Part of the joy of eating is discovering new ingredients. They don’t have to be exotic (like fiddlehead ferns), just different.

We always walk down the produce aisle looking for something we haven’t tried before. Then, we look at all the ways we can use it to add fun and flair to our dishes.

We love the miniature bell peppers that have gotten broad distribution over the past couple of years (we found them at Costco).

Their tiny size and bright colors—green, orange, red and yellow—bring a smile to our faces. Their flesh is sweet and crisp. They’re so cute, kids will look forward to eating their veggies.

And they’re very versatile. Ordinarily, we wouldn’t chop up something that’s been miniaturized, but check the price tag: The minis can be less expensive per pound than regular bell peppers.

We’ve been using them for:

 
How would you use them?

What are your favorite produce “discoveries?”

Find more of our favorite veggies and recipes in our Gourmet Vegetables Section.

The Swiss Army Knife of bar tools.
Photo courtesy Bartule.

BarTule aims to tackle this challenge with its space-saving all-in-one bar set. Neatly nested are an ice bucket, a bottle opener, a corkscrew, a 4-ounce jigger,* a citrus juicer and an ice bucket lid that doubles as a coaster or salt-rimmer. There are no extraneous parts.

*That’s the size of a wine pour, and four times the size of a normal jigger.

After use, the pieces fit back in place. The manufacturers call it an “abstract sculpture,” but to us, it looks like what it is: a bar set.

Made from high-density polycarbonate and stainless steel, the Bartule is available in six colors—blue, clear, green, red, smoke and yellow. It’s $49.91 at Amazon.com. And yes, it’s dishwasher safe.

The best-known chocolate covered raisins in the world are Raisinets, made by Nestlé. Some fun Raisinet facts:

To celebrate National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day, Nestlé has launched the Star Struck Sweepstakes: Upload a photo of you with Raisinets, and you could win your choice of a trip for two to Hollywood or New York City, plus $2,500. The contest continues through June 21, 2011.

Final factoid: There’s a town in America called Raisin City, located in the heart of California’s San Joaquin Valley. Home to nearly 5,000 raisin growers, it’s where 99.5% of U.S. raisins are produced—including those that become Raisinets.

Atlantic Cod is endangered. Switch to Pacific
cod. Photo courtesy McCormick. Get a
recipe for beer battered cod.

Ubiquitous fish farming may be the solution of the future. But for the present, shrimp and salmon, the two leading farmed seafood species, are often farmed in an unsustainable manner, polluting the environment.

The Monterey Bay Seafood Watch, sponsored by California’s Monterey Bay Aquarium, creates pocket seafood guides showing which fish are both sustainably harvested and low in toxins. Download a pocket guide that is customized for your region before you go shopping for fish or head to a restaurant. There’s also an iPhone app.

The non-profit Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program is the most recognized and trusted resource for sustainable seafood recommendations. Seafood Watch recommendations are science-based, peer reviewed and use ecosystem-based criteria.

The website also offers delicious and environmentally-friendly seafood recipes by some of the nation’s leading chefs. You can sign up for the recipe of the month as well.

It’s easy to make sustainable choices that satisfy your taste buds and your conscience.

If you love flavored coffee, check out Organic Valley’s new flavored Half & Half pints for an instant treat. They turn plain coffee into hazelnut or vanilla coffee. A soy creamer is also available in vanilla varieties.

Half & half, which is a combination of cream and whole milk, adds just the right amount of richness to a cup of joe.* The new flavors add the perfect amount of hazelnut or vanilla, as well.

*Why is coffee called a cup of joe? The true story is lost to history, but here are the three top contenders.

The only catch, for those of us who don’t add sugar to our coffee, is that the flavors are presweetened – with Fair Trade certified, unrefined organic cane sugar.

Beyond coffee, we used the flavored half & halfs on our morning Cheerios and oatmeal. It’s a delicious touch, if not exactly contributing to a healthy, whole-grain breakfast.

Organic Valley is a co-op of family farms that practice organic dairying. Their cows are antibiotic- and hormone-free; no pesticides are used in the pasture or to grow their feed. The line is certified kosher by OU.