THE NIBBLE BLOG: Products, Recipes & Trends In Specialty Foods


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TIP OF THE DAY: 6 Reasons To Go Local (Become A Locavore)

With the bounty of summer produce, there’s no better time to become a locavore. If you don’t like the word “locavore,” you can just “go local.”

The “go local” trend has been growing over the past five years. The definition: seeking food produced under 100 miles from where you live.

There are good reasons to implement a local focus into your food purchases.

Our guest blogger is James Kim, a writer for FoodOnTheTable.com, a company that provides online budget meal planning services to help families eat better and save money. (And who among us doesn’t want to do that?)
 
WHY GO LOCAL?
 
1. Fresher Food. Because local food takes less time to get from the farm to your table, it’s fresher and more delicious. It’s also more nutritious. Nutrients in food begin to decline when the food is harvested. The less time taken from farm to table, fewer are nutrients lost.

 

 
Romanesco cauliflower: a farmers market
treat. Photo by Johan Bolhuis | SXC.
2. Better Food. Family farmers have a profound attachment to their land and a love of farming. They want their product to be the best. Corporate farm developments don’t have the same devotion.

3. Local Economy Boost. Buying local benefits your community. By supporting local businesses, you keep your money “close to home,” helping your community prosper. The New Economic Foundation, an independent economic research firm in London, found that twice the money stayed in the community when people bought products produced locally.

4. Save Farmland. A heartbreaking amount of farmland is lost every year to commercial development. By supporting local food so that farmers don’t have to sell their land, you preserve both the beauty of a farm and a way of life that is our heritage.

5. Less Air Pollution. Less food travel means fewer fuel contaminants released into the air—and thus, a healthier environment. According to a study by the journal “Food Policy,” even organic food transported long distances creates environmental damage that outweighs the environmental benefit of buying organic.

6. Building Community. Eating local brings you closer to your community. You can go to farmers markets and meet exactly who is growing your food. Some farms can accommodate visitors—a wonderful experience for adults and children alike.

Eating local isn’t confined to dairy and produce. Baked goods, meats, honey and numerous other food categories are produced locally.

A food writer we know moved his family to a rural area so he could live a pure locavore life, growing and canning his own produce, keeping his own chickens, buying flour from regional mills, etc. The only “non-local” foods he buys are coffee and olive oil—neither of which can be produced in the Northeast. When we last spoke, he was building a shed to house goats for milk and cheese.

No one has to make that kind of commitment. Just remember that “eating local” benefits everyone, starting with you. Buy local when you can, and take a step toward an improved community, environment and dishes on the table.
  

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TIP OF THE DAY: A Glamorous Beverage Dispenser Jar


The easy and impressive way to serve party
beverages. Photo courtesy Sur La Table.

  If you entertain regularly, consider treating yourself to one or more beverage dispensing jars. They’re perfect for dispensing cocktails, iced tea and coffee, juice, lemonade, punch, sangria, even water.

  • Holds more. Not only do they look great on the table; they hold far more than a pitcher (up to two gallons) so you won’t have to refill as often.
  • No heavy lifting. The dispenser makes it easy for guests of all ages to fill their glasses: no heavy lifting.
  • Great in the kitchen. If you have a large crew at home, it looks handsome on the kitchen counter, filled with filtered water, iced tea, etc.
  • Elegant And Impressive. The optional wrought iron stands look impressive and help contain spills (place a shallow bowl underneath the spigot).
  • Find beverage recipes in our Specialty Beverages and Cocktails sections.

     
    We love the fun beehive shape beverage dispenser jar from Sur La Table, which holds two gallons. There’s also a handsome apothecary shape beverage dispenser jar that holds 1.4 gallons.

    Get one of each, and quench thirsts in style.

      

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    RECIPE: Red, White & Blue Potato Salad

    Potato salad is almost imperative at a Memorial Day or Independence Day celebration. With this recipe from Frieda’s Produce, you can make yours red, white and blue.

    If you can, prepare the potato salad a day in advance, the flavors will have more time to blend.
     
     
    RECIPE: POTATO SALAD FOR MEMORIAL DAY & INDEPENDENCE DAY

    Ingredients For 6 To 8 Cups

  • 2 pounds mixed potatoes: red jacket, yellow jacket and purple; leave skins on
  • 3/4 cup chopped green onions (scallions), divided
  • 1 pint red grape tomatoes, whole or halved
  • 2/3 cup sour cream
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon celery seed (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground pepper
  • 3 ounces crumbled blue cheese
  • Garnish: 2-3 ounces crumbled blue cheese
  •  
    Preparation

    1. PLACE the potatoes in a large pot and add enough salted water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer until fork tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and cool. While the potatoes cool…

    2. PREPARE the dressing. In a medium bowl, blend half of the green onions with the sour cream, mayonnaise, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Cover and chill.

     
    [1] Add red-jacket potatoes for a red, white and blue potato salad (photo © Svetlana Kolpakova | Dreamstime).

    Grape Tomatoes
    [2] Grape and pear tomatoes. Grape tomatoes are oval like grapes, pear tomatoes are curved like pears. Both are smaller than cherry tomatoes (photo © Lucky Tomatoes).

     
    3. SLICE the cooled potatoes into chunky quarters and place them in a large bowl, along with the grape tomatoes. Add the chilled dressing, blue cheese and remaining green onions; toss gently to coat pieces. Cover and chill for at least two hours, or up to one day. The flavors will continue to blend as the salad chills. When ready to serve…

    4. GARNISH the bowl with additional blue cheese, as desired.
     
     
    FIND MORE POTATO SALAD RECIPES.
     
     
      

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    PRODUCT: Kozy Shack’s Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding Rocks


    We love it: Kozy Shack Apple Cinnamon bread pudding. Photo courtesy Kozy Shack.

      We are despondent when we should be happy. Why?

    We’ve just finished our last four-pack of Kozy Shack Apple Cinnamon Bread Pudding, and our two closest markets don’t carry it. (Supermarkets in New York City are on the small side, owing to high rents).

    We must go without. But everyone who lives near a “normal” supermarket and likes bread pudding or flan should pick some up and enjoy it on our behalf.

    Kozy Shack has recently added bread pudding to its line of puddings. The three varieties are Apple Cinnamon, Cinnamon Raisin and Peach.

    In individual four-ounce servings, each flavor has an appropriate sauce on the bottom of the cup. You can invert the puddings onto a plate for a pretty dessert (see photo). Or enjoy them as a snack, consumed right out of the cup.

    The Scoop

  • Cold Is Better. While there are instructions for warming the puddings, to us they taste far better cold. As satisfying as ice cream, in fact.
  •  

  • Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding Rocks. A favorite. The rich blend of cinnamon, plump raisins and bread chunks enveloped by custard, has a light caramel sauce (like flan). Yummmm.
  • Apple Cinnamon Bread Pudding Also Rocks. We grew to be big fans of this flavor. It’s a combination of custard and crustless apple pie.
  • Peach Bread Pudding. Not a favorite. It’s a matter of personal preference, of course. But we didn’t like the combination of peach and custard.
  • It’s More Like Flan. Some of THE NIBBLE tasters felt that there was too little bread and too high a percentage of custard to be “bread pudding”; that it’s “flan with a few pieces of bread.” Note taken, but we could care less: We could eat a truckload Apple Cinnamon Bread Pudding.
  •  
    Head out to your supermarket, and tell us how you like it.
    BREAD PUDDING RECIPES ON THENIBBLE.COM

  • Chocolate Bread Pudding
  • Pannetone Bread Pudding
  • Apple Cheddar Bread Pudding
  •   

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    TIP OF THE DAY: Ways To Enjoy Fruit Liqueur

    If you’ve got bottles of fruit liqueur that don’t see much action, take them off the shelf and put them to use!

    Liqueurs were first produced by medieval alchemists as medicines. Some were noted for their digestive benefits and became after-dinner drinks, served in small liqueur glasses or on the rocks.

    Start experimenting with your liqueurs:
     
    Drinks

  • First, try reviving the custom of an after-dinner liqueur. Relax in a comfortable chair, sip and enjoy.
  • Before the meal, serve spritzers: Put an ounce of liqueur in a tall glass or wine glass and add soda water or ginger ale.
  •  

     
    Try some liqueur-flavored whipped cream. Photo courtesy MackenzieLtd.com.
     
    Desserts

  • Marinate fruits for an hour or more to make dessert or a dessert topping. We like raspberries in raspberry liqueur, cherries in cherry liqueur (kirsch) or maraschino liqueur, bananas in banana liqueur, and so forth.
  • Make broiled grapefruit for dessert, with a drizzle of Curaçao or orange liqueur.
  • Drizzle on top of ice cream or sorbet.
  • Drizzle on fresh fruit: figs, melon balls, sliced stone fruits, or a bowl of multicolored grapes—with a side of shortbread or other cookies.
  • Add a tablespoon of coffee, chocolate or mint liqueur (crème de menthe) to chocolate pudding, mousse, pie filling and/or chocolate sauce.
  • Add orange liqueur to any sweet soufflé recipe (or coffee liqueur to a coffee soufflé, etc.).
  • Stir a teaspoon or two into heavy cream, prior to whipping cream.
  •  
    Let us know what works for you.

      

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