Wheatsville Co-op Austin, TX

[Dan gillotte <dangillotte AT gmail.com>]

Hello Wheatsville friends and fans!

Can you believe that February is almost over! Yowza. This weekend is your last chance to get any of your favorite Co-op Advantage deals for February. But, have no fear, we'll have MORE deals on Monday for our birthday month, March!

We're the proud sponsor of the Austin parks Foundation It's My Park Day coming up next Saturday March 6th. This citywide event will have 3,000 volunteers at 50 neighborhood parks throughout Austin working to make them better! Projcts include tree planting, mulching, weed and invasive plant removal, clean-ups and even ART projects! You can still volunteer at http://austinparks.org/

Scroll down for:
Slow Food Austin Farm Tour
New exciting beer!
You asked for it!
News from Cheese island
Cool Almond Milk
Fish for lent + recipe!

farm tour: Johnson's Backyard Garden 3/6

Johnson’s Backyard Garden Offers Farm-Grown Heirloom Vegetable Transplants

Date: March 6th
Time: 10am – Noon
Location: Johnson’s Backyard Garden

Slow Food Austin invites you to join them on a Farm Foraging Tour of Johnson’s Backyard Garden, a certified-organic produce farm and greenhouse operation. Tour participants will receive farm-grown Ark of Taste vegetable transplants to grow in their own Backyard Gardens! Get a jump start on that spring garden!

From its humble beginning on East Holly Street, Johnson’s Backyard Garden has outgrown Brenton and Beth Johnson’s backyard and become the largest member-subscription farm in the southern U.S. – right here on the near-east side of Austin, Texas.

Now the Johnsons and Slow Food Austin will help you grow your own, plus tell you a little bit about their phenomenal growth. How have they done this? And why is this growth good for you, Austin Locavore? Limited spaces will fill fast!

Please RSVP to education AT slowfoodaustin.org to coordinate ticket purchase.

Beer Ranger!
Since its recent debut New Belgium’s Ranger I.P.A. has become one of the top selling beers at Wheatsville and for good reason.  New Belgium’s foray into the true American India Pale Ales brings out the hops in a big way! This clear amber beauty bursts with an abundance of hops: Cascade (citrus), Chinook (floral/citrus), and Simcoe (fruity) lead off the beer, with Cascade added again for an intense dry hop flavor. Brewed with pale and dark caramel malts that harmonize the hop flavor from start to finish. Ranger comes in both six packs and  singles.

By Owner Request-Niki Nash Grocery Merchandising Manager

This week, I'm going to highlight a few...unusual items (all happen to be some sort of paste!) that have been coming up on the "Wheatsville Wishlist" time and time again and I am happy to tell you they are now gracing the shelves with their pasty presence:

Marmite! This controversial little jar of yeast spread seems to inspire intense love or intense hatred...cast your vote http://www.marmite.com

Crown Prince Anchovy Paste! Ready to use in sauces, salad dressings, pizzas and savory butters. Wild caught anchovies are cured, processed into a paste and packaged in easy to use tubes.

Nutella! This creamy, delicious, sinful hazelnut spread has been highly requested but unavailable from our distributor. The fates have smiled upon us and now we have it! YUM

Unfortunately (and I have no idea why) we are unable to get Tamarind paste from any of our distributors. It now moves up to the esteemed spot of 'most requested' and by golly I will get it in here one day!

In The Grocery Aisle
 
New Austin Spice Habanero Hot Sauces:
There’s a new way to burn your mouth at Wheatsville. We’ve got the new “Habanero Sunburn Hot Sauce” and “Southern Sunrise Habanero Hot Sauce” from Austin Spice Company. I like hot sauce to be hot, but still have good flavor. These two new sauces didn’t let me down. The Southern Sunrise has a bite to it with a strong, peppery flavor while the Habanero Sunburn is a little hotter and adds the unique flavor of papaya. If you’re looking for a way to warm up, try adding some Austin Spice. http://www.austinspice.com/ Justin Merrifield, Grocery Buyer

Cheese Island News!
Just a heads up, our distributor for Daiya cheese is out of stock. They are not expecting another shipment in until the end of March. It seems it is very, very popular. I will keep ordering in the hope of their shipment arriving sooner than expected. The Cheese department does have two new products that I want to introduce you to. One is Woolwich goat brie. It comes in 6.5 oz wheels and they sell for $7.99 each. Also we have Woolwich goat Mozzarella which will sell for $4.99 for a 7 oz block.

Rerigerated Item of the week!
Almond Breeze is now available in the Refrigerated Department!  A 64 oz carton is just $4.59.  We have Original, Vanilla, and Unsweetened Vanilla.  This delicious non-dairy beverage has a  creamy, smooth texture with a light almond taste.  Almond Breeze is lactose, gluten and cholesterol free.  It is also  a good source of Vitamins A, D, E and calcium.  I’ve seen these items on the wishlist a few times and your wishes are granted!  Enjoy!  I know I will.

Beautiful Fish for Beautiful people (Including a recipe!)

Looking for a sustainable, eco-friendly seafood options for observation of Lent? Swing by the new seafood counter, where we support the Monterey bay aquarium Seafood watch list. A majority of our seafood is wild caught, and is good alternative or best choice according to the seafood watch list.

 

Wild Arctic Cod fillets $14.79 lb

Wild Coho Salmon fillets $16.99 lb or Steaks $15.99 lb

Wild Sockeye salmon fillets $16.99 lb

Wild Sablefish/black cod $18.99 lb

Wild Halibut $20.99 lb

Wild Mahi-Mahi $12.99 lb

Wild Yellow fin Tuna $10.99 lb

 

Quick to fix prepared options:

Almond Crusted trout $14.49 lb

Cajun Catfish $7.29 lb

Salmon Burgers $ 14.99 lb

 

In the freezer:

IQF Sockeye Salmon 3oz portion $4.99 each

Salmon Burgers $8.29

 

Check out this month’s specials:

Shelton’s turkey breakfast links on sale for $3.99 ea reg. 5.29 ea.

Shelton’s turkey breakfast patties on sale for $3.99 ea reg. 5.29 ea.

Shelton’s turkey Italian sausage $3.99 ea reg. $5.29 ea.

Niman Ranch Top Sirloin full cut Steak $8.49 lb reg. $8.99 lb

Niman Ranch Top Sirloin Ambassador Steak $8.99lb reg. $9.49lb

 

Try this recipe:

Olive Oil Poached Halibut

1 pound halibut fillet, cut into 1 1/4-inch cubes

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, more to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more to taste

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small rosemary sprig

1/2 teaspoon dried mint

2 garlic cloves, minced

Fresh lemon juice, to taste (optional)

Chopped fresh mint, for garnish.

1. Season halibut all over with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. In a medium-size skillet just large enough to hold fish cubes in a single layer, heat oil over low heat. Add fish, rosemary sprig and dried mint, and let cook slowly until fish begins to turn opaque, about 3 minutes.

2. Stir in garlic and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, and cook until garlic is fragrant and fish is just cooked through, another 3 minutes or so (heat should be low enough so as not to brown the garlic or fish but high enough to gently cook everything; the cooking time will vary widely with your stove).

3. Taste and add more salt and pepper and a few drops of lemon juice if desired. Stir in the fresh mint and serve, using a slotted spoon if you want to leave the poaching oil in pan; it is delicious over couscous or potatoes.

Yield: 2 servings.

Have a great week!

Dan

Wheatsville GM and e-mail guy!