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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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Up for the holidays and can't make it to the store: Sign up for as few or as many deliveries as you want. With our new system it is easy to just "order" a bag and put yourself on vacation until you're up again!
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
Early December Newsletter of 2011
OPEN 5 DAYS PER WEEK: Tuesday - Friday 11 - 6pm Saturday 11 - 4pm
We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving as we did. We had a great day with family and friends: feasting, toasting and giving thanks to all the wonderful folks in our lives that make it possible to share the abundance and be in abundance. Thank you to Diestel Family Farms for their fantastic turkey, thanks to the farmers that continue to plow the fields and grow the crops for us to eat all seasons of the year. Thanks to our great work crew for all their dedication and hard work making this small enterprise rock. And thank you - the folks that recognize the value of the work we do and continue to support our endeavors by shopping at Outer Aisle all seasons of the year!
We will continue through the winter months to have a bountiful weekly display of seasonal produce that'll keep you and your family well fed and your taste buds satisfied all winter long. Check out all the amazing recipes (below) we came up with this week.  The Arctic blast these past nights, in the aftermath of a horrendous wind storm, has left our garden quite barren. While the last of our fall crops are succumbing to the inevitable freeze: the coast and warmer inland areas are still pumping out some great winter produce.
CHECK IT OUT:
Mushroom Tinctures and Capsules from Fungi Perfecti:
We were privileged to hear Paul Stamets speak at a conference several years back and his presentation was so riveting and the information so intriguing that it piqued our interest in learning more about medicinal mushrooms and their properties. Here's what folks say about his latest book, "Mycellium Running": "A paradigm-changing book. Stamet's visionary insights are leading to a whole new understanding of how mushrooms, scarcely seen and rarely appreciated, regulate the earth's ecosystems".  Available in extract and capsules: Reishi, Maitake (we often have these fresh too), Cordiceps and a combination mushrooms blends. The medicinal qualities are vast and all encompassing; including lowering blood sugar, lowering blood pressure, anti-inflammatory, anti-candida, anti-oxidant; anti-viral and other great properties. www.fungiperfecti.com
OUR FLEXIBLE SYSTEM MAKES IT EASY TO GET A BOX AS OFTEN AS YOU WANT: Are you up in the hills for the holidays and can't make it to the store? Sign up for as few or as many deliveries as you want. With our new system it is easy to just "order" a bag and put yourself on vacation until you're up again!
Winter Sign-ups (weekly or bi-weekly): Weekly or bi-weekly veggie/fruit boxes to all Tuolumne, Alpine and Calaveras locations. 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.
Click here to view and/or sign up anytime SIGN UP FOR 2011/2012 SEASON
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Vegetable & Fruit Highlights The Harvest! We are excited to announce the arrival of the citrus season. It's been a long wait and the farmers all say the cool summer had a lot to do with the slow ripening of fruit. A mid-season variety, the Owari Satsuma mandarin  is one of the more flavorful varieties.
We'll have freshly picked satsumas available this week from Terra Firma Farms. Coming soon (hopefully next week) sweet Naval oranges.
We just couldn't wait for kiwifruit season so we headed up to Brenner Ranch and picked up our first load of kiwi's. They are still firm, but will ripen quickly at room temperature. Kiwi's are harvested in the late summer rock hard a nd stored in cold storage. They ripen naturally as they are brought out to room temperature.
A little history from down under: People call NZer's kiwi's and they never in NZ call a ki wi anything but a kiwifruit! The quintessential recipe that calls for kiwifruit is the infamous Pavalova - a meringue marshmallow like dessert that Kiwi's are famous for. My mother was a pavalova maker and she strove to make the perfect "pav" - a very difficult task with such a large object made exclusively of egg whites, sugar and air! However, the great thing about making a pav (which tells you a lot about Kiwi's) is that no matter how badly it turns out you just pile a whole lot of whipped cream over it and decorate it with kiwifruit and everyone loves it.
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RECIPES
CHRISTINE'S WINTER CURRY
While Eric boasts to be the main cook in the family, it's usually my task to come up with the recipe of the moment based on what we bring home that evening. Hankering for a good curry I came up with this recipe that combines with almost any vegetable you have on hand: winter squash, yams, cauliflower. It was really delicious too!
1 - 2 cans of coconut milk (classic or fat free)
2 apples (peeled, cooked and pureed or mashed)
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated finely
2 - 4 TSP curry powder (The Spice Tin, Murphys has some great blends)
2 shallots, finely diced
1/4 lbs of mushrooms (chanterelles, oysters or shiitake): finely chopped
1 TBS Coconut oil (for flavor) or butter
Vegetable: small winter squash, 3 sweet potatoes or 1 head cauliflower
Topping:
Unsweetened shredded coconut: toasted on stove top
Slices of mango or roasted whole pistachio nuts
Over a medium high heat, in a iron skillet, dry saute the mushrooms until their juices begin to exude. Stir them frequently, add the shallots with the oil or butter. Continue cooking on low heat until the shallots are well cooked. Add the ginger and curry powder, continue cooking adding a little coconut milk to help blend in the flavors.
In the meantime prepare the apple sauce, add to the coconut milk and blend thoroughly using a mixer. Add the mixture to the shallots and mushrooms.
Prepare the vegetable/s: If using winter squash or sweet potatoes, peel and cut in bite sized cubes. If using cauliflower break into florets. Steam the vegetable for several minutes until cooked almost through (al dente) - careful not to overcook. Add the vegetables to the coconut and continue cooking for 15 - 20 minutes until vegetables are well down. Season to taste and serve warm with optional toppings. Rice is a great accompaniment.
BRAISED CARROTS & FENNEL (Stolen from the internet!!)
6 large carrots, peeled
2 large bulbs fennel
1 large onion
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped dill
3 tablespoons chopped chives
Slice the carrots 1/2-inch thick on an angle.
Quarter the fennel bulbs lengthwise, cut into bulb to remove core and thinly slice, or roughly chop. Reserve 1/4 cup chopped fennel fronds.
Halve and slice the onion. Fill a skillet with 1/4-inch water. Add vegetables then sprinkle with sugar and salt and drizzle with 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil. Simmer covered 20 minutes, and uncovered for 5 minutes and adjust salt. Toss vegetables with fennel fronds, dill and chives.
ITALIAN BREADED CAULIFLOWER...a favorite treat in our house
6-8 pieces of cauliflower cut from a head of cauliflower
1 egg - beaten
1/2 cup of fine breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying
Heat up a saucepan with salted water. Drop cauliflower pieces in for 3-4 minutes. Drain and cool off under cold water, drain again and pat dry. Dip cauliflower into egg and coat with breadcrumbs. Heat up 1/4 inch of oil (less if you can get away with it) in a small cast iron pan on medium heat. Fry, turning frequently until golden brown on all sides.
Eric's BABY BOK CHOY STIR FRY (Mei Quing)
Only takes 6 minutes and is a great side dish.
Half (the smaller) or quarter (larger) and wash Bok Choy
Coconut/Sesame/Butter Oil
1 clove of garlic, chopped
Chile pepper flakes to taste
Tamari or soy sauce
Heat oil over medium heat add garlic, chile flakes and bok choy for a few minutes, stirring. Add a splash or two of water to braise and finish cooking. Add a couple of splashes of soy sauce to season.
PARSNIP AND APPLE PUREE (from the Gourmet Cookbook)
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. I've always liked them from childhood....mashed with carrots and butter.
¾ pound of parsnips (peeled and coarsely chopped)
1 Tablespoon of butter
½ cup finely chopped onion
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Sour cream to taste
Pinch of ground allspice, or to taste
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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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