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


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RECIPE: Apricot Pumpkin Bread

For Thanksgiving weekend, how about some apricot pumpkin bread, delicious for breakfast, brunch, snacks and tea sandwiches. This recipe is courtesy of B & R Farms, apricot growers who sell their delicious products at California farmers markets and to wholesalers. For more recipes, visit BRFarms.com.

RECIPE: APRICOT PUMPKIN BREAD

Ingredients

  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1/2 cup salad oil (we like olive oil)
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoons each: baking powder, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, ground ginger
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 cup chopped dried apricots
  •   brfarms.com-230
    B & R Farms apricots drying in the California sun (photo by Shannon Grissom, courtesy B & R Farms.
     
    Preparation

    1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.

    2. BEAT together egg, sugar, pumpkin, oil and orange juice in large bowl. In another bowl…

    3. MIX the flour with the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger. Add to the egg mixture.

    4. STIR in the nuts and dried apricots. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for about an, hour until a toothpick comes out clean.

    5. COOL fir 15 minutes, release from the pan and serve warm with butter, cream cheese or apricot preserves. Cream cheese and apricot preserves makes a great sandwich! Serve it with a cup of black tea; Earl Grey or Assam would be especially nice.)
     
    MORE RECIPES

  • Find pumpkin pie recipes in our Gourmet Pies & Pastries Section.
  • Find recipes for pumpkin cupcakes, banana bread and carrot cake in our Gourmet Cakes Section.
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    TOP PICK OF THE WEEK: Java & Co. Artisan Coffee Syrups

    Cup of coffee and a coffee plunger

    Coffee: neat, pressed and hungry for a shot
    (of Java & Co. syrup, that is). Photo ©
    Elina Manninen | Fotolia.com.

    Millions of people in America walk into their favorite coffee emporium and order their java with a shot of syrup. Amaretto, caramel, hazelnut and vanilla are very popular, and it’s high season for egg nog, gingerbread and pumpkin (how did you think those pumpkin lattes are made)? Most coffee houses use Monin (which makes 113 flavors, not all meant for coffee) or Torani (78 flavors, ditto), and you can purchase bottles for home use. But if you’d like to give a gift of something special—small-batch, artisan-made syrups made from roasted coffee beans, including a “decaf”—Java & Co. has a good thing going.

    The infused syrups that have so captivated coffee-drinkers are essentially flavored simple syrup (sugar syrup). They have gained visibility with the renaissance of coffee houses, but have been used for many years to make Italian sodas, as breakfast syrups and dessert syrups, and in recipes from glazes to baking. They can make almost any food taste better—but sugar has a way of doing that.

    Java & Co.’s handmade and hand-bottled syrups—they’re made and shipped to order for maximum freshness—taste that much better than the mass-manufactured products from Monin and Torani. They begin with actual coffee beans, and are a delightful personal gift, corporate gift and sweet syrup for your own pantry.

    • Read the full review and discover the many ways to use flavored syrups. They can start with coffee—but end up in vinaigrettes, parfaits, cocktails and can even glaze your Thanksgiving turkey and yams.
    • Discover more of our favorite artisan honeys, sugars and syrups.

     

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    TIP OF THE DAY: Truffle Juice

    Add truffle flavor to a dish with some of this brilliant juice, available at specialty food shops. Created by soaking Italian and French truffles in a brine, it’s an easy way to introduce the heady flavor of truffles to a dish.

    We use it in sauces, soups and stocks where we don’t want the added fat from our other favorite truffle-enhancement, truffle butter, another delicious and affordable solution. Truffle oil is yet another option (and great to spray on popcorn).

    Arborio Rice & Truffles

    Truffles, glorious truffles. Photo by Kelly
    Cline | IST.

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    TRENDS: Humane-Certified Meat & Poultry

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    If you’re passionate about animal care, ask
    your grocer to stock these products.

    Ten billion farm animals are raised for food each year in the United States. You know that USDA-certified organic meat sets certain standards for animal welfare: The animals have daily access to pasture or other free-range grazing and eat organic-certified feed. If family-farm raised, they also tend to be farmed by people who care about their animals.

    But for those who are very concerned with animal welfare, there’s an even stronger certification from organizations that only focus on the topic. The certifications include American Humane Certified, Certified Humane and Animal Welfare Approved. (Whole Foods has its own “Animal Compassionate” program.)

    Their mission is to protect livestock—cattle, hogs, sheep and poultry—from inhumane treatment, both on the farm and in transit.

    These programs are voluntary and are open to livestock producers who meet the rigorous standards of raising and handling their animals. Those who are certified are permitted to use the program’s certification label on their products. The programs provide third-party, independent verification that certified producers’ care and handling of farm animals meet the science-based animal welfare standards of the certifying organization.

    The concept of certifying animal foods as being humanely raised is relatively new, and not all animal welfare scientists agree on what standards are appropriate. Thus, differences exist among the programs, most significantly, whether factory-farming systems should be approved in addition to family farms. Some programs admit family farms only.

     

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    TIP OF THE DAY: Tomato Stand-Ins

    When tomatoes are out of season—or you just don’t have any at hand—simply substitute roasted red peppers (pimientos) or marinated sundried tomatoes. Both are available in jars, and can be kept on your shelf ready for sandwiches, salads, plate garnishes, hors d’oeuvres, pastas and any need you have for flavor and color.

    Try peppadews too, a cherry pepper-sized African fruit that looks like a small, round red bell pepper and is available in mild and hot styles. They can be stuffed for hors d’oeuvres and even used as cocktail garnishes. But warning to carb counters: Their sweetness comes from added sugar.

    jars-duo-230

    Use sundried tomatoes, roasted red peppers
    and peppadews to add flavor and color to
    sandwiches and dishes when tomato season is over. Photo courtesy Peppadew.com.

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