Strategies for colds: The Beet, Weaver Street's E-Newsletter

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Strategies for colds:
New, and tried and true
By Joe Yancey, WSM Wellness Manager
Let's face it: the best way to treat a cold or the flu is to prevent it. This means you must take preventative action to boost your immunity so you are strong enough to withstand the harshness of winter. A fortified immune system presents an inhospitable environment for most of the dreaded crud that clobbers folks this time of year. The good news is that this year we have three new products as well as the old reliable ones, to strengthen our immunity armor. Gaia's Whole Body Defense is the result of a five year study of echinacea by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that shows that the aerial portions (above ground) of the echinacea plant are best for boosting immunity. More

Recipes for Love

WSM Board Task Force

MLK 5% Donation
Hillsborough Events

Bringing Back the Bees
Raw Almond Campaign

February Wine Dinner
Artist's Reception
Dessert Coupon

Weekly Produce Specials
Weekly Meat Specials

Bread Bowls
Recipe: Natalie's Crab Corn Soup



Strategies for colds continued
The NIH study indicates why there has been such contradictory results from past echinacea studies. The bottom line with echinacea is: use the above ground part of the plant to prevent colds and use the root of the plant once you have developed symptoms. This data leads us to Gaia's Quick Defense which is to be taken five times a day for two days as soon as an immune imbalance is noticed. Quick Defense contains the root of the echinacea plant as well as black elder berries, ginger, and andrographis, a formulation designed to address inflammation caused by an immune response. Once you have symptoms of a cold, you have had that sucker for a while and your immune system has been alerted and done its job. So taking a product that further boosts the response to the cold could make it worse. Quick Defense addresses the inflammatory results of the immune system but does not further excite the immune system. Another new and exciting product is New Chapter's Blockade, a full spectrum extract of elderberry that coats viruses, preventing them from binding to and entering into cells—which suggests that it would be an effective flu preventative. Elderberry's antiviral characteristics have been documented empirically for centuries; but Blockade is an extract that contains the bioactives that have been scientifically identified as those responsible for antiviral activity. Most exciting is that the mode-of-action of Blockade's elderberry extract is not strain-specific, so it can be effective against many types of viruses. By far the most popular immune booster on the market is Wellness Formula by Source Naturals because it can be used to both prevent colds and stop them before they get rolling. Wellness Formula contains a wide array of vitamins and herbs to support multiple body systems at the same time, so instead of having dozens of products crowding your medicine cabinet you can simply have one bottle. When folks come into Weaver Street Market's Wellness Department with a full blown cold, I am sympathetic but also honest about the limits of natural remedies. However, there is plenty you can do to make yourself less miserable and get back to normal faster. One of my favorite products is Old Indian Wild Cherry Bark Syrup which contains osha root and other herbs that clear gunk from your lungs, soothe your throat, and keep the cold from getting any worse. Also, adding Ultima Replenisher to water will ensure you maintain proper electrolyte levels while staying well hydrated. The last product is Immune Adrenal Tonic by local herbalist Suki Roth which contains astragalus, eleuthro (formerly called siberian ginseng), and schizandra. This formula provides deep immune support. But, more importantly, it dampens the effects of stress on the adrenal glands. Often we don't recognize how stressful the winter and holiday season can be, so it's very important to access the wisdom of plant medicine to nurture ourselves. Jenni Butler mentioned the healing properties of certain spices in her terrific article from last year. My wife makes a concoction of fresh ginger tea, fresh garlic, lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne sweetened with honey that clears my head and soothes my chest. Finally, common sense has to play a large part in preventing and treating colds. You can prevent colds with simple things like getting enough rest, washing your hands, and limiting sugar and alcohol intake. This will give your immune system a fighting chance. However, if you do get sick and the cold or flu lingers, you must consult a practitioner. We in the Weaver Street Wellness Department can only be guides to find a product for your needs. Our job is to help you fortify your immune system but also to get you back to vibrant health if a bug has your number.

Weekly Produce Specials


	Organic Pink Lady Apples	3 lb bags $3.99 each	save $2.00
	Organic Butternut Squash	$1.19 lb
	Organic Russet Potatoes	5 lb. bags 2/$6.00	super low price

Weekly Meat & Seafood Specials

	Niman Ranch, All Natural Sirloin Steak	$8.99 lb	USDA Choice Beef save $2.00 lb
	Plainville Ground Dark Turkey	1 lb. pkg 2/$7.00	All Natural super low price
	Farm-raised Tilapia Fillets	$7.99 lb	All Natural save $2.00 lb
Read more about other Weaver Street Market Specials.


Bread Bowls

And the award for best dunking bread goes to... By Emily Buehler, Contributing Writer Ah, January! Finally it's cold enough to think of soup and my first thought is bread bowls. You've seen them at touristy seafood restaurants: the gutted round loaf filled with creamy chowder, its ripped-up bread-y insides crowding around it on the plate, waiting to be dunked. The typical bread bowl is made from a small Sourdough Boule. Serve this at a dinner party and your guests will exclaim with delight, "Oh! Look at this!" when it reaches the table. But if you want to get into Martha Stewart Living, why not try a Rustic Bread bowl? It may be square, but its crust is just as thick as the Sourdough's. The Rustic has more bran, which may be helpful in these inactive winter months. And the small size is a little bit smaller than the Sourdough, making it feasible for your guests to finish eating their bowl. (You may, however, want to keep the chowder pot nearby for refills.) If you can't handle new-fangled square dishware, why not fancy up your Sourdough bread bowls by using the Olive Herb Bread instead? It's made with the same sourdough dough, but with built-in seasoning! Next up: dunking bread, and once again the recommendation goes to Rustic. It is thick and super absorbent—a better vehicle for soup than some of our more delicate breads. It also makes great croutons, so if you can't eat a whole loaf fast enough, you can toast it in cubes to garnish your leftover soup later in the week. One final benefit: it has corners, making it more appealing than round loaves to rip up for dunking. Creamy potato soups and chowders may be appropriate for bread bowls and dunking, but tomato soup requires something entirely different: grilled cheese. Many of our pan breads will do nicely, depending on what you're looking for in a grilled cheese: Old-school cafeteria style? Try Wonderful white Bread. A healthier imitation of the classic? Try Oat Bread. The toasted appeal of sunflower seeds? Try Sunflower Bread. The bread-my-mother-could-love? Try Half Wheat. More grains, less crunch? Try Seven Grain. Finally, we come to the clear, broth-y soups. They don't cry out for dunking, and I wouldn't trust them in a bread bowl. Still, a bowl of soup alone on the table seems a sad dinner indeed. But a bowl of soup with a grain-loaded slice of Vollkornbrot next to it will fill you up nicely. Rustic and Sourdough breads are available everyday at our stores. Our pan breads follow a weekly schedule, available at the Bakery Counter, and the Vollkornbrot appears first thing Friday mornings. Special order breads two days in advance to ensure availability. Enjoy your soup, stay warm, and have a happy start to the New Year!

Recipe: Natalie's Crab Corn Soup

This recipe comes from Cat Moleski's mother-in-law, Natalie Kreller, who has lived all her life outside New Orleans. It makes a huge amount, so use a large stock pot or cut the recipe down. Freezes well. Ingredients: 1/4 cup oil 1 cup flour 1 8 oz can tomato sauce & 8 oz water 1 cup chopped onion 3/4 cup chopped shallots 2 cloves garlic - chopped 1 Tbsp parsley 1/2 cup sweet pepper chopped 1 8-10 oz can diced tomatoes & 10 oz water 1 Tbsp salt 1 tsp Tony Chachere's Original seasoning 2 quarts of water 1 dozen boiled, clean crabs or shelled shrimp 1 lb lump crabmeat 1 14 oz can of creamed corn 4-6 16 oz bag of frozen corn 3 large cobs of corn cut in half Make a thick, dark roux by heating the oil slowly and adding flour. Stir constantly on medium heat until roux is medium dark. Turn heat off and let roux continue to darken for about 10 minutes. Add tomato sauce and 8 oz of water and turn heat on to medium. Stir in onions, shallots, parsley, garlic, and sweet pepper. When mixture is bubbling add diced tomatoes and 10 oz of water, salt, Tony's, and bring mixture to a boil. Add 1 quart of water and turn heat to high. Add frozen corn, creamed corn, and 1 more quart of water. Add crabs and crab meat. Bring to a boil. Add cob corn. Salt and season to taste. Serve with crusty French bread.
Find more recipes here.



Recipes for love

Get ready for Valentine's Day with these recipes from local herbalist, Suki Roth. Love Nibbles Roast whole garlic cloves, let cool, dip in chocolate, nibble all night! Sweet Love Tea 1 Tbl chopped ginseng root 1 Tbl chopped ginger root 1 Tbl chopped licorice root Bring to boil in 2 cups of water. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Strain and sweeten with honey to taste. Love Bites 1 tsp Ginseng powder 1 tsp Damiana powder 1 tsp goto kola powder 1 tsp macha powder 1 tsp guarana powder 1 Tbl bee pollen 1-2 dates pitted Mix herbs & bee pollen together with just enough honey to make a paste, stuff dates and feed lovingly to your significant other. Chocolate Damiana Wine 1 cup dried damiana 4 sticks cinnamon 1-1 1/2 of vanilla bean 1 tsp angelica root (opt) 3 cups Jamaican rum 1 Tbl baking coco honey to taste Split open vanilla pod and add beans to rum. Mix in all ingredients except honey. Seal in a jar for two weeks. Strain and sweeten to taste with honey, add one vial of Royal Jelly and serve.



WSM Board Task Force

The Board is forming an Owner Task Force to advise the Board on a comprehensive overhaul of our election process, which has changed little since we were a startup with just a few hundred members. If you want to make a difference in your Co-op and in your community here's your chance—email the board at board@weaverstreetmarket.coop to register your interest in becoming a task force member. Help make sure that future Board elections have a great turnout and are really well run! The Board is also publishing a monthly electronic newsletter featuring all the current board news, including notification of newly posted minutes, highlights of hot topics and board discussions, and forthcoming agenda items that you can share your views on. You'll also be informed of board-related volunteer opportunities. Sign up now!
Sign up for the Board newsletter here.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 5% Donation

Monday, January 21
Weaver Street Market will be donating 5% of store sales at both locations

Each year Weaver Street Market donates 5% of store sales to the MLK Scholarship Fund which awards scholarships to deserving Chapel Hill-Carrboro high school students. Since 1993, we have awarded over 50 scholarships to students from a variety of racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds who exhibit community leadership.

Our goal is 5 scholarhips this year, which should translate into a $2,500 donation. So shop at WSM on MLK, JR. Day, and help us contribute scholarships!

Hillsborough Events

There's lots to do in Hillsborough!

Hillsborough Farmers' Market - 1st & 3rd Saturdays, 10 am - noon, now through March. Suntrust Parking Lot.

January 20 - The first of three parlor concerts, 4 PM, 3rd Sunday of the month. Ira Wiggins, Director of Jazz Studies at North Carolina Central, will perform at Burnside (201 South Cameron Street). Dr. Wiggins is a highly respected saxophone/flutist, with 15 albums to his credit as a sideman and soloist. He has shared the stage with Jimmy Heath, Grady Tate, Frank Foster, James Moody, Fred Wesley and others. For the first year, Parlor Concert ticket sales will be online in addition to being sold at the Visitor's Center.

January 25 - The Council Presents - AIN'T WE GOT FUN: A MUSICALE at the Masonic Lodge, FRIDAY 8 PM, A musical review of the late 1800s and early 1900s, pre-vaudeville era, sometimes known as the "Opulent Period." It was a time of high-stepping cakewalks, Ragtime, and impressionism. Last year's show was sold-out, so get tickets early. Tickets are available online, and will also be available at the Visitor's Center.



Bringing Back the Bees!

Our friends at the Farm Fairy in Elon, NC, have launched a new website, Bringing Back the Bees. Concerned with the decline in bee populations, Fabian and Sandra Lujan decided to step up their bee education efforts. The website is part of a project to unite experienced beekeepers with beekeepers-to-be. The site is packed full of information for beekeepers and those who dream of it: hive building plans, alternative methods to treat bee mites without chemicals, contact info for beekeeper associations, a year-long bee journal with management notes for Central NC, and even videos of furry bees crawling about. Fabian also has coupons available for discounts at the two most important beekeeping publications (Bee Culture and American Bee Journal) email him for details.
Visit the bee website here.
Visit the Farm Fairy's website here.

Raw Almond Campaign

by Mark A. Kastel - The Cornucopia Institute A handful of co-ops around the country have helped their members chime in to tell the USDA that they want continued access to raw almonds grown in the USA (California), thank you. It is totally unacceptable to treat almonds with a toxic fumigant or steam heat and still call them raw! The Cornucopia Institute recently met with the USDA in Washington, carrying in 1500-2000 signed proxy letters on the issue. From the undersecretary on down they were impressed with the public outcry. They told us that fully a quarter of all correspondence with the USDA was now on almonds serious people power! We have proposed a compromise to the USDA; allowing the continued availability of raw almonds with a "warning label" similar to the one that appears on some unpasteurized fruit juices and raw milk (in states where it is legal). They have told us they are seriously considering the compromise. This would an absolute ideal time for them to feel more pressure from consumers and co-ops joining our almond-growing members at Cornucopia. Here's how your you can help: Send a proxy letter! Follow the link below. If any of you creative sorts out there have any other ideas on how to ramp-up the pressure please let us know.
Visit the Cornucopia website here.


February Wine Dinner

The Heart of Italy Monday, February 4, 2008 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm Since February is the month of love, we're going right the heart of Italy for our wine dinner. What's the first wine that comes to mind when you think about this region? Chianti? Well, the heart of Italy has more to offer than simple, albeit delicious, Chianti. Join us on February 4 for the Wine Dinner as we explore regions like The Marches, Tuscany, Umbria and Emilia Romagna, and taste wines like Orvieto, Rosso Piceno, and Lambrusco. These wines are some of the best to match with good honest Italian food. They offer great character and flavor, and are the wines the locals in Italy drink. So, plan to join us for the Wine Dinner at Panzanella Restaurant on Monday February 4 for a taste of wines from the heart of Italy. You don't have to wear red, and there's no such thing as 'a table for two' at these dinners—it's all family style! Although our February dinner is heart-themed it is most definitely for everyone! The cost of this event is $45 per person; space is limited, so reserve early. Please pay in advance and pick up a ticket for this tasting at either Panzanella (919.929.6626) or the customer service desk at Weaver Street Market in Carrboro (919.929.0010).
Visit Panzanella's website to view all menus (lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch).
Sign up for Panzanella's Enewsletter here.

Artist's Reception

"The Conversation" New Paintings by Steven Silverleaf Now - February 4, 2008 Public Reception: January 21, 2008, 5:30 - 7:30 pm Steven Silverleaf was born in 1954 and grew up between New York City, Athens, Greece and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He attended the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee during the 1970s, where he studied painting and drawing. He was active in the local art, poetry and experimental theater scene in Milwaukee. In the mid-1980s he returned to North Carolina, living in the mountains and on the coast before becoming a leading figure in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill art community. He has taught privately and led intensive workshops on life drawing and painting at the Durham Arts Council, Durham Technical Community College, and the Carrboro ArtsCenter, among others. Silverleaf now maintains a studio in Chapel Hill, NC.
View more of Steven's work here.

Dessert Coupon

During January, we've got a sweet offer for Weaver Street Market Owners: print the coupon below to receive a complimentary dessert from the decadent Panzanella Dessert Menu with the purchase of any dinner entrée. The coupon is valid Sunday through Thursday evenings, from January 8 - 31, 2008. Your owner number may only be used on one coupon, once per day, but you can take advantage of the offer as many evenings as you wish within the above time limits.
Print coupon here.