When Only a Perfect Ending Will Do….
Purists prefer to use fresh butter and eggs to make a homemade cake rather than buying a store-bought version but for those special occasions when an exceptional cake needs to be sent as a gift (and arrive as beautiful as it looks in a picture and taste better than a homemade cake), look no further than a Perfect Endings Vintage Cake. Perfect Endings of Napa, California makes a line of vintage cakes – Coconut, German Chocolate, Red Velvet, Banana, and Devil’s Food – reminiscent of what a layer cake should be: fluffy, moist, and delicious. That the cake looks as good as it tastes is….well….icing on the cake. Read more 
Meduri World Delights Dried Fruit
Meduri World Delights create some of the most delicious dried fruits – unsulphured and preserved naturally without artificial colors or preservatives. The company chooses the highest quality fruit from growers all over the world – Sweetglow apricots from California, apples, cranberries, blueberries, Rainier and Bing cherries from the Pacific Northwest, Morello cherries from Eastern Europe, peaches, sugar plums, raspberries and blackberries from Chile, Mandarin oranges from China, lingonberries from Scandinavia, and strawberries and grapefruit from Mexico – and prepares the fruit using the “Meduri Method” which means the fruit is placed in shallow trays and dried in small batches with a very small amount of sugar, sunflower oil, citric acid and/or ascorbic acid added to preserve the fruit naturally. Read more
Nicobella Dark Chocolate Truffles
Dark Chocolate should be its own food group.
Nicobella Organics makes all natural organic dark chocolate truffles in six flavors: Pure Cocoa Bliss, Ginger Green Tea, Pumpkin Chai, Walnut Flaxseed Crunch, Blueberry Almond, and Sunflower Banana Butter. Rich and decadent, these silky smooth truffles will melt in your mouth making it hard to believe dairy products are not used to make these decadent treats. Instead of milk and cream, Nicobella uses oat milk and coconut oil along with pumpkin seed butter, ginger, green tea, walnuts, flaxseed, blueberries, almonds, sunflower seed butter, raw agave, brown rice syrup, sesame seeds, vanilla beans, cocoa nibs and spices to make their truffles and then enrobes them in Theo’s 70% dark chocolate. The result: pure bliss. Read more
Chocolate Caramel Turtles
Valentine’s Day is just days away so there is no better time to talk about chocolate than right now. Many connoisseurs of the cocoa variety prefer their chocolate pure as in a bar, as a truffle, or filled with a flavored ganache but there is also a group of people who think there is nothing more decadent than putting three ingredients – chocolate, caramel, and nuts – together to form what is commonly known in North America as a turtle. Read more
OLOVES are the New Olives
Eating olives on the go has always been problematic because most olives are sold in a marinade within glass or plastic containers which guarantees airport security will confiscate the Mediterranean fruit. Even if travel is by car or train, transporting olives is difficult because fishing olives out of a jar is not the easiest task while sitting in a passenger seat. Then there is the problem of what to do with the pit. Enter OLOVES, a delicious ready-to-eat packet of olives with no pits and no liquid. A natural healthy alternative snack, OLOVES come packaged in 30 gram (1.1 ounce) packets that are easy to take along anywhere. Read more
Oats Any Time
In a small town in central Maine just west of Bangor, a company called Oats Any Time (O.A.T.) makes whole grain oat tarts with real fruit filling and a crumb crust that taste rich and scrumptious and there isn’t an ounce of butter, eggs, or dairy used to make these treats. Gluten-free and vegan, the O.A.T. Fruit Filled Crumb Tart is a moist, delicious, and satisfying confection that can be eaten for breakfast or enjoyed as a snack or dessert. Read more
Wild Garden Hummus Dip
This post should be dedicated to United Airlines who is responsible for me learning about Wild Garden Hummus Dip. On a recent flight, I ordered the “Tapas” snack box which had a variety of snacks but most importantly Wild Garden Hummus Dip. Before opening the single serve packet of hummus, I read the ingredient list and was impressed because the dip contains chick peas, sesame paste (tahini), water, sea salt, natural spices, and citric acid. And, then I tasted the hummus dip and found it delicious – no overwhelming garlic flavor (because there is no garlic) and not too salty – with a smooth creamy texture that was easily spread on chips or crackers. Read more
Rethinking the Lunch Box and Thermos
Every so often, a product is redesigned in such an innovative way that people reconsider its use. There was the brown paper bag for lunch which led to the iconic lunch box and thermos – all of which were staples in our society for those who wanted to bring lunch from home. When my daughter announced she was going vegan and would be preparing her own lunch to bring to school, she quickly realized the challenges of not only making fresh tasting food but of transporting and storing it so that the food looked and tasted just as good as when she first made it. The preparation was relatively easy; the transporting wasn’t which is how we found Black + Blum – a company that makes innovative and functional soup carriers, salad boxes, and meal holders, bags, and utensils. Read more
GIN GINS
For a chewy, not too sweet and just a tad spicy adult candy, consider Gin Gins – a new type of candy that is natural, stimulating and deliciously different. Touted as “a soothing travel treat” because of ginger’s queasy-quelling properties, Gin Gins are used by many to fight off nausea while flying, boating, or driving on a winding, bumpy road. But, Gin Gins are more than a travel aid; they are a refreshing chewy candy that brings warmth and the good flavor of ginger to your senses. Read more
Rau Om
Years ago when we were living in Spain, my daughter would often order a cheese platter for dessert and devour the 4 or 5 piece selection, much to my surprise as most kids order cake or ice cream for dessert. She just happened to develop a deep love of cheese (especially goat) at a young age and was an adventurous eater. Now that she is a vegan, life has changed as has her diet.
By definition, a vegan is a person who avoids using or consuming animal products so cheese is no longer on the menu. In its place is a product called Tofu Misozuke – an all natural miso-cured tofu that has been aged for two months. Rich, creamy and slightly tangy, Tofu Misozuke is the centuries old Japanese answer to cheese and a cheese-lovin vegan’s choice when a craving for the forbidden fruit beckons. But, Tofu Misozuke is also a delicious alternative to cheese that non-vegans should consider trying. Read more
Paddock Post 