By now everyone is aware of the huge egg recall involving the e-coli contamination of BILLIONS of eggs nationwide, including recently in Michigan. One can only hope that this debacle will result in action to stop the practice of raising chickens in unsanitary and inhumanely crowded conditions that are most likely to spawn such outbreaks. But the “fixes” proposed could also be counter-productive. They could propose (or mandate) that all eggs must be pasteurized or that all chickens must be vaccinated, both preposterous “solutions” that would allow the current filthy practices to continue.

The place where e-coli is NOT likely to occur is on small, family-run farms, like the ones that provide Oryana with eggs. You can rest assured that our eggs are safe to eat and that they come from happy chickens raised under healthy, uncrowded conditions, fed a wholesome diet, and NOT given anti-biotics.

Happy Local Chickens

Eggs are a superior whole food full of nutrients like biotin, selenium, protein, riboflavin, and magnesium, and it would be a shame if people shunned eating eggs because of the recall. But the simple solution for everyone is to seek out a source of local eggs where you can talk to the farmer and even visit the farm to see for yourself what’s going on. The farmer’s markets have eggs for sale and a new neighborhood chicken coop movement seems to be underway as well.

So worry not about the eggs you buy at Oryana as we are very careful about choosing the cleanest possible sources of everything. Here is a nice website page with recipes for 3-minute, 5-minute, and 10-minutes breakfast egg recipes.

This is such a wonderful time of year when it’s so easy to eat locally-produced food. I feel a sense of satisfaction and connection to my food when I can look at all the elements and know exactly where they came from.

So to introduce you to my meal, may I present a porterhouse steak from Pahl’s family farm in Buckley, beans from the farm of Todd Springer in Old Mission, a glass of whole, RAW milk from Grazing Acres Farm in Marion, tomatoes from my “garden,” potatoes from the TC farmer’s market, and some kimchi (okay, the kimchi is not local but we can get fermented veggies from Leelanau Cultured Veggies).

We sell beef from the Pahl’s farm but I bought a quarter of a grass-fed cow from them directly, and I can tell you it is fabulous. I had never purchased that much meat before and had to find myself a freezer first, (friend gave me one for free!). I figure it will last about a year for 2 people but the meat is shrink-wrapped and should stay fresh.

The beans I got at Oryana, (check out all the local stuff we have…it’s a lot). Even though we carry a great deal of wonderful, organic produce, I still like to wander the stalls at the farmer’s market, where I picked up the potatoes.

As for the milk, I have a cow share with Grazing Acres Farm (231-743-6819) and get one gallon of fresh, raw milk every week that I pick up at a drop-off site one block from Oryana. A cow share is the only way to get raw milk since it’s illegal to sell in Michigan but plenty of dairy farmers, mostly downstate, have cow share programs. I truly enjoy this milk for its exquisite flavor, although raw milk has many health benefits.

The tomatoes I grew in containers in my yard. They are the only thing I attempted to grow since I have a very shady yard, besides one zucchini plant, which was systematically nibbled on by a persistent bunny.

There you have it, one fantastic (mostly) local meal that fed not only my body but my spirit as well. A toast to all who contributed to my meal!

I don’t know about you but I feel horribly guilty when I end up throwing perfectly good food out because it got shoved to the back of the fridge where it languished, forgotten by everyone in the house, and was dripping by the time I re-discovered it. And then sometimes I just go overboard when shopping, especially at the farmer’s market, and buy way too much food, more than I (we) can eat before it spoils.

I’m not alone, apparently, according to a recent article in Mercola.com. A recent study of food waste in the U.S. estimated that 1,400 calories of food per person is wasted every day. These wasted calories represent 39 percent of the available U.S. food supply. And wasted food means wasted resources.

The article goes on to say, (and of course I know this) that buying the proper amount of food and eating food before it spoils saves money and reduces energy use, water use, and greenhouse gas emissions.

So here are some excellent tips and ideas from the article that I thought I’d pass on about how to reduce food waste. Some of them you already do but some you may not have thought of.
___________________________________

Learn some new recipes for using up leftovers. Foods can have a whole other life by doing something completely different the second time around, for example using plain, leftover rice to make rice pudding, fried rice, or a spicy rice side dish.

Plan ahead. If you plan your meals in advance, then you only buy what you need and no more. This is tough for me because I get inspired when I see a lovely eggplant or something that makes me decide on the spot to make eggplant Parmesan.

Start a compost pile instead of throwing old food in the trash. I know this isn’t exactly saving the food but at least it’s not going to total waste when you can use it later to fertilize a garden or flower bed.

Freeze what you know you won’t be able to eat up before it goes bad.

Don’t put more on your plate than you know you’ll eat. I know someone who routinely portions out more food than she can finish and always ends up throwing part of it away.

Those green veggie bags really do work to help produce stay fresher in the fridge.

Learn to store your food so that it stays fresh.

Refrigeration Tips

1. Keep your refrigerator below 40 degrees F.
2. Don’t store your fruits and veggies in the same crisper. Apples and some other fruits give off ethylene gas which speeds ripening in vegetables.
3. Transfer your food to your own packaging when you get home from shopping. And remember to get the air out of your produce bags, either using a vacuum seal or by manually pressing it out. An air-tight produce bag can double the life of your produce.
4. Leave enough space in your fridge for cold air to circulate. If your refrigerator is too tightly packed, your food will spoil faster.

And here is some good info about “Use by” dates:

• The Sell By date is for retailers and tells them the date the product should be removed from the store shelf. The food may have lost its peak freshness by the sell by date, but it is still perfectly safe to eat, if not optimally nutritious.
• A Best If Used By, Best If Used Before or Use By date is another indicator of freshness, but not safety. It’s safe to eat foods past their use by date.
• The Expiration date is the date after which a food may no longer be safe to consume.

If you shop at Oryana regularly, especially on the weekends, you may have noticed the overflowing recycling bins by the east entrance of the store, specifically the plastic bin. On the one hand, it’s terrific that so many shoppers are making the effort to save their plastics for recycling. On the other hand, the bin has become so popular that it’s been tough to keep up with it. So here is what we propose for our revised recycling program:

Please use your curbside or county drop (at La Frainer Rd) off for all of your Paper, #1 and #2 Plastic Containers, Cardboard, Glass, and Metal.

A black Bay Area Recycling for Charities (BARC) trailer will be permanently located near the Tart Trail in the Oryana Parking Lot to accept all of your mixed #3-7 Plastics.

Please bag up your material in a minimum 15 gallon bag, tie it off, and place it into the Black BARC Trailer provided.

Oryana Members have a discounted pick up provided by BARC. Please contact BARC for more information.

We pay for the recycling; the bins are a service we provide for the community. Contrary to what you may think, though, neither Oryana nor BARC sees a profit from the recycling of plastics (due to market conditions), so if you are taking advantage of the bins but aren’t a member, consider becoming a member of Oryana. Also, please contact BARC directly if you have a large volume of styrofoam or recycling to be handled. (231-884-3417) or www.mybarc.org

Thank you for helping us keep a safe and tidy entrance to the store and for helping to keep plastics out of the landfill.

Recycling Drop-off Sites

Old Mission Peninsula – 2725 Devils Dive Rd (just outside the Township Transfer Station)

Acme – US 31 & Bunker Hill Rd (in the Holiday Shopper parking lot)

East Bay Township – Rasho Road, South of Supply Rd. (in the Township Transfer Station)

Central – County Public Services Building 2650
LaFranier Rd. (off South Airport)

Kingsley – Paradise Twp Hall (on M-113, across the road from Northland Grocery)

Fife Lake Township – Fife Lake Village Hall, 606 Bates St.

Williamsburg – Whitewater Township Hall
5777 Vinton Rd.

Blair Township – Next to NW Mich. Fairgrounds & Traverse Bay Recycling, 3770 Blair Townhall Road

In Sunday’s Detroit News, an article about tackling tough weeds suggested using Roundup to kill pesky plants. What a disservice to readers to recommend such a toxic synthetic herbicide made by a company (Monsanto) that is responsible for pushing GMOs onto the public with little or no oversight and absolutely no compunction about the mortal dangers posed by GMOs. How much more helpful and environmentally friendly the News could have been if they had suggested one of many, effective yet natural, homemade solutions to the age-old gardener’s enemy.

Here is a solution that is supposed to be extremely effective and is made from simple ingredients that everyone has at home.

Natural Week Killer

1 cup vinegar
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup dish soap

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a spray bottle. Spray directly onto plant base and leaves. Be careful not to spray on desirable plants. It will take a couple days to see the effect.

Other natural weed killers:

boiling water – pour over plants and roots
sugar – pour right onto plants
beef up the soil since weeds like to grow in soils that are lacking healthy conditions
orange oil mixed with liquid soap
lemon juice mixed with vinegar
mulch heavily
for large areas cover with a sheet of plastic and wait until weeds/grass die from heat

Excitement is in the air. It must be…the Film Festival! This is a wonderful event for our area, started by Michael Moore, a man whose middle name could be “community.” With all the volunteers that sign up to run the festival to the great freebies of the fest including free movies outdoors at Open Space and free live music in Lay Park, it truly is a community event to be envied.

The line up of films is stellar, as expected, and Oryana is sponsoring one of them. It’s a film called “Collapse” and it’s playing Sunday at 3 at Milliken Auditorium. As of this posting, there are still tickets left to this movie. It’s about Michael Ruppert’s view of the coming political and environmental apocalypse. Not the most upbeat topic but it may spur discussion about important issues that tend to get swept under the rug. You can read more about it and get tickets HERE.

We expect plenty of extra business in the cafe this week as movie-goers rush to grab a bite to eat between movies. But we’ll be ready so be sure to stop by for a yummy sandwich and cuppa joe or smoothie.

See you at the movies!

The Wineries of Old Mission Peninsula and Porterhouse Productions are teaming up to offer a great culinary event in downtown Traverse City and Oryana is making a significant donation to this event.

Paella in the Park happens Friday, August 6 from 5-10 p.m. on the former Clinch Park Zoo grounds in Traverse City. The event will feature a live band Blues, Traveler. The festival will pair the seven wineries of Old Mission Peninsula with seven regional chefs who will prepare Spanish paellas over open fire on-site. Each winery will host a station featuring three 36″ pans in which chefs will cook paella using featured wines from that vintner and fresh, local, and global ingredients.

The fresh, local ingredients will be provided by ORYANA! Yes, we are donating all the fresh produce to be used in the paella, which means that it will be some of the best damn paella west of Spain.

Paella is a rice-based dish with countless variations using different ingredients and is one of Spain’s most popular dishes. Festival attendees will have the opportunity to converse with local chefs about the art of making paella, as well as enjoy food and wine samples at each station. Sam Porter, creator/producer of the event says “Paella is exciting to cook and the energy of fire, food, dancing, fun music and working chefs will keep the experience for attending wine- and food-lovers in great spirits.”

Tickets are $36 and include (5) 2 oz. wine pours, 3 helpings of paella, live music and entertainment and access to all festival activities. Proceeds will benefit local non-profits, Wineries of Old Mission Peninsula, and Bay Front Parks.

It’s hard to believe that summer is already half way over so before you let another weekend pass on by, why not plan a summer picnic?! Oryana is the best place in town to stock up on goodies for an outdoor meal at the beach, park, or wherever you like to escape outdoors. I prefer to be near any body of water, be it one of the bays, The Big Lake, or the Boardman River.

I have fond memories of picnics when I was a child and my family went to Cass Lake, down in the Detroit area, several Sundays every summer. We would stay all day so my mother packed some wonderful food to keep us fed and happy while we played in and around the water for hours. She always had fried chicken, potato salad, cut up watermelon, cookies, orange pop for the kids and coffee for the adults. We had the same picnic basket that’s in the photo above. I don’t remember how she kept the food cool, or even if she did, but I don’t recall ever getting sick. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t pack a picnic nowadays without keeping the food chilled until I’m ready to eat it.

If you don’t feel like making a bunch of food for your picnic, our deli coolers are full of handy containers of salads, dips, finger foods like grape leaves, sandwiches, and yummy desserts. Summer fruits are coming into season now so don’t forget those, as well as our cookies (I recommend my favorite, chocolate chip!) and lots of different drinks in the cooler by the cash registers.

Preparing food for a picnic is half the fun for me so here are some of my favorites:

deviled eggs
cold meatloaf
Dagwood sandwiches with the works
potato salad (with a vinaigrette dressing instead of mayo)
grilled veggies
grilled chicken breast strips
fresh fruit in season
celery sticks
cherry tomatoes
whole cornish hens
a specialty cheese of some kind like drunken goat cheese
tamari almonds or spicy cashews from bulk
chocolate chip cookies! or brownies! or chocolate truffles!
smoked whitefish dip

Here is an awesome article from the New York Times with suggestions/recipes for 101 picnic dishes to make. If you don’t have many, many of those blue frozen ice packs, I highly recommend them for keeping food chilled. I also like to take real cloth napkins for a touch of class. Happy picnicking!

SEEDS is a nonprofit organization established to foster local solutions to global issues and bringing a holistic perspective to make connections between ecology and social justice.

SEEDS, in partnership with the Michigan Public Service Commission, Grand Traverse County, and Traverse City is developing a climate action plan for our region based on your priorities.

In 2008, SEEDS completed a greenhouse gas emission baseline analysis for Grand Traverse County and Traverse City municipalities, as well as the Grand Traverse County-wide community. This was the first step toward accomplishing the US Conference of Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement – which Traverse City signed onto in 2007 with much community support – to advance the goal of the Kyoto Protocol: reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of cities by seven percent from 1990 levels by 2012. This baseline analysis provides a benchmark from which we can measure future progress. SEEDS is using this survey to launch the next phase of this process, creating a Climate Action Plan.

You can help by taking just a few minutes to fill out their survey. and help make a difference in our region. If we all work together we can accomplish a lot to reduce emissions.

Most everyone loves a compliment and we are no exception! It was gratifying to learn that, for the most part, we seem to be doing what most people want us to do, which is offer high quality, good selection, locally-made/grown products, great customer service, a pleasant atmosphere, and commitment to the safest products available. We appreciate knowing that many of you are happy with our store and all that we strive to do as a coop. As one person stated succinctly : “I love the people that work there, the shopping environment, and most importantly the products! Oryana is wonderful place to go and feel at home while you do some grocery shopping.”

It appears, though, that not everyone endorses our performance as enthusiastically as the above person. Naturally, it is impossible to satisfy everyone, although we do our very best according to our mission statement. Pricing appears to be an issue for some folks, and to a certain extent, our strict policies regarding organic and non-GMO products.

Pricing is something we consider extremely carefully. We are conscious of our competition at places like Meijer’s (and Whole Foods/online shopping). Most people are likely aware that economies of scale are at work here. People need to also remember that our pricing reflects the TRUE cost of food. In other words, we purchase fair trade products (so that the growers/producers earn a fair wage) and products from companies that are NOT subsidized by the government as so many conventional foods are, allowing them to be priced unnaturally cheaply. But the bottom line for many is that they want to stretch their food dollars as much as they can. We certainly understand this and encourage folks to take advantage of what we have to offer.

For example, our Everyday Value program is a great way to save money. Here’s how it works: on approximately 50 items throughout the store, we have pledged to keep these items at the lowest possible prices we can. On many basic, staple items like bananas, flour, cereal, milk and peanut butter you’ll see the shelf tag reflect a lower price. On these items, the Co-op is willing to make less than our basic profit margin and pass those savings on to you.

We also have weekly produce specials, something many cost-conscious fresh produce shoppers can take advantage of. Our monthly specials flyer is full of great deals and our health and wellness department also has great monthly specials. The bulk department runs 15% – 25% off specials every month as well. And members can order cases at a discount.

Our Member Appreciation Days have become extremely popular of late where members can receive 10% off their bill. Some other perks include Senior shopping day on Wednesday (5% off) and arrive at Oryana via alternative transportation discount (5%).

One other consideration that is not a direct cost savings but that benefits our community as a whole is all that Oryana does to give back. Take our Community Grant Program. This year we awarded Bay Area Recycling For Charities a $5000 grant, and every month we make donations to local non-profit organizations, both monetary and foodstuffs. Shopping at the coop is one way to support our charitable efforts and participate in strengthening our community rather than giving your dollars to a huge corporation that probably doesn’t have the model workplace we do and that does little to support the local community.

As for the suggestion by some to offer non-organic but sustainable produce and some GMO products side-by-side with the organic/nonGMO products and to let customers decide…this is something that must be considered long and hard. We pride ourselves on being the best place in town to find the healthiest possible foods/products and in supporting our local, organic farmers. Yet we do want to be sensitive to the needs of customers too. Stay tuned for updates on this issue.

Finally, here is one more quote from a respondent: “Oryana is a unique store that holds a competitive advantage in the Traverse City area. There is no other store in the area that is anything at all like or even similar to Oryana. Oryana is built on pride. The pride rings through in the people who work in the store and the products that are offered to its customers.”