Honey Pax…It’s All About The Honey
For those who want delicious raw honey that won’t crystallize, is deliverable in an easy portable packet, and sourced directly from the beekeepers, look no further than Honey Pax – the brainchild of brother and sister team, Jason and Julie who grew up snacking on Tupelo Honey, a raw honey made by bees whose hives are located near the White Tupelo tree. Known for its fragrant white flowers that produce a nectar the bees love to feast on, the Tupelo Tree thrives in northwest Florida. Read more 
Dulce De Leche – Milk Caramel
Dulce de Leche or Milk Caramel is made by slowly cooking fresh milk and sugar until the mixture thickens into a luscious creamy caramel sauce. Popular in Latin America and in Spain, my first taste of Dulce de Leche was in Madrid a decade ago when it was served poured over vanilla ice cream.
Thicker than a sauce, Dulce de Leche is more like a cooled melted caramel – thick, rich and not unlike the caramel that sticks to a spoon when making caramel apples. Although Dulce de Leche cannot be used to make caramel apples (because it doesn’t harden when cooled), the sauce can be spooned over ice cream, yogurt, cake, waffles, crepes, biscuits, toast, and even used as a layer between sweet crisp breads known as “tortas” (as pictured above). Some fans have been known to stick a spoon in the jar and enjoy Dulce de Leche plain – it’s that good. Read more
The Saturn Peach
Summertime is the best season to enjoy fresh peaches so be adventurous and try the Saturn Peach. Small (about 3 inches across), flat and less fuzzy than the standard peach, the Saturn Peach has a very thin red and yellow skin. Sweeter than a typical peach…and never dry and mealy – the Saturn Peach is a healthy delicious snack best enjoyed in its natural freshly picked state. Harvested from late Spring through the Summer, the Saturn Peach is gaining popularity among farmers (because it’s easy to grow and bountiful) and peach fans (because the texture is juicy and the taste is scrumptious). Read more
“The Colonel”
The Colonel was written by Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, a Tehran-based writer and an Iranian professor of Literature who is a leading proponent of social and artistic freedom. Banned in Iran, the original version of The Colonel was written in Persian and published in Germany before being translated in English by Tom Patterdale. Recently released (April, 2012) in the United States, The Colonel is the story of a man who served in the Shah’s army and who condemns himself for committing two mortal sins in his life: killing his wife who committed adultery and refusing an army order to go to Dhofar (a province in southwest Oman) to “slaughter a bunch of hungry rebels on the grounds that they were a Soviet threat” (the Soviets had a substantial base there at the time) in 1973. Read more
The Worst Race of My Life…But It was Fun….
Last week, my friend, Mark asked if I wanted to run “Race the Train” – an 8.4 mile race in upstate New York (North Creek) and since I’ve been running 8-10 miles four days a week this summer, I immediately registered although I briefly hesitated because the weather forecast was for hot temperatures on Saturday, August 4th. With a start time of 9:00 am – late by running standards – we all knew this race wouldn’t be our best but the idea of racing a train sounded fun. Read more
The Short Sweet Life of Bessie
In Iowa most people are either growing food (corn, soybeans, wheat) or raising animals (cattle, pigs, chickens) or doing a bit of both on the farm. Russ and Beverly were both born and raised in central Iowa, marrying after high school and settling into a small place down the road from the farm where Russ spent his childhood. When Russ’s father passed away from cancer, Russ and Beverly moved back to the farm and took over the operation, allowing Russ’s mother to enjoy her grandchildren, bridge club, and church socials. Married nearly four decades, Russ and Beverly spent a lifetime growing corn and soybeans in the nutrient rich black soil and managing a small cattle operation on the remaining acreage. Read more
Organic Superfood Cereal
Vigilant Eats makes a unique product: Organic Superfood Cereal – a gluten-free dry cereal that contains no dairy, soy, refined sugar, additives or preservatives. Organic Superfood Cereal does contain oats, oat flour, goji berries, cacao nibs, hemp flour, coconut palm sugar, yacon (a sweet tasting root plant) powder, maple powder, and cinnamon. Sold in 3 ounce cups (with a small foldable spoon on the inside), Superfood is, for lack of a better word super convenient. Just add cold water or milk and stir and you have a high-protein, low-glycemic, nutrient dense cereal that tastes terrific. Actually, it tastes better than terrific…it’s totally delicious. Read more
Chambre De Sucre
Chambre De Sucre is a Japanese sugar artisan company that sells decorative sugars in a wide variety of colors, shapes, and textures. The sugars have been manufactured for nearly 300 years by one of the oldest Japanese family owned businesses and are now imported to the United States through Web Japan, an international trading company based in California that is dedicated to importing and exporting the highest quality Japanese products. Read more
“Aliens In The Prime Of Their Lives”
When I first picked up “Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives,” I thought I was holding a book for young adults when in fact, the 12 short stories are about young people – an under-appreciated mother, a rebellious teen, an angry lover who has been abandoned, a divorced father, a sexually abused teen, a mother who looses a child, and a young boy’s family vacation. There are also the experiences of a father and son at “Bodies: The Exhibition” which showcases preserved human bodies dissected to display bodily functions, a young couple’s adventures in a car, the hunters that become the hunted, and a couple’s last moments on a doomed aircraft. This 263-page book reminded me of the “The Twilight Zone” – the American television series from the early 1960’s that depicted weekly singular episodes of disturbing, paranormal, or futuristic phenomena in seemingly normal day-to-day life. Read more
Rock Paper Dove
Rock Paper Dove is an on-line stationery store that is remarkable for its unique selection of cards, invitations, stationery, and announcements; and for excellent customer service. With more than 90 options for birthday, wedding, and baby shower invitations, save-the-date, graduation, and birth announcements along with personalized thank you notes, Rock Paper Dove seems to have something for everyone. Read more
Paddock Post 