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| | STORE NOW OPEN YEAR ROUND! | THURSDAY - NOON to 6pm
SATURDAYS - 10 am - 4pm
(Closed Thursday 25th and Saturday 27th November)
Please Note: Store open Wednesday 24th only.
Outer Aisle FOODS & GOODS |
| IT'S TIME TO RESERVE YOUR DIESTEL TURKEY FOR THANKSGIVING! | Thanksgiving is around the corner! Pickup on Thursday 18th; Saturday 21st or Wednesday 24th. (Note: we are closed Thursday 25th and Saturday 27th to celebrate Thanksgiving!)
Heirloom Turkeys $3.70/lb
SIZES: 10-14 lb or 18-24 lb
Organic Heidi Hens $3.20/lb
SIZES: 10-12 lb; 12-14 lb; 22-24 lb; 24-26 lb
Reserve by: email: outeraislefoods@gmail.com Phone: 209/728-9112 or in person at the store |
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| 2010/2011 CSA SIGN-UPS | | It's not too late to sign up! Refer a friend and receive a $10 credit this month! |
Want to receive baskets of vegetables and fruits fall, winter and spring? Benefits of Becoming a Member:- Enjoy local and seasonal fruits and veggies all year round
- Fresh, high quality, home-grown flavor
- Bi-weekly fall, winter and spring deliveries to convenient drop off locations near you
- Your choice of the size bag for your needs: mini, basic and full sizes. Add on fruit, roots, and greens
- Access our on-line web store for many more essential items
- Cancel when you are out of town
- Supplement your own garden, you grow greens: we have roots and fruits!
- Lower your carbon footprint. Save gas, we deliver to you
- Support local growers, producers and makers.
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News From Outer Aisle
Early November, 2010 |
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Highlights of the Week!
Post Halloween and the bounty continues. Each week there is something new and exciting and this week's highlights are especially delicious!
With Thanksgiving around the corner, it's time to reserve your Diestel Turkey (see side bar for pricing and sizing). We are matching salesroom prices this year and making them available for pickup on Saturday 20th and Wednesday 24th. (Please note that we will be closed Thursday and Saturday for the holidays and instead opening on Wednesday 24th instead).
We'll see a few cauliflower this week, many more next week as the warm daytime temps make the growing cauli buds expand overnight. Cabbage, red and green is in full production this week. Lettuce, Asian greens mix and Easter egg radishes make for a beautiful salad. A terrific host of root v egetables will be showing up this week and becoming a regular feature: parsnips, turnips, shallots, carrots and beets. Roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper they make a special touch to a cold fall night's dinner (see recipe below).
We are so pleased to again have Shittake and Oyster mushrooms in. They look absolutely gorgeous this week, can't wait to eat some ourselves. Many folks tried them for the first time a couple week's back and are now hooked. They are not only tasty but a medicinally and nutritionally superior food, ample protein and lots of antioxidants.
We made a trip to the coast and picked up the first season's Brussels sprouts as well as artichokes and leeks from Rodoni Farms. New this week is 4 flavors of Sauerkraut from Farmhouse Culture, Santa Cruz (see profile below).
Dates are in! This season's fresh dates are to truly delicious. Medjool, Halawi and a few other obscure varieties will be available from here on out. We'll have a recipe for date balls, using coconut butter that is a powerhouse of energy and very healthy for you.
Thanksgiving Special: 20lb burlap bags of potatoes on special for $20 for the next couple of weeks!
In the store this week, we'll be well stocked with the following:
- Winter Squash: Red Kuri and Green Kabocha, Butternut, Acorn and Delicata
- Sweet Potatoes: Hanna, Oriental, Red Garnet and Beauregard.
- Apples: Fuji, Granny Smiths and Pink Lady
- Grapes: Crimson and Autumn flame, a few other varieties
- Pomegranites, Fuyu, Hachiya and Chocolate persimmons, Red Bartlett and Tosca pears
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Community Supported Agriculture
Our CSA program has grown over the years both in numbers and design. Community Supported Agriculture is unique in that it serves the community and farm at the same time. Our success at farming is largely a result of the community that supports us.
This year with the opening of the store, we have something of a hybrid system in place whereby members are free to shop at the store, delay their delivery start date and use their credit to purchase what they need. And other members, living further afield receive their delivery bi-weekly - with an active subscription they now have access to our new webstore for ordering extra items.
Last week we launched our new webstore and messed up a little with the timing. Be sure to check it out before next week's delivery. Webstore hours: Friday through Tuesday night. You must have an active subscription (ie. receiving a delivery to shop through the store). New items will be added in the next few weeks.
If you are considering becoming a member, we encourage you to join. Please contact us for more details on the hybrid system or Join our 2010/2011 Season today.
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PANTRY HIGHLIGHTS: For those of you that are gluten intolerant, we stock a few items that you might enjoy. Recommended by a gluten free chef is a burrito wrap made from Teff grain (no wheat, no gluten). We also have Spelt flour, a Buckwheat granola and Red and White Quinoa.
RECIPE of the Week!
It's always fun to discover something new in your backyard, especially if it's connected with food. Murphys is famously synonymous with wine tasting and now with the opening of Marisolio, The Spice Tin and Outer Aisle FOODS those foodies in our region can enjoy something out of the ordinary. Recently I spent an enjoyable 20 minutes sampling all kinds of olive oil and vinegars at Marisolio. If you're thinking about an outing with a family or friends this holiday season, I would highly recommend a visit to all these great places and maybe stop in for wine tasting on the way.
Granny Smith Sweet Potato Soup with Vanilla Balsamic Vinegar
Serves 8
3 Tablespoons Garlic EVOO
1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
½ cup roughly chopped celery
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and chopped
2 ½ pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup flour
2 quarts chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
Salt & pepper to taste
Vanilla Balsamic Vinegar
Hot pepper sauce-optional
Heat Garlic EVOO in large stockpot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, apple and sweet potatoes. Saute 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add basil, oregano, thyme and flour. Stir mixture until flour is well mixed and moistened throughout. Add chicken stock and bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 to 20 minutes until all ingredients are soft.
Puree in food processor in batches. Return to stockpot over low heat (do not allow to boil). Stir in heavy cream and season with salt and pepper. Add hot pepper sauce if desired. Divide soup into bowls and drizzle with Vanilla Balsamic Vinegar.
PREPARING ROOTS: (PARSNIPS, CARROTS, BEETS)
Wash and peel root vegetables before cooking. Cook whole or cut into chunks first.
- Roast root vegetables in a 425-degree oven for great depth of flavor. Cut into chunks, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and perhaps a little garlic, and roast 40 to 60 minutes or until tender. Roast a variety of vegetables for the most impressive presentation and taste (throw in some of the more common carrots and potatoes too, with some beets done separately so they don't turn everything pink). Garnish with fresh herbs if desired.
- Boil root vegetables 5 to 20 minutes (depending on size of chunks or if whole) and use a potato masher to mash with butter and milk or cream. Mix several different kinds together (stick with sweeter types together, such as parsnips and rutabagas, or with more bitter types together, such as turnips and celery root) or mash with potatoes.
- Slice mostly-cooked root vegetables, combine with milk or cream and a little cheese to make gratins. Bake at 350 degrees until golden. Combine different types, with or without potatoes.
BEETS have been cultivated since pre-historic times in the Mediterranean area and were originally grown only for their leaves. The beet leaves - especially when small, crisp and fresh - are delicious and nutritious. Instead of tossing them in the garbage, trim off the tough part of the stem that hangs below the leaf. Then heat up some olive oil in a frying pan. Add your favorite seasonings and toss in your washed beet leaves. After you have sautéed them until they are soft, dig in and enjoy.
Scientific studies suggest that beet root ingestion can be one of the useful means to prevent cancer?
Red beets are rich in three nutrients - potassium, magnesium and beta-carotene
CARROTS: No other vegetable or fruit contains as much carotene as carrots, which the body converts to vitamin A. Unlike most other vegetables (though not all), carrots are more nutritious when eaten cooked than eaten raw (except when juiced). Because raw carrots have tough cellular walls, the body is able to convert less than 25 percent of their beta carotene into vitamin A. Cooking, however, partially dissolves cellulose-thickened cell walls, freeing up nutrients by breaking down the cell membranes. Carrot skins contain 10 percent of all nutrients found in carrots.
PARSNIPS are one of oldest vegetables according to historian William Weaver, they were gathered from the wild in the Stone Age and were commonly found in the kitchen gardens of ancient Rome. Personally, I have always liked them from childhood....mashed together with carrots and a little butter.
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Producer's Profile:
Farmhouse Culture, Santa Cruz
Farmhouse Culture founder Kathryn Lukas will be the first to tell you: She's obsessed with kraut! Her interest (and appetite) was first piqued in Germany, where she was the chef-owner of a popular neighborhood restaurant in Stuttgart for several years.
Living in Groveland and Santa Cruz, Lukas found herself inspired by the bounty of the surrounding landscapes--and longing to create a sustainable, hands-on business. During a writing sabbatical in the Sierra Nevada Foothills, Lukas remembered the fantastic krauts she'd loved in Germany, and began digging into kraut lore, legend, and history.
Before long, she had explored fermenting traditions from around the world and started developing her own recipes. Soon her kitchen counters were lined with crocks, and friends and neighbors were clamoring for kraut. She built up the business selling her krauts through Taylor Mountain's CSA, a regional buying club, and a local farmers' market, getting feedback from customers and exploring new flavors.
At San Francisco's acclaimed Slow Food Nation event in 2008, there was a nonstop crush around the Farmhouse Culture booth as Lukas and friends handed out hundreds of pounds of her fresh, organic kraut. In 2009, Farmhouse Culture moved into a few select retail outlets in California, including several Whole Foods Markets.
THE LINE UP:
Classic Kraut: The best for your wurst! Our Classic Kraut is the condiment your sausage has been craving, packed with great tangy flavor and crunch. Made with organic cabbage, sea salt and a touch of caraway, it's hand-packed straight from the barrel the old-fashioned way. Never heated, never canned, so it never gets soggy! And, like all our krauts, it's loaded with beneficial enzymes and fabulous flavor.
Uses: With sausages or hot dogs (works great with tofu dogs, too!); on pastrami sandwiches; as part of a charcuterie or salami platter of European-style cold cuts; with rye bread and cheddar cheese; or simply by itself.
Ingredients: Organic green cabbage, organic caraway seeds, California sea salt.
Smoked Jalapeno: Don't miss our spicy Latin kraut! Smoked Jalapeno kraut is our California remix of El Salvadore's curtido, a traditional cabbage dish made with fermented pineapple juice. Living in an oak zone, we've replaced the tropical zing with smoky heat, adding oak-smoked fresh jalapenos to a blend of cabbage, carrots, sweet onions, and crunchy radish. Taste real outdoor-grilled flavor in every jar.
Uses: Pile it onto your nachos; in a grilled cheese sandwich; rolled into a burrito or as a condiment with any Latin dishes.
Ingredients: Organic cabbage, organic sweet Italian onions, organic carrots, organic radishes, smoked jalapeno peppers, California sea salt.
Horseradish Leek: Recently debuted after a full year in development, our crazy good horseradish leek kraut will tantalize your taste buds. Mild and tangy, this snappy kraut pairs beautifully with anything you can imagine. Spectacular with a steak, sublime on a sandwich, and magnificent by the mouthful, this versatile kraut is destined to be a new classic.
Uses: Great for roasted veggies and meats, on sandwiches, with quinoa or other whole grains, and anything else you can thing of!
Ingredients: Organic cabbage, organic horseradish, organic leeks, organic carrots, California sea salt.
Apple Fennel: Snappy tang is the name of this game. Wedges of crisp green apple marry perfectly with fresh cabbage, red onions, and a hint of fennel. Perfect with a pork roast! Or, load up a veggie pita and turn lunchtime into crunchtime.
Uses: A wonderful base for choucroute garni, the classic Alsatian dish of meats and sausage baked with potatoes and sauerkraut; as a refreshing side salad with a favorite soup, a chunk of cheese and some crusty rye bread.
Ingredients: Organic green cabbage, organic tart apples, organic red onions, organic fennel seeds, California sea salt.
Garlic Dill Pickle: If you love pickles, you're in for a treat! We've combined all the garlic, dilly crunch of your favorite pickle with kraut and discovered a new instant classic. We keep wondering why we didn't think of it before.
Uses: Put this kraut on anything you might put a pickle on or in like hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, egg or tuna salad. A customer favorite for eating straight from the container!
Ingredients: Organic cabbage, organic cucumbers, organic garlic, organic dill, California sea salt.
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What's Up In The Garden
It's time to plant cover crops! Cover cropping is an age old technique that many small sustainably minded growers practice. It is a crop entirely planted for the soil and the mi crobes that inhabit that environment and work so hard to provide all the nutrients that are then assimilated by plants. The soil builder cover crop that we use and make available for purchase is a combination of winter peas, vetch, rye and bell beans which provide a free source of nitrogen as well as protect the soil from winter erosion and in the spring provide a nursery for all kinds of beneficial insects. Plant a cover crop before the next winter storms hit by broadcasting over composted ground and lightly raked into the surface.
Cover crop seeds $1.70 per lb and 1 lb will cover 100 square feet. Fava bean seeds and clovers are also available.
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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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