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

Hi Wheatsville friends!

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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!

Member Appreciating continues and we're still eating local!

Hi friends!

I hope that you're enjoying the heat! (Jes' kiddin'! Stay cool, Wheatsvillagers!)

We Appreciate YOU!

Remember to use your Member Appreciation Coupon (found in your Wheatsville Breeze) by this Sunday the 27th. Many people have enjoyed the extended Appreciation opportunity and you can, too! If you haven't done so yet, get your list and your 10% off coupon and come on in and stock up on all your favorites!

Lots of cool departmental updates today as well as an expansion update at the end, so scroll below for:

Deli specials

Cheesiness

Getting all up in your grill

Cold food

Berry season and more

The deli cooks so you don't have to!

Come on in to the deli and try our sustainable fish selections, like lemon-pepper seasoned locally-farmed Texas Catfish and grilled dry-rubbed Ahi Tuna steaks! Local, grass-fed Loncito's Lamb stars in our delicious lamb meatballs, bursting with chunks of blue cheese, hazelnuts and dried cranberries. July's salsa of the month, A-maize-ing Black Bean and Corn, is a great dipping salsa with its spicy blend of black beans, corn, tomatoes, garlic and cilantro. (It can also practically double as a cold soup/ stew it's so thick and yummy!) Try it on your favorite taco!

Our Iced Coffee Toddy, Thai Iced Coffee, Organic Black Iced Tea, Hibiscus Mint Iced Tea and Iced Yerba Mate are on hand to cool you off during these hot days. And don't forget to try our Three-Berry Smoothie, a summery blend of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries for instant refreshment!

Be sure to check out our new little pink Staff Pick signs in the Deli case, highlighting dishes that are favorites of your Wheatsville employees!

 

 

On the cheese front:

 

Continue shopping local this month with Pasta & Co.'s fresh pastas! 

There are three delicious flavors to choose from: Five Herb Rotelli (my favorite! (sara smith – cheese buyer says), Garlic Basil Rigatoni, and Mild Jalapeno Fettucine.  Mmmmm!!!! 

Make it even more of a treat by choosing your favorite P/2 Pesto to top it off!  It's local as well.

 

 

Our meat department is ready for your and your grill!

Annnnndddddd we're back. I hope everyone is grilling up a storm, cause i am. Shoot, it's just way to hot heat up the house cooking indoors. If you don't grill outdoors don't be intimidated;any thing you can do indoors you can do outdoors (with a few exceptions).

Wanna saute outdoors? Well why don't you? Just use a heavy skillet (recommend cast iron) right on the grill or on top of the fire. Plus, you get a nice smoky flavor in whatever you make.

    Along with meat you can grill a variety of veggies on the grill too. Or just combine them and make Kabobs. You can have the butcher cut kabob meat for you or do it yourself by cutting 1 1/2 inch squares out of Coleman Sirloin Steaks or Coleman Bottom round roast. Just pick out your veggies like red/green bell peppers, buttom mushrooms, squash, zucchinni, cherry tomatoes, or what ever else you like.

Then make a quick marinade and soak for 15 minutes before your ready to cook. Little secret: Italian dressing works great. If you don't like beef, Buddy's boneless breast and thighs also work great for Kabobs. My personal favorite, currently, is  locally produced Richardson's Farms Link sausage. I'll partially cook the sausage on the grill, pull it off before it's done, cut into desired size, and build you a kabob. I like to mix the sausage with chicken for a nice tasty meal.

I hope this inspires your next dinner.

Remember the meat department will, with notice, make anything you don't see in the case. -ciao!

 

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

 

MORE FROM REMEMBER WHEN DAIRY

 

We've added a few new items from one of our newest vendors, Remember When Dairy. Besides farmstead, 90 % grass-fed milk from the Yantis, TX, dairy we're also offering heavy cream and ½-lb. tubs of butter. Mark and DeOnna Ganske drive their milk, cream and butter 280 miles to Wheatsville each Saturday. The Ganskes' dairy cows are given no antibiotics, no hormones and eat grass up until milking. Remember When Dairy is one of only three Grade A dairies in Texas to sell low-temperature pasteurized milk.  Pints of Remember When heavy cream will sell for $4.59, while ½-lb. tubs of butter are $4.49.

 

WE'RE EGG-STATIC!

 

We have another brand of local eggs in the dairy cooler and they're organic. Vital Farm joins Alexander Family Farms (the pink carton eggs) and H& J Ranch (the white carton eggs) in the egg door.Vital Farm has about 2,000 chickens which are pastured and also eat organic grains from Coyote Creek Mills. The eggs are very much like Alexander Family Farm eggs, with dark yellow to orange yolks. Tom Gilliland, general manager of Fonda San Miguel, said he's made his best flan with Vital Farm eggs. "So many thanks to all those hens who are so obviously happy," Gilliland said. Our newest eggs will be $4.99 a dozen or $2.49 for a half-dozen in a nifty UFO-shaped container.

 

IOWA FLOODING BEGINNING TO TRICKLE DOWN

 

Floods across the Midwest last month sent corn and soybean prices soaring and the higher costs have prompted H&J Ranch to raise prices. Henry Ludwig said he tried to avoid increasing the price of his local eggs but couldn't break even with rising feed costs. H&J Ranch eggs have gone up from $2.89 a dozen to $3.79 a dozen. The Associated Press reported last month that the floods engulfed an estimated 2 million or more acres of corn and soybean fields in Iowa, Indiana, Illinois and other key growing states. Beef, pork, poultry and even eggs, cheese and milk are expected to get more expensive as livestock owners go out of business or are forced to slaughter more cattle, hogs, turkeys and chickens to cope with rocketing costs for corn-based animal feed. At least two-thirds of the production costs for livestock are feed.

 

FREEZER COLD CASES

 

There are a couple more products that will soon disappear from the freezer: Boca Buffalo Wings  and Lifestream Waffles (11 oz.). The Boca Buffalo Wings are being discontinued either by Boca or our distributor, while the Lifestream Waffles will change to 7.5-oz. packages from 11-oz. packages. We may run out of Lifestream Waffles temporarily during the changeover.

 

 

Fresh and Local in Produce this Week

 

Texas peaches just keep getting better and better, so make sure you get them while you can. Right now your produce department has some really great local organic veggies. We've got amazing organic asian eggplant (check out the easy recipe below) from Indian Hills Farms out in Smithville, organic orkra from Tecolote Farms, Joe Parker New Mexico green chiles and Jalepenos (salmonella free, just in case your interested) from Onion Creek Organic Farm, and organic eggplant, bags of basil, red potatoes, and cucumbers from our friends at Buena Tierra Farms out in Fredonia. We will only be getting two more deliveries from them this season, and we thank them for their hard work and amazing products.

 

Stir-Fried Eggplant with Miso

 

Simple and quick to make, but a delicious family dish.

 

Ingredients:

4-6 Asian Eggplants

3-4 Tbs oil (your choice)

 

Seasonings:

3 Tbs red miso

2 1/2 Tbs sugar

3 Tbs water

Mix all together

 

1. Slice eggplant  1/3 inch thick.

2. Heat oil in a heavy skillet. Add eggplants and stir-fry over high heat, turning the slices with a wooden spatula so they are all coated with oil. Stir-fry untli tender.

3. Add the mixed seasonings and stir well. Sprinkle on a dash of cayenne if you like.

4. Serve will hot.

 

Berry Season Going Strong, but Not For Long.

 

We continue to have great organic berries, but the season is almost over, so get them while they are fresh and delicious. Local Figs are also available, and taste super sweet. Get them while supplies last.

Expansion-asana (Be flexible and remember to breathe!)

Things are really starting to get exciting with our project. Demolition work on the patio is going well, (and we've still retained most of our seating for you...) and the first phase retaining wall work is almost complete. (We'll be getting a little parking back on the eastern side of the property in the next week or so.) The new office, break room and meeting room space is really making progress with the new addition walls up and the roof almost completely on. 

On Friday, expect a little more hairiness than we've come to expect so far in the front parking lot. We'll have a couple less spots than we've had lately for most of the day as we pour the footing for the new entrance. This will create an alternative drive lane out onto Guadalupe, just so you know. We'll still be open and would love to see you, but your patience is appreciated if the traffic is a little tougher than normal.

As always, parking is better at night and on weekends as there is no work going on and there is additional parking in the back.

Have a great week!

Dan Gillotte

Wheatsville gm, e-mail guy and traffic director

Renovation changes, Appreciating you, how about that Breeze?

Hi Wheatsville friends!

This post is going to be so great that it will hopefully help get you through two weeks! (We're taking a rare week off from e-mail next week!)

Scroll down for:

Reminder about Member Appreciation Day

Next phase of the renovation

Store specials

Use the Breeze for a local shopping guide...

Monthly Board meeting on July 22nd

We appreciate you!

July is traditionally one of our Member Appreciation Day months, but due to uncertainties with construction and the state of our parking lot, we decided to print a 10% owner coupon in the Breeze that you can use anytime July 14th through July 27th. So far people seem excited about this change. I would encourage you to remember to use your coupon by the 27th to get your discount and stock up open your faves! Remember, even though you can only get the discount during a two week period, that we ALWAYS really appreciate you greatly! We wouldn't be here without you!

Getting cozy with the renovation

While they continue to make good progress on our new offices, break room and meeting space and the retaining wall, we are poised to enter our next exciting phase which will begin to affect you a little bit more. As of next Tuesday, the patio closest to Guadalupe will be closed for renovation. The ramps and other part of the patio will remain, but we're going to squeeze the other tables into the same spot. So, it will get a bit more cozy out there, but shouldn't be too bad. Get to know your fellow Wheatsvillagers' favorite lunches, up close! We'll lose 2 more parking spots, but within a couple of weeks will gain back some of the parking along the east retaining wall. 

Thank you for your continues support and patience during our project!

Hmmmm..... Cheesy!

Try something new this week!  Try something raw!  Our raw cheeses have that extra flavor we all look for in a good cheese.  Morningland makes delicious raw Colby, Medium Sharp Cheddar, and Goat Cheddar cheeses!  Organic Valley makes award winning raw cheeses, and Alta Dena raw cheeses are great for snacking.  And don't forget to shop local this month!  The Veldhuizen Family makes wonderfully gourmet raw cheeses that are sure to please. 

 

July is on fire in the Wheatsville Deli!

Come try our chunky, spicy, delectable dippin' salsa, A-maize-ing Black Bean and Corn!

Or sample our sweet and sour Turkish Garbanzo Bean salad, made with kalamata olives and dried apricots, and dressed with a rosy mustard vinaigrette. This is already proving to be a customer favorite.  

The Asian-inspired Chicken Yaki, boneless thighs marinated in a mixture of tamari, green onions and garlic, is delicious over some brown rice. 

Our new Li'l Cheddar Meatloaf Muffins, made with Coleman natural beef, taste just like Mama used to make and come in individually sized portions. 

Dishes like Broccoli with Cashew-Tamari Dressing, Basil Pecan White Beans, Beets with Feta and Honey-Herb Dressing, and Raw Tuscan Kale with Parmesan round out the Deli case. Texas-raised Lemon-Pepper Catfish, Curry Lime Chicken Salad and Grilled Ahi Tuna are also in stock. Don't forget tuna salad sandwiches are on sale in the Deli all month long!

 

3 berry smoothie will keep you cool over the hot weekend, swing by and try one.

 

For your weekend brunches try out Pederson's Natural uncured applesmoked bacon.  This is a great weekend for staying in and trying out one of our staff favorite bacons…..

 

You best be eating seasonal produce!

Cherries and melons!

Your produce department currently has delicious Rainer and Benton Cherries. Rainer cherries have a pretty short window around here, so get'em while you can.

 Local Organic Melons

Those amazing farmers over at Buena Tierra brought us some of the largest watermelons I've ever seen! These beauties are $7.99 each, and are sweet and delicious. Try icing them down on your next outing for a refreshing cold treat.

 

Savor the season with berries in produce!

Berries are still in their prime, and look and taste amazing. We are packing up organic mixed berries for $3.99 and keeping them on ice so they are cool and refreshing for you in this Texas swelter. Swing by and grab some while they are at their peak.

On the weekends, I've been enjoying peaches, strawberries, bananas and whatever other yummy fruit in a bowl with texas pecans and some Whole Soy plain yogurt. YUM!

 

 

In the Beer Aisle:

 

NEW TO US!

 

Shiner Blonde

 

An unmistakable original, this Bohemian inspired golden lager embodies the spirit of Spoetzl's early brews. Shiner Blonde's distinctively flavorful yet pleasant, satisfying taste demonstrates the true character of a classic American lager. Now available at Wheatsville in 6-packs!

 

 Also NEW TO US!

 

Saint Arnold Root Beer!

 

From beloved Houston brewers, St. Arnold Brewing company, comes a handcrafted, old-fashioned root beer made with the finest vanilla and pure cane sugar. Try a 6-pack or a cold single bottle out our cooler, yum!

http://www.saintarnold.com

 

Best Breeze ever?

We're very proud of our most recent issue of the Wheatsville Breeze. It has a lot of great stuff in it and a tremendous focus on one of our favorite things local food! A nice owner came by today and told us that she really loved this issue, too and that she was using it as a local shopping guide to add to her local eating plan! Pretty cool idea!

Monthly Board meeting is on July 22nd from 6-9pm. Meetings are temporarily being held at the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest for more information: http://wheatsville.coop/BODmeetingmap.html

I hope you have a great two weeks!

Dan Gillotte

GM and e-mail guy!