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


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PRODUCT: Naturally Nora Cake Mixes & Frosting

Prepackaged cake mixes don’t have to be full of artificial ingredients or hydrogenated oils.

That’s what Nora Schultz thought when she created Naturally Nora Baking Mixes—and frosting mixes, of course! The packaging is environmentally friendly as well.

The mixes are free of artificial ingredients, colors and preservatives. Instead, the company seeks out natural ingredient suppliers to create dessert mixes that you can use to easily whip up a frosted cake, cupcakes or brownies.

All of the products are kosher and most do not contain dairy or soy (the only exception is the Doubly Fudgy Brownies mix), although they are produced in a facility that also uses milk, soy, tree nuts and peanuts.

You can use the mixes to make the basic cake or brownie recipe on the box, or incorporate them into other desserts, including the Wholly Coconut Cupakes Recipe from Naturally Nora herself.

Wholly Coconut Cupcakes Recipe

Use Naturally Nora to make all-natural
desserts. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE

Ingredients For The Cupcakes
– 1 box Naturally Nora Sunny Yellow Cake Mix
– 1 cup well-stirred canned, unsweetened coconut milk (not “lite”)
– 1/2 cup vegetable oil
– 3 large eggs

Ingredients For The Frosting
– 1 box Naturally Nora Extraordinary Vanilla Frosting Mix
– 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
– 3 tablespoons well-stirred canned, unsweetened coconut milk (not “lite”)
– 3 1/2 cups sweetened flake coconut

Preparation
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.

2. Mix cake mix, 1 cup coconut milk, oil and eggs for 1-2 minutes on medium speed with an electric mixer. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

3. Bake 20-25 minutes. Cool completely.

4. Beat frosting mix, melted butter and 3 tablespoons coconut milk with an electric mixer on medium speed 1-2 minutes until fluffy.

5. Frost cupcakes generously with frosting. Press coconut on top of cupcakes.

Makes 18-24 cupcakes.

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GOURMET GIVEAWAY: Martine’s Chocolates & Naturally Nora Cake Mixes

These chocolate bunnies are just two of the
delicious prizes in this week’s Gourmet
Giveaway. Photo courtesy Martine’s
Chocolates.

If the Easter bunny fails to bring you a basket full of Easter joy, there are still chances to win super-premium chocolate goodies in this week’s Gourmet Giveaway. Three lucky winners will receive adorable (and luscious) artisan chocolate bunnies from Martine’s Chocolates, in their choice of dark, milk or white chocolate.

And Martine’s is offering a freebie for all NIBBLE readers:

  • Through the end of April, you’ll receive a free 2-piece box of marzipan eggs with your first purchase over $25 (excluding shipping), or a free 2-piece box of marzipan eggs plus 2 chocolate truffles with your first purchase over $45.
  • To get your free chocolates, mention that you are a NIBBLE reader over the phone or in the comments area if you are ordering online.
  • To learn more about Martine’s Chocolates, check out our review and visit MartinesChocolates.com
PRIZE #2: Naturally Nora Baking Mixes

Need some brownies or a frosted cake in a hurry? Naturally Nora provides boxed cake and frosting mixes made with all-natural ingredients and no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.

One lucky NIBBLE reader will be able to make three easy frosted cakes and two pans of brownies, with a prize that includes:

  • Alot’a Dots Cake Mix and Alot’a Dots Frosting Mix
  • Cheerful Chocolate Cake Mix and Cheerful Chocolate Frosting Mix
  • Sunny Yellow Cake Mix and Extraordinary Vanilla Frosting Mix
  • Two brownie mixes: Fantastic Fudgy Brownies and Doubly Fudgy Brownies

Learn more about Naturally Nora at NaturallyNora.com

  • To Enter These Gourmet Giveaways: Go to the box at the bottom of our Gourmet Chocolate Section and enter your email address for the prize drawing. This contest closes on Monday, April 5th at noon, Eastern Time. Good luck!

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EASTER: Chocolate Bunnies New School

We’ve gotten to the point where that adorable chocolate Easter bunny just isn’t the temptation he used to be. Old School music rocks, but Old School chocolate is a “been there, ate that.”

We’re going New School with this Bunny Collection edition of the always-welcome Edible Chocolate Box from Charles Chocolates. The chocolate box is filled with Fleur de Sel caramels. How tasty is that?

The lid is of the box (white chocolate) is adorned with a cool Easter bunny and Bunny Jr. Inside the box (made of dark chocolate) are chocolate-covered caramels featuring the bunnies and their neighbors, the Easter chicks.

After you eat the caramels, you eat the box; so you’re guaranteed to get your solid chocolate fix.

The 17 ounces of chocolate make a spectacular gift. But spectacles don’t come cheap: This one is $60.00; 20 pieces of bunny and chick caramels in a blue gift box are $34.00.

Buy it online at CharlesChocolates.com.

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Please hop down our bunny trail!
Photo courtesy CharlesChocolates.com.

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TIP OF THE DAY: Rock The Rice

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Rice with saffron, scallion and sausage bits.
Photo courtesy National Pork Board.

You can serve rice a different way each day of the month and never run out of ideas.

Think of it this way: on Mondays mix a different fresh herb into the rice. On Tuesdays cook it in a different tea, or add bits of leftover meat, fish, veggies and/or green onion (think Chinese fried rice). On Wednesdays mix in a different salsa or chutney. On Thursdays try a different spice. On Fridays stir in a different dried fruit.

On Saturdays, choose a different type of gourmet rice—arborio, California mochi, Indian basmati, black rice, Bhutanese red rice, brown long grain, Thai jasmine, japonica, kalijira, wild rice (which isn’t a botanical rice, but a seed).

On Sundays, dress up the rice with nuts or a fruit-and-nut mix (fresh or dried fruit: raisins or dried cherries, for example).

We love rockin’ the rice!

You can also reward yourself every now and then with a delicious rice pudding—made from whatever rice you like!

 

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PRODUCT & FREE SAMPLE: CoverMate Stretch-To-Fit Food Covers

Are you a big user of plastic wrap? It’s not the greenest product in the kitchen: Use it once, throw it away and let it sit in the landfill for an eternity.

CoverMate has a solution. Its Stretch-to-Fit Food Covers are a heavier grade of plastic with a stretch band that easily covers any shape of bowls, pans or plate. They are BPA- and latex-free. The best way to describe them is to think of a shower cap that keeps the flavor in.

In fact, we wouldn’t be surprised if the inventor was inspired by hotel shower caps. We’re only perturbed that, given the number of unused shower caps we’ve brought home from hotels, we didn’t think of using them in the kitchen!

More importantly, this heavy-duty clear wrap can be washed and reused over and over again. Use them to cover plates of food, bowls, casseroles, cakes and pies, platters, melons, drink pitchers and ice buckets. They also keep bugs off the picnic and barbecue food.

There’s even a small size that covers open cans of food! And, the covers are microwavable—no more food splatters!

We’ve been trying the Variety Pack, an assortment of three sizes. They work for just about anything, even a cut raw onion, which we typically store in an airtight container to contain the aroma.

 

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Reusable “plastic wrap” covers make us feel
greener. Photo courtesy CoverMateCovers.com.

You can get a FREE SAMPLE PACK—well, free with $3.95 shipping, but it’s a good deal as you get all four sizes plus a $1.00 coupon for your next purchase.

Get your sample pack at CoverMateCovers.com.

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