October Kitchen - February 2021

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THE NOURISH LETTER

FEBRUARY 2021

OctoberKitchen.com | 860-533-0588 | 309 Green Rd., Manchester, CT 06042

Meet the Team Behind Your Meals

A Tribute to National Canned Food Month OPENING A CAN OF NOSTALGIA

and preserve their harvest beautifully. As a kid, when I was very little, I recall going into their cellar in her basement where she kept home-canned goods. My grandmother had everything: green beans, potatoes, peppers, relishes, stewed tomatoes, etc. Looking back now, it’s fascinating how our sense of “Yankee self-reliance” has evolved over the years. Canned foods used to be a significant way that people prepared for the winter. Now, we can get almost anything we want delivered straight to our doors from a few clicks of a button on our smartphones. It makes me feel very

In the basement of my parents’ house, even to this day, there’s a shelf that’s laden with canned goods. February is National Canned Food Month and while it’s my pride and joy that October Kitchen provides tasty meals from entirely fresh ingredients, I have nostalgic memories of growing up on SpaghettiOs. From canned fruits to spaghetti sauce, I’d never had to worry about not having food in the house. Worst case, there was always SpaghettiOs or Chef Boyardee to eat. Canned foods were so normal to me that I didn’t know mushrooms came fresh until I was 14 years old.

spoiled! I’m just amazed by the

“But being prepared like a Boy Scout isn’t the only reason why I wanted to talk about canned food today. Food pantries are more in need than ever

oddball ingredients or supplies we can get so quickly from Amazon or our supplier. Still, it never hurts to be prepared. I mean, remember

Maybe my parents’ habit of stocking up on canned goods

was inspired by my grandmother. She’d lived through the Great Depression, so resourcefulness was just a part of who she was. She’d wash out plastic bags and foil pans

the toilet paper shortages? Even

if you have a few October Kitchen meals in the freezer for winter, I totally recommend stocking up on your canned foods too. Canning technology has really improved

after use and, in a real old-fashioned way, she’d preserve the fruits of the labor from their garden for winter.

during the pandemic.”

Her second husband, Ozborne, has a beautiful garden every year. They pickle

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STILL IN LOVE WITH OUR MENU AFTER 8 YEARS

Meet Dave and Karen!

Before retiring, Dave enjoyed cooking for himself and his wife, Karen. She loved it too! However, especially now that they’re both retired, it’s not easy cooking every day of the week. Nowadays, Dave usually cooks breakfast or brunch, but when it comes to other meals, they’re thrilled they’ve found October Kitchen. “We think it was word of mouth through a friend [that we found October Kitchen],” said Dave. It’s been nearly eight years since they started, so it’s hard to say! But their desires for their meal plan were clear. “We wanted to have the ease of having meals, portion control and nutrition.” It was too easy to overcook the portions. Now, they don’t have to think about it. There are always a few meals in the freezer so they can choose what to eat at any time — no impromptu store trips needed. Dave’s preferred method of shopping is ordering online and picking up our meals in Manchester. Although it’s a 20-mile drive, they go every week and it works out perfectly for simplifying their weekly shopping trip. They’ve noticed many other added bonuses to their October Kitchen experience too, such as easier weight loss management and never getting bored of our menu. As weekly customers for eight years, they’re especially

impressed with our variety, both in flavor and types of dishes — very few times have they eaten the same thing twice in a row. Karen loves everything, but Dave’s favorite dish has to be the Guinness pork. He also loves our hearty, chunky soups, but — as a special nostalgic mention — he’s impressed by our liver and onions. “I grew up with liver and onions,” Dave says fondly. Not many places offer it, so he enjoys a chance to have it now and again. After eight years, the only thing he said he’d want to add to our menu is dark or rye bread! Our bread is a hit with Dave and Karen; they always pick one up. Thanks so much for being such passionate supporters of our business! We love seeing you every single week and we can’t wait to keep serving more of your favorites.

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I haven’t been able to cook for a soup kitchen, which has been closed since the pandemic started.

since I was a kid! Canned vegetables and meals are more nutritious and tastier than ever.

No matter how you prepare for the future, National Canned Food Month is a wonderful chance to remind us to not only prepare for ourselves but also to help others prepare, too. Let’s put in a little extra effort for our community this year.

But being prepared like a Boy Scout isn’t the only reason why I wanted to talk about canned food today. Food pantries are more in need than ever during the pandemic. There’s been a huge surge in households that rely on extra help and nonperishables are key to feeding them. Even if you donate just a dollar, food pantries can stretch it over multiple meals! Personally, we support the Cornerstone Food Pantry a couple blocks away. They serve a huge amount of people, and we’ve contributed a bit more over the past year since my wife and

By supporting each other, 2021 can only go up from here.

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HOW ONE MOM STARTED A MOVEMENT WITH LASAGNA Connecticut Volunteers Are Needed! If you’re unemployed or an older adult who can’t leave your home during these times, a simple home-cooked meal can make a huge difference. Luckily, there’s a new movement starting in Connecticut — and if you want to volunteer, all it takes is some simple lasagna assembly and a lot of love.

Joy Delaney from Simsbury has volunteered as a Lasagna Love regional leader in the Hartford area where over 50 meal

requests come in every week. She tells NBC that they accept meal requests from anyone and because of record unemployment, demand is only growing across the state. “We’ve helped every single ... walk of life you can think of, from essential workers to seniors who just can’t leave their homes. So there’s no stigma in asking for help,” she says. “I definitely don’t see it slowing down anytime soon.” It’s very easy to request help or volunteer. Just go to LasagnaLove.org and select “contactless delivery,” or sign up to cook and deliver! They need volunteers in Connecticut and food is one of the best ways to spread love and compassion to our neighbors not so far away from our home in Manchester.

_____________________________ Write your name here and fax the completed puzzle to 860-533-0585, send it via empty delivery box or bring it to the shop and receive 10% off your next order . Limit one per customer. Expires Feb. 28, 2021. Z F G R W S Y N D D H N J W D E S B Z G T M L H Y S G N P V P N U M C E Q O I X A R Q F R O X Q I G P L C G H S Y W V U E O S L R H U N K Y P G P E N N S Y L V A N I A S R C A H N D C I N R N U L X O K A Y C E U I O D Q I X Q U A L N Q Q P A S I S E E U N A R M D X I C I R P R Y N D Z E O V Y D C L Y I T N H H T V O L C S X A N Q D E O O H D S H S H T W I N T E R G V M D B O P H G E N I T N E L A V L U A P H O F K E Z T S B Q M W X J O X A WORD SEARCH ALISON CUPID LINCOLN PENNSYLVANIA X F I STEPHANIE AQUARIUS GROUNDHOG MLK PHIL VALENTINE CANDY HEART PAUL PRESIDENTS WINTER It all started after stay-at-home orders were mandated in California. Rhiannon Menn didn’t know what to do and saw families in need all around her — many she knew on Facebook. “Around April, I started feeling super helpless,” she told NBC. “There were so many moms that I knew who had lost child care, who had lost jobs. They were just feeling stressed out. And so literally one day, I was just like, ‘I’m gonna make extra meals.’” She offered those extra meals on a local Facebook group for moms and the response became overwhelming, both from families that needed the help and families that wanted to help. In the blink of an eye, she had started a movement. Lasagna Love has grown tremendously and includes volunteer cooks nationwide. Menn couldn’t have predicted that her first seven extra meals would turn into over 8,000 lasagna dinners for neighbors in need.

WRITE US A REVIEW We appreciate our loyal customers and we strive to give you a spectacular experience every time. As a small business, we rely heavily on customer testimonials to let others know about our service. We would be eternally grateful if you’d take a minute to share your experience as an October Kitchen customer on Google by scanning the QR code below.

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309 Green Rd. Manchester, CT 06042

INSIDE Opening a Can of Nostalgia

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Still in Love With Our Menu After 8 Years

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Join the Lasagna Love Movement

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Word Search

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Write Us a Review!

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What’s the Deal With Valentine’s Day Cards?

It’s in the Cards WHY VALENTINE’S DAY IS THE ULTIMATE CARD HOLIDAY

There are legends that the originator of this holiday tradition was Saint Valentine himself. One story says that on the night before he was set to be executed, Valentine wrote a small letter to a jailer’s daughter. He ended the note with “Your Valentine.” It’s unknown whether that story is true, but to 18th century Europeans and Americans, it was inspiring! So inspiring, in fact, that the entire Valentine’s Day industry began to gain traction. A guidebook called “The Young Man’s Valentine” was published in 1797 to help suitors garner the attention of their love interests through the written word. Eventually, books aimed at women were also published, including “The Lady’s Own Valentine Writer,” which served much the same goal. These publications, along with young people writing notes to one another every February, have made Valentine’s Day cards an ingrained tradition and now people can’t get enough of them!

This may be the first year in a long time that kids don’t pass out Valentine’s Day cards at school. Going in to the new year, the seasonal section of most stores is lined with cards featuring fun characters from superheroes to unicorns. Handing out cards is now a well-loved tradition, but have you ever wondered how Valentine’s Day became one of the biggest card-giving holidays of the year? Like many holiday traditions, the convention of handing out Valentine’s Day cards goes back centuries. During the 1700s, it became fashionable to trade Valentine’s Day cards with a short poem or verse. The popularity of swapping cards only increased throughout the 1800s. Sometimes, people would go as far as to paint or draw spring-like images on the cards. They were much more elaborate than what we typically see today, though they were still usually very small.

But where did those folks get the idea? People of that era were likely inspired by stories that go back even further.

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