Alberta Co-op Grocery

New! Locally-Produced Bulk Items

Posted December 6th, 2011

by Nick, Bulk Buyer

The bulk department is closer to home than ever before!  Below, I have listed all of our new, delicious, home-grown bulk goods that the Alberta Co-op has to offer.  Enjoy perusing this list, and come in to taste the difference for yourself!

From Aurora, OR:
Organic Raw Pumpkin Seeds $8.49/lb
Organic Roasted Pumpkin Seeds $7.49/lb

From Junction City, OR at the Huntons’ Farm, and milled in Eugene, OR at Camas Country:
Transitional Whole Wheat Flour $0.99/lb
Food Alliance Certified Brown Teff Flour $ 3.49/lb
Transitional Buckwheat Flour $2.29/lb
Transitional Wheat Berries $0.99/lb
And soon to come: Transitional Spelt Flour. Keep your eyes peeled!
110 miles away

From Junction City, OR at the Huntons’ Farm:
Transitional Red Chief Lentils $2.29/lb
Transitional Garbanzos $2.29/lb
110 miles away

From Kimberly, OR at Heritage Seeds and Food:
Farm Direct Organic Blood Brothers Cornmeal (Special Guest/ Limited time only) $4.19/lb
215 miles away

From the Coquille Tribe in Charleston, OR:
Local Cranberries – $24.99/lb.

233 miles away

Tags: bulk, local, sustainablity
Posted in Announcements, Food and Drink, General Information, Spotlight

Mediterranean Fun in the Bulk Section

Posted March 9th, 2011

by Geanna Marek, working owner

I’ve had such fun shopping and browsing the bulk section at the Coop. There seems to always be something new that I want to try or something on sale that I just happen to need.

I personally believe bulk shopping is one of the smartest ways to buy food there is. Of course, you can overdo it, just like everything else, by buying too much of an ingredient or having your purchase spoil at home because you didn’t use it up before it expired. But if you’re careful about the portion sizes you scoop out and if you label your products and store them correctly (I prefer to use glass containers with lids), you should be able to save money and have myriad meals waiting at your fingertips.

I recently bought garbanzo beans and prepared tahini in the bulk section. The beans were on sale, which initially prompted me to buy them, and then I started thinking how fun it might be to make some homemade hummus, seeing as though I never had before, so I literally ran over to the bulk nut butter section and scooped out some prepared tahini (which is basically sesame seed butter).

When I arrived home, I immediately placed the beans into my crock pot, covered them liberally with water, and then cooked them overnight so that I could use them the next day. Once they were finished soaking and cooking, the actual process of preparing the hummus went very quickly.

I absolutely love hummus, but there is a definite difference between store-bought and restaurant-prepared varieties. I don’t mind a packaged hummus now and then, but my real craving is always for the creamy, oily and delicious dip that I like to eat at a local Lebanese restaurant. However, I can’t afford dining out every time I have this craving, so now that I know just how easy it is to make, I will be able to satisfy my craving at home instead.

I did a little research into hummus recipes on the internet, and I finally decided upon the following one, which comes from Mark Bittman (known for his How to Cook Everything cookbook as well as his no-longer-published “Minimalist” column in the New York Times). It’s a simple recipe, it includes very few ingredients, and it is really delicious. The only thing I changed in my own recipe was the amount of garlic; I felt that his recipe didn’t call for nearly enough!

I bought the garbanzo beans on sale for $1.49 per pound and the prepared tahini is $7.59 per pound.

Hummus Recipe (found here)
serves 6-8

2 cups drained well-cooked or canned chickpeas, cooking liquid reserved if possible
1/2 cup tahini, with some of its oil if you like
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus oil for garnish
2 cloves garlic, peeled, or to taste
Juice of 1 lemon, plus more as needed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin or paprika, or to taste, plus a sprinkling for garnish
Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

1. Put the chickpeas, tahini, oil, garlic, and lemon juice in a food processor (or a blender for even smoother hummus), sprinkle with salt and pepper, and begin to process; add chickpea-cooking liquid or water as needed to produce a smooth purée.
2. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt, pepper, or lemon juice as needed. Serve, drizzled with some olive oil and sprinkled with a bit of cumin or paprika and some parsley.

Tags: bulk
Posted in Food and Drink, Recipes