Good morning! On today's date, 1963, 19 year old Francis Wayne Sinatra a.k.a. Frank Sinatra Jr. was kidnapped from room 417 at Harrah's Lake Tahoe, a hotel and casino, in Stateline, Nevada. The kidnappers were three amateurs looking to make some easy money because, well, Frank Sinatra was a bit of a high roller at that time and they figured that he'd fork over the dough without much of a fuss. They were asking for $240,000 (equal to $2 million nowadays) which "Ol' Blue Eyes" paid within a couple of days. It was no coincidence that the kidnapping took place shortly after the assination of President Kennedy, a close friend of "The Chairman of the Board" himself. Frank Jr. was released unharmed and it didn't take very long for the FBI to make some arrests. One of the kidnappers, John Irwin, confessed his crime to his brother who promptly called the Feds. Irwin gave up the other two, Barry Keenan and Joe Amsler and all three were convicted and sent to prison. Almost all of the ransom was recovered from this terribly executed kidnapping.
Before we get to the new items, we want to let you know that Pepper's is sponsoring two families in need, as we do every year at this time. We will be accepting non-perishable food items (look for the buggy with the bow outside) as well as monetary donations until December 21. This has been a rough year for most and your donations will go a long way towards making someone's Christmas just a little better.
Ok, let's start with what you all want to know about: new stuff! First up is Rawesome (Raw plus Awesome) Non-Dairy Cultured Cashew Cream Cheeses. Made with raw cashews, filtered water, spices and cultured with organic enzymes, these delicious dairy-free spreads go great on sandwiches, bagels, pasta or wraps and make excellent dips, too. Choose from Original, Coriander & Chili Pepper or Onion & Chives. There's also a Rawesome Tzatziki that, like the cream cheese, is dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free, oil-free and vegan! Look for these where we keep the tofu!
Our frozen food section has been graced with two new items from the dedicated gluten-free bakery Bake My Day of Duncan, BC. We now have ready-to-bake vegan and gluten-free Samosa Rolls as well as gluten-free Chicken Curry Hand Pies. The samosa rolls are made with potatoes, peas, onions, garlic and lots of spices while the dairy-free hand pies contain chicken curry and coconut milk wrapped in a vegan pastry!
While you're picking those up, you might want to grab a bag of the newest variety of Dumpling Drop Dumplings: Lemongrass Chicken! The flavour combinations of the chicken, lemongrass, water chestnuts, chives, soy sauce and sesame oil make for one darlingly divine dumpling!
You know, we said it once before but they can pretty much make milk out of anything now. For those of you who drink nut milks, Elmhurst has two really awesome new non-dairy beverages for you to try, each made with onbly TWO ingredients! Elmhurst Unsweetened Milked Hazelnuts is simply hazelnuts and water. That's it! It's great in iced coffee, on cereal, oatmeal or porridge and it makes the tastiest smoothies ever! Elmhurst Unsweetened Milked Walnuts is a high Omega-3 beverage comprised of, you guessed it, just water and walnuts! There's no bitter taste often associated with walnuts, either. Both milks are shelf stable until opened, meaning no refrigeration is required. Plus, there are no emulsifiers or gums added, they're gluten-free and vegan and they're kosher!
You know what might go just peachy with the aforementioned nut milks? How about some Singing Bowl Granola Sweetly Raw Healthy Vegan Treats? We have Caramel Crunchers as well as a Peanut Butter Crunch Bar. They're so new, we don't even know what's in them! But if they're even half as good as the granola or other stuff that SBG makes, they're sure to taste incredible!
January 1 will be here before you know it and that means the start of another diet for a lot of people. So if you're planning on eating more rabbit food then (or now for that matter) why not make it taste so much better by splashing a little Maison Orphée on it? We've expanded our line to now include Maison Orphée Vegan Raspberry Vinaigrette as well as Maison Orphée Vegan Ceasar Vinaigrette. Made with First Cold-Pressed Oil, these vegan and dairy-free dressings also make excellent marinades and contain no gluten.
So far we've been talking savoury so now it's time to sweeten things up a bit. And what better way to satisfy that sweet-tooth than with chocolate? Last week we showcased Temper Chocolate and this week we have another brand from Vancouver: Solasta Chocolate! It won't last long, though, once you take a bite of their 55% vegan dark Belgian chocolate bars in unique and innovative flavours! Try Maple Pecan & Sea Salt (sugar free), Rosemary Olive Oil & Sea Salt (sugar free), Macadamia & Cacao Nibs (vegan) or Cherries & Almonds (vegan)! These make excellent stocking stuffers and look very festive with their popping red and white packaging!
Our Store Manager, Don, gets in the greatest treats from all over the place. Last year he made available Cartwright & Butler Sweets from England and they were a smash hit! And why wouldn't they be? They make the most unique sweets that come in the nicest packages but best of all, they taste SO good! So he got some more for this year, too! We have Tangy Pattern Fruit Sweets, Sea Salted Toffee, Butter Toffee and Sherbet Pips. All will be perfect for the holiday candy bowl but they're also the perfect little gift for that sweet person in your life!
Ted Templeman is a super successful music producer. But he had nothing to do with Templeman's Toffees Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Crunch Toffee! No, the famed Van Halen producer is only good at laying down Eddie's sweet guitar licks. He left the candy-making to the experts who just so happen to be located in Port Perry, Ontario! It's award-winning, hand-made buttercrunch toffee slathered in luxurious dark chocolate and sprinkled with coarse sea salt. Deadly combination, no? Yes! You Really Got Me should be the song attached to this exquisite toffee because once you taste it, you'll be hooked!
If you're wondering why you can't find any Welch's Grape Jelly it's because there's a shortage of it, probably due to COVID-19 or some such. No need for sour grapes, though, because Victoria's The Little Stand has their very own Grape Jelly! Buying locally tastes better anyway, right? The Little Stand products are located outside our front entrance as well as on the aisle end-cap in front of the ATM.
Thanks for checking us out again this week! Turkey orders are pouring in fast and furiously so make sure to contact us at 250-477-6513 to reserve yours today! With reduced sized gatherings this year, we are getting many requests for smaller turkeys. We do everything that we can to accomodate your requests but we can't guarantee the exact size of your bird. Don't forget that we have turkey breast rolls (stuffed or unstuffed), hams, prime rib, salmon, lamb and plenty of options to make your holiday meal spectacular!
Until next week, be safe and take good care!
Pepper's Foods