Happy Girl Kitchen packs the pick of the crop
There’s nothing like a fresh, crisp pickle on a winter’s day to
make you sigh and remember summer.
And as our great-grandparents knew, there was no better-tasting
pickle than the one you made yourself. Not to mention the fact that
canning could also save you money and give you a way to preserve
the bounty of the harvest.
Happy Girl Kitchen packs the pick of the crop
There’s nothing like a fresh, crisp pickle on a winter’s day to make you sigh and remember summer.
And as our great-grandparents knew, there was no better-tasting pickle than the one you made yourself. Not to mention the fact that canning could also save you money and give you a way to preserve the bounty of the harvest.
Although canning might be considered by some to be a lost art – after all, why bother canning when you can pick up pickles at the supermarket? – one couple in Aromas is finding that it’s not been so forgotten after all.
Todd and Jordan Champagne, whose main business is canning and selling pickles and other preserves, this summer started hosting canning workshops. The response has been unexpectedly strong.
In fact, they’ve had to turn people away from the ones that they do in the Bay Area.
“It’s a way to eat local year-round,” said Jordan, who has been in the preserves business for the past eight years. With the help of six seasonal workers, she and her husband make pickles, spicy green beans, carrots, and other savory delights under the label of Happy Girl Kitchen.
They sell their wares at farmers’ markets in San Francisco, Berkeley, Palo Alto and Santa Cruz, where they have developed a following over the past eight years.
In September, they were among the featured vendors at Slow Food Nation ’08 in San Francisco, a celebration of lovingly created food, made the old-fashioned way.
In addition, Whole Foods stores in the Bay Area have started carrying Happy Girl products, and the Champagnes will do a canning demonstration in the near future at the Whole Foods in Monterey.
It’s been a very busy year indeed for the couple, who added the canning workshops as sort of an experiment. Jordan said they were pleasantly surprised by the strong response.
“I had one woman tell me that she finds the workshops relaxing, fun and entertaining,” said Jordan. “She told me, ‘It’s my therapy.'”
The Champagnes’ foray into the art of preserves started years ago in a rather exotic way, when they were invited to live and work on a friend’s farm in Norway.
There, it was necessary to preserve food in the summer in order for all of them to eat well through the long, dark winter months.
And so Todd and Jordan learned all the ins and outs of canning and preserving.
“It really changed my life,” said Jordan.
After a year in Norway, the Champagnes returned to the States, settling in Central California and managing a 120-acre organic farm.
They continued refining their canning techniques and finding new recipes, and soon, found themselves with a side business called Fearless Pickles, a line of five different pickled vegetables.
Fearless Pickles grew and changed as more preserved produce padded the product line, and the name of the company changed to Happy Girl Kitchen.
They’ve been living in Aromas for six and a half years, and have two children, a 6-year-old boy and an 11-month-old girl.
“My son is a big help now. He likes to carry the jars for me,” Jordan said, with a smile.
The Champagnes now work with a dozen organic farms in the area, making everything from strawberry jam to spicy carrots. They use the professional kitchen at Diamond Organics in Moss Landing to make their products, and at the height of the season, have up to six employees.
“We’ve been involved with the ‘Buy Local, Buy Fresh’ movement since its infancy,” said Todd, who notes that most of the produce they use comes from a 20-mile radius of Aromas. “Now we’re giving depth to that message. It’s something you can enjoy year-round, not just in the summer and fall.”
They sell their products online, through their Web site, www.happygirlkitchen.com. A number of natural foods stores in Santa Cruz and the Bay Area also carry the Happy Girl line; a complete list can be found on the Web site.
Jordan’s recipes use a minimum of salt, sugar and preserves, allowing the fresh taste of the produce to shine through.
The Aromas workshops are held in the Champagnes’ home, an old farmhouse. “It’s a comfortable, casual setting,” said Jordan. “It’s very hands-on. And it shows people how to do this in their own kitchens.”
Not only is canning and preserving a way to put away summer’s bounty for later, it’s also economical, especially if you have a large garden. And you know exactly what you’re putting into those jars.
You’re not getting pickles from the supermarket, which got them from some cannery on the East Coast – you’re making them in your own kitchen.
“People are searching for fulfillment, and this lets them create something of their own,” said Todd. “If you can figure out how to feed yourself, it’s empowering.”
What: Happy Girl Kitchen canning workshops
When: Heirloom tomatoes, Oct. 18 and 19 in Oakland and Oct. 26 in Aromas; pickles, Oct. 25 in Aromas and Nov. 1 and 2 in Oakland. Each is 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Where: Call for directions
Cost: $110, includes all materials and an organic lunch
Information: www.happygirlkitchen.com or 750-9579
