A Chicken Testimonial

Wanted to share this super nice note from a customer.  Notes like these remind us of the reasons we opened the store (and later cafe.)  And, she brings up important points.  Yes, our meats costs more than at other stores because the farmers are using sustainable farming practices.  But it is so important when eating meat to eat healthy animals and to eat meat in moderation.  Quality vs Quantity.

(The note was written to my hubby–thus the “Hi Jason”.)

Enjoy,

Maddie

P.S. The chicken is from Greenwood Farms.

 

Hi Jason,

I bought a chicken at Local Harvest last week to make chicken soup with homemade noodles… kids with colds at my house. The price was higher than some other stores, but I don’t think I’ve ever made a better pot of soup than that one. Colds are all gone, too!

I basically do not buy meats at regular supermarkets any more except fish… so I end up buying less meat in general since the price is higher. However, I’m much more interested in quality than in quantity. I had to choose between buying health insurance or the healthiest food I can get. Guess which I chose? I can’t eat an insurance policy, but I can reduce the chances I’ll need one by only eating healthy foods. It really works! We almost never need doctors.

Send my thanks to Maddie and Patrick for sticking with this in trying times.

P

 

Cheryl’s Shampoo and Soap-review

Here’s a recent product review from one of our customers.  I’m so glad she chose this vendor because I think many people overlook the Cheryl’s Herbs products in the store.  Hope this encourages more folks to try her wonderful goods…..

Hello there!  My name is Barb. I teach organic nutrition and whole body
health.  Additionally, I’m constantly searching for products to put in me or on me
that will prove to be a fountain of youth (you know, make me younger,
smarter and better looking lol).  Well, recently I found just such a
product!  I’m 46 and I color my hair for the sake of my vanity.  It was
just beginning to get that dry, over-cooked look when I discovered this
amazing product by Cheryl’s Herbs.  Its her Dry Skin Soap and Shampoo.
Now I must say, I’ve never used a combo product like this that delivered
well for both purposes.  But Cheryl’s is awesome!  In fact, now I have
soft, silky, shiny hair like a teenager (or like I never had when I was a
teenager). And my skin is looking and feeling so great, too. 

I’m not from the mid-west, so this winter, when my skin got so dry, red and flaky, I
thought it must be terminal!  But Cheryl’s cleared that up in a matter of
days.  Best of all, it delivers all this without making me oily at all,
which I also had trouble with. What a curse to be dry, red, flaky and oily
all at once!  But Cheryl’s changed all that for the better!  What an
awesome product.

Local Harvest carries several varieties of her soap/shampoo combinations and her lip balm.  Cheryl’s Herbs is located in Maplewood and she makes all of her products.  Check them out.

Keep it local,

Maddie

 

Dippity Ice Cream

I know, I know, it’s time to start acting on those resolutions, but I have to give you an idea for a little decadence to reward yourself.  Three new to our store varieties of Dippity Ice Cream have recently come to my palate–Mexican Chocolate, Cookies-N-Cream, and Bordeaux Cherry.

Mexican Chocolate is a rich chocolate ice cream with a healthy does of cinnamon. It is a delight and like most varieties of Dippity you don’t need to each much to feel very satisfied.  My husband and Father devoured the Cookies-N-Cream ice cream on Christmas because I decided to put a kabash on pies this year.  (How silly was that!) I went crazy for the Bordeaux cherry.  Big chunks of fruit make this especially delightful and it has a rich cherry flavor.  I admit that I had to force myself to close the container.

 

ropp cheese from normal, il.

the store is now carrying some new local cheese – ropp cheeses.

these cheeses are made in normal, illinois with the milk from jersey cows, which tends to be a bit sweeter than milk from regular dairy cows.

we have quite a selection cheddars (like white cheddar, jalapeno, green onion, horseradish) and a delicious swiss.

the one type that caught my eye was the cheddar blue, it looks like this:

i would say that the sweetness definitely shines through, creating a subtle and creamy blue cheese with a bit of a white cheddar bite.

i had some with crackers and apples – it was great. and then i had some in a salad – it was also great.

andy from riddles penultimate and from eat here st. louis visited the farm and reported that the cows are happy and healthy.

the specialty cheeses cost $10.19 per pound and the others are $9.19 per pound.

come in and try some local delights.

-clara

 

Better Life Cleaning Products

Better Life offers these super fun, super groovy, and super great cleaning products. Sure the packaging is amazing and the names are hilarious–I Can See Clearly Wow window cleaner, what-EVER all purpose cleaner, 2am Miracle for nursery, Even the Kitchen Sink a gentle scrubber and their new product Get Floored floor cleaner–but these products really work.

Yes, at times I wish I was the person who mixed her own cleaning products using only baking soda and vinegar, but I’ve had to face the hard truth that I am only that person about .05% of the time. The rest of the time I’m using these products. The 2am Miracle has been great for my recent ill-fated attempts at potty-training, I Can See Clearly Wow works wonders on windows and really doesn’t streak and the what-EVER really is good for what-EVER. I’ve used it for bath, kitchen and woodwork so far.

Better Life recently added a new product Get Floored and now has lightly scented their “old” products. For the first time I’m looking forward to cleaning my floors.

These products are super green, very affordable and were developed and are manufactured right here in St. Louis. These products have a great story so check out the website to learn more http://www.cleanhappens.com/

Yours in cleaning,

Maddie

 

Blue Heron Orchard–products

If you are ready for some special treats you need look no further than products from Blue Heron Orchard.  Pomona’s Ambrosia is pure decadence.  This apple syrup is a wonderful topping for ice cream, cheesecake, pumpkin pie and you can bring it “down home” by using it on french toast, pancakes, or bread pudding.  For a more savory treat use as a glaze for meats, drizzled over brie or in salad dressings.  The foodie (and non-foodie) will love this tasty treat.  

And if sweet is not your bag, they also make Apple Cider Vinegar and Habanero Apple Cider Vinegar. Both are great in salad dressings and if you are one who believes in the health benefits of apple cider vinegar, you won’t go wrong with these.

Blue Heron Orchard is a certified organic farm. Oh, and did I mention that they  have lots of apples??  And we still have many of their varieties in the store.

All of these make great stocking stuffers.

 

STRESS-BUSTER

Blissoma’s stress serum: it helped me through the election, now it’s helping me through the holidays. aromatherapy finds a practical application in this awesome and easy to use product. a little roller on the temple, on the occipital ridge, and i can handle anything that comes my way. this would make a great stocking stuffer for that stressed-out person in your life!

serious local stocking stuffer action!

 

local sausage – Salume Beddu (review)

after much wait – we finally have Salume Beddu sausages in stock!

Mark Phillipe handcrafts these beautiful sausages right here in St. Louis.

last week, my grandmother was coming over for dinner and i thought – what is better for an Italian grandma than freshly made sausage…

so i took a package of Salciccia Fiama home and thawed it in the refrigerator.

the next night, i heated my cast iron skillet on high heat and carefully laid the sausages in the pan. i turned it to low heat and covered it for roughly ten minutes.

the aroma of the meat began to keep out from under the lid and seeped into the dinning room – soon everyone was asking ‘what’s that cooking?’ ‘what’s that wonderful smell?’

it, indeed, smelled wonderful.

i flipped the sausages and let them cook another ten minutes on the other side. at this point, even my cooking skills needed a little assistance – so i busted out my thermometer and checked the internal temp of the meat – it was a little low, so i cut the sausages in half, so they would cook a little faster.

finally, the insides hit 165degrees – i pulled them out of the pan and let them rest for a few minutes (which should be done with all cooked meat products), it was not easy because they smelled so great.

but the smell had nothing on the taste…they were delicious. savory and a little spicy. perfect with a dab of grainy mustard. you can tell it was made with care and love.

we have two types of sausage in stock, fiama (a little spicy) and dolce (a little sweet) – both are $10.79 per package, which contains four sausages.

i certainly recommend it.

-clara

 

simple seed (review)

This is such a cool product.  A bird feeder you don’t even have to fill.  Crazy.  These self contained bird feeders are made in Illinois using as much local grains as possible.  The folks who assemble them have severe impairments and this allows them to have stable employment.  Perfect for your friends and family who love birds.  It doesn’t take much room and it’s easy to hang.  The cost is only $5.99

 

come back to milk chocolate…(review)

once i discovered high quality chocolate in culinary school, it was pretty much dark chocolate only from then on out. i like the bitter and bold flavor of a high percentage chocolate. not a hersey’s milk chocolate bar or milky way passed my lips – milk chocolate equaled inferior (boy, i can be a snob).

well that is what i thought until recently, when we got milk chocolate into the store. in this form:

“this ain’t your average hersey bar…” said my friend.

this crispy little bar is sweetened with fair trade sugar and filled with crunchy rice. boy, how i have missed the smooth creaminess of milk chocolate…

tasting notes:

-sweet, but not too sweet. some may say ‘perfectly sweet.’

-i taste a hint of coconut, followed by the soft pudding flavor.

-the texture is perfectly yielding, till you reach a crisped rice – which is, in contrast, offers toothsome resistance.

so, in case you were wondering : this girl gives it a “very highly recommended.”

-clara