The Recipe Box

“…Knife enters onion and onion falls apart on the chopping block, a history revealed…”

“…At meal, we sit to eat, commenting on texture of meat or herbal aroma but never on the translucence of onion, now limp, now divided, or its traditionally honorable career: for the sake of others, disappear.”

The lines above are from “The Traveling Onion,” a poem by Naomi Shihab Nye. The onion, a tangy root vegetable that keeps well through the winter, is believed to have originated in India, migrating from there to Egypt, then to Greece, then Italy and the rest of Europe before eventually finding it’s way to the U.S. With a little creativity, it can easily become a meal’s centerpiece.

Colorado is a leading producer of onions, and they are available year round — with other select produce — at Ranch Foods Direct.

CLICK HERE for recipes.

There’s more in store

The Ranch Foods Direct store is clearing a 500-sq.- ft space for product, service and cooking demonstrations. The new area is expected to accommodate around 20 people. It will allow the store more room for future cooking demonstrations as well as demonstrations of the home service program.

Food for thought —

New book re-traces a historic attempt to document and preserve crop diversity, an issue then and now. CLICK HERE.

Get your meatloaf, beef broth, soup bones, baking potatoes, squash and stew meat at Ranch Foods Direct. Pick up some natural pet foods too.

Happy New Year to all the wonderful loyal
customers of Ranch Foods Direct!

Shop Ranch Foods Direct
and start the year off right.

In 2009, start fresh with home service
Pete helps deliver the store to your door

Pete Vieth is the new home service consultant for Ranch Foods Direct. He recently took a moment from his busy schedule to answer questions about the health, value and convenience benefits of using the home service program. An upright freezer for food storage is included in the program.

Q. A lot of people are worried about their budget this time of year. How does home service help with an individual or family food budget?

A. One of the things it does is it locks you into a set monthly food budget, so you’re not spending money randomly like you would at a supermarket. Depending on what you like to eat, we can fit any menu into the home service budget. It’s not one size fits all.

I typically interview potential customers about what foods they like, what types of servings they eat, and that kind of thing. Most people don’t know what their food budget is and that’s part of the problem. At the grocery store it’s a few dollars here and a few dollars there, and it adds up.

Q. A home service plan is a good way to eliminate impulse buying, isn’t it?

A. Absolutely. Statistically 60 percent of what people spend at the grocery store is on impulse items.

CLICK HERE for full interview.

Restaurant profile
This sandwich will bowl you over

Meet the “slopper,” a Callicrate Beef third-pounder smothered in arguably the city’s best green chili, shredded cheese and diced onions, served open faced on a grilled roll. The chili is studded with tender chunks of pork from Ranch Foods Direct. “You have to love cooking to make it right,” says Pat, the plate’s creator, who adds that the whole endeavor takes about a day (although the diner has to wait only minutes for it to arrive at the table.)

This dish just might be one of Colorado Springs’ hidden culinary gems, a highlight on a menu that includes the fixings you expect at a bowling alley and bar: burgers, sandwiches, salads and Southwestern specialties, but with a special ingredient you might not expect, natural fresh Callicrate Beef.

The Pikes Peak Grill at the Peak Bowl (2861 N. Prospect, 719-636-5193, CLICK HERE for their website) is undergoing an extensive renovation to elevate the décor to match the high quality food. New paint, flooring and bathrooms are only the start of what owner Larry Phair plans as a multi-year project. Eventually, the new bar will sport an exhibition window overlooking the bowling lanes and more space will be added to the dining area, which will eventually offer live music.

One thing Larry won’t change is his long-time loyalty to serving Callicrate Beef — which he calls the city’s true “gourmet burger” — and his commitment to doing business with a neighbor (the Ranch Foods Direct store is just around the corner.) “I had a New Year’s Eve party with 60 people in here, and they just raved about the food,” he recounts. “They don’t know why, they just know it’s a good burger, and they enjoy it. That’s why we go with the food we do. You can get it cheaper, sure. But the quality makes whatever you’re making that much better.”

CLICK HERE for more.

New year,
new food economizing strategies

Times are tough economically, but that’s potentially an opportunity to make some positive changes centered on food.

It’s clear that people are showing a renewed interest in preparing their own food and eating at home, and even in producing more of their own food or buying it locally.

Mike Callicrate, owner of Ranch Foods Direct, says those can be very positive shifts. One benefit is an increase in family time. “It’s not just the eating time,” he says. “It’s the food preparation time in the kitchen. It’s the clean-up time as you go.”

Taking advantage of quality prepared foods allows you to eat in without being overwhelmed, even with a busy schedule. Carol Miller, owner of the Blue Spruce Market in Evergreen, says you can feed a family of four quality food from her gorgeous deli for as little as $20. “People are not eating out as much, and they are cooking for themselves more, she says. “But it doesn’t need to be more difficult. We’re here as a resource. You can pick up an entire meal or just get a side.” (CLICK HERE to visit the Blue Spruce Market on-line.)

“With most restaurants you can’t tell where the food came from and how it was prepared. Here you can, and for a fraction of the price,” Mike Callicrate adds, during at a visit to the Blue Spruce. Eating in a restaurant — while it can be a nice treat — also requires paying for more business overhead and for extras like tips and drinks that quickly add up.

Pete Vieth, Ranch Foods Direct home service consultant, says freezer sales by the country’s leading manufacturer were up 21 percent in November and are expected to shoot up even more in subsequent months. That indicates people are buying in bulk, eating in more and using options like home service to limit spending, improve convenience and do away with excessive driving and fuel usage.

Read Pete’s interview, above, to learn more about the budget benefits of home service.

“We’re now making it even more convenient to eat Ranch Foods Direct quality products by taking it right to your door,” Mike Callicrate says. “This just puts us another step closer to our customer.”

Imagine dropping down into a quiet river valley dotted with small German towns, each with an immense Catholic church at its center, where cattle graze peacefully on hillsides and in lush valleys, while pigs root freely amid the trees before bedding down for the night in an open barn knee-deep in sweet-smelling hay.

Click here for more.