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Seward Bakery Spills Its Pie-Crust Secrets
If you’re going to make homemade pie from scratch for the holidays, the crust is going to make or break you. You could have the sweetest blueberries, the reddest cherries frozen from last summer, or the very best baking apples from Hoch Orchard, but if you don’t have a touch with the crust, you could end up with fruit goo trapped in a wad of chewy dough.
With that as a possibility, well, you might as well buy a pie from the co-op’s bakery, right?
But if you want to master the delicate art of making yummy crusts, learning from a pro is essential, and we happen to have one on hand for you: Mary Vorndran, Bakery Supervisor at Seward Co-op. If you’ve ever purchased Seward Co-op pies and appreciate the tender, perfect crusts, then keep this article handy for the pie-baking holidays and winter months to come. It’s a treasure trove of great tips and information from, dare we say, our “Queen of Pies.”
I want to make crust that’s as good as Seward Co-op’s. How do I do it, Mary?
First of all, you have to make it in 50-pound batches and build up some massive shoulder strength…
No really, it just takes some practice! Key things to do are to start with good basic ingredients and then just go to town.
When making pie dough at home, I weigh out my dry ingredients in a bowl and then cut cold butter into small squares. I use my hands or a fork to cut the butter into the flour. You want to get the butter pieces to about the size of a pea; it’s OK to have some chunks as this is what will make your crusts nice and flaky. Then dump all the water in at once and mix it together quickly, yet thoroughly. I portion it out and do a quick knead to finish incorporating and to distribute the butter evenly, forming the dough into a round, hockey puck shape. From here, I let the dough chill and rest for a bit.
Roll it out for your pie or freeze for use at a later date.
Do I need lard or any other special ingredients to make a good crust? Why do some people swear by lard and some swear by butter?
People swear by their personal preferences. If it works for you and you like it, keep doing it. The only way to find out what works for you is experience, so make lots of pie and make it often.
Leaf lard makes very crispy and flaky pie crusts, which is why some people like to use it, but it can leave something to be desired in flavor. Personally, I’m not a fan of using lard for dessert pies, but it’s great for savory items like pasties, pot pies, or galettes. Our own Seward Co-op Meat & Seafood department has plenty of leaf lard available, along with other fat varieties like duck fat and heritage breed Red Wattle pork fat.
We use all butter for our pies in Seward Co-op Bakery, specifically from our friends at Hope Creamery. While we try not to swear here, I guess you could say that’s what we swear by, as it gives our pies that nice, golden buttery flake.
Why do pie crusts fail if I follow the recipe perfectly? What should I look out for? Why did my crust get all chewy and dense?
Like most things in baking, it’s not the recipe—it’s more about technique and experience. I hate to say “failure,” because chances are it’ll still be good enough for someone to eat. But if it’s not up to your standards, try again. You’re only out some flour, butter and time.
Pie crusts get chewy and dense when the pie dough is over-worked. You can try to not knead the dough as much next time or add a dash of vinegar when you mix in the water. It won’t affect the flavor at all, but the acid will break down the gluten strands, making the dough tenderer in the end.
Another trick is to make sure everything is very cold. You can stick your bowl and utensils in the freezer for a bit to help avoid the butter from melting.
And use cold water, too—throw an ice cube in there for reassurance if you like.
Are there vegan options for awesome crust?
Of course! A lot of pie crust in our parents’ generation were actually vegan and made with shortening. We use Spectrum palm shortening in Seward Co-op Bakery’s vegan pie dough, which is a more sustainable option and doesn’t give you that weird mouth-coating like other hydrogenated oils can.
What’s your favorite pie to eat and to make?
Oh man, that’s tough. I simply am a pie lover. I have never met a pie I didn’t like. For some reason, pies that are in season just taste better. Lately, I’ve been a big fan of Seward’s apple cranberry custard pie, which was newly created last year. There’s a lot going on between the custard, streusel topping and the apples and cranberries which meld so nicely together. It’s our most complex pie to make, so I’d have to say that’s my favorite right now to make and to eat.
Isuroon: Mpls Needs a Halal Food Shelf
UPDATE: Since this article was posted, Isuroon Ethnic Food Shelf received $18,558.25 in SEED donations from Seward shoppers for the month of December 2014. This is a new record for SEED donations at Seward Co-op.
Imagine emigrating to a faraway nation. The culture, the alphabet, the weather, and everything you encounter on a daily level is completely alien to you.
Strangest of all, the food is so foreign that you can’t eat it. It’s meat (maybe?) but you’re not even sure what animal it’s from. Regardless, you have no money to buy it, even if it was something you could eat. You’re a complete stranger, stranded, poor, and hungry.
New Minnesotans from East Africa encounter this daily, according to newly formed non-profit Isuroon in Minneapolis. Often, newly arrived immigrants too poor to shop aren’t able to find food shelves offering food that their religious views will allow them to eat. The food they need must be “halal” – that is, permissible for Muslims to eat or drink under Islamic law. For this reason, Isuroon Executive Director Fartun Weli said in comments to Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin recently (video via The Uptake), the Muslim immigrant community in Minneapolis needs an ethnic food shelf. In addition to halal food, such a food shelf would need offer whole grain, whole foods, and limit the processed foods available to customers. Somali elders aren’t familiar with or are simply baffled by processed food, so they won’t eat it. (Imagine a Somali elder encountering Spam in a food shelf. Free, yes, but it’s hard for newcomers to understand what Spam even is.)
Here’s the main problem according to Fartun and Isuroon: No food shelves in Minneapolis offer halal foods.
Isuroon’s mission is to create such a food shelf, but securing funding has been difficult: The non-profit needs $150,000 just to start work. When Isuroon came to Seward Co-op to apply as a SEED recipient, Fartun told us that a donation from the co-op’s SEED program would not only help the “bottom line,” it would help to legitimize Isuroon as a viable non-profit, too. Seward’s December donation will probably be the largest and primary funding for Isuroon’s food shelf to date.
“Isuroon” is a Somali word that means “woman taking care of herself,” and while Isuroon’s webpage says they are a group dedicated women’s health and wellness, they see the entire Somali community in Minneapolis as part of their mission, too. Imam Hassan Mohamud, a legal advocate for Isuroon, tells the story that Mohammed had to give advice to his community but the community was angry and wouldn’t listen to him. He spoke to his wife and asked, “What should I do?” His wife gave him advice which he followed and and the community opened up and began to listen to Mohammed.
“This is the importance of the woman in our community,” he said. (Quote via The Uptake video.)
During this month of so many holidays, sharing, and generosity, Seward shoppers have an opportunity to make a huge impact through SEED donations for Insuroon. All of the food shelves to whom Seward donates SEED money do crucial work, but this is an opportunity for Seward shoppers to help create something that doesn’t exist, something that some of our new Somali neighbors desperately need.
So remember in December….round up at the register!
Fartun Weli and Christine Dietsche tabling at Seward Co-op.
(Photo courtesy Isuroon)
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Waite House Receives SEED Money from Seward Co-op
The movement to change the way Americans eat is many decades old in Minneapolis, and Pillsbury United Communities’ Waite House is one of the oldest forces of them all. For nearly fifty years, Waite House has been targeting “both the immediate needs and the root causes of inequalities in health and nutrition” in the Phillips Neighborhood and beyond. Its innovative approaches are truly inspiring.
Last week, during a small get together in our dining area, Seward Co-op proudly delivered a check to Waite House for $18,497.68, the sum of November’s SEED money (the at-the-register donations from Seward shoppers and owners). In the photo above are representatives from Waite House and Seward Co-op’s cashier staff and front end.
Waite House’s Health & Nutrition programs are varied and ambitious, but they’re all aimed at providing solid opportunities and access to food for families in the Phillips Neighborhood who might not otherwise receive them. Programs include:
- Food Pantry
- Community Café
- Southside Kitchen
- Culinary Arts Training
- Produce Giveaway
- Phillips Community Healthy Living (including an onsite garden!)
- Commodity Supplemental Food Program
- Health and Wellness
- Fare for All
- Let’s Move
Waite House sent Seward Co-op the note below, describing how some of Seward Co-op’s SEED money would be utilized.
“Thank you to everyone at Seward! The money raised will not only fund an entire school year of youth meals (60-80 per night), but provide us with the ability to ensure that those meals meet the USDA recommended health and nutrition guidelines for youth – as well as continue our standard of kid-friendly, made from scratch meals.”
Upcoming Seward Classes
Get your calendar out and start planning for January.
Upcoming Seward Classes
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Nourish 101: Kwanzaa Table
December 13, 12 pm-2 pm -
Chinese Medicine and Nutrition
January 8, 2015, 6 pm-7 pm -
Hooyo’s Kitchen “Somali Style”
January 14, 2015, 6:30 pm-8 pm -
Nourish 101: Shop the Co-op
January 17, 2015, 12 pm-1 pm -
Film Screening: A Place at the Table
January 22, 2015, 6 pm-8 pm -
Holistic Approaches to Autoimmunity
January 28, 2015, 6 pm-7 pmCheck back frequently; new classes added frequently.
Crock Pot Gumbo: Recipe and How-To Video
LaDonna Sanders-Redmond, Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Seward Co-op, visited KARE-11 recently with a terrific winter soup recipe: Crock Pot Chicken Gumbo.
Gumbo is actually pretty easy to make; it just has a lot of ingredients and a number of steps, so people sometimes get intimidated. Just remember LaDonna’s Important Gumbo Tip: Don’t walk away from the roux! You have to keep stirring it. If you’re patient and tend to it, you’ll have the base for a thick, delicious batch of gumbo. (Look how syrupy and thick that completed Gumbo is!)
Watch the video to get all the steps right, then follow the recipe below. Much thanks to KARE-11 and LaDonna for this video and recipe!
Crock Pot Gumbo (Recipe serves 6)
Ingredients:
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup cooking oil
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 12 to 16 ounces chicken sausage, sliced about 1/2″ thick
• 2 to 3 cups diced cooked chicken
• 1 1/2 cups sliced okra
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• salt, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• hot cooked rice
Instructions:
· For roux, in a heavy 2-quart saucepan stir together flour and oil until smooth. Cook over medium-high heat for 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for about 15 minutes more or until roux is dark reddish brown. Let roux cool.
· Add chicken broth to a 3 1/2 to 6-quart slow cooker. Stir in roux. Add sausage, chicken, okra, onion, green pepper, celery, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours, or HIGH for 4 to 5 hours.
· Skim off fat. Serve with hot cooked rice.
Recall: Refrigerated Grocery Product at Seward
During a temperature check of one of our coolers on Friday, November 21, the Seward Grocery team found product at unsafe temperatures due to a non-functioning cooler fan. If you purchased any of the products below between 12:00 p.m. Thursday, November 20th and 1:30 p.m. Friday, November 21st, do not consume this product and return it to Seward Customer Service for a full refund. We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience.
The full list of products affected by the cooler-fan failure is below. Please check the PLU code number on the product to see if it is affected by this recall.
64731600002 ANGELICA BEETS, PICKLED (16 OZ) $11.99
64731600003 ANGELICA KIM CHI (16 OZ) $11.99
64731600018 ANGELICA RAW KRAUT, CORTIDO (16 OZ) $11.99
64731600006 ANGELICA RED CABBAGE & GINGER (16 OZ) $10.99
64731600011 ANGELICA SAUERKRAUT (32 OZ) $15.99
64731600001 ANGELICA SAUERKRAUT (16 OZ) $8.99
3826185766 BUBBIES HORSERADISH (5 OZ) $3.29
3826185750 BUBBIES PICKLES, BREAD & BUTTER (33 OZ) $7.29
3826185735 BUBBIES PICKLES, KOSHER DILLS (16 OZ) $4.39
3826185736 BUBBIES PICKLES, KOSHER DILLS (33 OZ) $7.29
3826185747 BUBBIES SAUERKRAUT (25 OZ) $6.99
85027300500 FARMHOUSE SAUERKRAUT, CARAWAY (22 OZ) $9.99
85027300502 FARMHOUSE SAUERKRAUT, HORSERADISH LEEK (16 OZ) $8.99
4956872012 FOLLOW YOUR HEART VEGENAISE, CHIPOTLE (12 OZ) $5.29
4956802016 FOLLOW YOUR HEART VEGENAISE, GRAPESEED OIL (16 OZ) $6.49
4956801016 FOLLOW YOUR HEART VEGENAISE, ORIGINAL (16 OZ) $5.19
4956801032 FOLLOW YOUR HEART VEGENAISE, ORIGINAL (32 OZ) $7.99
4956873012 FOLLOW YOUR HEART VEGENAISE, PESTO (12 OZ) $5.29
4956820016 FOLLOW YOUR HEART VEGENAISE, REDUCED FAT (16 OZ) $5.29
82309252257 FRANCISCOS SALSA, REG PICO DE GALLO (16.2 OZ) $7.99
82309252259 FRANCISCOS SALSA, XRATED PICO DE GALLO (16.2 OZ) $7.99
85966000451 JUST MAYO VEGAN MAYO, CHIPOTLE (8 OZ) $3.59
85966000452 JUST MAYO VEGAN MAYO, GARLIC (8 OZ) $3.59
85966000411 JUST MAYO VEGAN MAYO, ORIGINAL (16 OZ) $4.49
85966000453 JUST MAYO VEGAN MAYO, SRIRACHA (8 OZ) $3.59
2354740021 MISO MASTER MISO, MELLOW WHITE OG (16 OZ) $9.59
2354740055 MISO MASTER MISO, MELLOW WHITE (8 OZ) $5.99
2354740011 MISO MASTER MISO, RED OG (16 OZ) $10.59
60302809951 RPS PASTA COMPANY PASTA, FETTUCCINE SPINACH GF (9 OZ) $4.29
60302809913 RPS PASTA COMPANY PASTA, FRESH FUSILLI GF (9 OZ) $4.29
60302809914 RPS PASTA COMPANY PASTA, LASAGNA SHEETS GF (12 OZ) $5.29
60302809912 RPS PASTA COMPANY PASTA, LINGUINI GF (9 OZ) $4.29
78202962304 SALSA LISA SALSA, HOT (32 OZ) $6.99
78202932601 SALSA LISA SALSA, CHIPOTLE (15 OZ) $4.79
78202962303 SALSA LISA SALSA, HOT (15 OZ) $4.79
78202962301 MISO MASTER MISO, MELLOW WHITE (15 OZ) $4.79
78202962302 MISO MASTER MISO, MELLOW WHITE (32 OZ) $6.99
4144500400 SCHORRS PICKLES, HALF SOURS (32 OZ) $5.99
70223001013 SOUTH RIVER MISO, 1 YR AZUKI OG (16 OZ) $10.99
70223001012 SOUTH RIVER MISO, CHICKPEA OG (16 OZ) $10.99
70223001010 SOUTH RIVER MISO, SWEET WHITE OG (16 OZ) $9.99
85544600212 SPIRIT CREEK CURTIDO, FERMENTED (16 OZ) $8.99
85544600206 SPIRIT CREEK DILLY BEANS, FERMENTED (16 OZ) $9.99
85544600200 SPIRIT CREEK KIM CHI (16 OZ) $9.99
85544600201 SPIRIT CREEK SAUERKRAUT, GREEN (16 OZ) $8.99
85544600202 SPIRIT CREEK SAUERKRAUT, PURPLE (16 OZ) $8.99
79151721601 SUNJA KIM CHI, CABBAGE (16 OZ) $6.69
85039400400 TRRRIFIC ASPARAGUS (16 OZ) $7.99
85039400401 TRRRIFIC ASPARAGUS, SPICY (16 OZ) $7.99
7487309080 WESTBRAE MISO, MELLOW BR RICE OG (13 OZ) $6.49
7487309086 WESTBRAE MISO, MELLOW RED OG (13 OZ) $6.49
7487309083 WESTBRAE MISO, MELLOW WHITE OG (13 OZ) $6.49
3087130150 WILDWOOD AIOLI, GARLIC (16 OZ) $5.99
89893200100 YONS FOODS KIM CHI (16 OZ) $5.79
Any additional updates can be found at here.
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Recall: Salpica products
Riba Foods has issued a voluntary recall on certain Salpica salsa and cheese dip products carried at Seward Co-op. Riba is recalling these items due to an undeclared wheat allergen. People who have an allergy to wheat run the risk of allergic reaction if they consume this product.
Salpica product on Seward Co-op shelves are not affected by the recall. However, it is possible that we sold some of the affected lot codes in the past.
If you have purchased the following Salpica brand products (with lot codes found on the packaging) you may return them to Seward Co-op for a full refund.
* Salpica Salsa con Queso dip 16 oz – 604183-32030 with best by dates of 10sep15 through 21feb16
* Salpica Jalapeno Jack Queso Dip 16 oz – 604183-32060 with best by dates of 9oct15 through 28jan16
Any future updates can be found here on the Seward recall page.