December 8, 2016

The Localvore’s Holiday Pantry

Looking to stock up your pantry with holiday staples from local farmers and producers? Here’s a handy guide to the local offerings by department:

Produce

The produce department is bursting with holiday staples from local farms including plenty of winter squash, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, beets, turnips, rutabagas, apples, apple cider, cabbage, cranberries, and winter greens like kale and spinach. The local farms we have to thank for this abundance include Golden Russet, Elmer Farm, Four Pillars Farm, Burt Rock Farm, New Leaf Organics, Harlow Farm, Champlain Orchards, Sunrise Orchard, and Vermont Cranberry Company.

Bulk

In Bulk, you’ll find lots of local items to meet your holiday baking needs including whole wheat flours, all-purpose flours, bread flours, pastry flours, and cornmeal thanks to the fine folks at Gleason Grains, King Arthur Flour, Champlain Valley Milling, and Nitty Gritty Grains. You’ll also find local maple syrup from Hillsboro Sugarworks and honey from Singing Cedars Apiaries.

Grocery

The grocery department is well stocked with local holiday favorites including packaged flours from King Arthur Flour; culinary oils from Full Sun Company; Olivia’s stuffing; maple syrup from Hillsboro Sugarworks and Shaker Maple Farm, honey from Lemon Fair Honeyworks, Singing Cedars, Champlain Valley Apiaries, However Wild Farm, and Ariel’s Honey Infusions; maple sugar from Little Hogback Farm; pie crusts from Krin’s Bakery; pepper jelly from Jed’s Northeast Kingdom; and an abundant selection of jams, preserves, and chutneys from Blake Hill Preserves.

Cheese & Dairy

Our cheese case boasts over 100 different local cheese options for your holiday cheese and charcuterie platters! There are far too many to name here, but the cheese department staff is always happy to offer suggestions for fabulous cheese platters and pairings. For local holiday staples in the dairy case, look for milk & heavy cream from Monument Farm, Strafford Organic Creamery, and Kimball Brook Farm. Also be sure to check out the famous butter & buttermilk from Animal Farm and fantastic cream cheese from Champlain Valley Creamery. Vermont Creamery has you covered for local butter, mascarpone, and crème fraîche, plus there are plenty of eggs from a number of local farms. Oh, and don’t miss the local eggnog from Strafford – it’s a staff favorite!

Deli & Bakery

An abundance of freshly baked bread and rolls come to us from Red Hen, The Bakery, The Manghis’, Green Rabbit, O Bread, La Panciata, and Klinger’s. You’ll also find local stuffing mix from La Panciata along with a gluten-free stuffing mix from West Meadow Bakery. ‘Tis the season for pies and in the bakery you’ll find fresh fruit pies from Krin’s Bakery, Vermont Gluten Free, Champlain Orchards, and Red Door Bakery.

chillymorning012116_4lol — Champlain Orchards Apple Pie. Photo by S.P. Reid

December 8, 2016

Spotlight on Bionaturae

Is there a delicious Italian dinner on your menu for the week? Be sure to check out Bionaturae! We’re casting our Co-op Spotlight on Bionaturae this week to shed a little light on this Italian-American partnership that has been bringing us a fine lineup of authentic organic Italian foods for over 20 years! All of their products are 20% off for member-owners this week, so it’s a great time to stock up on these staples. Read on to learn more about this company and their philosophy!

While majoring in Italian in college, Carla Bartolucci spent a year in Italy and met her husband, Rodolfo, who had a background in agriculture. In 1995, the two teamed up and enthusiastically created an organic selection of authentic Italian foods for the American & Canadian markets. Now, more than 20 years later, Bionaturae has remained a family-oriented, privately owned company, with a heartfelt devotion to quality and tradition.

Bionaturæ (bee-oh-na-too-ray) roughly translates to mean “organic nature.” For the founders of the company, it means this and far more. It means the celebration of Old World tradition, of authentic Italian food and of family.

So what makes their products taste so great? A few things come to mind. Rather than the Teflon dies that most commercial pasta makers have turned to, Bionature uses the original bronze dies common to traditional authentic pasta making, resulting in a coarser pasta that holds sauce exceptionally well. Equally important is the slow drying methods they incorporate. Where most modern pastas are heat dried to speed the process, Bionaturae insists on using the more traditional method, which can take as long as 14 hours to dry the pasta and avoids cooking the wheat during the drying process.

According to Carla, “In Italy, we try to eat the foods that are the most seasonal, in their most natural form, with as little done to them as possible, and to eat a wide variety so that we are getting everything we need. The wisest thing, I feel, is to eat simply prepared, organic foods. It’s important to know where your food comes from.”

Here at our Co-op, you will find Bionaturae olive oil, balsamic vinegar, many different kinds of pasta (both packaged and in bulk), tomato products, fruit spreads, and nectars!

December 2, 2016

A Big Thank You from Addison County Food Shelves!

Thank you, generous shoppers! With your help, through the Rally for Change, we were able to donate $3,785 to our local Food Shelves, CVOEO and HOPE. The food shelves will use these funds to buy more of the shelf stable staples that their clients rely on, but they will also be used to buy items they can not often stock, such as fresh produce, dairy, and baking items for the holidays. Because of your kindness, hundreds of Vermonters will not have to go without food this holiday season. Half of these funds were raised by shoppers who rounded up their totals at the register 11/10-11/16. The Co-op matched these funds and mailed checks out to the food shelves, last week. What a difference a little spare change can make.

Want to learn more about our local Food Shelves? Check them out at:

And

December 2, 2016

Tips to Care for Cheese

There are few things more frustrating than purchasing a really nice piece of cheese only to see it spoil before you can enjoy it! Proper handling and storage can mean the difference between a vibrant, flavorful cheese or a moldy refrigerator experiment. This time of year, you may find yourself buying a selection of nice cheeses to offer to your holiday guests, so it seemed like a great time to share this handy guide to caring for your cheese.

How to Ensure the Most Flavorful Cheese Experience:

The first and most important step – remove the plastic wrap from your cheese as soon as you get home. Cheese is a living, breathing thing and closing it off to air can affect flavor and longevity. For best results, replace the plastic wrap with specialty cheese paper. No cheese paper? No problem! Simply wrap the cheese in parchment or waxed paper, then place into a loose plastic bag or similar container.
It can be tempting to start nibbling on your cheese straight out of the fridge, but a little patience goes a long way. If you wait until the cheese reaches room temperature, you’ll be so glad you did! The flavors intensify and reach their maximum potential at room temp.
Aim to purchase only as much cheese as you’ll consume in one to two sittings. Bringing home smaller quantities more often will ensure that you’re not having to store your cheese for long periods. The longer you store cheese in your fridge, the more likely it is to lose flavor or take on other unwanted flavors from nearby items in the refrigerator.

Moldy Cheese Does Not Necessarily Equal Bad Cheese:

Finding a bit of mold on your cheese might not be a deal-breaker. In fact, there are many cheeses that rely on healthy populations of mold spores to make up their bloomy rinds.

Hard Cheese- If you unwrap your hard cheese and find it moldy, try “facing” the cheese. This is done by slicing down the cheese one-eighth of an inch from behind the moldy spot(s). Of course, if you’ve faced your cheese and the cheese tastes bad, then it’s time to say buh-bye to that glorious hunk of cheese. Let taste, not sight, be the sense you use most to determine whether your cheese should stay or go.
Soft Cheese – If the offending mold is on the rind of the cheese, cut off the rind and proceed. However, if the mold is on the paste of the cheese, it’s time to toss it.

naturally-moldy-cheeses-ss — healthy molds and bloomy rinds

December 1, 2016

Business of the Month: Ben Franklin

Our Co-op Connection Business of the Month for December is Ben Franklin! Did you know that Co-op member-owners get 10% off their purchases at Ben Franklin when they shop on Saturdays? Whether you’re looking for gifts, stocking stuffers, or doing some holiday crafting, be sure to check them out!

It’s tough to imagine Middlebury’s Main Street without this throwback five-and-dime store. They offer a great selection of crafting supplies including colorful yarns, thread, fabrics, art supplies, scrapbooking materials, and more.

They also have a large toy department and lots of great gift items – including many locally made products.

They offer a very affordable custom framing service and have lots of interesting posters and artwork to adorn your walls. They also have a nice selection of inexpensive kitchen and household goods, so when you’re making your way through your holiday shopping list be sure to give Ben Franklin a try! Oh, and don’t forget to show them your Co-op card!

December 1, 2016

Spotlight on Trois Petits Cochons

We’re shining our Co-op Spotlight this week on one of the most awarded specialty food companies in North America- Trois Petits Cochons! Les Trois Petits Cochons has produced award-winning, all natural pâté and charcuterie since 1975 by crafting small, handmade batches using only the finest high-quality ingredients. Their full product line is 20% off for member-owners this week – just in time for creating beautiful, crowd-pleasing holiday platters! Read on to learn more about this company that has been producing high-quality, hand-crafted products for over 40 years!

Heritage:

Les Trois Petits Cochons first opened its doors as a small charcuterie in New York City’s Greenwich Village in 1975. It has since grown to become the leader in the pâté and charcuterie industry, offering a complete line of artisanal pâtés, mousses, terrines, sausages, saucissons, smoked meats and other French specialties. Their products have garnered a long list of SOFI awards, earning great respect in the culinary world.

Mission:

Les Trois Petits Cochons is committed to continuing the tradition of making delicious, authentic and quality pâté and charcuterie for its customers. By combining time-honored recipes, choice ingredients, innovative cooking methods and strict quality control they are able to create consistent, handcrafted products. All of this, together with dedicated customer service and a passion for good food, have allowed them to stay true to their small charcuterie roots.

Environmental Commitment:

Les Trois Petits Cochons believes in taking care of the earth that gives us so much. All Les Trois Petits Cochons paper packaging is certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. This means that all paper is harvested legally and sustainably and that the chain of custody — from the forest to the grocery store — has been verified. In addition, Les Trois Petits Cochons uses all-natural ingredients and hand-crafts its products in small batches.

Be sure to check out the fabulous collection of recipes on their web page!

November 25, 2016

Spotlight on Badger

Our Co-op Spotlight is shining brightly on Badger this week. This small, family-owned, family-run, and family-friendly company nestled in the woods of Gilsum, New Hampshire is beyond worthy of the spotlight. They help define what it means to be a socially responsible, environmentally responsible, people-first kind of business. They are featured in our Member Deals program this week, so all of their fabulous body care products are 20% for member-owners! Read on to learn about the ideals, principles, and practices that make their company worthy of such high praise!

Badger was born in 1995 when founder Bill Whyte was working as a carpenter in the cold New Hampshire winters and created an amazing balm that helped soothe and heal his cracked hands. The company has since grown to over 100 products and 60 employees but “Badger Bill” still runs the show as CEO, along with his wife Katie (COO), and their two daughters Emily (VP Sales & Marketing), and Rebecca (VP of Innovation and Sustainability).

Quality Ingredients and Standards

Badger selects ingredients with great care, using only those that fit their rigorous natural standards for healthy agriculture, minimal processing, sustainable supply chain, and health-giving properties. Every ingredient they use is grown and processed with the highest degree of respect for protecting the environment, the workers and the natural properties of the plants. Nearly all of Badger’s products are made from 100% USDA Certified Organic food grade ingredients and they utilize as many fair trade certified ingredients as possible. You can view their impressive growing and processing standards on their web page.

B Corp Status

In 2011, Badger became a certified B Corp. In 2015 they were recognized on the B Corps Best for the Environment list. The list recognizes 116 businesses that earned an environmental score in the top 10% of more than 1,200 Certified B Corporations from over 120 industries on the B Impact Assessment, a rigorous and comprehensive assessment of a company’s impact on its workers, community, and the environment.

Badger facility & ecology center — *Badger* facility & gardens

Employee Care

Badger also recently won the Connect 2016 Philosophy Award for their accommodating employee benefits and exemplary work environment. They aim to be supportive of the new parents in their extended work family while considering the well-being of all employees and productivity in the workplace. With this in mind, their Babies At Work program brings together a policy that is best for baby, parent, and business. Most short-term disability benefits regarding pregnancies end after just six weeks, leaving the parent to find childcare as he or she returns to the workplace. Badger’s policy allows the parent to bring the child to the workplace until a specified time: in most cases until the baby is six months old or begins crawling.

Badger Mamas & Badger Babies — *Badger* Mamas & *Badger* Babies

This program makes breastfeeding easier and allows for the inherent health benefits for both mother and child: enhanced bonding, lessening of daycare costs and more financial stability, great social network and extended-family support for both parent and child, and an easier transition to off-site child care. Once children are ready for off-site care, they have the option of attending the Calendula Garden Children’s Center. This option offers reasonably-priced, high quality, flexible childcare for children of Badger employees, as well as a limited number of children from the greater community. The center itself is located in the renovated house that was the former home to the Badger Company, a quarter of a mile down the road from the company’s current facility. Badger, in a sense, creates its own “village” to support both parent and child!

Another exemplary aspect of employee care is their free lunch program. This is a daily organic lunch served during a paid 30-minute break. Every day their fabulous cooks prepare a free, home-cooked lunch for all of the Badgers made from 100% organic and mostly local foods. During the summer months, much of the produce comes right from their Badger vegetable garden! Read more about Badger’s impressive employee benefits here.

Product Certifications

Badger believes that third-party certifications take the guesswork out of claims made on cosmetics and personal care items. This means that they adhere to the standards and guidelines of any third party agency certifying their products. Their products are certified organic by both the USDA and the NSF, many of the ingredients are Fair Trade certified, and all products are certified gluten-free and certified cruelty-free.

Check out this short video to hear from Badger Bill about the values that make his company unique:

November 23, 2016

Shop Small This Saturday!

You might be familiar with Black Friday or Cyber Monday, but nestled between these two frenzied shopping days, on Saturday, November 26th, is Small Business Saturday! This is a day to celebrate and support small businesses and all that they do for their communities. When you choose to shop at local, independent, family-owned stores, you’re keeping your hard-earned money circulating in your own community, supporting local families and local jobs. These shops are the backbone of our community and help keep our local economy vibrant & strong, so be sure to visit them this Saturday for your holiday shopping needs! Many will be offering special holiday sales as an added incentive to shop local on Saturday! Thanks to the fine folks at Cabot, we’ll be giving away free reusable shopping bags on Small Business Saturday, while supplies last!

Need another incentive to shop small on Saturday? Co-op member-owners get special deals & discounts at 20 participating local businesses around town through the Co-op Connection! Looking for locally made, eco-friendly toys? Check out Maple Landmark! Do you have ornaments, jewelry, photo frames, or home decor on your list? Danforth Pewter has a beautiful selection! Maybe you’re looking for a ceramic tea set or packaged loose-leaf teas for the tea lover on your list? Look no further than Stone Leaf Teahouse! Is there a writer or artist in the family? Main Street Stationery has beautiful leather-bound journals and sketch pads! Does someone on your list need shoes, socks, or new winter duds? Check out Green Mountain Shoe & Apparel! Wild Mountain Thyme also offers a beautiful selection of apparel and accessories! And if it’s stocking stuffers you’re looking for, you won’t want to miss Middlebury Sweets! They have over 1,000 different confections including handmade chocolates, bulk candy, jelly beans, taffy, and so much more! This just barely scratches the surface of the many great gifts to be found at these 20 local businesses, so if you’d like to view the full list of participating businesses and see what deals they offer to Co-op Members, check out the Co-op Connection Brochure.

Beyond the Co-op Connection businesses, our community is lucky to have a wide array of local, independently-owned bookstores, galleries, gift shops, chocolatiers, spas, boutiques, and eateries from which to buy a gift or gift card. When you’re scanning that holiday gift list – think local and think small!

November 17, 2016

Something To Be Thankful For!

With the season of thankfulness upon us, we’re feeling overwhelmed with gratitude to see our Co-op so well supported by its member-owners! Our Member Loan Drive has surpassed the $900,000 mark and inching ever closer to our million-dollar goal!! WOW!!

Our December 1st deadline is fast approaching, so if you’ve been considering a loan to the Co-op, now’s the time! If you’ve already made a pledge, now’s the time to mail in or drop off your paper work and check to get in on the action. Help bring us home for Thanksgiving!

Do you have questions about the Member Loan Drive? Please don’t hesitate to reach out! We’d love to hear from you! You can stop by, call us at 388-7276, or email our Member Loan Drive Coordinator, John, at jbbarstow@gmail.com. You can also click here to view the brochure with basic information about this project.

Want to check out the latest expansion plans? Click here!

Thank you for your time and consideration. We hope you’ll join us as we grow together!

Cooperatively AND Gratefully,

Glenn Lower, General Manager

November 17, 2016

Spotlight on Lake Champlain Chocolates

We’re casting our Co-op Spotlight this week on a local favorite – Lake Champlain Chocolates! All of their mouth-watering chocolates are 20% off for member-owners this week, so it’s a great time to stock up on stocking stuffers. Read on to learn more about this local confectionery that has called Vermont home since 1983:

According to the folks at Lake Champlain Chocolates, Vermont is more than an address; it’s home. It’s where they live, who they are, and how they choose to do business. And from the first truffle in 1983 to the present day, Vermont has inspired the folks at Lake Champlain Chocolates to take a craftsman’s approach to chocolate: creativity, patience, and mastery.

What began as a truffle-making venture has now grown to include a long list of tasty treats from fudge to sea salted caramels and beyond. And with each new product, their original commitment to excellence has remained the same. They have remained true to their mission of seeking out the best and freshest ingredients from local farmers and producers and they’ve been doing it that way long before it was cool. Call it Vermont instinct, but even back in ’83, it just made sense that using local honey, maple syrup, and fresh cream in their Chocolates of Vermont would result in superior flavor. Those same instincts also guided the decision to never add preservatives, extenders, or additives to any of their chocolates.

Fair Trade:

Beyond labeling individual products as “fair trade” — an ongoing process in itself — the entire company is now certified Fair for Life. Fair for Life is a rigorous third-party certification for social accountability and fair trade. Above and beyond fair trade certification, it looks at a company’s practices as a whole, including the ingredients used in its products. LCC undergoes regular audits to ensure every step of its supply chain is socially legit. Not just the cocoa, but every link they have as a business, including their own employees’ working conditions here in Vermont.

Why? Because of their belief that every person in the process should be treated and compensated fairly. And that means everyone in the supply chain — from the farmers who grow and harvest the cocoa, to those who transport it, transform it into chocolate, process your order, package it, and ensure it arrives ready for you to enjoy.

This certification affirms the following:

A price premium is paid to the cocoa farmers and co-ops.
Certified products originate from fair trade producer operations.
LCC is engaged in long-term partnerships and socially responsible trading practices with its suppliers/purveyors.
LCC respects the labor rights of its own employees, providing good working conditions.
LCC is a good community citizen and practices environmental responsibility.

Blue Bandana Bean-To-Bar:

Blue Bandana is an award-winning line of single-origin craft chocolate bars launched in 2012 by Eric Lampman, head of R&D at Lake Champlain Chocolates and son of founder Jim Lampman. Born from a desire to go deeper into the chocolate-making process, the micro-batch chocolate bars are produced in Vermont using cocoa beans sourced directly from their origin.

With the Blue Bandana line, they’re following a “direct trade” model. As the name implies, there’s no middleman, so the supply chain is that much shorter. This allows them to build one-on-one relationships with farmers and sponsor local initiatives in the communities where the cacao is grown. There’s a direct feedback loop with growers and co-ops, and that makes a huge difference in the quality of the end product.

For LCC as a whole, fair trade still offers the best solution. Going 100% direct trade company-wide would be a real challenge, for a few reasons — sheer quantity, for starters. Bottom line, fair trade and direct trade are both valid ways to do the right thing, make sure farmers get a fair shake, and get to know your supply chain.

Uncompromising Quality:

All of the products at Lake Champlain Chocolates are certified Kosher with zero additives or shelf extenders and the goal is to use non-GMO ingredients whenever possible. Of course, their certified organic chocolates are 100% GMO-free as guaranteed by the organic certification.

Factory Tours:

Want to see how their chocolates are made? Take a FREE Factory Tour!

Monday-Friday, 10am-2pm
Tours on the hour
Self-Guided Tours after 3pm

FREE Chocolate Tastings
Saturday & Sunday, 11am to 4pm

750 Pine Street Burlington, VT
CALL: 802-864-1807

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