As a kid, my summers were filled with harvesting and preserving food for winter. Different “stations” were set up in our tiny kitchen: washing, chopping, drying racks, vacuum sealed bags, and canning jars. At the end of the season my mother’s work was a brilliant reflection of art and taste: jars of red tomatoes, orange peaches, yellow corn, green beans, dark blue concord grape juice, and purple pickled beets all in a row, like a rainbow.
In a genius move, my beloved began canning tomatoes outside. Years ago, he converted an old door to a long table for chopping and juicing outside. It was brilliant: an open-air workspace, fewer fruit flies in the house, and a clean kitchen.
The only drawback was that the door was awkward to move around. This year we upgraded to a modular outdoor kitchen island with a sink. These counters on wheels easily roll out of storage and into the yard. An RV inline water filter connects the garden hose to the sink faucet — providing cold and fresh filtered water to wash food. Clean-up is a breeze: hose down the equipment and roll everything away.
An outdoor kitchen for canning keeps fruit flies out of the house, and is a breeze for clean-up.
Speaking of kitchens, I’d love to give a shout out to Aspen Grove Home & Kitchen in Winthrop. A dear friend recently lost her husband. In the weeks before his death, she had entered an alcohol recovery program. Facing the sudden loss of her life partner is difficult enough, doing it sober is an astronomical feat.
One of her discoveries in recovery is how ubiquitous drinking is in our society: rough days, sad days, happy days, and normal days usually end with alcohol. Everyone wants to “raise a glass” in this moment of loss. She said she was learning “habit replacement.” She regularly meets up with a group in recovery to share mocktails and support.
My friend came to the Methow for a change of scenery. We decided to spend an afternoon at local shops. Every place had friendly workers, and several people casually suggested wine or liquor during her visit to the valley. I was grateful for their friendly chatter, and also became very aware of the temptations my friend navigates every day now.
At Aspen Grove, my friend expressed joy at the wide selection of non-alcoholic beverages, “Nice! I don’t drink,” followed by a much quieter, “anymore.” Bob, husband of Aspen Grove owner Hannah Cordes, stepped from behind the counter and responded, “me too. I don’t drink anymore too.” He took the time to talk about the different products, taste, and what he and wife enjoyed. He had no idea the sizable mountain my friend faces, nor how “normal” he made her feel in that moment
She’s a lifelong foodie, who married a chef and loves talking about pairing drinks and meals. That late summer evening we enjoyed a glass of sparkling non-alcoholic rosé with dinner on the patio, followed by a blood orange mocktail in front of the fireplace. If you or a loved one is in recovery and looking for habit-replacing options, Aspen Grove may have just the drink to celebrate sobriety.
