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These are the best vegan meatballs I've ever tasted - made from green lentils, sauteed mushrooms, and breadcrumbs! This recipe is great if you have leftover green lentils and want to throw together a delicious and hearty vegan meal on a budget. 

What you need for Vegan Lentil Mushroom Meatballs

Makes 15 meatballs

1 cup cooked organic bulk green lentils

1 T. organic Field Day olive oil

1 yellow onion

4 cloves garlic

1 cup baby bella mushrooms

Try this budget-friendly recipe highlighting our Co+op Basic's grassfed Thousand Hills Ground Beef. These meatballs are a great addition to any Italian pasta dish and are super quick to make!

What you need for Italian Ground Beef Meatballs:

1 package grassfed Thousand Hills Ground Beef

1 local and organic yellow onion, Blue Moon Farm

2 cloves organic garlic

1/2 cup grated Grana Padano Parmesan cheese

1 local egg, Featherlane

3 T. organic Field Day olive oil

1/2 tsp sea salt

This budget friendly tomato sauce is my secret tomato sauce. This recipe is best if started early on a weekend and allowed to simmer for a few hours. The local carrots will fully soften and meld with the sweet tomatoes. The carrots end up giving the sauce such a bright color and buttery flavor - you won't even know carrots have been added. 

What you need for Homemade Carrot Tomato Sauce

2 32oz cans Field Day diced tomatoes

5 cloves local garlic

1 local and organic yellow onion, from Blue Moon Farm

by Mia Hanneken

HAPPY NATIONAL CO-OP MONTH!

October is National Co-op Month! There are thousands of co-ops out there, but what exactly is a co-op? How is a food co-op any different than a conventional grocery store? Let’s jump into the world of co-ops to better understand their role and importance particularly in the local economy. 

WHAT IS A CO-OP AND HOW IS IT DIFFERENT?

Take your baking to the next level with these epic homemade pretzels. This recipe is a great project to do on a night in with friends or family! Plus, this mustard cheese sauce is an absolute game changer.

What you need for Homemade Soft Pretzels (makes 12 pretzels):

1000 g All Purpose Flour or ~8 cups of flour

650-700 g water warmed to ~90F or 2 3/4 cups warm water

14 g active dry yeast or 4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

20 g salt or 3 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp white sugar

4 T. Olive oil

4 cups water (for pretzel bath)

WHAT YOU NEED FOR LOCAL KIELBASA CARROT CELERY WHEATBERRY GRAIN BOWL:

Triple S Farms Kielbasa Sausage

local wheatberries from Hazzard Free Farm

local and organic celery from PrairiErth Farm

local and organic carrot from PrairiErth Farm

local and organic bell pepper from PrairiErth Farm

local and organic garlic from Blue Moon Farm

local and organic yellow onion from Blue Moon Farm

local and organic boiled red beets from Blue Moon Farm

1 T. salted butter

local rosemary from Green Pantry Nursery

WHAT YOU NEED FOR LOCAL BUTTERNUT SQUASH PECAN GOAT CHEESE WILD RICE GRAIN BOWL:

1 cup of native-harvested wild rice or regional wild rice from the Great Lakes

1 T. Better than Bouillon concentrated broth paste or bouillon cube

1 container local chevre goat cheese from Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery

1 local and organic butternut squash from Blue Moon Farm

2 local and organic leeks from PrairiErth Farm

2 sprigs local thyme from Green Pantry Nursery

Local and organic salad greens from Blue Moon Farm

As cooling weather falls upon us each October in Champaign-Urbana, I am always stunned by the bounty of local foods harvested this month. October straddles the last of summery heat-loving foods like our favorite nightshades all the while welcoming the harvest of cool-loving salad mixes, brassicas, and storage crops that sweeten with the brisk temperatures. It's hard to describe the bittersweet feeling I have when eating the season's first apple while hoarding the last of the tomatoes in the same sitting. I tend to view October has the last hurrah before settling into hybernation mode.

This quick recipe is for the hangry, exhausted folks that should have eaten hours ago.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED FOR HEAT & EAT PANEER TIKKA MASALA:

1 jar Maya Kaimal Tikka Masala simmer sauce

1 pouch Maya Kaimal Organic Everyday Dal black lentil, tomato, cumin 

1 pouch Maya Kaimal Organic Everyday Dal kidney bean, carrot, tamarind

1/2 block Gopi paneer cheese

1 T. canola oil or high heat oil

1 package Mother Earth organic baby bella mushrooms

1 local & organic yellow onion from Blue Moon Farm

This is definitely my favorite curry recipe. It's brothy, full of vegetables, and the chicken is so tender.

What you'll need for Green Curry Chicken:

1 can Native Forest organic coconut milk, unsweetened classic full fat

1/2 jar Thai Kitchen green curry paste

1 package Farmer Focus organic & free range boneless skinless chicken thighs

2 T. Thai Kitchen premium fish sauce

2 T. organic coconut palm sugar

1 cup Field Day organic chicken broth, low sodium