This is a perfect meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner. 

Baked Eggs & Herbs in Portabella Mushroom Caps

2 medium portabella mushroom caps
4 large eggs
2 T chopped fresh chives
1 T chopped scallions
Salt & pepper
Cooking spray (olive oil or regular vegetable oil)

Preheat the oven to 375°.  Line a cookie sheet with foil and lightly coat with a thin layer of cooking spray.  Rinse & pat dry the mushroom caps, making sure all extra traces of dirt are removed.  Gently pop off the stem and leave the gills intact.

Lightly sprinkle each mushroom cap with salt & freshly ground pepper, followed by about half of the herbs.  Carefully crack two eggs into each mushroom and place on baking sheet.  Bake for 25-35 minutes, until the eggs are set according to personal taste.

Remove from the oven & allow to cool for about 5 minutes.  Sprinkle with the remaining herbs, add another sprinkle of ground black pepper for garnish, and enjoy!

There’s a controversy brewing in the Fair Trade movement, currently. The Fair Trade certifier Transfair USA has recently moved to lower standards and expand the Fair Trade system to include plantations – which will create unfair competition against the small farmer co-operatives that are the foundation and integrity of Fair Trade. Equal Exchange, the Fair Trade Federation, and other cooperatives and groups associated with Fair Trade are calling this move a betrayal and trying to spread the word to help re-claim the authentic Fair Trade system that everybody has been working so hard to build.

Please join us in signing this public statement, and please choose authentic, farm-centered fair trade.

Designed to help support the immune system and a healthy diet, Barlean’s Greens is a proprietary blend of organic barley leaf, oat leaf and wheat leaf combined with barley juice, wheat juice and oat juice powders, spirulina, organic flaxmeal, rice bran, chlorella, sea vegetables, spinach, parsley, astragalus, schizandra, acerola cherry, rosemary powder, green tea extract, curcumin extract, stevia and full-spectrum digestive enzymes.

Stop by our Health and Beauty Aids department to try for yourself!

Just be the first to tell us: (jodie(at) skagitfoodcoop.com) which bodacious fruit Erin is hosting in her apron…

Little Boy Blue is the first cow’s milk blue cheese from Willapa Hills Farms. Aged at least 60 days, it is made from rich, whole milk with a natural rind. The cheese has a firm, creamy texture with undertones of hazelnuts and salty, tangy veins of blue mold. Little Boy Blue is mild when young and develops stronger, more complex flavors as it ages.

Celebrate local craftsman and family farming with Little Boy Blue’s versatile cheese goodness. This local delight is sturdy enough to slice, yet delicate enough to crumble over your favorite salad, steak or pasta. Snag some pears and whip up the following recipe:

Little Boy Blue & Pear Salad Recipe

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup toasted almonds or walnuts
• 1 bunch watercress
• 1 bunch arugula
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Belgian endive
• 2 ripe pears, such as Anjou, Bartlett, or Comice
• 2 ounces Willapa Hill Farms Little Boy Blue cheese

Uprising Seeds has 26 new varieties in their 2012 catalog, as well as mushroom kits, seeds for grain and cover crops, and seed garlic -
Now can you see why we’re excited?

My New Favorite Grain!! Farro!!

The snow is gone for now but the cold remains.  Being snowed in for a few days, and making do with the stuff I had in my pantry, I made myself a soup that I will now add to my arsenal of recipes.

This is not a fancy soup but it has all the makings that are nourishing and warming.  I used garbanzo beans, but you could substitute others beans you have your cupboard. 

Farro and Chickpea Soup
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving

• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 1 rib celery, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• Pinch crushed red pepper (for heat…again optional)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 bunch greens, I used chard.
• 1 cup uncooked farro
• 1 cup fully cooked chickpeas
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Fresh ground black pepper
• Cilantro… (optional)
• Sea salt

1.      In a large pot with a lid heat the olive oil over medium high heat. When it shimmers, add the onion, celery, garlic, crushed red pepper, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened, about 3 minutes.

2.    Add the greens and cook for a couple of minutes until they have begun to soften. Add the farro and 4 cups water. Cover and simmer until the farro is tender but still a bit chewy, about 50 minutes.

3.    Remove the lid and add the chickpeas and lemon juice. Stir and simmer for a few minutes to allow the flavors to meld, then taste and adjust seasoning.

4.    To serve, garnish, fresh ground black pepper, cilantro and sea salt.

As I considered this further, I decided on a different plan.  I would indulge in any food whim I might have while employing a deep and gentle curiosity about the what and the why and the how of any particular craving.  Did I mention that I work at the Co-op?  Home to so many morsels of yum, it’s hard for any staff member to make it through the day without being offered some bit of ambrosia.  Even harder to be surrounded by anything you could possibly want to eat and resist.

And for a few more days I didn’t resist.  What I noticed was in line with what several friends and internet strangers had warned me about sugar – humans have a strong urge to eat the stuff.  For me I noticed three distinct times when I tended to crave sumin’ sweet.

Urge 1: After a meal.  We’ve all been there, pleasantly full after a good meal and yet there’s this small nag of need.  A little whimper for a little sweet bit on your tongue.  This desire for post-meal sugar is said to be a good instinct because some natural sweets – like pineapple and papaya – have enzymes that helps us to break down our food. Pretty sure dark chocolate peppermint patties aren’t in the same category though.

Urge 2: When tired.  As the day gets longer and no one else slows down around me, I noticed myself using sweets as a way to get me over the next hurdle.  Even though my brain knows this is a vicious cycle for me, part of me also believes in the power of cookies.

Urge 3: Stress.  Sugar is often linked to times in our lives when we felt very loved and supportive (happy birthday!) so when we “treat ourselves” to some nostalgic chocolate cake it can awash us in memories that seem to relief stress.  Things are not often as they seem though.

During the final days of 2011 I looked for ways to fill the sugar void.  It’s probably all those behavior modification classes in college that have convinced me to change behavior we need a replacement behavior that gets us the same reward.  So here’s what I figured out.

Antidote for Urge 1.  After a meal, I do double duty by drinking some delicious Egyptian Licorice Tea from Yogi Teas.  Not only does it have a whiff of sweet thanks to the stevia added, licorice is thought to aid digestion.  The peaceful ritual of making tea and  the aroma of it steeping all provide much more than a brownie.  Really.  Try it before you doubt me.

Antidote for Urge 2.  The false energy surge of sugar cannot compete with the real food fuel of Healthforce’s Vitamineral Greens.  This is chock full of greens – from land and sea – along with probiotics and enzymes all which help me to feel nourished and energized.  Sometimes I drink it in water with a squeeze of lemon juice, or when feeling especially decadent, I add it to diluted unsweetened rice milk with a teaspoon of Barlean’s Chocolate Silk Greens.  More on that delight later.  (Yes, we have both these for sale in the Health and Beauty Aid Department at the Co-op).

Antidote for Urge 3.  This is no doubt the hardest for many folks trying to change eating habits – the emotional attachments we have to food runs deep.  For me, I have found that sometimes simply asking myself how I am feeling helps to focus me on what I am experiencing now rather than what I am using/eating in order to avoid experiencing.  Face the music, so to speak.

To be more specific, I am not asking “how do I feel about forgetting to pay that utility bill and having a screaming child chase me around the house?”  Because I know that- I feel stressed, overwhelmed, annoyed, exhausted.  Rather, I ask myself “how does this feel in my body?” and try to describe it to myself in a very physical and visual way.  This does involve sitting still for a moment (which is tricking because then the child can catch you).  For example, “I’m so stressed right now that it feels like my stomach is full of sharp rocks and my back feels like it is wrapped in hot iron.”

Then I give myself some time to experience that without judgment or trying to understand it.  Breathing helps too.  Then I just…appreciate the emotion for what it is and maybe even look for a small bit of gratitude if at all possible (wow- my kid has some strong lungs.  I wonder if he’ll sing opera one day).  This, of course, doesn’t pay my bills or calm my child.  But it does keep me from eating something that will only make me feel worse in the long run.  (Read the article here that first clued me onto this strategy.  Although the article addresses this being used to help treat depression, the technique can be helpful in many situations).

Another side note on eating while stressed out.  When we are stressed our body pumps out cortisol and when we eat under these conditions our body – which is ultimately focused on survival at all costs – saves these calories right along our midsection.  Because somewhere our body might think we are being chased by a tiger and that’s why we are stressed and those calories will be needed to climb the nearest tree.  Or at least that’s the story I have told myself.

So, by paying attention and planning ahead I was able to feel more prepared about going sugar-less for 2012.  I had a plan. Of course, the reality was a bit more challenging.

Read about day one next week.

I’ll be writing here about my sugar-licious-less journey here for co-op’ers, and encourage folks to share their own thoughts and experiences.  And please note that my ramblings’ are my own, not the Co-op’s, and I’d hate for anyone to take my thoughts as medical advice- because it is not.  Consult your own health care provider for advice about the best path for you.

Flax 4 Life Muffins – $5.69. Moist, delicious, gluten-free muffins made with fresh ground flax seed. Fiber, omegas, and lignans for your good health. 4 pack. Reg. $6.59.

Organic Valley Milk 4-pack – $3.99. Great for brown bag lunches because there is no refrigeration required. Chocolate or Strawberry. 4 pack, 8 oz. Reg. $6.09.

Organic Basmati Rice – $1.89 lb. Fragrant, high fiber, and naturally gluten-free. Brown or White Basmati. Reg. $2.79-3.15 lb.

Columbia Gorge Organic Juices – $2.99. Carrot Beet Celery, Carrot Leafy Greens, Super C, and more! 16 oz. Reg. $3.69.

Ralph’s Greenhouse Organic Juicing Carrots – $7.99 for 10 lb, $10.99 for 15 lb, $15.99 for 25 lb. Super Sweet Nantes Carrots grown just a few miles west of the Co-op.

Organic Valencia Oranges – $1.19 lb. Very, very juicy and sweet. We’re impressed!