Heirloom Tomato Specials, Bartlett Pears and O'Henry Peaches

Last week on Faye Elberta Peach Special this week!! 5lb & 10lb discounted pricing! Don't miss out on these delicious fruits - great dried, frozen or canned!

Get ready for fall and harvest your own veggies with our Fall Seedlings now available! We'll have broccoli, kale, cabbage and cauliflower on hand every day we're open for the next month.

Upcoming Events: Check out our last August event at Outer Aisle....

Only a few spots left ...don't miss out on this once a year opportunity to view the garden and pick your own produce!

Saturday, August 27th, 9:30 to 12 noon

Taste Tour & Foraging Foray

Join Eric, Farmers and Food Fanatic on an epicurean journey through our garden during peak summer harvest. You'll get to fill up a basket with all kinds of ripe delights available at this time of year and experience first hand the joy in picking your own food. Take home your harvest and enjoy shared recipes and ideas. Cost $30 per person. Space is limited. We are taking sign-ups now.

(Send us an email).

Summer CSA Sign-ups (weekly or bi-weekly): Can't make it to the store, live too far away or just busy living life, we can accommodate you. Choose between weekly or bi-weekly starting anytime. We service many locations in Tuolumne and Calaveras County. Log into the sign-up wizard for more details of drop off locations, bag sizes and pricing.

Vegetable & Fruit Highlights

VEGETABLE HIGHLIGHTS:

New arrivals gracing our produce tables this week:

A wide variety of honeydews: the name bespeaks of their sweetness completely! Honey-Orange, Green fleshed Tam Dew's and Honey I Dews.

Bell Peppers are finally turning color!! We love slicing and sauteing them to add to pasta dishes, or freshly sliced in Greek salads. Packed full of Vitamin C &

Heirloom Tomatoes are on SPECIAL! We beg you to take advantage of the season's bounty and come get your fill of the finest heirlooms around. 3lb's for $9 ($3/lb) or 5 lbs for $13.75 ($2.75/lb). Cook 'em, freeze 'em, dry 'em or just eat 'em!

The tomato of our choice, the Camalay, is flushing this week. Not as dramatic as the Brandywine or as tart as the Cherokee, the Camalay has a classic tomato flavor that wins our taste buds year after year. We love this tomato, not just for it's flavor, but because it has a rich history (as do many of the heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables). It is a true Murphys' heirloom grown in this county since the turn of the last century by our neighbors, since passed, the Vogliotti's. They were Italian market gardeners, living off the land: foraging, growing their own food, animals and making their own wine and only buying the necessities: gunpowder and flour. We were lucky enough to have a window into their lives and from the beginning of our farming venture we grew "their" tomato, saving seed year after year. They passed on to us their onion seed and we have since built up a seed source that allows us to grow many thousands of onions for summer market every year.

FRUIT HIGHLIGHTS: From the orchards of Tyson Hill Farm, Waterford. Another wonderful selection of the best fruit ever: more varieties, different lineup every week. This is the final week the Faye Elberta peaches will be on special: Price breaks on quantities: 5lbs for $2.50/lb and 10lbs for $2.25/lb.

The first of the O'Henry peaches - a milestone of the year: the O-Henry marks the very height of the peach season. We'll have white peaches and white nectarines this week, the first of the grapes: a variety called "Fantasy" large and dark blue. Figs are in, both green and black.

And if that isn't enough variety we have the Royal Gala and first of the season Fuji apples coming from Smit Orchards.

We have been seeking out a connection for pears for some time and last week a pear grower showed up at Outer Aisle with organic Bartlett Pears from their farm in the Delta: Tim and Laura Neuharth own a family farm dating back to 1848. Some of the pears are over a 100 years old and the last planting they did was in the 1960's. The pears are picked green (unripe) which is normal for pears as they ripen and get their buttery texture off the tree.

BULK OFFERINGS:

Take advantage of bulk offerings at Outer Aisle. During the peak summer months we'll have oversupplies of a variety of fruits and vegetables. If you can, freeze, dehydrate or getting ready for a party.

This week still: Basil for pesto making and Red Pontiac potatoes and Faye Elberta peaches.

RECIPES:

BAKED RED PEPPER FRITTATA

2 Red Peppers
3 TSP olive oil
2 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
6-8 eggs
2 TBS chopped Italian parsley
2TBS chopped basil leaves
Salt & pepper
Butter for baking dish
6 TBS breadcrumbs, divided
½ cup fontina cheese

Core, seed and julienne the peppers. Place the olive oil in a medium sauté pan. Add the peppers & onions and sauté until the vegetables soften and are lightly golden. Let cool.
Beat eggs lightly with a fork. Add pepper &Onion mixture, herbs & salt & pepper to taste. Butter a 10-inch round baking dish & sprinkle with 4 TBS breadcrumbs.
Pour the egg mixture into baking dish and sprinkle with cheese. Top with breadcrumbs.
Bake in 375oF oven for 20 minutes or until frittata is slightly puffy and firm. Serve hot or warm.

RED BELL PEPPER SOUP
Yields 7 -8 cups; serves 6

4 cups vegetable or Chicken Broth
2 jalapeno peppers, split lengthwise, deveined, and seeded
1 large potato, peeled and chopped
4 tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 TBS olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
4 red/yellow bell peppers, seeded and chopped
Salt and freshly group pepper to taste
½ cup milk
½ cup heavy cream (optional)
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 cup sour cream, garnish
Chopped fresh cilantro or lime basil for garnish

Place broth in large saucepan. Add the chiles, potatoes and tomatoes. Bring to a low boil over medium-high heat, then reduce and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Remove the chiles. In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté the garlic and peppers 10-15 minutes, or until soft. Combine the garlic and peppers with the broth, potatoes, and tomatoes in a blender. Process until smooth. Return mixture to saucepan, and season with salt and pepper. Add the milk and cream, blending thoroughly, reheat over low heat, so the soup does not boil. Add the lime zest and juice. Garnish with cilantro or lime basil.

BAKED PEPPERS

5 large bell peppers (assorted colors), seeded and quartered lengthwise
4 large cloves garlic, crushed
¾ cup chopped fresh parsley
½ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
3 TBS Balsamic vinegar

Preheat the over to 400F. Alternating the colors of the peppers, place them cut side up in an oiled 9-inch by 12-inch baking dish. Mix the garlic, parsley and oil in a medium bowl. Spoon the mixture over the peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Cover lightly with foil and bake 30 minutes, or until the peppers are tender and undersides are lightly browned. Transfer to a serving platter. Sprinkle the vinegar over peppers. Serve at room temperature.

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.