MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY-SUPPORTED, WILD-CAUGHT ALASKAN SEAFOOD

 

You all know that we, at the James Ranch, are staunchly dedicated to supporting local farmers, artisans, artists, and writers whenever we can. We are also dedicated to bringing you absolutely the most nutrient dense, delicious, and sustainable food we can. For this reason we are so excited to be adding wild caught salmon to our offerings at the James Ranch Market starting this Saturday, September 29th.

 

In carrying Silver Wave Salmon we are accomplishing both as we partner with local couple MJ and Eric to bring you very clean, nutrient-dense, wild-caught salmon that is, obviously, not available to be harvested locally. We know you will love it.

 

We will have Sockeye and Coho filets as well as canned smoked salmon for sale. Read below for more information from Eric and MJ about their salmon. 

NUTRITION & TASTE

"Heart-healthy, immune-boosting awesomeness." The nutritional content of wild-caught (not farmed!) salmon make it one of the healthiest foods on the planet. For the outdoor active lifestyle of Southwest Colorado, wild salmon is one of the best sources of lean protein and omega-3 fatty acids ~ a fresh, delicious taste caught straight from the boat to your dinner table.

WILD VS. FARMED

This a very important topic to understand. More than 80% of the salmon eaten in America, especially in land-locked towns, is farmed. Farmed salmon have dangerous levels of chemicals and contaminants including mercury, pesticides, dioxins and PCBs. Also, farmed fish have a terrible ecological impact, releasing waste, chemicals, disease and parasites directly into the surrounding waters, harming other marine life. Don't be fooled by "sustainable" or "organic" labels, it is still considered farmed and should be questioned, if not avoided. Wild salmon have very unique habits and natural habitats that support their vitality.

Eric and MJ

We are your Alaskan fisherman and Colorado local, Eric and MJ. We met somewhere between SE Alaska and SW Colorado, in Seattle, Wash. Eric loves the OCEAN, a surfer with the mind of a problem-solving engineer. MJ loves the MOUNTAINS, a skier with the mind of a social creative. We share and teach one another about our passions. Together, we have combined our love for SALMON, the ocean, mountains, Southeast Alaska and Southwest Colorado to bring you Silver Wave Seafood Co. Enjoy

After living on the James Ranch for the past 11 years, Xena, the guard donkey for the pastured poultry business starts a new adventurous chapter of her long life by joining a family in Buena Vista that races burros and packs them into the Colorado high country.
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Enjoy yoga and Pilates on the Terraces at the James Ranch this summer. Extending your yoga and Pilates practice to the outdoors logs some major benefits.
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Joel F. Salatin is an American farmer, lecturer, and author who is now the editor of The Stockman Grass Farmer magazine. The Stockman Grass Farmer brings its readers the latest information on high profit grassland ideas from all over the world; each month profiling leading farmers and ranchers with details as to how and why they are successful. Salatin and his extended family raise livestock using holistic methods of animal husbandry, free of potentially harmful chemicals, on his Polyface Farm in Swoope, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley. He is a leader in the regenerative movement and a true mentor for hundreds of farmers and ranchers worldwide. This editorial from the May Stockman Grass Farmer speaks to our hearts as modern day grass farmers.
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Fresh cut flowers have been a long-standing tradition at the Gardens at James Ranch. For over two decades Jenn and Joe Wheeling and their family have tended this wonderfully productive plot of land, supplying the Durango area not only with wonderful vegetables, but with gorgeous flowers as well. As the Wheelings move on to other pursuits, Mountain Belle Flower Farm is proud and delighted to be continuing this flower-growing legacy at the Gardens at James Ranch.
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With a new clue received from a local magazine picked up in Jackson Hole, the Stewarts are headed to Driggs, Idaho to meet a like-minded chef then head to Boise, which has been touted as a new foodie city, then up to Coeur d' Alene which is headquarters for Tractor Sodas, the Grill's new organic soft drinks.
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The Stewart's are on their epic research trip and stopping off first in Denver and Boulder. There are a lot of great restaurants in the area, but there are three that actually have their own farms/ranches that supply a majority of their ingredients just like the Harvest Grill. Their goal is to see the kitchens and meet with the chefs.
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Due to weather conditions in Jackson, the Stewarts headed a bit south to Utah and had a chance to do a meet and eat with at a restaurant that had one of their favorite kitchen layouts. They also surprised Sasha with a new addition to the family (four legged and furry).
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Cynthia and Robert decided to research their next adventuring into the restaurant world by taking a research trip in a motorhome to different restaurants around the western United States. Their goals are to see other kitchens, talk to chefs, understand the restaurant culture and learn how to recruit an employee team that will join in their dream of the ultimate farm-to-table dining experience.
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Are there any other parents out there like me who groan internally with the thought of crafting a daily, nutritious, filling school lunch that your children will actually eat? I’m sure there are. I am deeply committed to feeding my family nutrient-dense foods from our farm as much as I can.  So for this reason, I roll up my sleeves and do a little planning. At this time of year, there is such amazing, local food available that it is a natural fit to work some of it into your kids’ school lunch.
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There’s a bumper crop of winter squash and pumpkins in the Gardens at James Ranch this year! Instead of hauling it all in, we’d like to invite you to participate and get a great deal.
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 Four years ago I (Cynthia) was walking through the Durango Farmer’s Market to see what I could buy for the Grill to serve. I stopped at a booth that had a corn stock that was only 4 feet high but had these large, beautiful ears of corn jetting off the sides of it. This was my first introduction to dry land corn.
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Since I have been actively working on the ranch the last few years, I have been paying attention to the wasp populations and actively encouraging their numbers by building housing and planting more and more bushes and plants with flowers to feed them.  Beneficial wasps, both predatory and parasitoid, are another way we accomplish chemical-free, organic farming. 
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Cool dew on your feet, gentle mooing in the background, and an experience yoga teacher leading you through morning movement guranteed to leave you feeling refreshed and energized for your day. This is yoga on the Terraces at James Ranch.
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The families of the James Ranch provide a well-rounded variety of organically grown food products for the local community: 100% grass-fed beef, artisan raw milk cheeses, pastured pork and eggs, fresh produce and flowers, and our restaurant (Harvest Grill and Greens at the James Ranch Terraces). It's a family affair and we have a lot of moving parts that come together to offer our community the freshest, most nutrient-dense food in the Four Corners.  We are also proud to carry products from other local farmers! We'd love to take a second to introduce to you the current lineup of farmers that we'll be supporting and carrying at James Ranch Market and Harvest Grill.
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