August 2006 Market Report [click for PDF]
Recipes - Monthly Prizes

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Club DLM card is required for all sale prices. In the event of a typographical error, in-store prices will prevail. All sale items are limit five with Club DLM card.

“To Market, To Market…”
Last month while we were in London, Terry and I visited The Borough Market, a public market located near London Bridge.

The Borough Market is an old-fashioned public market, all under one roof, much of it clear-story. It’s open two days a week, and largely reminiscent of the old Market House that used to be in downtown Dayton, except much larger. One hundred years ago, public markets such as this one, with various vendors renting spaces, were essential to the distribution of food. As we walked through it, I kept looking around, thinking: “Gosh, this is our roots!” My mother, soon to be 101 years old, would have felt at home there; it would have reminded her of the fruit stand she ran in the Market House in downtown Dayton, which she closed when I was six years old.

They have a fishmonger there with a huge variety, and the best display I’ve ever seen (Sorry, Pike Place!). Butchers who raise their own stock. Robert Burton of Sillfield Farm, who makes his own pâtés, meat pies, and sausages (Sillfield Farm is an advocate of the new Slow Food Movement, the tenets of which are explained on their website www.slowfood.com. Hopefully DLM Meat Director Jack Gridley will visit there one day, learn some of their great techniques, and bring them back to Dayton). Also open-air produce, in picture-perfect arrangement, and even an organic juice bar, with people waiting in line for shots of wheat grass. They have great artisan breads, prepared and baked on the premises; the French baker made not only great products, but also interesting conversation. He was enthused to learn that we use the “poolish” method of baking, and was quite proud of us, as most bakers in the States are not tuned in to this slower, but purer and more authentic method of slow fermentation. He mostly enjoyed speaking in French to Terry, as my French is challenged, and so was his English!

It was busy when we first arrived, but after half an hour it was packed; we could hardly move around, as it seemed all of London was there for lunch or a sandwich. Truly a celebration of food! I settled for one of Mr. Burton’s wild boar meat pies—it was out of this world!

Adjacent to the market is Neal’s Yard Dairy, certainly one of the more famous cheese manufacturers and merchants in the world; we handle many of their cheeses at DLM. In the reverse of the typical supplier relationship, we actually had to be interviewed to see if we qualified to sell their product! And the variety! More wheels of cheese in one room than I knew existed! Some of their cheeses we carry are Colston Basset Stilton, Westcombe Cheddar, Kirkham’s Lancashire, and Gorwydd Caerphilly.

Truly the old-fashioned way to sell food! But the more I thought about it, I realized DLM is a bit old-fashioned, too. Our seafood is sold the same way as theirs – fresh on ice, not pre-packed.
We still cut our own meats, after getting them fresh from the Coleman family of ranchers, who raise their stock in the traditional method. And our Deli has the air of a European charcuterie, with its selection of madrange, prosciutto, and speck hams. We bake bread the same way they do, with the same pure basic ingredients: flour, water, and sea salt. And our cheese goes well beyond the typical 2-lb loaf of cheese food found in most stores, to 300 varieties from around the world, some of them shipped by air twice weekly.

It was a hard-sell getting some of our overseas suppliers to ship to Dayton, Ohio, as they have always been so tuned in to big cities such as New York. (Most of them had never even heard of Dayton, some of them even of Ohio!) We’re certainly glad we made the effort.

As I wandered through the Borough Market, old-fashioned yet cutting-edge, I identified with it much more than with the typical American supermarket. I truly felt I had returned to our roots. The Borough Market was all about real, unprocessed food—I realized that most Europeans are committed to eating well every day. If anything, visiting there reinforced our decision to bring great food from around the world to Dayton. If Mr. Burton would visit us here, I would hope he would feel just as much at home here at Dorothy Lane Market as I felt there.

The Borough Market, http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/aboutus.html has always been near its present location, very close to the south end of London Bridge, or even on the old bridge. First mentioned as being active on the bridge built by King Canute in 1014, selling fish, grain, cattle, and produce, the Market was already a recognized London institution by 1276. It has occupied its present 4.5-acre location since 1756, and is the oldest fruit and vegetable market still trading in central London.

HEALTHY LIVING

What’s in Your Cosmetics?
Do you know what’s in your cosmetics? There may be ingredients in them you can’t even pronounce! We have become more conscious of what we eat, staying away from hydrogenated oils, eating organic food, and drinking purified water, but have you checked lately what you’re putting on your skin? Your skin is your body’s largest organ and products applied to it can be absorbed into the body. On any given day a woman may use as many as 25 different cosmetics and personal care products, containing more than 200 different chemical compounds. Among the ingredients used in many products are para-hydroxybenzoic acids, more commonly known as parabens: chemical preservatives that have been identified as estrogenic and disruptive of normal hormone function.

According to a 2004 United Kingdom study, the chemical form of the parabens found in 18 of 20 breast tumors tested indicated that they originated from something applied to the skin, the most likely candidates being deodorants, antiperspirants, creams, or body sprays. The authors also pointed out that prenatal exposure to parabens and the potential effect on adult cancer risk needs to be studied. Manufacturers of personal care products are allowed to use almost any chemical as an ingredient without government approval. To combat this, there is a coalition of U.S.-based health and environmental groups working to protect cosmetics consumers from toxic chemicals and hold companies accountable for the safety of their products. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has a website, www.safecosmetics.org, where companies have an opportunity to sign the “Compact for Global Production of Safe Health & Beauty Cosmetics.” According to the website, “In January 2003, the European Union amended its cosmetics directive (76/768/EEC) to ban the use of chemicals that are known or strongly suspected of causing cancer, mutation or birth defects.” The coalition is asking cosmetics companies to make reformulated products available in every market they serve, both domestically and globally. The pledge asks companies “to implement substitution plans that replace hazardous materials with safer alternatives within three years.”

Hundreds of companies have signed the pledge. I’m happy to report these companies whose products we carry in our Healthy Living Department are included on this list: Burt’s Bees, Dancing Dingo Luxury Soap, Avalon Natural Products, Derma E Natural Bodycare, and Zia Natural Skincare, just to name a few. One of my favorite skincare lines is Burt’s Bees. They don’t take the word “natural” lightly. For them it means, “harvested from nature.” You will never find ingredients such as petroleum, sodium lauryl sulfate, propylene glycol, and parabens in Burt’s Bees products. They use only natural colors such as beta-carotene and chlorophyll in their products. Avalon Natural Products has adopted a “precautionary principal” and has committed to removing parabens from all their formulations since signing the pledge. The Avalon Organics Bath & Body Care products have been reformulated and are now paraben-free. Baby Avalon Organics was developed using only ingredients that are natural, safe, and healthy for a baby’s skin. These gentle formulations are made with soothing, organic botanicals and nutrient-rich organic plant emollients to provide a healthy alternative without the harsh or irritating chemicals found in mainstream products. Soon we will be adding paraben-free tags to our shelves to make it easier for you to find these skin care products. Look for several of these paraben-free products on sale this month.

To learn more about the chemicals to beware of in your skin care products and for tips to alternative choices, join us for a free seminar, “What’s in Your Cosmetics?” presented by Lori Kelch, DLM’s Certified Nutrition Educator. Lori has given numerous presentations on modern-day health issues and women’s wellness. Join us in our Springboro DLM community room on Tuesday, August 15 from 7–8:30 p.m. Registration is required, as seating is limited. To register, or for more information, contact Kathy Stone (937-748-6800) or Joy Kemp (937-434-1294).

DLM School of Cooking Favorite!

1) $40 Gift Card to Madison’s Bistro
2) 4 tickets to the Ohio Renaissance Festival (value $68.00)
3) One Free Class from DLM School of Cooking (value $65.00)

One set of prizes will be awarded at each store location unless otherwise specified. No purchase necessary to enter.