The Urban Farmhouse Market By
Strap in: this might get confusing.
We’ve told you about the Urban Farmhouse. We’ve told you about Urban Farming. We’ve told you about Farmer’s Markets. We’ve shouted out to Farmers until we’re hoarse. Well, in case you haven’t noticed, we have a nice little Market here at the Urban Farmhouse!
You know our commitment to all things Organic, Biodynamic, Local, Sustainable, Natural, and Tasty, and our inventory of products certainly reflects that ethos. We offer foods, ingredients, snacks, beverages, and personal products that we love and are part of our larger ideal of things that are good for you and our planet.
Do you need some shopping ideas? Well here are some highlights:
To get you started, we offer some tasty marinades and sauces from Gunther’s Gourmet. Gunther’s is the product of Richmond-based brothers Nick and Mike Lampros. Mike is a certified chef and wanted to create products that were all natural. Preservative and chemical free, they are crafted in small batches and are from Mike’s original recipes. And who is “Gunther”? Mike’s Boxer. A portion of Gunther’s Gourmet’s profits go towards the SPCA. Woof. 
Making a good soup or sauce calls for a good base, and we have some good starters from Pacific Natural Foods. Their view is that “food should taste like food” and they are members of a group committed to CFS (Certified to the Source) buying. Remember our talk about “food with the farmer’s face on it”? They, too, are organic, and into recycling. They use a process called “aseptic packaging” that keeps stuff fresher, longer, and helps “eliminate the concept of waste”.
As you begin to spice things up, choose from a variety of spices from Simply Organic. Most commercial spices (think big-box salt and pepper) come from a variety of sources and often contain unsavory things unrelated to food. A breakdown of one popular brand found twigs, insect parts, animal parts, and unsavory chemicals. Simply Organic is 100% organic, hand picked, and they give 1% of their profits to people who do their type of farming: organic agriculture initiatives and fair trade.
While you’re waiting for things to simmer, would you care for a little snack? We get the munchies, just like you, and one of our Fave’s is Chappaqua Crunch. Chappaqua Crunch makes a couple of flavors of delicious granola and snacks that are simple, but darned good! The “simple” part may come from their promise: “NO trans fats, NO preservatives, NO artificial flavors, NO dairy, and NO cholesterol”. They say YES to all natural, organic goodness. “Food should be made by hand, good for you, and absolutely delicious.” Don’t take it from them or from us: pick up a bag.
You’re going to need something to wash all of this down. We’ve got a great list of wines, beers, and other libations that can rinse your palate for you. We pick wines for a couple of reasons: Is it good for the earth, is it good for you, and does it taste good. We think that all of our labels reflect that. We like organic, sulfite-free, biodynamic, and local. Lost Vineyard’s Treehugger sources grapes from around the world, but is organic, the labels use reclaimed paper, and they’re printed with non-toxic inks. Joostenberg is from South Africa, but we like the family affair that they’ve got going on. The Myburgh family has been there since 1879 and is now on their 5th generation of organic wine-makers. We also have a box wine, but not just any box wine. Yellow+Blue chose their name for a great reason: mix the two colors and you get green. They’re organic, and they use a box to keep their footprint light. A traditional case of wine by weight gives you about 50% wine and 50% glass. Using the box eliminates glass, no need for a cork (Nemo says thanks) and works out to a 93% wine to 7% stuff ratio.
If you’re looking for something driver-friendly we’ve got you covered, too. Harvey & Sons started making really good teas a quarter of a century ago in upstate New York. We carry a bunch of their organic labels and they are the 1%…in a good way. They give 1% of all profits For the Planet. They partner with groups like the Nature Conservancy and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. And speaking of tea, our southern sweet tooth has a thing for Sweet Leaf Teas. These guys started out brewing big batches of tea in pillowcases and crab pots using natural, long-leaf teas and unbleached cane sugar, trying to get something that tasted like Grandma’s brew. They traded in the linens for some more modern equipment, but they still have an eye for good ingredients and a taste for Grandma’s good, old-fashioned sweet tea. We also like to tip back a Virgil’s Cola, by Reed’s. Microbrewed, like some of our beers, it’s all natural and has no caffeine or preservatives. 
You don’t want to leave the table without freshening up, so step right over to the shelf. For a little fresh breath, try some VerMints. Everything in them is grown in the good, old U.S. of A. and it’s organic, gluten free, and unlike many mints contains no animal products. You can wash up with some South of France Shea Butter Soaps. They won’t use any animals for testing and their soaps are 100% vegetable-based. In case you get a little dried out, we have a couple of options: Nature’s Gate for the hands, and Mac’s Smack for the lips. Nature’s Gate started out mixing their own herbs with rainwater and hasn’t strayed. They still make things with herbs and botanicals, don’t test on animals, and have partnered with WaterAid to promote fresh, clean water around the world. Mac’s Smack? All natural, made in lovely Hanover, Virginia, and she uses local beeswax to help keep your lips kissable.
So go ahead, go visit a Farmers Market. We encourage you to. If you’re pressed for time you can still come see us and we’ll whip something up for you! We, however, like to eventually go home, and you should, too. You can snuggle up on the couch in a nice Urban Farmhouse T-Shirt. Perhaps you’d like to take some good market stuff with you, too?
