Newcastle Produce: A Locavore Gem

We got up pretty early this morning to attend the Wild Mushroom Exposition north of Nevada City, CA, and the closer we got, the more intense the storms were. Not a whole lot of traffic on a Sunday morning on I-80. We stopped for coffee refill & lunch items at the Sacramento Food Co-op, and by the time we were back on the road, visibility was getting sketchy. We attended this crafts fair last year, when it was in downtown Nevada City, but this year's location was up and down windy forested mountain roads. I could see raging streams cascading down below.

Then we took a really huge right turn following the banks of a pretty big looking river strewn with gigantic boulders. "Gary Snyder lives near here; that's the South Yuba River." We crossed the bridge then started up the windy, treacherous road, looking for mud slides above to my right, and well aware of the torrent further and further down below to my left. 

The path straightened, and soon, we're on the road to the event, according to the digital phone map. We find the place, we think, but now visibility is decreasing even more rapidly with the abrupt arrival of olive pit-sized hailstones and slushy snow getting cast aside by windshield wipers working overtime.

We seem to be at the right place, but there's no signs indicating where we should drive to unload. We stop at a likely-looking building with the name "Conference Center" spelled out in black letters against beige. We get out of the car and go in. The doors are unlocked. "Hello? Anybody here," our voices echoe down cavernous hallways, a moment reminding me of Scatman Crothers' entrance into the Overlook Hotel.

We drive around to some other buildings, where there's some cars, but nobody seems to be about. Finally, as we're heading back to the entrance to the complex, we see someone on the hill above us wearing a dayglo yellow raincoat. We drive up to her, and she shows us where to park. She's suggesting we embark from there down a steep hill to the Geodomes we can see some quarter of a mile in the distance. Just at this moment, Robin's friend Kathy shows up. The parking attendant says nobody else has arrived. We decided to bail. 

We returned to Nevada City, had lunch in town. After a while we decided to hit the road, somewhat relieved we didn't waste an entire day trying to sell Robin's stuff to non-existent customers.

So we both knew the area around Auburn, which is the junction between I-80 and Hwy 49 that goes to Nevada City, is a place where Satsumas grow. We kept our eyes peeled for produce stands. As we pulled into a parking lot in Auburn, I decided to ask a local for recommendations. She told us about this place, Newcastle Produce & Deli, in the town of Newcastle, just a little ways west of Auburn. 

Score! Newcastle Produce is a bit out of our way most of the time, but we sometimes head that way, and from now on, this is a mandatory stop for us when in the area, and if you're ever heading East on I-80 from Sacramento towards the Sierras & Tahoe, you owe it to yourself to stop in. These are easily the best Satsumas I've ever tasted, which are in season right now.

Pretty nice looking deli--but we were still full from lunch.

Pomegranates grown by some local dude named Jim. This is the way it used to be. The only things transported thousands of miles were valuables like spices, silk and gold. (OK, slavery, disease, war and ignorance too...)

Many wine purveyors break up their selections into countries and regions. How many do it like this: here's the wines from this tiny village, here's a nice Syrah from a hamlet.

Sauces, oils, vinegars. 

Local honey, hell yeah!

Some folks nearby grew and picked this arugula. And cured the olives below.

Why should this matter? Yesterday I ate some broccoli sprouts at the Berkeley Farmer's Market that the lady cut right before we ate them. So fresh tasting and intense, plus I'm sure the nutrition is higher. Transportation of goods over long distances is problematic for many reasons: you're getting stuff out of season, cost of fuel, environmental issues, and so on. If you eat local stuff, you're also helping your own local economy, and not funding the military machine and fossil fuels. Plus, maybe you might know Earl--much less alienating?