Jack and the Green Sprouts is issuing a voluntary recall of its Alfalfa Sprouts and Alfalfa Onion Sprouts out of caution due to illness that is unofficially linked to the sprouts. All tests done for contamination have come back negative. There are no known contaminations. Between Feb. 1, 2016 and Feb. 25, 2016, Seward Co-op sold products affected by this recall at both the Franklin and Friendship stores.

Jack and the Green Sprouts Alfalfa Sprouts – 5 oz. ($1.49/ea.)
UPC: 76324719891

Jack and the Green Sprouts Alfalfa Onion Sprouts – 5 oz. ($1.49/ea.)
UPC: 76324719594

If you purchased the above product at Seward Co-op between Feb. 1, 2016 and Feb. 25, 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.

Wondering what to get your favorite foodie? Seward Community Co-op offers gift cards that may be purchased and used at any of our three locations–Co-op Creamery Café, Franklin, or Friendship Store. Gifts cards can be purchased over the phone from our stores, and in-person at the Café.

If you would like the gift card mailed to you or the recipient, please call either of our stores and ask for Customer Service. The phone number to the Franklin store is 612.338.2465 or 612.230.5595 for Friendship store. All we need is, the desired amount on the gift card and the debit or credit card to which to charge the purchase in order to process payment. The card can then either be mailed to you or the recipient, or picked up at the store that was called.

Our Co-op Creamery Café offers in-person gift card sales. If you wish to purchase a Seward Co-op gift card at the café, please speak to someone at the register or to your server.

It may not feel like spring yet, but that doesn’t matter to L.T.D Farm ducks and geese.

Our friends at L.T.D. reported a week ago that, in defiance of the Upper Midwest polar vortex, their ducks were laying. Last year, L.T.D.’s ducks laid much later, so we presumed here at the big green co-op that we wouldn’t see their duck or goose eggs till the Seward CSA Fair or so.

“We were so excited that they started laying early this year,” Khaiti French said told us when she made the delivery today.

Khaiti brought a quick, first shot of duck and goose eggs today, and, for now, the only place you can get them is Seward Co-op — as fresh as you can get, short of living on LTD Farm.

If you’ve never cooked with duck or goose eggs before, you should give it a whirl. These eggs are thicker, heavier in consistency and are much richer. You’ll have to adjust your recipe or proportions if you want to switch out hen eggs for duck/goose eggs because their bigger, too ( a goose egg is roughly the size of your fist). Also, be prepared to use some muscle cracking these eggs, as the shells are much thicker.

Recipe: Hole-in-the-Wall Breakfast

This one’s great for kids who might need a little wooing when it comes to trying ducks eggs, which are richer and heavier than the hen eggs they’re used to.

Ingredients:

1 duck egg

1 slice of bread

2 strips bacon or 2 Seward Maple Sausages

Butter for the pan

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

– Fry the sausages/bacon as usual

– With a drinking glass, cut out a hole in the slice of bread

– Place a pan on medium-low heat. Put in the butter (or butter the bread, both sides). Let your kid eat the bread circle. Place the bread-slice in the pan when the butter is melted and crack the duck egg into the hole you made with the glass. When the duck looks almost done, and before the bread is too brown, flip it and fry till finished.

Serve with bacon or sausages criss-crossed over the duck egg.

Wheatfield Hill Organics, a fifth-generation family farm located in the rolling hills outside of Durand, Wis., has been supplying Seward Co-op with bins of sweet corn and melons for the past few years. The farmers, Helen and Bob, along with their daughter and her family, tend to their land and crops with the highest environmental standards in mind. That practice pays off with some of the tastiest high-summer produce around. It’s always a great day when those bins of sweetness show up on the Produce shelves. Check out their Facebook page for updates on harvest and other farm stories. Wheatfield Hill Organics was the featured Know Our Grower Aug. 21 – Sept. 3. Meet the Grower: Sunday, Aug. 25.

Grower: Helen and Bob Kees

When did you begin farming and what inspired you to pursue farming as a profession?
I was born and raised on this farm. It’s in our blood to care for this piece of land.

Can you describe your approach to farming?
Sustainable, inter-generational, and circular.

What distinguishes your products from other local growers?
Certified organic since 1997. Permaculture (asparagus, blueberries, raspberries, fruit trees) interspersed with annuals (sweet corn, melons, tomatoes, peppers, barley, forages). Rearing the fifth generation of farmers in our family!

What is your favorite way to enjoy your own produce?
WITH OTHERS!!!