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THE GAME... Co-op Style
"Now the second largest food holiday, bested only by..."
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Come To The Table
"Despite our strong agricultural market, Iowa imports most of its food from other states and countries."
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March Not Coming Soon Enough?
February can land a case of the stir crazies... Let's keep the winter doldrums at bay!
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Valentine Wine Tips From Miss Nik
"Enjoy a relaxing Valentine evening at home this year!"
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Sign up to show support for our community becoming part of the Blue Zones Project!
Determined partly by a show of community support - sign up by the end of the week here: www.bluezonesproject.com
Iowa City 2030 Community Workshops
Your chance to give input on Iowa City’s long-term approach to economic, environmental, and social sustainability issues (including community character, economic strength and diversity, natural resource and energy conservation, arts and culture, urban farming, and local foods), Feb. 1 & 9.
Presentation series continues: Feb. 5, 12, & 19, Iowa City
Growing School Gardens: Training Workshop
Feb. 18, Iowa City, hosted by the ICCSD Farm to School chapter, and New Pi’s Scott Koepke will be presenting! Free and open to principals, teachers, students, parents, and community members interested in starting or expanding a school garden.
Earth Source Garden Plot Info:
Watch for the Spring Catalyst, out early March!
Mar. 3, Iowa City – full details on the Backyard Abundance website
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The GAME...Co-op Style
Miss Nik, Iowa City Mistress of Cheese & Wine
It’s almost here… the de-facto American holiday: “Super Bowl Sunday” (SBS) – the only holiday that matters, according to my boyfriend Sal.
Since its inception in 1967, it’s become an event of great magnitude. Lamar Hunt, American Football League (AFL) founder and owner of Coralville New Pi Store Manager Eric Creach’s beloved Kansas City Chiefs, named the championship game between the AFL and National Football League when he came upon his daughter’s toy – a Super Ball.
In its forty-six years, it’s morphed into so much more than a game. It’s now the SECOND LARGEST food holiday in North America, bested only by Thanksgiving. Wow.
An estimated 111 million viewers will be cheering, toasting, and snacking their way through the over-the-top commercials and testosterone-fueled gridiron action. The traditional foods that accompany THE GAME are not always known for their quality as much as their quantity – but it’s ok to upscale your offerings a bit, bypassing the cheap mass-produced lagers and rubbery orange-covered nachos, and opt for some flavor.
For a delectable, decidedly adult riff on the classic pigs in a blanket, nestle Aidell’s Chicken and Apple Sausage in puff pastry with a handful of grated cheddar (Milton Creamery’s Old Style, or Nasonville Mild). Thaw the puff pastry and cut each sheet into fours, roll up the sausage and cheese bundles of joy, and bake until the pastry is golden-tender-crisp, the cheese bubbling and oozing, and the savory scent of sausage fills the kitchen. Play with other flavors: roasted garlic and Gruyère with caramelized onions, Cajun andouille, tangy chevre, and smoky-sweet roasted bell pepper. Ah c’est bon!
Beer and football are the best of old friends. We’ve got a killer 12-pack deal that’ll really start your party. Since 1397, Spaten has been crafting some of the finest brews on the planet. You’ll get a twelve-pack – four each of Spaten’s Heffe-weisse, lager, and the mind-blowingly complex Dopple Bock-Optimator – for just $7.99 (regularly $16.99)! That’s LESS than the regular price of a six-pack!
For American brews for this most American holiday, go local with Peace Tree, Madhouse, and Millstream for a tantalizing array of lovingly crafted suds from just down the road.
Immerse yourself in the color and texture available in our produce departments – you can’t have a Super Bowl party without a veggie tray! Local Kalona Organics SuperNatural Sour Cream has a luxurious mouthfeel, and it’ll add another dimension of deliciousness to your signature dip. Those crunchy veggies will beg to be swirled!
For a Blue Zone-friendly snack, try this Black Bean and Goat Cheese Dip. It’s one of my favorite party starters, as flavorful as it is good for you. The earthy cumin-scented black beans combined with flame-kissed poblanos, bright citrusy cilantro, delicate creamy goat cheese, and sweet sautéed garlic and onions pack a fabulous flavor and nutrition punch. That’s a win-win, right?
We’ll have loads of guacamole for your scooping pleasure. New Pi’s own and La Reyna’s guac are two versions you’ll be proud to serve and devour, or we have organic avocados on sale for a great price (75¢!). If you’d like a more substantial expression of avocado love, consider this guacamole salad from the delightful Barefoot Contessa.
Don’t forget the wine – yes, wine for SBS! Sparkling wine shares many characteristics with beer. Its tingling bubbles and palate-cleansing acidity enhance the complex flavors of a super snack spread. I love the Baron de Breban Brut and Rosé for their marriage of great taste and value.
If the nibbles are a little spicy, I’d choose the Besitos Moscato, on special for $9.99. It’s just a touch sweet – not your whiney, overly sweet Moscato! It’s perfect – and I mean that – with meatballs or chicken wings dressed with chili sauce, mustard, and Clear Creek Orchard’s Peach-Mango Habanero Jam. Mmmm.
There's no need to know the difference between a touchdown and time-out to enjoy the epic battle between the Patriots and Giants (again, really?) this February 5. It’s a welcome diversion from the usual routine, a reason to hang out with friends and eat great food, rate the commercials, and, you know, even watch the game! Oh yeah, and the mighty Madonna’s half-time show should be an all-out entertainment extravaganza – even if there’s no wardrobe malfunction involved.
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2012 Come to the Table: A Local Food Summit for Producers and Purchasers
Despite our strong agricultural market, Iowa imports most of its food from other states and countries. “Come to the Table” aims to expand the local foods market, starting with a handshake.
“Consumers are demanding local foods wherever food is served – at their grocery stores, restaurants, and even at catered events,” Jason Grimm, Food System Planner for Iowa Valley Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D), points out. “This year’s event strives to make it easy for food buyers to connect with local food producers in order to meet that strong and growing demand.”
Grimm, Iowa Corridor Food & Agriculture Coalition, and New Pi’s Education and Outreach Coordinator Scott Koepke organized “Come to the Table” with the goal of increasing local food bought and sold in Iowa by bringing together state and national food buyers with local food producers.
This February 10 event marks the second year of the Summit. The free, open to the public Summit is now a full day, featuring a panel of local food businesses, formal networking between buyers, farmers, and food entrepreneurs, and four afternoon workshops on successes and challenges. New Pi’s General Manager Matt Hartz will facilitate one of the workshops on one of New Pi’s priorities: “Approaching your Budget to Purchase Locally.”
This year’s panel of local food businesses and representatives (including three great producers that supply the Co-op) will showcase the many different ways to find, sell, and buy local food in the area. Panelists include:
• Kelly Crossley – Solon School District
• Rob Marqusee – Woodbury County Rural Economic Development
“Budgeting for procurement of locally-produced food is driven by a strong, principled commitment to our local farmers," explains Scott Koepke. "If we believe in supporting and strengthening that commitment over time in the budget projection process, we will find line-item ways of making those relationships mutually profitable. It's hard, rewarding, refining work. But when it is priority number one, you make it work.”
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March Not Coming Soon Enough?
Allison Gnade, eCatalyst Editor
For some of us, February can land a case of the stir crazies. The air’s too far beyond crisp, the ground may be frozen, the sidewalks iced over or muddy at best (unless this warm spell lasts!). Others, you may be surprised to hear, love the winter. We really should learn their ways (here’s an article from a winter-lover on pages 14 - 15 of the Winter Catalyst). If that’s not on the horizon, however, here are some prompts to keep the late winter doldrums at bay:
Plan activities – don’t expect them to happen on their own in the winter. Schedule coffee dates, dinner parties, potlucks, movie nights, and huddle together for warmth if nothing else. I don’t want to go into the territory of “misery loves company,” but humans are social creatures. We’re prone to laziness in the hibernation season, so spend some time with your mates and I bet you’ll be a happier camper.
Pick up a new hobby – cooking (try one of our cooking classes), garden planning, knitting/sewing, volunteering (join a city commission!), playing an instrument, dancing, reading, swimming, or anything that's sounded the call of curiosity for you. Put in a little research time online or in the library beforehand and take off and explore for a while – February is your month of a moment to try out that thing you’ve been meaning to, and it’ll be gone in a wink.
Be active – some of us like to make like the bears, but inactivity is linked to basically everything bad, from minor depression on down to death (for an interesting article on why any activity is better than none, and frequency is paramount throughout the day, see this blog post). Get yourself an endorphin high and a happy body through yoga classes, joining a gym, spending ten minutes a day stretching, and just walking laps around your house or backyard. Heroic efforts aren’t necessary, but consistency is – through regular exercise of even a moderate sort, I bet (because I’ve experienced it myself) you’ll have increased energy, mental clarity, more stable moods, less huffing and puffing up the stairs, and even more restful sleep – and it doesn’t get much better than that.
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Valentine Wine Tips from Miss Nik
Theresa Carbrey, New Pi Education and Outreach - Member Services
Enjoy a relaxing Valentine evening at home this year! The Co-op offers many ready to serve or easy to assemble dinners. Add a little salad greens, some fresh bread, and the table is set.
The right wine can help make a good evening great – and February 14 is the night for the right wine. Pairing food and wine may be an art, but the Co-op wine staff is happy to help. Here are some ideas to get you thinking, from the Iowa City store’s wine sweetheart, Miss Nik Conner.
Do you like it hot-pepper-spicy? Consider drinking Besitos Moscato at $9.99. (It even has a heart on the label!) This wine is good with spicy Co-op deli food like sushi, Kung Pao Tofu, Thai Peanut Noodle Salad, and Sake Salmon. For an easy homemade dinner that would pair well, consider shrimp sautéed with garlic and red pepper flakes - got to love those shrimp already cleaned and out of the shell. This wine pairs fabulously with our heart-shaped boxes of local dark chocolate truffles!
When Miss Nik describes a wine as “velvety, silky, very sexy...” I am curious. Nik suggests pairing Aión Montepulciano Moroder ($16.99) with one of the Co-op’s gourmet pizzas. It would also be good with pasta tossed with Italian sausage and tomatoes or, for vegetarians, roasted vegetables and tomatoes. This wine shines with shellfish.
Ah, grilling! Consider Matello Lazarus Pinot Noir ($24.99) to serve with grilled lamb chops, rare beef tenderloin, or New Pi’s pepper encrusted tuna from our meat department.
“There’s nothing more romantic than lovely pink bubbles, with a hint of red fruit flavor,” Nik says. Montaudon Grande Rosé ($39.99), a Rosé Champagne, is delightful with sautéed crab cakes from New Pi. Can you believe each store’s meat/seafood department has its own featured recipe for crab cakes? True story. Enjoy appetizers? Nik notes Champagne is lovely with salty and fried foods, cashews, goat cheese – maybe with sundried tomato tapenade. Note: save this one for savory food, and choose another with dessert.
What is great with dessert? Try Warre’s Red Port ($11.99). This Port is fabulous with chocolate, particularly raspberry chocolate. “It’ll blow your mind, Nik says, “it makes the raspberry fruit flavors jump out.” If you’re not so hot on chocolate, try the King Estate Vin Glacé $17.99 with an apple galette or fruit tart.
Still puzzled as to what wine is best with your budget and menu? Please let the specialty staff help you out. They love talking wine. Tell them your menu and they can put a delightful wine in your hands. Happy Valentine’s Day!
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