Pasta d’oro
Two friends recently e-mailed me about a product called Sam Mills Pasta d’oro, which one had discovered in an Italian restaurant in New York City when she ordered a gluten-free pasta dish. Expecting a bland pasta, she was pleasantly surprised by the flavorful pasta with a firm texture so she asked the server about the dish and he told her the restaurant uses a gluten-free pasta called Pasta d’oro – a corn pasta made with corn flour and water.
Made by the Sam Mills company of Rumania in a gluten-free facility in the European Union, Pasta d’oro is free of gluten, dairy, soy, egg, and cholesterol and full of taste, texture, and deliciousness. Read more 
Rawxies
To describe a Rawxie as a delicious cookie is an understatement. Made primarily of oats, dates, nuts, and coconut palm sugar (which has a low glycemic index of 35 compared to cane sugar with 68 or honey with 55), Rawxies are a hybrid of nutritional food bars and an indulgent dessert, according to Callie England, the creator of these scrumptious treats. Made in Kansas City, Missouri, Rawxies are heart-shaped cookies made in four selective flavors: Lemon Poppy Seed (my favorite), Mint Chocolate Chip, Mocha Almond, and Banana Nut Bread. Read more
The Mulberry
Here we go round the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, Here we go round the mulberry bush, On a cold and frosty morning.
Most people remember the popular nursery rhyme “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush,” and yet, the mulberry is rarely seen in the fresh produce department of most grocery stores. A small fruit that usually grows to be about an inch long, the mulberry is typically white or a pale color when immature turning pink, red, and then a dark purple or black when fully ripened looking remarkably similar to a blackberry when mature. Read more
Simple Squares
There are few foods more gratifying than the simple ones: raw nuts and honey among them. Add vanilla, sea salt and herbs and simplicity becomes deliciousness with Simple Squares: natural, organic snack bars made with non-GMO verified ingredients. Made primarily of nuts (cashews and almonds), Simple Squares contain no wheat, gluten, dairy, corn or soy and are made without refined sugar, brown rice syrup, or agave. Honey is the sweetener of choice in the six savory flavors: Read more
Lilly’s Coconut Macaroons
One of the great advantages of being American is being exposed to the foods of diverse cultures. When I was a child, I had my first “aha” food moment when I went to a friend’s home for a holiday dinner. She was Italian and there was an abundance of food but what caught my eye was a table piled high with homemade Italian cookies with strange names: Pizzelles, Pignoli, Anisette, Strufoli, and Italian Wedding Cookies. One bite into these cookies and I knew Fig Newtons, Chips Ahoy, or Oreos were no longer my idea of a cookie. Read more
OCHO Organic Candy Bars
Step aside Mounds, Reese’s, Snickers, Milky Way and Three Musketeers..there’s a new bar in town.
Most candy bars fall into two categories: inexpensive chocolate bars made with all sorts of undesirable additives or expensive gourmet bars made with fresh high quality ingredients. With both ends of the chocolate bar market well covered, Oakland, California-based OCHO Candy realized there was an opportunity to provide consumers with a delicious, organic alternative to the traditional candy bars made with preservatives, additives, and artificial flavoring, and the pricy specialty bar. Read more
Taralli by Terre Di Puglia
Taralli are round Italian breadsticks, similar in texture to a crumbly cracker with a savory or sweet taste, depending on the ingredients. A delicious, crunchy pretzel-like snack that can be eaten on its own, Taralli are traditionally made with flour, extra virgin olive oil, white wine, yeast, and salt although the savory Italian rings are often flavored with fennel seeds, onion, pepper, sesame seeds, oregano, tomatoes, anchovies or poppy seeds. Read more
OXO Pop Containers
One of my dreams is to design my own house with five rooms on the first floor: a mud room with a dog bath/shower, a laundry room, a massive kitchen with a casual dining area connected to a family room, and a walk-in pantry with adjustable shelves lined with nearly everything a cook or baker needs to make scrumptious meals.
The pantry of my dreams will have a section for flours, sugars, beans, rice, pasta, grains, snacks, cereals, jams, sauces, chocolate, nuts, dried fruits, baking and cooking supplies – all organized for easy access. Until then, I’ve focused on organizing my limited cabinet space to maximize every square inch by using OXO Pop Containers: BPA-free containers made of clear heavy-duty plastic that are airtight, stackable, and space efficient. Read more
WeatherTech Cargo Liners
Cars don’t generally excite me and I barely know the difference between makes and models but there is one product for automobiles that makes me smile: cargo liners made by WeatherTech, an Illinois-based company specializing in floor mats and liners for cars, trucks, minivans, and SUV’s. WeatherTech cargo liners are custom designed, laser-measured liners made of thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) – a mix of plastic and rubber – which is wear resistant but flexible even under temperature extremes. Read more
The Better Bean Company
The Better Bean Company of Portland, Oregon (why are there so many cool food companies based out of Portland?) considers beans an essential part of fine and healthy cuisines but also realizes that most people don’t have hours to spend in the kitchen cooking beans and adding just the right amount of spices to take the beans from bland to delicious. So, they do it for you by making freshly prepared beans that rival the quality and flavor of the best home cooked or restaurant made beans. Read more
Paddock Post 