Tastemakers: Oryana Community Cooking Classes/Veterans Day Toast

Nov. 9, 2008

Oryana Community
Cooking Classes

Since its inception 35 years ago, the Oryana Food Cooperative has always sought ways to better serve its “member owners.” While many food coops have found their demise through the years, Oryana has “changed with the times.” They are now well-settled into their recently remodeled digs on East Tenth Street in Traverse City (for years they were on Randolph St. where Bay Bread now resides).
Their mission remains the same: “To provide high-quality food produced in ecologically sound ways at fair value to member owners and the community.” That mission also includes education. Oryana now offers in-store demos with Nancy Schwalm every Wednesday from noon until 2 p.m. The focus is on “wholesome and easy dinner recipes using fresh, local vegetables when available.”
They have now added Oryana Community Cooking Classes at the Central United Methodist Church (they have a wonderful kitchen) on Cass Street in Traverse City. The next class will be Tuesday November 11 from 6 to 8 p.m. with a focus on 30-minute meals. The following week, same time and location, the class will be Holiday Appetizers with participants preparing and sampling an array of small bites that are healthy and delicious. Classes are limited in number of participants and those interested should register in advance.
Check out all of the happenings at Oryana simply by stoping by or keep tabs on events and weekly store specials at their website oryana.coop. You may also reach them at 231.947.0191.



Veterans Day Toast
November 11, 2008 will mark the 79th anniversary of President Woodrow Wilson declaring “Armistice Day.” This year marks the 70th anniversary since congress made Armistice Day a federal holiday. It was in 1954 that Congress changed the name to Veterans Day.
The coming days will be filled with many a celebration with Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and New Years Day all around the corner. We will all be busy with family and office gatherings to mark these occasions. But as we celebrate these special days, for some reason, Veterans Day is left off the list. Sure many of us get a day off from work, but do we use that day to honor or celebrate the many men and women who have served our country to protect our principles and freedoms? Probably not.
So I would like to offer a toast to the many brave men and women who have served our country in the past and to those currently serving us here and abroad.
I want to encourage all of you to take a moment and reflect on what our veterans have done for our country. Whether you raise a pint or make a point to give a donation to a local veterans’ organization (I am going to do both) just do something, as we owe them so much. The great author and journalist Studs Terkel (see article) once wrote: “We are the United States of Alzheimer’s. We forgot what happened yesterday. We know all about Paris Hilton. We know about that. But what do we know about why we are there in Iraq?”
Please do not forget our Veterans this week. www1.va.gov/opa/vetsday.