Wheatsville Co-op Austin, TX

[Dan Gillotte <gm AT wheatsville.com>]

Hi folks,

this week, scroll down and find out more about:

Coffee with the Board!

Tomato, Tomahto...

New items and department news you can use including the best sausage ever!

Recipes

Coffee with board- iced, even!

This Saturday from 10-noon under the awning, sample some coffee and other treats while you talk to your board about Bylaws, the store and transformation of society. We'll even have some of our super-fine Iced Coffee available!

You say tomato, they say tomato advisory in affect...

You may have heard that there is a brouhaha right now about tomatoes. Here is the statement that we have up in the store right now based on our understanding of what's happening:

"The FDA and CDC have stated that since April a number of reported cases of Salmonella occurring in New Mexico and Texas appear to be linked to the consumption of certain types of raw red tomatoes and products containing raw red tomatoes. The specific type and source of tomatoes are not yet known, but it is believed that raw red plum, red Roma, or round red tomatoes may be the cause. Tomatoes that have not been implicated include cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes with the vine still attached and home-grown tomatoes.

In New Mexico and Texas, until the source of the implicated tomatoes is determined, the CDC has advised:

persons with increased risk of severe infection including infants, elderly persons, and those with impaired immune systems should not eat raw Roma or red round tomatoes other than those sold attached to the vine or grown at home, and thank those sold attached to the vine or grown at home, 

and persons who want to reduce their risk of Salmonella infection can avoid consuming raw Roma or red round tomatoes other than those sold attached to the vine or grown at home."

The good news? We have lots of incredible local tomatoes from our friends at Green Gate Farms and Liberty Hill Farm! These are delicious and delightful and should not be shied away from! 

Please don't let the scary news keep you from eating safe and wonderful local farm or home-grown tomatoes!

Fresh in the deli!

Happy June from your Wheatsville Deli! It’s a new month and we have lots of goodies busting out all over our deli for you.

Blackened Pepper Salsa, made with fire-roasted jalapenos, is our new salsa of the month!

Our June smoothie is Wildwood Sunrise, a rosy, cooling blend of raspberry and orange with some organic White Mountain yogurt added for zip!

And be sure to come in soon to try out our two stellar “Fresh in the Deli” items (recipes from our friends at Briarpatch Co-op in Grass Valley, CA), in stock until the 15th: the beautiful Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms, filled with a roasted, flavorful mix of eggplant, bell peppers, yellow squash, zucchini, onions, feta and parmesan, and Insalata Caprese, a refreshing Italian salad of fresh mozzarella, red cherry tomatoes, slivers of red onion, and fresh basil.

Look out for our member coupons for extra savings on the ever-popular Salsa Casera, brand new Wildwood Sunrise smoothie and the amazing Italian Stallion sandwich – a delicious combination of fresh mozzarella, organic P2 pesto and fresh sliced red bell peppers on ciabatta – try it toasted!

 

From the Meat department!

Our Meat department, as always, is delivering great savings on some really awesome high quality  products.

 

Coleman meats are grain-fed and free of chemicals and certified humane.  We think that these are the best Ribeyes in town!

Buy Coleman choice boneless Ribeye steaks and get $1 off with member coupon this month.

 

"Best Sausage Ever!"

Dana, our deli manager loves a brand new sausage from our friends at Richardson's Farm in Rockdale, TX. Look for the big spiral link sausage in the meat case and cook it up for breakfast (or any meal.) Dana enjoyed hers sauteed with bell peppers and onions. "It's a little breakfast-y, but so delicious! It's my favorite sausage OF ALL TIME!" This amazing sausage (and other pork products) are made from pasture-raised hogs fed from grain that they raise ON THEIR OWN FARM! The nice folks at Alexander Family Farms helped to hook us up with the Richardson's and we're so glad that they did! (Thanks KIm!)

Buddy’s chicken is hormone and antibiotic free and raised without cages, with plenty of outdoor access.

This week only we have Buddy’s fryer chicken on sale; whole $2.79lb or cut-up fryer $2.99lb.

 

A wee word from Cheese

Try the Morningland cheese from our cheese department. These cheeses are both organic & raw.   Morningland comes in 3 delicious flavors: Colby, medium sharp cheddar, and goat cheddar. 

 

NEW PRODUCTS IN GROCERY!

 Now, a word from Merchandising Manager, Niki Nash!

We aren’t bringing in many new products these days as we ramp up for the renovation of the store. However, a few managed to win us over and got a coveted place on the shelves. Enjoy!

 

Late July Organic Sandwich Cookies: Vanilla Bean with Green Tea, Dark Chocolate

~Vegan & Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo delicious!

 

Virgil’s Diet Root Beer----Sugar Free (sweetened with Stevia & Xylitol) ~Refreshing and great for those on a sugar-free diet!

 

Honest Foods Maple Almond Crunch Granola Planks ~A whole new kind of crunchy cereal, in plank form!

 

Nana’s Cookie’s---Vegan & Fruit Juice Sweetened! ~Individually wrapped BIG cookies----Double Chocolate, No Wheat Chocolate Chip, No Gluten Lemon, No Gluten Ginger

 

Clif Kid Organic Twisted Fruit: Sour Apple, Strawberry, Mixed Berry

~These are already a HUGE hit with the kiddos!

 

Simply Organic Sweet Basil Pesto Mix

~A ‘Basilicious’ easy-to-make mix---just add water and olive oil!

 

NuNaturals MoreFiber Baking Blend

~add to any baking recipe to increase the fiber content and reduce the sugar

 

Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Whole Grain Teff

~Nutritious & tasty!

 

Preserve Plateware (Dishwasher safe)

~Reusable, Recycled, Recyclable and PURPLE!

 

Preserve Cutlery (8 forks, 8 knives, 8 spoons)

~All about recycling!

In the Bulk Aisle.....

 

Hey y’all, Go Take a Hike!

 

As you head out to the Greenbelt (or soccer game or bike ride or garden) this weekend, take some of our bulk “Go Take a Hike” trail mix to keep you energized!

It’s a yummy combination of 100% Organic Cashews, Golden Raisins, Mulberries, Pistachios, Goji Berries, & Cacao Nibs.

 

In the Beer Aisle.....

 

Wheatsville’s Beer of the Week

Hey! It’s suddenly HOT outside, which is why our beer of the week is: New Belgium’s Skinny Dip

Skinny Dip is a full-bodied beer at the light end of the spectrum. Cascade hops frolic with a hint of lime leaf, making Skinny Dip a bright refreshing “splash” for the summer.

Pick up a six pack for $7.49. Cool!

Now the latest from our Chill Buyer, Mike Crissey.

 

DAIRY COOLER DISCOS

 

We're continuing to clean out the dairy cooler to give ourselves more room for our fastest selling items. Here's the latest list of products on their ways out.

 

White Mountain Dips -- Onion, Original and Vegetarian Barbeque (8 oz). Sales of these local products seem to have been steadily declining for months and we've been slipping as much as we've been selling of these particular flavors. We'll continue to carry the other White Mountain sauces and dips. Until they're gone, the White Mountain onion, original and vegetarian bbq tubs will be 70 cents off ($2.49, reg. $3.19).

 

White Wave Baked Tofu -- Italian and Tomato-Basil. We've been keeping a watch on these flavored blocks of tofu for a little while. While they were my introduction to tofu years ago when I first started eating natural foods, sales have been sluggish compared to our non-flavored tofus. Supplies are short, but these baked tofus will be on sale for 80 cents off ($2.49, reg. $3.29) until they're gone.

 

LightLife Smart Bacon. It appears there's just not enough demand for two kinds of fake bacon. We have been carrying both of Lightlife's fake bacons, Smart Bacon and Fakin' Bacon, but the latter has been outselling the Smart Bacon since we moved it out of the freezer and into the dairy case. Smart Bacon will be $1 off ($2.49, reg. $3.49) until we sell the last of it.

 

Sass Salad Dressings. We try to support our local products as much as we can here at Wheatsville, but Sass sales have been sluggish. We sell much more of the (also local) Mother's Cafe Tamari dressing and Sass' Sesame-Garlic dressing that we do the rest of the Sass line combined. We'll be paring the all of the Sass dressings down to give their Sesame-Garlic more room in the coming weeks. They'll be on sale for 80 cents off ($2.99, reg. $3.79).

 

BRING IT ON HOME!

 

On behalf of our local egg farmers, I'd like to thank you all for being so diligent with bringing back the Styrofoam egg cartons. Both Henry Ludwig of H&J Ranch (the white cartons) and Kim Alexander of Alexander Family Farms (the pink cartons) save about a dime each time you bring one back to be used again. Thanks again guys.

 

PLAY BALL! BOOKWHEATS VS. WATERLOO.

 

Wheatsville has teamed up with Bookpeople to play in a six-team alternative softball league with other independent Austin businesses, including The Chronicle, KO-OP Radio, Waterloo Records and Emo's. Come cheer on BookWheats (aka The Filthy Animals) as we have our season opener against Waterloo Records on Wednesday evening at 8:00 pm at Kreig Field field #4. Last fall, BookWheats rallied against Waterloo to win a four-team tournament.

 

More cool recipes from our friend, Wheatsville Owner Robbie Nelson!

 “Meatless” Meatloaf

 

1 entire package of Boca Meatless Ground burger (12 oz)

½ small green pepper

2 stalks celery

½ medium onion

1 teas olive oil

2 eggs, or equivalent egg substitute (can use Egg Replacer for vegan dish)

¼ cup dried breadcrumbs

1 TBLS milk (leave out for vegan dish)

1 teas Cajun seasoning (your favorite brand)

¼ cup ketchup

¼ teas ground chipotle chili powder

 

-Defrost “meatless” in large mixing bowl and set aside.

-Chop green pepper, celery, and onion in food processor until evenly chopped.

-Saute vegetables in olive oil in non-stick skillet over low/medium heat until vegetables are soft but not brown.  Set aside about 10 minutes to cool.

-Add veggies, eggs or egg substitute, milk, breadcrumbs, and Cajun seasoning to the meatless.  Stir well to completely combine ingredients.

-Pack mixture into greased loaf pan (I use a ceramic loaf pan).  Flatten the top with a spoon.

-Mix ketchup and chipotle powder. Spread evenly over meatless mixture.

-Bake in 350 degree oven 45 min – 1 hr.

-Let cool 5 minutes, cut into 1” slices in loaf pan and carefully remove to serve (meatloaf is slightly soft when it comes out of the oven but firms up as it cools down).

 

When Fantastic Foods stopped making their Tofu Scrambler mix, it put me in a real bind as I used that product almost every weekend.  So I looked around for some recipes that I could make myself, made my own modifications and came up with this one.

 

Breakfast Tofu Scramble

 

1 lb firm tofu, drained & crumbled

1 teas olive oil

¼ teas tumeric

¼ teas curry powder

½ teas cumin

½ teas chili powder

½ teas garlic powder

1 teas onion powder

1 TBLS nutritional yeast

Salt and black pepper to taste

4 chopped green onions, including green part

1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (optional)

 

Heat olive oil in non-stick skillet.  Add crumbled tofu and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, over medium heat.  Blend next 8 ingredients in a small bowl, then add to tofu.  Stir to coat and cook about 1 minute until spices are aromatic.  Add green onions and jalapeno and stir into mixture, cook about 2-3 more minutes, then serve.

 

This makes a great filling for breakfast tacos, just add some shredded soy cheese to a warm tortilla and fill with tofu mixture and top with Wheatsville’s Salsa Casera.

 

Leftovers keep well in the fridge for two or three days.

 

I hope that you have a really awesome week!

Dan Gillotte

GM and e-mail guy!