THE
Grapevine
SPRING 2013
From the Manager’s Desk
Written by Scott Brelsford
As the first quarter of 2013 comes to a close the first thing I
would like to do is thank everyone who helped make 2012 our
first profitable fiscal year since our move. While the profit was
nominal, like the buds forming on the trees all around us, it is a
sign of growth and prosperity to come. To turn a profit, no matter
how large or small in just our 2nd full year in the new location
is thrilling but this does not mean our work is done, just the
opposite. We have already retired tens of thousands in debt and
continue to aggressively pursue debt retirement as our main short
term objective. Many of you have owner loans coming due over
the next few years and these loans will take top priority when it
comes to any financial decision making.
For the fiscal year 2012 there will be no patronage refund
due to our goals of retiring debt as quickly and efficiently as
possible. Over the next two or three years we will begin to see
some long term debt being retired and this will have a snowball
effect allowing us to use momentum gained to retire not only our
new building debt but also the long term liabilities that we have
carried over since our last move, about ten or more years ago.
Debt is normal function of business and should not be thought
of as a bad word. Debt is
what allows business to grow
and undertake new projects,
new buildings, and new equipment;
so as we continue to work our way
through our long term obligations
the question in the back of my mind is
“what’s next?” will it be an expansion, an
upgrade to our current digs, or possibly a ,pre
aggressive environmental and social responsibility
initiative…
While those long term goals are all plausible we must stay
focused on what we need to do today to get there. This year has
started off on the right foot. Sales are growing steadily and our
first quarter 2013 is right on target with our goals. Spring is here
and summer is on the way which means farmers markets and
home gardens will lessen some of our customers’ needs for a brick
and mortar grocery store. Also living in a “college town” presents
unique challenges for small business over the summer months.
This is nothing new to us but I would like to take the time to ask
There’s A Whole Lot of Sweetness Going On In The Deli
Written by Jenn Green
Deli Manager/Produce Buyer
Some of you may have noticed I’ve been using a lot of sweet potatoes these days. I’ve even began adding
them to the carrot ginger soup. As they are my favorite, and I feel most versatile vegetables, I have come
across an abundance of, well, very large but wonderful local gems from Coal Creek Acres. So while I keep
finding new ways to add them into our menu, I thought I would pass along some interesting facts and
nutritional information and oh course a few ”sweet” recipes for you to try at home.
Over the years there has been much confusion regarding
sweet potatoes and yams. They are the same thing, right? Well,
no, they are not. They are not even related! WHAT? Yes it’s
true! Sweet potatoes and Yams are two different species of root
vegetables with very different backgrounds and uses.
In the United States the term “yam” is mistakenly used to
label the orange flesh sweet potatoes. True Yams are thick white
tubers, and rarely available in the United States though they
are popular in South and Central America, the West Indies,
many Pacific islands and parts of Asia and Africa. Yams are
starchy and tend to have a bland flavor. Yams are best used as a
background to more flavorful accompaniments.
Sweet Potatoes, however, are native to South America, and
are members of the morning glory family. There are more then
300 varieties, ranging from white to orange flesh, and skin with
color ranging from yellow to purple. Typically, sweet potatoes
with a light-colored skin, like Jersey or the purple Japanese
varieties, have a firm, dry flesh with a delicate sweetness. The
deep orange sweet potato often called jewel or garnet, the
ones mistakenly called ‘yams,’ have a soft moist flesh. These
sugar sweet potatoes are suitable for deserts or as a substitute
Sweet potato (baked) 184
Potato (baked) 83
Spinach 76
Mixed Vegetables 52
Broccoli 52
for butternut squash but sweet potatoes uses are endless. The
purple Japanese ones are slowly becoming one of my favorites.
They hold up in soups, make great oven fries and they seem
to store very well, but I will always stand by these local orange
flesh ones that we have been receiving from Coal Creek Acres.
They have great flavor, texture, I can use one to make gallons of
soup and they are currently $.50 per lb!!
The sweet potato ranks number one in nutrition! According
to nutritionists at the Center for Science in the Public Interest
(CSPI), the single most important dietary change for most
people, including children, would be to replace fatty foods such
as french fries, with foods rich in complex carbohydrates, such
as sweet potatoes.
CSPI ranked the sweet potato number one in nutrition of
all vegetables. With a score of 184, the sweet potato outscored
the next highest vegetable by more than 100 points. Points were
given for content of dietary fiber, naturally occurring sugars
and complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron
and calcium. Points were deducted for fat content (especially
saturated fat), sodium, cholesterol, added refined sugars and
caffeine. The higher the score, the more nutritious the food.
Winter Squash (Baked) 44
Brussel Sprouts 37
Cabbage (Raw) 34
Carrot 30
Okra 30
Why is the sweet potato ranked so high? The
numbers for the nutritional sweet potato speak
for themselves: almost twice the recommended
daily allowance of vitamin A, 42 percent of the
recommendation for vitamin C, four times the
RDA for beta carotene, and, when eaten with the
skin, sweet potatoes have more fiber than oatmeal.
All these benefits with only about 130 to 160
calories!
Among root vegetables, sweet potatoes offer the
lowest glycemic index rating. That’s because the
sweet potato digests slowly, causing a gradual rise
in blood sugar, so you feel satisfied longer.
Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients
2 medium size sweet potatoes
(about 16 oz total) use jewel for sweeter fries
or Japaneses for less sweet, starchier fries
1 tbsp oil + drizzle
1 tbsp ground cumin
½ tsp smoked paprika
or cayenne if you want them spicier
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 tbsp brown sugar or coconut sugar
Here are a few
recipes so you
too can enjoy
the greatness of
these sweet little
gems. Remember our Local
ones from Coal Creek Acres
are only $0.50/lb!
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Cover baking sheet with
foil. Drizzle the olive oil on the foil use a brush or a paper
towel to evenly distribute the oil.
2. In a small bowl, mix spices together with a fork. Set aside.
3. Cut sweet potatoes into ½” x ½” fries. Slice the potato
stick in half as well if the potatoes are really big. Also remember to leave the skin on, for nutritional purposes and
for the extra crispiness.
4. In a large bowl, combine the cut potatoes and olive oil,
toss with one hand. With your other hand, add the spice
mixture a sprinkle at a time, and continue to toss until the
potatoes are evenly coated.
5. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the baking sheet
and place on the middle shelf of the oven.
6. Bake until edges are crisp and potatoes are cooked
through; about 15-20 minutes.
Serve immediately!
This next recipe is adapted from Eating Well. I have made changes so that it is Gluten free!
Sweet Potato Fritters with smokey Pinto Beans
Ingredients
1 large sweet potato (about 1 pound)
3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large poblano peppers or small
green bell peppers, chopped
1 15-ounce can pinto beans, rinsed
1 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
(see Note), divided
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
3/4 cup fine yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sorghum flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup water
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Prick sweet potato in several places with a fork. place in a baking dish and bake at 425ºF
until tender all the way to the center, about 1 hour. (you can also microwave on High until just
cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes) Set aside to cool.
3. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and
peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Set aside 1/2 cup of
the mixture. Add beans, 1/2 teaspoon paprika and 1/4 teaspoon salt to the pan. Cook, stirring
occasionally, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Cover and set aside.
4. Whisk cornmeal, sorghum flour, baking powder, the remaining 3/4 teaspoon paprika and
1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Peel the sweet potato and mash in a large bowl with a
fork. Stir in the reserved onion-pepper mixture, egg and water. Add the cornmeal mixture and
stir until just combined.
5. Form the sweet potato mixture into eight 3-inch oval fritters, using a generous 1/4 cup for
each. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook 4 fritters until
golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the
remaining fritters and oil.
6. Bake the fritters until puffed and firm to the touch, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve the fritters with
the reserved bean mixture. As an added bonus for those meat eaters out there, you can add
Bacon to the fritters or even just in the beans.
Employee’s corner
A place to recognize the new and exmplary employees working for us!
Employee of the quarter
Jenn Green
Normally we don’t give managers the Employee of the Quarter but this quarter I must recognize the
excellence of Ms. Jennifer Green. While she has been focused on revitalizing our deli over the last
quarter to call her the deli manager would be like calling our Co-op just another store, she is much more
than that. There are no words to describe how invaluable Jenn is to our operation so I won’t try.
Thank you JG.
NEW Employees
Cindy Egan
Lifetime health enthusiast, cooperate wellness specialist, certified instructor of group exercise and yoga,
personal trainer. I also love people, animals, all music, sunsets and the water. Originally from Salina, 4
years at KSU, married 30 years this June to my highschool sweet heart, raising Cassidy and Fraser, living
in Steamboat Springs Co. and most recently moving here from Lake Lotawana Mo. We are happily, back
HOME! I also enjoy dabbling in interior decorating, shooting pictures and watching anything, comedy.
“I’ve been a farmer my whole
life,” states Rhonda Janke. I grew
up on a dairy farm and was helping
with the garden and feeding calves
since I was about 2 years old.”
In contrast, Raad says “I’m a city
boy. But our family had a date palm
in our back yard and we butchered
sheep that we bought live from the
market downtown and brought
home in a taxi.”
Their farm, located 2 miles north
of Wamego, is called Parideaza.
Rhonda explains,”I found the name
when I was reading a book about
the history of apples. They used to
call orchards in Persia parideaza,
which just means ‘walled garden.’ “
It is also the root word for our English word Paradise. Ancient orchards
had walls for the same reason we
have fences today - to keep wild animals like deer from eating the trees,
and to protect from wind damage.
“I also just like the metaphor of a
protected place, a retreat,” says
Rhonda.
Besides the fruit crops; apples,
peaches, pears, apricots and raspberries, they raise several types
of vegetable ranging from leafy
greens and turnips in the spring to
okra, tomatoes, eggplant and peppers in the summer to sweet potatoes and onions in the fall. They
also raise chickens and sell eggs,
giving them the ½ acre orchard as
their run. In turn, the chickens benefit the orchard by eating some of
the fruit pest insects. The orchard is
also home to bee hives, which help
pollinate the trees in the spring and
provide honey in the summer.
Sheep are also an integral part of
this farm. In the summer they graze
on several acres of grass, and in the
winter are fed local alfalfa hay, usually just from October up through
mid-April. “If we keep our breed-
Where’s the Spaghetti, again?
If you have stopped into People’s
recently you have surely noticed that
many of our products have moved.
Most notably our cold Produce section has moved to the back into the
walk-in cooler. While this is a little
unusual for grocery (produce is almost always the first thing you see) it
was done to preserve freshness and
shelf life.
We still have the same offerings
although to some people being
put vertically behind a door makes
it seem like less. If you ever cannot
find anything just let us know and
we will find it or get it ordered! Grocery is also undergoing some rearranging.
Although it may seem that we do
this just to frustrate you we are trying
to find the right product mix for our
customers and especially our owners. So again, if there is anything
you do not find we probably still
have it or we can certainly get it for
you Just ask one of our friendly staff.
Wheatfields and Central Soy, Now a Store Staple
Wheatfields bread and
Central Soy will now be
sold at People’s Grocery
on a consistent basis, arriving every Friday at 3:00
We all love Lawrence’s delicious
Wheatfields bread and Central Soy
tofu, but unfortunately, People’s
Grocery hasn’t been able to carry
these products on a consistent basis,
UNTIL NOW!
Lawrence products will begin arriving EVERY Friday at 3:00 pm. There
will be a sign up list at the store for
any special requests. These requests
should be made by Tuesday in order
to pick your bread up on Friday.
This will be a set schedule every
week, so we will no longer be sending out Facebook and email alerts.
Fresh Wheatfields bread will be
available Friday at 3:00 pm, and
will be sold through Saturday. The
rest of our stock will be available via
the freezer.
So come in after a hard week at
work and treat yourself to a fresh
Kalamata Olive loaf!
Employee of the Quarter
This quarter we would like to recognize Sylvia Beeman for her outstanding work and contributions to
our Cooperative. If you have not
met Sylvia you are likely either new
to the Co-op or do not stop in Tuesdays or Thursdays; the two days that
you are sure to find her here.
Our senior staff member, Sylvia
has been with the Co-op for about
five years, her official title is Herb
Director as she oversees our beautiful bulk herbs and teas that give
People’s that unique smell that we
all know and love as you enter our
doors. Taking care of herbs and
teas is just one of the many ways that
Sylvia has made our Cooperative a
vibrant place to shop. All the tasks
that Sylvia accomplishes are much
too numerous to list but include the
best customer care provided anywhere in the City.
Sylvia is a virtual encyclopedia of
knowledge when it comes to all
of our products in the store and
on the rare occasion she does
not have an immediate answer
to a question she works relentlessly to find information to answer any questions that a customer may have.
People’s Grocery has always depended on intelligent and dedicated
employees who are dedicated to the
Cooperative Principles and nowhere
else will you find these qualities so
perfectly personified as with Sylvia
Beeman.
Upcoming Owner Appreciation Sale
Mark your calendars for the week
of October 15th-20th. This will be
our next owner appreciation week.
Taking a cue from our friends at The
Merc in Lawrence we tried something new this year. Instead of four
single days when owners can use
their discounts we have had two
week long events this year.
While this technically reduces you
chance to use your discount to twice
a year we have found that this format allows many more owner’s to
take part in the benefit, after all it is
a Cooperative! But as always, this is
your cooperative and we need your
feedback, come in and tell us what
you like, don’t like, and what you we
can do to better serve you as owners.
If you haven’t been in for awhile you
will notice many changes throughout the store and we have many
more planned for the coming year,
so please tell us what you think and
share your thoughts on what direction we should take going forward.
We are a small store with many
ways to serve our ownership but can
only do that with feedback from the
owners themselves, so please stay
involved and see you soon!
Owner Appreciation
Sale
Questions or comments on something
you read in this volume of
The Grapevine? Contact us by emailing
[email protected],
or call us at 785-539-4811
People’s Grocery Cooperative
1620 Ft. Riley Blvd. Suite 101
Manhattan, KS 66503
you to stay involved with your Co-op over these months. Come have lunch, attend a class or stop by and volunteer in our
herb garden, sitting in on a board meeting is always a good place to start. There are many things going on at your Co-op
everyday that you may not be aware of, don’t hesitate to get involved.
Lastly I would like to give a heartfelt thanks to all the board members, staff, friends, owners, and customers that
have made my last three and half years here so amazing. During this time I have come to learn what many of you have
known since the ‘60s and ‘70s and many more of us are still learning as we speak. When you are doing something that
is good for no other reason than it is right and serves a public need success and failure are not judged by dollars and
cents alone but by impact on lives. I have seen Manhattan change a lot in my twenty plus years here, most drastically
over the last five. While I can say that this town has broken my heart on occasion (think downtown revitalization turned
big box nightmare) I can honestly say that I am proud to be a part of it and a small part in the history of one of its most
important community owned stores.
Gluten/Dairy Free Pumpkin Bread
Chard and Lentil Soup
1/4c. Applesauce
1/4c Extra Virgin Olive Oil
8 oz Pumpkin Puree
1/4 tsp Vanilla
2 eggs
1c sugar
3/4c Sorghum Flour
3/4c Tapiocia Starch
1/4c Millet Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Xanthum Gum
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp All Spice
¼ c. Olive Oil
1 tsp. Paprika
1 tsp. Cumin
2 bunches small scallions (about 14) trimmed, chopped
1 pound Brown Lentils, rinsed
5 ½ - 6 c. Chicken Stock
3 small Garlic Cloves, minced
6 oz. Chard Leaves
1 bunch Cilantro, chopped
Black Pepper to Taste
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
Mix applesauce, olive oil, pumpkin and vanilla in a small
bowl add eggs. Mix sorghum, tapiocia, millet, baking soda,
baking powder, xanthum gum, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg,
cloves and allspice in a medium bowl. Add wet ingredients
into dry, mixing until just moist.
Place in greased 9x5inch loaf pan and bake at 375* for
35-40 mins
In a large pot, heat olive oil, paprika and
cumin over low heat for 3-4 minutes.
Add scallions and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add lentils,
chicken stock and garlic. Raise
heat to high; cover and bring
to boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook 20 minutes, or
until the lentils are soft but not
mushy. Stir in chard, cilantro, pepper and lemon juice.
Cook 5-10 minutes, until the
chard is cooked through.