“Elizabeth Costello”
I say what I mean. I am an old woman. I do not have the time any longer to say things I do not mean.
Elizabeth Costello is an elderly Australian writer who despite having written several novels is primarily known for a book she published decades ago about the wife of a principal character of another novel, Ulysses by James Joyce. Frustrated that her other works are often ignored, she chooses to speak on controversial issues, philosophers, and unrelated topics when asked to give a lecture, conduct a seminar, or interact with those in the literary world. Read more 
Veeps, Veeps, and More Veeps
All you need to do is take one bite and you’ll realize you’re in Veep nirvana.
Meet Skipper and Sunny, the most delicious soft and chewy vegan peeps (hence, the reference to “Veeps“) available this Easter season. Forget those incandescent yellow peeps sold in every CVS and supermarket in America. Sweet & Sara’s version is different and irresistible because of one reason: the ingredients. Read more
Real Black Licorice
Black licorice tends to elicit strong opinions with most people falling into either the “love it” or “leave it” categories. For those who love it and for the few who are still on the fence, consider trying licorice made by Lakritsfabriken (“the licorice maker”) – a Swedish company committed to redefining what real licorice candy should taste like. Read more
Bespoke® Crackers
…..sturdy, crunchy and über tasty (just the way a rockin’ good cracker ought to be)
Great tasting food is made from great tasting ingredients which is exactly what Bespoke® Provisions of Boulder, Colorado set out to do for crackers – a food that is often an afterthought or purchased as a vehicle to eat with other foods.
The word “bespoke” refers to a product made to a particular specification and in the case of Bespoke® Provisions, that meant using all natural and whole-grain rolled oats to make a super tasty and sturdy cracker that could both stand on its own and complement toppings including cheese, nut butters, spreads, dips, and even bruschetta. Read more
Mystic Knotwork Bracelets
The nautical look is a style that seems to be timeless whether it’s the quintessential French sailor’s shirt or the American nautical rope bracelet. Back in the early 80’s, I remember purchasing my first Breton red and white stripe long sleeve sailor shirt for $26 in Newport, Rhode Island along with a white nautical rope bracelet that I wore on my wrist for most of the summer until sand and dirt mixed with water (and probably spilled beer) pushed it into retirement. The preppy look reigned at the time and although briefly threatened by the flash of disco fashions, the nautical look persevered and is enjoying a resurgence in popularity today. Read more
Salad Essentials
Creating a great tasting salad is all about combining fresh food while thinking about color, taste, and texture. Most salads are colorful – light green lettuce leaves, dark green spinach, red or yellow tomato chunks, orange carrots, green avocado, light green cucumber, pink radishes, red pepper, black olives, burgundy cranberries – tasty, and have some texture differences, but lack a super crunchy and delicious addition that takes a salad from good to great. Read more
Tessemae’s Salad Dressings
The story of how Tessemae’s Salad Dresssings came to be started with a mom of three boys who wouldn’t eat their vegetables – nothing unusual here except that the mom (Tessemae) convinced her sons to eat their veggies by flavoring them up with homemade salad dressings made with simple all natural ingredients: olive oil, lemon, garlic, mustard, sea salt, distilled vinegar, red peppers, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, red wine vinegar, date puree, red wine vinegar, worchestershire sauce, organic honey, and spices. The rest is history. The boys grew up, realized their mom made some pretty incredible salad dressings, and decided to start a company selling her fresh, delicious dressings and sauces. Read more
Vivi Chocolate
What Love Tastes Like…Simply Chocolate
Back in 2006, Barbara Yeager was in an herbal apothecary store in Seattle, Washington when she noticed a jar of cacao nibs (cacao beans that have been roasted at a low temperature, separated from their husks, and broken into tiny pieces). After she tasted the nibs, she understood why people are really into chocolate: because cacao nibs taste like chocolate without the sweetness. It was love at first bite. Read more
“The Omnivore’s Dilemma”
Much of our food system depends on our not knowing much about it, beyond the price disclosed by the checkout scanner; cheapness and ignorance are mutually reinforcing. And it’s a short way from not knowing who’s at the other end of your food chain to not caring–to the carelessness of both producers and consumers that characterizes our economy today. Of course, the global economy couldn’t very well function without this wall of ignorance and the indifference it breeds. This is why the American food industry and its international counterparts fight to keep their products from telling even the simplest stories–”dolphin safe,” “humanely slaughtered,” etc.–about how they were produced. The more knowledge people have about the way their food is produced, the more likely it is that their values–and not just “value”–will inform their purchasing decisions.”
Very simply, we subsidize high-fructose corn syrup in this country, but not carrots. While the surgeon general is raising alarms over the epidemic of obesity, the president is signing farm bills designed to keep the river of cheap corn flowing, guaranteeing that the cheapest calories in the supermarket will continue to be the unhealthiest. ~Michael Pollan
Vermatzah
Vermatzah: Sustenance For The Body; Fuel For The Soul
There is matzah and there is Vermatzah: a round handmade wood-fired alternative to the mass-produced boxes of square-shaped matzah on store shelves. Made in Vermont by Naga Bakehouse – a small, village bakery perched on a rock edge in Middletown Springs where savory whole grain artisan breads are baked in a wood-fired oven for folks who care about good food.
Once a year in the weeks leading up to the Jewish holiday of Passover, Naga Bakehouse starts turning out Vermatzah: the best tasting matzah on the market. Crispy, flavorful, and delicious describe this very large cracker. Read more
Paddock Post 