October is Fair Trade month

But actually every month is Fair Trade month. New products: Natural Nectar's biscuits, slathered with Fair Trade chocolate. They did not stint with the chocolate, and this classic French "biscuit" is very good, indeed.

We sell lots of Fair Trade chocolate.

Equal Exchange chocolate comes in lots of flavors--the Panama dark is the Coop's favorite. But don't hesitate to try the new chocolate caramel crunch. Of course, we sell hundreds of pounds of Equal Exchange coffee purchased from farmer-owned cooperatives around the world. Soon they will be introducing a new line of teas.



Madecasse chocolate was developed by a former Peace Corps volunteer who worked in Madagascar. The chocolate beans are grown and made into chocolate in Madagascar. Almost all other chocolate is made from beans shipped to Europe. This provides jobs in the country of origin and allows them to reap the added value. Raw cocoa beans are relatively cheap--the finished chocolate is not. Madecasse has a salt and chocolate nibs bar.





Divine chocolate is very popular at the Coop. And now that we are approaching the holidays, their boxed mints, gelt coins and their Advent calendar with some bits of chocolate behind the windows are all available. They have some new holiday bars in sparkling packaging: dark chocolate with orange and ginger and milk chocolate with spiced cookies. Divine products are very tasty as well, and the chocolate is from a farmer-owned cooperative in Ghana.






We sell lots of Wholesome Foods Fair Trade sweeteners: light and dark brown sugar, raw sugar, agave, and honey. Please consider using these sugars for all of your holiday baking.

Flashy Troutsback Romaine
Lettuce

A dark green leaved romaine splashed with wine-red speckles. Imagine dipping a paintbrush in red paint and giving it a hard shake onto your romaine lettuce. You've got the picture. Your taste buds will like it too, for its rich buttery flavor.
These are organic and come from Lancaster Farm Fresh Coop in Pennsylvania.

Pumpkins are here! Small and medium pie pumpkins, and an assortment of large and even larger decorative pumpkins and gourds arrived today. They are organic from Hepworth farms in Milton NY. Larger jack-o-lanterns will be delivered on Friday.

Brooklyn Salsa company

New salsas, locally made, riffing off the five boroughs theme. Brooklyn of course is hot, Manhattan is mild and pure, Staten Island mild and green, Queens medium and tropical and the Bronx burnt and hot. Make of that what you will. Their interpretation of salsa is sauce--and Queen's tropical is a curry sauce, not the standard corn chip dipping salsa.

The Brooklyn Salsa Co guys told us they were sourcing their tomatoes from Amy Hepworth this summer. Their website has recipes on how to use up that jar of salsa quickly--ranging from Buffalo burgers to Manhattan Michelada (1/2 jar salsa, can of Pabst Blue Ribbon + lime). Save the better beer to drink with the Buffalo burgers.

The salsa is made at Glen Industries. Their website says they provide opportunities for individuals with varying abilities. Brooklyn Salsa is currently sold on the back endcap, across from the poultry case.

The great hummus switchero

Where has all the Sabra gone?

To Virginia. That's right folks, the Sabra manufacturing plant has been moved from Queens to Virginia. That's one of the reasons we decided to try out a new local brand called Sonny & Joe's.

Here's a little more history:
The original Sabra Blue & White Foods was started in Queens, NY in 1986. In 2005 the international food company, Strauss Group, bought a majority share share in Sabra Blue & White Foods. Then in March 2008 PepsiCo and Strauss Group formed a joint-venture partnership (PepsiCo has a 50% share) and renamed Sabra Blue & White Foods to Sabra Dipping Company. This year Sabra Dipping Company also built a new manufacturing facility in Richmond, Virginia and moved the production south (the headquarters remain in Queens.)

So what makes Sonny & Joe's worth trying? It's local for one--made in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in small batches so we get the freshest they have to offer. Try it, we think you'll like the fresh taste, creamy texture. You may even like it better than Sabra!

Lisa Hidem