Over the years many people have asked us for kefir grains to make their own probiotic drinks. Well now I am very pleased to announce that Earth’s General Store is the first store in Edmonton to retail this beneficial product.

Last weekend we hosted a very successful fermentation workshop and during the workshop we launched the kefir product.

Many people are hungry, or should I say thirsty, for this product and I am happy to now make it available to people.

The Kefir kits consist of a mason jar with kefir grains accompanied by a paper bag with a plastic wide mouth funnel, instructions, a YouTube link, and a filtering bag.

These kits are grown and put together by a person right here in Edmonton.

Kefir consumption is recommended by several well known health advocates including Body Ecology.

For more information about kefir check out the following websites: Kefir: The Ancient Antidote for Modern Maladies, Wikipedia, and Kefir Country.

The leaves are turning and the gardens are cleaned of their bounties. Now the work begins to preserve the bounty of your work (or picking up a load at the local farmer’s market and/or from Earth’s General Store).

Many more people are looking at storing beyond freezing and canning. They are seeking out ways to pickle produce in a healthier way than with vinegar or extending the life of food. Fermentation and dehydration are two excellent forms of food preservation that is experiencing a great resurgence.

Earth’s General Store is the local supply leader for Harsch Fermentation Crocks and Excalibur Dehydrators.

Harsch ceramic fermentation crocks are recognized as the premiere fermentation crocks.We carry the 5 litre, 7.5 litre, 10 litre and 15 litre crocks. We also brought in some hardwood wooden tampers and mandolins that are sized to shred cabbage.

The prices are:

I love to cook with real spices and herbs. If I can get authentic ingredients to cook international cuisine so much the better.

We have expand our offering of the selection of chilies we carry. The two new ones are Whole dried Bird eye chili and whole dried habanero at 130,000 and 200,000 Heat Units.

Sometimes things are just too popular. Our chipotle chili powder seems to always run out whenever it comes in. On our last order I was going to order 5 times more than we usually get but our supplier is out of it. Maybe next time I order it.

Spice up your life with some good chilies.

- Posted September 18, 2012

Ever wonder what the deal with Fats and Carbs are? “Don’t eat that because it will make you fat”, “You need fats to facilitate processes in your body”, “Carbs gives you energy”, “Fats clog up your body” etc. Lots of difference of opinion and research.

Earth’s General Store is hosting Organic Lives founder Preet Marwaha on Saturday, November 3rd, 2012 at 7:00pm at our store (9605 - 82 Avenue) and he will address these question with his talk entitled - “The Skinny on Fats and Carbs.” The information that Preet will impart will help each of us understand the balance that we need to achieve to eat healthy.

This is a FREE Event but you will need to pre-register for this presentation. You can do this through the EventBrite website.

One of the main reasons that I started the store was to be a vehicle to bring positive change in the world. We were on the forefront of environmental information and products and introduced Fair Trade Certified products to the Edmonton market.

This Green Acts Reward recipients for September and October 2012 has to do with personal security, respect and health. There are several issues that can get me upset: rape, pedophilia, human trafficking and slavery (labour and sex trade) are way up on my list. Ergo the latest list that we have for our Green Acts Reward recipients.

UN.GIFT

The United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT) was conceived to promote the global fight on human trafficking, on the basis of international agreements reached at the UN. To date, 140 parties have signed the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons especially Women and Children, which supplements the Palermo Convention against transnational organized crime.

For the past couple of years the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues has been coordinating a citywide Community League Day. It is a day that many community host events as well as an opportunity for people living in the community to come out and find out what the community league can offer them, a chance for people to meet others, get involved and join the community league.

I like community leagues. I think they perform an important service to helping a community come together. Earth's General Store likes community and we want to support communities to grow and flourish.

Please bring a one-cup mason jar with lid. Optional: a piece of produce from your garden.

Come sample a variety of fermented foods, including sauerkraut and kefir. We'll discuss how and why these foods are so important for your health and the planet's, the basics of safe fermenting and how to adapt recipes. Together we'll make a batch of cordito (Mexican sauerkraut) and find recipes for preserving your garden bounty through fermentation.

You'll go home with a recipe booklet, your jar full of delicious cordito, and the confidence to ferment at home all year long.

• Location & Sponsor: Earth’s General Store, 9605 - 82 Avenue
• Presenter: Megan Miller
• When: Sunday, September 30^th at 7:00 p.m. – 9:00pm
• Cost: $25.  Pre-register at Earth's General Store (cash only)

Pre-register: You must pre-register and pre-pay in CASH at Earth’s General Store by September 23rd, 2012 (only 30 spots).

- Posted August 3rd, 2012

For the month of August 2012 Earth's General Store will be conducting a

PRICE COMPARISON CHALLENGE!

Since the opening of our new location in 2010, we have heard over and over that we have the best overall prices for certified organic products in the city. I think this is true yet there are a lot of people out there that don’t seem to know about the store, the number of products available, or the money they can save shopping at Earth's General Store. To demonstrate this fact, we are proud to announce the E.G.S. Price Comparison Challenge!

While there may be items that are more expensive than other places, I believe the overall cost will be less.  I developed this challenge to highlight these price differences.

Over the years any people have asked us for the Excalibur dehydrators with the built in timers but Excalibur did not offer them to retail stores or online stores – you could only purchase this model directly from them. This made it difficult for Canadian customers because then they would have to pay the shipping and the costs of crossing the border.

Recently Excalibur changed its policy on this and I am product to say that, as far as I know, Earth’s General Store is the first retail store in Canada to offer these new to Canada dehydrators.

We have the timer models in the 5 and 9 shelf model (models 3526TB and 3926TB respectively).

C Returns is a creative name for a creative non-profit. C Returns= Savings + Convenience + Reduced Carbon Footprint. The company was founded in Edmonton with the goal of reducing the carbon footprint of every home and building in Alberta.

From Inspiration to Installation, C Returns coordinates every step of the energy efficiency retrofit process from start to finish. Its one-stop shopping process eliminates the need for building owners to look for certified, experienced auditors, research and select appropriate retrofit devices, obtain and evaluate quotes, supervise construction, arrange financing, and research and apply for rebates from local utilities and government sources. C Returns manages the complete process, making the energy efficiency retrofit process easy on its clients.