Welcome to Otis And Betty’s. It’s a bit of a “warning welcome,” since once you start eating these multi-textured and -flavored snacks, it isn’t easy to stop.

O&B’s are all-natural, Chex-style mixes, made from different flavors of Chex, honey-roasted almonds and pecans, pretzels, honey-rosasted sesame sticks, honey and spices. Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, cayenne and other spices add layers of flavor.

Five varieties include Original; Cin-ful, redolent of cinnamon; Get Rich, drizzled with white and milk chocolate; Meet Jack, with a bit of Bourbon flavor; and Smokin’, with barbecue seasoning.

We recommend sticking to the 2-ounce bag, or else the 7.5-ounce bag may become a “single serving.” The smaller size makes a tasty party favor.

• Read the full review.

We love to snack on Otis & Betty’s mixes.
Photo by Emily Chang | THE NIBBLE.

• Discover more of our favorite snacks in our Gourmet Snacks section.

Ramps, or wild leeks. Photo courtesy
Cherokee-nc.com.

Ramps are wild leeks—also known as spring onion and ramson. In French, they are called ail des bois, garlic of the woods, because of the combined garlic-onion flavor.

They grow wild and are found in clusters. The entire plant is edible, from the broad, smooth, green leaves to the scallion-like bulb.

Since ramps grow wild, they can easily end up in a yard—where they are typically pulled out and thrown away, not only for their unwelcome leaves but for their strong garlic aroma. If you notice a plant by this description, check further—it could go into the kitchen instead of the composter.

While many people refer to the vegetable as “wild leek,” the name “ramp” is popular in the East. It comes from England. One version of the name source attributes a folk name, “ramsen,” the plural form of hramsa, an Old English word for wild garlic. Early English settlers of Appalachia—a prime ramp region—used the term, which later was shortened to “ramp.”

Take advantage of the beautiful strawberries in season to make these easy yet elegant individual strawberry shortcakes in silver cupcake wrappers.

People will think you worked for hours on this recipe. But all you do is buy the strawberries and pound cake, whip the cream and assemble.

The recipe is from the book, Pink Princess Cupcakes, by Barbara Beery:

• Get the strawberry shortcake recipe.
• Find cake reviews and more of our favorite cake recipes in our Gourmet Cakes section.

Strawberry shortcake “cupcake.” Photo by
Zac Williams | Pink Princess Cupcakes.

Strawberry, blueberry and raspberry toppings
from BlackberryPatch.com. Photo by Hannah
Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

But don’t stop there. The fruity sauces also enhance:

• Blintzes and omelets
• Breads (toast, biscuits, muffins, scones)
• Fruit salads
• Yogurt

Beyond breakfast, berry sauces can complement baked Brie and serve as a glaze for roasted chicken, pork and grilled fish.

For dessert, drizzle them over ice cream or sorbet. Serve them warm or at room temperature over cobblers, pastries, tarts and pound cakes.

All this from one little bottle!

Think hard enough, and almost every food product becomes a multitasker.

Check out our favorite dessert sauces and toppings.

Tofu Plus is fortified to provide 20% of the daily value of five nutrients that others get from meat: vitamins B2, B6, B12, D2 and calcium.

Replacing three ounces of meat (the size of a medium hamburger) with three ounces of Tofu Plus avoids six grams of saturated fat and 53 milligrams of cholesterol.

Tofu in general is low in saturated fat, is sodium- and cholesterol-free and is a good source of iron and phosphorus. It contains 8g of protein per serving.

Tofu Plus is certified organic. The fortified tofu is available in Firm and Extra Firm textures. Extra Firm is better for grilling, baking or stir-fry; Firm is best for salads, crumbling and scrambling.

Try this GRILLED TOFU SALAD recipe from Nasoya (find more recipes at Nasoya.com):

Tofu Plus: the same tofu flavor and texture
fortified with the nutrition of meat. Photo
courtesy Nasoya.com.

Ingredients: Salad
• 1 pkg Nasoya firm or extra firm tofu, cubed
• 1 bag spring mix or spinach
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced

Preparation
1. Mix the marinade and dressing ingredients. Pour over the tofu and let sit for 15 minutes to 12 hours.

2. Grill the tofu on high, flipping once there are grill marks. This will improve the texture of the tofu, making it more similar to meat. You can also pan-fry the tofu in a stovetop skillet or bake it in the oven. Once the tofu is lightly browned, let it cool.

3. Toss the tofu and the remaining dressing into your salad and enjoy!

HOW TOFU IS MADE

Tofu is made from curding soymilk, much in the same way cheese is made from milk. First soybeans are ground with water and heated. The soymilk is separated from the solids, the hot soymilk is stirred and a coagulant (a natural firming agent) is added. The curds that form are poured into a forming box (a mold) and the whey is pressed out. The pressing action forms the curd into a solid block of tofu, which is also known as bean curd. Read all about tofu.