Lean local ground beef - old world heritage

Will Donaldson of Horny Hill farm, Hartford, NY, is now bringing us grass-finished ground beef from his herd of Scottish Highland cattle. There are records of Highlanders dating back to 12th century Scotland, and archeological evidence of their existence as far back as the 6th century. That makes them the oldest living breed of cattle in the world.

The harsh conditions in the rugged, remote Scottish Highlands created a process of natural selection, where only the fittest and most adaptable animals survived to carry on the breed. American cattlemen recognized the qualities of the Highland and imported them to improve their current bloodlines in the 1890's.

Highland beef is naturally lean, well marbled and flavorful with little outside fat due to being insulated by long hair. Laboratory tests have proven that Scottish Highland beef is lower in cholesterol than buffalo, pork, lamb, or chicken.

In the British Isles, Highland beef is recognized as the finest available, and fetches premium prices. The British Royal family keeps a large herd of Highlands at Balmoral Castle, and considers them their beef animal of choice.

Your fellow Coop members are tickled to imagine you indulging in the same Sloppy Joes, chili dogs, and hamburger-noodle casseroles that Camilla Parker Bowles consumes daily. Look for the lean Highlander meat near our other fine ground beef from Slope, McDonald, Hardwick, etc.!

Blue Bottle Coffee

We'd like to welcome Blue Bottle coffee to the ever expanding coffee selections we have to offer. They'll be delivering on Mondays and Thursdays, and judging from how fast it sold out yesterday it should be a hot selling item. We're currently carrying Bella Donovan, Hayes Valley Espresso, Decaf Noir and Three Africans. Look for it on the front end-cap facing the eggs.

 Brew some at home and rejoice!

"NUTS!" *

Coop Walnut Secret Released 

A short musing by Joe Holtz

Conventionally grown Walnuts in the shell often have an almost bitter harsh taste.  We suspect that this sad state is a result of premature harvesting in order to reduce crop loss and perhaps have the nuts in a state where they can successfully withstand the processing nedded to remove the soft outer husks that we city folks never see, and also to turn them into a uniform bleached looking commodity.  We suspect a harch process here.


But our Organic Walnuts in the shell from Ferrari Farm in California taste rich full bodied and often sweet.  we suspect that they are truly ripened on the tree  We further suspect the process for removing the outer husk is far less harsh, resulting in a non-uniform darkish look.  We are lucky to get these.  We have purchased the final 1000lbs at reduced price.  Don't tell these secrets because our sales of 100lbs a week could skyrocket and make them go away until next November.

While you're at it, try the Organic Pecans in the shell.  Not only are they tasty and nutritious, but they have a long history in our region.  "Pecan" is from an Algonquian word, meaning a nut requiring a stone to crack.  They were highly regarded for their flavor, accessability (as they often grew on waterways), and they're caloric content (2-4 times that of the local wild game).  Colonial settlers learned this and soon went about planting the first cultivars on Long Island in 1772.  Settlers took seeds and continued planting as they moved further south and west.  Today the US produces between 80-95% of the world's pecans.  The delicious variety that we currently have are grown in the great state of Missouri.  


*Attributed to General Anthony Clement McAuliffe upon his defeat Battle of Bastogne, Belgium - December 1944

New Parmigiano Reggiano!

From Solo Di Bruna, a dairy cooperative that produces only 9 wheels a day (the average is around 70-80 wheels a day). We're hoping to continue getting this great cheese as long as we can.