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Photo by Lana Shartle
Thank you Lana, we love the photos you took of us in the garden!
| STORE OPEN 5 DAYS YEAR ROUND!
FALL/WINTER HOURS: | TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY & FRIDAY:
11 to 6 pm
SATURDAYS:
11 - 4pm
Outer Aisle FOODS & GOODS |
 NEW 2011/2012 BOX DELIVERIES | |
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Want to receive baskets of vegetables and fruits this summer. Weekly or bi-weekly deliveries to Tuolumne, Calaveras and Alpine Counties.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
Welcome to the pre-Thanksgiving newsletter of 2011
NOW Open Five Days a Week all year round:
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 11 - 6pm and Saturday 11 - 4pm
POTATOES MAKE A MEMORABLE THANKSGIVING FOR ALL.....
Thanksgiving is a time of giving and we are grateful to have the first time opportunity to support in a big way Clan Dyken's Big Mountain Food & Supply Run. We just donated 500 lbs of potatoes to feed 100 families and made the Blue Mountain Coalition partner in the project very happy!
For 13 years the Dykens' have bee n taking a bus load of musicians, raising money by playing at venues throughout the western US en route to the Hopi Reservation in Arizona. Through donations like ours and money generated from their tour they garner and purchase food and supplies to give to over 100 ancestral families known as the Dinah people who are struggling to keep hold of their land. (Photo courtesy of "Revive the Beauty Way Tour" on facebook) On the subject of potatoes and giving: we just purchased 500 lbs of potatoes from Dambacher Family Farms' Potato Patch. The story goes that back in 2009 we ambitiously took on a new piece of ground and whenever we do this we always like to grow potatoes to help prepare and get ready new soil for future plantings. We planted well over 1/2 acre, irrigated and hilled three times. Come time to harvest early October a typhoon sweeping the Pacific from Japan caused a weather disturbance on the west coast that predicted 4 inches of rain. Within hours of hearing the forecast we sent out an alert email asking for helpers to harvest the 1/2 acre field. Save Our Spuds 2009 attracted 40 people and in 6 hours we h ad all the potatoes out of the ground, sorted, graded, boxed and stored in a save dry spot. An awesome way to do a Herculean task in a human way. This was the beginnings of something that we now call the Potato Patch Project. The following year we had an opportunity to start new ground in Columbia and combine it with a formal approach to learning rather than the survival crash course of the previous year. Six dedicated volunteers with an eagerness to learn how to grow such an important calorie crop provided the labor, Eric taught and FoCuS created an event that brought people together to partake in the harvest, learn a skill and build community.
This year the potato torch was passed on to the Dambacher family. They partnered with a home schooling group and created the Dirty Kids Club. This year's Potato Harvest day attracted 80 folks and harvested over 4000 lbs. In support of their endeavors we purchased 500 lbs to resell at our store.
Come enjoy the harvest this year at Outer Aisle!!
Fall/Winter Sign-ups (weekly or bi-weekly): We are continuing to take fall/winter sign-ups for weekly or bi-weekly veggie/fruit boxes to all Tuolumne, Alpine and Calaveras locations. You can even browse the selection without committing by clicking on a drop off spot you'll get to the next screen where all the different sizes are described. Please know that you can sign up whenever you want and put yourself on vacation.
We just added Valley Springs and San Andreas on a weekly basis to our route.
Click here to view and/or sign up anytime SIGN UP FOR 2011/2012 SEASON
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Vegetable & Fruit Highlights The Harvest! Mushrooms make a wonderful addition to stuffings and fillings!!
We have in an abundance of shittake, oyster, trumpet (King Oyster), as well a s wild Chanterelle and the Maitake Mushroom. The Maitake or Hen in the Woods is found in the wild and also successfully grown commercially is new to us and we are excited to try it. They are incredibly medicinal and rank so high they make powders and tincture with the fungi.
Chef Dan from "V" Restaurant came in to fill his menu order this afternoon and explained how he likes to cook the Maitake. He slices into the base and pulls the mushroom apart, slathers it with olive oil and roasts it in the oven until done.
Maitake Mushroom Pesto
Chop Maitake in a food processor, saute on medium-low heat (without oil) until the water in the mushrooms releases. Stir in olive oil, garlic, fresh parsley and salt an pepper to taste.
Uses For Maitake Mushroom Pesto:
Serve on buttered pasta with grated cheese, on toasted bread or garlic bread as an appetizer, sprinkled on pizza, rolled up in a pizza dough with grated mozzarella to make a mushroom roll (cook about 25 minutes at 350*).
Also: Try adding chunks of Maitake to soups or sauces. VEGETABLES: This week's highlight: Brussels Sprouts, Artichokes and Leeks from Rodoni Farm s. Cheddar Romanesco cauliflower, Braising Greens, Kale, Rainbow Chard, Parsnips, Rutabaga, Turnips, Green Beans, Beets, Napa Cabbage and the list goes on!
FRUITS: Fresh & Dried: Persimmons, Pomegranites, Quince, Apples, Crimson Grapes, Pluots, Plums and Pears. Indira from Tyson Hill Farm in Waterford, the grower of all those wonderful fruits all summer long just brought us the last of the grapes, plums and pluots from their orchards. Hard to believe they are still harvesting!!
We introduced the Bahri date to you all earlier this fall and it was so popular we are getting more this weekend. We are taking a weekend off and making a trip to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco to pick up our dates and find other farmers, producers and their goods to expand our offerings!!
NUTS & SEEDS: Check out our great selection of local almonds, walnuts and raw pistachios for your holiday treats!
LAST CHANCE: Thanksgiving SPECIAL on Yellow Finn potatoes 20 lbs for $22 are perhaps the very best. They are versatile, great bake d, mashed, potato salad. They store well in a cool dark place for many months. Served with butte
r or sour cream they are a complete protein!
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RECIPES
PERSIMMON LOAF RECIPE - half the recipe for two persimmons
3/12 cups flour
1/12 tsp salt  2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp ground nutmeg 2 cups sugar 1 cup melted unsalted butter and cooled to room temperature 4 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten 2/3 cup cognac, bourbon or whisky 2 cups persimmon puree (from 4-6 squishy soft Hachiya persimmons) 2 cups walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped 2 cups raisins or dried cranberries 1. Butter 2 loaf pans. Line the bottoms with a piece of parchment or dust with flour and tap out excess 2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 3. Sift the first 5 dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. 4. Make a well in the center. Then stir in butter, eggs, liquor, persimmon puree, and then the nuts and dried fruit. 5. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
Mulled Asian Pear/Apple Juice
I whizzed this up in 5 minutes and tastes delicious on a cold wintery night. You'll need mulling spices (cinnamon, allspice and cardamon). Heat through and simmer until nice and spicy.
Kale, Avocado and Pistachio Nuts
This is Christine's version of a delicious salad all with great ingredients. This recipe is destined to be an Outer Aisle favorite.
1 bunch kale (either Dino/Italian or Curly leafed)
2 lemons squeezed
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS sesame oil
1 TBS tamari or Braggs
1 avocado cut in pieces
1 diced green pepper
2 radishes sliced thinly
1/2 cup of pistachios
Wash and devein the kale (disgard or throw in soup stock), roll up and chiffonade. Add lemon juice, salt and 1 TSP sesame oil. Massage the kale with your fingers for 2 minutes until kale is evenly lubricated and turns a dark green.
Dry roast pistachios over medium heat for 5 minutes stirring often. Add 1 TSP sesame oil and stir to coat. Remove from heat into a bowl, add Tamari and stir to coat.
Add the avocado, green pepper and radish to the salad along with the roasted seasoned pistachios.
Serves 4
Full Belly Farm was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle and these two recipes took our fancy.
Roasted Root Crops With Sauteed Greens
Serves 8
This recipe is adapted from Andrew Brait at Full Belly Farm, who says that while it takes a bit of work sourcing ingredients, it's well worth it. If you have trouble finding something, don't fret - this is really about showcasing the seasonal bounty, and the technique is the same for any root vegetable. This would make a nice substitute for turkey as a vegetarian main course.
- 15-20 small (golf ball-size) yellow new potatoes
- 1 bunch small to medium-size white Tokyo turnips, with greens attached
- 1 bunch gold beets, with greens attached
- 1 bunch medium rutabagas, with greens attached
- 1 medium celery root
- 1-2 medium fresh poblano chiles
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt + more to taste
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 medium red daikon (watermelon radish)
Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350°.
Wash and scrub the turnips, beets, rutabagas and celery root, but do not peel. Remove the greens, wash well, and set aside. Halve the potatoes and cut the turnips, beets, rutabagas and celery root into approximately the same size pieces.
Remove the stem, but not the seeds, of the poblano pepper; cut the chile into bite-size pieces. Strip rosemary from stalks and chop coarsely.
Combine all the cut ingredients in large bowl; stir in enough olive oil, about 4 tablespoons, to coat generously. Add the sea salt and chopped rosemary, and mix well. Transfer the mixture to a 9- by 13-inch baking pan. Roast for about 1 hour, until you can easily pierce the vegetables with a fork.
Meanwhile, coarsely chop the root greens; set aside. After vegetables have roasted for about 45 minutes, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add the greens and cook, stirring, until they turn a deep green, about 8 minutes. Take care not to overcook. Remove from heat.
When ready to serve, assemble the cooked greens on large serving platter. Splash lightly with balsamic vinegar, and arrange the roasted vegetables on top.
Grate the red daikon onto the vegetables, and serve.
Apple- & Fig-Stuffed Butternut Squash
Serves 6-8 as a side dish
- 3-pound butternut squash,
 washed, stemmed, halved and seeded - 1 cup firmly packed dried figs
- 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (from pods or already dried and ground)
- 2 cups coarsely-shredded Fuji apples
- 1 tablespoon honey
- -- Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350°.
Scoop out an extension of the seed cavity about 1 1/2 inches wide and 1 inch deep in the neck of each squash half. The idea is to extend the seed cavity to allow for more stuffing, but the extension need only be half as deep as the seed cavity.
Put about 1/4-inch water in the bottom of a glass baking dish, and place squash halves cut-side down into dish. Place in the oven on the middle shelf and bake for about 40-45 minutes, until a knife inserts fairly easily into the neck of the squash. Remove the dish from oven; replenish the water to its original level and place a lid or foil on the dish to keep the squash warm until you're ready to stuff.
While squash is baking, rinse the figs. If they seem too dry, let them sit in a little warm water for a few minutes, then drain and dice. If you're using cardamom pods, crack them and extract the seeds. Grind seeds finely in a mortar and pestle; set aside.
Place the figs and apples in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the ground cardamom, drizzle with honey and stir to mix thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Firmly pack the stuffing into the cavities of the squash. Return to the pan and bake, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes. If you don't want the tops to brown, you can bake it covered.
Cut the squash halves crosswise into pieces, and serve.
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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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