the Scallion for March 4, 2010
| March 4, 2010 | REGENT MARKET CO-OP E-news | eat your vegetables |
Original Staff of the Onion Returning to “the Heartland”
“Sick of Satire,” They Seek to Purchase Regent Market Coop
Madison — This week, RMC board member Joan Schilling was startled by an article in a newspaper she picked up in her dentist’s waiting room. In the back pages was a profile of the originators of the satiric newspaper, the Onion.
The Onion had its start in 1988 among a few UW alumni, one of them also a West High graduate. The article Schilling found recorded an exchange among original Onion staffers.
“We’re sick to death of all the satire, the irony, the mockery!” said Tim Keck, who now writes satire for other venues. “There are half a dozen of us, all over the country, making a whole lot of money by making fun of others. We’re through with it! No more!”
“We want to get back together in Wisconsin, the heartland, near the farms and the animals, to smell the good smells and to do something meaningful together,” said Scott Dikkers. “We want to be with simple honest people, the kind of folks who have potlucks on their front porches with their neighbors.”
“Right!” continued another writer. “Where the women make quilts out of their old parkas and preserve fruits from their orchards.”
Several of them spoke emotionally of a little store on a corner not far from West High. “There’d be a guy in the back, Old Joe, or something like that, who’d make you a sandwich and wrap it in newspaper. There were florescent lights in the ceiling and fans going up there that whirled strips of fly paper.”
“Right!” another continued. “I am remembering a barrel with pickles at the end of one aisle.”
“No, I think it was some kind of crackers, but maybe there were two barrels.”
“Wasn’t there a little gift shop in the entrance where the neighbors could sell their crafts?”
“I am seeing some kind of rockers out in front, where the old people could sit and watch!”
“Gosh darn it! We’re gonna buy that store, whatever it takes!”
Board member Schilling, a psychologist, sees it as a case of Reconstructive Memory. “It’s when we add things and take things away and restructure the past to suit our present psychological needs.”
“It sounds like they’ve got some pleasant recollections of the store,” Schilling surmised. “But they’re conflating them with the Cracker Barrel chain and their own happy memories of a school trip to Old World Wisconsin.”
Joseph Heggestad, owner of the building that houses the RMC, has declined to disclose whether he has received an offer on his property.
Randy Recommends . . .
It’s Lent and time to eat some fish. Randy has fresh salmon that’s swum all the way from Norway just for you.
There are lots of choices of frozen fish too:
- lake perch
- boneless haddock
- mahi-mahi
- tilapia
- tuna steaks
And there are delicious scallops and shrimp. Look for smoked salmon and chubb too. Enough fish to last you through all the Fridays ’til Easter.
For the other days of the week, he has some great meat offerings. There’s boneless pork roast on sale! Regularly $3.99/lb., carry it home this week for $2.59. Why not pick up a head of cabbage and do a little slow cooking?
Check out RMC’s twitter feed for a pork roast and cabbage recipe.
If you’ve been reading the investigative reporting in the State Journal about the rise in CAFO megafarms in Wisconsin and the decline in state inspections, you’ll be pleased to hear that our co-op will be carrying grass-fed beef from WISCONSIN MEADOWS “from the local farms of the Wisconsin Grass-Fed Beef Cooperative.”
We like the idea that the animals have been treated humanely, that they have not harmed the environment, and that like us, Wisconsin Meadows is a coop.
Randy has some quality cheese on sale too. He has Schullsburg bulk sharp cheddar for $4.59/lb and mild cheddar for $3.59/lb. These are great prices for quality cheese.
Let the staff know which of RMC’s products you like best. They aim to please.
Bill Stoneking waits to serve you
Cooking from the Shelves of the Little Store
This week’s recipe is from Regent Neighborhood resident Trudy Karlson. Trudy learned good home cooking from her mother, and her husband, Dave Weber, learned from his. They both learned about the many ways to use root vegetables when they joined a CSA some years back, branching off a little from their mothers’ traditions of mostly mashing. Here’s a recipe featuring beets and other local products.
Beet and Gorgonzola Salad
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 1 small onion
- 2 T wine vinegar
- 3 large or 6 small beets, boiled and cleaned
- 4 oz Gorgonzola cheese
- Cut onion in half lengthwise, slice finely into “half-moons”.
- Place onion slices in small bowl with red wine vinegar, cover and let sit for at least 30 minutes.
- Slice beets into quarters if small, or bite size pieces if large.
- Place beets on serving platter; arrange onions on top with the vinegar.
- Crumble Gorgonzola cheese over onions and beets and serve.
Recipe can be easily increased and amounts of all the ingredients can be varied. Soaking the raw onion in red wine vinegar mellows it.
The original recipe (from the New York Times) called for blue cheese, but Gorgonzola is better. Farmer John whose cheese is now featured at the RMC told me why — blue cheese has 8% milk fat, but Gorgonzola has 16%.
Joan Peterson is the editor of “Cooking from the Shelves of the Little Store.” She welcomes your recipes! Send yours with a short bio to her e-mail address.
Meet RMC’S Vendor of the Month
Scott Rohde of Kehe Distributors
Scott brings us natural organic and imported specialty foods. He’s the one keeping you supplied with Ak-Mak crackers, Chicago Flats,La Banderita tortilla, and all those choices of Kettle chips.
Keep ‘em coming, Scott!
This weekend, March 5 to 7th, is Aldo Leopold Weekend
For those of you who don’t know about him, Aldo Leopold has been called by many the greatest environmentalist of the 20th century, particularly for his work, “A Sand County Almanac.” It is a series of reflections on his family’s land in Sauk County, which had been a played-out farm that he and his family lovingly restored. Leopold was a key figure in developing the UW Arboretum and its first Director.
All across Wisconsin this weekend, people will gather to spend a day reading out loud through “A Sand County Almanac.”
In our neighborhood, the event will take place at the UW Arboretum Visitors Center on Saturday, March 6, from 9:30 to 4 PM. You are invited to drop in at any time and to stay for as long as you like.
What is the relevance to the Regent Market Coop? Aldo Leopold and his family lived on Chamberlain in our neighborhood. It is altogether likely that Aldo Leopold shopped in our store, perhaps stopping in on his walk to the Arboretum or when the family went up to Sauk County for one of their working weekends.
Aldo Leopold died in 1948. Are there any coop members out there who can remember that far back? What other luminaries have shopped at 2136 Regent Street?
Will We Be Gathering No More?
We’re all going to miss the best, most creative window displays in the city. Terry Hoard of Gatherings has his business up for sale. Everything in the store is for sale too, from 20% to 80% off. Terry is actively seeking a buyer. Spread the word.
Thanks for beautifying the neighborhood all these years, Terry!
