You asked for it...from the Product Suggestion book

New products that we have added from the Product Suggestion book, which is kept at the front desk at the entrance.

Les Contes preserved lemons on an end cap. Apparently an essential ingredient for Moroccan cooking, often paired with meat. The Sprouted Kitchen blog has interesting vegan recipes using preserved lemons plus a recipe to make your own. Probably best to do that when Meyer lemons are in season.




Red Star fresh yeast is now in the cottage cheese and butter case, at the end of the produce aisle. I'm not sure if August is the best time to fire up your oven, but if you have air conditioning....

• Vintage seltzer is back on the shelf. If you find yourself lugging lots of seltzer home in the heat and see the plastic bottles pile up, consider purchasing a Soda Stream seltzer maker. I love mine, you can tailor the amount of bubbles in the water and over time it saves money, plastic and your back.
• Herrell hot fudge sauce. We can't bring you their ice cream, but we have the fixings.
• Goya pigeon peas
• 10 pack Bic pens
• Casa Fiesta sliced nacho jalapenos
• Pop Corners chip
• Gringo Jack tortilla chips
• Klean Kanteen ring tops
  

Red quinoa is back in the bulk bins

Look for organic red quinoa back in the bulk bins. Quinoa cooks up so quickly, it is great rice substitute, and, I think, works better in salads than rice. Cook up extra, and it keeps for a week in the refrigerator. Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day cookbook has an intriguing quinoa burger recipe that I plan to try.

New products, changes.....

Hail Merry tarts are new in the Deli case, next to Steve's Key Lime Pies--flavors are chocolate and key lime. Raw, vegan, gluten-free--what are the ingredients? In the chocolate tart, just dark cocoa, organic cold pressed coconut oil, organic maple syrup, almond flour, sea salt. They are not organic. But they are flying out of the Coop. Quite tasty, small, but substantial enough to share. Other Hail Merry products including granola and lightly sweetened nuts are on the endcap across from the eggs.






Newman's Own has joined the steady stream of manufacturers who have downsized their products, citing the price increase in flour, sugar, oil, chocolate and freight. In addition, you might not recognize them as they have changed both the packaging and the recipes for some of their cookies. So far, it has been thumbs down on Newman's reformulated alphabet cookies. However, staff has given a thumbs up to two new cookies from Newman's Own: crispy, spicy gingersnap with a lot of snap and oatmeal chocolate chip. In unattractive brown bags, 7A

Theo has two new chocolates: a salted almond milk chocolate and a dark chocolate coconut. Theo chocolates have never done well at the Coop. They are organic, Fair Trade, and reasonably priced. Maybe it is an East Coast vs West Coast thing--if you are ever in Seattle, you can visit their factory.

In the news....

Improving the food label design continues to make news. Color coding appears to be leading the pack--you can see the many designs submitted.








Fish: Time magazine did a rundown on aquaculture early July. Interesting comments in later issues.

Which fish are ok to eat?--color coded chart from info gathered from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Marine Conservation Society, FishWatch, and the Greenpeace Red List.

The Food Coop received a nice shout out in the WSJ on Saturday from dedicated coop members John Turturro and Kathy Borowitz. FYI: the WSJ didn't get their membership status quite right--they are both members but Kathy does both workslots.

Wall Street Journal reviews sweeteners replacing high fructose corn syrups, focusing on restaurants.

Watts vs lumens--replacing incandescent lightbulbs soon

Wysong dog and cat food is back!

Wysong dry dog and cat food has finally returned. I'm not sure why it were not available for so long, but here it is Aisle 4A.

Gringo Jacks Flour Tortilla Chips

As dubious as it sounds, Gringo Jacks flour tortilla chips are the chips of my dreams! They taste a bit like crunchy fry bread and are handmade in Vermont. They come in 3 flavors: flour, whole wheat, and spicy. They will be stocked above the veggies in the produce aisle but for now they are in a tall stack next to the egg case. Enjoy!

In the news....

Think there are no nitrates in your hotdogs? Not true. Applegate tries to come clean but the USDA seems determined to prevent clear labeling.






New York State is considering lifting the ban on hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas, a process that has raised many environmental concerns.