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THURSDAY - NOON to 6pm
SATURDAYS
- 10 am - 4pm
Outer Aisle FOODS
& GOODS
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News From Outer Aisle
Highlights for the first week of September
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What You'll Find at the Markets this week
After raving on about melons last week and how they were flowing strongly, we were disappointed on the day of harvest, as was our customers, that they weren't quite ripe enough to pick. So this week, look out, we'll have an array of delicious melons to choose from. The weather has definitely been a challenge. Last week we recorded a high of 112 and a low of 36! Cold enough to damage the basil leaves. September is here and nothing can stop the flow of abundance. Bell peppers, heirloom tomatoes, melons, squash, eggplant, basil, potatoes and salad greens are gracing our tables and will be the main ingredient at our dinner tables for the next month. This week we are experiencing a lull in peaches, until the next crop comes in. Grapes will continue to feature strongly, with the seedless Thompson and Flames highlighted this week. We were glad to hear from Clazien Smit, from Smit Orchards in Clements, of their harvest of an old apple variety called "Pink Pearl", a cultivar developed in 1944 by Albert Etter, a northern California breeder. Pink Pearl apples are gen  erally medium sized, with a conical shape. They are named for their bright, pink flesh having a translucent, yellow-green skin, and a crisp, juicy flesh with tart to sweet-tart taste, reminiscent of raspberries and lemon custard. According to the Smit's, they are especially delicious made into apple sauce and baked with raspberries in a galette. Stop
by one of the Farmers Markets this week! And don't forget our Indoor
Farmers Market Thursdays, noon to 6pm and Saturdays, 10 to 4pm at Outer
Aisle in Douglas Flat! Arnold
Farmers Market, Sunday 10 am to 1:30pm at the Cedar
Center, Arnold (behind Tallahans Cafe). Val Du Vino Farmers Market on Friday evenings, 4 - dusk, Murphys. Can't make it to our store or farmers markets and want to get in on all these great items weekly, then join in on our CSA deliveries |
RECIPES of the Week!
POTATOESEarlier in the Spring, Eric and I wrote an article that appeared in the Mountain Chronicle on potatoes, entitled "The Year of the Spud". The article covered the history of the spud and it's evolution through history to our fields. This spring we planted .5 acre, 12 varieties that grew tall and gorgeous  with blooms that literally scented the air all day long. Well, the plants have since died down and we have harvested about 50% of the field by hand and distributed quite a number out to market over the course of several months. We still have plenty left for the rest of the season and storing for distribution later in the winter. The potato is an amazing crop and for the first time garden an essential plant to begin the cycle of growing. Here's a recipe for scalloped potatoes. We'll be sampling this recipe on Thursday at the Outer Aisle market. SCALLOPED POTATOES1 medium onion chopped 13 oz homemade chicken broth or one can if homemade is not available 1 cup of whipping cream 1 bay leaf 1 tsp salt 1/8 tsp pepper 1/4 cup flour 6 large potatoes peeled or unpeeled (about 3 pounds) Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 13 by 9 inch pan. Mix together the onion, broth, cream, bay leaf, flour, salt and pepper in a bowl. Wash the potatoes and make sure they are somewhat dry. Slice potatoes into 1/4 inch slices and arrange them in your pan. Add broth mix to the potatoes. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Remove cover and baste the potatoes for 45 minutes longer.
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Producer Profile: Mountain Ranch Organics
It is always a pleasure to work with fellow farmers that are as dedicated and on the same page as the Gunsell's are. Amy and Norman Gunsell have raised vegetables, steers and chickens in their 15 or so years of being in business as Mountain Ranch Organics. In fact their operation is the most complex certified organic farm in the whole state of California! A couple of years ago they branched out into the poultry business and today sell at Farmers Markets in San Francisco including the famous Ferry Plaza. You will see them their with their chickens, chicken stock and tamales on Saturday mornings.
This morning, Norman brought in our latest shipment of birds, Cornish Cross, which are exclusively fed organic grains and live only a free life that any industrial bird could only dream of. Free to roam and forage all day long these birds average a weight around 4 lbs and have a good size thighs, testimony to all that day time foraging. We love the taste of these chickens, there moisture content is ensured during processing by air chilling them instead of water cooling which is the more normal method. Not only is the taste great, but the nourishment and peace of mind knowing that these birds are raised as you would raise them yourself satisfies us immensely.
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What's Up In The Garden
Fall Vegetable seedlings are available on a weekly basis at our store only. We'll have a broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, chard and lettuce available at $1 per plant or $5 per 6 pack. Time to plant seeds...we'll have these available at our Store as well as essential gardening supplies, cover crops and much more.
Announcing farm tours every Saturday. Eric will be leading a guided tour of the farm from 10:30 to 11:30. No sign up required. Meet at Outer Aisle, Douglas Flat and walk five minutes to our farm. Eric's tours encompass cooking and nutrition, gardening and growing, history and botany, techniques and trade secrets!!
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 Outer Aisle FOODS & GOODS "Essentials for the 21st Century".
Our mission is to facilitate a speedy transition to a sustainable
economy by offering the essential tools, ingredients and knowledge to
prepare us for the 21st century.
Behind the scenes of Outer Aisle is Taylor
Mountain Gardens. Located just around the corner on Main Street in
Douglas Flat, our nearly two acre "beyond organic" farm produces a large
variety of seasonal vegetables including these seasonal highlights:
summer heirloom tomatoes, fall cauliflower, winter carrots and spring
potatoes to name just a few!
OuterAisle FOODS operates a year round CSA (Community
Supported Agriculture) program. We distribute the highest
quality, local, seasonal and regional produce and products to members
all over Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties. We only purchase product from
farms and producers who are committed to ecologically sustainable
practices and go beyond the National "Organic" standards.
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