Irish coffee. Photo courtesy Home Essentials.

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).

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 enjoyed:

If you can’t find them in your supermarket, check a natural foods store.

Or make your own sweet potato chips with this potato chip recipe.

Check out the history of the potato chip. It was a war of wills.

Absolutely delish: a mix of quinoa and brown
rice, deftly seasoned. Photo courtesy Seeds
Of Change.

Quinoa, pronounced KEEN-wa or KEE-noo-ah, is an exceptionally nutritious supergrain (in fact, it’s the Quechua/Inca word for “mother grain” or “super grain”).

Quinoa contains more protein than any other grain. A complete protein equivalent to milk, it contains all eight essential amino acids and a portfolio of vitamins and minerals. Everyone should eat more quinoa.

Our discovery of the week is a shelf-stable (no refrigeration required), 90-second microwavable package of quinoa and whole grain brown rice from Seeds Of Change.

This whole-grain combo is deftly seasoned with black pepper, garlic, onion, parsley and sea salt. The earthy flavor of quinoa tempered with nutty brown rice is a winner. We consume lots of quinoa and lots of brown rice, and the mixture is magical.

 
Serve it with anything or enjoy it as a high-protein, whole grain snack.

Seeds Of Change products are certified organic by the USDA and QAI. The company contributes 1% of net sales to advance the cause of sustainable organic agriculture world wide.

Print out a $1.00 coupon at SeedsOfChangeFoods.com.

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 turn of this century, lounges offering hundreds of different “Martinis” could be found in major cities from coast to coast.

It’s questionable whether removing the vermouth, adding other ingredients to gin or vodka and serving the cocktail in a Martini glass actually results in a Martini. But the question was lost in the wave of Martinis produced for the cocktail culture revival—from chocolate and espresso to apple pie and dulce de leche.

However, we did not remonstrate when served our first Appletini, a combination of vodka, apple schnapps (liqueur) and optional ingredients including apple juice/purée, sweet and sour mix or lemon-lime soda.

Here’s a very fine Appletini recipe, courtesy of Ultimat Vodka.
  

Rounds of black sesame-covered goat
cheese. Photo courtesy McCormick.com.

Instead of presenting a loaded cheese board with its “help yourself” temptation, serve cheese in smaller bites on a plate with a salad. You can find individual cheese buttons at a cheese store, or place four cubes of your favorite semi-hard cheeses on a skewer.

A popular French approach is to serve a plate of dressed baby greens topped with one or two goat cheese rounds, cut from a log. You can roll the log in a favorite herb or spice. Black pepper, dried basil, tarragon or thyme are favorites. The cheese rounds can be baked briefly to add a warm contrast to the plate.

In this recipe (shown in the photo), the goat cheese is coated with black sesame seeds and baked. You can add other favorite salad components—here, roasted red peppers and artichoke hearts. Get the recipe.