Stir-fry blog
Why become a member? Just look at these coupons!
June 01, 2009 at 04:11 PM — foodetteI hold in my hands a most delightful surprise. Wanna see?
It's the coupon book my colleagues in the graphics department (and many other departments) have been slaving over these past few weeks. It's quite pretty. But beyond its great aesthetics, it's abundant in deals for PCC members. To wit:
- Coupons for 10 percent off your entire produce purchase during the month of June (yes members, you can combine this with your regular 10-percent-off coupon or on the 15th and 16th of each month to combine for an extra 5 percent off)
- $2 off a variety of pre-seasoned meats and seafood ready to sizzle on the grill
- $1 off those great PCC deli take-and-bake pizzas
- Plus oodles of discounts on brands like Oogie's, Ryvita, Muir Glen, Santa Cruz Organic, Rising Moon Organics, Lakewood Organic, Wholesome Sweeteners, Kozy Shack, Theo Chocolate, So Delicious, Seventh Generation, BeeCeuticals, Avalon Organics and more!
I count more than 50 in this thing. Members also get coupon books in July and August to boot, along with the knowledge they're part owners of the cooperative. Not bad!
This week at PCC
May 29, 2009 at 11:57 AM — foodetteCan you believe we're on our third sunny weekend in a row? It's almost time for me to try out my new ice-cream maker or pry my family heirloom ice shaver from its perch in our pantry for some yummy shave ice. Methinks it's also a good to give this giant organic strawberry ice cream sandwich recipe a whirl! Then I leave the ice cream-making to Aldens.
Do share if you have favorite desserts that keep you cool!
This week at PCC
Celebrate the sun with live music, food and kids activities at the Edmonds Rotary Waterfront Festival (and visit the Kid Picks Mobile!). Hours are 11 a.m.-8 p.m. May 30 and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. May 31 at Edmonds Marina (336 Admiral Way, Edmonds).
Nibble our new all-natural crab cakes May 30! Try them 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. at PCC West Seattle, 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m. at PCC Fremont, 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. at PCC Edmonds, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at PCC Issaquah and 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m. at PCC Redmond.
Welcome the new PCC Board of Trustees: Stephen Tan, Stacey Donohue and Maggie Lucas. And, the new nominating committee: Diana Crane, Don Nordness, Mary Simon Janet Hietter and Rick Riehle. Thanks to all who ran!
Sip the first wave of cool, sleek, dry rosés at PCC Edmonds, Issaquah and Fremont 6:30-8 p.m. June 4. Cost is $5 per person at the door. RSVP at 206-547-1222 or e-mail winetastings@pccsea.com
Help the hungry at food-packaging work parties for PCC Redmond and Seward Park. Meet at 7 p.m. June 1 at Jewish Family Services' Morris Polack Food Bank (1601 16th Ave., Seattle) or at 7 p.m. June 2 at the Hopelink-Redmond Food Bank (16225 N.E. 87th St., Suite A-1, Redmond) to package bulk foods purchased with PCC Food Bank Program donations from PCC shoppers like you! Call Community Relations at 206-547-1222 or e-mail communityrelations@pccsea.com for details.
Work up an appetite for June 6, the kickoff of Grillin' & Chillin', our weekend summertime grilling events at PCC Edmonds and Redmond.
Asparagus + kids = love at last?
May 28, 2009 at 02:24 PM — foodetteAs children, most of us encounter at a least a few foods we just can't handle. Ask our Kid Picks crew and they'll tell you: asparagus has made few friends among local young 'uns. Despite successes with so much other produce during Kid Picks mobile taste tests, asparagus remained a pariah. Until now...
Thom (yes, he of the chili-cheese fries fame) has alerted me that not one but TWO salads in which asparagus plays a starring role have passed the Kid Picks taste test to become kid approved. One you can find in your PCC deli: Asparagus in Black Bean Sauce. As for the other, it's PCC Cooks chef Lynne Vea's Warm Salad of Roasted Asparagus with Hazelnuts and Balsamic Vinaigrette, fresh from our annual meeting. Sadly, asparagus itself still lingers as a wallflower among other beloved produce. Perhaps trying out these salads will make your little one a convert.
Remember that through June 15 proceeds from Kid Picks items go to support Children's Hospital via our Families Helping Families program. Here are several other recent additions to our database of 1,500-plus kid-friendly items at PCC:
- Annie's Naturals Lite Italian Dressing
- Bengal Bites Multivitamin
- Newman's Own Pretzel Rods
- Food For Life Brown Rice Tortillas
- Columbia Gorge Tangerine Juice
Happy eating!
Fresh Forecast: Organic nectarines, grapes and vine tomatoes
May 27, 2009 at 03:24 PM — foodette.jpg)
I can't stop eating these organic grapes that just came into our stores. I'm a picky grape person. They need to be sweet but not too much so. They need to have a pleasing pop between my teeth. They can't have a sour aftertaste. It's also great if they're not gigantic.
Here's what else is flowing in our stores, courtesy of PCC produce guru Joe Hardiman. Love this time of year! Though it'll be even better when our local orchards and berry patches start bearing fruit in the weeks to come.
- Organic blueberries from California (pancake time!)
- Organic red flame and green seedless grapes (the ideal roadtrip snack)
- Organic yellow peaches (try 'em on the grill topped with a bit of brown sugar)
- Organic nectarines (I've been eating these when I'm not eating grapes. Good and nectar-y, and from the farm of Dick Kauffman in Kingsburg, Calif.)
- Local organic red and green leaf lettuce from Rent's Due Ranch in Stanwood, Wash.
- Organic vine tomatoes from Vancouver, B.C.
- Organic red and Yukon gold potatoes
PCC's new board of trustees
May 26, 2009 at 09:26 AM — foodetteHope y'all had a wonderful weekend soaking in the sun! As a native Washingtonian I know how precious (and rare) a sunny Memorial Day weekend is. Regardless, after two days of basking I headed into the office Monday to help with a very important task: counting ballots for the PCC Board election (hey, there was free food!).
(that's me on the right).
And the winners?
Your new PCC Board of Trustees: Stephen Tan, Stacey Donahue and Maggie Lucas
Your new nominating committee: Diana Crane, Janet Hietter, Don Nordness, Rick Riehle and Mary Simon.
Click here to read more about everyone. And congratulations!
This week at PCC
May 22, 2009 at 10:38 AM — foodetteTake the kids to a Kid Picks taste test at Redmond PCC, 2-6 p.m. May 27.
Watch PCC Cooks chef Lynne Vea cook up fava-bean hummus on “Gardening With Ciscoe,” 10 a.m. on KING 5 TV May 23.
Taste a range of pizzas at a Kid Picks pizza party 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. May 23-24 at Issaquah PCC. Visit the demos page to discover events at your local PCC
Sip a variety of beer and/or wine 6:30-8 p.m. May 28 for $5 at Edmonds, Fremont, Greenlake and Redmond PCC stores (if you’re 21 and older, that is!). RSVP by calling the reservation line at 206-547-1222, ext. 191, or email winetastings@pccsea.com.
Help The hungry by volunteering for the View Ridge PCC food packaging work party. Meet at University District Food Bank (1413 N.E. 50th in Seattle) 7 p.m. May 27 and help package bulk foods purchased with PCC Food Bank Program donations. Contact community relations at 206-547-1222 or email communityrelations@pccsea.com for more info!
Taste test: What makes tuna truly great?
May 21, 2009 at 02:26 PM — foodetteA can of tuna is a can of tuna is a can of tuna? No sirree, Bob. At least, not at PCC.
Like anyone who tries to walk the walk as well as they talk the talk, we're in a constant state of analysis and self improvement. This time around, we're making sure the canned seafood we carry is just as sustainable as our fresh options.
That's a bunch of us trying myriad cans and jars of tuna on a recent afternoon. Skipjack, yellowfin, big eye, albacore, yum. If you've never opened several varieties of tuna at once, try it sometime. You'll be surprised by the variety of textures and flavors, just like you'd find at a sushi counter. Your mind might whir with menu possibilities. Or, you might just stand there and eat it right out of the container.
What makes a great can of tuna, like so much in life, is subjective. We wanted to make sure at least one option we carry is low in salt. We wanted pleasing texture and flavor. We wanted the tuna caught in a manner that causes the least distress to other sea life. We wanted the fish processed as little as possible to retain its natural flavor and nutrients. We wanted to keep at least some varieties within the budgets of the broadest number of our shoppers. And then there's the packaging. We were pleased to discover Wild Planet tuna, for instance, comes in BPA-free cans. The fewer chemicals between us and our food, the better.
Have you voted? Deadline is tomorrow (May 22)
May 21, 2009 at 12:02 PM — foodette
It took me awhile at first to get the concept of a cooperative. I grew up thinking that all retail stores were owned by companies, backed by either private funds or the money of shareholders. Then I became an REI member in college. And then I discovered PCC.
The more I learn about my new employer, the more there is to like. Being a member makes you a co-owner of a local institution that's been in the Puget Sound area for more than 50 years. It gives you a voice in PCC's future via whom you choose to represent you on the board of directors (vote by tomorrow at your local PCC or at the office). The larger PCC's membership, the more weight we have in requesting positive changes to food safety, food production methods, quality standards and the like from producers, Congress and local leaders. Plus, you get a monthly discount and support community farms and sustainable farming methods (plus, many, many community groups in the nine neighborhoods in which our stores operate).
Pretty nifty if I say so myself.
Come grill with us!: PCC barbecues at Edmonds and Redmond
May 20, 2009 at 11:12 AM — foodetteIt's not truly summer until someone's firing up the grill. Notice I said "someone." To me, food often tastes even better when it's lovingly prepared by someone else ;) Luckily this summer, PCC is going to do just that with barbecues nearly every weekend at the Redmond and Edmonds stores!
The Powers That Be have dubbed this new community event Grillin' & Chillin'.
Grillin' = The sockeye salmon, burgers, veggie dogs, portobello mushrooms and Fiesta Chicken sizzling away atop those grills. Chillin' = what you'll be doing with fellow PCC fans, friends, neighbors, countrymen. Click here for schedules and to see what's cookin'. And per PCC tradition, a portion of each meal's price will go to support community groups, like the Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center and the Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation.
Stop by on your way home from the ferry or hiking or biking or garage saling or stocking up at PCC!
New in store: Gluten-free shelf tags
May 18, 2009 at 08:55 AM — foodetteAnyone with a special diet is a pro at reading ingredient labels. You have to be. It's your health at stake, after all. But it sure can make a trip to the store take forever!
In honor of gluten-free month, we're making it easier to find all the gluten-free goodness at PCC. Fremont and Redmond already have these new orange shelf tags up, with the other seven stores soon to follow.
(photo courtesy of Janice Parker)
One more thing to make life a little easier. Let us know what you think!