The Fairy Tale-Part Three

Fun and Beautiful display at Tony Caputo's Market & Deli, SLC, UT

Butcher's Bunches Handcrafted Preserves is a fun company to own!  I do what I love; play with my food!  I literally get to take produce that has been grown by farmers from one end of this state to the other and make it into fruit spreads and preserves that are just bursting with fresh fruit flavor!  Just as though you had just picked them from the garden!

The Fairty Tale: Part Two

My story is not going to be always happy, or always sad; it is a real life story with real people and real events.  Things that happen in it may shock you, may make you angry, and hopefully may just make you realize that we are all human.  I need to preface my story with a few events in order to tie things together.

The Fairy Tale; Part One

Once Upon a Time.....

"Once upon a time."  Isn't that how all fairy tales start?  Fairy tales sound fantastic, but when you break them down there is always a wicked stepmother, a nasty wolf or some other kind of creature that dominates the plot line and steals the scene (or at least gives it a really good shot!)

P.P.S. (Post Prom & Surgery) BACK to Normal :)

DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY... HE DID!  JR PROM 2012

 They say that pictures speak louder than words, so this post is going to be full of photo's.  My words cannot possibly describe the huge-ormous amount of fear, excitement, anxiety, happiness, sadness, joy, and just plain old sense of relief that the last three months are actually done, over, finished, complete! 

Cease and Desist... To do or Not to do...

Wedding favors by Butcher's Bunches.. Spreading the Love May 15, 2011

As many of you know Butcher's Bunches Handcrafted Preserves has been issued a ceased and desist demand by local Salt Lake Business Amour Spreads.  Beginning operations on November 17th 2011, Amour had a grand gala at Pago, SLC to introduce a line of locally & sustainably sourced marmalade's and other spreads cooked in traditional Copper Pots.  My personal favorite is the Pear Lavender.  I like to purchase local grown produce and I cannot grasp the fact that Oranges, Lemons and pomegranates are truly locally sourced or even red fleshed nectarines. 

KUTV.com | Recipes - Fresh From the Kitchen - Jammin' Brownies

Here is my cooking debut... I love Ron in his apron and Mary was so kind!! She took her shoes off so I didn't feel like a short fat Grandma!!!  :)  Fun!!  Lizurd

KUTV.com | Recipes - Fresh From the Kitchen - Jammin' Brownies

Trials and Error

Butcher's Bunches Preserves & Shepherd's Chevre (Photo: Tenatious Lens Photography, SLC, UT)

As a small business owner I face many challenges every day.  Often I wonder why I have chosen to operate a small business in a constantly declining economy where the larger, big box,  "Corporate-America" retailers are out there, literally guzzling the dollars out of small businesses every day.  Many of these corporations are blatently obvious with their community destroying practices, such as WalMart, Sam's Club, Winco, Big Lots, Family Dollar, etc.  These stores import a majority of their products sold from outside of the United States, leaving the small business owner in the dust, literally.

Junior Proms vs. Surgery

At Seventeen . . .

When I was seventeen the only thing that mattered to me was friends, singing and dancing, Madrigals, laughing, giggling, crying, dating, Jake's Pizza, Taco Bravo, driving over 17 to Santa Cruz, hanging out and just being a kid.  I went to Christmas Balls, Jr. & Sr. Balls (proms) and Sadie Hawkins Dances and YES, they were important events-to me.

You are bigger than that, Liz . . .

The past week could have easily been called whiplash week for me.  We made the pre-op appointment for Kenneth for next Tuesday and that is weighing on me heavily.  Every day there is a new derogatory little whisper from here or there about Butcher's Bunches.  I know who is saying them.  I know why.  One "friend" went so far as to email me and ask me to take their name & written recommendation off of my website because they now endorse another local jam company.

I don't really pray, but I will for him . . .



I Love You Kenneth (2003)

"OMG. I am so sorry. So sad. I don't really pray, but I will for him..."

In A Winter Funk? Get Grillin with some Jam!


Winter has finally hit our beautiful state, but that does not mean the the grill is shut down!!  It is the busiest "kitchen" tool in our house, YEAR round.  So go outside, blow the snow off it and let's have some fun! 

GREAT FOR GRILLIN!  ADD TO VINAIGRETTES!

No matter what your choice of meats, our healthy spreads will glaze them perfectly with an abundance of flavor to make them the centerpiece of a Taste-tastional meal!  Here are just a few ideas of what to do with them.

My personal favorite is to Grill a nice juicy Porterhouse or New York Steak (Rare to Medium Rare) and just before it is done grilling, brush on a bit of the Mendocino County Line and grill on each side for an additional 20-30 seconds. 

***Try a new "black and bleu" and crumble some bleu cheese onto the steak after you take it off the grill (while it is resting) and let it melt.  Warm a little bit of the Mendocino in the Microwave and drizzle sparingley over the steak just before serving.  Delicious.

Serve with a simple salad made with an easy vinaigrette; your favorite greens and an oil and vinegar dressing made with Olive Oil (head to Caputo's for this,) Vinegar (same advice) and about 1 TBSP of the Mendocino to 2 C of EVOO/Vinegar for a wonderful flavored Vinegrette.

GREAT GLAZE FOR SEAFOOD AND CHICKEN!

Another fun and healthy option is to use our Rosemary Lemon Marmalade on seafood.  Try doing quick and easy "foil or parchment" dinners with halibut or salmon.  Drizzle some Olive oil on the bottom of the tin foil/parchment paper, add asparagus, brussel sprouts, snow peas, onions, peppers- whatever your preference, and place the filet on top.  Spread with a layer of Rosemary Lemon Marmalade, Wrap, and bake for 8-15 min. (consult a cook book for cooking times based on the weight of your seafood.)  Then Open, serve and eat.  (you can substitute chicken... cooking times will change)

Rosemary Lemon Marmalade is also wonderful as a glaze when cooking a Pork Loin... Dress it with fresh rosemary sprigs and lemon Slices..

You can make the same salad dressing with Rosemary Lemon as in the instructions above for the Mendocino!!  So healthy and NOT full of salts, MSG's or other additives.  And DELICIOUS!

The truly wonderful thing is that these recipes will work with almost ANY of our jams!  Just insert "Dirty Diana, or JC Schmokin Cherry into either of these recipes and you have a great meal!!  And they are healthy because of the lack of sugar and preservatives!  Enjoy!  Next post we will have some fun with making pasta and other sauces with our jams! 

Macey's Meal in a bag-local-i-fied & "up" baked-EASY!

 Are you a really busy person?  I know that I am.  I shop at Macey's Grocery store a lot and they have these great "meals in a bag" deals, often with a meal for six to eight people in the price range of $8-$12.  The bag has meats, veggies, eggs, sugars, breads, chips, creams, you name it.  AND A RECIPE... Everything you need to make a simple easy and pretty darn good meal in minutes.  NO LIE!

Tahini Little Cookies.. yummmmmmy!

If you like Peanut Butter Cookies, but want something fun, a little lower in fat and uttttttterrrrrly wonderful, light and delicious, try these out for size.  Made with sesame paste (Tahini-see picture) instead of Peanut butter it sheds a whole new light on a snack cookie...

Malgiere Brownies

This recipe is for thick, rich, fudgy brownies.  They are almost cake-like because of their thick-ness, but I have never had anyone complain about them.  Basically they are the best Chocolate Brownie on the planet.  I would not make any other type.  Much better than out of a "box" and soo much easier...