Gelato Fiasco: Vegan Options
Inspired by Italy. Perfected in Maine.
With summertime around the corner, Italy’s version of ice cream – gelato – is a refreshing alternative on hot summer days. With an emphasis on texture and flavor: gelato has a softer texture (than ice cream) that allows the flavor to come through more strongly. Although most gelato contains milk (as opposed to cream), Gelato Fiasco offers four (4) dairy-free options: Dark Chocolate Noir Sorbetto, Ripe Mango Sorbetto, Raspberry Truffle Sorbetto, and Banana Stracciatella. Read more 
Chocolate Covered Blood Orange Slices (DIY)
Necessity is the mother of invention.
EHChocolatier of Somerville, Massachusetts made a decadent treat called Blood Orange & Chocolate but ran out just before Valentine’s Day after being named one of the best chocolatiers in the country. Desperate for more of these treats, the only way was to make them myself.
I could have bought blood oranges, sliced and dehydrated the pieces but instead I placed an order with Simple & Crisp – a Seattle, Washington-based company that specializes in dried fruit crisps with a cracker-like texture – for a few boxes of their Blood Orange Dried Fruit Crisps. Read more
SuperSeedz
Big things come in small packages.
Pumpkin seeds are nutritional powerhouses with a concentrated source of 7 vitamins (E, B-1, B-2, B-3, B-5, B-6, and folate (folic acid), 8 minerals (calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, selenium, and zinc), anti-oxidants, and amino acids. These seeds are also packed with protein (5-7 grams per ounce) and fiber (2-3 grams per ounce). Read more
Dark Chocolate Matzah Bark
If you happen to live in Boston and need the perfect Passover treat, stop in at EHChocolatier at 561 Windsor Street in Sommerville, just east of Cambridge to buy Dark Chocolate Matzah Bark. Whether buying these for yourself, sharing as part of a dessert, or bringing them as a gift for the host or hostess, Dark Chocolate Matzah Bark will bring a sweet ending to any Passover Seder.
For those of us unable to get to Boston, EHChocolatier ships the bark 2-day Priority, Fed Ex 2-day, and UPS Second Day Air to ensure receipt before Passover. Read more
Sweet Olive Oil Tortas
Years ago while living in Madrid, Spain, sweet olive oil tortas (tortas de aceite) were a common snack that was often referred to as a “merienda” – a light snack in the late morning between breakfast and lunch or in the late afternoon between lunch and dinner. Although each neighborhood seemed to have their own bakery version, Ines Rosales was the most popular national brand simply because her tortas tasted the best. Read more
Frontier Bites
Frontier Bites were created several years ago when two brothers (Nate and Matt) challenged each other to a baking competition to see who could come up with the best alternative to the overly processed energy bars that they regularly ate. The rules were simple: no refined sugar, no dairy, no gluten, no soy and no more than 10 ingredients that could be found in the pantry. Read more
Just Cookie Dough
Just Cookie Dough is better for you and the world – so go ahead and grab a spoon.
Sticking a spoon into a bowl of cookie dough and eating it raw is more than a right of passage from childhood to adulthood. In fact, most of us never outgrow our passion for cookie dough. We claim we’re making cookies for our kids and we eat the dough when no one is looking. We mix cookie dough in ice cream and of course, we scoop spoonfuls onto cookie sheets to make cookies. But, sometimes we don’t have time to make cookie dough from scratch (and we don’t want a commercial cookie dough made with artificial colors, flavors, or even dairy products). So what’s a cookie dough addict to do? Buy a jar of Just Cookie Dough by Hampton Creek at your local Super Target. Read more
Paqui Gourmet Tortilla Chips
Some of the most basic simple foods are the hardest to make. Consider tortilla chips which are primarily made of three ingredients: corn, oil, and salt. How hard can it be to make really great tasting crunchy tortilla chips? Well, according to many tasters who have snacked on the mass market commercial offerings, the answer is “pretty hard.”
The secret to great tasting tortilla chips is to use high quality fresh tortillas fried in oil hot enough to cook them to a perfect crisp but not so hot as to darken the chips. If the oil is not hot enough, the chips will be greasy and if the oil is too hot, the chips will be overdone making the corn flavor an afterthought. Read more
Introducing Ben and Jerry’s Non-Dairy “Ice Cream”
Be one in a million.
Ben & Jerry’s of Burlington, Vermont recently started making “ice cream” with almond milk instead of dairy products which has shoppers scavenging for pints that give new meaning to the word “ice cream.” Dairy-free, vegan, non-GMO, and Fair Trade certified, Ben & Jerry’s new frozen desserts are disappearing off the freezer shelves as fast as they can be restocked. Read more
The Makers Apron
Most people don’t get too excited about aprons but I do because an apron not only protects clothes but also helps keep things – measuring spoons, spatulas, a tissue, or scissors – close at hand.
Years ago I read a cookbook (Vegan Chocolate by Fran Costigan) that gave me some invaluable advice: gather all your ingredients on the countertop before starting a recipe. The second great piece of advice that I had to learn through trial and error was to always use an apron that is functional and fashionable. Although the second aspect is arguably trivial, there’s no doubt a fantastic piece of clothing makes us feel happy and that’s what a Maker’s Apron does. Read more
Paddock Post 