Events, news and notes from the local food movement

December 02, 2016
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The seeds of (dietary) change

Sandy Holmes truly lives her passion. A dietician for Aspen Valley Hospital, Holmes has enjoyed the benefits of a plant-based diet for over a decade. After her friends and family kept asking for her recipes, she began compiling favorites and taking photos, in conjunction with taking a local self-publishing class. Her cookbook, Simply Delicious: Plant-Based Recipes for a Healthy Life, was just released in an e-book and soft-cover edition (Ingram Spark). The recipes–which include avocado pesto pasta and pumpkin lentil soup–highlight seasonal foods and are simple, fast and wholesome. Consider this book a pantry staple. Look for it in the Valley at Explore Booksellers, Art of Hair, Susan’s Flowers & Artisan Boutique, and Book Train, or order on Amazon.com.

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Cutting edge

In 2012, Glenwood Springs residents Thomas Tankersley and Jenny Anderson began crafting butcher-block cutting boards from wood scraps. Soon after, their company Colorado Wood Slice was born. Highlighting the natural colors and textures inherent to American hardwoods (oak, maple and cherry), the duo have struck a balance between beauty and function. Show your love of local foods like cheese, salumi, honey and dried fruit by using Wood Slice boards as distinctive serving pieces. They also make wonderful (shippable) gifts. Visit ColoradoWoodSlice.com or call 970.379.7848 to order.

To market, to market

Aspen’s Roxy’s Market & Café recently completed an expansion that includes a new full-service meat and seafood counter. Owners Roxy and Mike Lawler now employ two butchers, who offer custom orders and cuts as well as produce delectable housemade sausages, tuna poke, burgers and brines. You’ll find fresh and cured/smoked fish at the adjacent counter; inquire about seasonal catch and game. A lobster tank is expected to be installed in early winter. The café (serving lunch 11 a.m.–2 p.m., Monday–Friday) has also expanded and offers fast-casual fare including soups, salads, sandwiches and daily specials for dining in or grab-and-go. RoxysMarket.com

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Dyed and true

Living in Paonia surrounded by family farms and wild botanicals–combined with learning that chemical textile dyes have a devastating environmental and human health impact–inspired Kate Linehan to begin experimenting with plant dyes. She opened her small boutique and dye studio, Plant Dyed Goods, in Paonia last summer. There she sells a thoughtful curation of natural fiber vintage garb and silk slips, totes and throws, which she colors with cultivated blooms sourced from Zephyros Farm; her own flora, including weld, indigo, woad and dyer’s coreopsis; and foraged sagebrush, rabbitbrush, nettles, goldenrod, walnut and mulberries. The shop also carries beauty, wellness and home products–from beeswax candles to plant-based perfumes–made by local artisans. Shop the website and keep an eye out for upcoming workshops. PlantDyedGoods.com

The gift of giving

What’s easier than one-stop shopping? Having a gift box delivered–even if you’re sending it to yourself. Edible Aspen has partnered with Longmont-based gift company Colorado Crafted to create a curated gift box featuring our favorite sweet and savory Centennial State artisan foods, largely sourced from regional ingredients. Each box includes Bee Squared Apiaries raw honeycomb, Aspen Chocolate almond bark and old-fashioned hard candy, Farmers Porch seasoned heirloom pumpkin seeds, Two Leaves and A Bud Tea, Ruth’s Toffee, a Jen’s Café Bar, a Wild Zora Meat and Veggie Bar, Froodles Fruit Strips and an Aspen-themed hand-screen-printed dish towel, framed with hand embroidery. The boxes sell for $100 and quantities are limited. Shipping is free in the United States. Order at EdibleAspen.com/shop, call 970.925.6000 or email info@edibleaspen.com.