Mark your calendars for Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 8, and make sure to plan something special for the important moms in your life. What it means to be a mom is a continually evolving concept that looks different in every family. There are stay-at-home moms, birth moms, adopted moms, step-moms, and many people who just step up to the plate and stand in as “Mom.” We should celebrate these individuals in our lives every day, but picking up a little something special or doing something thoughtful this Mother’s Day will mean a lot to those who do so much for us day in and day out. Seward Co-op has a wide array of gift options and plenty of seasonal ingredients to prepare a delicious meal sure to please any mom.

Mother’s Day Preview Event
Saturday, May 7 Noon–3 p.m.
Both stores

Browse locally made gifts, sample treats from our bakery and pick up some kid-friendly recipes for breakfast in bed. On Mother’s Day, May 8 from 8 a.m.–noon, treat Mom to a special brunch made fresh in our Deli. We’ll be rolling out white tablecloths and flowers to beautify our dining area. And if you’re planning to pick up a floral bouquet, we’ll custom wrap it for you from 9 a.m.–1 p.m.

P6 Meal for Mom

Honey takes center stage in this quick, easy and delicious meal for mom. The beeconscious sides that accompany the bee-centric main dish are simple and require very little preparation. Wherever possible, we call out P6 ingredients — products from farms or companies that meet at least two of the following criteria: small, local, and cooperatively owned. Whether or not the mom in your home cooks, we are confident she will be impressed and appreciative of your efforts and thoughtfulness.

Grilled Spring Chicken Sausage

4 Seward Co-op handmade spring chicken sausages (meatless options are available in our Grocery department)

1 package brat buns

1 jar Fleur de Beez Creole-style mustard

Weather permitting, get the grill started by filling a chimney with charcoal. Once all of the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour coals into grill. Arrange the sausages in a sauté pan and fill with water (or beer) until sausages are submerged in cooking liquid. Poach over medium-high heat until the internal temperature of the sausages registers 140°–145° F. Place sausages directly on grill grates to carefully char sausages for 3 minutes. If grilling is not an option, brown in sauté pan after poaching. Serves 4.

Honey-roasted Carrots

2 bunches of carrots

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. Beez Kneez Honey

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450° F. Cut carrots into thirds, then toss with oil, honey, salt and pepper. Place carrots on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 25 minutes. Serves 4.

Blue Cheese with Honey Spread

½ lb. Monforte bleu cheese

¼ cup Beez Kneez honey

1 Rustica baguette

2 Tbsp. olive oil

Preheat oven to 450° F. Make crostinis by cutting baguette into ½-inch discs. Place discs on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toast in oven until bread is browned around edges, about 5–8 minutes. Place bleu cheese on plate and drizzle with honey. Serve with the crostinis. Serves 4.

Spinach Salad with Honey-glazed Pecans

1 Tbsp. Nordic Creamery butter

½ cup pecan halves

1 Tbsp. Beez Kneez honey

8 oz. spinach

1 pint raspberries

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. Locus Lane Vineyards verjus blanc vinegar

Melt butter in small frying pan over low heat, then add pecans and honey. Cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly until mixture is caramelized. Spread out on wax paper to cool. In a bowl gently toss together spinach, pecans, and raspberries. Add oil and vinegar and toss again until everything is coated. Serves 4.

One of my absolute favorite fragrances is the scent of a fresh ripe tomato still on the vine. It’s the vine itself that carries the smell I love, and during the spring, Living Water Gardens’ fresh picked tomatoes arrive with pristine green vines. Living Water Gardens, located in Wells, MN, is a hydroponic growing operation that provides us with tomatoes, basil and English cucumbers every spring, summer, and fall.

Hydroponic growing practices involve growing food in water and nutrients and allow us to have local produce before and after the growing season. Whenever Steve from Living Water Gardens calls and says he has tomatoes ready, I know spring is here–regardless of the weather. While Living Water Gardens’ hydroponic tomatoes are the first local tomatoes of the season, they are certainly not the last. Below are some of the other tomato varieties we will bring in locally as the spring and summer months progress.

Cherry tomatoes—sweet, tangy and very juicy. Cherry tomatoes come in a few different varieties and are great for salads and pasta dishes. Featherstone Farms’ sungold cherry tomatoes are the most flavorful.

Grape tomatoes—very sweet, tend to be smaller in diameter. Perfect for salads and pizza.

Roma tomatoes—flavor can vary, but generally milder and sweet. Good for canning and making sauces or salsa.

Slicer tomatoes—sometimes called beefsteak tomatoes; these are a very versatile tomato with a balanced sweet and tart flavor. They can be used on sandwiches, in salads, sauces, salsa, or sliced and eaten with preferred seasoning.

Heirloom tomatoes—there are hundreds of varieties of heirloom tomatoes that have been saved and planted over the years. Their flavor varies according to variety. You will see 15-20 varieties including a few top sellers such as:

Cherokee Purple –rich and sweet

German Stripe–rich and bright

Brandywine –light and balanced

Most heirlooms are best savored simply, sliced for caprese salad, or on sandwiches, but some are good for sauces and salsa. Talk to our knowledgeable Produce staff for cooking and preparation advice.

Green Tomatoes— firm and tart. Typically used to make fried green tomatoes, green tomatoes are unripe tomatoes that can also be used in salsa.

Tomatillos—tart little green husked tomatoes. These are great roasted on their own or made into salsa.

Seward Co-op’s 2016 Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) Fair on Saturday, April 16, was once again a huge success, both for farmers and attendees. For the second year in a row, it was a sunny, temperate spring day for the event, which showcased more than 30 area CSA farms. For those interested in exploring CSA available in our region, look to the Land Stewardship Project’s directory published on Seward Co-op’s website here. Thanks to all farmers and fair-goers who attended — here’s to a bountiful growing season!

Back to Nature Foods, LLC is issuing a voluntary recall of its classic crème cookies, because they may contain undeclared milk, not listed as an ingredient on the label. Persons who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product. Between Mar. 11, 2016 to Apr. 11, 2016, Seward Co-op may have sold products affected by this recall at both the Franklin and Friendship stores.

Back to Nature Classic Crème Cookies –12 oz. on sale for $3.33 from Mar. 30, 2016-Apr. 12, 2016 (reg. $5.19)
UPC: 8-19898-01103
Best by date: Sept. 10, 2016

Back to Nature Classic Crème Cookies –12 oz. on sale for $3.33 from Mar. 30, 2016-Apr. 12, 2016 (reg. $5.19)
UPC: 8-19898-01103
Best by date: Sept. 16, 2016

Back to Nature Classic Crème Cookies –12 oz. on sale for $3.33 from Mar. 30, 2016-Apr. 12, 2016 (reg. $5.19)
UPC: 8-19898-01103
Best by date: Aug 13, 2016

Back to Nature Classic Crème Cookies –12 oz. on sale for $3.33 from Mar. 30, 2016-Apr. 12, 2016 (reg. $5.19)
UPC: 8-19898-01103
Best by date: Oct. 8, 2016

Back to Nature Classic Crème Cookies –12 oz. on sale for $3.33 from Mar. 30, 2016-Apr. 12, 2016 (reg. $5.19)
UPC: 8-19898-01103
Best by date: Oct. 21, 2016

Back to Nature Classic Crème Cookies –12 oz. on sale for $3.33 from Mar. 30, 2016-Apr. 12, 2016 (reg. $5.19)
UPC: 8-19898-01103
Best by date: Oct. 22, 2016

If you purchased either of the above products at Seward Co-op between Mar. 11, 2016 and Apr. 11, 2016, recalled products will be fully refunded at either our Franklin or Friendship store Customer Service desk. Questions may be directed to Seward Co-op’s Franklin store at 612.338.2465 or Friendship store at 612.230.5595. Consumers with questions may call Back to Nature’s Consumer Relations Center at 844-275-5845. The center is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Consumers also may contact the center via e-mail by visiting the Contact Us page for a replacement coupon.

The Franklin Avenue bridge (County Road 5) is closed for repairs through September 2016. Here is the alternative route to Seward Co-op’s Franklin store and Creamery Cafe.

Living Water Gardens is located on the outskirts of Wells, Minn., about 100 miles southwest of the Twin Cities. Three generations work together and handle the operation that grows 7,000 tomato plants and a variety of other vegetables in hot and humid greenhouses situated on roughly an acre of land. Like many of the producers that make their way onto Seward Co-op’s shelves, Living Water Gardens looks for opportunities to incorporate sustainable practices whenever possible. But the real difference is that they’ve traded in soil and earth for water and hydroponics. The water used at Living Water Gardens is the secret ingredient in the cultivation of their delicious produce. It tends to have high levels of iron, which cause frustration when they build up and clog the irrigation system, but it yields a tasty and nutrient-dense tomato.

The hydroponic process is quite involved and begins with starting seeds in rockwool, a fabric that promotes growth and decreases the spread of disease. Once the seeds bloom into healthy seedlings, they are moved from the nursery to the greenhouse, which provides ideally controlled growing conditions. To keep the greenhouses between 70–85F., old pallets are burned. Living Water Gardens partners with an organization that collects, bundles, and delivers pallets that would otherwise end up in a landfill. In the greenhouse, tomato plants are strung up on a single-string trellis system where they are able to reach their ideal “working height” and produce fruit from April­ to December.

In the spring, the well-being of honey bees is at the forefront of our minds. After all, we all benefit from a thriving bee population. Learn more below about how to get involved in supporting a healthy bee population!

Beekeeping 101 with the Beez Kneez
Monday, April 4, 6:30–8 p.m.
Kristy Lynn Allen, the Beez Kneez
$12/$10 co-op owners
Franklin store

Learn about the basics of starting your own hive, bee biology and bee advocacy from the Beez Kneez, a social enterprise working to “revive the hive for healthy bees, healthy lives.”

Click here to register!

Healthy Bees, Healthy Lives
Saturday, April 9, noon–3 p.m.
Both stores

Join our friends from The Beez Kneez bicycle-delivered honey to celebrate “Healthy Bees, Healthy Lives”, a campaign created by The Beez Kneez to protect pollinators from harmful pesticides and other chemicals. On Saturday, April 9 they will be in the stores promoting the annual Dandelion Honey Pastry Chef Challenge coming up on Wednesday, April 13th. We’ll be sampling their different honey varieties in store as well as the return of Honeybee Cream Puffs made by our bakery using Beez Knees honey.

The month of March is a time where we see a juxtaposition of fresh, spring vegetables coming from California and Mexico and winter storage crops available from local farms. A perfect pairing of spring and winter crops can be enjoyed with the following recipe; Creamy Asparagus Soup. It’s vegan; the cream comes from one of my favorite potatoes, the German Butterball. We are still getting these golden spuds locally from Driftless Organics in Wisconsin, where Josh and Noah Engle are selling a large bounty of stored potatoes harvested in the fall. Organic asparagus is in season in Mexico and California and we are selling it at the lowest prices I have seen in all my years as Produce Buyer. I would definitely sauté some asparagus to have alongside the soup. In fact, I ate a pound of asparagus last night, simply sautéed in butter with salt and pepper.

Asparagus contains anti-inflammatory phytonutrients as well as anti-oxidants. It contains significant amounts of inulin, fiber and B-vitamins. Inulin is a pre-biotic which helps with digestive issues and inulin also promotes healthy blood sugar levels. Inulin can be found in other foods such as artichokes, bananas, garlic, leeks, onions and sunchokes.
Speaking of sunchokes, I hear the C-op Creamery Café will be featuring overwintered sunchokes from a local farm on their upcoming new Evening menu. Overwintered vegetables have been left in the field during the frozen months and dug in the spring when the ground thaws. Overwintered produce is another great example of the winter to spring transition. Keep an eye out for overwintered parsnips and sunchokes in our stores this spring!

Creamy Asparagus Soup

1 ½ lbs. asparagus spears, trimmed
1 ½ Tbs. olive oil
1 ½ cups finely chopped shallots (about 10)
½ lb. boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
Coarsely ground black pepper for garnish

1. Reserve 8 spears of asparagus for garnish. Cut remaining asparagus stalks into 1-inch pieces.

2. In medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring often, until beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add potatoes, cut-up asparagus and 4 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Add bouillon and 1 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in wide, deep pot of lightly salted boiling water, blanch reserved asparagus spears until just tender, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove spears to colander and rinse under cold running water, drain well and set aside.

4. In food processor or blender, process soup in batches until smooth and creamy. Return to pot and add freshly ground pepper to taste and lemon juice. Adjust salt to taste. Garnish with asparagus spears and ground black pepper. Serve hot.

Recipe courtesy of Vegetarian Times