Slow Money Relay

Dear Relay Friends,

As we go about our busy, base-covering lives, every now and then we're reminded -- sometimes with a jolt -- that we are not alone, that our goals are shared by others across the nation, and that there are many efforts underway to bring farms and people together, to their mutual benefit.

Recently, Relay was nominated by the folks at Slow Money, a grassroots, not-profit seed capital fund, to participate in a contest to high-light small businesses that support sustainable agriculture, community food systems, and what they call a "restorative economy."

We went to their site and what an awakening! Right alongside the Relay we found small companies like us -- each a bit different -- but all searching for the best way to create ways for folks to eat better food, source that food locally, and build better communities. The contest will reward the business that receives the most "votes" with an advertising campaign cash award (a line item in our small budgets that often doesn't get much love).

Please take a moment to support Relay by visiting Slow Money at this link:

http://bit.ly/dkXi88

You get 10 votes. You can vote up to 3 times for Relay -- and spread them around, if you like. You may also vote for 10 different businesses, or anything in-between.

Thanks in advance!

Dreary days won't slow us down

I’m pretty sure I can feel the vitamin D slowly oozing out of my body…apparently the beautiful weather we had at the beginning of the week was just a tease. I’m feeling a serious urge today to hide under my covers, watch some movies and avoid all contact with the outside world until the sun decides to grace us with its presence once more. The only thing that is going to drag me kicking and screaming out of my warm cocoon is the fact that today is a GREAT day for the Relay team!

Yesterday Neal received a call from a sweet lady from UVA Health Systems who wanted 48 gift bags made up for the Residents who so heroically stayed at the hospital to help out during the Snowpocalypse of 2009…she wanted them all ready in 24 hours. Neal called Nancy, Nancy ran to Michaels to pick up gift bags and started madly calling our dedicated retailers. Eric from Feast pulled together 48 bags of chocolate bark (which wasn’t previously on the Relay site…). Kim from Reid’s stayed late to organize fresh fruit for each bag while Nancy rushed around passing out regular Wednesday home deliveries. Janet and Jenny at Foods rounded up variously flavored gnocchi. And KeriAn from Rebecca’s gathered up a ton of lipbalm and granola bars of all sorts. The Relay drivers are picking up all of the goodies with the regular orders right this minute and in about an hour I’ll have to drag myself out of my sun-less melancholy to (very happily) bag up thank-you gifts for our wonderful UVA Residents!

The Relay team does it again…Thanks to all of our retailers, the Residents themselves for taking care of all of the stranded, cold C’villians and Nancy for working extra hard to make this work!

What a great day! It's beautiful outside, people are smiling everywhere, the sun is smiling on us all, AND it's Jason's first day as an official Relay team member!

I’ve known Jason since we were both awkward, goofy fifth graders and he is without a doubt one of the kindest, most genuine people I've ever met. He grew up just down the road in Ivy where he and his brothers actually started their own produce delivery service—they grew veggies and rode around on their bikes taking orders from neighbors and delivering the fruits of their labor. Jason graduated this past May from UVA with a B.A. in Political Philosophy, Policy and Law and several years of Nature Camp counseling under his belt (yeah, we’ve all seen those ‘I’d rather be at Nature Camp’ bumper stickers…). He’s passionate about philosophy, politics, the Great Outdoors and his local band, Tyger and the Lamb (check them out at the Tea Bazaar on Jan. 23^rd). Tall, handsome, intelligent and the singer in a band…how dreamy!! Make sure you say a special ‘hello’ to Jason when you see him on the Relay trucks this week!

Diversification in 2010

Happy 2010! I hope the New Year is getting to a good start for everyone! At Relay we’re starting off the New Year with a revamped How It Works section of the website to make ordering and this whole crazy concept of online local grocery shopping a little easier. We also have a new Our Value To You page addressing exactly how shopping with Relay reconnects you with the values that sometimes get lost in the swirling, rushing mess of day to day life. But even more exciting than the site face-lift, we’ve added Planet Earth Diversified products through Foods of All Nations!

Let me tell you a little bit about these guys…Planet Earth Diversified has been around (in Standardsville) since 1975 and they are one of the few farms in the area with ecological greenhouses that provide us (and many of the finest restaurants in and around C’ville) with year-round quality produce. Michael Clark, the farmer behind Planet Earth Diversified, is also the host of Meet the Farmer TV, which is a delightful program that literally shows you the social relationships among growers, chefs, and consumers in our area. Michael Clark has interviewed Joel Salatin of Polyface, the folks over at Local Food Hub, farmers at The Farm at Red Hill, as well as Feast! proprietors and Rowena Morrel from In The Kitchen Magazine. On top of educating the community about our local food systems, Meet the Farmer TV has helped empower local farmers by creating websites for them for free!

SO! By supporting Planet Earth Diversified you get delicious, fresh produce year-round, you support the local food movement, as well as our local farmers themselves AND you support your local business/community (us over here at Retail Relay)!

You can watch full episodes of Meet the Farmer TV on their website and pick up Planet Earth Diversified mint, thyme, rosemary, chives, etc. from Retail Relay!

Stay Warm

SNOW DAY!! I don't think I've ever seen this much snow in Virginia...really, this is nuts.  Speaking of nuts, I think I'm going to spend the day baking (perhaps these candied curried pecans from Bon Appetit) and frolicking with my puppies.  

        But before I can do anything, I desperately need some hot chocolate to warm me up.  Did you know that the original hot chocolate drinkers were the Olmecs in Central America in 1500 B.C.E.?  Apparently, they discovered that the seeds they tended to spit out while eating the fruit of the cacao tree (which tastes like passionfruit!) could be turned into a delicious drink when mixed with chilies and ground corn...weird.  The Nibble has a pretty interesting article all about hot chocolate/cocoa.  

Check out some of the really interesting hot chocolates and drinking cocoas we offer through Retail Relay (including an Aztec Spicy Hot Chocolate that I'm planning to add in my next order)!  Or, think about wrapping your cold hands around a hot mug of one of the 190 different teas we offer...that's right, 190.

Has anyone made it out into Charlottesville today? Is it the ghost-town that I imagine it to be?  According to this Daily Progress article, officials are asking people with 4 wheel drive vehicles to help emergency crews. If you can help, please call the county Emergency Communications Center at 434-979-INFO.  

Don't forget the Christmas Cookies!

Nine days left of this crazy pre-Christmas shopping, baking, traveling, running around MESS and I do believe we’re right in the middle of Christmas Party season. I actually have my first Christmas party of the year to attend in approximately 1 hour and I’m proud to say I will not be showing up empty-handed. Last night around 10:30 pm I realized said party was quickly approaching and I would be a self-proclaimed bum if I didn’t bring some sort of baked goodie. So, 10:35 I started scouring the Internet for some inspiring new recipe, which turned out to be these delightful inside-out carrot cake cookies. I made it onto retailrelay.com by 11 o’clock, just in time to get my order in before midnight.

For all of you out there who need something fun to cook for your upcoming holiday party, I seriously recommend these unique little beauties—they’re slightly reminiscent of fruit cake (though so, so much better) and with a little extra spice they definitely taste “Christmasy.”
Here’s the Gourmet recipe as I found it (all the links take you to Retail Relay products!):

Ingredients:
1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coarsely grated carrots (2 medium)
1 scant cup walnuts (3 ounces), chopped
½ cup raisins (2 ½ ounces)
8 ounces cream cheese
¼ cup honey

Preparation:
Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 2 baking sheets.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

Beat together butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in carrots, nuts, and raisins at low speed, then add flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Drop 1 1/2 tablespoons batter per cookie 2 inches apart on baking sheets and bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are lightly browned and springy to the touch, 12 to 16 minutes total. Cool cookies on sheets on racks 1 minute, then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

While cookies are baking, blend cream cheese and honey in a food processor until smooth.
Sandwich flat sides of cookies together with a generous tablespoon of cream cheese filling in between.

I added more cinnamon, some nutmeg and some ginger to give them a little more kick…I also, shamefully, just realized that I forgot the brown sugar…but they turned out beautifully without it! I also threw in a bunch of cranberries and substituted the walnuts for pecans—just a personal preference. I made them pretty small and after the first batch realized that smooshing them down so they’re thick but relatively flat helps the sandwiching process. Based on the comments about the recipe on Epicurious, I actually avoided the honey cream cheese filling and made this one from Bon Appetite, though I had a ton left over so I would recommend halving that.
I really liked them but I guess we’ll see in a few minutes whether or not they’re a hit with the Christmas party-goers! Give ‘em a try and let me know how they turn out!

The Gift of (Difficult) Beer

Has anyone else realized that Christmas is in 10 days?!? YIKES!! I literally haven’t done any Christmas shopping (unless you count that Ghirardelli Chocolate assortment that never made it into my Christmas candy dish…).

My dad is always the most difficult person to shop for on my list. Sure, I could get him another tie, go for the 500^th Freakonomics-esque book, maybe some knee-high black socks…but I’ve reached a point where all of those gifts seem so thoughtless.

Last year I thought I had accomplished the impossible, summited the Mt. Everest of Christmas shopping, found THE perfect gift for my dad…a beer brewing kit! After some serious family time (“we need more honey, quick!!” “YOU’RE WASTING ALL OF MY GOOD HONEYYY!!”) and months of waiting, we had a fridge full of ugly, unlabeled bottles and a super-sweet, mediocre beer.

Although the two “Ale Pails” gathering dust in our basement may add to the ambiance of the room, I’m going to let you know right now that a beer brewing kit is NOT the perfect gift for dad. Why disappoint yourself with a probably not so delicious beer when there are so many top-notch local brews? This year, I think I may just opt for a fridge full of local brews for my dad; as Starr Hill’s motto states “give the gift of great beer” (notice it’s not “give the gift of mediocre, labor intensive beer”).

Retail Relay recently linked up with Charlottesville’s Rio Hill Wine & Gourmet which means we’ve got your Starr Hill Amber Ales, Pale Ales, Loves, and Gifts. Or, just go for the box set! We can also hook you up with some Blue Mountain Brewery delights like Rockfish Wheat, Blue Mountain lager, Lights Out, and the classic Full Nelson. Did you know they actually grow their own hops (according to their website, Virginia was once the hops capital of the New World!)?

Anyone out there have other good gift ideas for dad??

Get your Polyface here, folks!

Many of you Charlottesvillians are probably used to seeing Polyface Farm labels on meat at specialty stores or in your local restaurant menus, maybe you’ve eaten a bite or two…if you have you must know how delicious it is…but do you know what makes it really special?

Polyface’s proprietor, Joel Salatin and his family on their farm in Swoope, Virginia practice ecologically conscious, sustainable small-scale farming, also known as permaculture. Permaculture is a portmanteau word that combines ‘permanent’ with ‘agriculture’ as well as ‘culture’ which essentially means that farmers who practice permaculture focus on creating an ecological system that works with nature rather than against it.

In the case of Polyface, Joel Salatin has created a system of intertwined cycles—cows forage on fresh grass in their mobile enclosure each day, chickens follow behind them and eat the freshly clipped grass sprouts as well as the bugs in their cow paddies all while spreading out the manure. His animals are happy, his land is healthy, and we get delicious, clean meat…what could be better?? If you’d like to learn more about permaculture and its application in Central Virginia, check out the courses offered by the Blue Ridge Permaculture Network.

We’re proud to announce that Retail Relay has joined Polyface’s ecological system by offering fresh chicken breasts, tenders, legs and thighs to our site! So support your local farmer, your local business, the welfare of animals and the land.

UPDATE: Joel Salatin was just named "Person of the Year" by the Hook- Check out this great article about him and Polyface.