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If you've got a lot of sauerkraut and are running out of ideas of what to do with it, why not try this recipe from The Fresh Day Blog for Sauerkraut Stew.  It sounds delicious.  And she used one of our fermenting crocks to make her sauerkraut!

Sauerkraut Stew: A Savory, Sour, Spicy, Sweet Flavor Combination You Need to Try

In our family we make a similiar recipe, a traditional Polish Bigos.  Hopefully we'll have a chance to share that family recipe with everyone soon!

Have you noticed that many of our popular products are once again out of stock?  Not to worry, they will all be available again very soon!

Our latest shipment has already made it's way to the United States, now we just need it to get from New York to our warehouse in Chicago.  Unfortunately, that could take anywhere from a few days to a couple weeks!  But we are hopeful it will arrive sometime next week. 

Once the shipment arrives we will not only restock our Fermenting Crocks, Fermenting Kits and Cabbage Shredders, but we will also have some new products to add.  The product we are most excited about is our 10L Luna Glass Crock Weights! 

So stay tuned to our Facebook page or sign up for our newsletter to find out when the new shipment arrives!

We recently introduced our new product, Luna Glass Crock Weights.  And so far, they have been a big hit!  We developed this product ourselves after seeing a void in the market for a non-pervious crock sized fermenting weight.  So we set about designing and prototyping one of our own! 

These weights are made to our spefications by a small manufacturer in Poland.  The Luna Glass Crock Weights are a unique Stone Creek Trading item, in fact we applied for a patent for them and they are currently US Patent Pending.

So what makes these weights so special?  Of course you can read all about them in the product listing, but here's a few brief points -

• Non-pervious means they don't absorb anything - mold, bacteria, smells or flavors
• Easy to clean
• Transparent so you can see whats happening below without removing
• 15% heavier than traditional ceramic weights

We currently offer the Luna Glass Crock Weights in ones size - 6.5" diameter for 5L Crocks.  You can buy the weights separately or with the 5L Brown Crock or 5L Olive Green Crock.  You also will receive the Luna Glass Crock Weights if you purchase a 5L Fermenting Kit. 

We wanted to test the market for the glass weights before we developed a 10L size weight, and I am happy to say our market test has been a success!  The 10L size Luna Glass Crock Weights have finished production and are now ready to be loaded and shipped to us.  We expect to have them in stock in April.  At that time they will be offered with all 10L crocks, the 10L Fermenting Kit and on their own.  And after many inquiries as to the small size of the 10L ceramic weights in comparison to the crock diameter, we did some experimentation and came up with a larger size that better fills the interior of the crock.  All around these weights will be far superior to the traditional ceramic weights.

We hope you are as excited as we are about these new weights.  The Luna Glass Crock Weights are a great way to upgrade your current fermenting set up, or to start out on the right path!  If you want to be notified when the 10L size is available, or you have a question about the weights, be sure to email me, emily@stonecreektrading.com!

As our business grows we are always evaluating how to best meet our customers needs.  Sometimes that means expanding into new products and sometimes it means focusing on certain areas over others.  In that vain, we have decided to closeout the DABO block sets and select styles of the Handmade Nativity. 

We love the DABO block sets, our family plays with them all the time!  But they don't reflect the core of our business, and therefore we have decided to stop offering them on our website.  We have already sold out of the Castle sets and we now have a few of the Farm and City block sets available.  Once we sell the last of these sets, we won't be restocking.  So if you've been waiting for a bargain to get these blocks, this is your last chance!  At only $30 each, they are a steal!

We also will not be restocking certain styles of the Nativity Creche/Mangers.  These styles are on closeout sale now, a bargain price ($15 - $22) and once they are sold you won't be able to find these outside of Poland.  The styles on sale are - Noel, Merry, Joy, Glory and Rejoice. 

You can find all of these great deals in one place in our On Sale Now area of the website.  If you have any questions about these closeout items, email emily@stonecreektrading.com.

With Christmas just a little over a month away (yikes!) we are all making sure to mark items off our endless lists.  When it comes to online shopping one of the most important factors is how long items will take to ship.  As always, we strive for fast efficient shipping.  We only offer products on our website which are in stock and ready to ship. 

So when do you need to order by to make sure you have it before Christmas?  This year's magic cutoff date is 12pm CST on December 17, 2014.  All orders place before that time will arrive by December 24, 2014.

As always, orders ship within 1-2 business days after your order is placed.  Orders placed after 5pm on Thursday through 5pm Sunday  will ship on Monday.  Shipping times vary based on your location.  We are located in the Chicago suburbs.  Small items are shipped USPS Priority Mail while larger items & orders are shipped via UPS Ground.  UPS does not deliver or accept packages on Saturday or Sunday. 

See below for typical shipping schedules.

Location           Processing Time      Shipping Time     Total Shipping/Processing

Midwest              1-2 days                     1-2 days               1-4 days

East Coast          1-2 days                     2-3 days               2-5 days

West Coast          1-2 days                    3-5 days                3-7 days

If you miss the cut off for holiday shipping or need your order sooner, email emily@stonecreektrading.com to discuss expedited shipping options including overnight and 2-day shipping.  Please be aware that expedited shipping on crocks is quite expensive ($50+) due to the weight of the crocks. 

And as always, you can email Emily with any questions or custom order requests.  As a small family business, we are happy to work with you when special circumstances arise!

Happy Holidays!

We are super excited that our Mushroom Nutcracker is included in this article in the New York Times! You can check out the online article or in the Home Section (pg D4) of today's paper! We are so honored that our simple little nutcracker made the list.

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We love giving back to our customers, and one way we do that is to sponsor blog giveaways!  We've got a great giveaway going on over on the popular fermenting blog phickle.com.  You can enter to win one of our 5L Fermenting Crocks!

Phickle.com is a great resource for fermenting recipes and tips and tricks.  It's a great community as well with active commenters that help each other out with even more information!  Amanda is also currently working on a cookbook, which we'll be sure to share information about once it's available as well.  We know our customers are always looking for more information about fermenting, and Phickle.com is a great place to find it!

So if you'd love a new 5L Fermenting Crock, go check out the giveaway!  There are lots of easy ways to enter, including liking our Facebook page and signing up for our newsletter.