Big Acres'Update
(02/05/2003)

Happy Valentine's Day!

February is such a great time of year, and for many of us the weather is perfect for grilling! In this issue you'll find another awesome Big Acres?Sauces recipe, more new stores, Valentine Gift Ideas, and Melanie's "goings on" about the Fancy Food Show.

We Love Our Jobs!!!
As most of you know, Kent and I were hit by the economic downturn in the high technology and dot-com world and decided to purchase this Sauce business. It's been almost a year since we purchased the brand and founded Melanie's Fine Foods, Inc., and we're having so much fun! Besides selling an awesome product, it turns out people are really interested in what techies do when there's no more techie stuff to do.

We've been written up in the San Francisco Chronicle, and that story was picked up in Massachusetts, Ohio, and North Carolina. That was a big story for us and it has really helped us get our foot in many grocers' doors. Many people who came by our booth at the Fancy Food Show recognized us from that story!

This month, we're part of a story in the Southwest Spirit Magazine, Southwest Airlines' in-flight magazine. The story is called "Starting Over", and includes our business, as well as 2 other "lifestyle entrepreneurs", as Mark Henricks, the author, calls them.

Next month (unless it's rescheduled), our product will be featured in a local cable television cooking show called Keyes 2 Cooking, by Judy Keyes. We'll send out info about the show later in the month!

How About That Fancy Food Show, Melanie?
One word - Wow! This show is truly amazing!

Kent and I arrived on Saturday morning to set up our booth. Everything was delivered on time with nothing lost! We met our neighbors, Terresa and Sarah from Eilenberger's Bakery in Palestine, Texas -- They make the BEST brownies ever and believe it or not, the BEST Apricot fruit cake! Then we met the people directly behind us, Mom & Pops, Inc. They make decorative lollipops -- happy faces, roses, Easter bunnies -- you get the picture. Directly across from us were the Happy Cows people, the California Cheese Board! They invited artisan cheesemakers from all over California to serve samples in their HUGE booth all three days. There was no shortage of cheese!

On my first lunch break, I left the booth and started eating lunch! It was an interesting lunch that consisted of a mocha java smoothie (the best ever and I didn't get the company name), a slice of spinach pizza, a chocolate covered cherry (Harry & David), cheese, more chocolate, crackers, more chocolate, a bottle of Vitamin Water (just to remind myself that I really do like healthy stuff), turkey sausage, and more chocolate -- Yum.

We were so lucky to have many friends help us at the show: Carol, John (who now jokes that he's quitting his job to work for us), Missy (Kent's cousin), Catalina, Isabel, Mary, and Sally. Without these awesome people, we never would have made enough food to serve the many people who came by the booth! Thanks! By the end of the show, we had used 3,000 toothpicks to serve our samples! We placed 6 orders to many wonderful places -- Amelia Island Plantation in Florida and Harvest Valley Foods, in Bellevue, Nebraska (they grow their own organic pigs and sell them in their meat market). Our neighbors, Terresa and Sarah purchased 4 cases for the specialty food section in their bakery in Texas! We'll list all these new locations on our web-site at http://www.bigacres.com in the "Where to Buy" section.

The most heart-warming time for me was the end of the show. Vendors chat and exchange products and leave what they don't want to ship home. Then as soon as the show closes, dozens of people in pink shirts from a local non-profit organization run through the show picking up leftover food. The non-perishable items are sold at their store in San Francisco and the perishable food is sent to local food banks for immediate distribution!

We met so many wonderful people and can't wait to do it again soon!

Valentine's Day Gift Ideas
How about sending your favorite Valentine a case of Big Acres Sauces? There are many ways to order our products:

• Download an order form from our website (http://www.bigacres.com) and fax or mail it to us.
• Order a set of 3 bottles online at www.beyondgourmet.com.
• Call Sensational Treasures and ask them to make you a BBQ Basket with our sauces (650-622-9226), or
• Buy our Sauces at your local grocery store and make your own basket!

Please let us know how we can help you! Call us at 650-593-9301.

Big Acres'Sauces Recipe

Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin
Serves 4

1 pork tenderloin
1/2 bottle Big Acres Teriyaki Marinade
1/4 cup red wine
2 tbls mixed peppercorns, coarsely crushed
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, chopped

Make a cylindrical shape of the meat: cut off the tenderloin's silverskin with a sharp knife. Make a 1/2-inch deep cut in the tail about 3 inches from the end and fold it over and tie the tail to the tenderloin with butcher's string. Tie the head of the tenderloin with butcher's string as well. Place in glass dish.

In a medium bowl, mix Teriyaki marinade, wine, peppercorns, and garlic. Pour over tenderloin, turn meat to cover, and place covered in refrigerator. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Grill on low heat until done (3 to 4 minutes on 4 sides for medium doneness). Let meat sit for 5 minutes before cutting into 1/2-inch rounds. Serve warm with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans.

Enjoy!

Thanks for reading our newsletter! Until next month. . . .

Warm regards,

Melanie's Fine Foods, Inc.

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