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Last year was hard for Ela Family Farms in Hotchkiss after a frost took out many of its fruit buds in the spring. And it looks like 2021 could be even more difficult because of another storm that came through in October 2020 and killed about 15 percent of the fruit trees. We will know more when things leaf out or don t leaf out, says Steve Ela, a fourth-generation farmer and owner of the orchard. So far, 15 percent of our acreage appears to be dead, and there are some that are injured. We ll see how it goes. The loss of trees has already proven extensive enough that Ela decided to suspend the farm s 2021 CSA program, which in normal years sells apples, pears, peaches, cherries and other fruit directly to subscribers. The truth, he says, is that with around 5,000 trees gone, he doesn t know if he will have enough fruit to fulfill the pre-orders a CSA demands, and it seemed better for the farm, his family and the customers to suspend it until he knows the extent of the ....
Culinary Power Couple Debuts Ayokay Doughnuts at the Fifth String Chef Ian Palazzola and sommelier Clara Klein will start slinging fresh-from-the-fryer treats at the Highland restaurant on Sunday mornings, starting February 28. Denise Mickelsen • February 19, 2021 Sometimes doing one thing really, really well is all you need to do. That’s the modus operandi that chef Ian Palazzola, formerly of Acorn, is currently functioning under with his new pop-up bakery, Ayokay Doughnuts. Debuting on Sunday, February 28 (with online pre-orders going live on Sunday, February 21) at the Fifth String in Highland, Ayokay will have a table set up outside the restaurant for walk-up á la carte sales of its excellent malted milk doughnuts, hot and fresh from the fryer. Method Coffee Roasters drip coffee will also be available, and Palazzola and co-founder and wife Clara Klein (who is also a star sommelier for Frasca Hospitality Group), will have multiple doughnut flavo ....