the Friday Feeding; VOL. 61

Delicious New Year to you!  Please read on for the scrumptious recap of your store this last year and for some new winter updates.

Delicious! Last year was tasty but the turning of the calendar brings the opportunity for renewal and, as a food business, can whet our culinary appetite for new adventures in taste and explorations in new cuisines.  To the kitchen we merrily go!

The part of business in general that Dave and I find so interesting is this need for reinvention to keep up with ‘the times’ and/or to satisfy our customer’s needs.  Done right, it is a highly creative process and we are excited to be embarking upon this as I write.  But business does not operate in a creative vacuum; it is about you who we serve and we want to hear what you think. We would appreciate you taking a few moments to do our questionnaire at the end of this post.

Here is why we need a bit of time to regather our thoughts…

We were busy!! Last year you purchased:

• 6,701 sandwiches
• 952 bowls of soup
• 1,349 pizzas
• 733 meals
• 4,514 scones
• 4,166 muffins
• 6,070 cookies
• 3,863 bars

While you still purchased 41,773 grocery items it is clear that you like the prepared food part of the store as much as anything else.  We do too.

This is a good time to remind or clarify that the store is an independently owned and operated business.  The building only is owned by the Canterbury Community Market LLC with the mission to keep the property always as a store for the community.  Dave and I have tried to design and run the store with our own model that preserved the intended mission of the LLC, as a place for community to gather, and offer goods and services unique to our place and these times. We appreciate you supporting us which in turn keeps supporting the mission!

It has also been our mission to support the people of our community.  

• In addition to purchasing goods from local farmers and food producers to make available to you, we also sold 2,688 consigned art items for local artisans.
• We are also proud that the store can support our staff with a living wage.

Back to food.

Click here for our updated January menu with new variations on Sandwiches and baked goods..

Click here for next week’s special menu. NOTE: Pizza is back to Friday nights!

And if you still have a refrigerator full of left-overs, here is a soup recipe that is my go-to for using all that up. And since I am a quilter, I call it a a Scrap Quilt Soup. 🙂

Scrap Quilt Soup

Any decent soup starts with a good broth and multiple flavors.  Place in your pot any or all of these:

• 32. oz broth; chicken, beef, vegetable or V8 Juice 
• Any left over poured-off pan drippings from roasting/sautéing vegetables or meat OR a couple tablespoons of miso
• Fruit juice

Add to the broth any or all of the following up to 4 cups:

• Any left over steamed or roasted vegetables 
• Any left over salad (YES, lettuce is good in a soup!)
• Any frozen vegetables
• Any left over meat (chopped) or beans or rice or pasta
• Any can of tomatoes; pureed, stewed, sauce or paste
• The rind of any hard cheese
• Fresh garlic and/or onion
• Dried or fresh herbs

Cook all over low heat covered for 30 minutes or longer.  Adjust flavoring at the end by adding any of the following for flavor:

• Salt and pepper
• Wine or liqueur 

Cook until heated through and up to 1 hour on low.  

If you feel at a loss on what to combine or not, just try.  You would be surprised at how the unlikely becomes wonderful when stewed slowly and augmented by layers of flavors.

Give us your feedback.

To help us plan the new year, we would love to get your feedback. Would you mind answering the following questions then emailing your answers to: kitchen@CanterburyCountryStore.com. ? It would be so helpful. Thank you!

1. What is your main reason for visiting the store?
2. What is your most favorite item purchased in the store?
3. What is your least favorite item in the store?
4. What items, if any, would you like to see in the store that we don’t currently carry?

Thank you and have a great week-end,

Jane and Dave