THE VILLAGE VOICE
National Park Village
Estes Park, Colorado
Elevation 7560
February, 2022
|
|
|
|
|
Someone once said "February is merely as long as is needed to pass the time until March" but it's barely long enough when you add up Chinese New Year, the Olympics, Super Bowl, Valentine's Day, Presidents Day & more. There's something to celebrate every day - read on!
|
|
Hot Breakfast Month? No problem! Stop in to the Deli for homemade sausage, veggie or chorizo breakfast burritos - top with chile sauce for the extra hearty appetite. (Pick up a can of Stokes green chile sauce with chicken or pork to experiment at home, too.)
We also offer bagel or English muffin sandwiches made to order and fresh, hot coffee, always!
|
|
|
Prefer something quick at home? Try Evol Bowls with Breakfast Sausage and uncured Bacon or smoked uncured Ham Benedict. Is old-fashioned oatmeal your thing? Start with the best Bob's Red Mill Oats - rolled, steel-cut and more.
More? Use Beeler's Original and Maple flavored breakfast sausage or Applegate Farms chicken and turkey breakfast sausage paired with Farmer's Hen House or Colorado's own Nest Fresh Cage-free eggs and you're ready for anything!
|
|
Charles Schultz said, "All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt."
No one knows for certain when chocolate first became associated with Valentine's Day but it's a natural combo. Chocolate has a number of naturally occurring compounds that elevate mood, increase circulation and enhance sensory perception producing a mild feeling of euphoria, similar to the sensation of being in love. Share this easy CHOCOLATE FONDUE with your sweetheart.
|
|
|
|
2 c chocolate chips
3 T heavy cream
2 T cherry brandy
1 T strong brewed coffee
1/8 t ground cinnamon
Combine chocolate, cream, brandy, coffee and cinnamon in a fondue pot over a low flame (or in a saucepan over low heat). Heat until melted, stirring occasionally. Serve with your favorite fruits or snack foods - strawberries, bananas, pineapple, pound cake and even pretzels.
|
|
Of course February is Snack Food Month. At some point in the last 50+ years, the Super Bowl (February 13) became a cultural phenomenon with food as important as football.
U.S. Snack Index indicates
- 91% of Americans said they will watch the Super Bowl, and most will watch regardless of who is playing;
- Super Bowl party goers are there for the food and prefer snacks; 90% say a Super Bowl spread isn't complete without snacks and dips;
|
|
|
- For the second year in a row, salsa was the favorite dip. The top five favorite dips to pair with Super Bowl snacks include: salsa (16%), cheese dips and spreads (13%), French onion dip (13%), guacamole (12%), and buffalo chicken dip (12%); and
- Spicy and out-of-the-box flavors are hot with younger consumers. While all generations are most likely to prefer the classic flavors (53%), Gen Z and millennials favor flavors like hot and spicy or more elevated or amplified flavors.
Start with a foundation of classic chips like Colorado's Boulder Canyon Potato chips - Sweet Vidalia Onion, Malt Vinegar Sea Salt, and Avocado Oil Malt Vinegar Chips or something more exotic like Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato or Black Bean Cheddar and Jalapeno Chips and Siete Grain Free Tortilla Chips. Dip in to Mt Vikos Artichoke, Roasted Eggplant, and Red Pepper Feta dips or Blue Moose of Boulder Green Chile Cheddar, Red Pepper Cheddar and Spinach Artichoke Parmesan dips.
Let us fix sandwiches or a party tray with the finest Boar's Head meats & cheeses. Get what you need to make your own salsa, guacamole, cheeseball, nachos & hot wings. Add beer - more beer - and you're good to go!
|
|
|
|
Are you a figure skating fanatic? Downhill diva? Curling connoisseur? Pick up graham crackers, marshmallows & chocolate bars to make Fireplace S'mores for you Winter Olympics binge watching.
|
|
February 1 marked the beginning of Chinese New Year 4719 - a Year of the Tiger. One of the most dynamic signs in the zodiac, Tigers are truly a force of nature. They are by turns dependable, unpredictable, fearless and stout-hearted, tender and loving. Few other signs can keep up with the Tiger's ability to think on their feet, or their primal desire for adventure and first-hand experience of life.
This month's words of wisdom come from people born under the sign of the tiger.
|
|
|
"It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living." Sir David Attenborough
"Don't get too comfortable with who you are at any given time - you may miss the opportunity to become who you want to be." Jon Bon Jovi
"Bad taste is simply saying the truth before it should be said." Mel Brooks
"Very few of us are what we seem." Agatha Christie
"Life is too short to be living somebody else's dream." Hugh Hefner
"Growing older is not upsetting; being perceived as old is." Kenny Rogers
"History is a race between education and catastrophe." H. G. Wells
"A man who does not think for himself does not think at all." Oscar Wilde
“The future is called 'perhaps,' which is the only possible thing to call the future. And the important thing is not to allow that to scare you.” Tennessee Williams
“Minds ripen at very different ages.” Stevie Wonder
“What we need is not the will to believe, but the wish to find out.” William Wordsworth
|
|
Thanks to Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte for February's celebration of Canned Food Month. In the late 18th century, he offered a cash prize to whoever could develop a reliable method of food preservation to keep his troops well-fed. Nicholas Appert conceived the idea of preserving food in bottles while Peter Durand took the process one step farther and developed a method of sealing food into unbreakable tin containers.
We've come a long way since then, with almost everything now available processed fresh, then sealed air-tight to guarantee a long shelf life - even things might never have the chance to try otherwise like Native Forest Organic Young Jack Fruit and organic mushrooms and Amy's Organic Soups, Eden Organic Aduki and butter beans, Westbrae Organic black beans and Goya Organic Chick Peas. (February is Bean Month, too.)
|
|
Get your new 2022 Rotary Friendship Card at The Country Market for just $10 and save 10% on purchases of $20 or more. Enjoy other savings all around town.
Net proceeds from the sale of the card are used to support the club's many charitable projects, including but not limited to scholarships and community grants.
(Restrictions may apply; please confirm details before using.)
|
|
|
Coming in March:
Youth Art Month,
National Wildlife Week,
Day of Awesomeness,
Spring and...
|
|
|
NATIONAL PARK VILLAGE - 900 Moraine Ave. - Estes Park, CO 80517
THE COUNTRY MARKET 586-2702
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
