TAKE ROOT Willamette Valley is a beautiful sustainable living publication with a tagline “Eat Fresh / Thrive Locally / Sustain Life”.   

In addition to great farm, food, wine and brew features, you’ll find healthy tips, benefits, recipes and a Marketplace full of great resources. 

Read the spring issue online, or visit our stores and purchase a hard copy.

http://www.magazooms.com/reader/index.php?mzID=120322163357

During the past few months, Alaffia has been working on a few short videos, with the hope of providing you with a deeper knowledge of Alaffia and their products.  The following are links to YouTube videos, including an overview of their Shea Butter Cooperative, the celebration and inauguration of the first high school they constructed, an introduction to their new Authentic African Black Soap (which has the most positive reception of any product Alaffia has introduced!) and an overview of our Beautiful Curls line. ENJOY!

We would love for you to take a brief moment to watch these short films – no more than 4 minute each. This is a way for you to realize your contribution to Alaffia and the positive impact that it has on the lives of disadvantaged individuals in Togo.

Alaffia Shea Butter Cooperative

http://youtu.be/jl27ixOntQI

Alaffia Kouloumi School Inauguration

http://youtu.be/-Ppg81AVMTU

Alaffia Authentic African Black Soap

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwFtArsEgIE&feature=relmfu

Beautiful Curls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnhlV-RrbiA&feature=relmfu

First Alternative Co-op has taken a stance on many environmental and social issues, especially those that affect food production. Get active with these important Action Centers!

Cornucopia Institute

Seeking economic justice for the family-scale farming community. Through research, advocacy, and economic development our goal is to empower farmers – partnered with consumers – in support of ecologically produced local, organic and authentic food.

Don’t forget to check out Cornucopia’s Product Scorecards! How do your favorite products rate?

Take action through the Cornucopia Action Center!

Organic Consumers

The OCA deals with crucial issues of food safety, industrial agriculture, genetic engineering, children’s health, corporate accountability, Fair Trade, environmental sustainability and other key topics. We are the only organization in the US focused on promoting the views and interests of the nation’s estimated 76 million organic and socially responsible consumers.

Take Action through the OCA Action Center!

Food and Water Watch

Food & Water Watch works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainably produced. So we can all enjoy and trust in what we eat and drink, we help people take charge of where their food comes from, keep clean, affordable, public tap water flowing freely to our homes, protect the environmental quality of oceans, force government to do its job protecting citizens, and educate about the importance of keeping the global commons — our shared resources — under public control.

Take Action through the Food and Water Watch!

Slave-Free Chocolate
Did you know that much of the cocoa sold in the United States is harvested with forced child labor? You can take a stand on this issue by voicing your opinion to the major chocolate manufacturers.
Hersheys
David West, CEO
100 Crystal A Drive
Hershey, PA 17033
Phone: 717-534-4200
Mars
Paul S. Michaels, CEO
6885 Elm Street
McLean VA 22101
Phone: 703-821-4900
Nestlé USA
Joe Weller, Chairman and CEO
800 N. Brand Blvd.
Glendale, CA 91203
Phone: 800-225-2270

Named for the Greek goddess Maia, who embodies growth and fertility, May is an opportune time to plant seeds. Whether those seeds are actual seeds, or ideas, now is the time to plant them in order to nurture them into manifestation.

We’ve had plenty of time to go inwards this past winter and delve deep into ourselves. What insights have you discovered during your introspective hibernation? Is there something you desire? Something you need to take action on? Do you feel restless and have a strong urge to start something, but don’t know what that “something” may be? This is a prosperous season for those who wait patiently and nurture their crops. This is the season to plant seeds… not to reap their bounty. We have plenty of time to work towards our goals and to manifest our dreams at a steady pace. There’s no need to rush. All we need is a little planning, hard work, and focused determination.

You may not know what you’d like to be doing in the fall. You might not even know where you’ll be living in two years. So what! Find comfort in knowing that we have all of the answers inside of us at every possible moment. We may not be able to access them on command, but they come to us when we are ready for them. We should really begin our inner gardening by asking ourselves a few questions. Am I happy with my current lot in life? Will I be happy with the bounty of the thoughts I plant today? Will I take action and practice discipline to see my hopes and dreams through to fruition?

Every thought really is a planted seed. The average person has about 38 thoughts per minute. At this rate, we are planting entire gardens and forests of ideas. The tricky part is that we can plant the wrong ideas if we aren’t aware of the emotions and motivations behind them. If we stay mindful of our higher processes, we can learn to uncover what it is we truly want and who we truly are. We can learn to nurture our positive and productive ideas as opposed to our negative ones. This will leave the negative ones to wilt and fade, since we cease to nurture them further with our energy or attention. We all have negative thoughts trickling through our heads, but if we don’t dwell on them they will never have a chance to grow into action.

On the other hand, if we really want something, we have to make sure it flourishes by giving it lots of our energy. If you’ve come to any groundbreaking realizations about yourself or your life, now is the time to focus on those thoughts… but don’t get ahead of yourself! You may feel an urge to leap forward and try to reach your goals without really working towards them, but it would be foolish to eat a crop that hasn’t been allowed to grow or mature completely. Maybe you don’t know what you ultimately want to do with your life, but where there are curiosities and piqued interests, there are clues. If you’re drawn to a certain idea, then try focusing on it as a small step towards your ultimate goal, whether that goal is entirely clear or not. Learning a new skill or trade can be difficult and time consuming. However, opportunities are sure to abound once you put in the time and effort to acquire your new knowledge. Each step we take to better ourselves and work towards something positive, no matter what that something is, brings us closer to our truest selves and our dearest dreams.

Be steady and patient. The harvest is on its way. What seeds are you planting? Are you determined to have a successful crop?

Here at the North Store things just keep getting better everyday. The dust has settled from our February reset and we are settling into our new arrangement quite nicely. The additional space in Produce is a dream, the new Grocery layout is beautiful and Wellness all on one aisle is amazing. One of my favorite things about working as a Store Manager at our Co-op is that we continue to make improvements on a daily basis. In the last month we have made several improvements that I hope you will enjoy. We now offer reverse osmosis filtered water from our new Glacier water machine. We did a reset of our grocery cooler that is the home of sliced meats, dressings, tempeh and tofu and it looks great. And we moved the Columbia Gorge cooler in close proximity to the produce department.
The day-to-day work of making your shopping trips enjoyable is the main focus of my job as Store Manager. I work with Department Managers and the Marketing Team to bring you fantastic products and fun promotions. Here are a few of my favorite products and promotions that we currently have in our stores.
We will celebrate World Fair Trade Day, May 12th. For the sale period of May 2nd to May 15th, you can enjoy great savings on some of our favorite Fair Trade products. During this time, 1% of our sales of Alaffia, Alter-Eco, Dr. Bronner, Equal Exchange, Guayaki, and Maggie’s Organics will be donated to Root Capital, a nonprofit social investment fund that works to help impoverished rural communities in Africa and South America. You can learn more about these promotions in the Co+op Deals flyer inserted in the Thymes.
Some of the featured fair trade items also happen to be some of my favorite co-op products. Alter Eco’s dark velvet chocolate bar is the perfect balance between intense dark chocolate and delightful creaminess. I will admit to eating about one a week and if I have to share I buy two. Equal Exchange is offering great deals on several of their products. Did you know that Equal Exchange is a sister cooperative that is owned by the people that work there? By supporting Equal Exchange you are supporting the 6th International Cooperative Principle, Cooperation among Co-ops.
I hope you’ll continue to join me in enjoying your favorite things at the Co-op.

- Evelyn Hall, North Store Manager

Come in for free samples, exciting music, and lots of fiesta flavors!

Here are the details:

Comando Musical, local Mariachi Band, will play:
11-12:45 at South
1:30-3:15 at North

The Co-op kitchen’s Maria Herrera Barrera will be making fresh tortillas for sample:
11-12:30 at South
1-2:30 at North

PLUS we will have amazing food samples all over the store, so come join us and make your shopping experience deliciouso!

To get you started try this delicious Pico De Gallo Recipe from our May Thymes issue:

Pico de Gallo
3 tomatoes, chopped
½ onion, chopped
½ bunch cilantro, chopped
2 limes, juiced
salt and pepper to taste
1 jalapeno (optional)
Mix all ingredients together and set aside.

The month of April’s etymology can be traced back to the Latin word aperire, which means to open. This is naturally displayed by the flowering buds of spring and all that comes to life this beautiful time of year…including YOU!

That’s right. It’s time for you to come alive. It’s time to experience everything anew and fresh again. Spring is a season for rebirth and growth, and staying aware of how open we are with the world around us can make for a fertile garden where new and unexpected surprises can grow. Often times, just when I think myself to be an open individual, I jump to a conclusion or two. Just when I think I’m open to new experiences, I find myself repeating old experiences when given the chance. If you possess a human brain then these things are difficult to avoid, but don’t beat yourself up over it! None of us are as open as we like to think we are.

We are creatures of habit and ego. This is great for survival, but not necessarily for deep personal growth. If we truly want to live as open entities, we need to try our best at staying adventurous, spontaneous, and less ego driven. I’m talking about living in the present moment and allowing life itself to fill you to the brim. If you find yourself worrying about future endeavors or can’t stop thinking about past regrets, you are not living in the present moment. “Life” does take some planning, but don’t forget that everything is in its right place and that the universe isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Relax and let yourself just be. The universe only guarantees the “now,” so embrace
it.

Try new things! The next time you’re at your favorite restaurant, order something you’ve never heard of instead of your favorite meal. Better yet, ditch the concept of favorites entirely. Wouldn’t it be nice to start viewing everything as a new and exciting opportunity for growth? Wouldn’t it be lovely to see the beauty in all things as though we were children again? For me, this sense of wonder is activated through respect and curiosity, and we are all capable of finding these within us. We are all capable of continuing to find new and interesting joys in even our most common of tasks. Find new reasons to love the people and things you already love. Find ways to appreciate and love the people and things you don’t necessarily already love. Stay objective and open so you don’t close yourself off from new experiences and insights. The next time your logical mind jumps to a conclusion about someone, interact with them and see if you can prove your mind wrong. The next time someone asks you what your favorite _______
is, tell that person you don’t know… and mean it! There’s beauty in the unknown! If you don’t play favorites you keep yourself open to experiencing the universe in ways you couldn’t experience otherwise.

Let’s try our very best to stay open this month. If we keep open hearts, minds, and attitudes, then we will surely feel alive and present. Plus, we’ll have so much to talk about

Cashew Cauliflower Quiche

1 cup flour
½ tsp salt
1/3 cup butter
½ cup cold water
6 oz cheese, sliced
½ onion, chopped
4 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
½ cup toasted cashews, chopped
½ tsp each garlic salt & pepper
½ cup Parmesan
Combine flour and salt. Using a pastry blender or pair of table knives, cut butter into flour until reduced to pea sized lumps. Add cold water by Tbsp. until dough forms. Roll out on a floured surface and transfer to pie pan. Trim and fold edges. Score with a fork to reduce bubbling. Bake at 325° for 15 minutes.
Steam cauliflower. Arrange cheese slices on the bottom of the pie shell. Sauté onion in butter until translucent. Mix with cauliflower and cashews and add to pie. Beat eggs, milk and seasoning together and pour over cauliflower. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes, top with Parmesan and bake another 20 minutes, or until middle has set.

Highlights!

10% off all Local 6 Products & Grower Direct Produce

Double Punches on Alternative Transportation Cards

Double Beans for your Bag

Free Styrofoam Recycling at the South Store

SHOP LOCAL AND WIN ONE OF FOUR AMAZING LOCAL 6 GIFT BASKETS!

Five years ago on Earth Day we launched the Local 6, a campaign to build a stronger local economy. The Local 6 has since spread like wildfire across Corvallis and the Sustainability Coalition’s Food Action Team has used it in their efforts to increase the amount of local food consumed in Corvallis to 60% by 2020.
At inception, the Co-op’s Local 6 sales* were around 16% and have grown to nearly 30% daily. Last year on Earth Day we offered 10% off all Local 6 items and that figure jumped to 47%.
This year, this epic year of 2012, we want to see that number jump to 60% to show that it really is possible to reach a goal of 60% or more local food. Just think, that’s 3 out of 5 ingredients that you’re choosing local. Still plenty of room in your meal for avocados and bananas!
Help us reach our goal of 60% Local 6 sales—come in and shop local on Earth Day! We’ll give you 10% off Local 6 products and grower direct produce, double Beans for Bags, double punches for Alternative Transportation, and free Styrofoam recycling (at the South Store Recycling Center only). Sign up to be a Local 6 Rockstar for a chance to win one of 4 Local 6 gift baskets! Free samples and demos at both stores!
*This figure does not include produce sales.