Outer Aisle Foods
In This Issue
Hours
Fruit & Vegetable Highlights
Recipes
Quick Links

Photo by Lana Shartle

STORE OPEN 5 DAYS YEAR ROUND!

SPRING HOURS:
TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY & FRIDAY:
11 to  6 pm
SATURDAYS:
11 - 4pm


Outer Aisle FOODS & GOODS
1192 Highway 4
Douglas Flat, CA
outeraislefoods.com
Christine & Eric Taylor
209.728.9112
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
early April newsletter
   
OPEN 5 DAYS :  
Tuesday - Friday 11 - 6pm  
Saturday 11 - 4pm 
   
Hi folks, I'm in from the field, covered in part with dirt and sweat, to write a quick newsletter letting you know what's up and what's coming in!

It's been a busy couple of weeks, dodging weather, sickness and the ever expanding greenhouse plantings that beckon to be planted out.

We are responding with resolve, keeping up with the demanding pace as our bodies get used to long hours in the garden.

This year promises to be a great year in the garden! We have both large hothouses now planted out in tomatoes, squash and cucumbers.


We have a gorgeous crop of bok choys and lettuces
Baby Purple Bok Choy
 that we are beginning to harvest and have available at the store. We just planted another succession of chard, lettuce and parsley as well as direct seeded spinach, beets, cilantro and radishes!

Oh, and just planted our first crop of new potatoes!

The cover crop is 60% under, just in time for the rain to help the decomposition process and then warm dry weather to follow (our hopeful prediction) so we can put up our tunnel houses and set out the rest of the plants.

SEED POTATOES ARE IN! 4 different varieties to choose from. We also have row cover, fencing, irrigation supplies and other tools. We are taking orders for seedlings this year and anticipate doing several plant sales - late April and early May.  
 
Thank you for helping us grow capital!

We raised $200 for the Michelson School! Gardener Tim and the kids are happy to have the extra funds as they prepare the soil and get ready for the planting season.

If you still meant to sign up but haven't - you still can! It's not too late to join the effort to help us raise capital and raise the tunnel houses at the same time!

Read more.... 

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.

Spring 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!

 

Asparagus is the star of the show again. This week's comes from Full Belly Farm. Many customers report that their favorite are the large fat stems - ours too!  

 

Green Garlic won't be around much longer - so get it while you can!    

 

Snow Peas - the taste of spring in a pea. Green and crunchy - they are a welcome treat raw and sauteed with asparagus (see recipe below). 

 

Strawberries are trickling in and we are lucky to have a few this week. Rain is the worst enemy of these tender sweet morsels and I can only imagine how incredibly frustrating it must be to be a strawberry farmer during a rainy spring period! 

   

 

 

RECIPES

Have a great recipe that you'd like to share - we'd love to publish it in the newsletter!

Shaved Asparagus and Parmesan Salad
(From Full Belly Farm's recipe archive)
The asparagus in this salad is raw -- and you may be surprised at how delicious it is after marinating in the vinaigrette.
1 fresh onion, diced fine
2 Tablespoons champagne vinegar
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
Salt
1/3 cup olive oil
3/4-lb asparagus
Pepper Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 

Macerate the onions for 15 minutes in the vinegar, lemon juice and a little salt. Whisk in the olive oil. 
Snap off the tough bottom ends of the asparagus spears if there are any. With a mandolin (or possibly a sharp vegetable peeler if you don't have a mandolin), very carefully shave each asparagus spear into long, thin ribbons. Put the shaved asparagus in a salad bowl and season with salt and pepper. Dress lightly with the vinaigrette. 
Using the vegetable peeler or a sharp paring knife, shave large curls of parmesan over each serving. 

 

 

ASPARAGUS & SNOW PEA SAUTE 

8 spears of asparagus
1/2 pound of snow peas
1 shallot, finely diced
2 TBS olive oil
Salt & pepper
2 TBS Soy or Tamari sauce
Ginger

Slice the asparagus spears on a diagonal. De-stem the snow peas leaving them whole. Heat up olive oil to medium temperature. Add the chopped ginger and shallots, sauting for a few minutes, then add the asparagus and snow peas, cooking for a few minutes. Add a little water to braise, careful not to overcook. Finally add the soy sauce to finish. Serve over rice.
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.