Enstrom’s Almond Toffee
Almonds, butter, sugar, chocolate, and salt are the five ingredients of Enstrom’s Almond Toffee – a traditional candy that is still made by hand using only the finest ingredients available. Few candies taste as delicious as a piece of almond toffee from this Colorado-based confectionary. Crunchy and buttery on the inside, enrobed in milk or dark chocolate and sprinkled with crushed almonds on the outside, Enstrom’s Almond Toffee is positively addicting. Read more 
Decorative Chocolate for Desserts
For those who never tire of decorating baked goods or pastries with chocolate, there is a website called www.pastrychef.com that provides customers with top quality decorative chocolate toppings. Opened in 1997 as an internet website, www.pastrychef.com is based out of Boca Raton, Florida with sales limited to on-line or catalog/phone. Advertised as a baking and pastry superstore, www.pastrychef.com offers a wide variety of chocolate decorative ingredients (and other ingredients and tools) to both home and professional bakers. Read more
France Luxe Hair Barrettes
One beautiful hair barrette is sometimes the perfect accessory and few companies make high quality barrettes as beautiful and functional as France Luxe. The company has been manufacturing hair ornaments – barrettes, combs, ponytail holders, sticks, jaws, bobby pins, and headbands – for more than a century at their factories located near Geneva, Switzerland.
High quality hair barrettes are scarce in the United States – most tend to break rather easily – which makes France Luxe barrettes stand out as they seldom break (I have some that are 20 years old and work just as well as the day I bought them) and there are no gobs of glue on the back holding the clasp onto the hairpiece. Stylish, colorful, and exquisite in design and function, France Luxe barrettes are timeless. Read more
Ortiz Anchovies and the Caesar Salad
I wouldn’t hesitate to order a Caesar Salad in a restaurant and yet, for years I was reluctant to make a real Caesar Salad at home because of the raw egg yolks and anchovies – neither of which appeal to me on their own. However, it is possible to make a really good Caesar Salad without raw egg yolks but not without anchovies, freshly grated parmesan cheese, homemade croutons, and crisp romaine lettuce. Read more
We Love JAM: Blenheim Apricot Jam
Ten years ago, Eric Haeberli and Phineas Hoang used the Blenheim apricots from one tree in their yard (which used to be part of an apricot orchard) to make apricot jam by combining the freshly picked fruit, sugar, and spices (the blend of which is a secret). The result was one of the most delicious jams ever created: Blenheim Apricot Jam. Five years later in 2007, Eric and Phineas decided to turn a five-year hobby into a business called “We Love Jam” and now sell their jam to the public in a jar simply labeled “JAM“…but in limited quantities because the Blenheim apricots are only harvested in late June and July – and the jam starts shipping in August. Read more
Jeni’s Splendid Frozen Yogurt
During the summer, ice cream is a regular part of our daily diet with the choices limited to the local soft serve or store-bought hard variety. A few weeks ago, my daughter asked if we could order a healthy alternative – frozen yogurt – since the selection is limited in this remote area of upstate New York. We went on-line and came upon Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream and noticed she makes 5 flavors of frozen yogurt (which varies depending on the time of year) so we ordered all five flavors. Three days later, the five pints of frozen yogurt: Black Currant, Grapefruit, Lime and Blueberries, Lime Cardamom, and Mango Lassi – were delivered (via UPS ground service) to our door frozen solid on dry ice. Read more
Muesli Fusion
Muesli Fusion is based out of Rochester, New York and is the creator of seven muesli cereals made from all natural, raw and organic ingredients including grains, nuts, dried fruits, and seeds. Each blend of muesli is designed for a specific target audience or for those that want a different cereal each day of the week: low-fat, protein packed, no nuts or seeds, gluten-free, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, high fiber, and sweetened with nothing but dried fruit (five out of the seven blends with the remaining two containing cocoa nibs or cinnamon chips). Read more
Freddy Guys Hazelnuts
A hazelnut is also known as a filbert nut and is most often associated with desserts or chocolate (think Nutella or praline). But the hazelnut is also delicious roasted and salted and can be used to make hazelnut butter, an alternative to peanut butter. In Europe, hazelnuts are used to make a paste for pastries or chopped and then sprinkled on the sides of cakes or tortes. Frangelico, a vodka-based liquor is flavored with hazelnuts and hazelnut oil is gaining popularity as a cooking oil. Read more
KIND Bars
In 2003, Daniel Lubetzky, an entrepreneur launched KIND – a healthy snack company based on two principles: the word “and” meaning that his snacks would be tasty and healthy; and “kindness” with reference to treating your body, taste buds, and the world with unexpected kindness. Most health bars lack taste and texture which I can attest to as I’ve tried just about every bar on the market and most were one-time purchases so as the years passed, my expectations for any kind of healthy snack bar that tasted exceptional diminished until I discovered KIND bars. Not only are KIND bars convenient and wholesome, but they are healthy and tasty – an unexpected coupling as these two descriptions don’t often go together. The only caveat: the consumer needs to be a nut-lover to enjoy these bars because the main ingredient of each variety bar is some type of nut. Crunchy, chewy, and delicious accurately describe KIND bars. Read more
The Big Face Collection
T-shirts have never taken up much space in my closet, despite its immense popularity in this country. In fact, I can count on one hand how many t-shirts I own. It’s not that I have a blanket aversion to t-shirts (although my daughter claims I do), it’s just so rare that I find a t-shirt that I like – the exception being the Big Face t-shirt collection by The Mountain. The Big Face t-shirt collection is best described as three-dimensional animal faces on a t-shirt that look so real, they appear to pop out at anyone that looks at them. So, when I saw the guinea pig t-shirt, I had to have it since I am somewhat known as a guinea pig when it comes to tasting food. Read more
Paddock Post 