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Recent Articles

24
Jan

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:

  1. Original Pacific Sea Salt
  2. Dutch Cocoa
  3. Cinnamon Crunch
  4. Salty Pepper
  5. Santa Fe Salsa

Read more »

22
Jan

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 »

20
Jan

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 »

18
Jan

“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 »

16
Jan

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 »

14
Jan

What’s in a Chicken McNugget?

At McDonald’s, we take great care to serve quality, great-tasting menu items to our customers each and every time they visit our restaurants.

Most people think a Chicken McNugget is chicken with breading but a look at the ingredient’s list reveals a different story. McDonald’s publishes an up-to-date list (www.nutrition.mcdonalds.com) of ingredients in their menu items which reveals a Chicken McNugget contains at least 37 ingredients: Read more »

12
Jan

The Return of the Peppermint Patty

Fasten your seat belt, ma’am. Here I come again!                                                                        ~Peppermint Patty

The peppermint patty – a dark chocolate enrobed peppermint candy – was first introduced nearly 75 years ago by the York Cone Company. Back then (before synthetic peppermint oil was invented and patented), the York Peppermint Patty was known for its crisp texture and contrasting flavors: bitter dark chocolate and sugar-sweetened peppermint center. Read more »

10
Jan

10 Kitchen Tips for My Younger Self

When I was 23 years old, I was asked to bring a dessert to a pot-luck luncheon at work so I decided to bring a homemade cheesecake. The night before, I got home from work late and didn’t have time to bring the cream cheese to room temperature so I took the 6 bars of Philadelphia Cream Cheese out of the refrigerator and proceeded to make the cake only to be asked the next day what the white clumps in my cheesecake were. Not one of my better baking moments but one I’ve never forgotten because I eventually learned that certain ingredients have to be at room temperature to blend properly. Read more »

8
Jan

“Nine Inches”

It’s easy to say you should let a kid follow his heart. But what if his heart takes him places you don’t want to go?

Nine Inches is a collection of short stories written by Tom Perrotta, an American writer, novelist and screenwriter who often writes of high school using all the drama of those years as a metaphor for life. Published in 2014, Nine Inches contains ten short stories written from the perspective of teenagers, adults, and senior citizens and, yet they all share a common theme: high school never really ends. Read more »

6
Jan

Lamar Briggs: 1935 – 2015

My approach to art is to open myself visually to the world around me as much as possible—by reading, traveling, collecting and just plain “seeing.”  Music and color ‘flow’ for me. I paint to music and the music and rhythm speak to me more than any external experience.       ~Lamar Briggs

My friend, Lamar Briggs passed away on Sunday afternoon. Just last week, I was in his hospital room where he sat wearing his signature cap, giving me grief about the “bird nest” on my head (his description of my poof), asking if I was still driving that “old lady car” (his words for the Caddie I bought last year), and telling me about a new CD he just received (Frank Sinatra with the Red Norvo Quintet, Live In Australia 1959) and how great it is. Although Lamar had been in and out of the hospital for the past 3 months, I knew he was feeling better because he also asked me to put a pair of bright yellow, white, and grey socks on his feet. Ever the colorist, Lamar always had a signature moment and that was the last one I shared with him. Read more »