Wheatsville Co-op Austin, TX

[Dan gillotte <dangillotte AT gmail.com>]

Hello Wheatsville friends and fans!

I hope that you all are having a great start to July!

We're excited because progress keeps being made on our project. We are just weeks away from final completion! Within a week or two, our parking lot will be complete and we'll gain back many many parking spots and have the most we have had here in over a year! Around July 21st-23rd we will be relocating the bulk department into its new location and we'll be opening up our new deli food bar, too! The food bar is a combination salad, hot foods and olive and marinated goodies bar. I just know that we're going to love it! Also at that time, our new Cheese island will be installed and the meat department will expand in its case, too!

It's still best to come as early or as late as you can to avoid  parking issues. The lot is pretty manageable up until about 10 am and after 8pm. We are adding flaggers on the next two sundays to help with traffic flow. 

Party like construction is over
Please save the date, Saturday August 15th from 12-4 for our end of construction party! We'll have a REALLY big grand opening party later, like un October, but we also wanted to officially acknowledge the end of the project with something fun and as a HUGE thank you for all of your incredible patience and support!

Show us your love and Help us win Best Neighborhood Grocery
We would love to win Best Neighborhood Grocery in the Chronicle’s Best of Austin poll again this year and YOU can help! http://www.austinchronicle.com/feedback/bestof/09/ VOTING ENDS Tuesday, July 21, 2009.


Coffee with the board
This Saturday from 10am-noon under our new awning on our new patio furniture! Enjoy our delicious iced coffee and other snacks while chatting with the board about our co-op, the future, the weather, and/ or the transformation of society toward cooperation! When was the last time you had the chance to have coffee with the board of Whole Foods or HEB?

BREAKING MALLOW NEWS
Wheatsville has found the Holy Grail of vegan/ vegetarian delicacies: Handmade, Air-Puffed, Vegan Marshmallows!
 
Straight outta Chicago, these marshmallows are made in a dedicated vegan facility using guaranteed vegan sugar and no gelatin.
 
Use them in desserts (especially S’mores), as a topping or eat them straight from the bag. They have a superb vanilla flavor and give you the sense that ‘this is what marshmallows are supposed to taste like!’
 
Let us know how you like them and please share your recipes with us if you come up with something tasty!

From the Board of Directors Nominations Committee:

Did you know that the nominations process for the upcoming Fall Election of the Board of Directors is in full swing here at Wheatsville?  We’re looking for candidates who love Wheatsville, care about its future, work well with others, and can devote a few hours a month to being active board members.  You can get involved in our community and develop empowering ideas about how we can each help transform society.

If you’d like more information, stop by Wheatsville’s hospitality desk to pick up a candidate application packet or download it here: 

Here’s a list of some important dates coming up in the next few days and weeks. We look forward to seeing you at these events:

July 13th, 6:00 pm -- Orientation for Prospective Board Candidates (at 3105 Guadalupe, the building just North of Wheatsville).
July 25th, 1:00 pm -- Orientation for Prospective Board Candidates (at 3105 Guadalupe).
July 28th, 6:00pm -- Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors (at 3105 Guadalupe).

Contact the board’s Nominations Committee to learn more!
nominations AT wheatsville.coop

Ingrid Devilliers, Mike Crissey, Bob Kinney, Rose Marie Klee

In The Grocery Aisle
Eldorado Artesian Spring Water: We’re very excited to now have a water option that is much more affordable than we’ve had in the past. Wheatsville now offers Eldorado Artesian Spring Water for ninety-nine cents a gallon. This isn’t even a sale price. At a time of year when water is an especially important commodity, it’s nice to see that a company like Eldorado can provide an affordable, high-quality product to fit the need. To read about Eldorado Springs, and how this water travels from the atmosphere to the bottle, go to http://www.eldoradosprings.com/?action="water
Justin Merrifield, Grocery Buyer

NEW in Body Care
Hugo Naturals
Vegan Bar Soap, Lotion and Shower Gels
Natural Shampoo, Conditioner and Deodorants
Lotion, Shower Gel, Shampoo and Conditioners available in travel sizes
 
NEW in Supplements
Natren
Megadophilus, Bifido Factor, Digesta-Lac and Gy-Na-Tren
 
Boiron Homeopathics
We now have the Top 42 Sellers of the 30c single Blue Tubes
12 Care Kits: Allergy, Sinus, Cold, Coldsore, Kids First Aid, Summers First Aid, Jet Lag, Leg Cramps, Stress,
Hot Flash, Quit Smoking and Quit Snoring
Also Gasalia, Acidil, Avenoc tablets, ointment and suppositories, Sedalia, Quietude and Optique 1
 
Prince of Peace
Ginkgo + Endurance Formula, Green Tea + Panax Ginseng and Red Ginseng +Royal Jelly
All come in boxes of 30 .34oz bottles
 
NEW and on SALE!
New Chapter
Probiotic Berry Green  180grams for $38.99
E & Selenium Food Complex 30 caps for $9.99
Ginger Wonder Syrup 4oz for $11.99
Nancy and the Health Team

Beat the heat with a perfect summer aperitif
Looking for a refreshing wine to beat the Texas heat? Then look no further because Gazela Vihno Verde from Quinta de Azevedo located in northwest Portugal is the perfect summer aperitif. An irresistible bright fruity white wine. The bouquet is a lively mix of citrus and floral aromas. Soft flavors of apricot and grapefruit are perked up by the sparkling bubbles and balanced by delightful crisp acidity and strong minerality. At only $5.99 a bottle this wine is  the perfect  picnic wine.

The “gold standard” of alcoholic beers are here! 
By popular demand, we are pleased to introduce Clausthaler Premium non-alcoholic malt beverage, imported from Germany.
$1.49 each in the singles area!
Shane

Summertime and the living is Produce!
Tomatoes
If you have been to a farmer’s market in the last few weeks, you’ve probably  seen a myriad of tomatoes, squash, eggplant and okra hanging around. We’ve been fortunate to get some great local tomatoes this year from a few different local producers: Tecolote, Johnson’s Backyard Garden, and Green Gate Farms. Currently we are carrying some really nice tomatoes from Tecolote. We also have excellent assorted heirloom tomato varieties that aren’t locally sourced. Try the pints of sun gold tomatoes for a savory and sweet treat. Truly amazing. Eating tomatoes in season is the best way to judge true tomato flavor. Caution: eating seasonal tomatoes may ruin your tomato palette for the rest of the year.
 
Local Stuff and Things
Right now we have some great local produce for you. Local organic okra from Guinea Hills Farm, tomatoes from Tecolote, Texas Naturals organic summer squash and zucchini, local Asian eggplant from Indian Mills Farm and organic green bell peppers, watermelons and basil from Buena Tierra. Texas peaches continue to be delicious and have been a customer and staff favorite so far this summer.
 
White Nectarines
We will be running a special for the next few days on white nectarines at $2.29 a pound. White nectarines are my personal favorite stone fruit. The flavor is more floral than that of a regular nectarine and the juiciness factor is about an 8 out of 10. Get’em while they last!
 
Red Bananas
If you read the Breeze regularly, then you may have read the piece I wrote in the December issue titled Yes, We Have No Bananas: Our Impending Reality? In this article I interviewed the author of a book about losing our current banana to a future blight. One of the suggestions that the author, Dan Koeppel , made regarding saving the Cavendish variety(our yellow ubiquitous friend) was to diversify the banana selections available. This will create more demand for Big Banana  to grow a diversified crop that will survive the blight rather than a mono-crop that is easier to kill. In an effort to do our part, we have started to carry organic red bananas in addition to our organic and conventional Cavendish selection. Red bananas taste very different than the Cavendish; they have a much creamier, firmer texture, and have a flavor notes of pear and soft fruit. They take a while to ripen and are about twice the cost of the Cavendish but are completely worth it. As we expand our department in the coming months we will continue to look for more varieties of bananas to further diversify our selection.
 
Social Media and Fruits and Veggies
The produce department is on both Twitter and facebook. Follow or friend us if your are into those types of things. Updates are mostly about products and specials.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wheatsvilleduce
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Austin-TX/Wheatsville-Food-Co-op-Produce-Department/171671855654?ref=ts
Johnny
 
From the Deli
BIG MUFFINS ARE BACK!!! That’s right, due to popular demand, we have brought back the GIANT WHEATSVILLE MUFFINS of bakery days past! Many vegan and several gluten-free muffins, all baked with mostly organic ingredients, are yours for the choosing, and cost only $2.49 each!! Now that’s a handful of breakfast for a pocketful of change!
And if muffins aren’t your breakfast bag, don’t forget we’re now making from scratch our own buttery, flaky buttermilk scones for just $1.99 each! Come on in and try one of our many flavors, both sweet and savory, like Double-Ginger, Glazed Cinnamon-Raisin, or Lemon!

Lots of favorites abound in the Deli case this week, like cool and creamy Red Curry Tofu, balsamic-marinated Grilled Portabellas, Indian-spiced Ambur Chicken Biryani, naturally-sweet Lively Beets & Carrots, golden and sweet Curry Lime Chicken Salad, tasty and dense Paprika-Rubbed Grilled Yellowfin Tuna, basil-flecked Insalata Caprese, and crispy Risotto Cakes! Of course, you’ll find all the standards here too, like Popcorn Tofu, Eggless Egg Salad, Tempeh Chili, Tuna Salad, Southern Fried Tofu, Thai Pasta Salad, Chicken Salad… the choices are endless!!

Don't forget a grab and go salad to tide you over until the salad bar gets here!

You still have plenty of time left this month to enjoy our very popular Fresh in the Deli co-op share recipe: Greek Roasted Potato Salad from St. Paul, MN’s Mississippi Market! It’s a tasty and cool dish of oven-roasted Yukon gold potatoes tossed with Mediterranean ingredients like sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, fresh spinach, basil, and feta cheese in a red wine vinaigrette! Both light and filling, it’s perfect for a hot day!

On sale in your Wheatsville Deli this month is a new favorite lunchtime treat – our WVBLT! This toasty sandwich is stuffed with six slices of tasty Boar’s Head bacon, fresh Greenleaf lettuce, sliced vine-ripened tomatoes, and a smear of mayonnaise on Rudi’s organic sourdough! An instant staff favorite, this fabulous sandwich is on sale for only $3.99! That’s 50 cents off the normal price of $4.49!
Also on sale in the Deli this month are grab’n’go items found in our self-serve case: The large, 16 ounce bottles of our beloved Cashew-Tamari Dressing are only $3.99 this month, lowering them from $4.49, and our Deluxe Green Salads topped with tender slices of our Buddy’s All-Natural, Grilled Lemon-Pepper Chicken, usually $4.99, are available this month for only $4.49! So come on in to fill your belly and take advantage of your savings!
Dana and Merilee

From greg in the land of Cheese
 
I had a few inquiries into grass-fed cheeses.  We do carry a cheese made from the milk of grass fed cows, Kerrygold’s Irish Dubliner. All of Kerrygold’s cheeses are made from the milk of grass fed cows.  The Irish have a long tradition of raising their free ranging cows to graze on the emerald grasses.
“Complex. Worldly. Somewhat sweet, somewhat nutty. All of these words just as easily describe our Dubliner cheese as they do the city of Dublin itself. So it isn't hard to see where we drew our inspiration.
Dubliner is a robust, aged cow's milk cheese with a bit of a hard texture similar to a Cheddar. In one bite you can taste the diversity of flavors - from nutty to sharp to sweet. What might seem ambiguous is actually a well-balanced mix of cheese cultures and naturally occurring amino acids. This diversity pays off in its ability to be served alongside a full-bodied Cabernet, a freshly pulled pint of Guinness, or simply melted between a few slices of crusty brown bread.”  -From the Kerrygold site.
The cheese department, for the month of July, have some items on sale. Organic Valley Cottage Cheese  is on sale for $4.29, regularly $4.99. Organic Valley Cream Cheese tubs are on sale for $2.49, regularly $2.99. Organic Valley Shredded Parmesan is on sale $3.69, regularly $4.69. Also Morningland Organic Raw Colby is on sale for $7.99, regularly $8.99  and  Pureluck Feta is on sale for $9.99, regularly $16.49. The Morningland and Pureluck Feta are on a “while supplies last basis”.
Greg

From Bryan, the Butcher
We’re getting close to the end folks. Just a little bit more. We’re rolling out some of the best price offerings to ever in the meat market at Wheatsville. Right now we are passing on a great manufacturer price from the folks at Niman. We’re offering Niman ranch USDA choice boneless beef Ribeyes for $14.99lb that’s 4 dollars off regular price of $18.99lb, and $6 dollars off the price since the first of the year, wow. Don’t miss this deal. These Ribeyes are unbelievably tender, juicy, and consistently restaurant quality beef. Very soon, look for great new (permanent) lower price on Niman 85/15 ground chuck.
 
We have more specials in the meat freezer. Look for Organic Prairie product specials; organic grass-fed ground beef $7.49 lb (regular $7.99lb), organic ground pork $5.99lb (regular $6.69lb), & organic beef patties $6.29lb (regular $6.99lb). Whew, that’s a lot of great prices on Organic Prairie products. It would be a good time to fill your freezer, on the cheap! But we’re still not done with the low prices. There are still World catch coconut shrimp and scampi shrimp in the freezer, there on a buy one get one free special. (sorry not mix-matching on these) Also Henry & Lisa’s wild Alaskan salmon burgers are on special for $6.29 (regular price $6.99lb). I had some of these for the 4th and they were great, and quick & easy to cook.
 Stay cool people! See you soon. Bryan
 
 I hope that you have a great week!

Dan Gillotte
Wheatsville GM and e-mail guy