Vivi Chocolate
What Love Tastes Like…Simply Chocolate
Back in 2006, Barbara Yeager was in an herbal apothecary store in Seattle, Washington when she noticed a jar of cacao nibs (cacao beans that have been roasted at a low temperature, separated from their husks, and broken into tiny pieces). After she tasted the nibs, she understood why people are really into chocolate: because cacao nibs taste like chocolate without the sweetness. It was love at first bite. Read more 
“The Omnivore’s Dilemma”
Much of our food system depends on our not knowing much about it, beyond the price disclosed by the checkout scanner; cheapness and ignorance are mutually reinforcing. And it’s a short way from not knowing who’s at the other end of your food chain to not caring–to the carelessness of both producers and consumers that characterizes our economy today. Of course, the global economy couldn’t very well function without this wall of ignorance and the indifference it breeds. This is why the American food industry and its international counterparts fight to keep their products from telling even the simplest stories–”dolphin safe,” “humanely slaughtered,” etc.–about how they were produced. The more knowledge people have about the way their food is produced, the more likely it is that their values–and not just “value”–will inform their purchasing decisions.”
Very simply, we subsidize high-fructose corn syrup in this country, but not carrots. While the surgeon general is raising alarms over the epidemic of obesity, the president is signing farm bills designed to keep the river of cheap corn flowing, guaranteeing that the cheapest calories in the supermarket will continue to be the unhealthiest. ~Michael Pollan
Vermatzah
Vermatzah: Sustenance For The Body; Fuel For The Soul
There is matzah and there is Vermatzah: a round handmade wood-fired alternative to the mass-produced boxes of square-shaped matzah on store shelves. Made in Vermont by Naga Bakehouse – a small, village bakery perched on a rock edge in Middletown Springs where savory whole grain artisan breads are baked in a wood-fired oven for folks who care about good food.
Once a year in the weeks leading up to the Jewish holiday of Passover, Naga Bakehouse starts turning out Vermatzah: the best tasting matzah on the market. Crispy, flavorful, and delicious describe this very large cracker. Read more
Pilates and the Hail Storm
A few weeks ago, a friend convinced me to go to a Pilates mat class and I haven’t been the same since. My muscles ache and throb and I feel parts of my body that I never knew existed. Flexibility has never been one of my strong suits: while school age friends did cartwheels, back bends, and round off back handsprings, I languished on the sidelines hoping someone would run because that was one athletic maneuver I could muster. All I had to do was put one foot in front of the other. Read more
The French Valentine’s Day Cookie
If cookies be the food of love…munch on. ~Dame Judi Dench
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching so if you need a gift for that special someone who loves exquisite butter cookies, Poilâne – the famous Parisian bakery known for their sourdough bread, apple tarts, and butter cookies – has the ultimate Valentine’s Day gift box containing 54-56 heart-shaped butter cookies weighing 270 grams (about 10 ounces) for 22.50€ ($25.67). So simple and yet so delicious, these French butter cookies are rich, crunchy and perfect as a snack with a cup of tea or coffee. Read more
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
Paddock Post 