Mad Mac macaroons: A reason to
celebrate Bastille Day. Photo by
Claire Freierman | THE NIBBLE.
July 14th (“le quatorze juillet”) is Bastille Day in France, officially called the Fête Nationale (“National Celebration”).
If you missed that day in European History class, it commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris on July 14, 1789. It was a rallying point and symbolic act of rebellion in the French Revolution, which toppled the French monarchy (then ruled by Louis XVI, married to Marie Antoinette) and established the French Republic.
The festivities are the equivalent of America’s July 4th/Independence Day celebration. Several cities in the U.S. celebrate Bastille Day, too. (Is it the fraternité or another great reason to party?)
You can celebrate by treating yourself to some of our favorite French products:
Wonderful French macaroons from Mad Mac, in either the standard collection or new summer flavors (Apricot, Dark Chocolate/Coconut, Mango, Passion Fruit, Strawberry and White Chocolate). Baked by two charming (and talented!) Frenchmen.
Drink Me magazine, a lifestyle publication about drinking and bar culture, celebrates alcohol (beer, wine, spirits) and the drinking establishments in which they’re enjoyed. The first issue was April 2009, followed by a second in May/June. Hopefully, July/August is just around the corner.
The first issue was a bit thin, but for free, there are nuggets worth perusing. Issue 2 provides a sampling of historic drinking locations in San Francisco, where the publication is based; and three articles that philosophize. Attractive graphics are interspersed with quotes from famous people on alcohol.
You can download the issues (or read them online) at http://drinkmemag.com.
If you’re looking for an opportunity to share your deep knowledge of cocktails, spirits and/or drinking establishments, or take photos or create related artwork, this may be your opportunity. Contact contribute@drinkmemag.com.
Love the cocktail culture? Download the first two issues of Drink Me free.
The magazine’s title comes from Chapter I of Alice in Wonderland. Alice, who “had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it…burning with curiosity…ran across the field after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge. In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.” Down the rabbit hole, Alice finds that she’s too big to get through the doorway into the garden, until she spots the bottle with the label that says “DRINK ME,” which shrinks her down to ten inches tall.
For those who remember the tale, this turns out not to a simple solution, but is the beginning of a series of adventures—not all particularly pleasant, if you remember a Queen of Spades commanding her minions to lop off Alice’s head (sounds like someone is having the DTs!). Hopefully, Drink Me magazine will provide happier adventures for its readers. Whether or not it’s appropriate for an alcohol magazine to use a prepubescent girl as its logo…well, we just won’t go there.
The familiar melba toast now has lots of
spicy flavor that lingers on the palate.
“New Bold Flavor” proclaims the box of All Natural Melba Snacks. No kidding: Old London has managed to make Melba Snacks taste like a spicy chip has fused with the familiar toast. The toasts have as long an aftertaste as we’ve found in a while: The spices dance on the palate for ten minutes after the last bite.
This is not your mother’s bland, diet melba toast, but a very savory and crunchy snack, accompaniment to soups and salads (try it as a giant crouton, with or without melted cheese), base for hors d’oeuvres or dipper. The three peppers are not specified in the ingredients list (only “spices”), but the toasts include oat fiber, pinto beans, molasses, garlic, onion, distilled vinegar, natural flavor and sesame oil.
Four rounds have 50 calories and 5g whole grain. The product is cholesterol-free and certified kosher by OU.
By the way, melba toast is named after Dame Nellie Melba, the internationally renowned Australian opera singer (born Helen Porter Mitchell, 1861-1931). In 1897, when the singer was unwell, the toast was made for her by chef Auguste Escoffier (a fan who also created the dessert, Peach Melba) at London’s Savoy Hotel. The bread was lightly toasted and cut longitudinally instead of diagonally; the pieces were then re-toasted to crisp the bread. Dame Melba liked it so much that the preparation became a staple of her diet. The hotel manager, César Ritz, supposedly named the toast in a conversation with his chef and partner, Escoffier. The following year, Ritz left the Savoy and opened the celebrated Hôtel Ritz in the Place Vendôme in Paris, with Escoffier.
Instead of Swiss or Cheddar on your ham or turkey sandwich, spread an ounce of fresh goat cheese (chèvre). Add your lettuce and tomato, and for an exciting extra dimension, some chopped fresh basil. Fresh goat cheese is so moist, you may not need mustard or mayonnaise; but look to mayo rather than mustard so as not to overpower the flavors of delicate chèvre. Our favorite: Lemonaise or Lemonaise Light from The Ojai Cook—you’ll never go back to regular mayonnaise again! If you don’t like fresh chèvre, get an aged goat cheese—there are goat Cheddars, goat blues, glorious goats in almost every style of cheese, just waiting to be discovered.
July 13th is Franks & Beans Day. Thank goodness for Amy’s—we can celebrate with quality baked beans. Amy’s Organic Vegetarian Baked Beans are the best canned beans we’ve had: rich, hearty beans that aren’t drowning in the cloying sweetness that other brands succumb to.
(What is it with manufacturers who sweeten every savory food, so that meat and vegetables smack of sugar? Isn’t that what dessert is for? Do Americans really want everything to taste sweet, or want to ingest all that extra weight-gain and diabetes-inducing sugar?)
Also delicious are Amy’s Organic Traditional Refried Beans (pinto beans), Organic Refried Beans with Green Chiles and Organic Refried Black Beans—all of which go perfectly well with franks and other foods, and should’t be reserved for Mexican dishes. That being said, the quality of Amy’s refried beans is superior to most Mexican restaurants. All of the products are vegan, gluten free and cholesterol free, with a MSRP of $2.79 for a 15.4-ounce can. Just heat and serve! The products are certified kosher by Ner Tamid K.
When we don’t have time to make our own baked beans, we’re happy to eat Amy’s.
