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


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PRODUCT: An Improvement To Household Cleaning Gloves

We do a lot of cleaning, but we don’t like many household gloves. They’re hot, uncomfortable, and leave a latex smell on your hands.

Glove manufacturer Clean Ones researched consumer dissatisfaction and launched a new “premium” household glove, the Ultimate Latex Free Glove. It’s odor-free and allergen-free: no BPA , no phthalates and, of course, no latex.

The gloves are pink, and 10% of proceeds benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. The foundation funds breast cancer research, education, advocacy, health services and social support programs.

Here’s what else you get with these nifty household gloves:

  • Comfort. The plush lining is a dream—so comfortable, we didn’t want to take the gloves off! This new glove is specially designed to provide the highest levels of comfort, while protecting hands from chemicals, germs and messes.
  • Dexterity. While the gloves are 35% thicker than standard household gloves, they are contoured, not clunky. We were able to use them for delicate tasks.
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    Pretty in pink, and it contributes to
    the Cure. Photo courtesy Good Ones.

     

    The gloves are available at major retailers nationwide. Here’s a store locator.
      

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    TIP OF THE DAY: Make Savory Pumpkin Recipes

    Add pumpkin to your pasta. This delicious
    baked ziti recipe uses sausage and spinach as
    well. Photo courtesy Libby’s.

      Last year, America’s pumpkin growers produced almost 1.5 billion pounds of the colorful winter squash. Pumpkin production peaks in October, with the demand for jack o’lanterns and pumpkin pie.

    Not to mention pumpkin brownies, pumpkin cake, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin crème brulee, pumpkin crème caramel, pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin fudge and chocolate truffles, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin mousse, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin pudding, pumpkin tarts and pumpkin waffles.

    (Are you ready to start cooking? See our recipe resources below.)

    But pumpkin flesh, also called pumpkin meat, can—and should—be used for more than desserts and sweet treats. See how many different savory pumpkin dishes you can put on the table this season.

    “Pumpkin season” doesn’t end with Thanksgiving dinner, either. This nutritious* vegetable is available through the winter. And it’s only 49 calories per cup, steamed or boiled. (Keep the calories down and the cholesterol away by seasoning with salt, pepper and your favorite spices (from cinnamon to chipotle), and using olive oil instead of butter.)

     
    SAVORY PUMPKIN RECIPES

    Pumpkin can be baked, boiled, microwaved, roasted, steamed, stir-fried and stuffed.

  • Mashed pumpkin is as delicious as mashed sweet potatoes (try it with a Gruyère gratin).
  • Make pumpkin fritters.
  • Pumpkin purée can be mixed into bread and muffins, made into soup and dip, and used for savory soufflés (and sweet ones, too).
  • Pumpkin cubes can be added to chili, stew or a medley of roasted fall vegetables.
  • Roasted pumpkin can be added to salads—with or without pumpkin seeds.
  • Pumpkin goes international—from pumpkin curry to pumpkin tempura.
  • Pumpkin pairs beautifully with pasta: from everyday spaghetti and penne to lasagne and ravioli. Try the baked ziti with pumpkin, sausage and spinach in the photo above, add cooked cubed pumpkin to your pasta sauce, or purée pumpkin as sauce, seasoned with salt, pepper and your favorite spices (you can add an Italian grating cheese).
  • And don’t forget pumpkin pizza!
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    SOURCED FOR PUMPKIN RECIPES

  • PumpkinRecipes.org.
  • TheVeryBestBaking.com—far more than baking, lots of pumpkin recipes from Libbys.
  • Search through THE NIBBLE’s many pumpkin recipes.
  •  
    See the different types of squash in our Squash Glossary.

    ________________

    *Pumpkin is fat-free, cholesterol-free and an excellent source of vitamin A. The orange pigment is beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant that converts to vitamin A in the body. A diet rich in beta-carotene may reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer, and offers protection against heart disease and other diseases, including some degenerative aspects of aging. Pumpkins are also a good source of vitamin C, a second powerful antioxidant, and deliver calcium and dietary fiber.

      

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    PRODUCT: Teach Table Manners With Manners Cards

    Need help teaching table manners to kids?

    It can be trying, or it can be fun.

    Golly Gee-pers! Table Manners Cards choose the fun way—one that eliminates nagging and prodding.

    And you can get them just in time to impress relatives and friends at upcoming holiday dinners.

    These easy-to-use “manners cards” make sure that kids are on their best behavior during every dining experience—at home, at other people’s homes and at restaurants. Children learn proper manners via fun games.

    The funny-yet-respectful cards depict 14 different table manners, proper and improper, designated with a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down. Kids and adults alike compete for Ready To Dine Out awards.

     
    Elbows on tables are a “thumbs down.” Photo
    courtesy Golly Gee-pers!
     

    Extra blank thumbs-up and thumbs-down cards can be used to address specific age groups, cultures, family rules, etc.

    And surprise: adults will improve their table manners in the process, too.

    Get your Golly Gee-pers! and have fun learning how to eat genteelly.

    See how easy it is to turn your family into a class act at the table.
      

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    TIP OF THE DAY: Make Radish Eyeballs For Adult Halloween Food

    How about some “eyeball” nibbles with your Halloween cocktails?

    This healthy hors d’oeuvre or snack uses a radish base for the white and “veins” of the eyeball. The pupil and iris are a pimento-stuffed olive. All you have to do is peel the radishes and insert the olives (buy large radishes and small olives).

    Fun to look at, crunchy radish eyeballs are a low-calorie and healthy food. (Yes, fun, delicious and healthy do co-exist!) Serving ideas:

  • Relish Tray: Serve the eyeballs as part of a retro relish tray, with celery and carrot sticks or other favorite crudités (our favorites include broccoli, cauliflower, fennel, grape tomatoes and zucchini), plus gherkins or pickle slices. We also like to add spiced apple slices and pickled pears.
  • Cheese Plate: Add radish eyeballs to a platter with Halloween cheeses.
  • Halloween Platter: Present the radish eyeballs on a Halloween plate, perhaps with some plastic spiders (check out this tarantula) or a more standard garnish (parsley or a bed of shredded lettuce). Or, treat yourself to a Halloween platter where the “garnish” is the built-in design.
  • Ice Cubes: Freeze the eyeballs in ice cubes and use to create a Halloween Martini (a regular Martini with eyeball ice).
  • Pasta: Garnish a dish of “blood and worms” pasta (spaghetti with tomato sauce).
  •  
    Add your ideas to this list!

    The video below uses a blueberry to create the iris, but we prefer a pimento-stuffed olive, as shown in the photo above.

      Bloody Eyeball Martini
    Use a radish eyeball garnish to create a Halloween Martini (photo courtesy Kim Plaszek).
     

      

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    PRODUCT: Tabasco Reserve Pepper Sauce (Grab It While You Can)

    Tabasco has been a table staple since 1868, when the McIlhenny Company first produced it (read the story).

    Over the past few years, the company has expanded its line beyond Original Red Tabasco to Green, Garlic, Habanero and Chipotle Tabasco and Sweet & Spicy Sauce.

    Few people know of a seventh product that the company has produced since the early days, available only to family and close friends: Tabasco Family Reserve Pepper Sauce.

    Each year, a portion of the finest peppers grown on the company’s property on Avery Island, Louisiana are hand-selected for their superior color, texture and robustness. These special peppers are mashed with premium white wine vinegar and a small amount of local salt. The mash is placed in white oak barrels and aged for up to eight years (compared to three years for regular Tabasco sauce).

    This year, a small batch of Tabasco Family Reserve Pepper Sauce is available to the public. You can pick up a bottle (five ounces) for $24.95 (the regular five-ounce bottle is $9.00).

     

    The 2011 Family Reserve Tabasco sports a
    medallion. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

     
    The company calls this special release a “collector’s item.” The expiration date on our bottle, 4/14, suggests that you have a few years to decide when to consume it. You’ll have to pry through the green wax seal to get to the sauce.

    How does it taste? We can’t tell you: We’re keeping ours as a collector’s item! Is it 2.7 times as good as the $9 bottle? If you’ve tried it, please weigh in. The company press release is mute on how Family Reserve tastes compared to Original Red. Aging produces rounder flavors, honing the rough edges. In general, the more a product ages, the more mellow it becomes and the more complex the flavors become.

    The special edition is available only at the Avery Island gift store and online. Let your Tabasco-loving friends know, before it sells out.

  • Get the Tabasco 2011 Family Reserve.
  • Try all the flavors of Tabasco.
  • Want to make your own hot sauce? Here’s the Tabasco recipe.
     
    As with most pantry products, hot sauce will keep better in a cool, dark area.
      
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