Happy Monday!

Here's a little fun education for your eyeballs. As greenLAgirl put it: "like the Story of Stuff, except less shrill and a lot shorter," I'll add also with a British accent.

Grow your own!

A little Friday wrap up.

#1 An NPR bit about the Woman's Land Army, an all but forgotten women's movement during World War I. While U.S. servicemen were fighting "over there," American women from all walks of life moved to rural areas to work as farm laborers. Interesting and only about 5 minutes, check it out: www.npr.org.


#2 In bad times, seed sales grow. Even if you only have a little bit of windowsill space, you can grow a pot of herbs. The more space you have the more you can grow! Don't forget that the co-op has certified organic seeds near the bread section to the right as you walk in.

#3 Listen to this: Evan Kleiman had Bill Freese, of the Center for Food Saftey, on her show on March 7th to talk about the FDA's recent approval of irradiation of lettuce and spinach. He brings up serious concerns about the safety of food irradiation. The whole show is good, but the irradiation part starts at about the 28:28 mark.

Bees!

I follow a local blog called Backwards Beekeepers. It's a bunch of backyard bee keepers right here in Los Angeles. Actually if you have a bee hive you want to have removed they are the people to contact.

Below is a short video on urban bee keeping. Very inspiring, I'm not a beekeeper but I do have a hive in a pepper tree in my yard and I love the idea that all my flowering plants are helping to make bee food!


Every Third Bite from meerkatmedia.org on Vimeo.

Happy Monday!

Hope everyone enjoyed a great and relaxing weekend.

A couple of co-op news points:
#1 You can find our new monthly sale items on our website here: www.coopportunity.com

#2 You can download the latest version of our newsletter (March/April 2009) on our website as well. See: www.coopportunity.com

In other news, March is National Women's History Month. This year the National Women's History Project is honoring "Women Taking the Lead to Save our Planet." Learn more here: http://www.nwhp.org/

Cooperation Makes It Happen!

They really got a lot right on the "Street" :-) Happy Friday



Dig it!

Happy Fat Tuesday!

I'm loving the following article posted on the NY Times website. I'm a big fan of Harold McGee, he takes a close look at food and the science behind cooking. In his article How Much Water Does Pasta Really Need? he takes a look at the amount of water used to cook pasta. He suggests that cooking with less water works just as well as cooking with the standard 6 quarts, plus it saves water and energy!

In the spirit of Mardi Gras, go visit www.epicurious.com, which is a great online resource for all kinds of recipes, and see all the yummy Cajun and Creole inspired dishes they have available. Also you can find a great recipe for Vegetarian Gumbo on one of my favorite food blogs www.101cookbooks.com!

Happy Friday!

Alice Waters writes an open letter asking the current administration asking to have the National School Lunch Program reassessed in this New York Times op-ed piece: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/opinion/20waters.html

Also there is a really yummy looking recipe over at Cookus Interruptus called Three Sisters Stew which is a delicious combination of corn, beans and squash. Mmm yummy, hearty and healthy!
http://www.cookusinterruptus.com/index.php?video_id=96

If you're interested in reading about food online, the Times Online has a list of 50 of the world's best food blogs according to their food editor. Many of the blogs look so amazing and could be good resources for recipes and meal ideas! Check it out:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/real_food/article5561425.ece

Have a great weekend!!

Vermicomposting

Here in Southern California, if you have a yard with a sunny spot you can pretty much compost outside year-round. Composting is a great way to help the environment since after recycling, your trash will most likely be taken up by food waste, if you eat or cook in your home. When that waste goes to the landfill it degrades anaerobically which releases methane gas, which according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is 20 times more harmful to the environment than Carbon Dioxide. By volume, food waste is the #1 contributor to methane gas production. Additionally, disposing of food waste costs the U.S. around $1 billion a year.

So what can you do if you live in an apartment or you just don't have room for a compost heap in your yard? Well, you can always turn to Vermicomposting!

Vermicomposting uses worms (usually Red Wrigglers) to break down your food scraps into beautiful rich earth, which you then can can use as potting soil for your indoor plants or sprinkle on your garden. I recently invested in a worm house, and I've been saving my kitchen scraps waiting on my worms to begin vermicomposting in my own home. Check back here for periodic updates on the worm bin, maybe even with pictures!

In the mean time check out this recent New York Times article on vermicomposting! http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/garden/19worms.html

You are what you eat!

Two unrelated but equally interesting articles.

The first, from www.naturalnews.com, giving six compelling reasons why you should eat organic!

The second will appeal more to parents and has some really good advice on how to combat kid's picky eating habits. It comes to us by way of the Wedge in Minneapolis another really awesome co-op! Check it out www.wedge.coop

Upcoming Community Events

Did you know that the co-op has a Community Events page on our website that features local Santa Monica and surrounding area happenings? Well we do, and we even update it every once in a while. Check it out!

www.coopportunity.com

OMG we're so hip!

Exciting news. Have you ever found that you just need more co-op? Well good news for people who like frequent news because the co-op now has a Twitter page!

Find us at: http://twitter.com/Coopportunity get up to the minute updates.

Does anyone think there is something weird about getting a Twitter account and being so excited that you just had to put it on your blog right away? Talk about the information age...

Chocolate Love!

Hi Everyone! Just to let you know that we have all kind of delicious organic fair trade and natural Chocolate available here at the store including:

Chocolove - in a variety of flavors

Just $1.69

Happy Tuesday

Hey check this out! The Green Gadgets Design Competition is underway at www.greenergadgets.com! Go check it out and vote to help them select 10 products for live judging at the Greener Gadgets Conference in New York City on February 27th, 2009. Some really great ideas there...

Change the World by Changing the way you Eat!

Mark Bittman is out promoting his new book "Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating." He stopped by NPR about a week ago to talk about food, the environment, and cutting back on animal products to make a positive impact on your health and the environment. It's an interesting talk, and also there are three breakfast recipes at the bottom of the page. Check it out!

Make your own recycled Mini Greenhouse

This is such a good idea you can make your own Mini Greenhouse for sprouting your garden seeds indoors. If you're a fan of the co-op's roasted chicken this is a perfect little project to reuse the container once you've eaten the chicken! Check it out at www.instructables.com

Eat Local!

Hey Check this out! As you know the co-op does it best to provide as much local produce as possible. In case you were wondering what is grow around us in this season check out the Natural Resources Defense Council's site then come on in for a locally grown fruit or veggie! The rest of their site is pretty informative as well.

Organic Beds

If you're in the market for organic bedding this is an interesting New York Times article to check out. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/garden/15mattress.html?ref=garden

Happy Monday!

This is an interesting article on Food Safety in the New York Times.
link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/business/11feed.html

Also if you're looking for a hearty but healthy vegetarian meal I can recommend the below recipe for lentil soup. It was so delicious I pretty much followed the recipe except I cooked it for a bit longer and then skipped the blending stage (who wants to clean another dish, not me) also the optional vinegar really perks up the dish. Add a salad and some bread yum, Yum! Also would make an awesome, if a bit runny, side dish.
link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/French-Lentil-Soup-236772

Happy Friday!

This weekend if you're feeling the chill of the Southern California winter, you can indulge in some delicious homemade soups. I found this list of recipes on the Times site. Check out 10 super seasonal soup recipes here (link takes you to Times site), hope you enjoy. If you make any of them feel free to come back and post a comment on how it worked for you!!

Have a happy weekend!

Happy New Year!

Hope you all had wonderful New Years Celebrations.

This year resolve to be green!
If you're making new years resolutions this year, U.S. News and World Report has some green, cost-effective suggestions for 2009!

Jim Riddle for Agricultural Marketing Services!
We have the great opportunity to promote Jim Riddle to be the head of the Agricultural Marketing Services. With the appointment of Tom Vilsack, more than ever, we need someone who can act as an advocate for the organic food movement.

Jim Riddle is a longtime champion of organic/sustainable farmers and strong standards, so consumers know what "organic" means from the produce aisle to the dairy cooler to the body care aisle. Please take a look at his resume, and sign their petition.

Please go to:

www.fairfoodfight.com/fight/petition-draft-jim-riddle-usda