seasons great for drinking beer?). On those sweltering, humid summer afternoons there’s nothing better than an ice-cold brewski to help cool off. A popular choice for brewers this year seems to be Wheat Beers. Take a look at the various styles we have in the store, as well as these other brews perfect for enjoying in the summer warmth:

· NEW! – Capital Wild Rice Summer Lager

· NEW! – Summit Horizon Red Ale

· Furthermore Fatty Boombalaty

· Bell’s Oberon

· Viking Lime Twist (a wheat beer)

· Summit Summer Sampler 12pk: Extra Pale Ale, Pilsener, Scandia Ale, Hefe Weizen

· Sand Creek Hard Lemonade

Here are a couple more suggestions to further enhance your summer drinking experience:

-- Try Sand Creek’s Hard Lemonade over ice or mix it half-and-half with your favorite “lighter” beer (in style - I do not mean Light Beer) for a refreshing Shandy-style beverage

-- Add a slice of lemon, orange, or lime to your beer. See which fruit you like best with different beers for that added flavor kick.

2. Viking Brewery & Alchemy/Esca Ars Sampling

On Thursday July 16^th, brew masters Randy and Ann will be at the store from Viking Brewery (Dallas, WI). Their extensive selection of beverages will team up with Dean from Alchemy Family Farm/Esca Ars (Colfax, WI) for a food and beer combo you surely won’t want to miss.

BEER & FOOD SAMPLING

THURSDAY JULY 16^th

3:00-6:00pm

3. Walter’s Beer

A local favorite once again brewed in Eau Claire by the hometown Northwoods Brewpub. Public demand for this beer has been so great that the brewery couldn’t keep up and quickly ran out of their supply. But not to worry! The next batch is fermenting in the tanks and should be ready by mid-July. We should have it back on our shelves by then! Take a look at this article for more information on this re-issued classic.

4. Updated Mix ‘n’ Match Beer Pricing

Create your own beer tasting at home! Peruse our wide selection of beers then mix ‘n’ match your own 4 or 6 pack for your drinking pleasure. We offer a $1.00 discount off the total price on all mixed 6 packs, as well as $.50 off the total price of mixed 4 packs. Variety is the spice of life!

We need COWSMO bags!

Hi again green thumbs!

Might you have any cowsmo compost or cowpot potting soil bags (woven white plastic bags) that you'd like to return? We'd love to bag up more compost for community gardeners, backyard gardeners and sprouting school gardens but have been unable to get our hands on new bags. Your help is greatly appreciated, and has already resulted in our bagged Compost making a quick return!

Angry Minnow Sampling Reminder

Attention beer drinkers!
We are proud to have
ANGRY MINNOW BREWERY
from Hayward, WI
down at the store from
4-6PM
TOMORROW,
June 18th.

Look forward to samples of:
Honey Wheat (available in six packs everyday)
River Pig Pale Ale (availale in six packs everyday)
Scotch Ale
Imperial IPA
Hefe Weizen
Oatmeal Stout

Also, during the sampling only...
Honey Wheat and River Pig Pale Ale
Six Packs are $1 off.

BREW NEWS June 2009

Enjoy another edition of BREW NEWS!

1. Angry Minnow Sampling
2. New/Seasonal Beers
3. Wisconsin Brewers Guild
4. Pairing Tips
5. Single Beer Sales Changes

1. Angry Minnow Sampling - The beer sampling this month will feature Angry Minnow Brewery. Brewmaster Jason Rasmussen will be sampling River Pig Pale Ale, Honey Wheat, and other beers available at their Brew Pub in Hayward, WI. If you haven't tried this unpasteurized/unfiltered product yet, I suggest that you stop down and try a sample or two. We know you'll enjoy it.

SAMPLING
Thursday, June 18th
4PM-6PM

2. New/Seasonal Beers - In the last month, several new/seasonal beers have come through the door. Wheat beer season has hit full force.

Give these beers a shot:
Sand Creek Hard Lemonade 6pk
Sand Creek Special Reserve Scottish Ale 4pk
Northwoods Whitetail Wheat 6pk
Northwoods Floppin' Crappie Cans 6pk
New Glarus Totally Naked 6pk
Furthermore Knot Stock 6pk
Furthermore Fatty Boombalatty 6pk
Furthermore Oscura 6pk
Viking Weathertop Wheat 4pk
Summit Scandia Ale 6pk
Summit Summer Sampler 12pk
(feat. EPA, Scandia, Pilsener, & Hefe Weizen)

3. Wisconsin Brewers Guild - Several of the breweries we work with our part of the Wisconsin Brewers Guild. WBG Mission Statement: The Wisconsin Brewers Guild is dedicated to the revival of Wisconsin's brewing heritage through the production, marketing and sale of top quality craft beers while maintaining the integrity of individual brewers and their breweries. Sounds right up our alley. Check out their website for more info.

4. Pairing Tips - Gleaned from the WI Brewers Guild...

• The more hop bitterness the beer has, the heartier or livelier the meal needs to be to hold its own. Don’t overwhelm your palate or meal and ruin what the chef was trying to achieve.
• Another general rule is keep sweet with sweet, and tart with tart. Try to keep your beer sweeter or tarter than the sweet or tart food on the plate. There are exceptions, like pairing drier robust beers with sweet chocolates.
• Throw all of the rules out the window and experiment with contrasting and complimentary pairings. Match foods with complimentary flavors, or try contrasting them and create a slew of unique results.
• For those of you who are bound to the wine pairing school of thought, think of ale as red wine and lager as white wine. Hoppy beers can also be used in place of a pairing that calls for an acidic wine. Though it honestly doesn’t matter, these tips might help you to convert your taste buds over to beer—or those of a friend—over to beer.
• Taste is very subjective and what works for one person might not work for another. If it tastes good to you, then go for it. However, also be open to suggestions, as these tend to come with some knowledge and possible palate enlightenment.

5. Single Beer Sales Changes - We have changed our single beer sales a bit. We no longer offer a discount on 3, 4, or 5 pack mix and match. Look forward to a coupon for a discount on mix and match six packs in the near future. We unfortunately had to change this due to the fact that our individual beers range from $.99 to $2.89 now. Thanks for bearing with us.

"People who drink light 'beer' don't like the taste of beer; they just like to pee alot."
-Capital Brewery, Middleton, WI

Cheers! from the Beer Dudes (Drew & Jordan).

BBQ time!

Since many of our customers are still surprised at the variety of great meats we carry, we thought it would be a good time to give you some ideas for your grilling pleasure:

Brats & Sausages

Crescent Meats: Blue Cheese brats, Mushroom & Cheddar brats, Beer brats, Pork brats, smoked Polish kielbasa, Andoullie sausage, smoked Italian sausage with mozzarella & black olives

Beeler: jalapeno/jack brats, pork brats

Beaver Creek Ranch: turkey apple brats, beef hot dogs, Italian sausage (links & bulk), chorizo sausage (links & bulk)

Anderson Farms: uncured beef hot dogs & kielbasa

Golden Hills Buffalo: bison hot dogs & brats

Lambalot Acres: lamb brats (new recipe)

Coon Creek Family Farm: turkey sausage patties

Burgers

Wheatfield Hill Organics: ground beef – regular & lean

Little Spring Valley: ground beef, patties

Futility Farm: ground beef

Lambalot Acres: ground lamb, kabobs, steaks

Golden Hills Buffalo: ground bison & patties

Beaver Creek Ranch: ground turkey & ground chicken

Steaks, Chops, Chicken, Fish, Ribs

Coon Creek Family Farm: chicken (whole, cut-up, parts)

Romar: chicken (parts, smoked), Cornish game hens

Wild-caught Alaskan salmon fillets

Beaver Creek Ranch: whole turkey (on sale), boneless pork chops

Little Spring Valley: beef steaks

Lambalot Acres: lamb kabobs, steaks

Crescent Meats: bone-in pork chops, pork tenderloin, spare ribs, pork butt, lamb chops, shanks

Golden Hills Buffalo: bison steaks

thanks to Crescent Meats for the nice photos!

rhubarb

A good local spring meal is almost always topped off with Rhubarb, a perennial that has been cultivated for centuries (4500 years!) for both medicinal purposes and as plain ol' food.

Here are a variety of recipes from a site that has more information about Rhubarb than you ever thought possible.

Northwoods Sampling this Thursday! and Furthmore Restocked!

Just a reminder to all of you microbrew enthusiasts. Northwoods Brewpub will be down at the store this Thursday May 21st from 4-6PM sampling out some of their many great beers. Come join us for a Floppin' Crappie or Lil' Brown Bandit and bring a 6pack home for $7.69 ($1 off during the sampling only).

Also back in stock from the Furthermore folks...
Fatty Boombalatty - a dangerously drinkable Belgian
Knot Stock - a most particular pale
Oscura - a warm-fermented, cold-lagered cerveza oscura

Ready, Fire! Aim.

EGG SALE

We have an overstock of Matt Buvala's Eggs.

Stop in from now 'til Sunday (05/24) to receive 25% off,
for a grand total of $2.99.
(regular retail price - $3.99)

compost and soil UPDATE

Locally produced COWSMO compost will be back this weekend. Potting soil was just delivered by the Foodlums!

more shirts!

T-Shirts are back in! Support your favorite neighborhood store with "wearable art"!

Varieities available:

• Baby onesies, sizes 3-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-18 months and 18-24 months. These styish onesies, made from certified organic cotton, are locally embroidered and sell for $19.99. The color is dijon.

• Organic cotton kid t-shirts sizes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12. These locally screenprinted shirts sell for $15.99.

• Adult green ringer t-shirts for $15.99, made by American Apparel.
  

We still have our gray long sleeve shirts for $17.99 and our bright green hoodies for $29.99.

We also have a limited supply of "sun faded" hoodies in xs, s, m and l for $15.99.

Pictured above is the dijon colored kids shirt in size 10 (a little big for her), modeled by Olive. To the left is the new green adult ringer T.

fresh produce

Howdy. We wanted to post up a variety of fresh produce we received this week.

Morels! In and out as soon as we get them! (pictured at right are actual mushrooms from the store)

We're now carrying portobella mushrooms, big firm and fresh. Spaghetti squash all the way from California if you have a hankerin'. Kumquots are back for a limited time, their season is almost through. Red Bartlett pears from across the globe are here. Give one a try and you'll know why we have them, certified organic of course.

Some early snap peas are here for your pickin'.

And in addition to the ramps and asparagus, we've got local certified organic rhubarb from Otter Creek Valley Farm (on Hwy 53).

Try this simple idea for morels, asparagus and ramps.

Or Barbara Kingsolver's crazy bread pudding (substitute ramps for spring onions if you dare!).

And I'll ramble more variety in no particular order: local spring mix, shiitake, crimini and white mushrooms, celery, broccoli, red & green peppers, red & green cabbage, red & green lettuce, apples, blood & navel oranges, cilantro, chives, rosemary, cucumbers, lemons, ginger, local micro greens, spinach, kale, chard, bananas, avocados, red & yellow & white onions, red & yellow & white potatoes, shallots, yams, roma & cherry tomatoes... and more!

ramps aka wild leeks

Local produce of the week:

Ramps

Information straight from our grower, Harmony Valley:

Ramps grow wild in our part of the country, preferring deep forest soils and cool springs. We harvest them judiciously, selecting large bulbs with healthy leaves, leaving behind plenty to replenish the population for sustainable harvest for years to come. The flavor of ramps is inimitable, though they are reminiscent of leeks, hence their local name, wild leek. Their season is fleeting, three to four weeks in late April and early May, depending on the spring temperatures. Their supply is limited, so enjoy them in abundance while they are available.

asparagus! ASPARAGUS!

Ahhhh. Maple Season has passed (it was a good one, too!) The next major rite of spring is Asparagus. Fresh, firm, local asparagus. Deep green. Supremely healthy. ASPARAGUS!

We ask a mere $5.29 per pound for the good stuff coming up from the Kees family farm near Durand. Certified Organic and grown with care, love and attention. Handled carefully by our worker owners. It's good for you.

And its only for a short time each year!

Brew News - May 2009

Our second edition of Brew News!

1. New Breweries

2. New Beers

3. Drinkin’ in the Great Outdoors

4. Brewer’s Co-Op Update

5. This Month’s Sampling

6. Food Pairings/Cooking Ideas

1. New Breweries:

Rounding out our wonderful selection of local and regional beers, a couple more breweries are represented at our store:

-Goose Island Beer Co., Chicago, IL

-Sprecher Brewing Company, Glendale, WI

2. New Beers:

We’ve got an ever-growing selection of beer at Just Local Food! Since beer is a highly seasonal item, particular beers go exceptionally well with each one. Spring is here and summer is just around the corner. We’ve got some great new brews to lead the way for warmer weather:

-Goose Island Honker’s Ale, India Pale Ale, 312 Wheat

-Sprecher Special Amber, Black Bavarian, Abbey Triple (16 oz. bottles)

-Central Waters Glacial India Pale Ale, Satin Solstice Imperial Stout

-Bell's Oberon

3. Drinkin’ in the Great Outdoors:

For your outdoor enjoyment, we offer some beers in “recreation-friendly” containers. This means aluminum cans! Sometimes glass bottles just aren’t a good idea when camping, at the park, or out on the water.

We’ll soon be stocking Northwood’s Floppin’ Crappie in 6pk cans! We also currently offer Leinenkugel’s Original and Light in 12pk and 24pk cans.

4. Brewer’s Co-Op Update:

With the addition of a few more breweries to our impressive line-up, we now offer selections from 7 of the 9 breweries involved in the Midwest Hops and Barley Cooperative. When we say “Just Local” in reference to our beer, we mean it! Here’s a list of the breweries:

Central Waters Brewing, Goose Island Brewery, Lake Front Brewery, Sand Creek Brewing, South Shore Brewery, Sprecher Brewing, Tyranena Brewing

(take a look at this article from the Leader-Telegram for the full story)

5. This Month’s Sampling:

On Thursday May 21^st, stop by our store to try out the most local beer we can find! From right here in Eau Claire, Northwoods Brew Pub will bring down a selection of their handcrafted ales. With award-winning beers in their line-up, you will surely find one that suits you. Time still-to-be-announced (sometime in the mid-late afternoon).

6. Food Pairings/Cooking Ideas:

A lot of us don’t drink beer alone. We’re often surrounded by family, friends, and more often than not, food. Beyond the old standbys of Pizza & Beer and the ceremonial Bratwurst Beer Bath before grilling, here are some other ideas of what to do with your favorite beverage:

-India Pale Ale with Dates. Yes, fruit and beer! One night, I just happened to be drinking a nice an’ hoppy IPA and saw some Medjool Dates in my fridge. Lo and behold, they tasted GREAT together! Try this duo for an interesting snack or dessert.

-Stout with Whiskey and Chocolate. I tested this out with New Glarus’ Coffee Stout topped off with some Irish whiskey. Pair it with Equal Exchange’s Dark Chocolate (the darker the better!) to pull out the rich undertones in the beer. Try it with Castle Rock’s Organic Vanilla Ice Cream for a more sophisticated take on the classic Root Beer Float.

-When matching beer with food, the general rule of thumb is to match light beers with light foods and dark beers with hearty foods. When making chili or stew infused with beer, keep in mind that dark beers like Stouts and Porters can become bitter when heated up. Try a nice “standard” Ale to give your favorite recipe the wonderful essence of beer that you’re looking for.

If you have some favorite recipes and/or methods of cooking with beer, please let us know so we can all benefit from your culinary knowledge!

-- The Beer Dudes (Drew and Jordan)

tortilla chips UPDATE!

REJOICE!

I spoke with Doug Hilgendorf at Whole Grain Milling on Monday. Their yellow and blue tortilla chips are tentatively back in production, and we expect a truckload of yellows to arrive this Friday... yes, yes, YES!

the old news:
We are very sorry to report that Whole Grain Milling Company has temporarily discontinued their amazingly delicious tortilla chips As many of you know, Doug and Lin Hilgendorf (and family!) have been growing organic blue and yellow corn on their farm and having tortilla chips freshly made from that corn every few weeks. They have informed us that the chip factory they were having their chips made at is not currently making chips for them. This news was abrupt and is unexplained. We are all devastated by the news. Doug and Lin are working hard to find a solution, and to bring the chips back as soon as possible. Sadly, there is no replacement for these incredibly delicious and addictive bags of awesomeness. The grocery department is ordering a variety of tortilla chips from other companies in the meantime, but looks forwardto the day when we can once again sell WGM tortilla chips.

One Sun Pizza Closeout

Stock up on your favorite One Sun Pizzas! We are closing them out at 25% off the retail price. They will sell at $9.59 each. While supplies last.

We are sad to not carry these fantastic products anymore. They are great pizzas made with local ingredients, a majority of which they grew themselves.

In the near future look for a local gluten free pizza and possibly some sweet potato fries!

Restore recognition

Amigas y Amigos,

Restore is being featured in the April/May issue of SmallBiz by BusinessWeek and has been nominated for America's Most Promising Social Entrepreneur.

Restore is a great product we are proud of and in the earth day tradition we are reminded of new ways to reduce our impact on our natural environment (we throw away 4 million plastic bottles an hour).

Please visit and/or vote for Restore Products by clicking on this pop-up or the original story here.

(Voting ends Sunday, April 26th)

Thanks and hopefully someday we can see the refill station at our store as well!

the Just Local Food Cooperative

&

Laurie Brown Founder and CEO Restore Products Company

Big big meat sale!! UPDATE

In anticipation of grilling season, we are putting all of our big comfort-food meats on sale, to make room for an expanded line of brats and steaks and other meats that go with warmer weather. Get it while you can, because it’s going to be a while before we stock these again. (and, we’ll probably have a few more cool days and nights before summer that would be perfect for a nice hearty meal…)

Whole turkeys from Coon Creek Family Farm and Beaver Creek Ranch (20% off)
We’ve got 2 left in stock. Have you ever grilled a turkey? It is the way to go! Quarter it, brine it, cook over indirect fire for about 45 minutes, add some smoking chips, and you’ve got the best turkey you ever tasted.

Turkey broth from Coon Creek Family Farm (20% off)
Created by Alchemy for Coon Creek, using their organic turkeys. Perfect for soup, gravy, anywhere you need a really good broth.

Black angus beef roasts from Wheatfield Hill Organics (20% off)
These are just really good and super easy in the oven or crockpot, and the leftovers make wonderful sandwiches. Buy and make now, or stock your freezer at this great price.

(SOLD OUT) All-natural corned beef from Anderson Farms (20% off)
Anyone who has tasted this corned beef knows how yummy it is – one of the only corned beefs we’ve ever seen that doesn’t include nitrites or other stuff we’d like to avoid. Again, makes a great meal and lots of tasty leftovers.

(SOLD OUT) Pork loin roast from Anderson Farms (20% off)
These are beautiful lean roasts, perfect with fresh rosemary and garlic.

(SOLD OUT) Bison roast from Golden Hills Buffalo (20% off)
A nice lean roast that would be perfect braised in wine or tomatoes, with lots of onions, etc.

(SOLD OUT) Organic Valley lunch meat - in the freezer, priced as marked (25% off original price) This is your chance to stock up on organic lunch meat, when you just need a good quick sandwich.

Madison's own RP's Pasta

Some of you may remember a time when Just Local Food had RP's Fresh and Frozen pasta from Madison WI. Well, it's back!

Here is a blurb from their website:

"RP's Pasta products are made with the finest all-natural ingredients, an appreciation for Old World culinary traditions, and most importantly, a love for food.

From our Fresh Egg Fettuccine to our Pumpkin Tortelloni to our Potato Gnocchi and Pasta Sauces, Master Pasta Maker, Peter Robertson, holds quality and flavor to the highest regard in every batch.

That's the secret behind gourmet fresh pasta from RP's Pasta Company. RP's is a unique pasta maker, using a meticulous hand-rolled process producing the highest quality pasta for restaurants and grocery stores. It is the labor intensive hand-rolled process that is the only way to produce pasta with true "al'Dente" texture. Only the hand can determine when the pasta has been kneaded long enough and only then do we turn this fine pasta dough into RP's Fresh Pasta. In addition to traditional flat noodles, RP's offers an array of ravioli and tortellini.

In the Cooler Just Local Food is Carrying: Fresh Egg Fettuccine, Fresh Egg Angel Hair Pasta, Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce and Tomato Basil Sauce.

In the Freezer you will find: Sweet Potato Ravioli, Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli, Pesto Tortelloni, and Tri Color Cheese Raviolini.

Nature's Bakery

Just Local Food is proud to carry Nature's Bakery Frozen Veggie Burgers, Calzones and 3 varieties of granola; Apple Cinnamon, Peanut Butter and Six Grain.

Here is a bit from their website:

"Nature’s Bakery Cooperative is a vegetarian bakery located in Madison WI committed to using organic whole grains. We have been a worker’s collective since its founding in 1970.

The Vegetarian Burger is our classic, made with Brazil nut meal, carrots, onions, celery, organic brown rice, organic brown rice flour, almonds, wheat-free tamari, non-GMO soy oil, fresh parsley, herbs and spices. Our bakers especially enjoy them with barbecue sauce!

The Amazing Grain Burger is low in fat and sodium, and makes a great, healthy snack. We make this burger with organic brown rice, organic millet, carrots, onions, celery, organic brown rice flour, apple cider vinegar, wheat-free tamari, almonds, non-GMO soy oil, herbs and spices.

The Tofu Walnut Burger is our newest flavor, made with locally produced organic tofu from Simple Soyman in Milwaukee, WI. We also use mushrooms, celery, walnuts, organic oats, non-GMO soy oil, parsley, agar, garlic and spices in this savory burger. "

Brew News April 2009

Enjoy our first installment of Brew News.

1. The JLF Beer Dudes
2. Angry Minnow Brewery
3. Brewer's Co-op
4. Samplings
5. Furthermore Pint Glass Deal
6. Breweries JLF Works With

1. The JLF Beer Dudes -- You've probably seen Drew and myself (Jordan) down at the store. Combined we are the Beer Department at Just Local Food. If you have any suggestions, questions, or comments, let us know. We can be reached at drew@justlocalfood.com & jordan@justlocalfood.com.

2. Angry Minnow Brewery -- We are proud to start working with Jason Rasmussen, brewmaster, and the other folks at Angry Minnow Brewery in Hayward, WI. Our first shipment of River Pig Pale Ale and Honey Wheat this week. Enjoy them at 10% off for the month of April.

River Pig Pale Ale - This copper beer will deliver a blast of hops with every guzzle. We add hops at four stages during the brew including dry hopping, which leaves this pale with a floral aroma.
Honey Wheat - This golden brew is made with fresh pilsen malt, wheat, Gambrinnus honey malt, and 50 pounds of local honey.

3. Brewer's Co-op -- Midwestern farmers and craft beer brewers form a co-op. The objective of the co-op is to get brewers locally grown ingredients (hops, barley). We currently work with 5 of the 9 participating breweries: Central Waters, Lakefront, Sand Creek, South Shore, and Tyranena. Check out this leader telegram article for more info.

4. Samplings -- Drew and I are gearing up for monthly brewery samplings. Look forward to at least one sampling a month. Check the website frequently for updates.

5. Furthermore Pint Glass Deal -- If you buy a case (any 4 six packs) of Furthermore beer, we will give you a Furthermore Pint glass. That's the deal. On a separate but related note, Fatty Boombalatty should be ariving for the season soon.

6. Breweries JLF Works With -- We have stayed true to the local in Just Local Food with our beer selection. All of our beer is from Wisconsin with the exception of 3 breweries. Check out the list that follows.

Angry Minnow - Hayward, WI
Bell's - Galesburg, MI
Capital - Middleton, WI
Central Waters - Amherst, WI
Furthermore - Spring Green, WI
Grain Belt - New Ulm, MN
Lakefront - Milwaukee, WI
Leinenkugel's - Chippewa Falls & Milwaukee, WI
New Glarus - New Glarus, WI
Northwoods - Eau Claire, WI
Point - Stevens Point, WI
Rush River - River Falls, WI
Sand Creek - Black River Falls, WI
South Shore - Ashland, WI
Summit - St. Paul, MN
Tyranena - Lake Mills, WI
Viking - Dallas, WI

"Everybody has to believe in something.....I believe I'll have another drink."
- W.C. Fields

healthy girls demo

Demo this Saturday!

Have you heard of Healthy Girls products, and phluffing for breast health? These products are created for loving your "girls" with 7 therapeutic essential oils, some of which have clinical studies to show that monoterpenes found in essential oils regress cancer cells. Relaxing in a bath with Healthy Girls Bath Salts is a way to add more minerals into your body with Dead Sea Salt, Himalayan Sea salt and, thera-grade Epsom Salts with 30% magnesium to aid the adrenal glands and promote relaxation. Read more about this great local product here.

We'll have a Healthy Girls Breast Oil and Bath Salts Demonstration on Saturday, April 4th from 10:15 to 2:15.

Infinitea loose leaf teas now at Just Local Food!

Hi Food Lovers!

We just stocked 6 new varieties of fair trade, organic, teas from INFINITEA tea house down the street from us, you can find them in 1oz. packages (able to brew up to 20 pots!!!)

come 'sample' or view, smell, experience the teas before you pick which one suits you best...

this month's varieties include,

Organic Amber Dragon - Oolong
Organic China Golden Yunnan - Black
Fire Ginseng - Herbal Tisane
Organic Dragon Well - Green
Organic Fair Trade Peppermint Rooibos
Organic White Peony - White

just cashews

We are absolutely thrilled to offer you this new farm-direct, fair trade product.

Just Cashews is committed to alleviating poverty, malnutrition and exploitation by creating a fair trade market for organic, fair trade, cashews and working to develop standards for fair trade cashew production throughout the world. By purchasing Just Cashews, you have a direct impact on the quality of life for peasant farmers and their families in Central America.

Read the full story on the cooperative in Honduras that our cashews come from right here.

And on to the food part:
Cashew nuts are actually the kidney-shaped seeds that adhere to the bottom of the cashew apple, the fruit of the cashew tree, which is native to the coastal areas of northeastern Brazil. While cashew apples are not appreciated in the United States, they are regarded as delicacies in Brazil and the Caribbean. Cashews are always sold shelled because the interior of the shells contains a caustic resin, known as cashew balm, which must be carefully removed before the nuts are fit for consumption. This caustic resin is actually used in industry to make varnishes and insecticides. Interested? Read more about cashew nutrition right here.

art in April

No foolin! Even though our store walls are filled mostly with coolers, freezers, bulk bins and more, (aka the colorful products of the many food artisans we work with), we've still made room for art. And let us rejoice for the beauty art brings to our world. In the month of April we've got our annual tribute to the bicycle, known as the common wheel. This year we'll have works from Mark Aumann, Lori Chilefone, Nick Dewar, Joe Maurer and Amy Zagar. Grab a cup of coffee and admire the view. And you still have a week or so to enjoy the beautiful international photographs of Mark Aumann.

pictured: sister katy's advice to huella