Jen Steele owns and operates Steele Pressed Juice and Java in the summer, and the Soup Shack in the winter in the grab-and-go kiosk in Wilson Plaza. PHOTO BY MIRA BRODY
BIG SKY – During a global pandemic, where physical and mental health is of the utmost importance, in a place that is regularly blanketed by multiple feet of snow, accompanied by subzero temperatures, soup may just be the secret ingredient to lift the spirits of the weary. The Soup Shack, located in the small grab-and-go building in Wilson Plaza in Big Sky Town Center, is serving up fresh, warm, healthy homemade soups from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily by none other than Jen Steele, the woman behind Steele Pressed Juice and Java, which operates out of the same location during the summer months.
“Last winter I learned that being open during the days, everybody’s just in a rush to get up to the resort to ski, so I decided this year, let’s try something different, and tried opening at night and doing soup, which is kind of like my other passion,” Steele said. “I’m able to take everything I know about the ingredients that go into juices and apply them to soups. And it’s warming, so it just makes sense to do that.”
It’s extra handy, perhaps, that the location is grab-and-go, offering a COVID-safe way to snag a warm, mobile meal and some toasty naan for dinner after skiing or riding all day. Inside the shack, Steele has four crock pots bubbling, three full of her daily rotating soups—this week it was sausage, white bean and kale, carrot ginger, and vegan chili—and a fourth for her to cook and experiment while she’s working. With a background in culinary arts, the Cocoa Beach, Florida, native moved to the area five years ago, leaving briefly to live in Hawaii, only to return after she realized that she missed the snow.
When concocting her soup recipes, she says, there’s some overlap with the juices she’s familiar with. Her carrot ginger soup, for example, is a savory version of her Pacifier juice offering during the summer months, which includes detoxifying elements.
“I just kind of remember things that I love a lot, or take a juice … like right now I’m experimenting with the ingredients in the detox juice—beet celery, carrot—taking that and adding savory ingredients like onion and garlic and broth and seeing how that comes out as a soup, and that’s been fun,” Steele said.
She gets her produce locally—much of what she’s cooking with right now was carefully preserved from the Big Sky Farmers Market.
The Soup Shack opened two weeks ago and will serve homemade, steaming hot soup until the resort closes for the season. Working in tandem with the soups to warm her patrons, Steele offers hot beverages including coffee and her signature juices as well as bone broth from the Cauldron Apothecary.
“No one really has soup as their main event, you know, so my goal is to have that as the main show since … I can make the juices in my sleep,” Steele said.
To stay in touch with Steele’s daily rotations, follow her on Facebook or Instagram and the next time you need something to warm both your body and soul after an exhilarating day on Lone Mountain, swing by, wave hello, and grab a soup from the little east-facing window in Wilson Plaza.
Children turning 5 on or before
9/10/2024: Kindergarten
enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year can be completed by following the
registration process now.
Children
born on or after September 11, 2019:4K enrollment is now open for
families that have a 4-year-old they would like to enroll in our program for
the 2023-2024 school year. Please complete the 4K Interest Form to
express your interest. Completing this form does not guarantee enrollment into
the 4K program. Enrollment is capped at twenty 4-year-olds currently
residing within Big Sky School District boundary full time and will be
determined by birth date in calendar order of those born on or after September
11, 2018. Interest form closes on May 30th.
Enrollment now is critical for fall preparations. Thank you!
My Barking Dog is a nightmare comedy that tells the story of Toby and Melinda, two lonely people whose lives are forever changed the night they encounter a starving coyote at their apartment building. Over time they grow to expect him, leaving ritual offerings to entice the coyote every night. Toby and Melinda forge a connection over this visitor and share curiosity and concern about his presence in the city. The coyote expands their world–until, one night, their world is shattered. Their lives are pushed suddenly into uncharted territory, sending them on a surreal odyssey that changes their city–and the world–forever.
Directed by LX Miller. Starring Max Schneider and Denise Hergett
Verge Theater is continuing their mission to provide accessible theater to our community. Tickets for My Barking Dog are Pay What You Wish with a suggested price of $35. Audience members are offered the opportunity to select the price point that is comfortable for them when purchasing tickets.
My Barking Dog runs March 15-17, 22-24, 28-30
Performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays begin at 7:00 p.m., with Sunday matinees offered at 3:00 p.m.
Suitable for ages 16 . No animals are harmed in the staging of this production.
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
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Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep inward journey and peak state experience. This experience can activate and clear the chakras, release trauma, reset the nervous system, connect us with higher consciousness, and help us achieve self-actualization. No prior experience is necessary. Register at santoshabigsky.com/workshops-special-events
Time
March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm