TIP OF THE DAY: Caring For Your Vanilla Beans

Vanilla is the second costliest spice in the world, after saffron. Those vanilla beans are expensive; but they provide superior flavor over vanilla extract (and we mean real vanilla extract—don’t try to save money by using artificial vanilla). Vanilla beans need to be stored in an airtight container. That’s why some beans are sold in…
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ST. PATRICK’S DAY: Irish Coffee Recipes

Irish coffee. Photo courtesy Home Essentials.   There are two more days to plan for St. Patrick’s Day. Even if you aren’t Irish, it’s a reason to celebrate with friends and family. If you do nothing else, treat yourself to an Irish Coffee, which was invented in Ireland—for trans-Atlantic airline passengers on layovers (the history).…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Sweet Potato Chips

It’s National Potato Chip Day. Don’t celebrate with just a conventional white potato chip. Try a sweet potato chip instead. The nutritional values of white and sweet potatoes are similar. Sweet potatoes are a good source of vitamin A, and have a little more vitamin C and calcium; white potatoes have more iron. We’ve long…
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PRODUCT: Quinoa & Whole Grain Brown Rice

Absolutely delish: a mix of quinoa and brownrice, deftly seasoned. Photo courtesy SeedsOf Change.   The Uyuni Salt Flats of southeast Bolivia, high in the Andes Mountains, are best known for salt production. But quinoa has been cultivated there by the Incas for some 5,000 years. Quinoa, pronounced KEEN-wa or KEE-noo-ah, is an exceptionally nutritious…
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ST. PATRICK’S DAY: Appletini Recipe

Our drink of choice on St. Patrick’s Day is the green-hued Appletini, also known as an Apple Martini or Green Apple Martini. It’s one of our favorite cocktails. If you want a deeper green color, simply add a drop of food color. The Appletini turned up during the Martini renaissance of the 1990s. By the…
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