Bylaws, yummy food, Staff Picks, great beer expansion changes happening soon and still more bloglove!

HI folks!...

Jampacked with information this week!

Scroll down for:

The board bylaws project

Expansion news you can use

Deli update including meat and cheese

Staff Picks

Beer is refreshing

Blog Love!

The board wants your input on the bylaws

The board is hosting an Owner's Forum to discuss the Bylaws on Sunday, Sept. 7th from 1 to 4 pm in the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest room 210. Please mark your calendar if you want to participate in the bylaws update process!

You can also learn a lot more about this huge board project on-line at  http://wheatsville.coop/bylawsrevision.html

Important Expansion news for you! (Expanion-asana motto: be flexible and remember to breathe!)

We have some additional parking available in the main parking lot along the new retaining wall. It's a dirt area between two fences, but has room for 3-5 more cars. These spaces should generally be available for the foreseeable future. 

YOu may have noticed that the new entrance area has had concrete poured in it. They made really good progress and we are nearing a new phase of the project. On Thursday night, we'll be up at the store over night relocating our registers and some other equipment to give the contractors room to install our new sliding entrance and exit doors at the Southwest corner of the building. (Near the first register where bulk pet food is right now.) They will be installing the new doors next week. During that time, you will encounter a slightly more congested front end and some stuff in slightly different places. If you don't see what you're looking for, please ask someone and we'll show you where it is.

Around the 18th of August, the new entrances will begin being used (temporarily) while demolition and new construction takes place on the remainder of the patio. During this time, we will have some seating on the new patio near the new entrance, but it will be a somewhat tight squeeze. Entrance will be through the new doors, so that will take a little getting used to.

We're committed to making the transitions as smooth as possible, but some disruption is unavoidable. We hope that by communicating as much as possible will help make things go as well as they possibly can. If you have Wheatsville friends that aren't on this e-mail list (or don;t read the blog) could you let them know? Thanks!

We'll have some pretty big parking changes coming in September and I'll let you know about that a little later into August.

Thank you for your patience and incredible support through our project so far!

The deli makes food for you!

Beat the heat with our Strawberry Daiquiri Smoothie, as this month's special blends strawberries and lime juice for a creamy, cold treat! Or, if you're in need of a caffeinated wake-up call, Wheatsville's home-brewed iced coffee toddy will fit the bill nicely.

August's salsa of the month, the brown sugar and ginger-spiked Roasted Pineapple Salsa not only tastes great over a black bean taco, but works as a delicious chutney for fish and pork entrees – think Hawaiian!

This week, grilled ahi tuna steaks, locally-raised Loncito's lamb meatballs, and tomato-braised tofu share deli case space with our new Fresh In The Deli special for August, Basil Asiago Chicken Salad, a pasta dish full of chunky chicken and veggies with a tangy, creamy dressing made with Asiago cheese.

And be sure to check out the Deli's self-serve case for grab'n'go dishes of pasta shells with homemade Bolognese meat sauce, made with all-natural beef and pork, and topped with Pecorino Romano and chopped parsley!

And, don't miss our new Roasted Eggplant Bruschetta, a delicious topping for toasted bread or crackers, or even a pita sandwich filling unto itself with the addition of some briny feta cheese or olives, lettuce, cucumbers and taratoor sauce.

 

Come on in and try something new (or your regular favorite/ old standby)!

 

Words from the Meat department

Hey guys don't miss this month's member coupon specials in the meat department!

 

We have Bison Provisions sausage (Bison & Pork and the Venison & Pork sausage flavors) regular $5.99 each, with coupon you get $.25 cents off.. Bison provisions sausages are great on the grill or used as seasoning in beans or kale.

Richardson's Farms all natural pork products, this includes the link-style sausage, pan style sausage, and bone-in pork chops. $.50 cents off total price.

 

Be sure to explore our Sustainable seafood choices:

Wild Caught Alaskan sockeye $17.39lb

Wild caught Alaskan Coho Salmon $15.99lb

Hand caught Wild Mahi-Mahi $12.99 lb

Wild Caught Alaskan Butterfish $24.99 lb

Wild Alaskan Artic Cod fish $14.39 lb

Wild caught Smoked Sockeye Salmon $31.99 lb

Also for a quick dinner with out the fuss, try the American Farmed Ruby Trout from Buhl Idaho.  It is crusted with Panko bread crumbs and almonds and easy to prepare!!! with just a little olive oil, pan fried for 4-5 minutes on each side.

 

How about saying Cheese?

Hey vegan cheese lovers! 

The Cheese Department here at Wheatsville stocks an array of vegan delights just for you! 

From delicious Vegan Rella to Follow Your Heart Vegan Cheeses (The Parlor uses Follow Your Heart Mozzarella on their vegan pizza and Dan takes his shredded to Salvation Pizza!) we've got you (and your favorite foods) covered!  And if you like pesto, P/2 Organics makes an excellent Vegan Sweet Basil Pesto (this makes fast meals in a hurry with some Bionatura whole wheat pasta!). 

 

We also stock the heck out of White Mountain Wheat Roast which is an excellent product for vegans, vegetarians and omnivores. 

 

Check out our Staff Top Ten Picks posted throughout the store, we work here and shop here!!!  Look for the yellow signs in front of the products. 

 

This week, Bryan Butler our Meat & Seafood Buyer shares his awesome favorites!

 

1. Wild caught Alaskan Butterfish. This stuff is awesome, and a great healthy protein substitute for beef or chicken.
2. Real Ale Fireman's no.4. Great refreshing summer beer, local to boot.
3. El Milagro tortilla chips. When I'm done with the bag there's always crumbs left, so I use the crumbs to make my own migas for breakfast. Yum!
4. Organic grapes. My new all the time snack food. Usually out of the freezer is my favorite.
5. Cashew linguini. Delicious!
6. Tamari almonds. Another favorite snack food of mine.
7. Brown Cow Peach yogurt. Really this one is kind of like an addiction.
8. Smokey Hill medium or hot Salsa. I've eaten lots of salsas but the added flavor of the mesquite makes this one really unique.

9.   Bastrop cattle company Grass-fed ground beef. When I do have hamburger this is the only one I buy. Healthy and tasty.

10. Guayaki Yerba Mate. My substitute for coffee and it works!

 

 Beer of the Week (AGAIN!)

Stella Artois pints were so flippin' popular last week that we're keeping it on as the 'beer of the week' for another week! For years we've offered 6-packs of Belgian favorite, Stella Artois. Now, we have pints in the singles cooler. Stella Artois is famed for its full-bodied and distinctive flavor. Its refined, high bitterness is well balanced with the barley malt flavor, giving it a particularly clean and refreshing finish. Try a pint today!

 

 

 Also, new Wheatsville Pint Glasses! Keep one frosty cold in your freezer! Only $5.99

 

 

Check out this great blog post about vegan Texas  beers! It includes many of our favorite beers, I'm pleased to say!

http://vegantreehouse.blogspot.com/2008/08/texas-beers.html

This week's bloglove

Our new blog-friend Deb made good by her promise to come to the co-op after her Tecolote Farms CSA ended and she wrote a really great blog post about it:

http://austinagrodolce.blogspot.com/2008_07_01_archive.html

Have a great week!

Dan Gillotte

Wheatsville GM, e-mail guy and heavy equipment lifter...

Coffee with the board, run for it, bloglove and more!

Hi Wheatsville friends!

Scroll down for:

Cofee with the board

Run for the board

Departmental news

Wheatsville positivity

An even more better place to work

Coffee with the board

Your board is going to be spending time on the patio on Saturday morning frmo 9am-Noon sharing coffee and treats and connecting with you, the owners! You can talk to the board about anything, but they are especially excited to talk about the bylaws project and the possibility of enticing you to run for the board! COme on by, you'll be glad that you did.

 Last Call for Board Candidates!

Do you just love Wheatsville?
Do you ever ponder what makes us so special and think about how you could get more involved?
Do you wonder about how we can transform society, benefit community, and promote cooperation in our world?
Have you thought about the valuable experience and skills you can develop serving on a governing board of directors?

If you want to learn more about being on the Wheatsville Board of Directors, we encourage you to attend the CANDIDATE ORIENTATION SESSION to be held THIS SATURDAY at 3:00pm, across the street at Mangia.

Contact the Nominations Committee today for more information at nominations@wheatsville.coop

Applications are due on August 8th, so act fast--there is still time!

New in the Beer Aisle!

 

For years we've offered 6-packs of Belgian favorite, Stella Artois. Now, we have pints in the singles cooler. Stella Artois is famed for its full-bodied and distinctive flavor. Its refined, high bitterness is well balanced with the barley malt flavor, giving it a particularly clean and refreshing finish. Try a pint today!

 

 

 

Also, new Wheatsville Pint Glasses! Keep one frosty cold in your freezer! Only $5.99 (Also good for other beverages!)

 

The deli cooks so you don't have to!

Some brand new dishes are on the menu at your Wheatsville Deli this week!

Our tender Crispy Fish Cakes are made with wild-caught, sustainable fresh fish, breaded in whole wheat panko breadcrumbs and crisp-fried! 

Oven-baked Honey & Ginger-Glazed Chicken Wings, made with Buddy's Natural Chicken, are coated with an addictively Asian-inspired orange teriyaki sauce. 

Salted Oat Crisps, a new but old-fashioned recipe from Wheatsville's Bakery, are wonderfully crispy, chewy, sweet and salty cookies, made with real butter and eggs. 

In addition, this Friday will herald the introduction of our Fresh In The Deli specials for August! Basil Asiago Chicken Salad is a pasta salad with diced lemon-pepper chicken, sundried tomatoes and mushrooms tossed in a creamy Asiago cheese and basil dressing. Also starting Friday, Roasted Eggplant Bruschetta can be found in our self-serve Deli case, a chunky topping for grilled bread or crackers made with eggplant, tomatoes, onions and cilantro. Wheatsville's salsa of the month for August is the Roasted Pineapple Salsa, a sweet and spicy blend, which means this week is your last chance to grab some more of July's Black Bean and Corn Salsa! (My wife, Rosie wanted me to tell you folks that you can make a delicious cold rice salad just mixing that salsa of the month w/cooked brown rice. Just add some extra black beans, nothing else. Simple as pie!)

Come on in and see what we've been cooking up!

 

Cheese is the word

Hey, folks!  Have you gotten on the Goat Cheese tip, yet?  Fresh Chevre (goat cheese) is lower in fat than many cow's milk cream cheeses.  And for many that are lactose intolerant, goat's milk will be easier to digest than cow's milk.  Try our Montchevre and Chevrion Goat Cheese Logs, all of our award winning Pureluck products, and various other goat cheeses today!  

 

Bison for you

The meat department is featuring Thunder Heart Bison this week. We currently have Thunderheart ground bison for $6.49 lb, Thunderheart Bison Boneless Ribeye for $25.99lb, and Thunderheart Short Ribs for $10.99 lb.  We get a lot of questions about bison and preferred cooking methods so we thought we would share with you.  Here is a link to their site as well  

thunderheart bison www.thunderheartbison.com

 

Natural, Healthy and Delicious Thunder Heart Bison
Low-fat, grass-fed Thunder Heart Bison — the red meat that's healthy to eat. The perfect solution for health-conscious consumers!

Nutritional Comparison*

Species Fat Calories Cholesterol Bison 1.87 143 82 Beef 8.28 211 86 Pork 9.66 212 86 Chicken** 7.41 150 89 **skinless *per 100 grams of cooked lean meat   (Figures from the US Department of Agriculture)

 

The people of the internets love Wheatsville

Wheatsville gets a lot of positive blog and e-mail love. I'll share it occasionally here with you!

A Wheatsville enthusiast named Stella has a great blog where she often gives our food some positive words: - http://vegantreehouse.blogspot.com/

From our friends at Tecolote Frams, a note from a CSA subscriber about their feelings toward Wheatsville: "I haven't been over to Wheatsville in awhile, so I didn't realize they'd begun the remodeling process--hooray!  I've been a member there for so long (sometimes I can't resist pointing out the fact that I've been a member probably longer than the checker who is waiting on me has been ALIVE!), and I, too, feel we are lucky to still have somewhere like Wheatsville where we can shop "independently." 

From former board member and Wheatsville fan, Patrice Biskynis:

1.  That jalapeno fettucini is the best pasta I ever put in my mouth.  I wanted to groan with joy.  It doesn't need a thing on it, it's perfect all by itself.
2.  No more Boca buffalo wings??  Now that's sad.  I really like them.
3.  The new eggs sound delicious and I will definitely buy some to try.  I appreciate your mentioning such things in your emails.
4.  Old news, I know; but I really love being able to find organic produce, especially potatoes.

New Co-op Advantage specials start on Friday! Come on by for new deals in store.

Wheatsville is an even better place to work!

Due to our continuing strong financial success and your amazing support, I was able to pay the largest single pay increase in Wheatsville history to our staff this week. In keeping with our goal of being a fair employer with good pay and benefits, we increased the entire wage scale for new staff and gave an across the board increase of 9% to our current staff. 9%! Feedback from the staff has been very positive and appreciative. I'm glad to be able to implement this change and I thank you for your support that makes it possible.

Be our Myspace or Facebook friends and whatnot:

www.myspace.com/wheatsvillecoop

Have a great week!

Dan Gillotte

Wheatsville GM and e-mail guy!