Susie's Seitan

Folks who already eat seitan may be interested to know that the Coop now has sliced seitan that is made locally (in Ithaca). Still haven't tried seitan? Turned off by the amorphous brown-ish blob floating in liquid with occasional green bits (it's actually seaweed)? Meet the charming & attractive Susie. Susie's Seitan comes in about 12 different flavors, for now we have Original, Portabella Mushroom, and Sundried Tomato. From Susie's website:

Susie's Seitan provides a simple solution for vegan & vegetarian entrees. Seitan (pronounced say-tan) is a vegan wheat gluten based product. Susie's seitan is similar to precooked deli meat. It has a hearty texture and comes ready to eat.

Look in the Egg/Tofu Case on the seitan shelf.

It melts. It stretches. It's Daiya.

If you haven't heard about Daiya Vegan Cheese yet, your vegan street cred is seriously in question. Daiya, which contains no casein, no soy, and no common allergens, has literally been sweeping the nation and acquiring a cult-like following for its melt-ability and flavor. It first appeared in restaurants (like our local 'Snice on Fifth Avenue) a couple years ago in vegan sandwiches and pizzas, then in vegan retail products (vegan cheese pizza, anyone?), and now -- finally -- in retail packs. The Coop has actually had it available for a few months already in the cheese case (Kevin has been enjoying "quesa-daiyas", grilled cheese sandwhiches, etc.). The newly available product is an 8 oz. bag of shreds. Ready for your vegan cheesy melting pleasure. Look for it at the Coop in the Milk/Juice/Non-Dairy Case, all the way to the right with the other non-dairy cheeses.

Taza stone ground organic chocolate

It's not smooth or milky. But no, it's not like eating cocoa-dusted ground glass either. Taza chocolate is grainy, crunchy, chocolatey, not too sugary, with a hint of vanilla. And that's all that goes into it, all organic and minimally processed. It's produced by a small, environmentally- and socially-responsible company based in Massachusetts. Find it on the display endcap across from the Coop Tees.

Also look for Taza discs—for hot chocolate, cooking or eating out of hand. They come in flavors like yerba maté, guajillo chili and salted almond. Don't bother looking for instructions on how to turn those discs into hot chocolate anywhere on the packaging. It's not there. But it's here, from Taza's website. You won't see it below, but Taza's detailed recipe mention something about adding rum, bourbon, tequila, vanilla...

It's So Delicious

New in the Coop: So Delicious Coconut Milk. Half-gallons. Original and Vanilla. Refrigerated. Delicious.

Made by Turtle Mountain (the same company that brings us those amazing non-dairy frozen desserts), their website claims that this is "The world's first coconut milk beverage." Certainly an interesting newcomer to the non-dairy milk scene, only time will tell whether coconut becomes a regular in the line-up that currently includes soy, rice, hemp, and nut milks. Look for it in the Milk/Juice Case next to the Almond Breeze.

Awesome Foods

New to the Coop this week are some raw and crispy snacks from a local company called Awesome Foods. Fans of the much-loved but hard-to-come-by Kale Chips will appreciate the variety which includes: Kale Tempuraw, Zuchinni Tempuraw, Vegetable Tempuraw, Root Veggie Crackers and Vegetable Almond Crackers. All dehydrated at less than 118 degrees, all vegan, and all gluten-free. Look for them in Aisle 7A, hanging across from the other small chips.

Bleu without the Cheese

Looking to add variety to your non-dairy cheese plate? Try these organic cheese alternatives from Sunergia:

Soya Bleu

Soy Feta: Tomato Garlic &
Lemon Oregano flavors

Find them with the non-dairy cheeses in the Milk/Juice Refrigerator.

Savory Soy Selections

Several new products for soy-savvy shoppers!

Look in the dairy case for...

1. Lightlife LightBurgers (currently on sale for only $1.92)
   
2. Lightlife Smart Sausages, Chorizo Style
   
3. Sunergia Soy Feta: Lemon Oregano
   

And check the Egg/Tofu Case for...

• Sunergia Tofu: Savory Portabella
• Sunergia Tofu: Peanut Ginger
• Lightlife Tempehtations, Classic BBQ (Yes, you read that correctly -- "tempehtations" are small cubes of marinated organic tempeh, ready to eat!)

Vegan Treats

Vegan brownie-eaters may have noticed the disappearance of the Smart Treats Brownies. The Smart Treats company transformed itself in 2008 into a dedicated gluten-free facility, which required changes to many of their recipes. Sales of their brownies then slowed significantly until our supplier stopped distributing them entirely. Not wanting to deprive vegans of their brownies, we have begun stocking Frankly Natural Baker Brownies in three vegan flavors: Chocolate, Misty Mint, and Wacky Walnut. The mint and walnut flavors are gluten-free as well as vegan.

Also new are the vegan Betty Lou's Fruit Squares in two flavors: Apricot & Blueberry. You can try one for less than $1.

Look for these new vegan treats in Aisle 7 near the other vegan cookies.

Thanksgiving shopping-A Cautionary Tale

Shop Early

No, the Park Slope Food Coop is not a rapacious retailer, forcing Santa down your throat by Columbus Day weekend. We just want our members to be able to get all the basics they need for a holiday meal. And that means that you need to start stocking up on supplies now. Our basement cannot hold the amount of food required if everyone were to wait to shop until the last week or even the week before Thanksgiving.

Prime example: frozen pie crusts. Our supplier always runs out Thanksgiving week. So we try to stock up ahead. Have you ever been inside our basement freezer? By the end of the week all the shelves are full and there are 4 to 5 full U boats clogging the space, making it hard to send up all those pizzas and frozen berries. There is no room for six more carts full of pie crusts waiting for you to buy them at the last minute. So please buy your pie crust now. You're not sure if you are the one bringing the pie, buy the pie shell anyway. It keeps very well in the freezer and doesn't take up too much space. Buy the frozen peas and broccoli and vanilla ice cream now too.

Dry goods to purchase in advance: chicken stock, canned pumpkin, dried mushrooms, olive oil, pasta, packaged bread crumbs or dressing, evaporated or condensed milk, maple syrup, corn syrup, brown and white sugars (please consider purchasing the wonderful Wholesome Foods Fair Trade sugars we sell in Aisle 2A), chocolate chips, flour, parchment paper (Aisle 2A), cheesecloth, vanilla, spices including cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, rosemary, thyme, etc. Dried cranberries, apricots, and other dried fruits keep well in a glass container in the cupboard. Pecans, walnuts and other nuts can be refrigerated or frozen. Dried fruits and spices take time to bag and there may not be enough workers to meet the demand during the holiday week. And there is only so much space for workers in the food processing area and everyone wants cheese and olives too. Don't forget the crackers.

Cheeses, olives and smoked fish keep for weeks refrigerated. I refrigerate my corn meal and flour. Butter freezes very well, eggs have a shelf life of weeks. Heavy cream is also hard to get from our distributors holiday weeks--hedge your bets and buy ultra pasteurized Organic Valley heavy cream--it has a shelf life of weeks. A lot of produce stores well too--buy your potatoes, squash, shallots, garlic, pearl onions and fresh cranberries..

Get a leg up--buy your chestnuts early, roast and peel them and store in the refrigerator. Or sit back and buy the peeled chestnuts in the jar on the front end display across from the eggs. Don't forget the beer, Martinelli's sparkling cider, San Pellegrino limonata, chocolate truffles. Your cousins are going to remember the terrific hard cider you brought to the dinner last year--don't disappoint them. Only problem is: remember, this is the Thanksgiving stash.

Get rid of all the leftovers in your refrigerator. You need to make room so that you can buy your turkey as early as possible. Turkeys will start being delivered the Friday before Thanksgiving. Turkeys delivered the week of Thanksgiving are not going to be fresher; they are all butchered at least a week in advance. We max out our coolers for the turkeys. This means every time we need to send up butter, someone has to drag out 3 or more heavy carts of turkeys to get at the butter in the basement.

For the vegans, Tofurky "turkeys" will be in the freezer. The flatten Road Kill Fresh Tofu "turkeys" will be sold next to the tofu in the egg case. Buy them as soon as you see them.

It is not fun shopping at the Coop during the holiday season. Even if we have everything you want, we probably won't have the workers to stock the shelves. And who can get near the shelves to stock when the lines wrap around the store. Consider going in late to work one morning during the week and do your big shop then. Late week day evenings are generally not too busy either. The Coop does open at 6 am on Saturdays and Sunday mornings.

You can do quick grab and go shops if you don't have anything to weigh, three items or less. Pick up your turkey, pumpkin pie and fresh cream and head to the cashier, bypassing all the checkout lanes. If you plan ahead, you won't have to go to one of those Really Expensive Stores to get the special ingredients that make your holiday. Besides, they would also have long lines and no heavy cream. If all else fails, you can lie low and shop Thanksgiving Day, 8 am to 2:30 pm.

Locally made organic cashew nut cheese

From Dr Cow (?) in Williamsburg a hip new vegan cheese made from organic cashew nuts. Both a cream cheese type and a delicious aged variety - look for them both in the cheese case.