It’s [pie] party time! Photo by Jaclyn
Nussbaum | THE NIBBLE.

Guests who can bake can show off their chops; non-baking guests will be thrilled to taste a pie buffet.

You can go freestyle, or take advantage of this new boxed kit: Pie Contest in a Box: Everything You Need to Host a Pie Contest. It contains everything you need, except the pies.

Created by Gina Hyams, the box includes a handbook to guide you through hosting your very own contest (including recipes and tips from champion bakers).

After you get the hang of it, you can adapt the idea to a cake contest, cookie contest, brownie contest, lasagne contest—anything.

Also among the box contents are:

*The difference between straight up and neat: “Neat” means an undiluted shot served at room temperature; straight up is shaken or stirred with ice and strained into a glass.

Now, from the same copper pot still, comes Cold River Gin.

A traditional-style gin made from a 400-year-old recipe, Cold River Gin is ultra-smooth and “superpremium.” The gin is distilled with seven traditional botanicals: juniper berries (the dominant flavor of gin), angelica root, cardamom, coriander, lemon peel, orange peel and orris root.

As with Cold River Vodka, the base spirit of the gin is made from potatoes grown at a nearby family farm, Green Thumb Farms, and is made with pristine spring water from the Cold River aquifer. Like the vodka, it is also gluten free.

We generally like a heavy juniper flavor, but for those who don’t, the berries here are not overpowering. We can also taste the lemon and orange peel, and if we focus hard, the cardamom. We tossed some cardamom seeds into the glass for decor (and when the gin was gone, we chewed the seeds).

Consider giving Dad a hand-numbered bottle for Father’s Day. The suggested retail price is $25.99. Learn more at the company website. To find a retailer near you, email info@mainedistilleries.com.

Tomorrow: gin cocktail recipes.

Dig in: It’s yummy, probiotic, very healthful
and 99% lactose free. Photo by River
Soma | THE NIBBLE.

What’s the difference?

While many people think of kefir as “drinkable yogurt”—it looks and tastes like yogurt—it has a different complement of microorganisms. The result: A food even more healthful than probiotic yogurt.

Kefir has twice the probiotics of frozen yogurt: 12 different strains of probiotic bacteria and yeast compared with six strains in probiotic yogurt, and two or three in regular yogurt.

Lifeway, the nation’s largest producer of kefir (pronounced kuh-FEAR), has made us very happy with the introduction of frozen kefir.

Our favorite food is ice cream—make that the entire frozen dessert group, including frozen yogurt and sorbet. Yet, our doctor has told us to cut back on the lactose.

Lifeway Frozen Kefir is 99% lactose free. It’s tart and tangy, cool and creamy, and more than hits the spot. The four equally delicious flavors include Mango, Original, Pomegranate and Strawberry.

Who doesn’t want to cool off in the hot weather—with a refreshing cup or bowl of shaved ice?

It couldn’t be easier to make this recipe for Jasmine Tea Shaved Ice. For us, the toughest part was moving things around in the freezer to make space for the bowl.

You can make your own salsa with almost any seasonal fruit, including other stone fruits such as nectarines and plumcots, or your favorite berries. The fruit takes the place of the tomato, although you can also add a tomato in season.

Enjoy the result with chips or on meat, poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, tofu and all of the “usuals”—even vanilla or fruit ice cream/frozen yogurt and sorbet. Or, make easy cinnamon tortilla chips to go with it.

FRUIT SALSA RECIPE
This salsa recipe was shared by Melissas.com, using their now-in-season Flavorosa Plumcots.

Ingredients

Preparation
1. In small bowl, combine lime juice and sugar until sugar dissolves, making marinade.
2. In large bowl, combine all other ingredients, adding salt and pepper to taste.
3. Stir marinade into large bowl, blend and chill prior to serving.

Here’s another fruit salsa recipe: Strawberry Kiwi Cucumber Salsa With Easy Cinnamon Tortilla Chips.

What’s The Difference Between A Plumcot & A Pluot?
They’re all hybrids, meant to present the best qualities of both fruits—for the consumer, more sweetness and juiciness; for the seller, easier to grow, harvest, and ship. The names are trademarked by their respective breeders.

 
All three, like their parents, are low in fat and calories, but all that sweetness raises the carb content. The fruits are full of vitamin A and C and high in calcium, fiber, iron, magnesium and potassium.