Co-Op — Blog — With Angela O'

Lately John and I have been looking into buying into a co-op. There are different type of co-op companies but what I have seen so far is that the most common is at the grocery level. I have considered a grocery company by the name of Wheatsville but I am not sure if that is right for our very first buy. Unknown to many Austin, Texas actually has the very first co-op of its kind and I believe that is where I am most interested. It is a beer pub & brewhouse called Black Star Co-Op, the world's first co-operatively owned and worker self-managed brewpub.. Of course as a co-op member-owner there are patronage benefits like discounts, events, and voting rights but with Black Star Co-Op I am most intrigued by the socially responsible benefit that they offer the their employees. All of Black Star's employees are paid a living wage, not minimum wage or a basic wage standardized by our business society and economy. A livable wage that means that the employee can actually afford to live in a safe home and have a decent amount of groceries on the table and enjoy time with their family and friends with a little less stress. Something that I think everyone can appreciate. Way too many times I (and I know each of you have experienced this) have had jobs that the employer did not appreciate your work and especially did not appreciate the value of your work or the value that it took to support your family. While John and I are still early in our careers and possibly too young to invest money in such wild adventures, I do feel that it is time that we show responsibility and stand our ground for something that we believe in.

This is something that I can definitely appreciate.

http://www.blackstar.coop/

Outdoor Fall Dinner Party

The goal of this Outdoor Fall Dinner Party was to achieve good old-fashioned camaraderie while being seated at the dinner table. More often than not it is has become extremely difficult to find a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner table that everyone can actually sit down together and enjoy their meal. The hustle and bustle of everyone trying to find someplace to sit has worn me down. Partially because I wanted to be in an adult setting (kids were welcome of course) and partially because I love to entertain I wanted to find a way for us all to enjoy a true dinner party for the holidays. An event where no-one felt obligated to provide space for and everyone nearby could enjoy. In some way we were all connected, either neighbors or co-workers who have become friends over the past year or two. The location was the mini playground in between our apartment buildings. Most of us could just walk out our front door.

November 3rd was the chosen date so that it did not interfere with anyone's Thanksgiving plans during the week of the bird. Again a way to avoid the rush of people coming and going as most of us have multiple friends and family dwellings to visit. The time was early afternoon of course as I despise evening holiday meals because you waste your whole day in anticipation and preparation rather than enjoying. Thank you to Gramma Sharon for instilling the good value of lunch as the main holiday dinner meal. Besides why remove the option of being able to eat leftovers for dinner?!

This dinner party was Co-Op style so that there was absolutely no need for a host or hostess. Everyone was in charge of a minimum of two things on the list whether they were dishes of food, beverages, ice, coolers, tables, chairs, etc. The Co-Op made this style of dinner unique and a fun way to refresh a potluck! To be honest I did play the role of a coordinator so that all the items on the list were accounted for however to clarify for your own co-op party there was no actual hosting. In order to make sure everyone had a fair shot of being involved I did send out a letter with the co-op ideas and commitment requests. That was only to ease the process of set-up and food.

The Food:

Michelle and Brian your mashed potatoes were absolutely delicious!! Leah and John thank goodness for your double batch of green bean casserole to provide for those wheat monsters and those GF. And that was quite possibly the best homemade cranberry sauce ever. Nadine, gosh darn those sweet potatoes were the most beautiful I have ever seen served at a holiday dinner. And thank goodness those were real and not the yucky traditional ones from a can with brown sugar and marshmallows poured on top. Emma and Adam, you always have the best beverage selection and we can always count on your sommelier mind to guide us through any occasion. Ben and Rose, ummm THANK YOU for bringing us a pie from Quacks on 43rd. Bless you! Brittany, we definitely could not have called this a holiday dinner without your rolls and pumpkin pies. Additionally, I am glad that you brought your dad to carve the turkey!! One spoiled thing that I did gain from my family was that we always had an electric knife to carve the turkey so when it came to manually carving this year I was out! Too bad as John and I actually made the turkey!! At least we didn't have to cut up our sage dressing and cheeseball!! And thank you to all the guys as they put up our emergency tents in the case of rain. We only had about 10 minutes of droplets though, just enough to make the tablescapes appear as if there was a purposeful dew sprayed on them.

And of course since we live in Texas I suspected that someone would want to dump BBQ sauce on their food. Haha! Brian you were the one...had I known earlier I would have sent that gigant-o bottle of Rudy's BBQ sauce home with you.

The table scatters were mini plastic acorns.

A fun and clean way to add crackers on the table. Get a couple of
mini pails from your craft store and stuff with tissue paper.