When I was at the Raw Vegan Trade show in Toronto last November I came across a great little company (Raw Foodz) that produced some wonderful raw items. I bought a bottle of their raw salad dressing to bring back with me on the plane but I forgot to put it in my checked luggage and of course it was confiscated by the every diligent security people at the airport.

Unfortunately due to the nature of the products (needing to be refrigerated) they posed quite a logistic problem for me and it did not make sense to try and get them into Edmonton.

I am working on setting up a Mail Chimp e-newsletter for the store so that the Activist Agenda can become what it was really intended to do and not clutter things up with store talk (which is a separate form of activism). This will allow people to get updates on sale items, events happening in the store, new items, and lots of other store information.

Please check out the sign-up for a our Mail Chimp webpage. It is going to take me a bit of time to get it going but I intend to do a weekly Earth's General Store e-newsletter.

Also - Is there anyone out there with a knowledge on setting up and using Mail Chimp that can help tutor me to get it going?

Thanks

- Posted October 27th, 2012

Tomorrow, Tuesday October 16^th, 2012, is World Food Day (http://tinyurl.com/4bbc2d) and we wanted to make a statement. Everyone in the world deserves access to good quality, healthy, and enough to nourish their bodies.

Earth's General Store wants people to experience food grown without pesticides and so we are having one of our rare 15% sale days. That is right EVERYTHING in the store is 15% off.

If you ever wanted to get a dehydrator, juicer, ceramic knives, or get a good variety of cookbooks then this is the day to do it!

One of the major issues around food is the amount that we waste. Though a substantial amount of waste is generated through the food production process it is estimated that the kitchen produces between 30% - 50% of the total food waste – so the power of reducing this waste percentage lies with us.

One of the reasons why I support Certified Organic foods is that it is one of the last bastions protecting us and the environment from the pollution caused by the conventional food industry (Multi AgriBusiness/Conglomerates) and doesn't allow GMO seeds (or ingredients) to be used in the production of organic items.

Michael Pollan has written a very good article about the proposition that is coming up in the next Californian election (November 6th) and I wanted to share it with you all. Click here to read his article in the New York Times.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

All of you that have supported the store over the past year (and years – over 21 years so far) by being customers and those that supported us in spirit.

Our holiday Monday (October 8th) hours will be 11am to 5.00pm.

Have a great long weekend!

- Posted October 5th, 2012

Today a customer was in the store and mentioned that she saw a piece in Alberta Views about the store. Very kind of the people at Alberta Views to highlight our store. Even more touching is that we are the only ‘business’ listed and we are listed under “Support City Initiatives” along with recycling programs and bicycling organisations – Cool!

Also today I received a copy of Avenue Magazine in the mail. They highlighted some products that we carry in the store. I very much appreciated being mentioned in their magazine.

I am feeling that we are being noticed by media for what we are doing here – trying to positively change the word.

Thank you to the media for these mentions and thank you as always to the staff and customers of the store.

- Posted October 4th, 2012

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.