Cool down with this quick recipe to use up those almost to the end of the season 
!
Ingredients:
2 peaches, with seed and skin, removed
2 cups of quality vanilla ice cream
1/3 cup of whole milk
Thank you Frog Hollow Farms!
Organic Peaches from Frog Hollow Farms
Season: Now! A sweet and fragrant peach that’s ripe enough to drip juice down your chin is one of the ultimate joys of summer! Frog Hollow Farms grows over nineteen varieties of organic yellow peaches. How many will you try this year?
Flavor: White peaches tend to be sweeter than yellow ones. Yellow peaches have a bit more acid. Depending on the variety the flesh may be firm or soft, the flesh may cling to the pit (cling-stone) or separate easily (cling-free and free-stone). Frog Hollow hand picks and hand packs their peaches and we are so lucky to be situated close to their operations.
Storage: When buying peaches, choose fruits that smell sweet. They should have a creamy, yellow, or yellow-orange color and unwrinkled skin. Avoid green skin or bruising.
Once picked, mature peaches do continue to ripen and soften. If you must store them then let them breath, don’t stack them and keep them dry. Too many ripe peaches on hand? Consider washing, slicing and freezing them.
How to use: Fresh – whole, juice dripping down your chin! In a mixed fruit salad or combine with berries and blue cheese and serve in little gem lettuce cups as an appetizer. I like using firm peaches to bake in pies or galettes and for grilling.
Nutrition: Peaches are a rich source of carbohydrates, fiber, and natural sugars with little fat or protein. Peaches provide vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, and B vitamins.
Women’s History Month: Edison Grainery
We are celebrating Women’s History Month by calling attention to some of our local vendors that are women owned!
Edison Grainery is a women owned, family operated business in Benicia, CA.
Edison Grainery
Owner: Lyndsy Barnes O’Malley
Edison specializes in the highest quality of organic ingredients in their top 9 allergen free facility. Every lot of every ingredient is special to them. Edison starts with vetted farmers who met their food safety and good manufacturing practices. Upon receiving an inbound, a third-party laboratory submission is sent to test for pathogens, yeast, mold, gluten (All results aka Certificates of Analysis (CoA) are posted online at Edison Grainery for full customer transparency and confidence). Once given the green light by their food safety officers, they run the lot through their state of the art cleaning line (optical laser color sorter, rare earth magnet, metal detection, sifter) and then into production.
Lyndsy Barnes O’Malley, Edison Grainery Owner: “We’ve had the pleasure of working with The Natural Grocery Company for many years and are so grateful for the community and support”.
Likewise Lyndsy, The Natural Grocery Company appreciates Edison Grainery!
We’ve put together raffle baskets that feature this great women owned business along with several others. Stop by the Berkeley or El Cerrito Stores to enter.
Women’s History Month: Granola Guru
We are celebrating Women’s History Month by calling attention to some of our local vendors that are women owned!
Granola Guru
Owner: Anaya K.
Meet Granola Guru, a women-owned and women-powered Oakland, California company, committed to excellence. Anaya started The Granola Guru as a personal mission to transform and elevate a timeless classic. Their small batch artisan granola is designed to provide you with sustainable energy throughout the day.
They thrive off their 5 core values:
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Quality locally sourced ingredients
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Healthy Living
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Purity
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Nourishment
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Outstanding Flavor
We love what they do!
We’ve put together raffle baskets that feature this great women owned business along with several others. Stop by the Berkeley or El Cerrito Stores to enter.
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Thank you Anaya and Granola Guru!
Women’s History Month: Black Mountain Beauty
We are celebrating Women’s History Month by calling attention to some of our local vendors that are women owned!
Black Mountain Beauty
Owner: Marnie Jackson
Meet Black Mountain Beauty, a women-owned and women-powered Marin company, makers of organic, non-gmo, no cruelty, vegan and plastic free bath products for your whole family! They care about the future of our oceans!
“I am a farmer out in beautiful West Marin County in Northern California. I love to create products from the bounty of my farm. I am a Fiber Farmer first and create soft, cozy clothing from my Wensleydale sheep and Angora rabbits.Â
​We live close to the beautiful Pacific Ocean beaches which I love to visit. Unfortunately, there is more and more plastic pollution on these beaches every day. So, in an effort to reduce my own use of plastic, I began creating all-natural Shampoo and Conditioner bars that need no plastic packaging. These have been selling like crazy to people who like chemical-free products and also care about plastic pollution in our oceans.
I am branching out to new, everyday personal products that can be made with biodegradable packaging or no packaging at all. Hope you enjoy it.” – Marnie Jackson
They are on a mission to create a zero waste beauty line. There are too many single use plastic containers floating around in the Ocean. Black Mountain Beauty is trying to reduce waste by creating, simple, organic, cruelty-free beauty products in biodegradable or refillable packaging. After spending many a weekend picking up plastic garbage on local ocean beaches, Black Mountain Beauty wanted to make a change in the world by doing their best to eliminate plastic waste.
We love what they do!
We’ve put together raffle baskets that feature this great women owned business along with several others. Stop by the Berkeley or El Cerrito Stores to enter.
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Thank you Black Mountain Beauty!
Women’s History Month: Primavera Tamales
We are celebrating Women’s History Month by calling attention to some of our local vendors that are women owned! We’ve also put together raffle baskets that feature these great women owned businesses. Stop by the Berkeley or El Cerrito Stores to enter.
Primavera Tamales
Owner: Karen Taylor Waikiki
Karen started Primavera in 1991 after years of working as the chef at a Mexican restaurant in Sonoma. All of Primavera’s products are made by hand in a commercial kitchen. Corn masa (the main ingredient in tortillas and tamales) is made both fresh from dried corn and from pre-ground corn flour. Fresh masa is made by soaking dried white corn with lime (the mineral) and then milling it in a 15-horsepower stone grinder. Primavera is always experimenting with new recipes; Karen’s employees have made several contributions to their menu.
Primavera uses many organic products, including corn, corn flour, tomatoes, squash, melons, chiles, and eggs. Many fresh vegetables are sourced directly from local farms; the remaining are purchased through a local supplier that sources nationally and internationally. Corn and beans are grown in the United States.
Thank you Karen & Primavera Tamales!
Women’s History Month: Cult Crackers
We are celebrating Women’s History Month by calling attention to some of our local vendors that are women owned!
Cult Crackers
Owners: Dianna Dar & Birgitta Durell
Meet Cult Crackers, a women-owned and women-powered Bay Area company, makers of delicious small-batch organic crackers. Cult Crackers co-founders, Dianna and Birgitta, are local moms who met while volunteering at their daughters’ school in Berkeley. They became good friends and business partners when they launched their artisan cracker company. The two women are passionate about what they do, making a good-for-you snack that people love. Their biggest fans are their teenage daughters who also help out at their family-run small business. Cult Crackers, in their colorful red and blue recyclable bags, are a customer favorite.
Their totally addicting crackers are filled with good-for-you organic ingredients and packed with flavor and crunch. They bake their crackers at the Berkeley Kitchens, a wonderful community of small food producers in Berkeley, California.
They want you to enjoy their crackers knowing they’re made with your health and our planet in mind. From the very beginning they decided if they were going to do this, they were going to do it right, using their business as a force for good. They are commited to using only the highest-quality organic ingredients they can find, are certified organic, mix and bake every batch of crackers by hand, package in sustainable packaging, pay their employees a living wage, and do things with care and intention.
They love what they do, and that Cult Crackers nourish people in so many different ways.
We love what they do too!
We’ve put together raffle baskets that feature this great women owned business along with several others. Stop by the Berkeley or El Cerrito Stores to enter.
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Thank you Cult Crackers!
Thank You Mr. Dewie’s!
Mr. Dewie’s is one of our 40th Anniversary sponsors!
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We’ve been working with them for years and even carry their amazing cashew milk ice cream by the scoop in our Annex. In each of our 40th Anniversary Raffle Tote’s you will find a coupon for a pint of their wonderful product redeemable in our stores.
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Brothers Ari and Andrew Cohen, born and raised in Berkeley, CA, are the creators and co-founders of Mr Dewie’s cashew milk ice cream, founded in 2011.
Their mission was to make a creamy, rich, and delicious ice cream that also met their personal dietary needs of being free of dairy, gluten, and soy. It was important to them to keep it local, and to use only natural, organic and healthy ingredients. No fillers, additives, preservatives, gums, or oils — truly homemade!
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We love Mr. Dewie’s! Thank you!
Thank You Cult Crackers
Cult Crackers is one of our 40th Anniversary Sponsors. In every raffle tote you will find their crackers.
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Birgitta and Dianna make and sell Swedish crackers with a healthy California twist from their headquarters in Berkeley, California.
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Their totally addicting crackers are filled with good-for-you organic ingredients and packed with flavor and crunch.
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Birgitta’s favorite cracker is their best-selling Crunchy Cassava Crackers because of its crunchy goodness. Dianna favors the Classic Seed Crackers for their sweet, rich flavors. But hold on, because according to their website, they’re working on a new cracker flavor which is becoming a new fave for both of them.
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Cult Crackers wants you to enjoy their crackers knowing they’re made with your health and our planet in mind. From the very beginning they decided if they’re going to do this, they’re going to do it right, using their business as a force for good. Cult Crackers is committed to using only the highest-quality organic ingredients they can find, are certified organic, mix and bake every batch of crackers by hand, package in sustainable packaging, pay our employees a living wage, and do things with care and intention.
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We love what they do, and that Cult Crackers nourish people in so many different ways. Thank you Birgitta and Dianna!
Organic Warren Pears
Organic Warren Pears from Frog Hollow Farms
Season: August to November in Northern California
Flavor: Sweet, juicy but mild.
Storage: Look for fruit that are unblemished and are slightly firm when you purchase them, unless you plan to eat them right away. They also smell fragrant. You can allow pears to ripen by leaving out at room temperature, uncovered, for a day or two; or you can stall the fruit’s ripening by keeping it in the refrigerator. In either case, don’t suffocate the fruit for long with airtight plastic. Without oxygen, pears will degrade faster and their natural moisture may encourage mold.
How to use: Pear ripen from the inside out; if the outside looks fully ripe then the inside may be too ripe! What pairs with pears? The answer seems to be endless. Fresh pears can be enjoyed on their own, as a snack, or in multitudes of ways. Â The refreshing sweetness of pears adds complexity to savory foods well, like a charcuterie or cheese board. Serving pears fresh showcases their crispness, which is lost in cooked preparations.
Like apples, though, pears can be cooked in baked goods like pies and tarts. They can be canned or turned into preserves and take on additional flavors in the process. Simply poached peeled pears in wine or brandy, until meltingly soft but still retaining their shape and serve with chocolate sauce.
Nutrition: Pears are an excellent source of dietary fiber and carbohydrates. It offers a sampling of essential minerals, including copper, iron, magnesium and calcium, although much of this nutrition is found in the fruit’s skin. The flesh alone is a good source of potassium and Vitamin C, although pears are not as strong of a source of antioxidants like higher-acidity fruits and leafy green vegetables.