Cooking in the West

The official Christmas shopping season kicks off after the turkey leftovers are put in the refrigerator. We won't be having any Black Friday frenzies this year thanks to Covid. Instead I want to encourage everyone to support small businesses in their community. I also encourage you to check out artisans in your area for unique gifts. In fact, I want to shamelessly pitch two artisan businesses this week!

As many of you may know, the beautiful and talented editor of the Western Ag Reporter, Kayla Sargent, was raised north of Big Timber, east of Melville, and west of Rapelje. She is getting married on December 5 to a fine young and also home grown puncher, Chace Walker. Kayla is a darn good hand who lives the life she writes about and photographs. Somehow she has found time to launch a new business, Ranch Raised Media. Check out her Facebook page or go to http://www.ranchraisedmedia.com to browse beautiful western wall art that can be printed on metal, canvas, wood or any medium. You can also book a photography session if you want your next art piece to be a scene from your ranch or a shot of your precious family! She is presently taking orders for a perfect gift for the hard to buy for a person on your list, a 2021 "A Year on Montana Ranches" calendar.

Another business that has an interesting backstory is The Branded Wick Candle Company. “You’ll love the smell of branding,”is the motto of The Branded Wick Candle Company, which is owned by entrepreneurs Annie and Allie Novotny, two sisters who grew up on the family ranch near Helena, Montana. Branded Wick Candles are custom wood wick candles featuring brands, logos, or initials.The sisters are proud of their business that was conceived out of their ranching heritage.

Annie and Allie and their older sister Bailee were born into a rodeo family, as their mother, Tammy Anders Novotny was named Miss Rodeo Montana in 1984, and their father, John, was a PRCA bullfighter. “They met at a rodeo where he was fighting bulls, and she was ‘queening’!” laughed Annie. Both sisters rodeoed throughout high school and into college. Annie roped and barrel raced for the Sheridan College Rodeo Team, while Allie roped, barrel raced, and goat tied for the Montana State University Rodeo Team. They focus on barrel racing now, and both women have been Montana PRCA Summer Circuit Finals Rodeo qualifiers several times.

“In fact, we were on our way home from a barrel race in Gillette, Wyoming in May of 2018 when we stopped at Hobby Lobby. I had been telling Allie about my idea to make and sell wood wick candles with brands in them. We checked out supplies at the store and decided that start-up costs wouldn’t run very high, so we began making candles for our family and friends. Within three months, we were able to launch our business on social media,” explained Annie. With the help of social media influencers, their 100% soy wax candles with balsa wood wicks skyrocketed in popularity.

Like Kayla, both women juggle their candle making business with full-time jobs. Annie, who was recently married in September, is a dental hygienist. She makes candles and wedding cakes as side jobs. Allie is a sales representative for a financial holding company and does embryo transfers. The embryo transfer job, which begins around the first of May each year is very demanding, as she has no days off for two and a half months. During this time, Annie makes candles by herself to fill orders.

“We make a great team. I am the creative one, so I like to make the candles. Allie likes talking to people and promoting our products. I am also the frugal one, so I watch the bottom line of our business. It is awesome to have a business partner that is your sister!” explained Annie.

Last year the sisters packed 500 pounds of wax to Las Vegas and made over 300 custom order candles during the National Finals Rodeo. Customers can order candles one day and pick their orders up the next day, or the candles can be shipped. “We set the fire alarm in the hotel off three times last year making candles in our room. All the maids love us, because they love the smell of our room,“ laughed Allie referring to the fragrance choices available for Branded Wick Candles.

The Novotny sisters prefer using the internet and social media to sell their products rather than trade shows. However, they have been honored to have been invited to the RFWA (Rodeo Fashion Western Arts) Expo during the National Finals Rodeo at the Plaza in Las Vegas for the past two years, and they have been invited to exhibit at the Pendleton Roundup. While being invited to attend elite trade shows is an honor, Annie admitted, “We do 99 percent of our business through Instagram and Facebook. We don’t have a website, because they are expensive. Our social media presence is The Branded Wick Candles, and our email is [email protected].”

The duo has made candles for events such as weddings, corporate events, and all occasion gifts. “Ranchers love the brands, but we also do initials and logos for corporate gifts and events,” explained Allie. She added, “It’s amazing how many guys buy our candles. Guys like candles too. Father’s Day is huge for us.”

The candles are available in four sizes of tins, and they can be ordered in 18 fragrances with enticing names such as Raspberry Sangria, Cowboy Cologne, and Love Spell. “The wood wick brands and logos just burn so beautifully in white wax,” explained Annie on the rationale for not adding color to their candles.

“We really enjoy making the candles, because they are unique. It has gone from a hobby to a part-time job. We have grown from filling less than a hundred orders per month to averaging six hundred orders per month. At some times of the year, it is almost a full-time job to keep up with orders,“ Annie remarked.

Allie jokingly concluded, “The business helps us support our barrel racing habit!”

If shopping local artisans has put you in the holiday mood, check out some of my favorite holiday recipes!

Best Easiest Fudge:

18 oz. chocolate chips (your choice of type)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 t. vanilla

1 C. chopped nuts if desired

Combine first three ingredients in a bowl and microwave for about 2 minutes or until chips are "melty." Be careful not to scorch the chips - especially milk chocolate chips. Stir until chips are completely melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in nuts and any other add-ins you might wish. Pour into a greased 8 x 8 pan. Cool until set. This recipe never fails or sugars, and just about any chips can be used; although it seems to work best with milk chocolate or semi-sweet chips. You can double this recipe and pour into a 9 X 13 pan.

Fresh Raspberry Pie:

12 oz. Cool Whip

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/4 C. lemon juice

3 C. fresh raspberries

1 crust (pastry or chocolate or shortbread cookie crust)

Mix Cool Whip, condensed milk, and lemon juice. (This creates an interesting chemical reaction that gives the pie a satiny cream texture.) Fold in the fresh raspberries and pile into a crust of your choice. Chill before serving. Garnish with fresh raspberries and serve on a plate swirled with chocolate syrup. (You can substitute a 16 oz. bag of frozen and well drained raspberries, but the outcome is pink with raspberry chunks instead of white with whole berries tucked inside.)

Holiday Salad:

Mix together 1 C. of each of the following:

drained pineapple chunks

drained mandarin oranges

commercial sour cream

coconut

miniature marshmallows

Cover and refrigerate 24 hours before serving. NOTE: Save and mix the juices for a tasty drink and use colored marshmallows for an even more festive salad.