Every Friday throughout the summer, in the Clubhouse parking lot, three family-run businesses bring their products to our community at Robson Ranch. As a Living Well offered event it is remarkable to find the freshest goods available right here at the Ranch. Between 8:00 and 11:00 a.m., Ranch residents find these vendors to be a welcome sight as they shop there regularly.
Doug ensures there is a variety of fresh products every Friday.
Doug’s Country Market Garden Fresh and Texas Grown
Products you will find at Doug’s Country Market include fresh baked bread products, jams, jellies and sauces, grass fed beef, free range chicken and turkey, farm raised pork, farm raised lamb, fruits and veggies, a myriad of dairy products, homemade tamales made without lard or MSG, delectable salsas (mild to hot) and many other appealing edibles too numerous to list. Additionally on their website you’ll find tried and true recipes developed using products from the market. Each Friday morning, Doug, his wife Louise, daughter-in-law Patricia, along with high schoolers who Doug is mentoring, can be found at Robson Ranch and, Saturday at Bartonville or Harvest. Living Well Committee encourages you to check out their website to peruse their array of palatable products: www.dougscountrymarket.com. Foodstuffs don’t come any fresher. Orders can be placed online or call them at 940-387-3323. Prices are competitive, especially considering the care in providing fresh and high quality products. After weekly travels throughout our big state of Texas, Doug sets up a full market each time they are at the Ranch. So don’t wait; come out and see them and see what you’ve been missing!
Angie and Raul Bonilla carry on a family tradition.
Salsa Revolution
Angie and Raul Bonilla have turned a family created recipe into a thriving salsa enterprise. Angie’s grandmother, while living in Mexico, created their treasured and well-guarded recipe that has been passed on through several generations. It was Angie’s Aunt Lydia who encouraged her to carry on a family tradition that eventually helped her perfect the taste she knew customers would love.
Making salsas and being able to sell them took Angie on a journey. Required was an intense and vigorous training through Texas A&M University with Dr. Al Wagner, Professor and Extension food technologist. In accordance with Texas guidelines she submitted each salsa for lab testing and received official approval through the state of Texas and eventually the FDA.
The Salsas are made and manufactured at Habaneros “The Taco Revolution” in Mansfield, Texas. Angie and Raul’s latest adventure began in 2011. They expanded their business by selling the salsas at the Bartonville, Texas Farmers Market and the Robson Ranch Farmer’s Market. Currently their salsas are also sold on Saturdays at the Denton Community Market in Denton, Texas. Look for Salsa Revolution as a vendor at the Women’s Club Holiday Market; they also donate a basket for the annual SOT silent auction. Living Well Committee encourages you to check out their website: www.salsarevolution.org. To quote Angie, “I am very grateful to all the individuals who have helped me along the way. I want to especially thank my husband Raul a veteran of the U.S. Army. Together we perfected the taste and safety of each salsa that is sold to all our customers throughout the country. Texas made salsa, family tradition and the best customers in the USA; it doesn’t get any better than that!”
Chris and Donna Lucido, proud of their Italian pastas
Lucido’s Garden
Chris Lucido’s roots are as Italian as it gets! His grandfather immigrated from Sicily, and his love for growing herbs and produce began when he was five years old. He gave each of his nine sons a tiny plot on their strawberry farm in Independence, LA to grow whatever they wanted. That started a lifelong love of plants and watching them thrive. Chris’ father, John, one of the nine sons, also started a family tradition many years ago when he owned a grocery store in Rockford, Illinois. His variety of homemade sausages, pastas and herb plants were popular items for local customers. After 12 years of owning the store he moved to Dallas to begin a new endeavor in the automotive industry, yet his passion for making sausage and pasta, along with growing produce and herbs never stopped. Following his passion, John and a brother began selling their products at the Dallas Farmer’s Market where he became known as the “mint man” as he grew 38 flavors of mint.
It was in Chris’ heritage and desire to continue producing and selling Italian products. He and his wife Donna provide a taste of Italy at the Robson Ranch Farmer’s Market. The pastas are made in North Dallas, which includes production, four to five days of drying, then packaging for delivery to many DFW restaurants. Shoppers at the Ranch can select from a myriad of pastas, which include dried pastas of angel hair, linguine, fettucine, bow tie, orzo and raviolis, plain or flavored with natural ingredients. These can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks if not consumed when purchased. Frozen products include cheese ravioli, lasagna and homemade Italian sausage. For those who prefer, gluten free fettucine and linguine, plain or flavored, are also available. In addition to the pastas, Living Well Committee suggests you check their website: www.lucidospasta.com. Also Like them on their Facebook page.