Thursday, April 26, 2007

Yogurt News

From Sarah Beek, the Coop's yogurt orderer:

Some of our members (especially the kids) may have noticed the absence of Stonyfield Farm’s Banilla and Strawberry flavors in the quart size, as well as the O’Soy baby 6-packs. It turns out that Stonyfield is building a new plant and due to some “engineering snafus”, they have been unable to keep up with production on those items. Look for the O’Soy in May and the return of the Banilla and Strawberry quarts at the end of June.

Also, Stonyfield told us that they were unable to source enough organic milk to keep their nonfat products organic. (They haven’t been organic for some time.) They have plans to change this however, and are taking an active role in convincing farmers to go organic. Their long-term goal is to once again have an organic line of nonfat yogurts. (But it might take years.)

Sick of Stonyfield? They may be the largest but they definitely are not the only producer of organic yogurt. Check out Butterwork Farms, Hawthorne Valley Farms, and Seven Stars Dairy, all local, and without the stabilizers and fewer of the sugars that Stonyfield generally uses.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Travel Size Toothpastes Now Available

The Coop is now carrying the following flavors of travel-size toothpaste:

1. Desert Essence: 3 oz. Fennel Flavor

2. Weleda: .44 oz Salt Flavor

3. Tom's of Maine: 1 oz Peppermint Flavor

—Theresa/Karen

Fresh Local Lamb is Back in the Coop!

Here's Bill the Butcher with the latest from the meat department:

As of April 23, 2007, the Food Coop has begun carrying fresh lamb and pork from Aberdeen Hill Farm! Every other Monday (in order to alternate with our other farmers) we will receive the meat from two whole lambs and hogs.

The following text is adapted from the LocalHarvest website.

Aberdeen Hill Farm of Stanley, New York, is a small family-owned and operated farm, growing pasture-raised beef, lamb, and pork in the Finger Lakes region.

The utmost care and compassion for our animals is taken, to insure not only the quality of the products that our customers receive, but that you can also know that both your well-being, and our livestock’s well-being, always come first.

Beef and lamb are naturally fed on a mainly grass based diet. In order to insure both flavor and texture, we supplement with a very small amount of locally raised grain. By doing this, we can perform tasks like shearing and trimming without stressing the animals out, and they get accustomed to us working with them.

No antibiotics, steroids, or hormones are ever used. All processing is done at a small family owned and operated shop that has a USDA inspection.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Notes from the Freezer

The freezer boasts a few new products. Here's Caleb with the latest from the frozen foods department:

Look for:

Woodstock Frozen Sugar Snap Peas
Rico M. Panada Broccoli and Cheddar and Mushroom Knish Empanadas
Alexia Mozzarella Stix
Quorn Gruyere Patties

Coming Soon:

Kim and Scott’s gourmet frozen pretzels. I’m going to start with the traditional Bavarian style, but they offer some stuffed pretzels that look great and will most likely find their way into the freezer.

Also, I’m looking into more waffles so keep an eye out.

Returning:

Deep Palak Paneer

Sadly Leaving:

The Ecofish company is getting rid of the Grab n’ Go tuna and mahi mahi due to low sales. We will once again get the Aquasource tuna but I am going to have to find another mahi mahi. Health is Wealth Mexican Munchies and Veggie Munchies are being replaced by the pretzels mentioned above due to sales.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Time to Bring the ol' Blog Back

Time sure flies, doesn't it?

Today is April 18, 2007, and it's time we recommenced updating anyone and everyone about the products available (and, sometimes, unavailable) at the Park Slope Food Coop.

Welcome back, everyone.

For today's product updates, let's go to the land of olives and cheese. Here's Yuri, the Coop's intrepid olive and cheese buyer, with the latest and greatest in the olives and cheese cases:

Olives:

Marinated Garlic, Cornichons & Green Olives. Delicious sweet garlic - not too spicy. . .

Cheeses:

Malvarosa

A semi-soft cheese produced from the milk of Guirra sheep in the Mediterranean region of Spain near Valencia. This cheese is cured in cheesecloth and when fully aged, provides a sweet flavor with a mild butterscotch overtone. Considered to be a traditional farmhouse cheese, Malvarosa cheese is white in color with a smooth buttery texture containing
very few small open eyes.

Montcabrer

Semi-firm goat cheese from Catalunya bathed in vegetable oil and charcoal and aged 60-90 days. The rind is gray where the surface mold mingles with the charcoal, Texture is creamy and the sweetness of the milk comes from the exclusive use of Murciana goats. Earthy, Full-flavored and tangy at the finish.

La Peral

Lightly blued, rare and delicious mixed milk cheese hailing from the village Illas in Northern Spain. Also known as Queso Azul Asturiano, La Peral is made from pasteurized cow's milk to which sheep cream is added. The wheels are then aged for sixty days in Asturian caves. La Peral resembles an Italian Gorgonzola and has a strong olive flavor and pungent aroma. Its slightly crumbly texture becomes significantly creamier in the finish. Pair this cheese with Viognier, Port, or Spanish desert wines.

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Our intention moving forward is to bring members as much up-to-date information as possible about what's available on the shelves in the Coop. Keep checking back to learn more about what's on offer in every aisle of the PSFC.