Apotherker’s Chocolate
Imagine having a husband who creates chocolate for you (I have but always wake up and realize it was just a dream). For Shari Apotheker it’s a reality: her husband, Russell first created chocolate for her when he was tinkering in the kitchen trying to come up with a wholesome chocolate bar using carefully selected ingredients. His sincere wish to create a chocolate bar free of refined sugar, soy, dairy, and artificial colors and flavors led them to create a variety of chocolate bars to sweeten your life, too. Read more 
Artifact Bag Company Aprons
Most aprons are stylish or cute but don’t provide the four practical attributes a baker really needs: fit, coverage, a few pockets, and durability. Artifact Bag Company of Omaha, Nebraska hand makes a heavy-duty apron that meets all those criteria and is nice on the eyes. Read more
Righteously Raw™ Chocolate Bars
Righteously Raw™ is at the forefront of a chocolate evolution – one in which chocolate bars are valued for taste and nutritional qualities – two attributes not often considered together to describe the “food of the gods.” Using raw organic cocoa (rich in antioxidants) and naturally occurring sweeteners and fruits (agave nectar, coconut sugar, coconut nectar, dates, figs and raisins), Righteously Raw™ provides a rich healthy alternative to traditional processed chocolate bars.
Valentine’s Day Gifts for the Baker
Baking is a passion and since Valentine’s Day is all about love, enthusiasm, and devotion, why not consider a gift this year that expresses the same sentiment but in a different way to those who rely on the oven to work their magic? Bakers put a lot of effort into having the right tools, bowls, pans, and appliances to bring their creations to fruition but with the constant introduction of new products, there’s always something a baker needs (as opposed to wants), including: Read more
Shotwell Candy Co. Caramels
Most caramel makers don’t try twelve different butters (before deciding which one to use) or heat pure cane sugar to temperatures above 320 degrees to create an authentic caramel flavor but Shotwell Candy Co. does. One bite into a buttery rich, creamy and chewy Shotwell caramel and you’re hooked, destined to become a member of a small group of friendly but committed caramel snobs who really can taste the difference between a caramel made the old-fashioned way (by hand) with high quality ingredients and the commercially made caramels made with artificial flavors. Read more
Somersaults®
Most people think somersaults are for the young, but a healthy new snack food called Somersaults® is for anyone who has come full circle and now wants a nutrient-dense delicious crunchy snack for themselves and their families. Made primarily of sunflower seeds and toasted grains, Somersaults® come in five flavors:
- Original Pacific Sea Salt
- Dutch Cocoa
- Cinnamon Crunch
- Salty Pepper
- Santa Fe Salsa
That’s It® Fruit Bars
Nature knows best. ~Mother Nature
For those who want all the taste and nutrition of fruit but don’t have easy access to an apple, banana, pear, strawberries, cherries, apricots, blueberries, or pineapple – or find transporting fresh fruit difficult – consider a That’s It® bar: a product made of natural, non-GMO fruit and nothing else. Just two fruits in each bar; that’s it, really. Read more
Chocolate Hearts
I’d rather have chocolate on my table than diamonds on my neck.
Nothing says “Happy Valentine’s Day” quite like a box of chocolates especially when the confection is in the shape of a heart. Rich dark or creamy milk chocolate hearts neatly placed in a gift box or covered in shiny red foil are not only lovely to look at but a delight to unwrap and enjoy. For the adventurer, a ganache or praline filled chocolate heart may also be the perfect gift. Whatever the preference, choose among the many chocolate options by some of the best: Read more
“The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry”
A question I’ve thought about a great deal is why it is so much easier to write about the things we dislike/hate/acknowledge to be flawed than the things we love.
In The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, author Gabrielle Zevin introduces A.J. Fikry, a 39-year old grumpy man whose pleasures in life are few. Recently widowed, A.J. finds himself running Island Books, a 700 square foot independent bookstore in a purple Victorian house on Alice Island, off the Massachusetts coastline (seems vaguely familiar to Oak Bluffs in Martha’s Vineyard), without the warm touch of his wife, Nic, who was killed in a tragic car accident (is there any other kind?). Read more
Bare™ Organic Apple Chips
Bare™ Organic Apple Chips are all natural crunchy organic baked apple chips that are as naked as the days in which they were grown. That’s the beauty of apple chips in the buff – naturally delicious. Simplicity at it’s best. Using organic Fuji and Granny Smith apples, Bare™ created a delicious undressed snack food that delivers flavor and texture in a nutritious snack with no preservatives, artificial colors, or preservatives. Read more
Paddock Post 