Wheatsville Co-op Austin, TX

["Dan gillotte" <dangillotte AT gmail.com>]

Hello Wheatsville friends!

I hope that you are well this fine November week!

This e-mail is chock a block full of food and beverage! Just like your co-op!

Scroll down for:

Veggie chili cook-off this weekend!

Refrigerated and frozen treats and staples for holiday baking and feasting!

Fresh from the deli!

Cheese and meat and beer!

Vegetarian Chili Cook off this weekend!

Our friends at the Lone Star Vegetarian Network and the Vegetarian Network of Austin are hosting this annual fun event and this Sunday from 12-4 at the Historic Austin Farmer's Market 6701 Burnet Rd. Taste and judge the best vegetarian (vegan even!) chili in Texas! If you go, you could win one of the door prizes, a Wheatsville gift card!

For more information http://www.lsvn.org/

Here's the latest from our Chill Buyer, Mike Crissey:

Bakers, preheat your ovens! We have some new seasonal items coming to the dairy cooler and frozen section along with the return of some seasonal favorites.

 

Every get-together needs a cookie table and Ice Box Bakery is here to help. We'll be bringing three flavors – chocolate chip, sugar and ginger spice – of Ice Box Bakery's slice-and-bake cookie dough into the refrigerated section. All of the Boulder, Co.-based company's doughs are made with rGBH-free milk and organic cage-free eggs. Grab a tube for $4.49. You can find out more about Ice Box Bakery at http://www.iceboxbakery.com/.

 

Keep your eyes on the dairy cooler for the seasonal return of a couple of baking staples – Earth Balance Buttery Sticks ($3.39) and Organic Valley Whipping Cream ($2.99/pint). Both of these items disappeared from the dairy cooler this summer as we streamlined our back stock for our ongoing renovation. We'll keep them in stock throughout the holiday season. Meanwhile, Organic Valley Salted and Unsalted Butter are also on sale ($4.49/lb.)

 

Just because it's the holidays, you shouldn't forget about the eggs and milk we get each week from our local suppliers. They are the freshest ingredients you could use for your holiday meals. We have three great local egg choices (Alexander Family Farm, H&J Ranch and Vital Farm) and great dairy products from Remember When Dairy and Wateroak Farms. You could also try substituting White Mountain yogurt for a tangy substitute to milk when baking or cooking.

 

You're not going to forget the nog, are you? Traditional and vegetarian nogs are coming back. Just like last year, we'll have Organic Valley Egg Nog ($3.99/quart) and WhiteWave Silk Nog ($2.79/ quart). If nog isn't your favorite holiday drink, try the WhiteWave Pumpkin Spice ($2.79/quart).

 

It's once again Tofurky time. We'll have both the rice and garlic Stuffed Tofurky Roast ($7.99, 28 oz.), the vegetarian's turkey since 1995, and Tofurky Giblet & Mushroom Gravy ($3.29/14 oz.). For folks who want a bird-free feast, we'll have that too. The Tofurky Vegetarian Feast ($16.99) comes with the roast, the gravy and sides of the Cranberry Apple Potato Dumplings, Wild Rice Stuffing and Tofurky Jurky Wishstix. The feast serves four people and cooks up in about an hour. (Dan says that the Tofurky roasts are such a good deal, that they can be a dinner any time, not just for Thanksgiving day! Just remember to thaw it for 24 hours first.)

 

 

Fresh from our kitchen to yours!

It's the start of a new month and the Wheatsville Deli has tons of new, fresh items to tantalize your tastebuds! The brightly colored Crimson Bulgur Pilaf adds nutty, chewy bulgur wheat to the powerhouse combination of fresh kale and tender beets. Our Zucchini Falafel are fried crispy on the outside, with an interior of fresh shredded zucchini mixed with lightly spiced, mashed garbanzo beans. 

In addition to these newbies, our Fresh In The Deli recipes this month come from the Sno-Isle Natural Foods Co-op in Everett,Washington: Wild Rice with Apricots is a delicious and seasonal salad pairing hearty wild rice with sweet, chewy dried apricots and cranberries, plus crunchy almonds and celery, all tossed in a garlic-Dijon dressing. The simply-named Kale Salad is not as simple as it sounds: it is shredded raw kale tossed with meaty sautéed mushrooms, salty feta cheese and slivers of sweet sun-dried tomatoes in a balsamic-herb vinaigrette. 

Our salsa of the month is a staff and owner favorite: Sweet Mango Fire, a balanced blend of sweet mangoes, apples and caramelized onions with eye-watering fresh habanero peppers – try some on a taco or grab some to take home as a relish for a main course of fish or pork. 

In keeping with the flavors of the season, the Wheatsville Deli's delicious smoothie of the month is Pumpkin Pie, a frosty blend of pumpkin, soymilk, graham crackers, cinnamon, nutmeg and bananas. The case is full of all your old favorites too, so come on in – be sure to let us know what you think of our new dishes!

Did someone say PIE?!?!

Also, don't forget to pre-order your holiday pies by November 15^th! Just stop in or call the Co-op to fill out an order form!

 

Words from Greg in the land of cheese!

Hello every one. We here in the Wheatsville Cheese Department have a wonderful selection of cheeses, but did you know that we also carry fresh pastas. These pastas are made locally at the Pasta Co. (just a few miles away! Talk about reducing food miles!)  Right now we carry 3 selections of pasta. These are the mild jalapeno fettucini, garlic basil rigatoni  and the five herb farfalle. These can be served with a pasta sauce, or tossed with sundried tomatoes, basil and one of the fine fetas that we carry. If you like a nice pesto we carry a big selection of pestos made locally at P/2 Organic Farm. Currently we carry their sweet basil pesto, thai pesto, mixed basil pesto, lemon basil pesto, parsley pesto, arugula pesto, cilantro pesto, black olive pesto, purple basil pesto and spinach pesto. If you like an Alfredo sauce to go with your fettucini we carry P/2's Alfredo sauce. You can top it off with a freshly grated parmesan. I reccomend the parmigiano- reggiano. Mangia!

 

 

The word from Bryan in Meatsville

Hey folks, Just a reminder Wheatsville has started to take pre-orders for thanksgiving turkeys. Early orders placed before November 15^th will get a bonus .15 cents off per pound. Large sizes are in limited supply so get your order in now if you need anything over 16lbs. Call (Bryan) for details on large birds.    

Also this month we have great member coupons to help you this month grocery bill. We know that November is heavy month for rich food, I though I'd light up your dinners with some great seafood specials. This month receive 50 cents off any of our sustainable seafood options which is pretty much all we carry. Sockeye salmon, tilapia, black cod, crusted trout filets, arctic cod, smoked salmon, mahi-mahi, and all fish brother smoked salmon.

If awesome specials on seafood wasn't enough we're also making breakfast a little easier. We have both Pederson's apple bacon and breakfast sausage on special; with member coupon get 30 cents off each.

This is a simple stuffing recipe that makes stuffing for 6 people.

 

Apple and Sausage Stuffing Recipe

Serves/Makes:   6

Ingredients:
1 pound pork breakfast sausage
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion -- chopped
4 stalks celery -- diced
2 apples
2 cloves garlic -- minced
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning, or more to taste
12 cups country-style stuffing mix or multigrain bread, cubed
2 cups chicken broth -- or more as needed
Salt and pepper -- to taste

Directions:

Spray a large skillet with cooking spray. Brown the sausage until cooked through. Remove from heat, transfer to a large mixing bowl and crumble sausage. 

Melt the butter in the skillet and saute the onion for 2 to 3 minutes, or until translucent. Add the celery, apples, garlic and poultry seasoning, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often. 

Add the apple-vegetable mixture to the bowl of sausage, along with the stuffing mix or bread; mix well. Moisten with the chicken broth and season with salt and pepper. Cool completely before stuffing the turkey.

 In the Beer Aisle with $hane!

New! Fat Tire Amber Ale now in CANS!

If you love New Belgium's Fat Tire (who doesn't?) it is time to rejoice! Fat Tire is now available at Wheatsville in cans. The cans, which are 100% recyclable, feature Fat Tire's original watercolor artwork. And for those beer lovers worried about Fat Tire's taste changing in the can, fear not. "We took a unique can-conditioning approach and its flavor was not compromised in any way," says Brian Simpson, spokesperson for New Belgium. "We ran a series of tests using our friends at Oskar Blues' canning line and there was no flavor differential. In New Belgium's native Colorado, can sales have exceeded expectations as locals embrace the ability to take Fat Tire to places where bottles are not an option. Distributing cans also helps lighten New Belgium's carbon footprint by saving fuel during transport by due to lighter weight loads." Fat Tire cans are available only in 12-packs and Wheatsville's got em' for $15.99. Let us know how you like them!

Have a super great week!

Dan Gillotte

Wheatsville GM and e-mail guy!