Organic Candy Canes
Candy canes are as much a part of our holiday season as the festivities. We hang the red and white striped sweets on the tree, smash them up with a hammer to use as a topping on cookies or to make peppermint bark, and we eat them in their natural state. The refreshing peppermint taste and the nostalgic shape draws most kids (big and little) to candy canes even though most of these seasonal treats contain corn syrup, artificial colors, and flavorings. TruJoy Sweets makes an organic candy cane using natural colors and flavors to create a healthier and better tasting candy cane using only four ingredients: organic evaporated cane juice, organic brown rice syrup, natural peppermint flavor, and organic fruit juice. Read more 
Forbidden Rice
While dining at the Veritable Quandary in Portland, Oregon last month, Wild Grilled Salmon over Forbidden Rice was served for dinner and I couldn’t decide which was better – the medium rare grilled salmon or the dark moist flavorful rice that was underneath the fish. Rice is normally a bland food that requires butter, salt, or spices to enhance the flavor but Forbidden Rice is different. A delicious rice with a a nutty taste , Forbidden Rice looks like a black rice but is in reality, a deep dark purple color when cooked and although the expectation is for the rice to be hard and nutty like a wild rice, Forbidden Rice is soft and nutty. Folklore has it this rice was reserved for the emperors of China and therefore forbidden to all others; hence its name.
Daisy Flours
There is a difference in flours, just as there is a difference in types of milk, yogurt, apples, cheese, spices, and all ingredients. All too often, consumers think flours are the same or too similar to notice a difference but the reality is quite different. An all-purpose flour generally works well in most recipes but there are two factors about flour that are important to remember: (1) high-quality, unbleached and less processed flours taste better in recipes; and (2) flours vary greatly in protein content so the flour chosen should be based on the recipe: a low protein flour for pastry, a medium protein flour for cakes, cookies, pancakes, and most baked goods, and a high protein flour for breadsthat need to rise. Read more
Crystallized Ginger
Crystallized ginger is an ingredient most bakers are very familiar with because the flavor and texture can add so much to a recipe, especially cakes and muffins. When people speak or write of ginger, they are usually referring to the ginger root – a spicy hot and fragrant spice used predominantly in Indian and Asian cuisine. The younger roots -“baby ginger” – are milder and juicer and are often used to make crystallized ginger or candied baby ginger by simply cooking the root in sugar until it becomes soft and chewy. The sugar forms a protective coating around the ginger root thus acting as a natural preservative. Read more
The Yoku Moku Holiday Tins
Every year, famed Japanese cookie maker Yoku Moku commissions an artist to design a holiday cookie tin to be filled with the company’s light crispy buttery minimalist cookies. The essence of a Yoku Moku cookie is in its simplicity – both in ingredients, design, and taste – so the exterior design of the annual holiday tin is louder, more colorful and meant to draw attention to a cookie that doesn’t rely on adornment for attention. Read more
Fregula
Fregula is a type of pasta from Sardinia that resembles toasted pearls. Some people think fregula is like couscous but this unique pasta is bigger, thicker, and more flavorful than couscous. Fregula or the “pearl of pastas” is made with coarse semolina flour blended with water and formed into little balls. The pasta is then dried and toasted to impart a nutty flavor when cooked. Ideal for soups or with cooked vegetables, fregula is a firm chewy pasta with a deep toasted flavor, unlike any other pasta. Read more
CiCi’s Handmade Italian Butterhorns
When I was in high school, I would often go to my friend Amy’s house over the holidays where her extended family would celebrate the end of a meal with a table full of Italian pastries and cookies. At my house, most cookies came in a bag so the sight of a whole table piled high with every conceivable type of handmade Italian cookie was a dream come true. Amy’s Aunt Cookie was primarily responsible for that dedicated table and she was infamous among her relatives (and friends) for her homemade cookies: Italian Wedding, Wandi, Pignoli, Struffoli, and more. Read more
Abe’s Market
Where do you go on-line to find a wide selection of healthy foods at reasonable prices and free shipping? Abe’s Market – the newest on-line resource for consumers looking for all types of healthy foods: organic, gluten-free, vegan, tree-nut free, nut-free, kosher, sugar-free, raw, and natural. Nearly 3,000 food products are currently offered with the selection growing daily. The prices are competitive and the shipping is free (and fast) on all orders of $49 or more. Read more
Nature’s All Freeze Dried Fruit
Nature’s All Foods recently introduced nine organic and fair-trade certified freeze-dried fruit products to the market: raspberries, blueberries, bananas, mangos, apples, strawberries, pineapples, and a blend of bananas and strawberries or a tropical blend of mangos, pineapples,and bananas. Each packet of delicious crunchy dried fruit contains the organic fruit listed “and nothing else but love.” Read more
Alma Chocolate
Alma Chocolate was started seven years ago by Sarah Hart who initially sold her chocolate creations at a Farmer’s Market in Portland, Oregon. In 2006, Sarah opened up a chocolate shop in northeast Portland and has been creating and selling her confections ever since. One of her specialities is toffee and she makes three kinds: Pistachio, Hazelnut Cherry, and Ginger Almond – all made with organic butter, turbinado (a natural brown sugar that looks like light brown sugar crystals), fresh nuts, dark chocolate and sea salt. Read more
Paddock Post 