Natural Enquirer January 2021

Y O U R

C O M M U N I T Y

THE

N A T U R A L

F O O D S

NATURAL

M A R K E T

ENQUIRER

A Pu B l i cat i o n o F t h e S kag i t Va l l e y Fo o d Co - o p

January - March 2021

A few photos from our 2021 4% Friday recipients.

2021 4% FRIDAY: A FOCUS ON HEALTHY FOOD FOR ALL One of the joys of shopping at the Co-op is knowing that you’re giving back to the community in some way with each trip: supporting farmers, local makers, or the friendly faces who work here. But when you participate in the Co-op’s 4% Friday Community Shopping Day on the 4th Friday of the month, the impact of your purchase is even clearer: we donate 4% of sales directly to a local non-profit organization.

IN THIS ISSUE

Every fall, the 4% Friday selection committee sits down with a stack of applications to select groups for the upcoming year, and every year, the decision-making is difficult. With so much need—so many deserving organizations doing amazing work in our community—it’s tough to narrow it down to just 12 groups.

This year was no different.

However, with food insecurity on the rise in the midst of a pandemic,

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From the Board ∙ pg 2

access to healthy food is a priority; a majority of 2021’s 4% Friday groups focus on feeding the people who need it most. So, when you shop 4% Friday, your purchase is providing healthy food and nourishment to someone else. Be sure to mark your calendars, stock up, and shop big to give back in a big way.

You’ll find the 2021 4% Friday groups on page 8.

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General Manager Update pg 3 Distilled ∙ pg 4 Tokens for Tomorrow ∙ pg 5 Clear Skin from Within ∙ pg 7

Hard-Boiled Facts

Board Announces 2021 4% Friday Groups

G.R.O.W. Bananas

FroM the Board

Call for Board Candidates

by Rob Smith

The Board of Trustees of the Skagit Valley Food Co-op has always been fortunate to have a good group of qualified, involved memberowners who were willing to invest their time and varied expertise in serving on the Co-op Board. This has provided the governance necessary to allow the Co-op to broaden our offerings of high quality, healthy food, support our environment, support our community with relevant education, and support local farmers, international fair trade, and other co-ops. We have been able to manage our finances appropriately to provide a base for growth and a cushion for harder times while still providing support to members of our community in need.

We are embarking on a more active mission to identify those individuals who will be our future board members. We are especially interested in bringing in member-owners with skill sets that will enhance our role, and who will more accurately represent the diversity of our community, and increase our impact in communities we feel are underserved and underrepresented in our owner-membership.

If you are interested in being on the Board, we ask that you fill out the Notice of Intent (available on the Co-op website’s Board of Director Page) and submit it with the attachments described to: board@skagitfoodcoop.com.

To run for the Board, a person must be an active member (which is defined by the bylaws as having “met the requirements of application [to be a Co-op member]…; is current in payment of equity; has made a purchase at the Co-op within the last twelve months; and has provided the Co-op with a current address.”) Everyone is eligible to become a Co-op member.

We ask that interested member-owners also attend at least one Board meeting and meet with current Board members to go over what the Board does and what you could expect if you joined.

The deadline for next Board election is fast approaching. If you are interested in being on the ballot, you’ll need to submit this paperwork by February 5 and complete the meetings prior to February 19 in order to have your name and info included in the Notice of Election in the April Natural Enquirer and online.

If you are interested in being considered for Board vacancies that might arise between elections, the timing isn’t quite as urgent, although it would still be valuable to get the process started.

Nota para los propietarios / miembros hispanohablantes: esta solicitación de candidatos para la mesa directiva de la Cooperativa de Alimentos del Valle de Skagit y el formulario que se debe usar para convertirse en candidato están disponibles en español en skagitfoodcoop. com en la página Co-op Board.

Skagit Valley Food Co-op Mission Statement

Local Food Resiliency & Your Co-op Member & Community Engagement Committee

Last October, we hosted our first “community conversation” on the topic of local food resiliency and how our Co-op can be a bigger part of that in these times of change. Over 30 people attended the session during the lunch hour via Zoom. Our first presenter was Cole Bitzenburg from the Skagit Food Distribution Center, and we learned how our local food banks and other partners are coordinating to distribute hundreds of boxes of food to families in need. As this need keeps growing, please contact Cole at ColeB@communityactionskagit.org if you can lend a hand, or make a donation. The next presenter was our own General Manager, Tony White, who gave us an update on Co-op happenings: thanks to our amazing staff and the loyal patronage of our member-owners, we are holding steady - even though we had to temporarily close Third Street Cafe and our Deli hot bar and salad bar due to the pandemic. In the remaining time, member-owners reflected on how lucky we are to have so much good food grown and raised here, by skilled farmworkers and farmers. Strengthening our local food resilience in these times of changing economics and climate is something we can definitely do – and it seems that the top priority is to get ourselves connected and educated. So, for next steps – our GM plans to be closely involved in the emerging food-system collaborations in the community, and our Board’s Member & Community Engagement Committee anticipates hosting more Community Conversations in 2021. We are currently imagining one session each quarter, to keep folks in the loop, with more time for dialogue. We hope to host our next session in February on the “True Cost of Food.” This is important, because liveable wages for the people who work in the food system need to be part of our design for community resilience. Stay tuned for more info, and we hope you can join in the conversation!

The Skagit Valley Food Co-op is a not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to provide good food at a fair price. As stated in the Co-op By-Laws: “The Co-op shall promote member welfare by utilizing their united funds and their united efforts for the purchase and distribution of commodities in accordance with the following criteria: A. Maintaining the non-for-profit status of the Co-op; B. Offering high quality products which contribute to good nutrition;

C. Supporting a low impact, non-harmful approach to the environment; D. Supporting local suppliers and producers; E. A commitment to building a cooperative economy and supporting others who share that commitment; F. A commitment to educational programs relevant to members and non-members in the community.”

The Skagit Valley Food Co-op Natural Enquirer is a quarterly publication of the Skagit Valley Food Co-op. Opinions expressed are those of the writers and may not reflect Co-op policy. No articles are meant to be used for diagnosis or treatment of illness. The Co-op does not endorse the products or services of advertisers.

Editor: Nicole Vander Meulen | Layout & Design: Emily Zimmerman Staff Contributors: Contributors: nancylee bouscher, Ben Goe, Jenny Sandbo, Jay Williams, Leigha Staffenhagen, Renée Hall, & Tony White Board of Trustees: Brad Claypool, Kristen Ekstran, Britta Eschete, Casey Schoenberger, Rob Smith, Wayne Rushing, Tim Penninger & Tom Theisen Copyright 2021: Reprints with permission

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Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • January - March 2021

CO-OP HOURS Open 8am - 8pm Daily or shop online anytime

www.skagitfoodcoop.com

General Manager Update

by Tony White

Dear Skagit Valley Food Co-op Members, As I write this update, four days before Thanksgiving, there is much to reflect upon.

2020 has been a difficult year for a lot of people. The year has had a disproportionate amount of grief and sorrow for so many. However, I do believe we all have things in our lives to be thankful for; they are just a little more challenging to see during a pandemic.

In my professional life, I am so appreciative of the opportunity to be the General Manager at Skagit Valley Food Co-op. By the time you read this update in January, I will have just finished my first year at the Co-op. While it certainly wasn’t the type of year I expected, I feel so fortunate to have been part of the team here at the Co-op. This Coop is made up of a special group of employees, as well as compassionate and loyal membership. I thank both stakeholder groups for helping me through 2020.

Our Co-op is healthy and strong. Previously, I shared with you that our Co-op had incurred losses for the first six months of the year, something that had not happened in many years. With the closing in March of Third Street Cafe, the Deli hot food bar and salad bar, our (famous!) made-to-order sandwich program, and Mercantile shop alongside the numerous cost increases due to COVID-19 our losses were at least explainable, if not understandable. However, we have worked hard to make adjustments in the way we are running our business. We are keeping our expenses in balance with sales. During the third

Highlight of Changes:

quarter, we still incurred hundreds of thousands of dollars in added expenses due to COVID-19 related protocols in place, but we were able to put together a strong quarter.

I am pleased to say that we had sufficient earnings during the third quarter to pull us to break-even for the year. Store sales are still running down from the previous year, but the sales drop can be attributed to a lower amount of Deli sales due to the closure of our mezzanine seating area and reduction of food offerings. Sales in almost every department other than Deli are up significantly, many over 10% from the previous year.

Over the last few months, we have made substantial investments into our Co-op facility. I thank you all for bearing with us as we replaced refrigerated cases and fixtures in our Bulk, Produce, Meat, Cheese, and Deli departments. I know some of these changes caused some disruptions during your shopping experience, but I hope you have found the end results to be worth the hassle.

New produce case.

• Refrigerated produce cases - our new cases are more energy efficient; increased our refrigeration capacity; have better lighting; and display our produce in a more attractive manner. The new cases also allowed us to reintroduce bulk spring mix, spinach, and arugula to our offerings. We also have a couple new, nifty mushroom bins that help keep your mushrooms fresher!

• Bulk Department - a redesign of the bulk department provides a more open space for your shopping experience. We replaced most of our scoop bins with pull handle gravity bins. Gravity bins eliminate hands and scoops from coming in contact with the product, which makes for a much safer bulk food experience. The new fixtures and bins look great! We’re very happy with the results.

• Cheese case - the new cheese case is also much more energy efficient than our old island style case. The upgrade allowed us to move cheese products located in other parts of the store all into one location.

• Meat freezer - we eliminated the open bin freezer case near the Mercantile stairs and replaced it with a new two-door upright freezer. The new case is so much more efficient than the open freezer we had. Its added capacity also allowed us to add even more products to our mix.

• New hot bar - we are super excited to be able to serve hot food once again! Bringing back a hot food bar did mean changing the way we were doing business. We didn’t

feel comfortable having an open self-serve hot bar, so we made the switch to a full service bar instead. The switch seemed to make perfect sense. After all, you love our hot food, and we love to serve you. Unfortunately, we are still limited to takeout only and cannot allow food consumption on the premises due to COVID-19 guidelines.

• Deli grab-n-go-case - to make room for our new hot bar, we needed to eliminate one of our full-service deli cases. The great products you used to get out of the full-service deli counter can now be found in the selfserve grab-n-go case. The new case also allowed us to offer all of our Deli-made products in one spot: you’ll find sandwiches, soups, dessert, dips, hummus, salads, burritos, and all of your other favorites in this case. One end of the case is intended for hot foods to-go. We’re working on some new irresistible food options for you!

I suspect that you have found our improvements to be pleasing and that your shopping experience is better than ever. Isn’t it fun to see the transformations occur? (continued on page 13)

New rustic wooden produce bins.

Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • January - March 2021

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Distilled

by Beverly Faxon

A year ago, I was sitting cross-legged on the floor at a toddler music class. After a burst of dance, a little girl not my own backed up to my lap and plopped down, her eyes on the teacher’s guitar. Her mother and I laughed, and the little girl sat until she was moved to rise. This sweetness I miss: the trusting touch of another’s child, and no one whisking her away, no apologies, no worry.

The flurry of baking, of learning a language, of cleaning out drawers, of firing off inspiring, funny, cynical, hopeful, hopeless videos to one another, has slowed down. It has been some months since we saw a Zoom choir concert that made us a little teary. We’ve got our rack of masks; we seldom forget to grab one when we leave the house. We are in the long haul now.

In the most essential ways, we have also fallen into deeply differing circumstances, defined by age, obligations, finances, resources. For some the pandemic has made life feel slower and emptier; for others, life is more pushed than ever, with increased responsibility and little support. For still others, the edge has never seemed so close: an edge of grief, an edge of survival. And yet, in common is this—our lives are all distilled by this pandemic.

Distilled in that much has been squeezed out, and much has seeped away. We hope we are left with the essence, with the pure bits that mean the most. But sweetness has also been stripped out.

Almost every person on the planet is experiencing this stripping away. In our collective history, have we ever shared a global experience that affected

life at the bone? Surely there is a way such commonality could make us better people?

Every day I try to remember what I miss—not to cause sorrow, but so that I don’t imagine life will go on forever without. I imagine that someday we will go back—with more conviction—to the parts of life we lost for a while but knew we wouldn’t forego forever.

Perhaps because I am basically fortunate, I miss small things. Warming myself by walking briskly down a winter sidewalk pressed on all sides by other hurrying people, their wool coats brushing my shoulder, my hand. The sound of shuffling cards in preparation for the deal. Splitting two desserts (the Panna Cotta? the apple crumble?)—three spoons, please. Laughing face to face. The careless, heartfelt hugs of greeting. The clasped hands. I want it all.

Most of us long to live some parts of our lives in public—we want to witness others living their lives, and we want others to witness us, to remind us we are somebody.

These hugs, these laughs, these brushing touches are acts of communion. We abdicate them now for the greater good, but we hold them in our hearts like tinder, waiting to be lit again.

I am writing in November, the waning end of 2020, an increasing darkness, each day shorter, wetter than the one before. You, dear reader, are reading in the cold gray-white days of January, the waxing slope of a new year, each day longer, lighter than the day before. You are in the very thick of winter—(Is it snowing? Or is the rain still driving, just a bit icier? And, other questions, more urgent: Did we manage to flatten the curve again? Is there a vaccine? Which is code for, is there hope?)—but

Photo by Bev Faxon

I know at least that you are much closer to the warming sun and the stretching days.

Yet, here in my increasingly dark midNovember, let me tell you what I see: a dark green cedar waiting for the next dance in a wind-driven rain, a rich bank of golden forsythia, and inexplicably, three perfect yellow roses a-bobbing, right outside my study window. Late in 2021, I want to remember what I longed for when I couldn’t have it. And I want to remember what I had when it felt like all the doors were closed.

Shopping Habits, New & Old

by Ben Goe

These are strange times that we find ourselves in. The pandemic has changed a lot of people’s habits, possibly forever. People are spending a majority of their time at home, and shopping and cooking habits have become different. After the pandemic ends, I hope we can retain some positive new cooking and shopping tools, which I’ve detailed below.

Happily, these positive shifts reflect core values of the food cooperative model.

Shop bulk when possible. Keep a couple weeks’ worth on hand of the non-perishables you use most often, and at least a week’s worth of less perishable produce. Dry and canned goods, flour, rice, beans, dry fruit, cereal, potatoes, onions, and other root vegetables, apples and oranges. During the cold months, beets, carrots, rutabagas, celery root, as well as onions, celery, kale, and cabbage store very well in a cooler under the house. If it’s going to freeze hard, pull them into the garage or put the cabbage and kale into the fridge. Potatoes prefer a drier space that’s not quite as cold – the garage or a broom closet are good spots, just keep them out of the light. Apples store well too, some varieties better than others.

Fuji, Braeburn, and Granny Smith all store well.

Again, keep them as cold as you can without freezing them. Ditto with winter squash. Stock up on your favorites while they’re available, and keep them in the garage or the pantry. Special orders in produce are easy – talk to a produce employee or give us a call (extension 269!).

We can have case quantities of most items in by the next day, with a ten percent (or better) discount for current member-owners.

Conversely, don’t stockpile. The most obvious example is toilet paper. America

produces, ships, and stocks plenty of toilet paper in relation to the populace and its demands. When people buy two or five times their usual, it creates an artificial shortage. Suddenly there’s none on the shelves, and stores are limiting purchases. We laugh about the toilet paper stockpiling, but maybe we do a little of it, too. We also stock up on some dry goods, canned goods, a month’s worth, six months’ worth. This creates another artificial shortage that has very real and very immediate effects on local food banks. People who can’t afford the food that their families need suddenly can’t get pasta, beans, rice, and flour from their local food banks and food pantries.

Shop less frequently. In times of pandemic, spending as little time around others (even when masked) is obviously the best practice. But I would encourage everyone to try and keep their shopping trips to a minimum anyway to save time!

If I shop three times a week without a list, I spend about a half hour on each trip. If I shop once a week with a list, I spend a little over 45 minutes. That time saving adds up.

Maximize your perishables. You can reduce waste and stretch your dollar with a few tips. Early in the week, eat your baby salad greens, sprouts, other delicate greens, fresh fish, and fresh meats.

When buying avocados, stone fruit, tropical fruit, tomatoes, and pears, buy some firm, some

4 Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • January - March 2021

medium, and some ripe. Save your bones, shells, and vegetable trimmings for stock. Skip trimmings from potatoes, brassicas (broccoli, kale, cabbage, etc.), and tender greens, but save the trimmings and peels from carrots, onions, celery, rutabagas, turnips, kohlrabi, and garlic, plus stems from hardy herbs. You can freeze bones and shells until you have enough for a batch of stock. You’ll want to keep a separate container or bag for fish bones and shrimp shells, red meat and pork bones, and poultry bones.

2020 had challenges for all of us, and there are surely more to come. If we work together and make the most of lessons learned, maybe we can push all of the positive changes from the old year into the new. And maybe as the new year settles into the old, we will remember, and come together to do more.

IN-SEASON PRODUCE — Organic Antics —

Dried mixed wild mushrooms in a jar (wild, so not certified organic).

— Cascadia Mushrooms —

Shiitake mushrooms, Oyster and Shiitake mushroom kits, dried Reishi mushrooms, and petite Shiitake mushrooms.

— Cedardale Orchards — Apple cider (not organic).

— Dahlia Depot —

Pea shoots, spicy mix microgreens, mild microgreens (not certified organic).

— Tops & Bottoms —

Dragon mix microgreens, broccoli microgreens, fava shoots.

— Happy Valley —

Clover sprouts (not certified organic).

— Boldly Grown Farm —

2lb bagged rainbow beets, bulk beets, purple and savoy cabbage, radicchio, kohlrabi, winter squash.

— Sherman's Pioneer Farm —

1lb cubed Sugar Hubbard squash.

— Headlin Family Farm —

Shallots, green cabbage, Savoy cabbage, January King Savoy Cabbage, winter squash.

— Ralph's Greenhouse —

Leeks, parsnips, cabbage, carrots, daffodils.

— Brownfield Orchards —

Gala apples, Fuji apples, Pink Lady apples, Braeburn apples, Granny Smith apples, Honeycrisp apples.

— Well Fed Farm — Winter squash

— Moondance Farm — Sunflower sprouts

— Southern Exposure — Sunchokes

— Sauk Farm —

Honeycrisp apple cider

Tokens For Tomorrow

Meet the 1st Quarter Tokens for Tomorrow groups! With Tokens for Tomorrow, every time you bring in a reusable shopping bag, we honor your commitment to reducing waste with a token worth 5¢ that you can give back to one of these local organizations.

Voices of the Children

The mission of Voices of the Children is to pair youth around the world in collaborative arts programs to shine a spotlight on humanitarian crises, encourage community engagement, and personal growth. Voices of the Children believe in leaving a legacy of love and compassion, and the artistic process holds the power to overcome adversity and heal emotional trauma. Through their annual program, “The Butterfly Project: Strength and Resilience Through Clay”, Voices of the Children addresses the unique struggles and challenges that young women and men face worldwide, and through clay art, individuals are able to reflect on their struggles and get on a path towards healing.

Skagit Fisheries

The Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group builds partnerships that educate and engage the community in habitat restoration and watershed stewardship activities in order to increase salmon populations and ensure a healthy community for everyone. Specifically, Skagit Fisheries is working towards raising funds to build a Salmon Safe program in Skagit Valley. This program would allow farms and businesses to become certified Salmon-Safe and encourage sound business practices that result in stewardship and conservation of our natural resources.

Skagit Trail Builders The mission of Skagit Trail Builders is to build and maintain multi-use trails for hikers, runners, and mountain bikers.

Skagit Trail Builders advocates to connect trails to everyday destinations such as parks, schools, neighborhoods, and downtown areas. They build safe places for Skagit County residents and visitors to walk, bike, and run for recreation, fun, transportation, health, and well-being.

Family Promise

The mission of Family Promise is to support homeless and low-income families as they work to provide their children with a loving home. Through a community-based response and their Sustainable Living Programs, Family Promise helps families achieve sustainable independence.

Reuse. Rinse. Repeat.

We're happy to welcome back the Tokens for Tomorrow Program!

Every time you reuse your bag, you’re giving back. How many times have you given back? How many times have you reused your bag?

Probably too many to count, and we are so grateful for your efforts.

Now, how many times have you reused your bag since you washed it last? Chances are, probably too many times to count. So, please remember to wash your bags to help keep everyone’s food safe and clean. And thanks again for reusing your bag!

Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • January - March 2021

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FroM WellneSS

Hard-Boiled Facts

by nancylee bouscher

Speaking of eggs, some of the best life lessons come from them.

Chicken eggs, specifically. Not that long ago, I noticed that despite owning about a half dozen hens we had zero eggs in our fridge. Throwing down $30 for a bag of feed every month without an egg to show for it didn’t add up. I asked my boys if they could go out and find the elusive eggs. I assumed the hens were getting sneaky, as hens do, and maybe they had found a new hideaway under the mammoth burdock or in the tangle of blackberries. Hours (or was it days?) later, there still were no eggs, and I confirmed with my kids that they had looked for the eggs. Oh yes, they assured me.

I have found that when it comes to verbs my kids and I have very different definitions. I really meant “hunt for eggs”, and I think they heard “scan for eggs.” I wandered outside and poked around in the many weed patches, growing more impressed with my clever girls. I even checked the old red doghouse my dad built years ago that was handsome and nostalgic but had never actually housed a dog (although now and then the cats napped in it if the sun was right). Nope. Truly stumped, I paused. A ridiculous idea floated to the top of my whirling mind… the nesting boxes in the hen house? No. Of course, my kids had checked there because it was the actual spot where chickens were supposed to lay eggs. I dipped my head into the coop and saw a mountain of eggs. Sigh.

I have these wonderful children, therefore, I usually have a lot of patience.

I even taught middle school, so not a lot gets under the skin… except peeling stubborn eggs. That whisper-thin membrane that refuses to release the tender whites is my kryptonite. It reduces me to a nap-less toddler with too much sugar in a hot car seat. I decided to get curious and do some old-fashioned research.

I actually called humans on the phone to talk to them about how they cook an egg so that it cleanly peels. Honestly, it wasn’t just my frustration with the loss of the egg whites that brought me to the dramatic decision to talk to people about something as classic and uncontroversial as how to cook an egg, it was also my conversation about soap lather.

I guarantee you I get asked better questions than any other profession in the world, even newspaper advice columnist (my secret dream job), and the most recent was by a very distinguished man with silver hair and piercing bright eyes. He wondered which bar soap had the best lather. Well, it turns out I have a lot of thoughts about this odd and wonderful question. I also, surprising to even myself, have unknown preferences and quite an elaborate vocabulary to talk about the lather such as “bubble density.” We also talked about bubble size and how one decides what the best bubble size is for their particular purpose.

We laughed and delighted in these few moments of important but completely whimsical conversation between two strangers who didn’t need to know anything about each other to be respectful and accepting. It reminded me how much I miss not knowing things about people. I just really needed to talk about the basics of life – and an egg, well, that is where it all starts.

The first person I called answered the phone by anxiously asking, “Is everything OK?” because in truth I hadn’t called them directly on the phone for years. Our worlds have evolved so that a text is somehow more polite than an unannounced phone call. As if hearing a person’s voice, even tinged with worry, isn’t some of the best medicine we can freely give. Once I explained my mission, he quickly explained his tried and true method, which involved an electric pressure cooker. Too bad I’m too terrified of those to try it.

The phone number of the next person I wanted to call had disappeared

from my contacts, and it sent a wave of incredulity through me because my smarty-pants phone should have known better than to foolishly misplace such vital knowledge. I went wandering about trying to find my dusty address book only to discover addresses long since abandoned through moves or deaths. Most entries written in pencil because ten years ago I knew better than to ink life’s temporary spots. I resorted to emailing her to tell her I needed to call her for a conversation of the utmost importance – and how could she resist that seduction? She wasn’t even disappointed with the topic and had much to say, although she eventually did resort to Google.

One egg debate happened in the Wellness Department itself with attention to all the details I had reviewed with my previous eggsperts (wow, I can’t believe that didn’t dawn on me sooner) such as egg age, mineral content of the water, temperature and timing of the boiling pot, and the highly contested necessity of an ice bath immediately after the cooking of the egg. Most importantly, in this gal’s opinion, was the plastic Tupperware egg piercer that cracked the shell just enough to allow perfect peeling every time.

I’m going to call her mom to confirm.

And so through these many conversations, I have finally come to the conclusion that cooking an egg to perfection and being able to peel it effortlessly depends on a thousand different variables that are all outside of our immediate control most of the time. But the planets can align, resulting in a euphoric kitchen moment when the clouds part and the birds sing and all is right with your egg. It does happen. Am I going to share with you the vast and random bits of things to try so you can be the person to finally crack this code?

No. Totally not going to do that. Because what I want more than a perfect egg is for my little bit of cooperative heaven that I clock in and out of for 40 hours a week to get back to our own core beliefs of being a community that cares for each other – no matter what. We use to look each other in the eye a lot more and find our own kindness reflected immediately back. And yes, before we had the internet, we had each other, so we could ask each other the really important questions like, “how do you eat a pomegranate?” or “which soap has the best bubble density?”

You’ll have to collect your own data. I have to warn you though: some eggs don’t wanna peel no matter how careful you are. Some eggs require such a fragile touch with endless patience that you might just chuck it far into your backyard and decide to opt for a tuna sandwich. If you do go for tuna sandwich, you should definitely put some kimchi on it. Hmmm, I wonder who knows how to make some kickin’ kimchi around here? Guess I need to call some friends. Or maybe you can stop by and tell me about yours. That’s what I’m here for. And really, that's why you are here too, isn’t it?

Setting Intention s in 2021

With 2020 in the rearview, it’s time to reset, renew, and refresh in preparation for the year ahead.

Here are our picks from Wellness & Mercantile for this season of change:

Retrograde

GEMSTONE TEA BALL INFUSER

Whether you practice crystal healing or not, these reusable tea infusers might be the prettiest way to enjoy your favorite cup of hot tea. Choose from citrine, quartz, and amethyst crystals.

Paperblanks (& More!)

JOURNALS & NOTEBOOKS

Keeping track of to-dos, jotting random thoughts, or finally starting your mindfulness journal journey, we have a beautiful variety of journals in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and styles.

6 Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • January - March 2021

Evanhealy

FACE BALMS FOR WINTER SKIN

When the weather outside is frightful, Evanhealy is here to delight dry winter skin.

USDA-certified organic and woman-owned, these face balms are easy to apply and provide instant moisturizing relief.

Om Mushroom Superfood

MUSHROOM MASTERBLEND

Made with 10 species of California-grown certified organic mushroom mycelial biomass and fruit body powder, this superfood supports cognitive health, immune defense, detox support, and more!

Clear Skin from Within

by Karl Mincin, Functional Medicine Nutritionist

How is your skin holding up with the all the hand washing and sanitizer? Not so good? Most skin issues start on the inside, and I have a few thoughts on how to improve your skin from within.

Skin is the gut turned inside-out. The digestive tract’s tissue lining is identical to the dermal tissue of skin, and what we do to our gut we do to our skin and our brain. For example, it doesn’t take much alcohol to kill healthy bacteria. Consider what happens when an alcohol wipe is used before a blood draw or injection; it’s the same principle on the inside when consuming alcohol, and we all know how alcohol impacts the brain.

The root of all skin conditions is improper organ function. When the liver, gut, kidneys, and lymphatics don't effectively process and detoxify, the “leftovers” will their way to the largest last-ditch organ of elimination, our skin, as a rash, acne, eczema, or other dermatitis and skin conditions.

Root Cause vs Medication Symptom Management. No amount of hand washing, diaper changing, or stress will ever flare up healthy skin and healthy organs. And if a skin condition is not caused by a deficiency of medication, how would medication effectively treat the root cause of the condition? Creams, lotions, pills, injections, and skin care remedies might appear to help, but again, the root of all skin conditions is a compromised organ of elimination.

The Skin is Bi-Directional. Not only does the skin eliminate toxins, it’s very effective at absorbing both toxins and nutrients. In fact, we absorb 70% of what goes on the skin.

In other words, our skin is like one big mouth! So if you wouldn’t put it in your mouth, don’t put it on your skin. Hand sanitizer snack anyone? All skincare and beauty products should only contain edible ingredients.

Essential Gut Health. No matter what a patient Zooms in to see me for, if they aren't pooping at least once each and every day, this gets moved to the top of the health goals list! Poor elimination leads to chronic inflammation. Inflammation equals -itis and a pain in the…, as in dermat-itis, acne, etc. Inflammation is at the root of degenerative disease along with skin conditions.

Liver-Hormone Connection. Even if hormone production is adequate and balanced, a sluggish, congested liver can cause hormonal deficiencies and imbalances. This is another root cause not only of skin conditions, but most everything else. We know the liver as a filter and detoxifier, but few realize it also regulates and activates every good substance such as hormones, cholesterol and vitamins.

3 Keys to Make Your Skin Condition Go Away.

1. Optimize detoxification pathways by improving eliminative organs, especially the gut, liver, and lymphatics.

2. Balance hormones.

3. Test and address nutrient deficiencies. There are four nutritional influences common to all skin conditions: essential fatty acids such as omega-3, vitamin A, Zinc and Folic Acid (B-9). Evaluating for these is a good idea to ensure not only overall and immune health but sustainably clear skin. Like I always say, if you aren’t testing, you’re guessing.

Karl Mincin is a Functional Medicine Nutritionist in practice locally for 35 years.

360.336.2616 • Nutrition-Testing.com | Facebook @NutritionTesting1 Instagram @MincinNutritionist

Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • January - March 2021

7

Board Announces 2021

Recipients

One of our most exciting ways to support community is through 4% Friday! You shop and together we give 4% of Co-op sales on one Friday a month to a non-profit, charitable community organization. And just think—each of these organizations is, itself, supporting the community! What a great circle of giving.

Photos: Courtesy of 4% Friday recipients

Viva Farms January 22

Viva Farms is a non-profit farm business incubator established in 2009. Viva empowers aspiring and historically-underserved and limited resource farmers by providing bilingual (English/Spanish) training in holistic, regenerative, organic agriculture.

Viva has recently been able to acquire 20 additional acres of Skagit farmland for its incubating and Agricultural Park farmers.

Funds from 4% Friday will go directly toward the improvement of agriculture infrastructure on this new site to make it "farmer-ready" in the 2021 season.

Skagit County Meals on Wheels February 26

Skagit County Meals on Wheels provides services to meet the primary issue of hunger that exists among older adults in Skagit County.

Funds from 4% Friday will help to supply meals to the growing Meals on Wheels client base. Due to the pandemic, the program has grown by 19%. One thousand dollars would supply 112 hot, homemade meals to homebound seniors in Skagit County.

Concrete Farm to School May 28

The mission of Concrete Farm to School is to build resilient students and families by providing access to healthy local foods, nutrition and culinary education, and hands-on gardening activities. Concrete Farm to School serves students, families, and community members that live within the Concrete School District boundaries.

4% Friday funds will be used to support Concrete Farm to School’s 8-week summer vocational program for high school students. Learning is integrated into the summer experience with a focus on critical job skills such as communication, conflict management, resume writing, interviewing, and much more.

Camp Korey June 25

Children of the Valley March 26

Children of the Valley (COV) is an afterschool program that serves students in the Mount Vernon School District. Its mission is to provide a positive environment every day after school for children who are the most in need.

COV is a referral-based program, referred by the student’s school counselor and/or teachers based on academic and personal needs.

Last fall, COV expanded its services to two sites to serve more students, continuing to offer students of essential workers academic and personal support during the day with their remote learning. COV will use 4% Friday funds to purchase much needed outdoor equipment and enrichment supplies for the kids to use during outside play when they’re not participating with online remote learning.

Mount Vernon Farmers Market April 23

The mission of the Mount Vernon Farmers Market is to provide the citizens of Skagit County fresh, locally grown produce and handcrafted items and support community agriculture in a friendly, informative atmosphere.

At the market, one of the main goals is food access. 4% Friday funds will help support the market’s Skagit PICKs program, where free fruits and vegetables are provided to low-income families with educational tools from their partner, Skagit Pediatrics.

8 Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • January - March 2021

The mission of Camp Korey is to honor the courage, strength, and determination of children and their families living with life-altering medical conditions by providing them with a transformational experience in a fun, safe camp environment with specialized medical support. Annually, Camp Korey serves over 1,500 children and families living with one or more of 35 serious medical conditions. All Camp Korey programs are 100% free of cost to children and families.

Camp Korey will use funds from 4% Friday towards the cost of installing permeable pavers to make its garden more accessible for children using wheelchairs and walkers because the paths are currently covered in gravel.

Skagit Gleaners

One Community One Family

Skagit Gleaners is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization. Its purpose is to provide food, household merchandise, and clothing to frugal, wasteconscious, and working families. Skagit Gleaners does this by rescuing surplus food and product from local businesses, keeping such items out of overflowing landfills. Since COVID-19, they’ve rescued and redistributed roughly 150,000 pounds of food each month. Of that, they distributed nearly 65,000 pounds each month to local food banks.

One Community One Family’s mission is to provide support at diagnosis to cancer patients in the Skagit Valley community. It believes most people aren’t fully prepared for the overwhelming emotional and physical changes, as well as financial hardships of cancer.

July 23

4% Friday funds will be used to offset the costs of commercial cold storage space. The amount of incoming surplus food from the community has tripled since COVID-19 began. As a result, Skagit Gleaners have had to invest in more freezer space to store food prior to distribution.

October 22

One Community One Family is awarding need-based grants of $1000, and 4% Friday funds will help support 2-3 grants. That’s 2 or 3 families whose burden will be eased slightly while they try to navigate diagnosis and how they’re going to make everything work while caring for their family.

Food to Go August 27

Food to Go provides supplemental weekend food for the students of the Anacortes School District. Most students in the program are those who receive free and reduced lunch at school but often go hungry over the weekend.

4% Friday funds will be used to buy fresh fruit or veggies to put in lunch bags. Food to Go prepared approximately 119 bags a week last summer, but future school numbers are projected to double.

YMCA Oasis Teen Shelter September 24

Skagit Valley Family YMCA’s mission is to create positive community change through relationships empowering the mind, body, and spirit of all. Oasis also uses this mission but emphasizes providing “the gift of time” to youth experiencing homelessness.

4% Friday funds will be utilized by the Oasis’ Daylight Center to provide daily activities that youth can participate in like more enriching field trips or painting pottery downtown.

Skagit DVSAS November 19

The mission of Skagit Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services is to end domestic violence and sexual assault in the community through empowerment, advocacy, education, awareness, and action for social change. Their vision is for all people to live full, free, expressive, and empowered lives in a safe, vibrant, healthy, and peaceful community.

4% Friday funds will be used to supplement the agency’s existing hotel voucher funds and emergency financial aid budget. This will ensure that Skagit DVSAS can continue to house survivors and their families when the shelter is at capacity during these trying times.

Anacortes Family Center December 17

The mission of the Anacortes Family Center is to serve homeless women, children, and families in crisis by providing shelter in addition to comprehensive transformational services to achieve long-lasting personal success and self-sufficiency.

4% Friday funds will be used to support Anacortes Family Center’s life-saving and life-changing program, including case management to help families secure jobs and housing as well as process and heal from unique trauma.

Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • January - March 2021

9

Photos: Courtesy of 4% Friday recipients

4% Friday Community Shopping Day

Every time you shop at the Co-op, you help support our local economy and community. 4% Friday is another easy way to do your weekly shopping and contribute to organizations you care about. You shop, and together we give 4% of the Co-op's sales on the 4th Friday of each month to a non-profit community organization.

Together we gave: September

$2,242 Brigid Collins

October

$2,557 MV Police Homeless Outreach Program

November

$2,885 Underground Writing

Viva Farms January 22

Viva Farms is a non-profit farm business incubator established in 2009.

They empower aspiring and historically-underserved/limited resource farmers by providing bilingual (English/Spanish) training in holistic, regenerative, organic agriculture including access to the essentials needed to run a successful farm: access to land, infrastructure & equipment, capital, and markets. Viva Farms grows and distributes fresh, healthy organic produce to retailers, wholesale, their CSA (including SNAP-EBT), farmers markets, farm to school/food service, and direct to foodbanks - most recently in support of COVID emergency response measures. See VivaFarms.org for more information on programming.

In an effort to grow the organization, provide more land to incubating and Agricultural Park farmers, and increase access & availability of local, organic food, Viva has recently been able to acquire 20 additional acres of Skagit farmland. Funds from 4% Friday will go directly toward the improvement of agriculture infrastructure on this new site to make it "farmer-ready" in the 2021 season.

Skagit County Meals on Wheels February 26

The Meals on Wheels Program provides nutritious, noontime meals to senior citizens, age 60 and older, who have difficulty leaving their home unassisted and who are unable to prepare their own meals. Skagit County is one of the few programs in Washington State that still delivers hot, nutritious meals to seniors in the community. By using only the freshest ingredients, meals are prepared each delivery day at its central kitchen and are distributed at lunchtime by volunteers. These deliveries provide daily one-on-one contact that many seniors look forward to every day.

Funds from 4% Friday will help to supply meals to the growing Meals on Wheels client base. Due to the pandemic, the program has grown by 19%. With the increased client base, the goal is to continue to provide clients with the freshest, homemade meals possible, instead of frozen or pre-packaged meals. One thousand dollars would supply 112 hot, homemade meals to homebound seniors.

Children of the Valley March 26

Children of the Valley (COV) is an afterschool program that serves students in the Mount Vernon School District. Its mission is to provide a positive environment every day after school for children who are the most in need. COV is a referral-based program, referred by the student’s school counselor and/or teachers based on academic and personal needs.

Last fall, COV expanded its services to two sites to serve more students, continuing to offer students of essential workers academic and personal support during the day with their remote learning. COV will use 4% Friday Funds to purchase much needed outdoor equipment and enrichment supplies for the kids to use during outside play when they’re not participating with online remote learning.

10 Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • January - March 2021

Vendor Spotlight

G.R.O.W. Bananas

by Leigha Staffenhagen

Maybe you like to enjoy a banana with your morning coffee and the local news. Or perhaps you like to let your bananas get a little past ripe and bake them into bread.

And if you have kids, you might toss a banana into their lunch bag for a healthy midday snack. But no matter how you savor these potassium-rich treats, it’s important to know that the bananas you purchase here at the Co-op represent so much more than just a healthy fruit.

In the agricultural areas of Mexico and Ecuador, oftentimes the very families that provide the U.S. and other areas with tropical treats, like bananas, are living in poverty.

Organics Unlimited, a banana company that operates in these regions, recognized this was a growing issue for these farming communities and the future generations and felt they had a responsibility to help.

With this in mind, Organics Unlimited founded G.R.O.W. in 2005. GROW stands for “Giving Resources and Opportunities to Workers”, a social responsibility program that helps provide educational support, clean drinking water, and milk for children, among other necessities to the people who live and work in these banana-growing regions.

Beyond improving daily life in Mexico and Ecuador, G.R.O.W. also provides long-term support to their growers and workers by reinvesting a large portion of banana sales into those communities. Additionally, G.R.O.W. offers programs that support young people’s development, such as an opportunity for higher education and micro-business plans, which oftentimes helps support the long-term success of the community as a whole.

Along with its social initiatives, G.R.O.W. practices environmental stewardship to ensure farmland is protected for generations to come, and Organic Unlimited helps fund initiatives and organizations that work to preserve natural resources, such as the Environmental Health Coalition. This means all of the GROW bananas in our Produce Department are organic, sustainably grown, and of course, taste perfectly sweet and flavorful once they’re ripe!

So next time you peel open a banana with a G.R.O.W. sticker on it, you’re not just eating something healthy, you’re giving resources and opportunities to workers (and their families!). Your snack means banana farmers and agriculture workers in Mexico and Ecuador get clean water, a chance at higher education, vison and dental wellness checks, and a healthier, brighter tomorrow.

Banana Recipes Banana Jammy Jam

Banana Squash Soup

Ingredients:

Ingredients:

•

2½ lbs of peeled organic bananas

• 2½ lbs of Tourmaline sugar • 8 oz. pineapple juice

• Juice of 2 fresh organic lemons

Directions:

Place half of the peeled bananas in a large saucepan and mash. Slice other half of bananas and add to pan.

Stir in lemon and pineapple juices. Add sugar and heat on low setting until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil for about 3 minutes, then allow to cool. Pour into a jar or other suitable container. Cover and seal.

• 1½ cups of peeled and diced organic squash • ¼ tsp black pepper

• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg

• 3 cups organic skim milk • 3 tbsp honey

• 1 cup mashed ripe organic bananas

Directions:

Bring 1 inch of water to a boil. Place squash in water and cover. Boil for 20 minutes. Transfer squash into a bowl and mash. Add pepper, nutmeg, milk, honey and bananas. Heat gently before serving. Top with chopped cashews and/or chives (optional).

Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • January - March 2021 11

Blend Your Way to a Healthier 2021

by Leigha Staffenhagen

Resolutions might seem a little antiquated, but at the end of the day, they’re a good way to set goals and work towards improving yourself in the New Year. If one of your goals this year is to improve your overall health and well-being, you might be thinking about starting a fitness regimen, taking breaks from screens, or finally rolling out that yoga mat that’s been collecting dust. And while those are all endeavors worth chasing (or running, walking, hiking) after, we encourage you to consider another element of your health that you should work on this year: eating more fruits and veggies!

Along with adding a rainbow of fruits and veggies to your dinner plate, another quick and easy way to get all those beneficial vitamins and nutrients is to blend or juice them up! Not to mention, a morning smoothie can give you the fuel you need to get your day started on the go. And a midday fresh-pressed juice can give you that last little boost of energy you need to power through the rest of the work or school day. Smoothies are also a fun way to sneak veggies into your kids’ diets in the form of a special treat, if you’re a parent.

Just in case you didn’t know, our Deli has fresh-pressed juice and smoothies available all day! We’ve got some regular favorites on the menu, like Popeye’s Blend (featuring strawberries, bananas, and spinach) or seasonal options that change regularly.

Or, if you want to whip up a healthy midday snack at home, pull out that blender and check out these recipes to blend and juice your way to a healthier 2021.

Strawberry-Pomegranate Smoothie

The antioxidant superstar pomegranate juice adds a wonderful, tart flavor to this smoothie. A banana and some creamy kefir balance the tartness and make it a lovely pink.

Ingredients: • 2 cups frozen strawberries • 1 large frozen banana, cut in chunks • 1 cup kefir, yogurt, or non dairy milk

Photo by Co-op shopper @essentially.madison

• 2 cup pomegranate juice • 2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds In a blender, pile in strawberries and frozen banana, then add kefir and pomegranate juice. Process to puree, serve garnished with pomegranate seeds.

Creamy Cocoa Banana Smoothie

Almond butter provides a rich protein boost to this smoothie, while cocoa gives it an energizing kick.

Pineapple Green Smoothie

Calling for just 5 simple ingredients, this green smoothie has a bright tropical flavor that’ll transport you to a beach vacay in the middle of a rainy Washington winter day. Spinach provides the smoothie with fiber and Vitamin A.

Ingredients: • ½ cup milk • ½ cup plain Greek yogurt

Ingredients:

• 4 cups spinach leaves, washed

• 2 medium frozen bananas

• 1 cup pineapple chunks, drained

• ¼ cup almond butter • 3 tbsp cocoa

• 1 medium frozen banana, sliced

• 2 cups vanilla almond milk

Place ingredients in a blender in the following order: milk, yogurt, spinach, pineapple and banana, and secure the lid. Blend on high until smooth.

Pour into glasses and serve immediately.

• 1 tsp almond extract In a food processor, combine the ingredients in order, then blend.

Serve immediately.

Recipes from welcometothetable.coop

OPEN FOR TAKEOUT! Wed-Thurs: 4pm-8pm • Fri-Sun: 12pm-8pm • Pizza • Burgers & Sandwiches • Beer & Wine

• Pasta • Salads

See our menu and pre-order your next meal at www.thirdstreetcafe.coop!

12

Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • January - March 2021

Neurofeedback train your brain…function better

HEALTHY SLEEP FOCUS • MENTAL FITNESS LESS STRESS & ANXIETY and other physical, emotional symptoms addressed

• non-invasive • results that last • effective & relaxing • safe for children & adults

Kara

Stamback

Coaching and Neurofeedback

call me to see if this is a good fit

360.708.8169 www.KaraStamback.com

Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • January - March 2021 13

Ad Rates & Sizes Contact

The Natural Enquirer at nicole@skagitfoodcoop.com or (360) 336 5087 ext. 136.

Or visit our website at www.skagitfoodcoop.com /learn/stay-connected We offer discounts for prepayment.

All first-time ads MUST be paid in advance.

The ad deadline for the next issue (April 2021) is Friday, February 19.

Gift Cards…

Always the Right Choice

Co-op Curbside

Order groceries online & pick them up at C·SQUARE! Visit skagitfoodcoop.com/ shop/order-online for more info.

360.542.5021 orders@skagitfoodcoop.com

14

Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • January - March 2021

StaFF proFile

(continued from page 3)

Lynnette Brehm

General Manager Update

Account Payables Co-op Employee Since March 2016

New grab-n-go case in the deli.

We are certainly dealing with some other changes that are not as positive: •

•

After reopening Third Street Cafe in September for takeout, we swiftly expanded to also offer limited dine-in service. The response was positive, and we saw a significant increase in business after the dine-in option was introduced.

Unfortunately, as of November 16th, new COVID-19 requirements forced us to suspend dine-in service. Hopefully, by the time you’re reading this, we’ll have been able to bring back a dine-in option. You can visit www.thirdstreetcafe.coop for current info.

Our Mezzanine area remains closed due to regulations that prevent us from allowing consumption of food on the premises.

Once again, I want to thank all of our staff. Their dedication and efforts to serve our Co-op community during this crisis has been remarkable. Faced with all the uncertainty and risk associated with being a frontline worker during a pandemic, they have all stepped up and delivered great customer service to our shoppers.

In closing, it has been an unexpected first year on the job. I am anxious to put the pandemic behind us and return to a bit of normalcy. It’s exciting to dream about a time where I can see the smiles of our shoppers and staff. I so look forward to in-person meetings and gatherings and making Zoom calls the exception. I hope that 2021 is the year that brings us back to that place.

Co-op Response: Our pleasure! Glad you like them!

Folks- Your [sourdough] bread is excellent!!

What are the ingredients? The label says "Ingredients: unbleached wheat flour, sea salt", but there have to be more ingredients, certainly the starter has yeast in it, correct?

Tony White General Manager

I recently visited the coop and noticed in your upstairs area you sell jewelry by the brand Ink+Alloy. This brand copies designs from native artists (Navajo specifically). They have been under fire online for doing so and trying to silence First Nations people’s voices. I completely understand if you were unaware of this, I just wanted to bring it to your attention in hopes you will consider removing these products from the coop.

Co-op Response: The reason yeast is not listed as an ingredient is because we don't add yeast as one might think or do at home (from a packet). Our sourdough starter is made from wheat flour and water, which then naturally ferments in our bakery. We use that wheat/water starter in combination with more wheat flour, sea salt, and water to make our sourdough. Hope that helps!

Co-op Response: Thanks for your email and for pointing that out to us. I've passed your email along to our Mercantile Buyer, so we can do some research on the matter and evaluate from there.

Thank you again for the feedback; the Co-op also believes in the importance of amplifying BIPOC voices (and work), and we are grateful for the opportunity to do better.

Hi Co-Op Folks: THANKS so much for giving me the 10% member discount yesterday. It was an on-line order that I picked up, and I got the discount, even though I didn't ask for it because it was online. So, Thanks! I love the way you care about and take care of your customers and members

We wanted to follow up with you to let you know our Mercantile Buyer removed all "Navajo-inspired" jewelry from her fall Ink+Alloy order, and we've been in contact with the brand rep to dig a little deeper into the situation. It seems as though they are truly remorseful for their designs and are committed to doing what they can to make it right.

Thanks again for pointing this out to us.

Co-op Response: Our pleasure! Glad it worked out for you.

My favorite customer moments are the ones when I get the opportunity to help them in the store and guide them to places in our community.

Favorite Item in the Co-op: My favorite item in the Co-op is our hot Italian sausage. I have shared many great meals with it.

In Cooperation,

Customer Comments Thank you for making the Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip/ Walnut Cookies!!! They're perfect!!

Favorite Customer Moment:

…

Co-op Hot Italian Sausage Hash

The Co-op's award-winning handmade sausage program takes pleasure in utilizing old world methods like grinding and casing our sausage. Made from the best 100% heritage Duroc pork, we only use whole pork shoulder—no trim or scraps or fillers of any kind—with no antibiotics, no hormones, and always vegetarian fed.

Breakfast hash how-to: • 1 lb hot Italian sausage cut into ½ inch pieces • 1 lb potatoes diced • 1 medium sweet onion diced • 2 sweet bell peppers diced • 6 mushrooms sliced • 1 Tbsp butter Combine all in a frying pan and cook on medium to medium high heat until the potatoes are done. Serve with a fried egg on top!

Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • January - March 2021 15

When Silence is Heard: The Soundgarden

by Sarah Stoner

Silence is the absence of sound.

When we say we crave silence, what do we really mean? I know when I say that I need to ‘get away where it’s quiet,’ I don’t mean that I want to hear nothing.

When I want quiet, I want a world that is quiet enough to hear. I need the din of human-made noise to fall away—not into silence. But so that I can hear the natural world.

Of all our senses, we respond to sound viscerally.

A scream or a sigh. An alarm or a laugh. Sound creates atmosphere. It can trigger fight-or-flight, or unwind-relax. Constant natural sounds—rain falling on leaves, waves crashing—tend to relax us. But how often do we hear them? Cars, airplanes, the constant ding of our phones. We exist in a mechanically-noisy world.

I aimed to write a simple story about the importance of sound in my garden—the backdrop of birds, ambient insect buzz, and realizing that I can choose plants that produce sound: of wind through tall grasses and trees, of dry seed heads snapping. I start digging into the science—then uncover the social implications—of our modern soundscapes. There’s a reason the World Health Organization published a 100-page abstract titled, “Burden of Disease from Environmental Noise.” Sound affects our health. And the less affluent populations who live where it’s least expensive often because it’s loudest—near factories, highways and flightpaths—carry the burden. I learned a new term: noise equity. We’ll leave it at that.

Gordon Hempton, too, wondered about our environmental soundscape. He founded a research project called “One Square Inch of Silence.” Gordon tangibly located a space that he believes might possibly be the quietest place in our country. It just happens to be in our state’s backyard, in the Hoh Rain Forest of Olympic National Park, known as one of the most untouched and ecologically diverse environments in the U.S. Gordon defines this square inch of silence as having “natural quiet”—a place devoid of “human noise intrusions.” By locating this Square Inch of Silence, he brings to our attention to the need for space from human noise, why we must fight to protect natural quiet.

“Silence is a part of our human nature, which can no longer be heard by most people,” he says on his project page at onesquareinch.org. “If nothing is done to preserve and protect this quiet place from human noise intrusions, natural quiet may be non-existent in our world in the next 10 years.”

As I listened to a sound clip by an author who went searching for this inch—marked with a red stone circle, I laughed—the clip is really loud! Loud with frog and insect and various bird calls that echo near and far. But no plane rumbles overhead. No kayakers squeal on the river nearby. Not a single human sound.

Gordon times how long natural sounds can exist in this spot without human noise intruding. The stretches of time between intrusions is shortening over the years.

Indeed. We’ve lived such a loud several years.

Stressful news. Every day.

As our world becomes louder, or as my decades march on, now times five—I notice more and more how

much natural sounds affect my body. When we build gardens and select plants, it’s often with color and texture and fragrance in mind. Sight and smell. But what about sound?

What about grasses that hush and sway in the wind? Aspen leaves that tremble and shimmer with such resonance, I’m sure my eyes can hear them. What about choosing our environments—inside and outside— carefully for sound. Sounds that bring calm.

Like your very own Soundgarden.

There’s a birch tree on my way to the alley and my waste bins—garbage, recycle, and worm bin. It’s not the healthiest of birches, and when I first moved in I considered taking it down. Every time I walk near it, no matter what I’m carrying, I hear the leaves hum softly above. The sound still amazes me—how much changes in that moment for me. It is transportive and grounds me all at the same time.

The sound fills the air but it’s not… loud.

There’s an atmosphere of gentle, created solely by the tree and the air. I become aware of my breath, of the air moving all around us – sound and touch all at once.

Shhhhhhhhhhhh. The leaves are saying.

We are here. We are all here.

Skagit writer and eater Sarah Stoner is ready for a new year filled with the spaciousness of silence and presence that quiet brings. sarahjstoner@hotmail.com

Vibrant Winter Slaw with Citrus Vinaigrette A blast of color and crunch on your winter plate. Indoor Soundgarden!

This recipe adjusts to the winter veggies in your pantry. Or your palate. Sometimes simple is best.

Beets and fennel, anyone?

• 1 loosely packed cup of shredded green cabbage, Savoy or Napa

Slaw Ingredients (serves 10):

• 1/4 tsp fennel seed

• 1 loosely packed cup of shredded red beets • 1 loosely packed cup of shredded golden beets • 1 loosely packed cup of shredded Chioggia pink beets • 1 loosely packed cup of shredded fennel • 1/2 loosely packed cup of shredded kohlrabi • 1 loosely packed cup of shredded carrots

• 1/4 tsp mustard seed • 1/4 tsp caraway seed • 1/4 tsp celery seed

Dressing Ingredients: • 1/4 cup fresh squeezed citrus juice (orange, tangerine, whatever is on hand) • 1 Tbsp olive oil

• 2 Tbsp Orange Blossom Vinegar, or other mild white vinegar like Champagne

• 1 loosely packed cup of shredded kale

• 1 tsp creamy Dijon mustard

• 1 loosely packed cup of shredded red cabbage

• pinch of salt

Directions

Notes

Put all the dressing ingredients in a mason jar, screw the lid on tight, and shake! Once emulsified, taste to adjust ingredients to your liking.

• When using red beets, it can be helpful to toss the shreds lightly in olive oil first, then add them at the last minute to the slaw. This helps keep them from turning everything pink.

Toss the shredded veggies and seeds together in a large bowl and add enough dressing to moisten.

You can refrigerate the slaw several hours before serving. Season with salt and pepper and add more dressing to taste just before serving.

Add a pinch red pepper flakes (optional).

• pinch of red pepper flakes, optional

• A classic creamy slaw dressing works too: whisk together 1/2 cup mayo, 2 Tbsp sour cream, a little grated onion, 1 Tbsp white vinegar, sugar to taste (start with 1 tsp) ,1 tsp dry mustard, 1 tsp celery seed, salt and pepper to taste. Thin with a little milk if necessary.

Photo by Sarah Stoner

16 Skagit Valley Food Co-op • The Natural Enquirer • January - March 2021