Meal Service AlternativesAugust 06 2021
I did some looking into other meal service options and found some suggestions for you all to check out more. Fresh Thymes Marketplace (soon to be at the Bodega so stay tuned for updates) Owner Chef Christine has a similar cooking background and philosophy to me with a Natural Chef certification from Bauman College. Inspired by her own experiences living with Celiac Disease and Multiple Sclerosis, Christine knows all about how real, nourishing food can make all the difference in...
Closing Back to Basics Kitchen MealsJuly 15 2021
This was not the week I expected! The short story is a number of factors aligned for this meal service closing, the most immediate one being that Melissa and Stacey did not want to run the kitchen with me out of town without more hired help, and there is no hired help to be found. Melissa and Stacey quit the day before I was supposed to fly out, which changed everything. I am so sorry for the...
Amy's Farewell after 9 Years at BBKJune 09 2021
Amy is moving on to pursue her accounting degree. She has shaped BBK from the very beginning and is our longest running employee. Her girls have come in and helped in the kitchen since the youngest was 5 years old and we've gotten to watch them grow up. We will miss her!! A Love Note from Amy: I have been with Back to Basics Kitchen for 9 years. I was the first W2 employee. I began as a dishwasher and...
In the Kitchen - Week of September 7thSeptember 10 2020
This week it's a story in pictures! It was (my mother in law) Sue to the rescue again, as our regular helper, Mabel, did not come in on Tuesday due to the crazy weather forecast. And Amy is still resting up after her ER visits. 2020 has been quite the year here in our little kitchen world, too. We ended up with some nice flakes and some accumulation on the cars and what looked like a Christmas scene, but luckily...
How to Support Black Lives Matter?June 07 2020
I'm having a hard time writing our weekly newsletter and focusing on menus with so much unrest in the world in the fallout of the death of George Floyd - and so many others. I'm floundering trying to comprehend, to let the weight of the deep injustice and embedded racism in our country that is experienced by so many Black people and People of Color on a daily basis - and so brutally exposed, yet again - really fall on...
In the Kitchen - Week of May 11thMay 17 2020
It's been a big rearranging time in the kitchen. Reflective of the re-arranging in the world, I suppose, as we all continue to adapt.I find more plants helps any adaptation and rearranging. So, I started last week with an amazing succulent for $20 at Costco :) Then I moved around the desk area and prep tables so we've got more work space, and this week we have a new front / store set up.... My beloved helped me move in...
In the Kitchen - Week of April 27thMay 01 2020
Did someone say chicken? We have never cooked and cleaned the meat off of so many chickens as this week. It was a multi-phase all day project in order to make enough chicken for all you hungry chicken cacciatore eaters!We got to break out a new machine to help out with the chicken meat chopping, which is super fun. We started out with one of these choppers that I had from years ago during my personal chef days. You just...
In the Kitchen - Week of April 20thApril 25 2020
It was all about the lasagna and the Tom Kha Gai (Chicken coconut soup) this past week. It was so much about the Tom Kha Gai that since that was my project, I didn't end up taking any pictures except of the spinach!It took a case of chickens, a case of mushrooms and five cases of coconut milk plus the gorgeous local spinach from Ollin Farms to make that, plus the chicken stock and ginger and kaffir and lovely aromatics....
In the Kitchen Week of April 6th- power outages and ingredient huntsApril 09 2020
I'm so glad you all are enjoying the food and benefitting from this service, especially at this time. Welcome to our new customers as well! We made and sold the most food this week as we ever have, including on a Thanksgiving. You all also bought out all of the frozen items except for 6 pints of quinoa. Wow!!!We're working hard to make as much food as we can, and... we got another few curveballs this week. Which does seem to...
Logistical Updates and Coronavirus Protection in the KitchenApril 05 2020
Our operating is more fluid than normal given the changing climate with the pandemic. Check here for the latest updates. Delivery and Pick Up Updates: Boulder Savory Spice Shop is closed until further notice as of 3/18. Choose Boulder Fermentation Supply pick up or Home Delivery for Boulder. Boulder Fermentation Supply continues to be open as of 5/8. ...and is limiting the number of customers in the shop to five at once. They are an essential business and will be staying...
In the Kitchen Week of March 23rdMarch 26 2020
You all ordered a lot of food this week! My friend, Andy, has started delivering and joined us in the kitchen this week. And Mabel, our kitchen helper from last Fall, has returned as well.They both got quite the crash course in high volume cooking this week. Mabel is a retired school teacher who loves to cook Paleo and jumped right in. She took on paleo baking on Monday and meatloaf on Tuesday. Until it no longer made sense for the...
Coronavirus Informational ResourcesMarch 19 2020
Well, things have gotten interesting, huh? So wild! I hope you all are healthy and calm as possible.We are still operating for the foreseeable future. I feel extremely grateful that our set up is already decentralized and we can continue feeding our community healthy food in this time. Here are some of my favorite information sources on the pandemic and the science behind it: General overview article on the pandemic, how it spread, what to learn and where we go from...
In The Kitchen the Week of March 16thMarch 19 2020
Craziness! We are so grateful you all continue to order and to be able to cook for you. We had 33% more orders this week than normal, bigger orders than usual, and most of them came in more last minute. It was like Thanksgiving but without warning. That plus everyone hoarding at stores and our distributors scrambling to adjust as restaurants got shut down equalled one heck of a cooking week!Honestly, I, and I think all of us, are pretty wiped...
In the Kitchen in Flu SeasonMarch 12 2020
Frequent hand washing, sanitization, and personal hygiene are all routine in our kitchen as part of a safe and healthy food service operation. Due to the flu season and now coronavirus concerns, we are especially aware of these practices and are now sanitizing all our door handles, iPad checkout screens, delivery vehicles and more regularly throughout the pick up days. We rarely have more than one to two people in the front of the kitchen at a time, and this...
In the Kitchen During Mercury Retrograde!February 23 2020
If you're into astrology you know mercury went retrograde last weekend. And I'd say we had a classic retrograde kind of week at the kitchen!Book Review: The Metabolic Approach to CancerApril 25 2018
For almost a century, cancer research and treatment development have focused on the genetic theory of cancer that says extensive damage to the genetic material we call DNA eventually causes the cell to go rogue from its intended function and become cancerous. Yet cancer today directly affects half of the US population; 1600 cancer patients in this country die each day; and almost 40 percent of children have been affected by cancer in the past sixteen years. The cancer industry...
How I Mix & Match Frozen Meals to Make Healthy Dinners On the FlyApril 18 2018
I eat BBK food for the majority of my meals. And I'm on the GAPS diet, which is a bit more strict than Paleo, so some on menus there are less dishes I can eat than others. What I do those weeks is mix and match meals, especially with frozen items I stocked up on. Ironically, running a food business means both I don't need to do a lot of cooking because I order meals, and when I do cook I want it...
Concentration and Power in the Food System - Book ReviewMarch 17 2018
The pork that Susanna sourced from a local farmer and that Chef Bri turned into mouth-watering Pork Tinga is special. The hogs that were processed for this pork enjoyed life on a small farm rooting around, rolling in the mud, squealing, and just plain being pigs. Knowing that the hogs had a good life and came from a small farm nearby is one of the reasons we choose Back to Basics Kitchen meals. After all, not all hogs have such...
The Hidden Half of Nature - All About Your Microbiome and HealthJanuary 20 2018
Before you decide all the buzz about the microbiome is just another fad, please take a peek at this month’s book, The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health. A scare with cervical cancer prompted husband-and-wife authors David R. Montgomery, a geomorphologist, and Anne Bikle, a biologist, to step out of their areas of expertise to dig through the academic research that came out of the Human Microbiome Project. What they learned about the microbial world...
How Processed Food Took Over the American Meal - November Book ReviewNovember 08 2017
This month’s book delves into some of the history behind today’s processed food industry. It all began with the industrialization that was well established by the mid-19th century and then spread like wildfire after the Civil War. It brought with it an increase in population and urbanization that led half the American population to move to cities by 1900. Food had to be preserved, and production had to be centralized. Some food producers were deceptive and unscrupulous in their food...
What Nourishes You Beyond Food? There's More Than One Way to Eat WellNovember 05 2017
Things have gotten a little busy in my personal life and at work recently. Lots of changes and growth and and growing pains and joy and grief. I'm traveling to DC a lot to be with my father and the rest of my immediate family as he continues to deal with memory loss, decreased mobility from MS, and an impending surgery to remove his kidney with a cancerous tumor. I'm working extra catering gigs, navigating a wonderful new relationship that...
Phyllis's October Book Review - Half Baked Harvest. A Cookbook!October 07 2017
I think a family of ducks set the stage for the serendipity in choosing this month’s book. Silently gliding up and stepping through the grasses at water’s edge, an enterprising duck joined my husband and me as we sat perched on small logs downing our quinoa lunch at the edge of Bierstadt Lake. She wasn’t shy about letting us know quinoa wasn’t her idea of food as she stood on a log begging charmingly and with complete dignity before slipping...
Phyllis's Monthy Book Review - The Local Food Revolution: How Humanity Will Feed Itself in Uncertain TimesSeptember 02 2017
The Local Food Revolution: How Humanity Will Feed Itself in Uncertain Times by local author Michael Brownlee speaks to those who have connected the globalized, industrialized, corporatized food system to much of the destruction of the environment, damage to our health, and displacement of farmers globally. Brownlee and his longtime partner and collaborator, Lynette Marie Hanthorn, have long been contemplating localization. Since they organized a daylong conference in 2006, Going Local! Preparing for the Accelerating Energy Crisis, they haven’t let...
Do You or A Loved One Struggle with a Health Challenge?August 19 2017
Navigating My Own Family's Health Challenges I've just returned from a trip to visit my family - father, mother, sister (and aunt and uncle) in DC, where I grew up. I've had trouble sitting down to write a newsletter. At the last minute, it occurs to me to just share with you all exactly what is going on, because I know many of you can relate. My father has had MS for a couple of decades. It's progressed slowly, and we've...
How I Managed My Diet Eating Healthy BBK Food at AriseAugust 12 2017
I spent all of last weekend at the Arise Festival at Sunrise Ranch in Loveland. It was super inspiring, healing and informative. And fun! The whole festival was on the ranch where they have an intentional community, farm organically, and raise 100% grassfed beef, and host conscious events like the Arise Festival. I didn't realize that the ranch would have a little farm stand and hot food tent at the festival, so I brought all my own food. It's another...
Phyllis's Monthly Real Food Book Review - Buffalo for the Broken HeartAugust 02 2017
Yes, it matters. It really does. It matters how our food is produced and who produces it. And do they earn a fair wage? If you missed Slow Food Nations in Denver in mid-July where focus was on the how and the who, read Buffalo for the Broken Heart, published in 2001. The book is part memoir, part philosophy, part ecology, part wildlife biology, part history, and a lot love story of the Great Plains and of what and who...
Farmacology: Total Health from the Ground Up - June Book ReviewJune 28 2017
If you take to the holistic approach to human health and farming, put Daphne Miller’s Farmacology on your reading list. Miller is a Harvard-trained family physician who has spent her career looking beyond what she calls her reductionist medical training in an effort to become a better doctor. She attended a variety of holistic medical conferences and workshops, and even investigated other medical systems---Chinese, Native American, Ayurvedic, homeopathic---but realized it would take years to practice these forms of medicine correctly....
Ways I Eat Well and Keep It Healthy While Traveling and CampingMay 31 2017
I’m on a diet for my digestion that is pretty much entirely cooked food and mostly fresh veggies, meats, fruits and nuts... and honey. Traveling is one of the more challenging scenarios for eating for me. Earlier this month I drove out to Joshua Tree, CA for a yoga festival then spent 5 days in Joshua Tree National Park. Two days on the road then eight days of camping gave me lots of time to test out all the tricks...
The Color of Food: Stories of Race, Resiliance and Farming - May Book ReviewMay 27 2017
Here’s a wonderful, serious, and important book as we step into summer. In The Color of Food, Natasha Bowens takes us on a road trip to meet farmers of color. They talk about farming and a history of land loss, struggle for water, and community. Bowens’s ancestors had worked the fields as slaves, but she does not equate farming with slavery as many of her fellow Black folks do. She does wonder why today’s food and farm movement doesn’t seem...
Book Club! Lentil Underground - A Page TurnerApril 26 2017
Susanna has listened to me rave about this month’s book, Lentil Underground by Liz Carlisle. Maybe I can pique your interest also. The book came out of Carlisle’s guilt after spending four years as a country singer toting her romanticized agrarian lyrics at concerts across rural America that were sponsored by the big-name agricultural companies. She learned that what her fans knew about farming didn’t square with her pretty lyrics. All they knew was fossil fuel-based chemicals and monoculture cropping...
So What Season Is It Anyway?!April 01 2017
This time of year is always a tricky one for us and any local food lovers. Spring has just started, the promise of fresh lettuces and spring onions and other tender greens is in the air and the buds we see all around. But that time is not quite here. We're still a few weeks out from the real start of the harvest for most farms locally.And we're also about as far from last growing season before the next that we...
Stories of Farms and Food - A Book RecommendationMarch 22 2017
The books I’ll share in this series focus on the myriad aspects of our industrial food system and on those many who are creating sustainable alternatives to it. Becoming more aware of both our industrial food system and the alternatives might just nudge all of us to ask ourselves how we spend our food dollars and live our lives. This first book I recommend is Kayann Short’s beautifully evocative ecobiography, A Bushel’s Worth. In it she shares a collection...
Our Gluten Free Chocolate Chunk Cookie RecipeJanuary 25 2017
The first recipe is in weights. It's so much easier! More importantly, it makes it much more likely you'll get the results you want. Scroll down for a more familiar volume recipe At Back to Basics Kitchen, we do everything by weight.Stores like King Soopers and Target sell scales for $20, or you can order one online here. Many blogs (especially international ones) offer weight and volume in recipes. I prefer to use scales even at home for ease (less dishes) and accuracy...
Falling in Love with Grass Fed Beef HeartJanuary 21 2017
I'll admit, I wasn't totally sure about the beef heart when we got it. But I've had pork heart before, prepared by the talented folks at SALT restaurant as part of their charcuterie board. I was pleasantly surprised at the fact that heart was not only edible, it was delicious!So when Jill over at Lasater Ranch told me they had a ton of heart in stock that they'd like to move, I was game. I love experimenting with the cuts...
Our Menus Are Going Gluten Free. Here's Why.January 04 2017
Gluten has always been an interesting topic for me, personally. First as my favorite ingredient, and now as my favorite ingredient to replace, out of necessity.It's been seven years now since I've eaten gluten.It was a huge shift for me. Before I changed my diet to what it is now - a GAPS (similar to Paleo) diet modified for me based on experimentation. I was a vegetarian for 18 years, ever since I took my stand on meat in the...
Tips and Tricks for Freezing and Thawing MealsDecember 15 2016
Freezing in Mason Jars Shoulders - Any mason jar with a straight edge can be frozen without risk of exploding with appropriate space allowed for the food to expand. Quart jars and narrow mouth pint jars are not a safe choice as they have that "shoulder" where the jar comes in at the top, prone to cracking. It also makes them much more annoying to defrost. Head Room -When freezing in straight edge jars always double check you have enough...
