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Mystery of the Colorado Wholesale Food License

Mystery of the Colorado Wholesale Food License I sell Peanut Brittle Candy as a side business. Seems like a simple enough idea. Right? My peanut brittle is wonderful and the product cooks at 300 degrees. Now, to sell a product like this to stores in Colorado you need a Wholesale Food License and a Sales Tax License and a Business License. Having a wholesale food license gives you the right to sell to businesses across the country. It will also give you the right to do events in different states with just the wholesale license. We have made it difficult to get all this. The process is quite hard. First, in Colorado your product has to be made in a registered wholesale food manufacturing and/or storage facility. and it has to be approved by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. So how does the average person, with no experience find such a facility? The first thing is to find a local business that has a registered kitchen with the Colorado Department of Public Health. Then talk to the owner and explain to them what you want to do and make some kind of deal to give them a cut of your income. This actually is the easiest part of the whole thing. The easiest way to get started with this process is just to call the Division of Environmental Health and Sustainability at 303-692-3620. They are very helpful and will tell you what to do. They cannot help you with sales tax however. More steps on Colorado Wholesale Food License: apply for wholesale sales tax license Doing Events as a vendor in the State of Colorado Colorado Wholesale Food License I hate to say this, it depends on the county. Some counties will take your wholesale license and need nothing else. Other counties have a mound of paperwork for you to jump through. Call the public health department of the county in which you want to do the event. Sometimes getting to the right department can be tricky, you need to be persistent and tell them exactly what you want to do. To Get a Single Special Event License (Colorado) -- For a temporary location other than your regular business location and valid for one event only where there are three or more vendors. This is a two-year license which is free to all standard sales tax license holders. To apply for this use the Special Event Application (DR 0589) form or use [...]

By |2024-02-29T08:40:59+00:00September 19th, 2012|Colorado Wholesale License, Concessions, Peanut, Peanut Brittle, Vendors|2 Comments
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It’s all about Food and the term GMO

Do you know what the term GMO stands for? Try genetically engineered foods (GMO foods that are genetically modified organisms, foods made in the lab). Some people have never heard this term. If you go to a grocery store on any given weekend... look at the shoppers. Most are pudgy and look sickly. These days a lot more of our children suffer from chronic disease than ever before. Why is that? We are eating "fake" food. People in general suffer more from inflammatory disease, diabetes, and allergies. I have read studies that have been done on housecats - four generational studies. It takes four generations of the domestic cat - not being fed processed food, BEFORE, their allergies disappear. What has become of us? Instead of using the foods we have been God-given and trying to make them more abundant and grow them, we have decided to take shortcuts. It comes down of course to money. Business needs money and if there is a shortcut to be had to get some they are going to take it. County and State Fairs are about farming and agriculture and it seems to me they ought not to be supporting foods that are genetically made and produced in a lab. As such anyone who runs a farm or county or state fair should be very concerned about this. There is a new film coming out called "Genetic Roulette Gambling with Our Lives". It is based on interviews with physicians, veterinarians, farmers, scientists, and consumers. It has been produced by a non-profit group called, the Institute for Responsible Technology. I believe the general public is getting more aware. I also believe we can feed ourselves with organic food that is GMO-free. Humans after all are supposed to be intelligent. Are we? Can we not find a way to grow food say in high-rise buildings? Like, real food? If you have any interest in this subject I would like you to leave a comment. Learn more: It's all about Food and the term GMO

By |2024-02-26T04:59:10+00:00September 3rd, 2012|Food|0 Comments
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Chili is great all year long

Chili is generally an easy meal to make and, fun for some reason.  Maybe the reason is that there are so many types and varieties. Chili  Chicken recipe One of my best remembrances is of running chili cook-offs in Arizona about 15 years ago. Chili is a big thing in Arizona. I would run a chili cook-off with a craft show. Then, of course, I would get to taste all the chili.  Arizonians like their chili hot and spicy and many is the night I would wake up with a stomach.  However, the remembrance of the taste of the chili - was terrific - it was all worth the effort and the nighttime pain. Generally, chili is made with ground beef - and the variations are endless, depending on the spice mixture you use. Here is, a Chili  Chicken recipe with  White Beans. 1 lb. chicken tenders or boneless skinless breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (pre-cooked) 1 cup of chopped onion 1 can Great Northern Beans (use organic) 1 can of black beans (use organic) 1 can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, with juice 2 tbsp chili powder - You can of course experiment with any spice combinations you want to try, just like the professional chili cooks would do. Cook this in a crock pot for at least 4 hours, longer is better as the spices settle in.   There are other ways to make chili - like a gazillion ways. Talking healthy, chili - you might use turkey instead of beef. I found a recipe that uses 1/2 can of organic puree pumpkin. Pumpkin is loaded in antioxidants and vitamins A, C, and E and goes well with tomato sauce. You probably could add it to just about any chili recipe. Time passes and as we age we find we cannot eat what we did when we were younger. Hence, sadly (in some ways) I have become a vegetarian. Not to worry... there are a ton of tasty spicy vegetarian chili recipes also. One of my favorites and one I use all the time is this recipe. Vegetarian Black Bean Chili 1 can of tomato bits 16oz - (give or take) 1 can of tomato sauce 2 cans of black beans drained (organic) 1 tablespoon of oregano 1 tablespoon cilantro 1 tablespoon of chili powder 1 1/2 cups organic vegetable broth 1 onion 1 green pepper 1 can of organic 16 oz corn (drained) fresh cilantro some chives - first sautee the green pepper, garlic cloves, and [...]

By |2024-02-29T08:51:27+00:00August 2nd, 2012|Chili, Concessions, Food, Vendors|0 Comments
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Food Vending at an Event, Pima County – AZ

Okay, Here I go again. Some of you know that I make a wonderful food product. I make Peanut Brittle and Agava Peanut Brittle. Last year I had a state of Colorado wholesale food license to sell it in the state of Colorado. With this license, I could sell in stores and do most of the craft events in the state. Some of the events had specific county rules, however. Now I want to do the 4th Avenue Street Fair in Tucson this December and the Green Valley Farmers Market, in Green Valley, Arizona. Now for those of you in the know, you know that this is a big undertaking. You have to have the booth, make sure it is weather secure, the tables, the signage, the product, and all the supplies. But, what is the worst of this whole experience is getting the licensing!!!!! There is an audio interview from the 4th Avenue Merchants Association from last year about selling food at the Fourth Avenue Street Fairs. The interview kinda makes it seem as if the process is fairly easy for food vending. Somehow I "think" not. I kinda get the feeling that Pima County and Tucson don't want any more food vendors and that will do anything they can do to prevent me from selling my Peanut Brittle. So here we go again, this is "exactly" why I have done this before. I have a wonderful product. So first they tell me online I need a Temporary Food Establishment License BUT first I need a Business License before I can get the Temporary Food Establishment license. Of course, they are not telling me - or even suggesting WHERE I get the Business License from. WATCH for my next post - and if you know something about this stuff - leave a comment. I am thinking that if I can get through the maze - maybe we will tackle another city and state next. That is if it doesn't kill me. More: Food vending

By |2024-02-26T06:14:50+00:00July 27th, 2012|Arizona, Concessions, Festivals, Food, Green Valley, Peanut, Peanut Brittle, Tucson, Vendors|1 Comment
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Is Popcorn good for you?

Well, it can be, if it is not microwavable with butter flavoring. Microwave buttered popcorn contains Diacetyl and acetone, two compounds that give butter its characteristic taste. They are also added to margarine along with beta carotene which gives the yellow color. The University of California showed that diacetyl may be linked to infertility and inhalation can cause respiratory problems. The Environmental Working Group has expressed concerns. Don't give up popcorn. Give it up in the microwavable. bag. You can also use antioxidant-rich grape-seed oil, high oleic sunflower oil, and olive oils for popcorn. Non-organic popcorn is on the FDA's list of top ten foods most contaminated with toxic pesticides and chemicals. Studies have shown that popcorn companies may be adding a toxic chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, to prevent any sticking, according to Shine from Yahoo! it may be a carcinogen according to the FDA! So buy organic popcorn, but not in the bag. You need a good popcorn popper. Try this one - The Sweet and Easy Popcorn Popper by Wabash Valley Farms. I have also looked on Amazon and there are several popcorn poppers available. Now if you are a food vendor at a fair or festival, you could offer real popped organic popcorn and charge a little more for it. I for one would be happy to pay extra for this wonderful organic snack. Let's know more: Is Popcorn good for you?

By |2024-02-26T06:32:15+00:00July 16th, 2012|Concessions, Food, Organic Food, Popcorn|0 Comments
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I’m in love with Watermelon

Is watermelon good for you? - you bet It is rich in lycopene, and B vitamins, magnesium, potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin A.  It is a fruit for every occasion and very popular in this country. We all know kids consume too much sugar. How about freezing watermelon slices and different types of berries in popsicle trays instead of the sugar "other stuff"? I bet the kids would not even notice the difference.   Some of the other things to be made with watermelon include pie, cupcakes, coconut cake, watermelon salsa, BBQ sauces, kabobs, drinks and smoothies, and sorbet. Love with Watermelon Creations for Kids and Adults! One of my fondest memories is summer at my uncle's house and the ice-cold fresh love with watermelon he would always serve. The watermelon and his bonfires made my Uncle Vic extremely popular among us kids. Hey adults, You can also take a watermelon and bore a hole in it and put in hard liquor - let's get ice cold - what adult would not love that on a hot summer's day? What else can you do with watermelon?  Well - believe it or not you can grill it. One recipe I am dying to try is Grilled Spicy Watermelon. Look for it on Watermelon.org - along with a whole bunch of other unusual recipes to try.   If you want to see some truly amazing carved watermelons try this link on http://www.watermelon.org

By |2024-02-29T11:44:20+00:00June 23rd, 2012|Children, Festivals, Food, Watermelon|0 Comments
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Removing the Silks from the Corn Cob

Every once in a while I get neat stuff in my inbox at Countyfairgrounds.net - this is just an email someone sent me and It's kind of neat. You all may have seen this already. Neat idea. I have microwaved corn since a friend taught me years ago but I didn't know about cutting off the end--great tip. I do 2 cobs on high for 8 minutes turning halfway through. *How to Prepare Fresh Corn on the Cob Without Those Pesky Corn Silks... * *This is neat.* ***Removing the silks? This is the neatest trick I have seen in some time. I’m going to have to try it out and see if this works.** If it does what he demonstrates, it's the slickest thing since the invention of Grandma's washing machine! * Watch the Video

By |2024-02-29T11:46:59+00:00June 10th, 2012|Food|0 Comments
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BBQ for Vegetarians

If you have been to any good health food store lately and really looked around you would realize that there are all kinds of veggie foods being offere. I am a fairly new vegan, so I definitely have been looking. First if you are having a BBQ - don't omit your vegan friends. The health food store has all kinds of vegan burgers, some gluten free. These would BBQ great with some BBQ sauce on the grill. There are all kinds of cheeses in the health food store. I try to avoid dairy. In the health food store you can get vegan cheeses made from rice and one of my favorite is one mozzarella cheese made from almonds. There are all kinds of cheddars. Veggies can be grilled and taste great. Try corn on the cob, wrap it in foil and then remove the foil for the last few minutes to add bbq grilled flavor. Sweet potatoes also taste great grilled. Here are some great recipe links for Vegetarians Balsamic Green Beans and Peppers Packet-Roasted - this recipe does have feta cheese California Grilled Veggie the following does have yogurt  Veggie Burger This recipe is both vegetarian and vegan. Veggie Burgers

By |2016-10-23T11:34:37+00:00May 25th, 2012|BBQ, Food|0 Comments
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