Homegrown Volunteer Schedule

Here is the latest volunteer schedule!

Hi Local Food Supporters,

We are excited in anticipation of finishing construction on the new co-op facility and completing our transition into the larger space.

We need YOUR Help to make it happen! Please review the schedule of volunteer needs below and email info@homegrowncoop.org or call 407-595-3731 if you can help!

Sunday April 4th
Need 2-4 volunteers to start at 11 am.
Projects will include:

* Continued demo of front building. Volunteers with electric screws guns would be extra helpful.
* Finish painting of office room and scrapping old vinyl tiles off the floor.
* Fixing some AC Duct work
* Fixing doors
* Removing ceiling tiles to prepare for electric work

Monday April 5th
Need 1-2 skilled volunteers to help with AC, Electric & Plumbing Work Day. Start time 9am

Tuesday April 5th
Need 1-2 skilled volunteers to help finishing Electric & Plumbling projects. Start time 9am.

Wednesday April 6th
1 volunteer in the afternoon can assist in preparation for weekend work.

Friday April 9th
Need 1-2 volunteers in afternoon and evening.

* Finish any painting on the walls
* Start prepping floors to be painted and sealed.

Saturday April 10
Need 2-3 volunteers for painting the floors

Sunday April 11th
Need 2-3 volunteers for finishing the floors.

Monday April 12th
Need 1-2 volunteers to finish floors and start moving equipment.

Tuesday April 13th
Need 1-2 volunteers to continue move and setting up office

Wednesday April 14th
Need 1-2 volunteer in afternoon to finalize move-in details and set-up

Can you help? Email info@homegrowncoop.org.

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Free “Dirty Dozen” Magnet with $5 donation

The Environmental Working Group  is running a limited time offer. Give $5 today and get a free “Dirty Dozen” fridge magnet. It’ll remind you which produce contains the most – and the least – pesticides. A handy tool for smart shopping.

If you prefer just printing it out  or getting it for iPhone, click here. There is also the full list.

 

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Review of Natalie Savona’s “The Big Book of Juices”

I’ve recently bumped my centrifugal juicer over in favor of whole juicing in a blender in the battle to get more veggies into my child and more fiber into my spouse.

I happen to use a Vitamix, but Blendtec or any other home blender would do.  You might not get exactly the same “smoothie” texture, but give it enough water or juice base to liquefy and it should be good enough.  You will still get the fiber and pulp that a centrifugal juicer would strain out.

One of my new favorite resources for blend ideas to try is Natalie Savona’s “The Big Book of Juices.”

THE PROS

Here’s the good stuff about the book:

• A nice introduction covering the definitions of juice vs smoothie, how to select your equipment, how to select your ingredients, healthy additives etc.
• There is one recipe per page, quite a lot with gorgeous color photos. At the bottom of each recipe you get a chart with stars showing how that particular drink rates for energy, detox, immunity, digestion, and skin properties. Plenty of space to write in your own comments after trying a blend out.

• The recipes are in chapters by main kind of juice and then main ingredient.  For instance, you see “Vegetable Based Juices — Green Veg” followed by “Vegetable Based Juices — Root Veg.” The index in the back also can lead you to blends by specific ingredient — spinach, orange, apple, celery, etc.
• The back of the book has a quick reference charts.  One is for nutrients and what foods would have them. Another is for juices for different ailments and suggested blends for that ailment.

THE CONS

Here’s what I thought could be improved:

• The suggested blends don’t give precise, consistent measures across the book. Sometimes we get “tablespoons” and “milliliters” and other times we’re talking “handful” and “a bunch.”

I wish it had tried to give ingredients  in terms of weight like “2 ounces of blueberries”, and then give the resulting quantity  of juice in terms of volume like “makes about 3 cups.”  Whole jucing is tasty, but I don’t want to drink oxidized leftovers that have turned brown and unappealing. I find myself writing in that kind of commentary when I try blends out so I can remember how much a suggested blend makes. “Made Blue Healer today.  Made like it is, it filled about two  12 oz glasses.”

BOTTOM LINE

If you are going to get just one book on juicing, this one would be a good bet to cover most needs. It has plenty of ideas to keep you experimenting for a long time.  You are bound to find plenty that you like among the 400+ suggestions!

 

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Kitchen Garden Planner at Gardeners.com

Mid-July is seed starting time if you are planning a fall garden.  But what if you are new and not sure what to plant?

It’s no secret that I’m a square foot gardening fan. One of my favorite resources is the Kitchen Garden Planner at Gardeners.com.

READY MADE PLANS

You can select from 6 pre-planned designs — the All American, Cook’s Choice, High Yield, Plant It and Forget It, Salsa & Tomato Sauce and Salad Bar.

MAKE YOUR OWN

You can also click and drag an assortment of plants from the menu bar down into the grid area to make your own design:

It will tell you how many of each plant will go into each square foot.

There’s also Step-by-Step care tips, a Vegetable Encyclopedia, and Supplies and Accessories that you can buy at the website.

BOTTOM LINE

While the vegetable encyclopedia is informative, you are also going to want to check out the Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide from the extension office (PDF Version) to get Florida specific info.

I do wish it allowed you to specify how big your bed is rather than limiting it to a 3 ft x 6 ft bed in the planner. That would be a nice improvement down the road. Expanding the 30 item plant list to include more herbs, fruits and vegetables would also be good.

The planner is easy enough for kids to use and you can print out the designs.  It’s definitely my favorite of all the online planners I’ve seen so far and good for beginning gardeners.

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Fridgesmart Food Storage Containers from Tupperware

Six years ago when I started buying organic produce in larger quantities, I knew I had to get better about storing it in the fridge or else it would be a waste.  Nothing is more depressing than brown lettuce, mealy apples, and gunky cucumbers! I stumbled across the “Fridgesmart” line by Tupperware back then and would still recommend it today.

BASICS

The colors of the containers seem to change every season, but the basics are still the same. You get a sturdy, well made plastic container with a lid and two vent holes with white “clicky” tabs.  The tabs allow you to have both holes closed, both holes open, or only one hole open. The bottom of the container is ridged so any condensation will be kept away from the produce.

Most of the sizes have a chart printed on the side listing common fruits and vegetables and what setting to put the tabs at for that item. I’ve found the chart accurate. I’ve had even the lettuce stay nice for 2-3 weeks. I get organic produce every other week so it works out well.

Over time the tabs might come loose, but Tupperware customer service has been good about replacing my tabs and I’ve only lost 2 tabs in 5 years.

I’ve put them through the dishwasher without problems and I’ve handwashed them too.

SIZES

I’ve tried several sizes, but the two best sizes are the medium long and the large.  If you want a third size, I’d go for the small square for smaller things like grapes or cut up items.  Two of the smalls will stack neatly on a medium long.

I wouldn’t bother with the mini, the round, or the large square. Rectangles simply stack better in the fridge and are more space efficient. The large, while big, isn’t so huge that you can’t get it out easily when full of produce.

• Small 4 ½-cup (1.1 L) capacity—6″W x 6″L x 3 ½”H (15 x 15 x 8.5 cm)
• Medium Long 8 ½-cup (2 L) capacity—6″W x 12″L x 3 ½”H (15 x 30 x 8.5 cm)
• Large 19 ¼-cup (4.7 L) capacity—6″W x 15″L x 5″H (15 x 38 x 8.5 cm)

I find that two large and three or four medium long ones work quite well for our needs. I rarely use the small because fruits get eaten up so quickly around here it isn’t worth the cost of a special container. Any old bowl will do!

RECYCLING

I was curious about the recycling number for Fridgesmart and found this on the Tupperware website:

Because Tupperware® products contain a lifetime guarantee and were not originally intended for recycling, they were not labeled with recycle codes. Now that the code system and recycling practices have become more widely adopted internationally, Tupperware will begin to systematically place raw material codes (recycling codes) on all products. Raw material identification codes for all our main product ranges are currently available at by following this link.

It confirmed what I had guessed — the main container is a #5 and the seals are #4.

WHERE TO BUY

Fridgesmart  on the Tupperware website comes in at $12- $26. You can sometimes find them on Amazon but the best deals will be on Ebay.

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Freshfields Farms Produce and Meat Market

Formerly known as Momm’s Meats & Popp’s Produce, Freshfields Farms has been around in some form since the late 1930′s and continues to provide a large variety of produce and meats tucked away a few streets from Orange Ave.

400 East Compton Street
Orlando, Florida 32806

(407) 423-3309

WHAT’S HERE

The building is divided into a produce side and a meats side with a snack bar in between the two offering cold drinks, hot dogs, snacks, and sweet treats.The menu lists prices but take note that it is cash only. (Inside the stores you can use your debit/Visa cards to swipe your purchases though.)

Parking can be crowded at peak hours, so be prepared to park along the street if you can’t get into the parking area.

On the produce side, you can expect to find a nice variety of fruits and vegetables.  You can also find dried beans, eggs, frozen produce, sugar cane, honey, and spices.  There’s a small selection of organic produce set apart, but it isn’t always all in the corner where the large “Organics” sign is.  Sometimes you see Earthbound farms lettuce tucked in with the conventional lettuce instead.  Or you might find some organic apples over on the fruit wall. The food is labeled well and the staff is friendly and willing to help you find what you need.

On the meats side, you can find cheese, seafood, poultry, pork, beef, and more. Read the labels to find the natural/hormone free choices — again it isn’t always grouped together in one area.

Prices are good and you can keep an eye on the specials page to see what’s new this week. I spent $20 today and got a selection of organic and conventional produce that looks like this:

WHAT’S NEARBY

Right across the street there’s a Goodwill, so it’s handy if you want to donate clothing, toys, and other items before crossing over to shop at Freshfields Farms.

The Goodwill is part  of a very large shopping complex called the “Market at Southside.”  You can find other stores like a Panera, Dots, Office Depot, and more. You’ll probably want to hit the Publix or the Alberstons in the shopping plaza afterward to get the few odds and ends that you cannot get at Freshfields Farms to make the most of your grocery time.

Freshfields is on E. Compton (Green A). Albertson’s (the red B) is closer to the Michigan side.  Publix (the red A) is closer to the Pineloch side.

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Orlando Organics

I’m a big fan of fresh produce. That’s why I grow some in my garden! But I can’t always grow everything I want!

ORLANDO ORGANICS

For a few years, I was getting my produce delivered from Orlando Organics. They have a big range for delivery. Unfortunately the driving routes changed and my house is no longer on it.

It is particularly good for those who prefer to just “eat through the basket” and plan the menu around what they got and just want to use it up. I especially liked that because I’m not very good at thinking ahead to what I want to eat. I find it easier to go from the “I have a mess of onions to use up. What can I make out of it?” side of things.

Website

Established in 2002. The website is clean, crisp, and easy to navigate. The member login area is pretty self-explanatory and you can make the changes you need without too much difficulty. If you lose your password you can request it at the website.

Membership Fee

One time $15 registration fee.

Ordering

You select the size “basket” you want from the website and can leave it permanently set to get that size weekly or every other week. This is useful for those who want regular delivery. You get it set up for the size you want and then don’t worry about it any more.

You can also log in to change basket sizes before the next delivery date if you need to, but I found the basket method especially good for people who don’t want to be logging on to websites a lot.

The front page of the website tells you what this week’s Harvest Blend Regular basket contains along with a link to the other basket options. I found the harvest blend regular basket adequate for my family of 2 adults and one baby/toddler for 1-2 weeks if supplemented with other produce bought elsewhere — usually fruit.

You can list your likes and dislikes in your membership preferences and they will try to exchange things in your basket so it suits your tastes.

Payment Method

Credit Card on file automatically billed for your order, though you have to call it in when first setting up your account.

Food

The food is fresh, nice, and best of all — delivered right to you! Here’s one Harvest Regular Basket order:

Everything is inside your cooler bag. At the next order you return the cooler bag and in really hot weather, they suggest you leave out a cooler with ice so they can put the food in that so it will keep til you get home. If you lose your bag, you do have to replace it or pay a replacement fee.

Customer Care

The website is set up to deal with most of my needs. On the rare occassion where I had to call in by phone, both Dave and Heather have been very attentive any time I ever had a question. They care about their business and promptly get back to you.

Notes

Your home may be outside the area of delivery. If you like to make your menu ahead of time and then get the groceries to fit it, the “basket” approach may not work for you. The newsletter archives with recipes are still available. The best thing I liked about it was the ease of use, and not having to think about my menus or produce selections so my family got variety. I just ate my way through the basket!

I would and do reccommend Orlando Organics to friends who seem to want the “basket” approach.

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