The Beet
A Port Townsend Food Co-op Blog
Whether you're passionate about healthy recipes, sustainability initiatives, local giving programs, or supporting local farms, we’ve got something for you. Stay connected with the latest co-op news, learn how we’re making a difference in the community, and discover how you can get involved. Join us as we promote eco-friendly living and share the best in organic, local food."
MASK UPDATE
We want to remind everyone that there is still a mask mandate in place when inside businesses such as the Co-op.
May General Manager’s Report
Each month, I report to the board on how we are progressing on our long-term goals, which we call our Ends. These Ends reflect our aspirations—what we want to accomplish—and they are what makes us different from a regular grocery store.
Spring Greens
Some spring greens are cultivated, like spinach, endive, radicchio and Asian greens like tatsoi and mizuna. Others grow wild, including dandelion greens, nettles, fiddlehead ferns, chickweed and purslane
Celebrate Mother's Day!
Celebrate Mom! Make her some French Toast, Pancakes, Biscuits, Eggs, Smoothie or a Blintze!!
Simplifying Sake
While the science behind sake may seem basic, deciphering a sake bottle can be anything but.
Cinco de Mayo Recipes
After a while you won’t need to follow the recipes; ingredients and techniques will live in your bones, and you can cook from what you have and what’s in season.
Read the Food Co-op 2020 Impact Report
What is a food co-op? We are your friendly, democratically controlled, community-owned grocery store. Everyone is welcome to shop and if you decide to become an owner you’ll get benefits and vote for our board of directors. That democratic process is how owners ensure the co-op stays focused on its community.
Spring into the Co-op!
These fresh, sprightly spring rolls and dipping sauce deserve to become a recurring dish in your recipe repertoire. This is an extra-springy vegetarian version of the classic!
Anatomy of the beer cooler and … life beyond IPA
While there is no doubt that Northwest craft beer – and particularly Northwest IPA – forms the backbone of our set, there is, without a doubt, much more on offer. Here’s a shelf-by-shelf breakdown:
Earth Day Brunch Menu
Nothing proclaims EARTH DAY like emerging asparagus. Heralded as a fertility symbol, and sacred to Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, asparagus is a prized vegetable.
This is the dawning of the age of asparagus!
Welcome Spring! Welcome Asparagus!
Celebrate asparagus with these great recipes and fun facts!
What it means to be a member of a Co-op
In a cooperative, that is our goal—the common good. Working for the common good sometimes means we accept policies or outcomes that we might not have chosen ourselves.
A World of Wine Awaits on Aisle 5
If you’d like to talk to a real person, I’m in Aisle 5, Tuesday to Saturday, 40 hours an week and would be more than happy to give you a tour and help you connect with just the right bottle for your mood, palate and budget.
The Ordinary-Extraordinary Egg
Egg laying squawks and shrill clucks became everyday sounds as the flock became part of our lives. I learned how to ease an egg from under a hen and many other subtle skills.
One spring day, while the chickens…
Hiyu Wine Farm – Revolutionary Wines from the Columbia Gorge
According to Ready and his partner China Tresemer, Hiyu Wine Farm is “guided by nature and inspired by ideas from biodynamics and permaculture.
General Manager's March Update
Each month, I report to the board on how we are progressing on our long-term goals, which we call our Ends. These Ends reflect our aspirations—what we want to accomplish—and they are what makes us different from a regular grocery store.
Devium Wines - Redefining Washington Wine
Every once in a while, a winemaker or wine comes along that shakes up your assumptions about what you thought possible for a grape, an area or appellation, and Devium wines are such wines, and Keith Johnson is such a winemaker.
Takes Two To Mango!
Shopping for mangos is a sensory pleasure. The stem end should smell fruity, and the ripe fruit should yield to gentle pressure. For recipes and how to cut a mango…
RE-ROOFING THE CO-OP
Over the years we’ve developed several tricks to cope with the sunlight that dares to enter our building. So now, given the price of both replacing the skylight and coping with mitigating the effects of the sun, we decided to go ahead and re-roof but not replace it.