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| JUNE 8, 2017 CUSTOMER NEWS |
"
We loved living alone in the country, with each other and with poetry, at the farm
where I spent old summers haying with my grandfather."
- Former U.S. poet laureate Donald Hall (To learn more about him CLICK HERE)
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Wondering what to make for lunch?
The summer egg sale is here!
From asparagus quiche to egg salad sandwiches to
bacon-and-cheddar deviled eggs...Ranch Foods Direct has you covered!
CLICK HERE for several summery egg suggestions.
Produce arriving weekly! Ranch Foods Direct is part of a network of food hubs and
farmer co-ops that grow heritage varieties and use traditional farming methods.
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Get your grill on this summer!
Fun and tasty grill classes are here to help you "up" your game...
ON THURSDAY, JUNE 15: Ranch Foods Direct and the Colorado Springs Grill Store team up to present their June grilling class. This time it's Spatchcock & Beer Can Chicken, on Thursday, June 15th @ 7pm. Cost: $55 with take-home chicken (chicken is from Twisted Pines Farm of Black Forest, CO) or $30 without the take-home chicken. Limited availability. Call 719-473-2306 ext. 2 to reserve your spot before the class fills up!
Twisted Pines is a small family farm near Black Forest with a commitment to producing fresh food, humanly raised meats and using sustainable farming practices. They also host educational workshops at their farm. Their free range chicken is juicy and fresh, and only available via direct purchase.
 ON SATURDAY, JUNE 17: Judy Purcell, right, author of the cookbook
Serve and Savor: Nourishing Health, Family & Community, (available in store) and author of the
Savoring Today blog is back with more enjoyable and tasty grilling classes featuring high quality meat from Ranch Foods Direct! Her special Father's Day class on Saturday, June 17, will include side-by-side comparisons of rib-eye steaks and other tasty but more affordable "value cuts."
You'll also learn about grilling techniques, rubs versus marinades, how to test for proper doneness and how to finish things off with a flourish. As Judy says: you'll be ready to impress your dad with a special steak dinner on Father's Day...or you can reserve a spot in the class to give him as a gift! Class participation includes a complimentary sample of Judy's own smoked chile steak rub.
Cost is $65 per person. To get more details or buy tickets (or to give the class to someone else as a gift) CLICK HERE for Judy's Facebook events page. (You can also email her with questions at Judy@SavoringToday.com.)
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Meet our partner store offering wonderful grilling supplies
The Colorado Springs Grill Store shares the art of outdoor living
T
here's no better place for someone who enjoys outdoor cooking than Southern Colorado, according to enthusiast Seth Campbell, manager of the Colorado Springs Grill Store and a local culinary student. He and store owner Kevin Dessureault are partnering with Ranch Foods Direct on a series of meat prep classes held on select evenings at RFD.
"I'm from the South, and in the middle of summer it's just too hot to do anything," he said recently. "But here, we're in that ideal 50-to-70-degree range more often than almost anywhere else."
At the classes, he and Kevin seek to impart the art and science and even the culture of good barbecue. "Where I'm from it's like part of our food pyramid," Seth says. "Here, it's just very hard to find good barbecue. It's something you need to take your time with. My theory is you need to give that meat your attention the entire time it's cooking to watch how it is reacting. It's all about paying attention. Every time you do this will be different; you can't ever do the same thing twice. The higher altitude affects the cooking process too."
Seth prefers to make traditional favorites like pork shoulders, ribs and beef tri-tip (his go-to cuts) but he also welcomes and encourages creativity. Pizzas, biscuits, breads and desserts can all be made using outdoor cooking methods. "Who would think you could take an apple pie and cook it in a smoker? Or how about smoked banana bread? I haven't found anything I can't make in a smoker yet," he says.
He does have one rule, though: "To have a good end product, you have to start with a good beginning product. I haven't found any store where the meat has the same consistency as Ranch Foods Direct. It's meat that's perfect every time."
 THE BACKSTORY: Colorado Springs Grill Store actually started out as a deck-building company but so many clients were asking about grills and smokers that they decided to open a showroom and grilling supply store. Located near the intersection of Garden of the Gods Road and Nevada, the store has at least a dozen sample grills and smokers on the sales floor at any one time. Many considerations go into selecting the right model, so having someone available to walk through the decision-making process helps. Everything they sell is U.S. or Canadian-made and top-of-the-line.
This summer Colorado Springs Grill Store formed a KCBS-sanctioned team that is competing professionally for the first time at contests in Pueblo, Lamar and Alamosa. Even more exciting, the store is sponsoring a fun event in Woodland Park in August that will give backyard barbecuers a taste of what it takes to compete at the pro level. The Pikes Peak BBQ Showdown is scheduled for August; RFD will help sponsor. (Call 465-1745 for details.)
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Now meet the couple behind award-winning
local whiskey glaze and sauces...
While living in Germany, this fun couple found a way to add some extra spice
to their life: by making their own hot sauce at home!
 THE BACKSTORY: Patrick Tolbert (left) and his wife Tanja were both fans of Louisiana-style hot sauce, but while they lived in Germany (where he was employed as a naval technician) it was very difficult to obtain. So they studied the label and decided to try their hand at making their own. It turned out better than the original, and friends and family members liked it too.
"All of sudden we had sold 300 or 400 bottles and realized we had a viable business," Patrick recounted recently. The two eventually created additional products: a rich, dark whiskey glaze (made with local Axe and Oak whiskey), barbecue sauce and a new hot sauce made exclusively with Pueblo chiles. (You can find them all at Ranch Foods Direct!)
COOKING RECOMMENDATIONS: "I always say I brought back what I loved the best about Germany," Patrick says of his wife, Tanja, (right) a phenomenal home cook of Italian-Austrian heritage. Her exotic European specialties include things like
geschnetzeltes, a sauce made from beef and pork gravy along with mushrooms and cream and served over handmade German egg noodles. ("It's just so amazing," Patrick swoons.) She spices up many of her dishes with their hot sauces. (Try some pasta Diablo-style by adding a few shakes of their sauce to hot cooked pasta. Meanwhile, their Pueblo Gold sauce, made with Pueblo chiles from the Arkansas Valley, is most popular on sandwiches or eggs.) Tanja's personal favorite is the whiskey glaze, served with steak or salmon. (The product won second in a worldwide steak sauce contest they entered last year, edged out narrowly by an entry from South Africa.) They suggest preparing steak without seasoning and serving the whiskey glaze for dipping on the side. Tanja also recommends using it to add flavor to Asian stir fry. (Add it to the pan at the end of the cooking time, after most of the water from the vegetables has already cooked off.)
ON RFD: "We eat very clean, high quality organic products, and that's how we found Ranch Foods Direct," Patrick says. "It's a wonderful company, and we love it. We never make any money selling our product here, because whenever we make a delivery, we always walk out with lots of meat (usually top sirloin, rib-eyes and New York strips) cheese, eggs and ice cream! The ground beef makes the best Kobe beef sliders on the planet!"
Read more about their business and their products at
SmokBrand.com.
For a great Father's Day gift, grab a bottle of Smok Whiskey Glaze
and add a few good steaks (or a box of steaks!) $6.99 per bottle.
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Enjoy "Food Truck Saturdays" all summer long at Ranch Foods Direct...featuring Luiz and Paula Guerra's Mexican-style food stand (Look for it at the southwest corner of the main parking lot.) The casual menu of fresh-grilled items is built around high quality Callicrate meats!
Good for a snack or a filling meal, prices start at $2.99 for tacos and go up from there.
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For all of the latest store updates,
visit Ranch Foods Direct on Facebook!
It's not necessary to have a Facebook account to access the FACEBOOK page.
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NEW SUMMER HOURS:
The retail store is now open until 6 p.m. on Saturdays!
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Fresh produce and prepared items too!
For wholesale accounts and service, contact:
Peak to Plains
4635 Town Center Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80916
Office: (719) 574-0750
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