GreenTree Co-op 214 N. Franklin Ave. Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858

Transcription

1 The Drt December January February 2013/14 Let s Get Cookng! GreenTree Co-op 214 N. Frankln Ave. Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858

2 In Ths Issue: Holday Meal Plannng Keepn It Fresh A Bevy of Beverages Bodacous Buffalo Chcken Dp Awesome Pumpkn Dp Mushrooms Rockefeller Tuscan Kale Stew Southwest Polenta Lasagna Sumptuous Pumpkn Roll Sweet Potato Cranberry Muffns The Spa Space Poached Pears Peppernuts Meet a Staff Member Important Dates: December 7 Owner Apprecaton Day 18 Board Meetng 18 Wellness Wednesday 19 Closed at 6pm 24 Closed at 6pm 25 Closed 31 Closed at 6pm January 1 Closed 4 Owner Apprecaton Day 15 Board Meetng 29 Wellness Wednesday February 1 Owner Apprecaton Day 19 Board Meetng 26 Wellness Wednesday Board of Drectors: Erc Baerren Wlma Blackman Mchael Brockman Lz Busch: Vce Char Kmberly Crandell Mark Farbrother: Treasurer Jay Felds: Char Talat Halman: Secretary Co-op Annversares Srah Dowell Produce Assstant/ Storekeeper January 2 years Rachel Cromell Storekeeper February 2 years Welcome these new faces to the Co-op: <Clauda Mculc Del Assstant Gabrelle Sorge> Storekeeper <Macka Buskrk- Crowley Del Assstant/ Baker Megan Barber> Storekeeper <Tony Johnston Storekeeper Open 8am-9pm Every Day Ths fall we extended our openng and closng tmes, makng the Co-op avalable for two addtonal hours every day. You can now stop n earler or shop later seven days a week! Staff Favorte: Ern loves Organc Valley Pasture Butter. Why does she love t? It s the greatest butter n the entre world! Its texture s smooth and not greasy. Staff Favorte: Clauda loves So Delcous coconut yogurt. Why does she love t? It s the perfect mx of coconut and vanlla, and t s great wth frut! Staff Favorte: Dawn loves Alaffa shampoo. Why does she love t? It works wonders on a dry flakey scalp. Plus the smell and lather are great! Webste: Phone: (989) Emal: general@greentree.coop Cover photo by: Ths work was released by Alan Zomerfeld under the Creatve Commons Attrbuton-Share Alke 2.5 Generc lcense.

3 Holday Meal Plannng: A Recpe for Success By Chrstopher Wesman, Del Manager, Co-op Owner Ah, holday dnners. The best of tmes, the worst of tmes. Well, the cookng part anyway. But t doesn t have to be! Behold: A home cook s gude for a stress-free dnner that can please everyone, ncludng the chef. Because, my god, we ve earned t. Up to 3 Weeks before the meal: Secure a Turkey/Ham/Non-Meat Centerpece Choosng the meat/man dsh for you: Choose the rght sze turkey/ham/ other, obvously, but crucally. To serve 10-12, get a pounds; To serve 15-18, choose pounds; To serve 20-22, choose pounds. Local/herloom turkeys: order them rght away. They sell quckly. If you re vegetaran/vegan, now s a good tme to buy/make a man dsh and freeze t. Now s a good tme to replace your spces too, especally any that are over a year old. Gve them a smell: If they no longer have an aroma, get new ones. (Incdentally, GreenTree has bascally all the spces you could need n our bulk secton. There are some serous deals over there.) Up to 2 Weeks before the meal: Make and Freeze Pes, Cookes, and Gravy Pes are fussy. And gravy can requre demandng, last-mnute attenton. Freezng them ahead of tme s not only tme-savng, but prevents last mnute dsasters. (Especally wth gravy. Ugh.) Is your freezer at zero degrees Fahrenhet? Check t; t should be. Make enough pe dough for all the pes you ll need. Pat each crust nto a 4- nch dsk, wrap tghtly n plastc wrap and then fol, and freeze. Let the dough defrost overnght n the refrgerator before assemblng and bakng the pes. Make All-Purpose Gravy. If you re not plannng on usng turkey gblets to make stock, you can prepare and freeze gravy well ahead of tme. When you're ready to use t, place the gravy and a bt of water (as needed) n a saucepan over low heat and brng t slowly to a smmer. Make your cooke dough and freeze t. Sugar cooke dough can be wrapped n a double layer of plastc, then alumnum fol, then frozen. Ths s also a good tme to stock up on your canned/aseptcally packaged goods such as chcken broth or canned pumpkn. Weekend Before the Meal: Defrost! And Fnalze Your Plans Many people don't realze that a 20-pound brd can take four days to thaw out n the refrgerator. Many people don't realze that a 20- pound brd can take four days not a mere 24 hours to thaw out n the refrgerator. Ths happened to me once. I ended up havng to make chcken casseroles for 15. Thaw your frozen meats well n advance. Make certan you are gvng the turkey/ham/ whatever ample tme to defrost. Plan on one day for every 4 pounds of frozen meat, and fnsh defrostng the day before cookng. Thaw n the frdge so that the meat does not warm to 40 degrees or hgher, whch s what the Health Department consders the danger zone for pathogen growth. No one wants salmonella posonng for the holdays. Complete the bulk of your shoppng. Buy vegetables that store well: onons, garlc, potatoes, sweet potatoes, root vegetables, wnter squash. (Wat untl a few days before to buy more delcate vegetables such as green beans, asparagus, or Brussels sprouts.) Wash and store your greens. Start makng extra ce. Make and freeze any soups you mght have on the menu. Now s also a good tme to make fresh cranberry sauce. Two Days Before: Start Preparng Sde Dshes, Gravy, and Stuffng Leavng gravy to the last mnute can be a recpe for dsaster. Start t ahead of tme, along wth the vegetables, to prevent last-mnute problems. If you ddn t make and freeze an allpurpose gravy, remove the turkey gblets and neck and make gravy now. Refrgerate and just before servng, reheat n medum saucepan over medum heat untl hot. If you re makng homemade stuffng, set the bread out to stale. Make any creamy dps. If you ddn t freeze your pe dough, make t now. Bake your cookes now. Store them n an ar-tght contaner. Blanch and shock any of the followng vegetables for a quck fnal cookng: asparagus, broccol, Brussels sprouts, carrots, caulflower, green beans, snap peas, and/or snow peas. Most relshes and salad dressngs can be prepared now. Cook any sweet potatoes or squash casseroles and refrgerate. Fnsh shoppng for your fresh vegetables. If you ve ordered a fresh turkey, pck t up now. The Day Before: Fnal Countdown The day before, you can fnsh almost all the cookng. So clear your schedule. If you have room n your refrgerator, brne the turkey ths afternoon, dry t off, and leave t uncovered n the refrgerator overnght (at least 8 hours). (Fast fact: Roastng an ar-dred turkey makes for exceptonally crsp skn.) Oven-baked stuffng can be assembled ahead of tme, put n a casserole dsh, and refrgerated untl t's ready to be baked. Contnued on page

4 It can be easy to overdo t when surrounded by seasonal treats! Here are some tps on how you can keep tradtonal holday fare fresh: Appetzers Am for a varety of textures, flavors and color. Add some dred fruts, lke rasns and aprcots, to a dsh of heart-healthy nuts, for example. Serve red and green grapes wth cheese slces and crsp whole gran breads. Offer a vegge platter before the bg meal to start everyone off on the rght foot. Stuffng For even more nutrents, replace some of the bread n your recpe Keepn t Fresh for the Holdays By Amanda Tomczyk, Produce Buyer, Co-op Owner wth added produce, lke onons, celery, and apples. You can also use fruts and vegetables n place of sausage n stuffng recpes. Produce Serve a varety of colorful, nseason fruts and vegetables, lke kale and carrots, yams and cranberres, squash, and red and green apples. Instead of openng a can of green beans for that casserole, or usng canned pumpkn for that pe, why not use fresh ngredents? For added nutrents and fber, leave the skns on potatoes whle cookng and mashng. It saves tme too! A Bevy of Beverages Try mashng other vegetables, lke turnps, sweet potatoes, and rutabagas. My favorte s addng a few Japanese sweet potatoes n wth Yukon gold potatoes for a hearter, slghtly sweeter mashed potato. Make your own cranberry sauce. It's easy! Cranberres are a great source of vtamn C, some of whch s lost n the cannng process. Dessert Use fresh fruts lavshly n your dessert spread. Strawberres dpped n dark chocolate, f you lke are always luscous; apple slces wth caramel are seasonally festve; and a bg bowl of assorted pears s colorful and entcng! Use fruts as the manstay for your baked desserts, too baked apples, frut tarts, blueberry bread puddng, peach custards, and poached pears*, for example. *See recpe on page 8. Chrstmas Cosmo By Stacy Saul, Grocery and Merchandsng Manager, Co-op Owner Try ths Cosmo for Chrstmas flavor n a gn based cocktal! Ths recpe makes four, 4oz cocktals. 7oz Pure, not from concentrate cranberry juce 6oz Gn (My favorte s Hendrck's from Scotland) 3oz Smple Syrup 3/4oz lemon juce Combne all of the above ngredents n a shaker flled wth ce. Shake to combne and make super chlly. Pour nto martn glasses. For extra Holday appeal, garnsh each drnk wth a 2" pece of rosemary wth two cranberres skewered onto the end. Drnk and enjoy! Happy Holdays! 3 Eggnog (for Adults Only!) By Lz Busch, Board Vce Char, Co-op Owner Ths recpe has been passed down through the women n my famly on my fathers sde snce at least the cvl war. I have a hand wrtten recpe card from my Great-great-great grandmother Mm. Per servng, use one fresh egg* (separated), one tablespoon sugar, one shot of whskey. We usually make at least a dozen eggs at a tme Mx yolks wth sugar. Whp whtes untl frothy. Fold together wth the whskey. Then eat wth a spoon. Isn t t wonderful that we lve n Mchgan and have access to super fresh eggs? Try t to beleve t! *The consumpton of raw or undercooked eggs may ncrease your rsk of foodborne llness. Hot Spced Cder By Rachel Cromell, Storekeeper, Co-op Owner Start by fllng a slow cooker wth apple cder (about 3 quarts, up to a gallon, dependng on the sze of your cooker). Stud a washed, unpeeled orange wth 8-12 whole cloves. Slce t n half and float both halves n the cder. Add 1 cnnamon stck and 1 star anse to the pot. If desred, sweeten cder wth 2 Tbsp of maple syrup or brown sugar. Cook on low untl cder s steamng and fragrant (at least 3 hours). Serve hot. Add spced rum f desred for specal occasons.

5 Wat You re a What? By Erc Nartker, Storekeeper, Co-op Owner Bodacous Buffalo Chcken Dp Ths s a great party dsh, many of my frends and famly request ths dsh on a regular bass. I ve even brought t out for dart nght and made many a frend by sharng t wth the opposng team. It s addctvely hot, and many people say the only way to make the heat subsde s wth another chp-full of dp! It s not uncommon for me to make two batches a month to appease everyone who s cravng t. I made ths batch wth as many tems as I could get from the Co-op, t turned out GREAT, and really spcy too! When you re ready to get started, preheat oven to 350, or set your crockpot on hgh. Thngs you need: Medum/Large oven-safe contaner or a crock-pot Spatula/Wooden spoon (to mx ngredents) Chps (to enjoy the dp after t's ready) Ths dp s a nce quck make-ahead appetzer or snack. There s very lttle preparaton nvolved, and snce there s no cuttng or heatng requred the kds can help too! Try servng t wth crunchy sweet potato chps to please a crowd. The leftovers (f there are any) are also great on toast or a bagel as a decadent breakfast treat. Ingredents: 8oz cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup canned pumpkn 1/4 cup cane sugar 1/2 tsp ground cnnamon 1/2 tsp vanlla extract 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp ground gnger 1/4 tsp allspce Drectons: Blend all ngredents together untl Makng Sense of Specal Dets Ingredents: About 8oz of softened cream cheese (I used the Spcy Mango Cream Cheese Spread from the del.) 1/2 cup of hot sauce (I used the Food for Thought Rghteous Cherry Habanero Hot Sauce.) 1/2 cup of ranch (Anne's Cowgrl Ranch) 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella (Organc Valley) 1/2 cup Havart or bleu cheese or smoked Gouda (I used Havart.) smooth. Cover. Refrgerate for 1 hour, or up to 24 hours. If you need a few conversaton starters to go wth your appetzer, why not try sharng a few of these fascnatng facts about pumpkns: Pumpkns are usually orange but can sometmes be yellow, whte, green, or red. The name pumpkn comes from the Greek word pepon, meanng large melon. Scentfcally speakng, pumpkns are a frut (they contan seeds) but when t comes to cookng, they are often referred to as vegetables. They vary n weght but an average-szed pumpkn mght wegh around 13 pounds (6 klograms). Between 2-2 1/2 cups of cooked shredded chcken, draned of juces Serves a house-full. Combne all ngredents n your bakng dsh and cook for 20 mnutes, str once at 10 mnutes and taste. Ths s when you can add ngredents f needed. If t's too hot, add 1oz cream cheese, 1/3 cup of ranch, and/or another 1/2 cup of cheese and mx. If t's not hot enough, add 1/4 cup of hot sauce and/or 2 Tbsps of lme juce and str. If cookng n a crock-pot, str every 5 mnutes or so and keep the ld on when not strrng. Reduce heat to low/ medum once ngredents begn mxng well, as to not burn t. Bonus Tps: To change up the recpe, try swtchng out the non-mozzarella cheese, addng 2 Tbsps of lme juce, 1 cup of bacon bts, or another cup of chcken. Wat You re a What? By Sarah Chrstensen, General Manager, Co-op Owner Super Awesome Pumpkn Dp Makng Sense of Specal Dets Gant pumpkns are grown for compettons, wth some weghng over 1000 pounds! (450 kg). In 2010, the world record was 1810 pounds! Pumpkn plants feature both male and female flowers, wth bees typcally beng nvolved n pollnaton (the transfer of pollen). Over 1 bllon pounds (450 mllon kg) of pumpkn are produced n the US every year. As a food, pumpkn can be baked, roasted, steamed, or boled. Pumpkn soup s popular, as are roasted pumpkn seeds. 100 grams of pumpkn produces around 26 calores of energy. Pumpkn facts courtesy of 4

6 What s Cookng Vegan Mushrooms Rockefeller By Dawn Sandahl, Wellness Buyer, Co-op Owner Adapted and Changed from Vegetaran Tmes Aprl 2010 Issue Serves 6, Prep: 30 mnutes or fewer Ths s a dsh nspred by oysters Rockefeller. It s super savory, and makes for a satsfyng appetzer that everyone wll enjoy! 1 lb shtake mushrooms wth stems removed 2 Tbsp olve ol, dvded 1 lb baby spnach 1/2 cup Vegenase 3 Tbsp fennel seeds (or 1/2 cup fresh f you can fnd t) 2 Tbsp Djon mustard 2 Tbsp chopped shallots 2 cloves garlc, mnced 1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Spread mushrooms n bottom of a casserole dsh, bakng sheet, or ramekns. 2. Heat 1 tablespoon of ol n a large skllet over medumhgh heat. Sauté half of the spnach for 1 to 2 mnutes, or untl wlted, tossng occasonally. Remove from pan wth tongs and set asde. Repeat wth remanng spnach. Spread wlted spnach atop mushrooms n bakng dsh. 3. Whsk together remanng olve ol, Vegenase, fennel, mustard, shallots, and garlc n small bowl. Spread sauce over spnach untl well covered. 4. Bake for 15 mnutes, or untl the sauce begns to brown. Set oven to brol, and brol 2 to 3 mnutes, or untl brown and bubbly. (Keep a close eye on t!) Serve as a casserole, or spoon servngs onto ndvdual plates. Edtor s Note: It s actually pretty easy to make sure there wll be somethng for everyone to enjoy at your next bg gatherng. Other vegan dshes that wll be popular wth all of your guests nclude old stand-bys lke hummus wth vegges, chps and salsa, an olve and pckle tray, or tomato basl bruschetta. If you re feelng adventurous, take a chance and try somethng new, lke a batch of fresh sprng rolls, a roasted red pepper spread, roasted vegetable skewers, or spcy toasted chckpeas. Tuscan Kale Stew By Ern Astley, Produce Assstant, Storekeeper, Co-op Owner Ingredents: 1 bunch of dark kale (pull off the stems and chop) 32oz chcken stock 1 15oz can of dced, no-salt-added tomatoes (draned) 1 15oz can of whte beans 4 medum szed red or Yukon potatoes (quartered) 1 cup of chopped carrots 1 cup of chopped celery 1 cup of chopped yellow onon 3 mnced garlc cloves 3/4 cup of shredded, aged parmesan cheese 1 Tbsp of butter Add your tablespoon of butter and a 1/2 cup of chcken stock to a Dutch oven on medum heat. Add carrots, celery, onon, and garlc. Str occasonally to ensure even cookng. Once the vegetables are soft, pour n the tomatoes and the rest of the chcken stock. Brng t to a low bol and throw n the potatoes, then turn down the heat to low. Once the potatoes are cooked (not mushy) add the can of beans. Cook 5-10 mnutes. Now add the kale and put the top on. The kale s cooked once t brghtens up n color. Serve mmedately wth two tablespoons of parmesan cheese. Ths stew wll keep n the frdge for about 5 days, and t makes about 6 servngs. Southwest Polenta Lasagna By Laura Coffee, Marketng and Owner Servces Manager, Co-op Owner Polenta Start wth the polenta. It wll need to chll for several hours before you can put your lasagna together, so t s mportant to plan ahead and complete ths step at least a few hours before you plan on makng dnner. Ths polenta recpe s a modfed verson of the one from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. (A great cookbook by the way!) 1 cup polenta (coarse cornmeal) 1 cup cold water 2 3/4 cups water or vegetaran broth 1/2 tsp salt 1 15oz can corn (about 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen kernels) 5

7 at the Co-op? Combne cornmeal and cold water n a bowl. Brng remanng water or broth to a bol n a medum saucepan. Str cornmeal mxture nto bolng lqud. Contnue strrng untl mxture returns to a bol. Turn heat down to low and str gently for 5 mnutes. It should be pretty thck at ths pont. Add the corn (dran t frst f you are usng canned) a lttle at a tme, strrng between each addton. Cook for 5 more mnutes, strrng occasonally. Remove from heat and pour nto a lghtly greased loaf pan. (Lke one you would use for banana bread.) Place n the frdge to chll for at least a few hours. Overnght s better f you have tme. Make sure you set the pan on a hot pad f your frdge has glass shelves, t wll be hot. Constructng Your Lasagna Once the polenta has set you can start puttng together the other components of your dsh. You wll need two separate mxng bowls, one for the sauce mxture and one for the cheese. Don t worry, ths sn t as complcated as t sounds. Sauce Mxture 1 28oz can tomato sauce 1 15oz can black beans (about 1 1/2 cups presoaked and cooked beans) 1 medum yellow onon, chopped 3 cloves garlc, crushed or mnced 1 tsp dred oregano 1 tsp cumn 1 tsp dred crushed red chles Combne all ngredents n a mxng bowl and set asde. Cheese Mxture 1 15oz package rcotta cheese 1 cup shredded cheddar + 1/2 cup for toppng Mx cheeses untl well combned, leavng asde the extra cheddar. Now turn your oven on to 375 F and pull the polenta out of the frdge. It should feel frm to the touch. Carefully cut the polenta loaf n two and place half on a cuttng board or plate. Cut the polenta nto 8 slces about 1/2 nch thck. You may want to dvde the block n half, halve each slce, and then halve them agan to get 8 equal peces. Just do whatever seems easest to you. Layer the slces across the bottom of a lghtly greased 13 9 cake pan. Save any bts that fall off whle slcng and use them to fll n the gaps. Now pour half the sauce mxture on top and spread t out wth a spatula. Next add half the cheese mxture. Personally, I lke to add the cheese by spoonfuls and then spread t out. Repeat wth remanng polenta, sauce, and cheese. Top wth last 1/2 cup of cheddar. Cover your pan wth tnfol and bake for 45 mnutes. Uncover and bake an addtonal 30 mnutes to gve the top a chance to brown. Remove from oven, and let cool for 10 mnutes. Ths gves the lasagna tme to frm up and makes t easer to slce. Serve. Reheats well, serves 6. For a Vegan verson, try ths: There are only two ngredents that need replacng, the rcotta and cheddar cheeses. (The rest of the recpe s already free of anmal products.) Let's tackle the cheddar frst. I suggest cheddar Daya. Daya s a pre-shredded cheese substtute. Most fake cheeses have a werd texture, Daya doesn't. Most don't melt, Daya does. Most that melt don't stretch, Daya does. Fnally, f you eat dary cheese on a regular bass most replacements just plan taste funny, Daya doesn't. Next comes the rcotta. I don't have as much experence wth rcotta replacers, so I asked around. The recpe everyone seems to lke s from The Veganomcon. It's smple, has very few ngredents, and was the frst choce of every vegan I asked. Here t s: Veganomcon's Tofu Rcotta: 1 pound extra-frm tofu 2 tsp lemon juce 1 clove of garlc, mnced 1/4 tsp salt pnch of black pepper handful of fresh basl leaves, fnely chopped 2 tsp olve ol 1/4 cup nutrtonal yeast Break up the tofu wth your (clean) hands untl t s thoroughly crumbled. Now add everythng but the olve ol and nutrtonal yeast. Contnue mxng and breakng up tofu wth your hands untl t starts to look lke rcotta. Add the ol and yeast and mx untl well combned. There you have t. Just substtute these two un-cheese ngredents, follow my orgnal lasagna recpe, and you have a delcous vegan lasagna! 6

8 Hello, my name s Macka and I am the new Baker here at Green Tree Co-op. I would lke to share wth you a recpe that I tred last year for the holdays that went over extremely well wth my whole famly. Cake: 3/4 cup whole wheat flour (can be swapped wth gluten-free flour + 1 tsp xanthan gum) 1/2 tsp bakng powder 1/2 tsp bakng soda 1/2 tsp ground cloves 1/2 tsp ground cnnamon 1/4 tsp salt 3 large eggs (or 9 Tbsp flax meal combned wth 3 Tbsp water*) 1 cup granulated sugar 2/3 cup pumpkn puree 1 cup walnuts or pecans (optonal) Fllng: 1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened (or 8oz vegan cream cheese) 1 cup sfted powder sugar These muffns are fllng, delcous, and easy to eat wth your hands. They re the perfect choce when you need an easy breakfast for a crowd. Ingredents: 1 1/8 cups packed brown sugar, an addtonal 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup canola ol 2 eggs 2 cups all purpose flour 2 tsp bakng powder 1/2 tsp ground cnnamon 1 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp allspce 1/4 tsp ground gnger 7 Sumptuous Pumpkn Roll By Macka Buskrk-Crowley, Baker 6 Tbsp butter or margarne, softened (or vegan butter) 1 tsp vanlla extract For Cake: preheat oven to 375 F. Then grease a 15x10-nch jelly-roll pan**; and lghtly flour. Take a thn cotton ktchen towel and dust wth powdered sugar, set asde. Combne flour, cnnamon, bakng powder, bakng soda, cloves and salt n a small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar (or flax meal/water mxture) n a large mxer bowl untl thck. Beat n the pumpkn, and then str n the flour mxture. Spread evenly nto the prepared pan. (Sprnkle wth nuts f usng.) Bake for mnutes or untl the top of the cake sprngs back when touched. Remove from oven, then mmedately 1/4 tsp ground cardamom ½ tsp salt 4 cups shredded sweet potato* 1 cup fresh cranberres cut n half 1 cup pecans Preheat oven to 350 F. In a medum bowl whsk brown sugar, canola ol, vanlla, and eggs untl well combned. In a large bowl, mx flour, bakng powder, spces, salt, and shredded sweet potato. Make a well n the center and add egg mxture. Fold the flour mxture nto the egg mxture gradually, untl fully ncorporated. Str n cranberres and pecans. Lne or grease a muffn pan, fll cups to the rm wth batter. Bake muffns for 20 mnutes, remove from oven and sprnkle muffns wth brown sugar, loosen and turn cake onto the powdered sugar dusted towel. Carefully roll up cake and towel together, makng sure the towel stays between the layers of cake, startng on one of the short sdes. For Fllng: Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanlla extract n a small mxer bowl untl smooth. Carefully unroll cake; spread cream cheese mxture evenly over the cake. Then carefully reroll cake wthout the towel. Wrap n plastc wrap and refrgerate at least one hour. Sprnkle wth powdered sugar, f desred. Cut nto slces when ready to serve, leave the remanng porton uncut untl ready to eat. *You wll get better results f you allow the flax meal/water mxture to chll n the frdge for mnutes before usng. **A jelly roll pan s bascally a cooke sheet wth rased sdes about 1 nch n heght. Sweet Potato Cranberry Muffns By Reeva Rpley, Bulk Buyer, Storekeeper, Co-op Owner return to oven for another 15 mnutes. Check muffns wth a tooth pck. If t comes out clean, remove the muffns from oven and place them on a coolng rack. Let cool for 15 mnutes and then remove from the pan. Enjoy mmedately. Store any leftover muffns n an artght contaner. They are excellent when reheated n a toaster oven then buttered, and freeze well. *You can shred sweet potatoes wth a hand grater, the shreddng attachment of a food processor or large stand mxer, or cut them nto chunks and pulse (n batches) n a food processor untl a fnely chopped texture s acheved. The skn can be left on or peeled off. If leavng the skn on, be sure to wash thoroughly before shreddng.

9 Herbal Frst Ad: Part 2 By Dawn Sandahl, Wellness Buyer, Co-op Owner Applcatons Prmer: When you re learnng to use herbs as ads, you re lkely to come across some unfamlar vocabulary. Here s a quck rundown on some the terms you mght encounter: Compress: a cool or warm cloth (wth or wthout botancals) that s appled drectly to the body. Essental ol: a concentrated form of plant or flower essences, usually steam-dstlled. Infuson: a strong tea, made by pourng bolng water over an herb and soakng. An nfuson from the hard parts of an herb (roots, bark, or seeds), s called a decocton. Lnment: a topcal medcated loton, usually rubbed nto the skn to releve aches. Poultce or fomentaton: a substance appled drectly to an area to draw out mpurtes and/or ncrease crculaton. An herbal poultce s made of soaked herbs and appled wth a hot cloth. Tncture: a concentrated lqud extract of an herb. Tnctures (especally those made wth alcohol) have a long shelf lfe, are easy to admnster, and are quckly assmlated. Consult a good herbal healng book for drectons on makng and admnsterng each of these. Also consult your healthcare practtoner f you have any questons about takng any herbs nternally. And, fnally, f you re pregnant, never take any nternal remedy (herbal or conventonal) wthout frst consultng your healthcare provder. Dsclamer: I am not a doctor. GreenTree employees can NOT gve medcal advce to customers. In Mchgan, any and all attempts to do so are aganst the law. If you are lookng for nformaton about llnesses and about supplements, we can help you. We wll also refer you to books and webstes that educate n these areas. Please understand that we cannot guarantee that an herb or supplement wll fx or cure your alment. Ad Rates: Small ad: 3.5 wde by 2.0 hgh: $45 per ssue ($40 per ssue for GreenTree Owners) Large ad: 3.5 wde by 4 hgh: $85 ($75 per ssue for GreenTree Owners). Space n the Sprng 2014 newsletter must be reserved by February 15th. Ad spaces are based on a frst-come, frst-serve bass dependng on the layout of each newsletter. Payment must be receved wth cameraready or hgh resoluton electronc copy (jpg, pdf, or gf) at the tme of reservaton. Poached Pears By Amanda Tomczyk, Produce Buyer, Co-op Owner Serves 4 Ingredents: 1 quart water 1 1/3 cup sugar 4 Bosc pears, peeled, cored, and quartered 1 cnnamon stck 2 tsp of whole cloves, black peppercorns or allspce berres one lemon half one splt vanlla bean 2-3 star anse 6-8 fresh gnger slces, to taste Drectons: 1. In a large saucepan, heat the water and sugar untl warm and the sugar s dssolved 2. Slde n the pears and cover wth a round of parchment paper, wth a small hole cut n the center. 3. Keep the lqud at a very low bol and smmer the pears untl cooked through, 15 to 25 mnutes, dependng on the pears. When you can slde a knfe nto them wthout resstance, they are fully cooked. 4. Remove from heat and let the pears cool n ther lqud. Serve the pears warm or at room temperature. Accompany wth a scoop of vanlla ce cream, fresh raspberres, or alongsde a wedge of spce cake or gngerbread. Storage: Store pears n ther lqud n the refrgerator, n a covered contaner, untl ready to use. Pears wll keep for up to 5 days. Fun facts about pears: They were gven the nckname "butter frut" n the 1700s because of ther soft, buttery texture. The European pear orgnated n Southeast Asa and was frst cultvated n Europe about 1000 B.C. There are over 3000 dfferent varetes of pears grown around the world. Pears were used as a natural remedy aganst nausea n ancent Greece. Pears are consdered by some to be hypoallergenc because pear allergy s rare. However, people who are allergc to Alder or Brch pollen may be allergc to pears as well. Pear facts courtesy of nterestng-facts-about-pears.html 8

10 Peppernuts or Pfeffernusse By Jay Felds, Board Char, Co-op Owner Ingredents: 3 cups flour + addtonal 2 tsp salt 3 cups brown sugar 2 tsp bakng powder 3/4 cup butter, melted 2 tsp clove 1/4 lard*, melted 2 tsp gnger 2 eggs 2 tsp cnnamon 2 Tbsp ground star anse 1 1/2 cups cold water 1/2 cup chopped pecans Drectons: Combne all ngredents n a large mxer bowl. Mx on low untl well ncorporated. Add flour, 1-2 Tbsp at a tme untl a stff dough s formed. Chll the dough overnght. Roll out a porton of the dough nto a pencl dameter roll. Cut peces nto 1/4 nch rounds.** Place on greased bakng sheet and nto 425 F oven for 12 mnutes. Repeat wth all remanng dough. One batch makes approxmately 1.25 gallons of small bscuts. I My mother, grandmother, and greatgrandmother have been makng these bscuts wth ths recpe for over 70 years. I grew up n a Mennonte German communty n south central Kansas and t seems lke there were a lot of peppernut recpes n the area, but ths s the one my mom tradtonally used durng the holdays. Ths s from Wkpeda regardng pfeffernusse: Pfeffernüsse are small, round bscuts (cookes) wth ground nuts and spces, popular as a holday treat n Germany, Denmark, and The Netherlands. It s also known as pepernoten n Dutch, pebernødder (plural), päpanät n Plautdetsch, pfeffernuesse or peppernuts n Englsh, and pebernødder n Dansh. A Natonal Pfeffernüsse Day has been establshed n most European countres, and s typcally observed on December 23rd. Whle the exact orgn of the bscut s stll uncertan, the tradtonal Dutch belef lnks the pepernoten to the feast of Snterklaas, celebrated on December 5 n The Netherlands and December 6 n Germany and Belgum. Ths s when chldren receve gfts from St. Ncholas, who s partally the nspraton for the Santa Claus tradton. In Germany, the pfeffernüsse s more closely assocated wth Chrstmas. The bscut has been part of European yuletde celebratons snce the 1850s. *If you prefer not to cook wth lard you can substtute 1/4 cup of vegetable shortenng, or 1/4 cup + 1 teaspoon of butter. **Cooke doughs can sometmes become dffcult to work wth at room temperature. To prevent ths from happenng smply remove only 1/4 of the dough from the frdge at a tme. If t becomes too warm smply return t to the frdge to chll and begn workng wth a fresh porton of the chlled dough. The Book Shelf GreenTree Owners receve 5% off any magazne purchase. Phone: , Located at: 1014 S Msson Rd Buckley s Canoes GreenTree Owners get $5 off any weekday canoe rental or $3 off any weekday kayak rental. Phone: , E-mal: nfo@buckleyscanoe.com Crystal Mountan Lotus Moon- GreenTree Owners receve 10% off all body work servces. Offer excludes foot detox and other specals. Phone: , E-mal: crystalmountanlotusmoon@gmal.com Inner Lght, LLC Provdes massage, Rek, aromatherapy, and counselng servces. GreenTree Owners enjoy a $5 dscount on ther frst sesson and on regular sessons! Offer cannot be combned wth bundle prcng. Phone: , Webste: Lavana Shurtlff Jewelry- GreenTree Owners receve 10% off any merchandse purchased at Lavana Shurtlff Jewelry. Contact Lavana at or 9 Who are GreenTree s Communty Partners? McLaren Ftness Wll wave ntal sgn-up fee for GreenTree Owners. Phone: , Webste: Smmons Enterprses- Offers a 10% dscount on labor (plumbng and contractng) to GreenTree Owners. Phone: E-mal: smmonsenterprses8415@yahoo.com The Trangle Motel Offers a 5% dscount on room rentals to GreenTree Owners and vstng famly members. (Not to be combned wth any other offer.) Phone: Webste: Whtford Chropractc Clnc- GreenTree Owners get a free ntal consultaton and exam on ther frst vst. Phone: , Webste: whtfordchropractc.com If you have your own busness n the Mt. Pleasant area and are nterested n becomng a GreenTree Communty Partner, please contact us by callng or sendng an emal to laura@greentree.coop

11 Staff n the Spotlght Featurng: By Stacy Saul, Grocery and Merchandsng Manager, Co-op Owner Where are you from? Metro Detrot How dd you frst fnd the Co-op? Vanne Shurtlff brought me to t n How long have you been workng here? Four and a half years. What s the best part of your job? Meetng customers, my co-workers, and tryng new products for GreenTree. Do you lke to cook? Yes! Especally brased meats. Descrbe your perfect breakfast. It s a toss up! I love Huevos Rancheros, but would never attempt to make t. I do make Eggs Florentne wth Jula Chld s recpe for blender Hollandase though. Wth t I wll also have bacon and coffee wth honey and cream. What s your favorte GreenTree product? My favs nclude Meadowlark Farm eggs, Wente Cabernet Sauvngon, Thoku, and GreenTree s chcken noodle soup. Favorte move? Breakfast at Tffany s, Some Lke It Hot, Elf, and Grey Gardens. What s your favorte thng to do n Mt. Pleasant? Takng a walk through Mllpond Park or Deerfeld Park. Tell us somethng about yourself others mght not know. I search out teeter-totters across the world! Where are some of your favorte travel destnatons? Harbor Sprngs, Chcago, and St. Martn Brtsh West Indes. What are your hobbes? Cat-wranglng, beer makng, and cookng. What musc s playng n your car, home or head? Usually somethng from the 80s. New Order, The Smths, The The, oh, and Madonna. Where do you see yourself n 10 years? Lvng somewhere between Traverse Cty and Harbor Sprngs. I wll learn how to sal and spend my summers salboat racng. Quck Bakng Substtutons 1 tsp bakng powder 1/4 tsp bakng soda plus 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (add 1/4 tsp cornstarch f not usng mmedately) 1 cup heavy cream 1 cup evaporated mlk or 3/4 cup mlk plus 1/3 cup butter 1 egg egg substtute (check package for measurement) or 1/4 cup slken tofu pureed or 3 Tbsp mayonnase or half a banana mashed wth 1/2 tsp bakng powder or 3 Tbsp fnely ground flax meal soaked n 1 Tbsp water or 1/4 cup applesauce 1 cup cake flour 1 cup all-purpose flour mnus 2 tablespoons 1 cup molasses Mx 3/4 cup brown sugar and 1 teaspoon cream of tartar 1 cup sour cream 1 cup plan yogurt or 1 Tbsp lemon juce or vnegar plus enough cream to make 1 cup Holday Meal Plannng Contnued from page 3 Make and refrgerate pumpkn or other custard pes. Peel and store potatoes, covered n cold water, n the refrgerator. Thaw any vegetaran/vegan man dshes (lke Tofurky or Garden) now. (Follow packagng nstructon.) Day Of: Last-Mnute Preparatons The fnal steps to a perfect meal that you can actually enjoy: To calculate roastng tme for the (unstuffed) brd, count on 1¾ hours f the brd weghs pounds, 2 hours for a brd weghng pounds, and 3 hours for a bgger brd. Then add on an addtonal 30- mnute restng perod; 35 to 40 mnutes for a brd over 18 pounds. Follow the cookng nstructons on your package of ham or vegetaran alternatve. Check for doneness wth an nstant-read thermometer: The thckest part of the meat should regster 165 degrees. (Dfferent types of meat requre dfferent nternal temperatures to be reached, but 165 degrees s safe for everythng.) Bake the pes. Chll any wne or other beverages. If refrgerator space s at a premum, fll your washng machne wth ce cubes and nestle the bottles n. Just run the spn cycle afterwards to dran the melted ce. Carve the turkey/ham/vegan roast. Eat. Drnk. Sleep. 10

12 214 N Frankln Mt. Pleasant, MI Choose Your Own Dscount Day! Durng December, we are offerng our Owners two chances to save 10%. As usual, you can save by shoppng on Owner Apprecaton Day, whch falls on December 7th. In addton, you can choose any other day of the month and take 10% off one shoppng trp of your choce! (Dscount apples to all non-sale tems and cannot be combned wth Owner Apprecaton Day dscount.)