|
|
Photo by Lana Shartle
| STORE OPEN 5 DAYS YEAR ROUND!
WINTER HOURS: | TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY & FRIDAY:
11 to 6 pm
SATURDAYS:
11 - 4pm
Outer Aisle FOODS & GOODS |
 2012 BOX DELIVERIES | |
|
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.
|
|
News From Outer Aisle
mid-February 2012
OPEN 5 DAYS : Tuesday - Friday 11 - 6pm Saturday 11 - 4pm
We are adopting February the month of seeds!
We'll focus on seeds, the importance of preservation, varieties and propagation over the next weeks as many of you get ready for the upcoming planting season.
This is a subject that we are very passionate about and believe that having access to open-pollinated (seeds in the public domain) builds a resilient community especially in times of economic and energy downturn.
"Our future depends on a handful of seeds". Literally, our future as a species depends on the eating of food and all plants were once seeds. Seeds are the beginning and also the end result of a millinenia of human intervention. As humans migrated throughout the world they brought with them seeds and traded their seeds with others to create an immense library of diversity. To name just a few: Chiles and potatoes from South America, teff grains from Ethiopia, wheat varieties from Middle East and so on.
Sadly, within 50 years of the turn of the last centurywe have lost an astounding 90% of our seed diversity! While seed diversity was shrinking rapidly, the opposite was true for modern agricultural methods: mechanization, monocropping, and the advent of modern hybridized seed varieties. These hybrid plant varieties are intentionally cross-pollinated, producing a desirable quality (ie. tomatoes with firm skin for shipping long distances), forget about saving seed from hybrids- they won't be true to type. You are stuck with buying them year after year from seed companies.
The story continues bleakly until the early 1970's when a few individuals formed what  was to become the Seed Saver's Exchange. They put out a national call to home gardeners in the hope of recapturing the last remaining viable seeds before extinction. And just in the nick of time - a typical life span of a seed kept in cool conditions is less than 10 years. They were successful in recovering hundreds of thousands of seeds, bringing together thousands of gardeners across the nation and creating an exchange that is healthy, vibrant and alive today.
Grandpa Ott's morning glory lives on as does our own local heirloom varieties: the Ponte family Bacchia Bean from Angels Camp, the Vogliotti family's onion and tomato from Murphys. These seeds are referred t o as open-pollinated.
How beautiful is this: The seeds saved from a Vogliotti family's tomato will produce a true to type tomato that holds the exact same shape, flavor and color that our neighbors, the Vogliotti's enjoyed 90 years ago!
We welcome you to the 4th Annual Seed Share Event next weekend. We have been  busy putting seed into packets! Come meet your local farmer and select their favorite varieties to grow in your garden this year. In addition we'll have seeds from reputable seed sources; speakers on a variety of topics and hands-on activities all day long. Bring your compost for a close up look on a microscopic level.
SEED SHARE EVENT: C olumbia Elementary Cafeteria, February 11th, 2012 from 10 - 3pm
FoCuS and Tuolumne County Master Gardeners are again hosting the popular Seed Share Event where the public is invited. They'll be all kinds of seeds ($1 per packet) up for grabs. As well as educational speakers and hands-on demonstrations.
JOIN THE GROWING MOVEMENT TO EAT HEALTHY AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF
OUR FLEXIBLE SYSTEM: It's never too late to sign up to receive weekly or bi-weekly deliveries.
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
|
|
Vegetable & Fruit Highlights The Harvest!
Stop by and check out the beautiful display this week. We'll have beautiful bunches of spin ach from our hothouses (this week only!) We'll have artichokes on special this week - celebrating the gifts of the coastal clime! Purple, Romanesco and white cauli adorn the table, celery, rainbow carrots, Italian parsley, cilantro, red potatoes, mushrooms (all kinds) and more! |
RECIPES
Have a great recipe that you'd like to share - we'd love to publish it in the newsletter!
STEAMED BROCCOLI WITH CAPER BROWN BUTTER (from The Gourmet Cookbook)
1 ½ pounds broccoli
¾ stick (6 TBS) unsalted butter 3 TBS drained capers, chopped 3 TBS chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley ¼ tsp salt 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper Cut stalks from broccoli and peel with a paring knife, trimming any fibrous parts then cut into ¼ inch thick slices. Cut heads of broccoli into 1 ½ inch wide florets. Steam broccoli stalks and florets in a steamer rack set over boiling water, covered, until tender, about 6 minutes (bright green). Meanwhile, melt butter in a small saucepan over moderate heat. Stir in capers and cook, stirring occasionally, until butter is golden brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in parsley, salt, and pepper. Toss broccoli with caper butter in a bowl.
|
|
|
|
|
 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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
