Free Nutritional Consultation with Jane Wilson!
Jane is a Registered Dietician and Registered Nurse, specializing in Diabetic issues and Board Certified in Renal Nutrition. She has a passion for helping people eat for a healthier and better life & works with all age groups. If you would like to meet with Jane she will be in the store today. Please call (804) 359-7525 to schedule your free 30 min consultation!
This just in — Organic Blueberries!
We just got in some delicious organic blueberries! In one serving, you can get 14 mg of Vitamin C – almost 25 percent of your daily requirement. Vitamin C aids the formation of collagen and helps maintain healthy gums and capillaries. It also promotes iron absorption and a healthy immune system. Blueberries deliver a potent antioxidant punch — in fact they have the highest antioxidant capacity per serving, compared with more than 20 other fruits. They are an awesome healthy snack! We have them on sale for $2.19 a pint
Egg Fruit is here!
Attention lovers of exotic fruits, veggies, and plants in general. Somehow, we’ve just gotten our hands on some USA-grown egg fruit. It’s mildly sweet with a texture reminiscent of thoroughly cooked buttercup squash or pumpkin pie. It is native to Mexico, El Slavador and most common in the Bahamas, Jamaica and Cuba. Egg fruit is rich in niacin and provitamin A and have a fair level of ascorbic acid. Some enjoy the fruit with salt, pepper and lime or lemon juice!
Ellwood’s Local Love Valentines Day Giveaway!
This Valentines Day, we’ve gotten together with some of our favorite local vendors from our Nourish Department to give you the chance to win a truly unique and locally-made prize bag, filled with all things local that we love.
To be eligible for the prize you must answer the following question and email your answer to lpinckney@ellwoodthompsons.com before Tuesday, February 7,2012. The question is: Where did the phrase “Virginia is for Lovers” come from?
A winner will be selected via a random drawing on Wednesday, February 8, 2012 and be announced via email and on our Facebook page.
This unique, local prize pack includes the following:
An iPod/iPhone pouch from The Revolution. Bath fizzles from BCakes, Valentines Soap from Richmond Soap Studio. An 8oz tin candle from Naked Soy, and some Frankenrose love refresher oil from House of Lukaya!
Infant Formula and USDA unapproved additives
The Cornucopia Institute, one of the nation’s leading organic industry watchdogs, condemned the position of the United States Department of Agriculture for its position allowing products containing unapproved synthetic additives to be labeled “organic” for an indefinite grace period.
The Cornucopia Institute had filed legal complaints against infant formula manufacturers and Dean Foods, manufacturer of Horizon dairy products, for adding unapproved additives: Martek Biosciences Corporation’s omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids (DHA/ARA), derived chemically from fermented algae and fungus, to foods with the organic label. These additives have been linked to serious gastrointestinal symptoms in infants according to reports submitted to the FDA’s MedWatch program.
A list of products that are using these synthetic additives has been issued. Ellwood Thompson’s will not sell any products from this list while they contain these additives. Click here to read more about this issue.
Bell’s Hopslam is Here
If this picture means anything to you, then a big smile should be on your face and your taste buds starting to tingle. It’s that time of year again, an even almost bigger than Christmas and the Daytona 500. The day that Bell’s Hopslam arrives in the store.
Once again, we have a very limited amount of this one of a kind ale. Bell’s starts off with six different hop varietals added to the brew kettle & culminating with a massive dry-hop addition of Simcoe hops, Bell’s Hopslam Ale possesses the most complex hopping schedule in the Bell’s repertoire. Selected specifically because of their aromatic qualities, these Pacific Northwest varieties contribute a pungent blend of grapefruit, stone fruit, and floral notes. A generous malt bill and a solid dollop of honey provide just enough body to keep the balance in check, resulting in a remarkably drinkable rendition of the Double India Pale Ale style.
Come get it by request only.
Love Your Roots
If you’re truly planning on eating locally year round, when it comes down to winter time, you have to face it – you’re going to be eating root vegetables. Whether you live in California or Virginia, the winter puts root vegetables in abundance and it’s up to us to eat them.
And we’re not just talking carrots and potatoes here (yes, we know potatoes are tubers), we’re talking parsnips, daikon radish, beets, fennel, turnips, rutabaga, etc. Mark Bittman, the NYTimes food columnist says, “Most contain starchy sugars, so they brown beautifully and become sweet after cooking. (Only carrots and beets are sweet raw.) All of this can be disclosed simply by substituting just about any root vegetable you like in your favorite potato recipe. The treatment won’t be identical (the more sugar, the quicker the browning), but it will be similar, and the results will almost always be startling and good.”
So if you’re looking for some easier ways to truly enjoy the flavors of winter, click here for 6 delicious root hosting recipes from the New York Times.
The Dish Of The Week: Farro!
If you’re like me you knew nothing about farro before reading this post. It’s an old grain that is said to be one of the first domesticated plants and dates back to pre-Roman times. Farro is a really cool distant cousin of modern wheat and is very similar in texture and taste to spelt. Farro has twice the fiber of wheat and the cyanogenic glucosides found in farro have been found to stimulate the immune system, lower cholesterol and help maintain blood sugar levels. However, if you are a person that needs to be gluten free farro may not work for you. The gluten molecules are weaker than modern wheat, making it more easily digested but farro does contain gluten. We are featuring farro on our hot bar in the store this week. If you are curious about it, stop by and try some of our dishes! Click here for some cool Farro Recipes.
The Dish Of The Week Is: Farro!
If you’re like me you knew nothing about farro before reading this post. It’s an old grain that is said to be one of the first domesticated plants and dates back to pre-Roman times. Farro is a really cool distant cousin of modern wheat and is very similar in texture and taste to spelt. Farro has twice the fiber of wheat and the cyanogenic glucosides found in farro have been found to stimulate the immune system, lower cholesterol and help maintain blood sugar levels. However, if you are a person that needs to be gluten free farro may not work for you. The gluten molecules are weaker than modern wheat, making it more easily digested but farro does contain gluten. We are featuring farro on our hot bar in the store this week. If you are curious about it, stop by and try some of our dishes!
Here are also some cool ways to prepare Farro:
With Olive Oil, Salt, and Pepper
Farro’s not hard to cook—most recipes call for soaking it overnight, in which case the cooking time is really no more than a few minutes. Being more of an in-the-moment cook, I just boil it straight from the bag (okay, I rinse it quickly before it goes into the boiling water) with a bit of salt for about 30 to 40 minutes ’til it’s tender. You can go to any degree of doneness you like; I prefer it a bit more on the firm side, so it’s got a bit of nice al dente chew left in the middle. When it’s done, just drain it and dress it up with really good olive oil, some sea salt, and whatever else you want, and serve it as you would pasta, rice, or beans. If you’re going green you can add a bunch of chopped kale or sliced thin collards to the cooking water so that they’re done when the farro is finished. If you have a chunk of bacon or a parmesan rind sitting around you can put those in the cooking water too. When the farro’s ready, just drain, dress, and go straight to soup bowl and spoon away.
Farro Salad with Mozzarella and Roasted Peppers
One salad technique I came across in my reading was to serve room temperature farro topped with bits of fresh mozzarella and chopped tomato. Given that we’re in the middle of winter, I’ve been using roasted red peppers instead of tomatoes to great effect. Finish it with a lot of good green olive oil (the Pasolivo from California has been high on my list) along with a bit of sea salt, a touch of Maras (Turkish) red pepper, and lots of freshly ground black pepper. This dish is actually good as well with the farro hot and the mozzarella at room temperature—the cheese will get slightly soft when you toss the two but won’t be fully melted down.
Roman Farro Soup
I’m very big on farro-based soups—they’re easy to do, I can put pretty much anything I’ve got at home into ‘em, and they keep we warm and well-fed. Basically the old Roman recipes seem to be what most of the world might know now as “minestrone,” but they’re made with farro instead of beans or pasta. Sauté some chopped carrots, celery, tomato, garlic, and onion, along with a good bit pancetta, then simmer the lot of them in chicken (or other) broth (or water) with farro and plenty of olive oil. Chopped greens are always a good addition as well. Add pork or parmesan rind if you have one laying around to buck up the flavor even further. Finish with ground black pepper and chopped fresh parsley. Serve it with grated Pecorino Romano cheese and more olive oil at the table.