Wheatsville Co-op Austin, TX

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

Hi Wheatsville friends,

Scroll down for:
Tweeting
Expansion update
Patronage rebate!!!
Eat local
Produce goodness
Deli is your holiday HQ
Words from the meat and cheese departments!


Tweet tweet
I'm
pleased to announce that Wheatsville is sticking our toe into the world
of Twitter. If you don't know, Twitter is a web phenomenon that allows
people to keep track of their favorite friends businesses and
organizations though short frequent updates. www.twitter.com/wheatsville
is ours. I'm still figuring out how we'll use it, but I'll try and keep
it as lively as these weekly entries. If you have ideas on how we
should use twitter, then e-mail or twitter them to me!

And the walls went tumbling up!
You may have noticed that
the walls of the addition are almost completely complete! Hopefully, on
Friday, we'll have the concrete poured in the last f feet and be done
with the exterior walls for the majority of the main addition. Then,
we'll start putting in the structural steel and the roof and stuff
shooting to have he whole space "dried-in" meaning covered completely
by a complete roof by the first of January. 

On Monday, you'll probably start to see some construction begin on
the overhangs on the patio side and Guadalupe side of the store. This
shouldn't impact people too much, but you may find the bike rack moved
to the patio and the sidewalk may temporarily be shrunk.

Overall, I am pleased with the way the project is going. Hopefully, you are not finding it negatively impacting you. We seem to be on track for completion sometime in May!

Rebate for you?
As you may have read in the Breeze, we will be giving back another patronage rebate this year and it's happening this weekend at the co-op! Friday, Saturday and Sunday will find the accounting team at the co-op handing out rebate checks to eligible owners! To find out if you might be eligible go here: http://wheatsville.coop/rebatefaq08.html
Wow, our own little economic stimulus checks straight from your co-op business!

What's Local Right Now?
Currently
in the produce department, our local selection is a bit sparse, but
we're looking forward to more local produce in the next month or so.
We're currently stocking local curly kale, red kale, lacinato kale and
collard greens, from out in Buda, as well as sprouts from New World,
and button, crimini, and portobello mushrooms from Kitchen Pride. 

I'm excited about a new addition to our local produce selection,
Pure Luck organic herbs. You may be familiar with Pure Luck from their
goat cheese, which is amazing, but this family farm from Dripping
Springs, also offers a great selection of organic herbs. We are
currently carrying organic chervil, sage, rosemary, thyme, marjoram,
oregano, dill, garlic chives, and mint, all for the affordable price of
$1.99 a bunch.

Season's Greetings (and eating)!

We'll be getting
fresh citrus in the coming weeks as the season develops. Winter
squashes are still here, and are delicious. If you haven't tried any of
them yet, come out and pick some up. They are great cut in half and
baked. Some butter or olive oil and the seasoning of your choice can
make these a quick and easy side dish, or a main for your next savory
seasonal meal. Concorde pears are still delicious, and go well in
salads, especially when paired with arugula and English Stilton. Yum.
Persimmons are back! Both varieties, Fuyu, and Hachiya are available
for $1.79 a piece. Let them get really soft before consuming, like
really, really soft. If you don't do this, your face will implode due
to their astringency, you should avoid this.

Cider

We've got some really nice organic Apple Cider
available for $5.99 a quart. This cider has a nice fresh taste, and can
be mulled (like wine), and is delicious when mixed with some spiced
rum. This makes a great Holiday libation, try it at your next Holiday
party, serve next to the egg nog!

Your deli is rocking out the hearty foods!

Now is the
time for warm sandwiches! While the Wheatsville Deli is always more
than happy to toast any sandwich you like, we have some special hot
sandwiches that will knock your woolen socks off! Our Catfish Jack Po'Boy is served on a hoagie roll with our spicy, homemade chipotle mayo. The ever-popular vegan Popcorn Tofu Po'Boy showcases our unique batter-fried tofu nuggets on a hoagie roll with our creamy cashew-tamari dressing. Both our Italian sandwich, made with two kinds of salami, ham and provolone, and our Italian Stallion,
made with fresh mozzarella, organic basil pesto and red bell peppers,
can be heated up until meltingly delicious and splashed with oil and
vinegar on ciabatta. And, as always, all of our sandwiches come with
your choice of eight fresh veggie toppings!
And to celebrate the season, our bakery has a new holiday item gracing the case as well – a bold, dark Spicy Gingerbread Cake made with Guinness Stout! Come in and try something new!
 
Get in your catering orders early for the holiday season!
We have yummy crudite trays and meat and cheese trays for your holiday
parties. We also have a creamy Very Berry Xmas smoothie, a blend of
strawberries and raspberries with a splash of soymilk. Remember, we are
always happy to make any of our case salads by the lb. for your New
Years shindigs!
 
Christmas is just around the corner and the
Deli will be overflowing with holiday dishes for you to take home:
Roasted Fall Root Vegetables, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Vegan Cornbread
Stuffing, Festive Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans with Mushrooms,
Leek-Roasted Carrots and Tempeh, Cranberry-Orange Relish, and Vegan
Mushroom Gravy. We will also have appetizer spreads like Walnut Pecan
Pate and Garlic Chive Cheddar Cheese Balls on hand – just add crackers
or crudités!
 
Plus, our bakery will be making homemade Vegan
Rosemary Biscuits for your holiday table, as well as five kinds of pie:
Vegan Pumpkin, Classic Pumpkin, Pecan, Vegan Coconut Cream and Vegan
Chocolate Peanut Butter. Be sure to come by before the holiday and pick
up all of your favorites!
 
From the land of cheese
Brie
is a soft cow's milk cheese that originated in the Brie region of
France. It has a buttery texture and nutty flavor. Brie is
traditionally made with raw milk and aged for a period of four to five
weeks. Unfortunately government regulation requires that any cheese
made with raw milk has to be aged at least 60 days. So, that means you
have to go to France if you want to eat true Brie. The outside of the
Brie is covered with a white mold (penicillium candidum) and is meant
to be eaten. Brie tend to have a butterfat content around 45%. Then you
have double cream bries like fromage d' affinios that have a butterfat
content around 60% and triple cream bries such as Saint Andres with a
butterfat content of 75%. Brie can be eaten with crackers, or a crusty
bread. Fruits and nuts, like pistachios and pears. A subtle red like a
Pinot Noir or a dry and lively white wine like a nice Champagne, would
make a great accompaniment. Quince paste or fruit preserves could be
served along  with the Brie, bread and wine.
 
Word from the Meat department
Hey
folks lots of good food in the meat case this week. We have new
products from Countryside Meats, a favorite at the farmers market.
Right now we have fresh pasture raised rabbit for $8.99lb average wt.
3-4 pounds each. We has have Countryside meats Whole duck for $9.99lb
frozen. These products are raised on pasture without hormones or
antibiotics. The result in a clean tasting meat that is never gamey.
 
Were
also taking pre-orders on turkey for your Christmas gathering. Grateful
harvest Natural turkeys 8-16lbs $2.99lb and Organic turkeys 8-16lb
$4.49. We'll be taking orders till the 17th of this month.   Grateful
Harvest turkeys are raised on small farms, cage free without the use of
hormones or antibiotics and are free of additives and gluten-free. When
choosing a size of turkey the rule of thumb is 1 pound of turkey per
person, 1/2–3/4 of a pound for kids, plus whatever you want for
leftovers.  Come in or give us a call to order your turkey.  Just ask
for the meat department, we are glad to help.
 
The Right way Roast Turkey
 
One 16 pound turkey
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

For brine:

2 cups kosher salt
8 quarts water

If
brining, dissolve salt in water in a large stock pot. Add turkey and
refrigerate overnight. Remove from brine, rinse and pat dry with paper
towels. Proceed as below.

For stock:
Neck, gizzard and heart from turkey, rinsed and dried
canola oil
1 medium onion cut in half
1 medium carrot
1 stalk celery
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon pepper corns
3 cups chicken stock


3 cups water

Place
a small volume of oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add neck,
gizzard and heart and cook, turning until browned. Add the remaining
stock ingredients and bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered,
for 2 hours, skimming foam from time to time. Strain and set aside.
This can be done well ahead of the rest of the meal.

Roasting turkey:

Rinse inside and out, dry with paper towels
and bring turkey to room temperature, keeping skin covered with a moist
towel to prevent drying. 
Preheat oven to 500 degrees (450 degrees
works nearly as well; cooking times will be slightly longer). Sprinkle
turkey with ground pepper and salt and place into a roasting pan; we
place it directly into the pan, but a rack can be used. Cook, rotating
pan 180 degrees after 1 hour; add 1 -2 cups water or chicken stock to
pan if drippings appear to be turning too dark.  

Check temperature in the thickest part of the thigh at 1 ¾ hours.
Remove from oven when temperature is 170 degrees, about 2 hour's total
cooking time for un-stuffed turkey. Add approximately 30 minutes if you
have stuffed the turkey. Let turkey sit for 30 minutes, during which
the temperature in the thigh should reach 180 degrees.

Gravy:

While turkey is resting, pour fat from roasting pan
and place pan over medium – high heat. Pour stock into pan; boil,
scraping up the browned fond from the pan. Boil until reduced nearly by
half, check and add salt and pepper to taste. Keep hot and serve with
turkey.

This high heat method reliably yields moist flavorful turkey and is
remarkable for its simplicity. Brining is not essential, and plain
chicken broth can be used for making the pan gravy instead of the
giblet stock. Cooking times are short: 3 hours for a 20 pound
un-stuffed turkey, and an amazing 1 hour and 20 minutes for one of 12
pounds, according to Kafka.

Become familiar with high temperature roasting, and you will enjoy
predictable results, simplify holiday cooking and have more time to
enjoy this special time of the year with your family.
 
 I hope that you have a great week/!

Dan Gillotte Wheatsville GM and e-mail guy!