See it live here: shorturl.at/hyMQY
They currently tend 90 varieties of perennial fruit in the form of raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, plums, cherries, pears and apples. Their apples are set up for Pick-Your-Own harvesting and they sell them at our farmstand here and at several farmer’s markets. Art In the Orchard is a walking sculpture trail which winds through our productive fruit gardens. The self-guided trail is about a half-mile long. A walk through the labyrinth adds about a quarter mile. This year’s exhibition is the fourth biennial which features all new works by sculptors as selected by their credentialed jury.
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I helped design banners that would wrap around a circular support to construct a float for the Northampton Pride Parade. My boss decorated the rest of the float.
In the world of capitalism and entrepreneurism, it is common to get a name or idea trademarked so it is protected under copyright and makes it difficult for anyone to profit off or steal the term or idea. However, in certain organized communities, there are specific terms that are used across the board about a specific product – for example, Fire Cider, that cannot be trademarked and should be available to all.
Recently, Kathi Langelier of Herbal Revolution (ME) Mary Blue of Farmacy Herbs (RI) and Nicole Telkes of Wildflower School of Botanical Medicine (TX) won a 9-day trial in court for their case of making Fire Cider a generic term in Herbalism. What this means is that corporations or other for-profit organizations cannot trademark Fire Cider. In Herbalism, certain terms and names often come from tradition and if trademarked the meaning and tradition can be lost.
Two years ago, the co-op discontinued Fire Cider made by Shire City Herbals because of the legal action they had taken against community herbalists for using a traditional remedy and term. This decision was not made lightly. In a statement regarding this issue, back in June of 2015, we did our best to remain neutral, urging Shire City Herbals and all parties involved to find a peaceful and equitable resolution to the conflicts over the trademark issue. The fact remains that the term “fire cider” was not created by Shire City Herbals and had been in use by herbalists all over the country long before they started making their product. Shire City Herbals did not invent this formula. Decades ago, the basic recipe was published with that name, in a book by Rosemary Gladstar.
Fire Cider is a blend of herbs mixed with apple cider vinegar and honey used for its health-enhancing properties. This formula and name were coined by herbalist Rosemary Gladstar in the 1970s. It has been reproduced, adapted, used and sold by thousands of herbalists over the past forty years. Traditional fire cider is apple cider vinegar infused with warming herbs like horseradish, garlic, onion, ginger, and hot peppers, among other things.
From Rosemary,
Kathi Langelier of Herbal Revolution, (ME) Mary Blue of Farmacy Herbs (RI) and Nicole Telkes of Wildflower School of Botanical Medicine, (TX)’s recent win in court is a huge precedent-setting case because it will prevent future corporations and for-profit organizations from trademarking a tradition or term.
Put ginger, horseradish, onion, garlic, peppers, lemon zest, lemon juice, rosemary and turmeric in a quart canning jar. Cover with apple cider vinegar by about two inches. Use a piece of natural parchment paper or wax paper under the lid to keep the vinegar from touching the metal. Shake well. Store in a dark, cool place for one month and shake daily.
After one month, use cheesecloth to strain out the pulp, pouring the vinegar into a clean jar. Be sure to squeeze as much of the liquid goodness as you can from the pulp while straining. Add ¼ cup of honey and stir until incorporated. Taste your cider and add another ¼ cup until you reach desired sweetness. Fire cider should taste hot, spicy and sweet. It is great as a winter time tonic and as a remedy for colds and coughs. Often people use it as salad dressing, on rice, or with steamed vegetables.
Many New Englanders this time of year go to the beach and often have a variety of seafood: cod, salmon, swordfish, shellfish, etc. but did you know that sea vegetables are more and more becoming a larger part of the seafood category? While the Japanese were one of the first groups of people to jump onto the benefits of seaweed, the nutritional benefits are quite surprising! Seaweed has been known to be nourishing for those who have certain deficiencies.
Check out some of the key nutritional benefits of seaweed below. 93 Bio-available nutrients have been identified in Seaweed… more than any other class of food!
In addition to the key nutritional benefits, there are 56 minerals and trace elements in seaweed: it is very high in Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Iron & Iodine, Perfect Potassium to Sodium ration.
Seaweed is also Antiviral, Antibacterial, Antiparasitic has more vitamin C than oranges, 10x the calcium in milk, 25x the iron in beef
Nutritional experts recommend eating seaweed from all three-color groups:
Green: Sea Lettuce, Spongeweed, Ulva
Brown: Kelp, Wrack, Bladderwrack, Wake, Combo, Fucus
Red: Dulse, Nnori, Laver, Irish Moss, Carrageen Moss
Many of the above nutrients are helpful for those who have an autoimmune disease, to eat the vitamins, minerals and trace elements already found in food that their autoimmune disease is causing a deficiency in.
At the co-op, there are many products available in our snack and international food aisles that have seaweed as a key ingredient. Aside from grounding up sheets of seaweed used for sushi making, there is a popular seasoning called Nori Fume Furikake. It only has organic seaweed, organic sesame, salt and sugar and is great to mix in with some California Jasmine Rice that is found in our bulk section.
Seaweed has also been beneficial as a natural seaweed supplement for dogs, cats, birds, fish, horses and other farm animals.
Below are some recipe suggestions to use these products to incorporate seaweed’s nutritional benefits into your diet. These have been reposted with permission from NCG:
Asian Cabbage Salad with Pan-Seared Tofu Steaks
Orange Wakame SaladIf you are someone who happens to fear seaweed while swimming in the ocean, the ugly truth is that seaweed has a lot of nutritional value that can provide a huge source of vitamins, minerals and trace elements that are important for your day-to-day diet.
Sourced from: www.allnaturalpetcare.com
FDA Disclaimer: Statements on this website may not have been evaluated by the FDA, Health Canada nor any other government regulator. The information and products provided by AllNaturalPetCare.com are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease and are intended for educational purposes only.
The employee newsletter historically was a communication tool at River Valley Co-op that was deployed by the HR department. After several years of one way of formatting, a need to change it’s design was requested and the following is the result. The cover page changes depending on the sales flyer promotions and different sections are corresponding to the brands colors. The dark green color has the articles written by each department and typically a category with the light and dark purple colors are for the staff shout outs. This design was disbanded when an internal communications system was deployed as a response to the store’s expansion and COVID-19.
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Expedition Easthampton is River Valley Co-op’s marketing campaign for their new location in Easthampton, MA. The goal of this campaign was to inform the public and their customers of the progress with the member loans. In order to guarantee success of the construction of the second store a certain amount of money from member loans from the co-op was required. My contribution to this project was to design a look for the printed materials utilizing the cartoon style of River Valley Co-op and the chosen elements (paddle, compass, mountains, etc.). This resulted in a colorful but informative and playful design that is appealing for all ages.
Whipped coffee is all the rage these days and with this simple five-step recipe you can enjoy a barista-made drink in minutes! There are many ways to whip up (yes, pun intended) this coffee treat, and as a result it comes out in many different ways. From others who have made this drink, matcha and cocoa powder seem to work just as well. The co-op carries a variety of instant coffee varieties, including fair trade and instant coffee substitutes. We recommend using a real instant coffee for the best results!
2 tablespoons of instant coffee
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of hot water
A glass of milk, or 8-16 oz.
Adapted from: https://tasty.co/recipe/whipped-coffee
Measure out your ingredients
Pour ingredients into a bowl
Whisk ingredients until it is foamy and frothy
Pour milk into a glass with ice and pour whipped coffee on top
Enjoy!
