RANCH FOODS DIRECT
January 2011
"The sunshine smiles upon the winter days of my heart, never doubting of its spring flowers."
-- Rabindranath Tagore

New in 2011: Shop on-line; pick it up in store

Ranch Foods Direct customers now have the option to shop online and pick up their order at the Ranch Foods Direct retail store and one of two satellite locations. Shop from the comfort of home, save time, take advantage of on-line specials, reduce your carbon footprint by eliminating extra driving and use the pick-up location most convenient for you! Simply visit the on-line store at www.ranchfoodsdirect.com to place your order and designate your pick-up preference at checkout. You can collect your goods at the RFD retail store, 2901 N. El Paso in Colorado Springs; or at Kitchen Table Cooking School at the Landmark Stores in Denver's Greenwood Village; or at Denver Urban Homesteading Saturday Indoor Farmers Market located on the south end of the Santa Fe Arts District (200 Santa Fe Drive).


Shop the online store; streamline and simplify your life!


Competitors to watch in 2011...

Ranch Foods Direct fuels peak-performing sled dogs


Long time Ranch Foods Direct customer and sled dog racer Kurt Reich is gearing up to compete in Alaska's Yukon Quest in early February.

 KurtReich

You can follow the latest on the competition at YukonQuest.com.

  

About seven years ago, Kurt, who lives at Divide, traded in his job as a computer engineer and business executive to breed and race sled dogs (Black Diamond Sled Dogs) and to spend more time at home raising his kids. He has also used his racing enterprise to raise money for several children's charities.


Kurt buys raw meat natural pet foods in bulk from Ranch Foods Direct. "This is the only place that can actually give me this kind of pet food," he says. "The dogs need 10,000 calories a day when they are racing."


Ranch Foods Direct is sponsoring his team and cheering him on.

Colorado Springs triathlete wins her first Ironman


2010 was a great year for triathlete and Olympic hopeful Amanda Stevens, who won her first Ironman competition. "Must be this freezer full of food that has been fueling me through some incredible training," she says. Ranch Foods Direct is proud to sponsor her with a home service plan that features lots of Callicrate Beef, as she pursues qualifying for the 2012 London Summer Olympics.

 Amanda Stevens

Her grueling schedule next year includes competing at 10 to 15 events, some of which will last nearly 10 hours. While she's gone frequently for training and competing, she says, "I look forward to getting home, opening the freezer and eating good food." She loves the frozen meats and produce: two favorites include the New York strip steaks and the pork chops. She also did some of her Christmas shopping at Ranch Foods Direct (that's Amanda with retail manager Leona Espinoza, above right.)


A med school grad, she enthusiastically participates in activities that promote fitness and health education for both kids and adults. And she sees promising evidence that more people are striving to tap their inner athlete. "It's amazing how fast the sport is growing... Triathlons are the new marathons," she says. She looks forward to spending time at the store and meeting more Ranch Foods Direct customers in early 2011.


To follow aspiring Olympic triathlete Amanda Stevens, read her blog, HERE.

 

Citrus sweetens, brightens winter season  
Jan2011Newsletter
Marcy Nameth of Greenhorn Acres has plentiful ideas for brightening up your winter meals with the sweetness of citrus. She shares several citrus-inspired recipes in our January 2011 newsletter:
CLICK HERE. She also provides an update on the remarkable progress of the Arkansas Valley Organic Growers Cooperative, which doubled its volume of sales in 2010. As a carryover from the 2010 growing season, Ranch Foods Direct still has produce available that was grown by the seven local farmers who make up the Arkansas Valley Organic Growers, including Greenhorn Acres. (Consider Ranch Foods Direct your year-round farmers market. In Denver, shop the Denver Urban Homesteading market to support more Colorado farmers.)


Meanwhile, sign-up now for a Greenhorn Acres CSA, a vegetable subscription service that includes weekly deliveries to Ranch Foods Direct during the growing season, available at 2010 prices through January 11. (Price for one veggie share will go from $485 to $511 when the new pricing kicks in. Half-shares and fruit shares are also available. For a flyer, CLICK HERE.) Marcy always provides wonderful recipes along with her produce! Here are a couple of her recipes from the Ranch Foods Direct January newsletter, as well as one from Ranch Food Direct's Leona Espinoza.


Orange Beef

 

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 lbs round steaks, cut into thin strips on the diagonal

1/2 cup orange rind, cut into slivers

2 cloves minced garlic

1 teaspoon ginger

1/4 cup cornstarch

2 cups beef broth

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup sherry

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

 

Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add beef strips and cook until browned. Set aside. Add orange peel, garlic and ginger to wok or skillet. Add the beef back in and stir-fry 1 minute. In medium bowl combine cornstarch, broth, soy sauce, sherry and red pepper. Pour into beef, stirring constantly. Cook for 1 minute. Serve hot over rice.

 

Pork Grapefruit Salad

 

Citrus salads are a great way to use up leftover meat. Cook a roast beef, pork, chicken or turkey and use the meat in a salad for a second or third meal. Then cook up the bones for a rich, nourishing soup. - Marcy

 

1/4 cup unsweetened grapefruit juice

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

1/8 plus 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided

1 pound pork tenderloin, julienned

1 bunch leaf lettuce, torn

2 medium grapefruit, peeled and sectioned

 

In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the grapefruit juice, vinegar, oil, honey, mustard, poppy seeds and 1/8 teaspoon salt; shake well and set aside. In a large skillet stir-fry pork with remaining salt until no longer pink. Place lettuce on a platter; top with warm pork. Arrange grapefruit around pork.

 

Leona's Easy Orange VinaigretteLeona January tips

 

Combine one-half can orange juice concentrate (available at Ranch Foods Direct) with 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar and 1/4 cup olive oil. It's great as a dressing or can be used as a marinade.


Come in and shop these January specials...

Stew meat is now 10% off and all 90 percent lean ground beef is also 10% off. Ground round (95% lean), ground sirloin, and one-and-a-half pound packages of 90% ground beef are 10% off; top sirloin and chuck roasts, 10% off. Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday, buy two packs of ground beef, get one free (85% lean and 80% lean only.) Marrow bones are $2.50/lb. Pet food $1.50/pkg; $1.25 in bulk (over 40 lbs.) NOTE: Be sure to sample Joe Mauro's new Habanero and fire roasted salsas!


Looking for a healthy winter snack?


Before snuggling up on a snowy evening to watch a movie, grab a snack that is light and healthy. Papa Hill's Popcorn is made with organic popcorn popped in extra virgin olive oil and pure sunflower oil and sprinkled with sea salt. Created by an inspiring mother-daughter duo who turned their family's popcorn tradition into a business, this great snack has become immensely popular at Ranch Foods Direct! If you missed the story the first time, CLICK HERE to read about what makes Papa Hill's Popcorn so special.  


Upcoming events

asparagus


For gardeners, it's never too early to plan for spring...

Pikes Peak Urban Gardens founder and master green thumb Larry Stebbins hosts a comprehensive gardening class at 10 a.m. Sat., Jan. 15, at Horace Mann Middle School. (Their catchy slogan: "Creating places where people meet to grow.") Get all the details of the upcoming class, HERE.

Increasingly, urban landscapes are about growing food, not just grass. The Peak to Prairie Landscape Symposium Feb. 4-5 at the Doubletree Hotel will include sessions by local farmers and food enthusiasts. CLICK HERE for on-line registration and the full agenda.

   Get the year started off right.
Ranch Foods Direct Wagyu beef is the best anywhere!
And it's local!

Options include having it shipped, shopping on-line or signing up for home service.


"This is the best tasting beef we have ever had! And healthy too. The Home Service is perfect for a busy, budget conscious family like ours. Thank You!"

- The Chris Reynolds family, Colorado Springs


Visit Ranch Foods Direct online for daily specials.

Ranch Foods Direct products are for sale in Denver at Denver Urban Homesteading.

Follow RFD on Facebook. Follow owner Mike Callicrate on Twitter: @MikeCallicrate