January 2014 Find us on Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest

Harvest Market Natural Foods

Your Community Natural Grocer Since 1995.

"We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves, otherwise we harden."

-Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

In the New Year, Harvest Market is focused on promoting ways to help nourish your body. Resolve to rejoice in the wonders of our human form, and feed your body what it needs to perform optimally.

One way to nourish your body is with soup. Packed with nutrition, soup is great because it:

- Makes use of leftovers and animal bones.

- Accommodates many dietary needs and restrictions.

- Is cost-effective and freezable.

- Heals and comforts during illness.

- Encourages creativity and simplicity.

- Tastes delicious!

We are featuring the delights of soup during National Soup Month at Harvest Market in a variety of ways. Get some tips on making soups in a blender or Vitamix with Kim's Simple Soup Demo on Monday, January 13, then vote for your favorite soup dish at the Staff Soup Cook Off the following Saturday, January 18.

Our bulk soups, packaged with love and care by our staff, are a very affordable way to make a vegetarian soup with rice, whole grains and veggies, or improvise and add your own flare to the mix with ground beef or homemade broth. Women's Bean Project soup mixes are hearty and flavorful, while also benefitting the women who hand sign and assemble every package. All dried Mycological Mushrooms on sale throughout January, so why not try your hand at some of their own 'Celebrity Chef' recipes? In the store, look out for our own Henry and Emma Long's recipe for Homemade Bone Broth.

The sage and savory Weston A. Price Foundation cooks up some "soup-stenance" with soup recipes and conventional wisdom on the healing role of soup and broth in our lives. In a recent article, Dr. Joe Mercola also accounts on the benefits of using bone broth, a staple ingredient made with something that most people throw away!

From all of us at Harvest Market, we wish you a very healthy 2014!

Local Farm Profile

Oasis at Bird-in-Hand Dairy Farms

Ronks, PA

Harvest Market's newest local farm producer is Oasis at Bird-in-Hand, a community of family farmers in Lancaster County who are now supplying us with a range of dairy, egg and meat products (see New Products section below). The farmers who supply milk for Oasis at Bird-in-Hand are all Certified Organic and feed their cows on grass. There is no need to worry about eating anything genetically modified or polluted with synthetic chemicals in any of the food that you buy from Oasis. As good stewards to the land, Oasis' farms go one step further by powering their dairy processing facilities with Clean Currents, a renewable energy supplier.

All of the milk coming from Oasis at Bird in Hand comes from grass fed, mostly heritage breeds of cows. Milk from grass fed cows is superior for a number of reasons; it contains higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which is an anti-carcinogen and the fats in milk from grass fed cows are actually good for you, studies show they help to reduce the risk of heart attack.

Buttermilk and Butter

Another product available from Oasis is beautiful yellow butter made on the premises from grass fed milk. The process of making butter yields a drink called buttermilk. The consistency of cultured Oasis buttermilk is similar to its drinkable yogurts. The buttermilk that comes from Oasis is called traditional buttermilk, it is the real deal! It actually comes from the butter making process.

Excerpted from RealLiveFood.org, Oasis' website.

Farm Fresh Recipe: Chicken Bone Broth

From Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions

1 whole free-range chicken or 2 - 3 pounds of bony chicken parts, such as necks, backs, breastbones and wings*

gizzards from one chicken (optional)

2-4 chicken feet (optional)

4 quarts cold filtered water

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped

3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped

1 bunch parsley

If you are using a whole chicken, cut off the wings and remove the neck, fat glands and the gizzards from the cavity. Cut chicken parts into several pieces. (If you are using a whole chicken, remove the neck and wings and cut them into several pieces.) Place chicken or chicken pieces in a large stainless steel pot with water, vinegar and all vegetables except parsley. Let stand 30 minutes to 1 hour. Bring to a boil, and remove scum that rises to the top. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 6 to 8 hours. The longer you cook the stock, the richer and more flavorful it will be. About 10 minutes before finishing the stock, add parsley. This will impart additional mineral ions to the broth.

Remove whole chicken or pieces with a slotted spoon. If you are using a whole chicken, let cool and remove chicken meat from the carcass. Reserve for other uses, such as chicken salads, enchiladas, sandwiches or curries. Strain the stock into a large bowl and reserve in your refrigerator until the fat rises to the top and congeals. Skim off this fat and reserve the stock in covered containers in your refrigerator or freezer.

*Note: Farm-raised, free-range chickens give the best results. Many battery-raised chickens will not produce stock that gels.

Click here for Beef and Fish Bone Broth recipes and more information on the health benefits of bone broths.

"Good broth will resurrect the dead."

-South American proverb

New Products

Oasis at Bird-in-Hand Dairy, Eggs and Meat

Load up on good, healthy fats with our new line of local grass-fed, Organic dairy products from Oasis at Bird-in-Hand. Recent additions to the dairy case include: buttermilk, goat's milk, duck and quail eggs (bi-weekly), frozen beef bones for soup, goat ch�vre, butter, cream, and drinkable yogurts in three flavors: Vanilla, Maple and Mango.

Oasis farmers live and work on small, diversified family farms, where animals roam on pasture and no synthetic chemicals are used.

Crisp & Co. Pickles

Crisp & Co. is a local premier producer of artisanal pickles from Hockessin, DE. True to the name, all pickles are exceptionally crisp. Each jar is hand-packed, made in season using only the finest, locally-sourced ingredients. Crisp & Co.'s novel processing methodologies allow them to produce pickles of unparalleled quality, flavor and texture. Choose from three types of pickles: Sweet Ginger, Dill Pickles, or Spicy Dilly Beans. Crisp & Co. will be on hand for a tasting of their fermented goods on January 11 from 11am-2pm.

Alive and Radiant Superfood Spicy Kale Krunch

While 2013 may have come and gone, kale is here to stay! The leafy green geniuses at Alive and Radiant have done it again and now offer two new flavors that we bring to you: Superfood Kale Krunch and Spicy Superfood Kale Krunch. Wonderfully potent superfoods like spirulina, maca and chia seeds layer even more nutrition, taste and texture onto the baked kale chips, while the Spicy variety is brought to life with the heat of turmeric and cayenne.

Events and Activism

Crisp & Co. Pickle Tasting

Saturday,

January 11

11am-2pm

"Artisanal, award-winning & delightfully crisp pickles" describes Crisp & Co., a new local producer of pickles in Hockessin, DE. Each jar is hand-packed, made in season using only the finest, locally-sourced ingredients. Choose from three types of pickles: Sweet Ginger, Dill Pickles, or Spicy Dilly Beans.

Simple Soup Demo

Monday,

January 13

11am-2pm

Our Green Smoothie Girl has gone soupy! Kim will be demonstrating how to make simple, healthy soups with her Vitamix. Butternut Squash Soup and Black Bean Tortilla Soup will be available to taste. Stop by for a Winter warm up and pick up a few tips while you're here.

Staff Soup Cook-Off

Saturday,

January 18

12-3pm

Soup season has arrived! Come get warm and cozy at the Harvest Market Soup Cook Off. Sample staff recipes and vote on your favorite. Vegan and gluten-free options will be offered, in addition to soups that contain meat and dairy. Recipes for each soup will be made available for customers to take home.

'Natural' Foods with GMO's?

Should foods labeled 'natural' be allowed to contain genetically modified organisms (GMO's)? "Yes!", says the Grocery

Manufacturers Association, which has written a letter of intent to the FDA to permit GMO's in 'natural' foods. Like many other claims on food labels, 'natural' has no standard legal definition, unlike Certified Organic or Fair Trade. For more information, read this New York Times article and this Food Safety News update.

Harvest Market Kitchen

January Specials

It's Essential

Relax and Rejuvenate with Homemade Bath Salts

Enjoy these energizing and relaxing bath salts after the holidays to help put you back in the swing of things! Peppermint is known for its head-clearing effects, which brings clarity, vitality, energy, and focus. Cinnamon is used to improve circulation and loosen tight muscles, while also reducing stress and pain.

4lbs sea salt or kosher salt

20 drops cinnamon essential oil

20 drops peppermint essential oil

In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly combine salt and essential oils. Store in a large, clean jar or several small jars with tight-fitting lids.

To use: Add one to two cups to a warm-water bath.

From Remedies Magazine, a free magazine available at Harvest Market.

Food for Thought

Photo from Modern Farmer Magazine.

Looking back on the ups and downs of 2013, we reflect on what's happened in the world of food and agriculture in our society and beyond. Modern Farmer, a new quarterly magazine available in our periodicals selection, highlights their Top 10 Most Popular Stories of 2013 (and 10 We Wish More People Read). Happy reading and happy eating!