Month: March 2015

Pick-up is Thursday; Volunteers Needed

March 31, 2015
by Gary Huber

We had 291 members ordered right at 2,800 different items this cycle. That’s 45 more members and 3,000 more items than our previous high, which was last cycle. Albia really stepped up with 25 people placing orders to be picked up there. Total purchases were a bit over $20,000 (which beat our previous high by about $2,500).

These are amazing numbers, and we truly appreciate your purchasing through the IFC. Thank you!

If you are getting this message as an email, you’ve ordered something this cycle that will need to be picked up. Three things about this distribution:

1. Pick-up is Thursday at our Des Moines-area sites, plus Osceola and Albia. Our Ames pick-up is on Friday. Details on times and locations are available with this link. Note that if you arrive before the scheduled start time at your location, our volunteers may not be ready, so please be patient while they get ready.

2. We are a bit short on volunteers. There are various shifts available on both Wednesday and Thursday. If you can help out, that would be great. Please send us an email to volunteer@iowafood.coop and we’ll work out the details.

3. If you need to use the 10:30 to noon Saturday alternative pick up time, send an email to distribution@iowafood.coop.

Final note: It’s a good idea to check to be sure your pick-up site is correct. You can access your invoice by logging in, going to the shopping tab, and click “view in-process invoice”. If it’s not right, send an email to distribution@iowafood.coop.

Shopping Cart is Open; Welcome Indianola!

March 20, 2015
by Gary Huber

Shop now—Welcome Indianola + New Producer + Easter Stock-Up

 

1,385 different products listed; stock up for the Easter holiday!

This is the second to the last of our winter three-week shopping cycle. After the next cycle, we’ll go back to every two weeks! Having trouble keeping track of shopping cycles? Our 2015 calendar is available in a PDF (click to view).

Note: We’ve added a drop off site at the Indianola YMCA (306 East Scenic Valley Avenue). It’s our eight pick up location! Pick up there is from 5 to 6 pm on distribution Thursdays.

The online shopping cart is open and will close Sunday, March 29thth at midnight. Distribution is Thurs., April 2nd at our Osceola, Albia, Indianola, and Des Moines area sites and Friday April 3rd in Ames. If you can’t make those times, our alternative pick up is Saturday April 4th from 10:30 am to noon at our Franklin Avenue location.

To shop go to https://iowafood.coop and log in. If you need help with your username or password, send an email to info@iowafood.coop. See below for updates.

 +++++++++++++++++

Need eggs for Easter? Just counted 194 dozen listed by six different producers. Better buy now or they may be gone.

Curbin’ Cuisine (Des Moines) is a new IFC producer offering ten unique hand-blended spices. Owners Jarrod and Misty Fontanini reside in the heart of Des Moines (Jarrod is Sous Chef at Briarwood Club in Ankeny and Misty works at Wells Fargo). Their company’s motto is “Eat Good & Feel Good”. Check out their spice blends (love the names, including Fahrenheit 515, Jah-Mon Jamaican, and Ka-Ching BBQ). 

Yellow River Dairy (Monona) is back after taking 2014 off to build their goat dairy business. They’ve listed eight kinds of Chevre along with crumbled goat feta, grated goat cheese, and three goat cheese dips (Bold Bleu, Hot Red Pepper, and Garlic and Herbs). Welcome back!

From Lee with Lee’s Greens (Nevada): “We have a nice selection of greens (leaf lettuce mix, swiss chard, spinach, red kale), microgreens (Daikon Radish, Lemon Basil, Nasturtium, Pea, Red Radish) along with wheat rye and oat flats.”

Griffieon Family Farm (Ankeny) has your Easter dinner covered with ham roasts and steaks and Des Moines Bacon Company has three different kinds of ham (to go along with their amazing bacon products).

Zaza’s Pasta (North Liberty) listed Spinach-Ricotta Manicotti – perfect for a quick meal.

Wildwood Farms (Wellsburg) is back (Lorna’s sells every other cycle) with an amazing array of baked goods, granola bars, mixes of all kinds (soup, pancake, brownie, bread), and roasted nuts.

Sunrise (Waukee) listed red cabbage, purple kohlrabi, and pea microgreens (great on sandwiches or as a fancy side salad for a special dinner) as well as two sizes of wheat grass flats .

Elements of Rejuvenation (Leon) writes: “Time to think Spring! Check out our favorite Soy Wax scents like Springtime Lilac, Heavenly Hyacinth, Jasmine, and Gentle Spring Rain. Our new Dragon’s Blood scent is getting rave revues!”

Wonderful Skin Care (Ames) added four new Moisture Bard scents (Jasmine, Lavender, Lemongrass, and Tea Tree). 

Grimm Family Farm (Williamsburg) updated stock of their potatoes—customer favorites German Butterball + Villeta Rose (gotta have potatoes for that Easter meal).

Salamander Farms (Bondurant) added a nice selection of rare pepper + heirloom tomato transplants along with some herbs. Go ahead and get started (it’ll make you feel good), especially if you’ve got a sunny protected area.

Kiowa House of Herbs (Searsboro) added custom-blended Peppermint Ginger tea (perfect for fending off spring colds).

Beaver Creek Produce (Berkley) listed basil, sage, and thyme fresh herbs (a perfect way to add extra flavor to your cooking) to go along with their red leaf lettuce!

Lucky George Farm (Derby) listed many new cuts from their Large Black herd—cubes to roasts to ham hocks.

Broadhorn Farm (Truro) added two new beef cuts from their Belted Galloway herd: 1) Eye-of-Round Roast (make your own roast beef!) and 2) Flat Iron Steaks. They’ve also put their short ribs on sale.

Good Shepherd Grass Farms (Monroe) added beef summer sausage (with a special introductory price of $12.50/package) and they put their beef bologna on sale and extended their beef roast sale (10% off)! Shop and save now.

Yoke S Ranch (Russell) put their Corriente beef brisket on sale for $6/lb.

IFC Distribution Today (Tomorrow in Ames)!

March 12, 2015
by Gary Huber

This is being sent via email to everyone who ordered this cycle and have products to be picked up. Today is distribution at our Osceola, Albia, and Des Moines area sites, and tomorrow is distribution in Ames. We have an alternative pick up time on Saturday from 10:30 am to noon at our Franklin Plaza site. If you need to pick up on Saturday and haven’t told us already, please let us know with a call to 515-450-6812.

Pick-up is Thursday; Volunteers Needed

March 9, 2015
by Gary Huber

We had 246 members order 2,457 items this cycle, with total purchases just over $17,500. That’s up a bit over $2,000 from the same cycle a year ago now. Nice. We truly appreciate your purchasing through the IFC. Thank you!

If you are getting this message as an email, you’ve ordered something this cycle that will need to be picked up. Three things about this distribution:

1. Pick-up is Thursday at our Des Moines-area sites, plus Osceola and Albia. Our Ames pick-up is on Friday. Details on times and locations are available with this link. Note that if you arrive before the scheduled start time at your location, our volunteers may not be ready, so please be patient while they get ready.

2. We are a bit short on volunteers. There are various shifts available on both Wednesday and Thursday. If you can help out, that would be great. Please send us an email to volunteer@iowafood.coop and we’ll work out the details.

3. If you need to use the 10:30 to noon Saturday alternative pick up time, send an email to distribution@iowafood.coop.

Final note: It’s a good idea to check to be sure your pick-up site is correct. You can access your invoice by logging in, going to the shopping tab, and click “view in-process invoice”. If it’s not right, send an email to distribution@iowafood.coop.

Totally Local Baked Polenta

March 1, 2015
by Gary Huber
Board President Lisa brought this to our latest meeting and everyone left with a new favorite way to prepare polenta. Thanks for sharing the recipe, Lisa!

photo(128)

 

Totally Local Baked Polenta
Author: Lisa
Polenta baked with cheese to make something between cornbread and classic polenta
Ingredients
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups Early Morning Harvest polenta
  • 2 eggs
  • Half package of Frisian Farms Gouda cheese curds, roughly cut
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly oil a 9×12/13 pan.
  2. Bring water to boil, add 1 teaspoon salt, and slowly add 2 cups of polenta and stir well. If after 15 minutes it is still runny, add a little more polenta, mixture should be creamy.
  3. Stir in beaten eggs, Gouda cheese curds, and red pepper/pepper.
  4. Pour all into pan and bake for 30-40 minutes. Enjoy!

Shopping list:

Wonderful Winter Skin Survival

March 1, 2015
by Gary Huber

Winter dryness does not have to mean dry skin:

 

by Stephanie Tang (pictured above), owner of Wonderful Skin Care

 

With dry, winter weather, we lose a lot of moisture, which can be particularly noticeable in the form of dry skin. Harsh soaps will further the damage by breaking down the oils in your skin (your lipid barriers). A good way to avoid this is by using a high quality, full-of-oils skin moisturizer immediately after washing or bathing, while the moisture is there. Wonderful Body Butters come to mind, full of natural butters and oils, and with beeswax that will help form and keep a barrier between your skin’s moisture and the dry environment. Consistent moisturizing is very important – after every hand wash, when you get up, and when you go to sleep. Try this for 1 week to get significant results. Remember that everyone experiences some dryness in this weather, but if you still have redness and painful cracks even after you have consistently applied good quality lotion, you should consult a dermatologist.

 

Sources:

http://www.drbaileyskincare.com/blog/dermatologist-explains-what-causes-dry-skin/ http://www.livestrong.com/article/337127-what-happens-when-your-skin-is-really-dry/ http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Dry-Skin