co-ops are the best ops

you may not know much about the co-operative movement that's happening in our world, but it's probably best if you get to know about it. these organizations are popping up in different industries, including grocery, fashion, and art, and in every way they are beneficial to all parties involved.

our bag of goodies after joining EastSide Co-op:
includes a book about founding co-ops,
dark chocolate, tea, coupons and recipes!

my first co-op experiences were here in the Twin Cities about 6 years ago when i learned about the place where my sister Erin did all of her grocery shopping. she had moved from Seattle and introduced me to the world of holistic wellness, yoga and local/sustainable food. soon after i realized how awesome Erin's co-op was, i immediately joined the one in my neighborhood in Minneapolis called the Wedge (it's well-known amongst foodies and co-op supporters around the country). yesterday, Trev and i bought our lifetime membership at the EastSide food co-op in our new Minneapolis neighborhood.

co-operatives have grown popular in the past decade with the advent of the local and organic movements, but some have been around much longer. they are perfect venues for small, local farmers and producers to sell and promote their goods. when we buy local we have a great impact on our community and the environment. co-ops provide a space for the producers and also reward member-owners with special coupons, discounts and yearly dividend returns. one year i got a check for $87 from the Wedge!! it's all pretty special if i do say so myself.

betty roots run deep

last week, i moved back home to Minneapolis from Truckee to get settled before i start my graduate program at the U of M. living with my parentals again as an adult will surely be a challenge, but luckily my mom and i have lots in common, primarily that we are super resourceful betties. my mom is the original; she taught Erin and i how to make the most of what we are given and to do it well. here in the midwest, gardening comes more easily than in the mountains. the other day, my mom made lunch for me, Trevor, her husband Gary and herself, using home and locally grown ingredients (primarily).

     

chilled Cucumber-Avocado soup, made with homegrown cucumbers

Tortillitas with shrimp and scallions; yellow
cherry tomatoes and cucumbers from
mom's garden

not only does my mom have a garden full of massive cucumbers and squash, but she has both curly and lacinato kale plants that are as big as small trees. having these resources readily available makes us more likely to put them to use and not waste what we already have. as a kid i was not totally excited about all of the vegetables in our garden, but now that i am older i thoroughly enjoy eating every kind of homegrown vegetable i possibly can. not only is it healthy, but eating this way is good for our environment. along with the chilled soup, my mom made tortillitas with shrimp and scallions (imagine small pancakes with savory goodies inside). to complete this perfect summer lunch, she picked yellow cherry tomatoes from the garden and served them with freshly cut cucumber slices.


now that i'm home in Minnesota i will certainly miss the mountains and the incredible friends i made in Tahoe, but i am excited to begin a new chapter with graduate school and reconnect with my Midwestern roots. soon enough i'll be back to visit Tahoe and snowboard like crazy, but until then it's family, school and work here in the Twin Cities.

shopping for fresh (like, really fresh) produce

last week Trevor and i missed the Tuesday farmer's market here in Truckee, so we made sure to hit it up this week for the freshest produce around. though the majority of northern California is great for growing fruits and veggies, Tahoe is of course mountainous and thus most plants will freeze overnight. luckily, lots of organic and sustainable farms are right down the hill or even a few hours further in the Central Valley. lots of these farmers come to Truckee, Tahoe and Reno for business so we try to make the most of our local resources. 

"Music" garlic from a local organic farm within
30 miles of Truckee

L to R: artichoke, summer squash, yellow onion, green onions,
yellow squash, leeks, nectarines, strawberries, heirloom tomatoes

this week, we found some of this AMAZING garlic from a local farm just outside of Truckee in a small valley. it is fragrant and soft, just like a perfect clove of garlic should be. its as if every slice of this garlic could be eaten raw and taste better than if it were cooked. at $.75 per pound, the cost is reasonable and in better quality than anything you'll find at the local supermarket (even if its organic).  delicious garlic aside, we picked up a few staples, including green onions and leeks (i love leeks - read about how much i love them here and how to properly clean them). leeks and fresh chevre in an egg scramble is probably my favorite thing to eat for breakfast. we found a giant artichoke for $3 and organic strawberries for $4, from the same farmer out of Watsonville, CA, the berry capital of the U.S. a little fresh summer squash will be perfect as a side dish to our fish tacos this week, nectarines are a great snack, and the heirloom tomatoes will be used for a fresh tomato and balsamic basil salad.

i chop the green onions immediately and store
in a container, to maintain freshness and use only
what is needed at one time

every place i visit, whether in the U.S. or abroad, has markets, and i always try to check out at least one. now that the food supply of the general public is causing more harm than good, the reasons to buy local are more numerous than ever. your health, your childrens' health and the economic well-being of our country depend on fresh, locally grown food sources. if you haven't done so yet, please do yourself and your community a favor and research the importance of locally grown food. "Food, Inc." and "Food Matters" are 2 great documentaries, and The Omnivore's Dilemma by Berkeley biologist Michael Pollan is an incredible book that describes different ways of eating and the benefits of each way. let's all eat local and save the Earth!

tiny carbon footprint

Trevor and i planted some Black Krim tomatoes about 2 months ago -- and tonight they were ready to eat! they grew quickly but took a long time to ripen, which made the entire process that much more fascinating. since we also have a Basil plant that's doing really well, we decided to make a caprese salad to accompany our vegetarian meal, since we are both fighting a cold.

raw green beans

i walked to Safeway for the mozzarella (hence the small carbon footprint) and included the salad with butternut squash soup, green beans with butter, and a baked sweet potato that we shared. the green beans were grown within 100 miles and we bought them from a co-op in Grass Valley, about an hour from our house in Truckee. i steamed the green beans and served with butter and kosher salt. it was tasty!

baked sweet potato, butternut squash
soup, green beans and caprese salad

we are so proud of the fact that we grew 2 of the ingredients for our dinner! it makes eating that meal very enjoyable and satisfying. eating locally means helping our planet and maintaining what resources we still have. ideally, we'd all be able to grow all of our own vegetables in the summer months, though living in the mountains makes that much harder. until the next time i can do that, i am resourceful with what i have: a lot of hot sun during the day and a safe place to keep the plants at night when it's too cold outside. growing tomatoes and basil is easy. and super yummy!

Black Krim tomatoes and Basil from our plants, Mozzarella
sourced from Wisconsin (my home state!)

a garden surprise

a few weeks ago, before i left for the festival in SoCal, i came across a few sprouted plants, between the bed of pine needles, that resembled a rhubarb patch. a few days ago, Trevor came across the same patch of plants and was very clear about his excitement for the rhubarb (for those of you unfamiliar with the plant, Google search "rhubarb" and you can find the Wikipedia as well as Google info). both Trevor and i have memories of the rhubarb growing in our backyards as kids in the Midwest. the patch has already doubled in size since i first came across it!

although i remember eating some rhubarb sauce or pie as a kid, i haven't eaten it in years (my mom makes some of the best sweet rhubarb sauce - reserved now mostly for my stepdad's sweet tooth). now that i have a rhubarb patch right in my backyard, i guess i will have to put it to use and be resourceful. it only makes sense. 

after doing some research and recipe-searching on these here Interwebs, i think i've found a jam recipe worth of trying, made with rhubarb, sugar, candied ginger and lemon juice. personally, i prefer jam recipes that are all natural and do not contain pectin. i love ginger and its health benefits seem endless, so i will be giving this one a shot: Rhubarb Jam with Ginger. Trevor also wants to make a strawberry-rhubarb pie, which we will do together and use his family's old recipe. should be pretty special.

once i harvest this rhubarb and make a batch of jam, i will be sure to update you, my dear readers, with progress and results. until then, sayonara!