FOOD FUN: Covid Easter Bunny

[1] The Easter Bunny, fitted with a mask to prevent Covid (photo © Lillie Belle Farms).   Even the Easter Bunny is taking precautions in these risky times. The chocolatiers at Lillie Belle Farms have been turning out a colony* of chocolate bunnies wearing protective masks. Dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate bunnies are…
Continue reading “FOOD FUN: Covid Easter Bunny”

Beer 101: What Are Hops, For National Beer Day

Hops are one of the four components of beer, along with malted barley, yeast and water. They are used primarily as bittering, flavoring, and stability agents. In addition to bitterness, they impart floral, fruity, or citrus flavors and aromas, based on the particular strain and the terroir*. Without hops, beer would be a sticky-sweet fermented…
Continue reading “Beer 101: What Are Hops, For National Beer Day”

TOP PICK OF THE WEEK: Otamot Essential Sauce, A Better Tomato Sauce

Otamot. Otamot. We said it several times before we realized that Otamot is tomato spelled backwards. Otamot was created by the parent of a picky eater, who set out to create a more nutritious tomato sauce, a food his daughter would eat. Starting with the concept of tomato sauce, he found a way to add…
Continue reading “TOP PICK OF THE WEEK: Otamot Essential Sauce, A Better Tomato Sauce”

RECIPE: Chocolate Mousse With Blue Cheese & Mango

[1] Chocolate mousse with a secret: blue cheese blended into it (both photos © Castello Cheese USA). [2] Castello blue cheese. [3] Häagen-Dazs Mango Sorbet (photo © Häagen-Dazs).   The name of this dish may sound like an April Fool’s Day joke: A mousse of chocolate and blue cheese. We first had the chocolate-blue cheese…
Continue reading “RECIPE: Chocolate Mousse With Blue Cheese & Mango”

TIP OF THE DAY: Dried Mushrooms Add Flavor To Your Cooking

We usually have a well-stocked fridge and pantry. When we’re out of something, that something is likely to be fresh mushrooms. Fortunately, there’s a solution for that: dried mushrooms. While nothing beats the flavor and texture of a fresh raw mushroom in a salad, side of marinated mushrooms or sauté, dried mushrooms work very well…
Continue reading “TIP OF THE DAY: Dried Mushrooms Add Flavor To Your Cooking”