Rancho Vignola's 2009 Summer Newsletter

public sales 2009

Armstrong BC Toll free: 1-877-639-2767 info@ranchovignola.com

www.ranchovignola.com

Online Public Sale

BRITISH COLUMBIA Vernon

November 6th & 7th Friday: 9am - 7pm • Saturday: 9am - 5pm

December 1st to 15th

Newion! locat

Order online at www.ranchovignola.com

Vernon Recreation Centre Auditorium

Heat

3310 - 37th Ave (just off Highway 97)

Salmon Arm

November 13th & 14th Friday: 9am - 7pm • Saturday: 9am - 5pm

Rancho Vignola’s Public Sales events are the perfect introduction to our top quality nuts, dried fruit and confection. Come see us, browse our product display, and taste everything we have to offer!

Holiday Inn

1090 - 22nd Street NE

(on the hill near the RCMP station)

For information: 250-832-8563

Kelowna

November 14th & 15th Saturday: 10am - 5pm • Sunday: 10am - 5pm

Parkinson Recreation Centre

1800 Parkinson Way For information: 250-470-7897 (Raven Ventures)

Abbotsford

November 27th & 28th Friday: 9am - 5pm • Saturday: 9am - 5pm

Windsor Greenhouses

From the Farm to your Community

As well as full cases, items are also available in smaller quantities: 5lbs, 2lbs, and some in 1lb. We also offer a great selection of beautiful Gift Packs, of all descriptions and sizes, which make decadent and delicious gifts sure to please.

exotic food

traffic costumes colours incense

In March and April, we visited our long time associate Dan On of Dan-D Foods during Vietnam’s cashew harvest. The trip was an amazing adventure that left us wanting to see more of this incredible part of the planet!

Read more about our experiences inside.

For details and any changes, please visit our website or call our toll free line.

www.ranchovignola.com • 1-877-NEW-CROP (1-877-639-2767)

#18 Ross Road, Abbotsford (access from ‘0’ Avenue)

For information: 250-832-8563

ALBERTA Camrose

November 13th & 14th Friday: 9am - 7pm • Saturday: 9am - 5pm

Camrose Regional Exhibition 4250 Exhibition Drive

(Highway #13 - 1/4 mile east of Camrose)

Airdrie

November 20th & 21st Friday: 9am - 7pm • Saturday: 9am - 5pm

Town and Country Centre 275 Jensen Drive

(Ten minutes drive north of Calgary on Hwy #2)

Page 12

www.ranchovignola.com

Summer 2009

Summer 2009

www.ranchovignola.com

Page

chao mung New Friends & Customers Thank you for your interest in Rancho Vignola!

Rancho Vignola is a family owned and operated distributor of fresh crop nuts, dried fruit and quality confection. We operate mainly during the fall harvest, when the fresh food is just coming off the trees. We pride ourselves on the quality of our products, and enjoy maintaining personal relationships with our growers and suppliers worldwide.

We offer ordering opportunities for both wholesale and retail customers, and the best part is:

ANYONE can order wholesale!

All we require is that wholesale orders meet the minimum of $500. Many of our customers form groups (called Buying Clubs) to place large wholesale orders and split up full cases themselves, thereby getting the best possible price – and shipping to their door!

Just want a few things?

Our Public Sales are the best place to get your fresh Rancho products in smaller quantities. Just in time for the holiday season, we hold Public Sales events in communities across British Columbia and Alberta - See page 12 for dates and locations. We also hold an Online Public Sale in early December, which is the perfect opportunity to try out a few products and have them shipped right to you, without having to place a large wholesale order For further information on wholesale or retail sales, visit our website, call us, or email us anytime, and we will be happy to help you in any way we can.

W

RANCHO POLICIES: Update

! e m o c l e

Winter is always a time for us to reflect on what worked and what didn’t during the previous harvest season. This year, we brought in a business consultant for planning sessions, which resulted in some new initiatives. One example is the new pouch-style ziplock bag we are phasing in this season. This colourful new storage bag seals in that ‘new crop’ freshness better, tells our story, and explains how to join our wholesale ordering system. Our spiffy new bag is also fully recyclable and handy to re-use! What won’t change for the company is our ongoing commitment to excellent customer service.

The 2009 harvest will soon be upon us!

As always, the Vignola family and our great team of dedicated staff are looking forward to bringing you the best of the new crop... from the farm to your community.

In the past few years Richard has developed a passion for photography, recording through his lens the wonderful places we’ve been visiting. During our recent trip to South-East Asia while Sue was busy writing our travel log, Richard snapped pictures galore everywhere we went - uploading the best ones to his Flickr website. If you’re interested, please visit and take a look!

Order Deadline is Monday, September 28th. Please note this is an absolutely firm order deadline – any orders received after the deadline will not be guaranteed delivery, and will be dealt with on a first in, first served basis.

Order Delivery / Pick-up: Orders are sent pre-paid by commercial freight

carriers or courier service to a freight depot in your nearest town centre. You should receive a call from the freight operator indicating the shipment has arrived. If you live centrally, there should be no problem in delivering to your door. However, some freight carriers will not deliver to a private residence due to the poor roads etc. in which case you may be required to make arrangements for pick-up at the depot. If you live in a remote area not covered by our regular freight carriers, an ‘inter-line’ service may be required and the cost of this service is covered by you. If in doubt, please discuss this at order time.

Customers wishing to pick up their wholesale order at our warehouse please let us know when you place your order. When your order is ready, we will call and arrange a mutually convenient time for order pick up.

Vietnam and Bali: in photographs Bali Images: http://tinyurl.com/balipix

www.ranchovignola.com

Order Minimum: $500 - product available in full cases or 5lb bags

orders and place our final order quantities with our suppliers. The products begin arriving in our warehouse from mid-October onwards, and wholesale orders are shipped out from the end of October to late November. Sometimes we experience delays of a particular product, due to unforeseen circumstances such as ports being closed due to strikes. Please be aware that our warehouse crew are diligently working ‘with all the stops out’ to get your orders shipped to you as quickly as possible. There is a very short time frame in which to receive product, package it, and prepare the final order for shipment. We will try to meet your requests for a specific delivery day, but any customers setting up their own sales (or advertising a delivery day to their club members) are advised to err on the side of caution and plan for later in November. Please note: Any special delivery requests must be made at the time of order placement in September.

WELCOME 2 Donations 2008 3 Rancho Recipes 4 Customer Testimonials 5 Vietnamese Cashews 6 Arts & Music Festivals 8 Visiting Dan in Vietnam 9 Crop News 10 Who We Are 10 Rancho Vignola Policies 11 Public Sales 2009 12 Page 2

Payment All first-time wholesale customers are required to pre-pay as soon as the order is placed. For existing customers with established credit terms, payment is required within 15 days from receipt of the order. We accept payment by credit card, cheque (one cheque only please!), and money order. Customers using our online ordering system may safely use a credit card online to pay for their order.

Order Shipment: Directly after the order deadline, we consolidate all the

Vietnam Images: http://tinyurl.com/vietnampix

INSIDE...

Wholesale Ordering System The wholesale price list will be available on or before September 10th, and customers can access it either by downloading it in PDF format through our website or by regular mail. Customers with email addresses will receive an announcement when the price list is ready.

Since regular mail is the slowest, most customers opt for the ‘electronic’ option. Customers with email addresses, please let us know if you also want a paper copy of the price list sent to you, as we prefer to avoid sending out paper unnecessarily

Shipping Charges

Please review this section carefully

(1) Standard Freight policy: We will cover freight costs to the nearest town centre on our regular shipping routes for central regions of BC (including Vancouver Island) and Alberta. Customers are responsible for any inter-line charges incurred for delivery beyond the freight depot.

(2) Regions east of Alberta: Shipping charges based on 20¢/lb will apply to orders shipped to a central freight depot and will be added to your invoice.

Please note that the added charge is only a fraction of the total shipping cost to these regions, the main portion is still covered by us. Again, customers are responsible for pick-up or shipping charges beyond the freight depot.

(3) Northern regions and Maritimes: Shipping charges to remote northern areas and the Maritime provinces will be determined on a case-by-case basis and discussed at the time of order placement.

Summer 2009

Summer 2009

Discount for Pre-paid Orders

We are pleased to offer a 2% discount to all customers who pre-pay their orders (this includes new customers). Pre-payment is required immediately after the order is placed and you have received a phone call or email with your order total.

Return Policy At Rancho Vignola, we stand behind all of our products and will gladly take back anything that is not up to our standards. However, we cannot accept any product returns later than 30 days after order shipment. We ask that you contact us with any concerns immediately after you receive and go through your order.

Fundraising with Rancho Vignola!

Many groups use our products in their fundraising campaigns and are very pleased with the results. We are happy to assist with helping you pinpoint popular products and creating your group’s customized retail price list. To receive the fundraising information package, please go to our website or contact us to request a mailed copy. If you wish to organize a fundraiser for this year, please contact us with your information before September.

Buying Club Referrals - Earn Commission!

We offer 5% commission to Buying Club coordinators (that means you!) who refer us to friends, family members, and other contacts who go on to start a new club and place a wholesale order. The amount of the commission is determined by the new club’s wholesale order total and is awarded for three consecutive years from the first wholesale order. Commissions earned are calculated at the end of the season.

NEW FOR 2009: We will no longer be issuing cheques in the new year.

Commissions earned will be paid out in credit toward the following season’s order.

To be eligible, when referring new customers to us you must provide their full name, address, telephone number, and email address before we send out the wholesale price list in early September. New clubs must have their own coordinator and a separate shipping address from their sponsor.

NOTE: Sponsors must also continue to place wholesale orders to be eligible for commission.

Toll-Free Information Centre Our toll-free line connects you to our information system offering three menu options: you can hear details of all this year’s Public Sales, request a new customer info package, or leave us messages. During the ordering period (September 10th - 28th) you can also leave small orders on the message system, order add-ons, or ask us to call you back to take your order.

Toll-free nation wide: 1-877-NEW-CROP

www.ranchovignola.com

(1-877-639-2767)

Page 11

Crop News Most of California has now joined the likes of other desert regions such as Australia, with farmers finding themselves with severely limited water allocations. Obviously, this is having an impact on many crops, including almonds. Luckily, Rancho Vignola’s supply hasn’t been too badly affected, and prices will not be drastically increased. Our organic almond grower, Maisie Jane Hurtado in Chico, CA, reports that her crops are looking wonderful and seem to be a nice size so far.

Further south, Greg Raumin of Jewel Dates reports that things are going very smoothly so far, with nice big clumps of dates ripening on the trees right on schedule. Greg says it’s still too early to tell exactly how the crop will look, as July can be a very formative month, usually bringing a bit of humidity to the region of Thermal, CA. Contrary to what you might think, high humidity can result in smaller and slightly less moist dates, while a nice dry July will bring the fruit to a plump finish. Hopefully the dry weather adversely affecting the rest of the state will focus itself on Thermal and give us some nice juicy dates!

BIG TREE - Bali

Our trip to Bali was made primarily to visit our old friend David Treveylan, a graphic artist, who has long lent his artistic talent to our printed materials and bag designs. Of course we’re always looking out for new products too, and we were not disappointed. David introduced us to Ben and Blair Ripple of Big Tree Farms, young entrepreneurs who have lived in Bali approximately eight years and are involved in growing, processing and distributing organic products. It was really interesting to meet this young, dynamic couple who are dedicated to sustainable agriculture. Their products include ‘authentically raw cashews,' cashews that are processed with a refrigeration technique rather than the more common steam method used with conventional cashew processing. We sampled a variety of their products, among them the raw cashews, cashewcacao nibs (a delicious organic confection), and palm sugar - a dark brown sugar high in B vitamins and minerals. Look for these exciting new items and more in this season’s wholesale price list, available early September.

Who We Are

Cracking News

For Baby Pecans!

According to our organic pecan grower Drew Kimmel, the big news this year is that Missouri Pecans now has the facilities to do all their own shelling. Until now they have sent their nuts to Texas for shelling, hundreds of miles there and back, resulting in ever climbing prices, due mainly to recent fuel costs. More importantly for a company that was formed on the basis of sustainability, the environmental impact from all this travel is, in Drew’s view, no longer acceptable. This means that we can feel even better about enjoying our favourite organic pecans, and this year we can even look forward to a price decrease - so we can afford more!

As for what to expect of this year's batch, Drew reports that they are, and I quote, “very, very tasty!” As always! Every year we fall in love all over again with these beautiful little pecans, smaller than their ‘mammoth’ cousins, but oh so much more flavour. Good things do come in small packages!

Our two grown children Natalia and Simon are now involved full time in the business. Each fall our committed crew of key staff members also join us for the busy harvest season.

We are company owners Richard and Sue Vignola, and have been in the natural food industry for more than 30 years. In the early 80s we operated a small but lively natural food store in downtown Vernon, Our products are sold direct to the consumer through annual Public which expanded to include a vegetarian restaurant in later years.

Sales, wholesale Buying Clubs, and online through our website during December and again in March.

Passionate about natural and organic foods, we began promoting the seasonal harvest of nuts and dried fruit by offering bulk buying and For more on Rancho Vignola, full case lots to our customers. Even after we sold the store, the our history, products, and ‘nut’ business stayed with us, maintaining a faithful clientele and information on online ordering, continuously growing through word of mouth by satisfied please visit our website: customers. www.ranchovignola.com

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www.ranchovignola.com

A day of . . .

preparation

Summer 2009

sharing The 2008 Rancho Vignola Food Bank Donation day was a resounding success!

giving work

Friends and staff showed up from all corners to donate their time and help us package and prepare our product donations. Once again we were able to support many food banks both near and far, as well as other non-profit organizations, who are always delighted to receive our contributions.

fun

We feel fortunate to belong to a community of people who have compassion for those in need. Thanks to everyone who braved the snow that day to come and volunteer. See you in December!

Thank you for helping us share the harvest!

Here are some of the organizations who received donations from Rancho Vignola during the 2008 / 2009 season.

• Salvation Army / Vernon Food Bank • Westbank Single Parent Family Food Bank • Lake Country Food Bank • Airdrie Food Bank • Mustard Seed Kitchen - Calgary • Camrose Neighbouraid • Roots & Blues Music Festival Salmon Arm • Komasket Music Festival - Vernon • Hogar de Refugio Infantil - Mexico • Upper Room Mission - Vernon

snow

music

friends!

• Fiji Mission (SDA Church) • Good Food Box / First Nations Friendship Centre • Vernon Women's Transition House • Boys and Girls Club - Armstrong • Caravan Farm Theatre - Armstrong • Cedar Bridge School (Waldorf Initiative) - Lumby • Runaway Moon Theatre - Enderby • Tom Velisek (Olympic Athlete) • Akonjo Youth Empowerment Project - Enderby / Africa

Rancho Donations 2008

Summer 2009

www.ranchovignola.com

Page 3

Visiting Dan

Rancho Recipes

in Vietnam

What better way to share memories of delicious meals than with recipes? Rancho Vignola’s ‘Recipe of the Year’ Challenge is drawing lots of attention, and we are pleased to offer a selection from this year’s entries. The winner receives $100 in credit towards future purchases at Rancho Vignola. With so many amazing submissions, it’s difficult to choose just one!

All recipe submissions can be found on our website at www.ranchovignola.com. Come and see how other customers are using their Rancho products - or submit your own recipe to share with the Rancho community!

We are always accepting submissions for the next Recipe of the Year Challenge, so keep them coming!

Winner

2008 Recipe of the Year Great Granola

Submitted by Gail Wilson of Bow Island, Alberta

This easy and flexible recipe can be adjusted to suit your tastes and what you happen to have available - we love that! It’s easy to follow, fun to play with, and uses your favourite Rancho products in abundance. The best part is, you can eat Gail’s Great Granola every morning, and start your day feeling fantastic!

This one is packed with energy, and dehydrating saves all those yummy nutrients from being cooked out! It can also be doubled (or tripled) to suit your family size. I use all raw organic ingredients for the best nutritional value. With this recipe the options are endless, so experiment with your favourite ingredients - you can’t go wrong!

DRY 4 cups rolled oats 1 cup almonds 1 cup cashews ½ cup pecans ½ cup flax seed ½ cup sesame seed ½ cup sunflower seed You can substitute any other nuts you love (except your husband). You can also use more or less of each kind of nut. General rule of thumb: 4 cups oats, 4 cups nuts.

WET ½ - ¾ cup honey (depending on your sweet tooth) ⅓ cup molasses ¾ cup olive oil ¼ cup maple syrup 2 tbsp water OPTIONAL Anything you think you would like in granola, such as: Raisins Dried fruit, chopped fine Coconut Cinnamon Goji berries - You can use whole, or grind these for an easier chew. ¼ cup is a good amount.

Dates Page 4

Using Dates: To use dates without having big chunks in your granola, cut in quarters and freeze, or try Rancho’s wonderful date pieces which are already chopped. Then grind either option in the blender (when still frozen), adding a little oat flour so they don’t stick, and add to the wet ingredients. ½ cup will suffice.

DRY Grind all the nuts in your Vitamix, blender, or coffee grinder. Grind the almonds by the handful so as not to stick up the grinder. Put all the nuts in a large bowl.

WET Mix all the wet ingredients in a blender. Pour into the large bowl of nuts and stir thoroughly.

THE FINALE Put the rolled oats in a large roasting pan. Add the wet mixture to the rolled oats and stir well. If your oven has a dehydrating feature, set to 120º. Place in oven and stir every hour until dry, about 4-6 hours. It doesn’t have to be crumbly dry, as you are storing it in the fridge / freezer.

If you don’t have a dehydrating feature, set your oven on the lowest temperature you can (usually 200º) for 3-4 hours, stirring more often. It will taste just as good and the low temperature will still preserve most of the nutritional value.

Store the granola in airtight glass jars in the freezer for optimum freshness - keeps 6 - 8 months. Take out what you can use in 2 weeks and store this in the fridge as you munch away.

www.ranchovignola.com

Enjoy!

Summer 2009

We’re visiting the Dan-D Foods plant in Ho Chi Minh City, a 50,000 square foot facility opened in 1999. It is here that raw cashews are processed into roasted and flavoured products, and also where nut and trail mixes are produced and packaged. Thousands of pounds of product is shipped to the Canadian plant in BC each month.

Entering the main office, we are welcomed by a petite Chinese-Canadian woman, Lawrende Chiu, Research and Development and Quality Control Manager. Lawrende, who has a Bachelor of Science from McGill University and a Masters in Food Safety, is in Vietnam from the Richmond, BC plant for an extended work stint.

Every care is taken to keep the plant spotless and germ-free, so our first stop is the sterilization room. We remove jewelry and watches, put on lab coats, plastic shoes, masks, and hairnets, and are taken to the handwashing station. Richard also hands over his heavy bag of photography equipment as Dan-D Foods has a strict no camera policy. At each entrance to the plant’s various departments we walk over a disinfectant-drenched sponge mat.

The systems we see in operation throughout the plant are very familiar to us. The raw nuts are washed and sent through laser and x-ray machines before a final handsorting for sizing and flaws. Nuts destined for roasting are sprayed lightly with canola oil and then spend 15 minutes in the ovens at 155ºF. Any seasonings are added at a later stage of the procedure, and Dan-D grinds all their own spices for ultimate freshness.

Introducing Dan On

The young Dan On left his native Vietnam in the early eighties, assisted by members of the church community who sponsored his immigration into Canada. His “adopted” Canadian family owned a wholesale bulk food distribution business in Richmond, BC, where Dan soon began working. With his natural flare for business and inexhaustible work ethic, it was inevitable that Dan would soon move on to create his own empire.

In 1989, Dan opened Dan-D Foods and brought his family over from Vietnam to settle in Canada and work in the business. Today he is president of a company which operates its business from five countries: Canada, U.S.A., Vietnam, Thailand, and China, with approximately 500 employees total.

Dan, a slender man in his late forties, is the father of two young adults who are students in BC. Coupled with his boundless drive for continual improvement in his

We then pass through immense rooms where huge 800kg bales of raw cashews are stored. The plant has eight packaging machines, where workers pack product into various size packages. We’re impressed by the modern equipment - both this plant and DanD’s Canadian plant have state-of-the-art machinery and the latest technologies, and each are HACCP* and ISO9001:2000* certified.

Dan at the local children's home in Vietnam

business operations is Dan’s commitment to various charities and non-profit groups. Dan-D Foods has a sponsorship program operating in BC and Dan is a patron of a children’s home a short drive from his Ho Chi Minh City residence.

Today, Dan-D Foods Ltd. operates its business from five countries: Canada, U.S.A., Vietnam, Thailand, and China. Dan divides his time between these countries, spending about a quarter of each year in Canada. He is currently busy opening a new distribution plant in Fresno, California.

kitchen staff. The food is excellent and we sample a variety of dishes, alongside the first shift of plant workers who shyly peek at us in between bites.

We are thrilled to have had this opportunity to see first hand Dan-D Foods’ Vietnamese plant and the high standards in operation there.

We also can’t help thinking ahead to when we will be receiving those wonderful cashews into our warehouse this fall, and the memories of sun-drenched Vietnam they will bring back!

The plant employs approximately 200 staff, who *HACCP: Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point, a distribution monitoring system

used in food production for control of health hazards. are covered by health insurance and required

*ISO9001:2000: A family of standards for quality of management systems, maintained to undergo a medical examination every six

by the International Organization for Standardization. months. We are impressed by the number of women in management positions. Lawrende introduces us to her colleagues in the laboratory, her base of • The cashew tree is native to Brazil. operations, where finished product is tested for pathogens.

• The Maconde tribe of Mozambique, Africa refer to cashews as the ‘Devil’s Nut.' Back outside in the scorching sun, we head to the lunchroom where staff enjoy their daily free meal, prepared by seven

• Cashews are offered at wedding ceremonies as a token of fertility and are considered to have aphrodisiac properties.

• India is one of the largest cashew growing nations, but Vietnam is beginning to snatch that title away!

Summer 2009

www.ranchovignola.com

Page 9

Arts & Music Festivals As many of you know, Rancho Vignola supports a wide variety of charitable organizations and community groups through product donations. Here are some of our particular favourites, which we make a point of attending every year.

Komasket Music Festival

The increasingly popular Komasket Music Festival is held on the pow-wow grounds of the Okanagan Indian Band at a lakeside venue on Westside Road, just outside of Vernon, BC. With three days of incredible music, camping, swimming, and dancing, the festival is a throwback to earlier decades of hippy gatherings, but with better sound equipment!

Runaway Moon Theatre & Puppet Museum Located in Grindrod, BC, Runaway Moon Theatre is dear to Sue’s heart as she has served on their Board of Directors for a number of years! With theatrical productions ranging from Greek myths to community building workshops promoting locally grown foods, Runaway Moon offers an opportunity to see and be involved in live theatre in a creative and supportive environment.

Everybody Loves 'Em Energy Orbs

Submitted by Nadine Fletcher of Lake Louise, Alberta

Submitted by Heather Miller of Kelowna, BC

We LOVE this recipe, and every time we serve it we get demands for a copy. Make it, try it, fall in love!

I have been making these since my almost teenage son was a toddler. We now make these with ingredients ordered from Rancho. Our friends and family love them!

2 cups pitted dates 2 cups almonds ½ cup dried apricots ¼ cup hemp seeds ¼ cup ground flax seeds ¼ cup coconut 3 tbsp orange juice concentrate mixed with enough water to form 'dough' 1 tsp cinnamon additional ground flax seed for rolling

Grind almonds in food processor or Vitamix then place in large mixing bowl. Roughly chop dates, put in processor or Vitamix to grind then add to almonds in bowl. Repeat with apricots. Add hemp, flax, and coconut, mix together then add cinnamon. In a measuring cup mix orange juice concentrate with ¼ cup of water. Pour over fruit mixture and mix until everything sticks together (you may need to add a tiny bit more water to help them stick together). Take 1 tbsp of mixture into hands and roll into a ball shape. Place onto a plate of ground flax seed and roll ball to coat (for a different taste you can also use carob or cocoa powder). Store in freezer. We like to eat them straight out of the freezer, but they also make a fantastic backpacking snack.

This recipe is quite adaptable and we often swap the ingredients, but we always keep the dates, almonds, orange juice, and cinnamon. The orange and cinnamon seems to go especially well with the dates.

½ cup honey (or less to taste) 1 ½ cups dried organic Turkish apricots, halved 2 cups dried organic Calimyrna figs, stemmed and halved ½ cup organic raisins ½ tsp spearmint, fresh or dry, chopped or crushed leaves ½ tsp anise / fennel seeds juice of 1 small lemon or ½ of a big, juicy lemon Garnish: toasted walnut halves and slivered almonds, orange slices, yogurt (Mediterranean yogurt or sheep yogurt is especially good!), fresh mint.

In a saucepan, bring the honey and water to a boil. Add the halved apricots and figs and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the raisins, spearmint, and anise seeds and continue to cook for about 20 minutes. When the figs are thick and tender and the liquid has become a very thick syrup, stir in the lemon juice.

Serve hot, chilled, or at room temperature in small dishes. Garnish with 2 or 3 walnut halves, a few slivered almonds and a sprig of fresh mint. Or serve plain yogurt with a tablespoon or two of the conserve on top, garnished with the nuts and mint and an orange slice. Very, very good all together!

www.runawaymoon.org

We’ve said it before - the best part about being in this business is getting to know the wonderful people who make up the Rancho community. You, our customers, are the reason we are here - and once again we thank you for your continued support and encouragement from season to season! your stuff on a hike a of e m And now, a few words from some of you.... so t ou ed ll u p d

www.komasketmusicfestival.com

A frien eeks back and.... ango, couple of wthe best I’ve ever had! Love the m in ly er Absolute figs and look forward to ord g some apricot and hiking pleasure. for skiing / Rober t, Banff AB ou y

and I blessness and Thank you si bu c ifi for your te’rr This week I r sure doing a s It e. servic withpyleoua and the of nuts and frueciteived my first order business wonderful. one question th from you. I hav product is lyn, Burns Lake BC how my famil at I think will tel e - Mari y and I feel ab l you products: out your H o w s o o n c a n I bought so Everything is we order more? your breakfast mmixe atof yo do want to orddelicious and we re sale several weeks aguor nut very much fo er more. Thank yo ally I am afraid I made a and q uality producr producing such goou mistake. I did not bu big d

y - Barbatsra. , Ray enough. mond AB I am running out too quickly because I h I received my order and wanted to only thing Iavweanfotutondeait’s the wh at great products they are! Everysay t for breakfast! in my little group who ordered wereone Thanks for a great, hea H av e a go ecs od se on, you and your co tatic about their purchase and want lthy product. mpany are first rate nuastte to ord er more. Thanks! rs! !

- Gary, Vernon BC - Fred, Manson's Landing BC

- Bev, Victoria BC

Roots and Blues Salmon Arm’s famous music festival happens in the heart of downtown on a usually sweltering weekend in mid-August. With musical acts from all over the world, Roots and Blues is the ‘cream of the crop’ of local music festivals.

Eight stages provide continuous music throughout the weekend - it’s an event not to be missed! www.rootsandblues.ca

Page 8

Fig and Apricot Conserve

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Summer 2009

Summer 2009

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Page 5

Processing cashews - from black to white!

Vietnamese Cashews It's All in the Fruit!

The heat is palpable, and air thick with the humidity that is always present in southern Vietnam. We’ve been here barely twentyfour hours and are trying to adapt to temperatures in the region of 35ºC, with humidity levels through the roof.

It’s a big change from the -20ºC the day we left home! Fortunately, the air conditioned SUV we’re traveling in and the amazing sights and sounds around us help to take our minds off the heat.

This trip came about at the urging of our main cashew supplier, Dan On of Dan-D Foods in Richmond, BC. Dan is a Vietnamese-Canadian who immigrated to British Columbia in the early 1980s. He opened the Vietnamese branch of his corporation in 1999 so he could oversee cashew processing there. See page 9 for more on self-made entrepreneur Dan On. We’ve timed our visit to coincide with the cashew harvest, and are now en route to a cashew plantation and Sue inhales the aroma of a fresh processing plant cashew 'apple' in the heart of Binh Duong province. We’re accompanied by three of Dan On’s staff members and Dan’s niece, a young ChineseAustralian woman, all of whom are trying to answer our many questions in a mixture of Vietnamese, Cantonese and English. Heading away from Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), we pass through quiet countryside, thankfully devoid of the mass of motorized scooters so prevalent in the city. There are about eight million people in Ho Chi Minh City and at least half of them seem to own a scooter or bike!

On our two hour journey into the rural areas, we pass by numerous rubber plantations, a major crop export for Vietnam. Reaching our first destination, we are met on the roadside by a weathered farmer who hops onto her scooter and guides us down a dirt road to her small cashew plantation. We step out of the cool vehicle and are embraced by intense heat and brilliant sunshine. Our steps raise clouds of dust from the dry, red earth.

Spotting what look like bright red and yellow peppers hanging upside down in the trees, we are thrilled to see our very first cashew ‘apples.’ The picker finds our excitement quite comical as she hands us each a fruit to eat. It tastes sweet, juicy, starchy, and astringent at the same time. The fruit is rich in vitamin C and used in food production by some cashewproducing countries for fruit beverages and jams.

Our next stop is a nearby processing plant, where a group of very young giggling children, playing while their parents work, are the first to greet us. The building is a cement structure, open in the front, with alcoves for various stages of the production. The first room is packed with approximately fifty people, mostly women of varying ages.

They are seated at individual, foot-pedal operated hulling machines, cracking each shell and removing the cashew. Their hands and arms are covered to protect them from the caustic black resin found inside the hull. The brown skin protects the nut from the resin and is later removed during processing. Cashews are perhaps the only nut that cannot be consumed raw from the tree because until the black resin is removed the nuts are toxic and will cause extreme intestinal pain.

The resin is actually a valuable and versatile raw material, used in braking systems and paint manufacture.

In the next alcove, the hulled cashews are placed into huge cauldrons for steam processing to remove the toxic resin. The scene is almost medieval in setting and the process may be unchanged from a century ago. The cauldrons are sometimes fueled by cashew hulls, but the plant usually burns cheaper wood since the hulls are more valuable when converted into diesel fuel.

After steaming, the cashews are laid out in the sun to dry, still in their brown skins. The cashews are spread on tarps and raked over constantly by attendants, who make sure each and every nut is dried thoroughly in the hot sun. Sue takes a turn with a rake, borrowed from the obliging farm worker who laughs at her attempts to mimic him. The cashews then go for final processing, where the brown skin is painstakingly removed by hand.

We are beginning to understand why cashews are so expensive!

On our way back to Ho Chi Minh City our colleagues want to inspect some of the cashews laid out to dry (and for sale) at the side of the road. Spirited discussion takes place. They also indulge in a mysterious “floating test” where the brown-skinned cashews are floated in a bucket of water. We think this is a means to test the full weight of the nutmeat inside the skin but we are not totally sure!

We arrive back in the city thoroughly exhausted but fascinated by all we have seen on our first full day in Vietnam, the pearl of South-East Asia.

When I enquire about chemical use in conventional cashew cultivation, I'm told that cashews are quite easy to grow and have few predators, so little chemical intervention is required.

There is no irrigation used and farmers are dependent on the rain, which is often not sufficient or appears at the wrong time - the usual farmers’ lament! This year the rainy season's impact on the cashews has resulted in a lower yield than normal.

The trees yield their first harvest after six years. The ripe fruit is handpicked, the 'apple' twisted off and discarded, and the dark brown nut placed in bags. The bags of nuts are then transferred to a local processing plant for the first stage of the intense process that cashews must endure to produce the lovely white nuts we all know and love!

Sue inspects the sun dried cashews

Sorting cashews Page 6

www.ranchovignola.com

Summer 2009

Summer 2009

www.ranchovignola.com

Page 7

Processing cashews - from black to white!

Vietnamese Cashews It's All in the Fruit!

The heat is palpable, and air thick with the humidity that is always present in southern Vietnam. We’ve been here barely twentyfour hours and are trying to adapt to temperatures in the region of 35ºC, with humidity levels through the roof.

It’s a big change from the -20ºC the day we left home! Fortunately, the air conditioned SUV we’re traveling in and the amazing sights and sounds around us help to take our minds off the heat.

This trip came about at the urging of our main cashew supplier, Dan On of Dan-D Foods in Richmond, BC. Dan is a Vietnamese-Canadian who immigrated to British Columbia in the early 1980s. He opened the Vietnamese branch of his corporation in 1999 so he could oversee cashew processing there. See page 9 for more on self-made entrepreneur Dan On. We’ve timed our visit to coincide with the cashew harvest, and are now en route to a cashew plantation and Sue inhales the aroma of a fresh processing plant cashew 'apple' in the heart of Binh Duong province. We’re accompanied by three of Dan On’s staff members and Dan’s niece, a young ChineseAustralian woman, all of whom are trying to answer our many questions in a mixture of Vietnamese, Cantonese and English. Heading away from Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), we pass through quiet countryside, thankfully devoid of the mass of motorized scooters so prevalent in the city. There are about eight million people in Ho Chi Minh City and at least half of them seem to own a scooter or bike!

On our two hour journey into the rural areas, we pass by numerous rubber plantations, a major crop export for Vietnam. Reaching our first destination, we are met on the roadside by a weathered farmer who hops onto her scooter and guides us down a dirt road to her small cashew plantation. We step out of the cool vehicle and are embraced by intense heat and brilliant sunshine. Our steps raise clouds of dust from the dry, red earth.

Spotting what look like bright red and yellow peppers hanging upside down in the trees, we are thrilled to see our very first cashew ‘apples.’ The picker finds our excitement quite comical as she hands us each a fruit to eat. It tastes sweet, juicy, starchy, and astringent at the same time. The fruit is rich in vitamin C and used in food production by some cashewproducing countries for fruit beverages and jams.

Our next stop is a nearby processing plant, where a group of very young giggling children, playing while their parents work, are the first to greet us. The building is a cement structure, open in the front, with alcoves for various stages of the production. The first room is packed with approximately fifty people, mostly women of varying ages.

They are seated at individual, foot-pedal operated hulling machines, cracking each shell and removing the cashew. Their hands and arms are covered to protect them from the caustic black resin found inside the hull. The brown skin protects the nut from the resin and is later removed during processing. Cashews are perhaps the only nut that cannot be consumed raw from the tree because until the black resin is removed the nuts are toxic and will cause extreme intestinal pain.

The resin is actually a valuable and versatile raw material, used in braking systems and paint manufacture.

In the next alcove, the hulled cashews are placed into huge cauldrons for steam processing to remove the toxic resin. The scene is almost medieval in setting and the process may be unchanged from a century ago. The cauldrons are sometimes fueled by cashew hulls, but the plant usually burns cheaper wood since the hulls are more valuable when converted into diesel fuel.

After steaming, the cashews are laid out in the sun to dry, still in their brown skins. The cashews are spread on tarps and raked over constantly by attendants, who make sure each and every nut is dried thoroughly in the hot sun. Sue takes a turn with a rake, borrowed from the obliging farm worker who laughs at her attempts to mimic him. The cashews then go for final processing, where the brown skin is painstakingly removed by hand.

We are beginning to understand why cashews are so expensive!

On our way back to Ho Chi Minh City our colleagues want to inspect some of the cashews laid out to dry (and for sale) at the side of the road. Spirited discussion takes place. They also indulge in a mysterious “floating test” where the brown-skinned cashews are floated in a bucket of water. We think this is a means to test the full weight of the nutmeat inside the skin but we are not totally sure!

We arrive back in the city thoroughly exhausted but fascinated by all we have seen on our first full day in Vietnam, the pearl of South-East Asia.

When I enquire about chemical use in conventional cashew cultivation, I'm told that cashews are quite easy to grow and have few predators, so little chemical intervention is required.

There is no irrigation used and farmers are dependent on the rain, which is often not sufficient or appears at the wrong time - the usual farmers’ lament! This year the rainy season's impact on the cashews has resulted in a lower yield than normal.

The trees yield their first harvest after six years. The ripe fruit is handpicked, the 'apple' twisted off and discarded, and the dark brown nut placed in bags. The bags of nuts are then transferred to a local processing plant for the first stage of the intense process that cashews must endure to produce the lovely white nuts we all know and love!

Sue inspects the sun dried cashews

Sorting cashews Page 6

www.ranchovignola.com

Summer 2009

Summer 2009

www.ranchovignola.com

Page 7

Arts & Music Festivals As many of you know, Rancho Vignola supports a wide variety of charitable organizations and community groups through product donations. Here are some of our particular favourites, which we make a point of attending every year.

Komasket Music Festival

The increasingly popular Komasket Music Festival is held on the pow-wow grounds of the Okanagan Indian Band at a lakeside venue on Westside Road, just outside of Vernon, BC. With three days of incredible music, camping, swimming, and dancing, the festival is a throwback to earlier decades of hippy gatherings, but with better sound equipment!

Runaway Moon Theatre & Puppet Museum Located in Grindrod, BC, Runaway Moon Theatre is dear to Sue’s heart as she has served on their Board of Directors for a number of years! With theatrical productions ranging from Greek myths to community building workshops promoting locally grown foods, Runaway Moon offers an opportunity to see and be involved in live theatre in a creative and supportive environment.

Everybody Loves 'Em Energy Orbs

Submitted by Nadine Fletcher of Lake Louise, Alberta

Submitted by Heather Miller of Kelowna, BC

We LOVE this recipe, and every time we serve it we get demands for a copy. Make it, try it, fall in love!

I have been making these since my almost teenage son was a toddler. We now make these with ingredients ordered from Rancho. Our friends and family love them!

2 cups pitted dates 2 cups almonds ½ cup dried apricots ¼ cup hemp seeds ¼ cup ground flax seeds ¼ cup coconut 3 tbsp orange juice concentrate mixed with enough water to form 'dough' 1 tsp cinnamon additional ground flax seed for rolling

Grind almonds in food processor or Vitamix then place in large mixing bowl. Roughly chop dates, put in processor or Vitamix to grind then add to almonds in bowl. Repeat with apricots. Add hemp, flax, and coconut, mix together then add cinnamon. In a measuring cup mix orange juice concentrate with ¼ cup of water. Pour over fruit mixture and mix until everything sticks together (you may need to add a tiny bit more water to help them stick together). Take 1 tbsp of mixture into hands and roll into a ball shape. Place onto a plate of ground flax seed and roll ball to coat (for a different taste you can also use carob or cocoa powder). Store in freezer. We like to eat them straight out of the freezer, but they also make a fantastic backpacking snack.

This recipe is quite adaptable and we often swap the ingredients, but we always keep the dates, almonds, orange juice, and cinnamon. The orange and cinnamon seems to go especially well with the dates.

½ cup honey (or less to taste) 1 ½ cups dried organic Turkish apricots, halved 2 cups dried organic Calimyrna figs, stemmed and halved ½ cup organic raisins ½ tsp spearmint, fresh or dry, chopped or crushed leaves ½ tsp anise / fennel seeds juice of 1 small lemon or ½ of a big, juicy lemon Garnish: toasted walnut halves and slivered almonds, orange slices, yogurt (Mediterranean yogurt or sheep yogurt is especially good!), fresh mint.

In a saucepan, bring the honey and water to a boil. Add the halved apricots and figs and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the raisins, spearmint, and anise seeds and continue to cook for about 20 minutes. When the figs are thick and tender and the liquid has become a very thick syrup, stir in the lemon juice.

Serve hot, chilled, or at room temperature in small dishes. Garnish with 2 or 3 walnut halves, a few slivered almonds and a sprig of fresh mint. Or serve plain yogurt with a tablespoon or two of the conserve on top, garnished with the nuts and mint and an orange slice. Very, very good all together!

www.runawaymoon.org

We’ve said it before - the best part about being in this business is getting to know the wonderful people who make up the Rancho community. You, our customers, are the reason we are here - and once again we thank you for your continued support and encouragement from season to season! your stuff on a hike a of e m And now, a few words from some of you.... so t ou ed ll u p d

www.komasketmusicfestival.com

A frien eeks back and.... ango, couple of wthe best I’ve ever had! Love the m in ly er Absolute figs and look forward to ord g some apricot and hiking pleasure. for skiing / Rober t, Banff AB ou y

and I blessness and Thank you si bu c ifi for your te’rr This week I r sure doing a s It e. servic withpyleoua and the of nuts and frueciteived my first order business wonderful. one question th from you. I hav product is lyn, Burns Lake BC how my famil at I think will tel e - Mari y and I feel ab l you products: out your H o w s o o n c a n I bought so Everything is we order more? your breakfast mmixe atof yo do want to orddelicious and we re sale several weeks aguor nut very much fo er more. Thank yo ally I am afraid I made a and q uality producr producing such goou mistake. I did not bu big d

y - Barbatsra. , Ray enough. mond AB I am running out too quickly because I h I received my order and wanted to only thing Iavweanfotutondeait’s the wh at great products they are! Everysay t for breakfast! in my little group who ordered wereone Thanks for a great, hea H av e a go ecs od se on, you and your co tatic about their purchase and want lthy product. mpany are first rate nuastte to ord er more. Thanks! rs! !

- Gary, Vernon BC - Fred, Manson's Landing BC

- Bev, Victoria BC

Roots and Blues Salmon Arm’s famous music festival happens in the heart of downtown on a usually sweltering weekend in mid-August. With musical acts from all over the world, Roots and Blues is the ‘cream of the crop’ of local music festivals.

Eight stages provide continuous music throughout the weekend - it’s an event not to be missed! www.rootsandblues.ca

Page 8

Fig and Apricot Conserve

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Summer 2009

Summer 2009

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Page 5

Visiting Dan

Rancho Recipes

in Vietnam

What better way to share memories of delicious meals than with recipes? Rancho Vignola’s ‘Recipe of the Year’ Challenge is drawing lots of attention, and we are pleased to offer a selection from this year’s entries. The winner receives $100 in credit towards future purchases at Rancho Vignola. With so many amazing submissions, it’s difficult to choose just one!

All recipe submissions can be found on our website at www.ranchovignola.com. Come and see how other customers are using their Rancho products - or submit your own recipe to share with the Rancho community!

We are always accepting submissions for the next Recipe of the Year Challenge, so keep them coming!

Winner

2008 Recipe of the Year Great Granola

Submitted by Gail Wilson of Bow Island, Alberta

This easy and flexible recipe can be adjusted to suit your tastes and what you happen to have available - we love that! It’s easy to follow, fun to play with, and uses your favourite Rancho products in abundance. The best part is, you can eat Gail’s Great Granola every morning, and start your day feeling fantastic!

This one is packed with energy, and dehydrating saves all those yummy nutrients from being cooked out! It can also be doubled (or tripled) to suit your family size. I use all raw organic ingredients for the best nutritional value. With this recipe the options are endless, so experiment with your favourite ingredients - you can’t go wrong!

DRY 4 cups rolled oats 1 cup almonds 1 cup cashews ½ cup pecans ½ cup flax seed ½ cup sesame seed ½ cup sunflower seed You can substitute any other nuts you love (except your husband). You can also use more or less of each kind of nut. General rule of thumb: 4 cups oats, 4 cups nuts.

WET ½ - ¾ cup honey (depending on your sweet tooth) ⅓ cup molasses ¾ cup olive oil ¼ cup maple syrup 2 tbsp water OPTIONAL Anything you think you would like in granola, such as: Raisins Dried fruit, chopped fine Coconut Cinnamon Goji berries - You can use whole, or grind these for an easier chew. ¼ cup is a good amount.

Dates Page 4

Using Dates: To use dates without having big chunks in your granola, cut in quarters and freeze, or try Rancho’s wonderful date pieces which are already chopped. Then grind either option in the blender (when still frozen), adding a little oat flour so they don’t stick, and add to the wet ingredients. ½ cup will suffice.

DRY Grind all the nuts in your Vitamix, blender, or coffee grinder. Grind the almonds by the handful so as not to stick up the grinder. Put all the nuts in a large bowl.

WET Mix all the wet ingredients in a blender. Pour into the large bowl of nuts and stir thoroughly.

THE FINALE Put the rolled oats in a large roasting pan. Add the wet mixture to the rolled oats and stir well. If your oven has a dehydrating feature, set to 120º. Place in oven and stir every hour until dry, about 4-6 hours. It doesn’t have to be crumbly dry, as you are storing it in the fridge / freezer.

If you don’t have a dehydrating feature, set your oven on the lowest temperature you can (usually 200º) for 3-4 hours, stirring more often. It will taste just as good and the low temperature will still preserve most of the nutritional value.

Store the granola in airtight glass jars in the freezer for optimum freshness - keeps 6 - 8 months. Take out what you can use in 2 weeks and store this in the fridge as you munch away.

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Enjoy!

Summer 2009

We’re visiting the Dan-D Foods plant in Ho Chi Minh City, a 50,000 square foot facility opened in 1999. It is here that raw cashews are processed into roasted and flavoured products, and also where nut and trail mixes are produced and packaged. Thousands of pounds of product is shipped to the Canadian plant in BC each month.

Entering the main office, we are welcomed by a petite Chinese-Canadian woman, Lawrende Chiu, Research and Development and Quality Control Manager. Lawrende, who has a Bachelor of Science from McGill University and a Masters in Food Safety, is in Vietnam from the Richmond, BC plant for an extended work stint.

Every care is taken to keep the plant spotless and germ-free, so our first stop is the sterilization room. We remove jewelry and watches, put on lab coats, plastic shoes, masks, and hairnets, and are taken to the handwashing station. Richard also hands over his heavy bag of photography equipment as Dan-D Foods has a strict no camera policy. At each entrance to the plant’s various departments we walk over a disinfectant-drenched sponge mat.

The systems we see in operation throughout the plant are very familiar to us. The raw nuts are washed and sent through laser and x-ray machines before a final handsorting for sizing and flaws. Nuts destined for roasting are sprayed lightly with canola oil and then spend 15 minutes in the ovens at 155ºF. Any seasonings are added at a later stage of the procedure, and Dan-D grinds all their own spices for ultimate freshness.

Introducing Dan On

The young Dan On left his native Vietnam in the early eighties, assisted by members of the church community who sponsored his immigration into Canada. His “adopted” Canadian family owned a wholesale bulk food distribution business in Richmond, BC, where Dan soon began working. With his natural flare for business and inexhaustible work ethic, it was inevitable that Dan would soon move on to create his own empire.

In 1989, Dan opened Dan-D Foods and brought his family over from Vietnam to settle in Canada and work in the business. Today he is president of a company which operates its business from five countries: Canada, U.S.A., Vietnam, Thailand, and China, with approximately 500 employees total.

Dan, a slender man in his late forties, is the father of two young adults who are students in BC. Coupled with his boundless drive for continual improvement in his

We then pass through immense rooms where huge 800kg bales of raw cashews are stored. The plant has eight packaging machines, where workers pack product into various size packages. We’re impressed by the modern equipment - both this plant and DanD’s Canadian plant have state-of-the-art machinery and the latest technologies, and each are HACCP* and ISO9001:2000* certified.

Dan at the local children's home in Vietnam

business operations is Dan’s commitment to various charities and non-profit groups. Dan-D Foods has a sponsorship program operating in BC and Dan is a patron of a children’s home a short drive from his Ho Chi Minh City residence.

Today, Dan-D Foods Ltd. operates its business from five countries: Canada, U.S.A., Vietnam, Thailand, and China. Dan divides his time between these countries, spending about a quarter of each year in Canada. He is currently busy opening a new distribution plant in Fresno, California.

kitchen staff. The food is excellent and we sample a variety of dishes, alongside the first shift of plant workers who shyly peek at us in between bites.

We are thrilled to have had this opportunity to see first hand Dan-D Foods’ Vietnamese plant and the high standards in operation there.

We also can’t help thinking ahead to when we will be receiving those wonderful cashews into our warehouse this fall, and the memories of sun-drenched Vietnam they will bring back!

The plant employs approximately 200 staff, who *HACCP: Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point, a distribution monitoring system

used in food production for control of health hazards. are covered by health insurance and required

*ISO9001:2000: A family of standards for quality of management systems, maintained to undergo a medical examination every six

by the International Organization for Standardization. months. We are impressed by the number of women in management positions. Lawrende introduces us to her colleagues in the laboratory, her base of • The cashew tree is native to Brazil. operations, where finished product is tested for pathogens.

• The Maconde tribe of Mozambique, Africa refer to cashews as the ‘Devil’s Nut.' Back outside in the scorching sun, we head to the lunchroom where staff enjoy their daily free meal, prepared by seven

• Cashews are offered at wedding ceremonies as a token of fertility and are considered to have aphrodisiac properties.

• India is one of the largest cashew growing nations, but Vietnam is beginning to snatch that title away!

Summer 2009

www.ranchovignola.com

Page 9

Crop News Most of California has now joined the likes of other desert regions such as Australia, with farmers finding themselves with severely limited water allocations. Obviously, this is having an impact on many crops, including almonds. Luckily, Rancho Vignola’s supply hasn’t been too badly affected, and prices will not be drastically increased. Our organic almond grower, Maisie Jane Hurtado in Chico, CA, reports that her crops are looking wonderful and seem to be a nice size so far.

Further south, Greg Raumin of Jewel Dates reports that things are going very smoothly so far, with nice big clumps of dates ripening on the trees right on schedule. Greg says it’s still too early to tell exactly how the crop will look, as July can be a very formative month, usually bringing a bit of humidity to the region of Thermal, CA. Contrary to what you might think, high humidity can result in smaller and slightly less moist dates, while a nice dry July will bring the fruit to a plump finish. Hopefully the dry weather adversely affecting the rest of the state will focus itself on Thermal and give us some nice juicy dates!

BIG TREE - Bali

Our trip to Bali was made primarily to visit our old friend David Treveylan, a graphic artist, who has long lent his artistic talent to our printed materials and bag designs. Of course we’re always looking out for new products too, and we were not disappointed. David introduced us to Ben and Blair Ripple of Big Tree Farms, young entrepreneurs who have lived in Bali approximately eight years and are involved in growing, processing and distributing organic products. It was really interesting to meet this young, dynamic couple who are dedicated to sustainable agriculture. Their products include ‘authentically raw cashews,' cashews that are processed with a refrigeration technique rather than the more common steam method used with conventional cashew processing. We sampled a variety of their products, among them the raw cashews, cashewcacao nibs (a delicious organic confection), and palm sugar - a dark brown sugar high in B vitamins and minerals. Look for these exciting new items and more in this season’s wholesale price list, available early September.

Who We Are

Cracking News

For Baby Pecans!

According to our organic pecan grower Drew Kimmel, the big news this year is that Missouri Pecans now has the facilities to do all their own shelling. Until now they have sent their nuts to Texas for shelling, hundreds of miles there and back, resulting in ever climbing prices, due mainly to recent fuel costs. More importantly for a company that was formed on the basis of sustainability, the environmental impact from all this travel is, in Drew’s view, no longer acceptable. This means that we can feel even better about enjoying our favourite organic pecans, and this year we can even look forward to a price decrease - so we can afford more!

As for what to expect of this year's batch, Drew reports that they are, and I quote, “very, very tasty!” As always! Every year we fall in love all over again with these beautiful little pecans, smaller than their ‘mammoth’ cousins, but oh so much more flavour. Good things do come in small packages!

Our two grown children Natalia and Simon are now involved full time in the business. Each fall our committed crew of key staff members also join us for the busy harvest season.

We are company owners Richard and Sue Vignola, and have been in the natural food industry for more than 30 years. In the early 80s we operated a small but lively natural food store in downtown Vernon, Our products are sold direct to the consumer through annual Public which expanded to include a vegetarian restaurant in later years.

Sales, wholesale Buying Clubs, and online through our website during December and again in March.

Passionate about natural and organic foods, we began promoting the seasonal harvest of nuts and dried fruit by offering bulk buying and For more on Rancho Vignola, full case lots to our customers. Even after we sold the store, the our history, products, and ‘nut’ business stayed with us, maintaining a faithful clientele and information on online ordering, continuously growing through word of mouth by satisfied please visit our website: customers. www.ranchovignola.com

Page 10

www.ranchovignola.com

A day of . . .

preparation

Summer 2009

sharing The 2008 Rancho Vignola Food Bank Donation day was a resounding success!

giving work

Friends and staff showed up from all corners to donate their time and help us package and prepare our product donations. Once again we were able to support many food banks both near and far, as well as other non-profit organizations, who are always delighted to receive our contributions.

fun

We feel fortunate to belong to a community of people who have compassion for those in need. Thanks to everyone who braved the snow that day to come and volunteer. See you in December!

Thank you for helping us share the harvest!

Here are some of the organizations who received donations from Rancho Vignola during the 2008 / 2009 season.

• Salvation Army / Vernon Food Bank • Westbank Single Parent Family Food Bank • Lake Country Food Bank • Airdrie Food Bank • Mustard Seed Kitchen - Calgary • Camrose Neighbouraid • Roots & Blues Music Festival Salmon Arm • Komasket Music Festival - Vernon • Hogar de Refugio Infantil - Mexico • Upper Room Mission - Vernon

snow

music

friends!

• Fiji Mission (SDA Church) • Good Food Box / First Nations Friendship Centre • Vernon Women's Transition House • Boys and Girls Club - Armstrong • Caravan Farm Theatre - Armstrong • Cedar Bridge School (Waldorf Initiative) - Lumby • Runaway Moon Theatre - Enderby • Tom Velisek (Olympic Athlete) • Akonjo Youth Empowerment Project - Enderby / Africa

Rancho Donations 2008

Summer 2009

www.ranchovignola.com

Page 3

chao mung New Friends & Customers Thank you for your interest in Rancho Vignola!

Rancho Vignola is a family owned and operated distributor of fresh crop nuts, dried fruit and quality confection. We operate mainly during the fall harvest, when the fresh food is just coming off the trees. We pride ourselves on the quality of our products, and enjoy maintaining personal relationships with our growers and suppliers worldwide.

We offer ordering opportunities for both wholesale and retail customers, and the best part is:

ANYONE can order wholesale!

All we require is that wholesale orders meet the minimum of $500. Many of our customers form groups (called Buying Clubs) to place large wholesale orders and split up full cases themselves, thereby getting the best possible price – and shipping to their door!

Just want a few things?

Our Public Sales are the best place to get your fresh Rancho products in smaller quantities. Just in time for the holiday season, we hold Public Sales events in communities across British Columbia and Alberta - See page 12 for dates and locations. We also hold an Online Public Sale in early December, which is the perfect opportunity to try out a few products and have them shipped right to you, without having to place a large wholesale order For further information on wholesale or retail sales, visit our website, call us, or email us anytime, and we will be happy to help you in any way we can.

W

RANCHO POLICIES: Update

! e m o c l e

Winter is always a time for us to reflect on what worked and what didn’t during the previous harvest season. This year, we brought in a business consultant for planning sessions, which resulted in some new initiatives. One example is the new pouch-style ziplock bag we are phasing in this season. This colourful new storage bag seals in that ‘new crop’ freshness better, tells our story, and explains how to join our wholesale ordering system. Our spiffy new bag is also fully recyclable and handy to re-use! What won’t change for the company is our ongoing commitment to excellent customer service.

The 2009 harvest will soon be upon us!

As always, the Vignola family and our great team of dedicated staff are looking forward to bringing you the best of the new crop... from the farm to your community.

In the past few years Richard has developed a passion for photography, recording through his lens the wonderful places we’ve been visiting. During our recent trip to South-East Asia while Sue was busy writing our travel log, Richard snapped pictures galore everywhere we went - uploading the best ones to his Flickr website. If you’re interested, please visit and take a look!

Order Deadline is Monday, September 28th. Please note this is an absolutely firm order deadline – any orders received after the deadline will not be guaranteed delivery, and will be dealt with on a first in, first served basis.

Order Delivery / Pick-up: Orders are sent pre-paid by commercial freight

carriers or courier service to a freight depot in your nearest town centre. You should receive a call from the freight operator indicating the shipment has arrived. If you live centrally, there should be no problem in delivering to your door. However, some freight carriers will not deliver to a private residence due to the poor roads etc. in which case you may be required to make arrangements for pick-up at the depot. If you live in a remote area not covered by our regular freight carriers, an ‘inter-line’ service may be required and the cost of this service is covered by you. If in doubt, please discuss this at order time.

Customers wishing to pick up their wholesale order at our warehouse please let us know when you place your order. When your order is ready, we will call and arrange a mutually convenient time for order pick up.

Vietnam and Bali: in photographs Bali Images: http://tinyurl.com/balipix

www.ranchovignola.com

Order Minimum: $500 - product available in full cases or 5lb bags

orders and place our final order quantities with our suppliers. The products begin arriving in our warehouse from mid-October onwards, and wholesale orders are shipped out from the end of October to late November. Sometimes we experience delays of a particular product, due to unforeseen circumstances such as ports being closed due to strikes. Please be aware that our warehouse crew are diligently working ‘with all the stops out’ to get your orders shipped to you as quickly as possible. There is a very short time frame in which to receive product, package it, and prepare the final order for shipment. We will try to meet your requests for a specific delivery day, but any customers setting up their own sales (or advertising a delivery day to their club members) are advised to err on the side of caution and plan for later in November. Please note: Any special delivery requests must be made at the time of order placement in September.

WELCOME 2 Donations 2008 3 Rancho Recipes 4 Customer Testimonials 5 Vietnamese Cashews 6 Arts & Music Festivals 8 Visiting Dan in Vietnam 9 Crop News 10 Who We Are 10 Rancho Vignola Policies 11 Public Sales 2009 12 Page 2

Payment All first-time wholesale customers are required to pre-pay as soon as the order is placed. For existing customers with established credit terms, payment is required within 15 days from receipt of the order. We accept payment by credit card, cheque (one cheque only please!), and money order. Customers using our online ordering system may safely use a credit card online to pay for their order.

Order Shipment: Directly after the order deadline, we consolidate all the

Vietnam Images: http://tinyurl.com/vietnampix

INSIDE...

Wholesale Ordering System The wholesale price list will be available on or before September 10th, and customers can access it either by downloading it in PDF format through our website or by regular mail. Customers with email addresses will receive an announcement when the price list is ready.

Since regular mail is the slowest, most customers opt for the ‘electronic’ option. Customers with email addresses, please let us know if you also want a paper copy of the price list sent to you, as we prefer to avoid sending out paper unnecessarily

Shipping Charges

Please review this section carefully

(1) Standard Freight policy: We will cover freight costs to the nearest town centre on our regular shipping routes for central regions of BC (including Vancouver Island) and Alberta. Customers are responsible for any inter-line charges incurred for delivery beyond the freight depot.

(2) Regions east of Alberta: Shipping charges based on 20¢/lb will apply to orders shipped to a central freight depot and will be added to your invoice.

Please note that the added charge is only a fraction of the total shipping cost to these regions, the main portion is still covered by us. Again, customers are responsible for pick-up or shipping charges beyond the freight depot.

(3) Northern regions and Maritimes: Shipping charges to remote northern areas and the Maritime provinces will be determined on a case-by-case basis and discussed at the time of order placement.

Summer 2009

Summer 2009

Discount for Pre-paid Orders

We are pleased to offer a 2% discount to all customers who pre-pay their orders (this includes new customers). Pre-payment is required immediately after the order is placed and you have received a phone call or email with your order total.

Return Policy At Rancho Vignola, we stand behind all of our products and will gladly take back anything that is not up to our standards. However, we cannot accept any product returns later than 30 days after order shipment. We ask that you contact us with any concerns immediately after you receive and go through your order.

Fundraising with Rancho Vignola!

Many groups use our products in their fundraising campaigns and are very pleased with the results. We are happy to assist with helping you pinpoint popular products and creating your group’s customized retail price list. To receive the fundraising information package, please go to our website or contact us to request a mailed copy. If you wish to organize a fundraiser for this year, please contact us with your information before September.

Buying Club Referrals - Earn Commission!

We offer 5% commission to Buying Club coordinators (that means you!) who refer us to friends, family members, and other contacts who go on to start a new club and place a wholesale order. The amount of the commission is determined by the new club’s wholesale order total and is awarded for three consecutive years from the first wholesale order. Commissions earned are calculated at the end of the season.

NEW FOR 2009: We will no longer be issuing cheques in the new year.

Commissions earned will be paid out in credit toward the following season’s order.

To be eligible, when referring new customers to us you must provide their full name, address, telephone number, and email address before we send out the wholesale price list in early September. New clubs must have their own coordinator and a separate shipping address from their sponsor.

NOTE: Sponsors must also continue to place wholesale orders to be eligible for commission.

Toll-Free Information Centre Our toll-free line connects you to our information system offering three menu options: you can hear details of all this year’s Public Sales, request a new customer info package, or leave us messages. During the ordering period (September 10th - 28th) you can also leave small orders on the message system, order add-ons, or ask us to call you back to take your order.

Toll-free nation wide: 1-877-NEW-CROP

www.ranchovignola.com

(1-877-639-2767)

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public sales 2009

Armstrong BC Toll free: 1-877-639-2767 info@ranchovignola.com

www.ranchovignola.com

Online Public Sale

BRITISH COLUMBIA Vernon

November 6th & 7th Friday: 9am - 7pm • Saturday: 9am - 5pm

December 1st to 15th

Newion! locat

Order online at www.ranchovignola.com

Vernon Recreation Centre Auditorium

Heat

3310 - 37th Ave (just off Highway 97)

Salmon Arm

November 13th & 14th Friday: 9am - 7pm • Saturday: 9am - 5pm

Rancho Vignola’s Public Sales events are the perfect introduction to our top quality nuts, dried fruit and confection. Come see us, browse our product display, and taste everything we have to offer!

Holiday Inn

1090 - 22nd Street NE

(on the hill near the RCMP station)

For information: 250-832-8563

Kelowna

November 14th & 15th Saturday: 10am - 5pm • Sunday: 10am - 5pm

Parkinson Recreation Centre

1800 Parkinson Way For information: 250-470-7897 (Raven Ventures)

Abbotsford

November 27th & 28th Friday: 9am - 5pm • Saturday: 9am - 5pm

Windsor Greenhouses

From the Farm to your Community

As well as full cases, items are also available in smaller quantities: 5lbs, 2lbs, and some in 1lb. We also offer a great selection of beautiful Gift Packs, of all descriptions and sizes, which make decadent and delicious gifts sure to please.

exotic food

traffic costumes colours incense

In March and April, we visited our long time associate Dan On of Dan-D Foods during Vietnam’s cashew harvest. The trip was an amazing adventure that left us wanting to see more of this incredible part of the planet!

Read more about our experiences inside.

For details and any changes, please visit our website or call our toll free line.

www.ranchovignola.com • 1-877-NEW-CROP (1-877-639-2767)

#18 Ross Road, Abbotsford (access from ‘0’ Avenue)

For information: 250-832-8563

ALBERTA Camrose

November 13th & 14th Friday: 9am - 7pm • Saturday: 9am - 5pm

Camrose Regional Exhibition 4250 Exhibition Drive

(Highway #13 - 1/4 mile east of Camrose)

Airdrie

November 20th & 21st Friday: 9am - 7pm • Saturday: 9am - 5pm

Town and Country Centre 275 Jensen Drive

(Ten minutes drive north of Calgary on Hwy #2)

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www.ranchovignola.com

Summer 2009

Summer 2009

www.ranchovignola.com

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