Putting it all Together

Now THIS is what I call a feast...


Pork chops - Jason got them in work trade from Afton Field Farm. Dredged in paprika flour and roasted in cast iron.

Potatoes - Purchased at the First Alternative Natural Food Co-op and came from Gathering Together Farm. Marinated in balsamic vinegar and roasted with rosemary, sea salt, and pepper.

Salad - Kale and carrots purchased from Denison Farms and beets from GTF gotten at the Saturday Farmers' Market. Grated and mixed with sesame and flax seeds and tossed with a honey mustard vinaigrette.

Some food needs to be celebrated don't you think?

Sustainable Sunday: First Alternative Natural Foods Co-op

Nearly every food posting we have done includes some mention of the First Alternative Natural Food Co-op here in Corvallis. Whether baking bread, brewing kombucha, making chai, or getting our weekly groceries, we at Semi-Urban Homesteader LOVE this amazing Corvallis landmark.

The Co-op was started in 1970 by a group of 100 local citizens who wanted a source for healthy foods and the opportunity to educate others about sustainability and organic agriculture. Today it boasts over 8000 owners and two wonderful locations. Both the South (flagship) and North Co-op locations provide fresh produce, salad bar, deli items, prodigious bulk options, and high-quality natural and organic foods.

Some of our favorite Co-op features include the North Co-op's wheat grinder, South Co-op's bulk tincture selection, and both stores' ethically-sourced meat, quality wine and beer, and the "Feast Alternative" deli foods.

The Co-op does not just provide food, but events, workshops, and lectures on local issues and educational opportunities. They also work to support local business. The Local 6 program focuses purchasing efforts to buy from farms and businesses in the 6 most immediate counties around Corvallis. Currently they are earning money for local schools by dedicating a percentage of owner share monies.

All in all the First Alternative Natural Foods Co-op is an amazing example of people coming together for the health and welfare of their community.

Tare About the Environment

Each week we plan out our meals from Monday until Saturday (we eat out Sundays - Chinese this week!) and go to the store to do all of our purchases. We find that it saves us time, money, and wasted food. Now that we are settled into our new place we have unpacked all of our mason jars...I LOVE mason jars. I use them to drink out of, to store leftovers in, to measure out food, and most importantly - for food storage.

I don't just use them to store food in the form of canning. I also use them to measure, transport, and store bulk dry goods from my local Co-Op.

I will say that I also LOVE bulk foods.

One of my favorite parts about bulk foods is the reduction of waste (not to mention lower prices and quantities that you choose for yourself). In order to maximize this waste reduction I bring my own containers with me. This way I get to store my food in materials I like (I much prefer glass to plastic) and I get to take as much or as little as I like (this is GREAT for trying things out like shampoo (if it is offered in bulk) because you can get just a tester rather than a whole bottle).

If your grocery store or Co-Op offers bulk foods and you care about waste reduction ask if they will allow you to bring in your own containers. Some places (often bigger chain-type stores) do not. In that case you can just get your foods in bags, label said bags, and reuse them each time you go...BUT if they do you can start picking and choosing containers for your various bulk items.

Lining up containers for our grocery run.

If this is the case you will want a tare weight for your containers. The tare weight is how much the container weighs when it is empty. This should be subtracted from the full weight of the container to calculate the weight of the food inside. Some places want you to bring your containers to them so they can weigh them (keeps people from cheating the system) and others let you do your own tare and rely on an honors system. At my Co-Op here in Corvallis they allow us to weigh our own containers. They also provide a number of sterilized recycled containers on the premises, often pre-taring them for you.

So when I go to the Co-Op I determine what I want to buy, what I can get in bulk, what containers are best for what foods, and then collect them all together to take with me when I go.

If you mark your tare on tape you can pull it off to use the jar for something else.

Some hints for bringing your own containers:
- Try to bring containers that most closely match how much you are purchasing. I usually determine what I am going to use the food item for as I am choosing a container.
- It works best to pick containers that used to hold the item you are purchasing in bulk. I find this most helpful when getting items like laundry soap and shampoo.
- Make sure your containers are clean and dry. This keeps food from sticking to the insides of your containers as well as slows the opportunity for spoilage.
- When marking your tare weights, be sure not to write them on the lids of containers. This is important if you are like me and use containers with interchangeable lids. Today I used a lid with a tare on it from a half gallon jar, but the new jar it was connected to was eight ounces. The cashier was confused.
- If the containers you are using have bar codes on them, take a magic marker and draw a line through the code. This will avoid accidental scanning of the item as what it was previously.
- If you have any doubt that you will mix up two items in the containers be sure to label them with contents at the store. It would be unfortunate if you grabbed the salt jar for your morning coffee.
- Think about appropriateness of where the containers will be used. Don't put shampoo in a glass jar...you might regret it later when it slips out of your hand in the shower.

Happy bulk shopping!

Homemade Chai

Before moving to Oregon I stayed with Jason in his place in Moab while he finished up some earth building projects. His roommate made up chai from scratch and it was AMAZING!!! Here is his recipe and my thoughts as I sit here and enjoy a cup of my first batch.

4 qt saucepan full of water
2-3 T cardamom pods
3-4 T fresh chopped ginger
1 t black pepper corns
1 nutmeg seed (grind in coffee grinder with black pepper corns)
1/2 to 1 t cloves (the more you put in the more your tongue goes numb)
4 small cinnamon sticks

Boil that down slowly til about 2/3rd water left in pot, then add milk of your choice to fill the pot back up again, and lightly boil down about 1/2 inch or so. Steep in roiboos or tea of your choice, strain into cup, add honey to taste, and serve (if you use black tea then steep in each individual cup as it will turn bitter in the pot).

If you like spice this chai is amazing. It has a great bite due to the ginger and black peppercorns. I would halve the peppercorns and double the clove if you like a sweeter tone. I used soymilk in my brew, but it will work with any kind of milk. I also did not have a nutmeg seed and had to go with pre-ground nutmeg which worked just fine. If you think your chai is not strong enough you can always cook it down more or store it with the spices in. When you heat it up each time it will steep further.


I got all of my ingredients in bulk from the First Alternative Natural Foods Co-op here in Corvallis which keeps the cost of the spices much lower than if you were purchasing them in containers. In order to keep my chai spices organized I put all of the baggies into a large mason jar and taped the recipe to the outside.


You can also save the spices from one pot and make another batch. Just freshen it up with a a few bits of each ingredient and make a slightly smaller amount.