New
on the Shelf
by C.
Morse
Peace on
Earth... and a World of Wonderful Food
’Tis the
season to remember that we are one world. Purchasing and promoting
local
products is one way that we at the Co-op “Think Globally, Act Locally.”
Savoring imported foods is another way we can sense our connection to
people
and places afar. Grocery and Specialty Foods have added a few imported
items to
our shelves. Wholesome Sweeteners brings us organic light
brown sugar (Fair
Trade Certified) and organic turbinado raw cane sugar, both “grown on
sustainable
farms in Central and South America.”
From Great Britain,
welcome Nairn’s Wheat
Free Biscuits (Scotland),
in Mixed Berries or Stem Ginger; and Ryvita Whole Grain Rye
Crispbread
(England),
in the new Sunflower Seeds and Oats version. Spain
produces Merula extra
virgin olive oil (Gustav’s favorite new product), as well as Blanxart
chocolate
— dark with almonds, milk with hazelnuts, or white. From France
come à
L’Olivier fruit vinegars the New York Times hailed as
“not mere infusions”
— in Raspberry, Fig, Passion Fruit and Tomato — they “come close to
being
sauces.” Vinegar de Jerez is used in many restaurants because
it is
quite good and relatively inexpensive. Bio-Grape Paste out of Australia
is
made in Cabernet Raspberry, Fig & Grape (both organic), and
Shiitake Chili
varieties.
In cheeses,
welcome Shropshire Blue, a beautiful golden cheese with blue
veins from Neal’s
Yard in England.
Manchego Romero is a Spanish milk cheese with Rosemary. Ardi
Gasna
due Pays Basque — a raw sheep’s milk cheese from Ossau Iraty — is
covered
with piment d’espelette, the celebrated paprika of the Pyrenées.
What wonderful
world offerings!
Pears in
a Bottle
Here in the
U.S., Aunt
Sue’s (Napa, CA)
creates Pear Vinegar, whose striking presentation includes
bottled pear
slices and a silken- stemmed, corked top. Hand to Mouth Edibles (California) — a
portion
of whose profits “benefits Share Our Strength, a national non-profit
organization working to alleviate and prevent hunger and poverty” —
offers Eggplant
Ecstasy Tapenade and Artichoke Ambrosia Spread. Sesame
Ginger
Dressing and Italian Parmesan Dressing are products of River
Garden
Kitchens of Vermont.
Donna’s Organic Barbeque Sauce (Earth Works) is
the bottled
version of a popular State Fair (Iowa?)
recipe. Barbara’s Bakery adds Wheat-Free Oatmeal Animal
Cookies to
its line of baked goods, while Newman’s Own Organics adds Organic
California Raisins (look for the red canister). Reed’s Ginger
Brew now comes in a big bottle (25.4 fl. oz.).
In
local cheeses, we have five new goat’s milk cheeses from Blue Ledge
Farm,
Vermont.
One
recently won a prestigious blue ribbon from the American Cheese
Society: Lake’s
Edge, which has a Morbier-esque layer of ash along the equator. Crottina
has a mold-ripened rind and creamy interior, while Riley’s
Goat is
made with raw goat’s milk, “Tomme” style. A regular chevre, La Luna,
is
aged over three months. In HaBA, look for trial sizes of these popular Bach
products:
Rescue Remedy, Uplift Mustard, Energize Olive and
Rescue
Sleep. And finally, Vermont Coffee Company now offers Village
Decaf. At home and abroad, may we all enjoy good food, good health
and
happy holidays!
Back to index
|
CoopScoop Home
CoopScoop Archives
Behind the Scoop
Guidelines for Article
Submission
|
