Seward Co-op is partnering with Minneapolis-based The Beez Kneez, to launch an urban beekeeping site on the rooftop of its Franklin store. The project, set to launch some time this month, will provide a safe habitat where bees will produce honey that, hopefully, will in turn be sold to Seward Co-op shoppers.

“The idea for an urban beekeeping hive site at Seward came after our team did a bee keeping class with The Beez Kneez,” says Tom Vogel, Marketing Manager at Seward Co-op. “Kristy Allen, owner of The Beez Kneez has been a great partner to Seward, and we look forward to working with her on this unique project.”

In late April, two beehives will be installed on the rooftop of Seward Co-op. The bees are gentle breeds that are not aggressive. The hope is that these hives will produce at least 100 lbs. of honey over the season, which will then be harvested at the Beez Kneez Honey House and, potentially, sold at Seward Co-op. When the bees arrive from a warmer climate, there will be a few thousand that go into each hive. By the end of the season in August, there could be as many as 50,000 bees a hive. If the program is successful, more hives may be added in the future.

“Our goal with zip code projects such as this one with Seward, is to produce honey in a community in which it will later be sold,” says Allen. “We’re excited to get this project underway in the Franklin neighborhood.”

To kick-off the partnership, on April 22 Seward Co-op will be a lead sponsor for the second year in a row in an event put together by The Beez Kneez called The Dandelion Honey Pastry Chef Challenge. The event will take place at The Lab Theater at 700 North 1st Street from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door.

Saturday, April 4, 10:30 am-12 pm

In this class, we will learn healthy cooking techniques for beans, greens and beef rooted in East African cultures with Shegitu Kebede of Flamingo Restaurant in St. Paul.

NOURISH 101 CLASSES ARE FREE

Interview with Shegitu Kebede, Flamingo Restaurant, Saint Paul (via Peter B. Meyers on Vimeo)

Star Tribune: Interview with Shegitu Kebede co-owner of Flamingo Restaurant

Nourish 101 classes feature basic scratch-cooking techniques and recipes that feed a family of four for under $10.

Please preregister for classes at Customer Service. Payment must be made at time of registration. To ensure a refund, cancellations must be made 48 hours before the class date. Classes may be cancelled by Seward Co-op (for a full refund) if there is an insufficient number of registered attendees.

Carmel Food Group today issued a voluntary recall of certain Rising Moon Organics frozen Ravioli items (Spinach & Cheese Ravioli) because of possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes. To date, no illnesses have been associated with these products.

Consumption of products containing Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections, endocarditic and arthritis.

Product Affected:

Rising Moon Organics Spinach & Cheese Ravioli, 8 oz. for $4.79 each.

UPC Code: 7-85030-55561-3
Lots Codes: 122215, 123015, 123115, 010216, 011916, 012016
Sell By Dates: DEC222015, DEC302015, DEC312015,
JAN022016, JAN192016, JAN202016

Recalled product on Seward Co-op shelves has been removed and destroyed. If you purchased the above product, do not consume it. Recalled products will be fully refunded at our Customer Service desk.

More info at the FDA website.

Amy’s Kitchen, Inc. is voluntarily recalling frozen food products containing spinach. This recall was issued after notice came from one of Amy’s organic spinach suppliers that Amy’s may have received organic spinach with the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes.

Seward Co-op has removed the following products from our shelves.

Vegetable Lasagna, 9.5 oz. (269g), $5.29
UPC code:0-42272-00032-6
Four possible affected lot codes/ship dates:
LOT CODE: 30-A215 Jan. 21 2015
LOT CODE: 30-A305 Jan-30-2015
LOT CODE: 30-B115 Feb-11-2015
LOT CODE: 30-C045 Mar-04-2015

Spinach Pizza, 14.0 oz. (397g),$6.99
UPC Code: 000102 0-42272-00102-6
Two possible affected lot codes/ship dates
30-A285 Jan-28-2015
30-B105 Feb-10-2015 $6.99

Brown Rice & Vegetables Bowl, 10.0 oz. (283g), $5.29
UPC Code: 000161 0-42272-00161-3
Lot code/Ship date: 30-A205 Jan-20-2015

Vegetable Lasagna, 9.5 oz. (269g), $5.29
UPC Code: 000933 0-42272-00032-6
Lot Code/Ship date 30-A305 Jan-30-2015

Tofu Vegetable Lasagna, 9.5 oz. (269g), $5.29
UPC Code: 000033 0-42272-00033-3
Lot Code/Ship Date: 30-B135 Feb-13-2015

Recalled products will be fully refunded at our Customer Service desk.

For more information, see the FDA wesbite.

This Saturday, March 28, we’ll be showing you how to make natural dyes for eggs at Seward Co-op. Pop by the store any time from 1-4 p.m. and see how to make great dyes from onion skins, coffee, turmeric, and tea!

We’ll have a recipe for natural egg-dyes in the recipe rack by the Customer Service desk, too, so be sure to grab one, or take a look at the article on egg-dying below.

If you want something a little less DIY, pick-up a Natural Earth Paint’s Natural Egg Dye Kit located on the display island by the Deli Hot Bar. This kit isa set of food based powdered dyes that are incredibly easy to use. Because the dyes are free from the petroleum derivatives and carmine that are found in conventional dye kits, they can also be safely used as a food coloring for baking projects.

New this year, check out the Wooden Egg Craft Kit, a great vegan option for egg dying! These kits include 6 wooden eggs, which are handmade in the Pacific Northwest from sustainable FSC certified wood, and 6 colors of natural earth paints.

Planning on a lamb or ham feast this weekend? We have great specials in the Meat Department that you’ll want to take advantage of! Local heroes Pastures a Plenty, the Lambe Shoppe, and Blooming Prairie will have all your favorite roasts, ribs, and lamb cuts for the big family get together. Let’s hope for grilling weather!

An article on egg-dying from the April/Mary 2014 issue of Sprout! newsletter:

“Celebrate Spring”

It comforts me to imagine that hunting and gathering colored eggs might be one of humanity’s oldest traditions, a way to celebrate our survival of another winter.

I don’t have much evidence for this. Egg painting can be connected to many cultures via folklore and mythology, but there’s no slam-dunk proof that any spring egg-hunt cults are terribly old. One custom, pysanky egg decorating of Ukraine, is more than likely ancient in origin. In excavations of Neolithic and Bronze-Age Ukrainian graves, cultic eggs have been found whose etched patterns are strikingly similar to pysanky “Easter egg” designs (pictured above).

Maybe. Or maybe I’m just feeling sympathy for my cold-climate ancestors after this harsh winter of 2014.

Watching my kids paint and gather eggs, I imagine that I see ancient, first-farming parents, emerging from another brutal Northern Hemisphere winter, keeping their parents’ hunter-gatherer ways alive by teaching kids how to gather wild multicolored eggs in the surrounding grasslands and woods. You know, just in case this new-fangled farming thing doesn’t work out.

How to Make Natural Egg-Dyes

Ingredients: Any number of hard-boiled white eggs
One pot per color of dye
1 Tbsp. white vinegar per cup of strained dye liquid (optional)
Bowls or egg cartons for drying dyed eggs
Paper towels

Don’t be too precious about this process. It’s meant to be fun for you and your kids, so proportions aren’t exact and don’t need to be.

1. Shop …for the veggies and other items that you’ll use for creating your dyes.

Some of these items can be gathered over the days running up to your egg-dying extravaganza. Red cabbage (blue, almost-indigo dye) Red onion skins (lavender or red) Yellow onion skins (orange or gold) Ground or cut turmeric (yellow) Red Zinger tea bags (lavender) Beets (pink; more of a brownish red the longer you leave eggs in this dye) Err on the side of more veggie matter rather than less when creating your dyes.

You can use juices and beverages for dying, too. Grape juice Old red wine Leftover coffee Juice from pickled beets Rule of thumb: If you’d freak out upon spilling a certain liquid on a white shirt, then it’s going to make a decent dye. We mixed some of these veggies to great effect, too. Eggs dyed in turmeric + yellow onion skins were bright gold. I want to try Red Zinger tea + red cabbage next year.

2. Chop …your veggies and prepare your dyes. We found that chopping fine, but not too fine, worked best. We used roughly 4 cups veggie matter for 4–6 cups water. Drop the veggies into the water and bring to a boil, turn heat down to low and simmer, covered, for 15–30 minutes. The dye is ready when it reaches a hue a few shades darker than you want for your egg. Add white vinegar now.

3. Pop …your eggs in the dye. There are two approaches here and both work well. A) Strain the veggie matter out and set your hard boiled eggs in the dye for several hours (or even over night); or B) Set your fresh eggs in the boiling water with the veggie matter and hard-boil them in the dye as it’s being created. The first way will give you clean, solid colors.

The second way is a little more haphazard, but it makes for fun and interesting patterns. After removing eggs from the pots, try draping wet onion skins over the eggs for an hour or two to take advantage of the onion skins’ cool patterns. Ditto red cabbage.

You can experiment also with different amounts of vinegar, too. More vinegar will leave a thick film on the eggs that you can leave on and let dry, making them look gnarly and wonderful (my kids called them “dinosaur eggs”). Or you can rub the film away with a paper towel to find interesting patterns beneath, as the veggies and vinegar will soak into different parts of the egg. Caution: Leaving eggs in too much vinegar overnight will make them rubbery. (Which also might be fun, but not if you plan to eat the eggs.) Dry your eggs in bowls or eggs cartons over night.

* Top photo by Elizabeth Brooks Barnwell

* Pysanky egg photo courtesy Wikipedia.

Frontier Co-op is voluntarily recalling 10 products manufactured with organic garlic powder that were sold under its Frontier and Simply Organic brands due to potential Salmonella contamination.

To date, no illnesses have been associated with these products.

The product in question was raw material received by Frontier. This product tested positive for Salmonella during a test by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Given that Salmonella may be present, Frontier is immediately initiating this recall.

Frontier Co-op is immediately initiating added precautions to the safety of the supply chain and instituting additional product testing, beyond FDA guidelines, to mitigate any future occurrence.

Consumption of products containing Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections, endocarditic and arthritis.

Recalled products were sold in all 50 states and in some parts of Canada to distributors, retailers and consumers. Below the release is a list of products containing the organic garlic powder. Images of the affected products can be viewed at the following link: http://www.frontiercoop.com/recall.

WHAT’S BEEN RECALLED?:

Frontier Powdered Garlic, Certified Organic 16 oz. (453 g)
Frontier Low Sodium Broth Powder Vegetable Flavored, Certified Organic 16 oz. (453 g)
Frontier Vegetarian Broth Powder No-Chicken, Certified Organic 16 oz. (453 g)
Frontier Organic Garlic Powder 2.33 oz. (66g)
Simply Organic Fajita Seasoning 1.0 oz. (28 g)
Simply Organic Alfredo Sauce Mix 1.48 oz. (41 g)
Simply Organic Ranch Dip Mix 1.5 oz. (42 g)
Simply Organic French Onion Dip Mix 1.10 oz. (31 g)
Simply Organic Guacamole Dip Mix 0.80 oz. (22 g)
Simply Organic Vegetarian Brown Gravy Mix 1.0 oz. (28 g)

Recalled product on Seward Co-op shelves has been removed as of 9:30 a.m. 3/17/15 and destroyed. We will return the items to the shelf as soon as non-recalled product is available.

If you purchased the above products, do not consume. Recalled products will be fully refunded at our Customer Service desk.

For more information on this recall, please visit the Frontier website.

Seward Co-op staff presented a SEED check today for $15,708.88 to Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association (PPNA), representing 35,108 individual donations.

Funds will be used to support the Apetito por el Liderazgo/Appetite for Leadership program, envisioned by PPNA’s Latino Advisory Council. The program combines community building, leadership skills development and cooking.

“Yes, it’s a cooking class,” Community Organizer Sara Lopez explained, “but what we’re really doing is building leadership and strengthening our community.” Participants learn about healthy Mexican cooking for families while also sharing resources on topics as varied as financial planning, public health and self-defense. Planning is already underway for a similar model that will meet the needs of other cultural communities in Powderhorn.

Funding will support the expansion of the program in addition to equipment and fixtures for the kitchen. Congratulations, PPNA and thank you, Seward Co-op shoppers!

Picture: Seward Co-op staff with members of the PPNA during a small SEED celebration this morning. Picture by William H.

March means Banana Month at Seward Co-op, so watch for specials and deals on Equal Exchange bananas throughout the month. According to the USDA, the average American eats 26 pounds of bananas per year. That’s a lot of bananas — and a big opportunity for impact. Most bananas are grown on giant plantations as a monoculture with bananas stretching as far as the eye can see. The banana industry is notorious for low wages and heavy chemical use, causing major health problems for humans across banana-producing regions. Together, Equal Exchange and their banana partners are creating a trade model that supports small farmers, builds communities, and supports the environment.

Equal Exchange’s mission is to build long-term trade partnerships that are economically just and environmentally sound; to foster mutually beneficial relationships between farmers and consumers; and to demonstrate, through their success, the contribution of worker cooperatives and fair trade to a more equitable, democratic and sustainable world. Next year is Equal Exchange’s 30^th anniversary, and the 10^th year of their banana program. Equal Exchange bananas are sourced from small-scale farmers located in Ecuador and Peru. They work with El Guabo cooperative, a farmer-run cooperative with 350 small-scale banana farmers in Ecuador, and The Central Association of Small Producers of Organic Banana (CEPIBO), a group of seven different farmer associations with a total of 800 families operating 900 hectares of land across northern Peru.

Seeing the Equal Exchange brand on a banana (or an avocado) guarantees a customer that their fruit is sourced from a small farmer who receives a fair price for their fruit. It’s not just a better wage, it’s a better way of life. Farmers own their land and are helping to rebuild their own communities through hard work and enterprise. It also guarantees that the grower cooperatives are working directly with the Equal Exchange produce team, rather than through a go-between like the majority of farmers and plantations in the produce industry.

Check out this interesting web documentary called Beyond the Seal that was created by Katherine Nagasawa and Leah Varjacques that talks a lot about Equal Exchange, small farmers, and the banana industry.

Banana Curry Stir Fry Sauce

Ingredients:
2 bananas, peeled and chopped
1 clove of garlic
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2 Tsp. curry powder
1 Tsp. agave nectar (or honey)
1 Tsp. onion powder
1 Tsp. coconut oil
3/4 cup unsweetened canned coconut milk

Method:
Combine all ingredients together in a blender and blend to a smooth texture.
Sauté any veggies you have on hand (peppers, onions, carrots, celery, leeks, etc.) until tender. Add the banana curry stir fry sauce and heat through evenly.

Adapted from therawproject.com

Meet the local producers who bring us fruits, veggies, flowers, and meat throughout the local season by visiting their farms on the 2015 Eat Local Farm Tour!

Take the kids, meet friends along the way, or bike to local urban farms near you on Saturday, July 18. The 2015 Farm Guide booklets are available here or at the Seward Co-op Customer Service Desk.

Twenty-one local farms are opening their doors to the Eat Local Tour this year:

10th Street Farm & Market

Big River Farms/Minnesota Food Association

Buttermilk Falls CSA & Folk School Retreat

East Henderson Farm

Garden Farme –

Gardens of Eagan

Growing Lots Urban Farm

Humble Pie Farm

Shepherd’s Way Farm

Simple Harvest Farm Organics

Singing Hills Goat Dairy Farm

Star Prairie Trout Farm

Stone’s Throw Urban Farm

The Beez Kneez

Thousand Hills Cattle Company

Whistling Well Farm

Women’s Environmental Institute

The tour is free and there’s no need to register! Just decide which farms you’d like to visit, note when they’re open for visitors, and drive there or “caravan” with family and friends. (The co-op is not providing transportation.)

To find when farms are open, get a copy of the 2015 Farm Guide and check the farms’ listings. Visitors are welcome to show up during these times.

Your Twin Cities-area food co-ops support the annual Farm Tour. For more information:
2015 Eat Local Farm Tour Facebook Page

And follow the hashtag:
#‎EatLocalFarmTour