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Tags: Recipes, Apples, Crème Fraîche, The Cider Farm, Roelli Cheese Dunbarton Blue, Organic Valley

Check out these staff-picked ingredients that bump your 
Summer Smoothies (click here for recipes), popsicles, morning coffee, even your basic cooking & baking recipes to the next level!

Dairy-free Milk Alternatives: While we aren't ones to deter you from enjoying the ridiculously high-quality dairy selection here, we want you to know that these dairy-alternative milks are also available for you! Be sure to ask VFC Staff which ones they prefer. A lot of us have our favorites, depending on how we use them.

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Tags: Recipes, Wheatgrass, Protein Shakes, Dairy-free, Smoothies

For those interested in trying fermentation for the first time, sauerkraut is the perfect way to start! Sauerkraut (salted and naturally fermented cabbage) is high in probiotics, full of nutrients, tasty, and a great way to preserve local cabbage each autumn. Best of all, it is easy to make with the great starter recipe (see below). Once you’ve mastered basic sauerkraut, begin experimenting! Spice up your kraut by adding any herbs and spices. Some great combinations with cabbage include: caraway seed, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin, and hot peppers!

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Tags: Recipes, Classes, Driftless Folk School

VFC TURKEY TALK

Adapted from: www.outpost.coop/graze/issues/19#/20

Check out TIPS FROM CARLOS on our recipe blog for even more great tips
and his spin on a super easy Fennel Spice Rub Turkey Recipe!

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Tags: Recipes, DIY, Turkey

Whether you take sips or swigs, or are simply looking for homemade beverage recipes you can make and even gift through the holiday season, I’ve found another drink cookbook to guide you in creating your own infused spirits.

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Tags: Recipes, DIY, cookbook, Book Review

Red Beets from Driftless Organics Wellness Wednesday THIS WEEK includes BEETS – & the red ones are still coming locally from Driftless Organics! Beets are an ancient, prehistoric food that grew naturally along coastlines in North Africa, Asia & Europe. They have many health properties, including being super antioxidents due to their bright colored flavonoids – so they help fight off cancer & detoxify your inner environment. They help lower blood pressure & give extra stamina, as well. There are many ways to eat them: raw in salads, juiced, roasted in the oven, or even chopped up and put into some yummy borscht soup. One better, click here to get our Chocolate Beet Cake recipe! UPCOMING EVENTS: Wellness Wednesday 2/18 – 10% OFF Wellness Department! PLUS 10% OFF Bulk & Green Top Beets... since wellness & healthy eating go hand-in-hand! Potato Bags from Driftless Organics A winter standby that gives energy & comfort. Our bodies know what to do with this traditional food… The potato's fiber, potassium, vitamin C & vitamin B-6 content, coupled with its lack of cholesterol, supports heart health. Then there's the iron, phosphorous, calcium, magnesium & zinc in potatoes, which contribute to the building & maintaining of bone structure & strength.     FREE COFFEE & Conversation with your VFC Board: THIS Saturday 2/21 9am-11am Onion bags from Ridgeland Harvest, Small Family Farm & Sam Byler Live food supports lively health. A quick glimpse at their incredible health benefits:  Phytochemicals in them improve how well vitamin C works in the body, thus gifting improved immunity. They contain chromium, which assists in regulating blood sugar. For centuries, they have been used to reduce inflammation & heal infections. Enjoy sliced onions with your food? If yes, rejoice! Raw onion encourages production of good cholesterol (HDL), thus keeping your heart healthy. Powerful compound called quercetin in onions is known to play significant role in preventing cancer. Bit by a bee? Apply onion juice on the area for immediate relief from pain & burning. Onions scavenge free radicals, thereby reducing risk of developing gastric ulcers. Those bright green tops of green onions are rich in vitamin A, so do use them often! Driftless Folk School Class: Homeopathy: THIS Saturday 2/21 1-4pm FREE Documentary Screening: To The Moon: Next Thursday 2/26 6:30-8:30pm Driftless Folk School Class: Alternative Bee Keeping Methods: Saturday, March 14 1:00-4:30pm OPEN DAILY: 7am-9pm info@viroquafood.coop

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Tags: Board of Directors, Events, Recipes, Classes, onions, Potatoes, Red Beets

Vernon Memorial Hospital and the Viroqua Food Co-op are teaming up to put on a grilling class! Grillin' and Chillin' features Vernon Memorial Healthcare Dietitians Lynn Edwards, RD, CD and Katie Miller, RD, CD and Viroqua Food Co-op Chef Sean Kelley. All three have come up with this enjoyable and fun class to make your summer grilling adventures healthy and delicious! 

The class will cover:
-Grilling basics
-Food Safety
-Grilling Demonstration
-Samples from the grill
-Recipe ideas

Location: Vernon Memorial Hospital Community Rooms 507 S. Main St., Viroqua, WI
Date: Wednesday, June 13th from 6-7:30pm
Cost: $10 (VMH employees may use their Wellness benefits)
Registration: Register by June 6th at http://www.eventkeeper.com/clients/vmh/ek_vmh.cfm?curOrg=VMH (on the tab that says "All Events" change it to "Hospital Community Rooms" and the event will come onto the screen)
For more info call: (608) 637-4251

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Tags: Announcements, Events, Recipes, DIY, Classes

Mary Kehoe,


Herbs & Spices Buyer

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Tags: Organic, Recipes, DIY, Raw, Wellness/Body Care

Cole Meredith, Cheese Buyer

Legend has it that in the eighth century, French Emperor Charlemagne first tasted this soft cheese at a monastery. When Charlemagne began to cut away the rind of the cheese, a bishop promptly interceded, telling the Emperor  that he was setting aside the best part of the cheese. After trying the Brie - skin and all - Charlemagne apparently ordered that large quantities of Brie should be shipped to him annually. The favorites of kings eventually became favorites of the people, and Brie was no exception.
 
These days, people all over the world enjoy brie cheese, although the most authentic varieties are crafted meticulously in France. Brie has a very fragile curd that is easily broken and requires a special room built only for the use of making Brie and Triple Creme. It has to maintain just the right temperature or the maturation process will not work. Serving Brie cheese properly consists of allowing it to come to room temperature first. It’s always good served with some kind of wine – a bossy red usually does the trick. My favorite has always been the Cuma made with organic grapes, from the Michel Torino Estate – paired with the Reny Picot or Belletoile triple cream bries (as well as a bit of warm baguette), it is a combo that just can’t be beat.
 
French brie is a delicious, versatile, and elegant appetizer for any holiday gathering, but the best part is that it is extremely simple, as well! Below is a recipe I made as an appetizer for my family last year – I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
 

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Tags: Cheese, Recipes

Dani Lind, Produce Department

Sharing work space with the VFC Beer & Wine buyer, Greg Cheesebro, has many perks – notably lots and lots of laughs and the proximity to relentlessly pester him into stocking store shelves with some of my favorite spirits. A special bottle from that little top shelf in aisle 4 (appreciated responsibly in moderation, of course) can help bring extra cheer to holiday gatherings or brighten up the darkest winter evening.

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Tags: Recipes, Beer/Wine