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


Also visit our main website, TheNibble.com.





NEWS: Restaurants Go Green

As Gordon Gekko said, “Green is good.” He just didn’t understand which green was going to become the big focus. In a National Restaurant Association survey of trends for 2009, environmentally friendly equipment and sustainable practices topped chefs’ lists of hot trends and top cost-savers. Green practices, organic, sustainable and local foods are  also on consumers’ list of wants. So the Environmental Defense Fund and Restaurant Associates have developed Green Dining Best Practices that enable restaurants, corporate cafeterias and museum eateries across the country to spare the environment as they lower their foodservice costs. Overarching goals include reducing the greenhouse gas footprint and re-engineering the menu to provide more local and organic vegetables, sustainable meat and seafood.

A comprehensive set of science-based recommendations for environmentally friendly foodservice, the practices have been tested for 90 days by two Restaurant Associates clients, Random House and Hearst Corporation, which have large corporate cafeterias in New York City. Early results show annual benefits of more than $85,000 in cost savings, a reduction of 275 tons of carbon pollution and a reduction of landfill waste by 60 tons, among other environmental benefits. You can get them free of charge at www.edf.org/greendining.

organic_cabbage-230
Organic cabbage. Photo by Herman Hooyschuur | SXC.

The pilot program revealed some interesting answers:

  • Eat seasonal, local foods. Eating seasonal produce from local farmers can have a lower environmental impact than buying organic. Local foods reduce greenhouse gas by transporting the foods short distances. Organic foods save the environment from pesticides, but require more fuel to transport food greater distances.
  • Use traditional dishes. Some disposable plates and flatware labeled “recyclable” and “compostable” are so only in theory; many are not made in the U.S., and U.S. municipalities do not have the equipment to recycle or compost them. Plus, when these products go into landfills, they give off greenhouse gas. Using soap, water, traditional, dishes and flatware has a lower environmental impact.
  • Turn off appliances not in use. In commercial facilities, coffee urns are a huge energy drain; they tend to be left on all day. They should be turned off or put on timers to save energy. (At home or in a small office, pull the plug out after you’ve finished brewing. Coffee in a glass carafe on the warmer plate gets scorched after 15 minutes. Get a coffee maker that brews into a thermal carafe.)
  • Half of the waste in a restaurant is food waste. An anerobic “digester” breaks the waste into liquid form, which saves an enormous amount of money and fuel over carting away traditional garbage. (Tours were available to see it in action.)
  • Lunch served from Random House’s new green kitchen was so delicious. We ate two plates of everything and only regret we didn’t bring Tupperware to take more home. We share it with you for recipe ideas—which just happen to be largely vegan:

  • Salad of organic farro, organic spring onion, roasted organic fennel and organic preserved lemon.
  • Field-grown mâche (in season—not greenhouse-grown which uses energy), shaved organic watermelon radish, and diced plum, with watermelon vinaigrette.
  • Organic tricolor cauliflower salad (white, orange and purple cauliflower)—so beautiful, even kids will eat cauliflower without question. Orange cauliflower, a mutant, contains 25 times the level of vitamin A of white varieties. You can also find green cauliflower.
  • Salad of marinated and roasted organic wild mushrooms: trumpet, nameko and maitake mushrooms, on a bed of baby arugula (see our Mushroom Glossary).
  • Salad of shredded organic escarole, organic white beans, sheep’s milk Pecorino and roasted organic sweet peppers.
  • Salad of organic quinoa, sugar snap peas, organic spring peas and organic grilled spring onion, with an organic green garlic dressing.
  • Cheeses: (1) Fresh goat tomme from Vermont Butter & Cheese, a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week. One tomme was coated in fresh-snipped dill, one in a finely-ground black and pink peppercorn and fresh parsley mix, set on a plate atop extra virgin olive oil. (2) Another NIBBLE favorite, Old Chatham Sheepherding Company’s sheep’s milk Camembert and sheep’s milk Roquefort-style cheese. All cheeses were slices of heaven. Accompaniments included organic apricots, figs, dates, almonds and honeycomb, plus beautiful artisan breads and crackers, including a raisin walnut loaf and long, soft breadsticks we’ve got to track down!
  • Incredibly buttery, melt-in-your-mouth brownies and excellent organic coffee from Seattle’s Best Coffee, organic tea and iced tea from Harney & Sons. Plus, lots of infused water: with thin-sliced cucumbers (our favorite), blueberries, supremed and sliced oranges, and thin-sliced lemon. Just add the fruit to a pitcher of water—about a cup of fruit per pitcher.
  • With gorgeous food like this, it’s easy to be a vegetarian. But the two executive chefs involved with the pilot had more in store for us.

  • Chef Nick Cavaretta of Random House presented seared Arctic char with an arugula pesto, topped with organic red amaranth microgreens. This is an easy (and healthy) dish to make at home. You can buy excellent pesto (including arugula pesto); if you can’t find red amaranth microgreens, substitute what you can find, or the prettiest sprouts.
  • Chef Jayson Brown of Cafe57 at Hearst smoked Eberly Farm organic chicken over hickory chips. He served it on top of a snap pea purée and a side of diced fingerling potatoes and pea sprouts.
  • We were thrilled to have enjoyed this sustainable lunch—and more thrilled that within two years, the 110 foodservice facilities managed by Restaurant Associates will be green (and audited by the Green Restaurant Association!). Now, everyone else: Get into the act! If your company has a cafeteria, if you know people who own restaurants, download and forward the Green Dining Best Practices from www.edf.org/greendining.

    Comments off

    TOP PICK OF THE WEEK: Caffe Acapella Coffee Candy Bars

    coffee-cup-300b-2301

    Each candy bar delivers the caffeine content
    of two cups of coffee! Photography by Corey
    Lugg | THE NIBBLE. Styling by Lauren LaPenna.

    Many people love a good cup of coffee. And they love a good chocolate bar. So now, how about a coffee bar—not an eating establishment where you get a cup of coffee, but a coffee candy bar that’s cousin to the chocolate bar? After much experimentation, the founders of Caffe Acapella have created coffee candy bars that have the creamy texture of milk chocolate, without any chocolate ingredients. They’re made from roasted coffee beans instead of roasted cacao bean (the basis of chocolate). Coffee lovers are going to love them.

    But a creamy candy bar that melts on the tongue isn’t the only focus. The star of the show is the genuine coffee flavor of the Arabica coffee beans used to make the bars. With each new batch of beans, sample bars are produced for experts to taste test; with approval, the beans move ahead to production. The resulting bars not only encapsulate the coffee flavor of fine beans, but also the caffeine content. Each 2.25-ounce bar contains the caffeine equivalent of about two cups of coffee! (And boy, does it ever taste better than Red Bull.)

    Read the full review to see why these coffee candy bars had us singing with happiness after the first bite.

    Read more reviews of our favorite candy & confections.

    Learn more about the history of coffee.

    How do you describe the kind of coffee you like? See THE NIBBLE’S glossary of coffee descriptors.

    Comments off

    TIP OF THE DAY: Red Pepper Sour Cream

    Enjoy your baked potato with something special. Take 1 cup of roasted red peppers (pimentos), well drained; combine in a food processor with 1 cup of sour cream (or substitute reduced-fat sour cream or fat-free yogurt). Blend until smooth and add 1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice. Top with minced green onions. Also try this delicious topping on nachos, as a dip and a general garnish.

    Click here for more garnish ideas.

    Comments off

    NEWS: Cheese Unites Lovers—But No Cheesecake Wedding Cake!

    sarahcheeselady-230

    You can see more of Sarah Kaufmann’s work at SarahCheeseLady.com.

    They say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. In some cases, specifically, it’s cheese. Sarah “The Cheese Lady” Kaufmann, a nationally-recognized cheese sculptor, has carved hundreds of commissions from cheese, including several dozen wedding requests. But she was always the sculptor and never the bride, until she met Bill Parry, a retired U.S. Naval officer, while traveling to San Diego to present a 600 pound, six-foot-long cheese carving of the USS Ronald Reagan at the home-porting ceremony.

    On July 4, Sarah and Bill will host a pirate-themed wedding, in Manitowoc, Wisconsin near the banks of Lake Michigan. There will be a 32-foot long ship (wood, not cheese) christened the MV (Matrimonial Vessel). Guests received their invitations, illustrated with a special cheese carving done by the bride-to-be, inside glass bottles and have been instructed to attend in full pirate costume. On the wedding day, yellow flags with blue anchors announcing “Love Anchored in Cheese” will fly from the ship’s yardarm and decorate the tents. Even the wedding rings are designed to look like cheese—bands of gold with cheese dimples and holes.

    Will there be cheese at the wedding dinner? You don’t have to ask! Sarah will create a Jolly Roger cheese carving for the appetizer table; Bill will cut out cheese hearts of Pepper Jack (his favorite) and gold “dubloon coin” circles of yellow cheddar. There will also be a Wisconsin artisan cheese tray, made by Sara Hill of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

    In what might be the first cheese-meets-pirates culinary evening, the “Supper for the Crew” menu will consist of whole turkey legs roasted pirate style, roast pork with sauerkraut, corn on the cob, summertime garden fresh salad, chunky fruit salad, carrot cake with Jolly Roger flag art and Cedar Crest ice cream with Wisconsin summer berries and chocolate fudge sauce. Beverages will include lemonade (with or without grog), Wisconsin microbrews, Wisconsin old-fashioneds, Captain Morgan spiced rum and other assorted spirits. And plenty of limes to ward off scurvy…but no cheesecake! (Could it be that the bride and groom don’t flip for cheesecake like the rest of us?)

    When the photographer tells everyone to “Say cheese!” he may get peals of laughter instead of mere smiles.

    • O.K., no cheesecake at the Kaufmann-Parry wedding, but you can bake your own with terrific cheesecake recipes in THE NIBBLE’s Cakes Section.
    • Our favorite Wisconsin artisan cheeses—like they’re serving at the wedding.
    • Munch through the entire Cheese Section on TheNibble.com—glossary, wine and cheese pairings, beer and cheese pairings, cheese condiments and reviews of lots and lots of fabulous cheeses.

    Comments off

    PRODUCT: Daddy Cakes Pancake & Waffle Mix

    Daddy Cakes makes pancake and waffle mix in popular flavors that proved popular with us. They are a line of “JAW” (just add water) and cook products that make it a breeze to whip up breakfast favorites. Some of the specialty flavors are special, indeed, and are available in a charming, limited edition, reusable gift tin or a glossy airtight sack (a great wee giftie or stocking stuffer).

    As you might suspect from the name, the mixes were dreamed up by a dad—in fact, two dads, who happen to be brothers. Often, when the men were put in charge of feeding the kids, they found themselves making pancakes. They put their heads together to determine how to make the best pancakes for their broods, and knew they had found the right recipe when the kids kept demanding “Daddy cakes.” (Hopefully, the kids won’t be demanding a royalty on the name.)

    Now a line with a broad variety of flavors, Daddy Cakes is a gourmet convenience food that’s worth the extra shekels. There’s no need to add eggs, milk, oil or anything but water to the mix; in five to ten minutes you’ll have a smokin’ stack of flapjacks (we mean that figuratively, of course—keep your eye on the temperature of that frying pan). You can add a couple of eggs and vegetable oil for a fluffier pancake; but we found that they were just as delicious either way, so save the ingredients and the calories.

    Read the full review and check out all of the flavors of these easy-to-make mixes.


    Daddy Cakes Whole Wheat mix, in a limited edition, reusable gift tin.

  • See more of our favorite breakfast foods in THE NIBBLE’S Cereals, Pancakes and Waffles section.
  • Learn more about pancakes and waffles in our Pancake & Waffle Glossary
  • Comments off

    The Nibble Webzine Of Food Adventures
    RSS
    Follow by Email


    © Copyright 2005-2024 Lifestyle Direct, Inc. All rights reserved. All images are copyrighted to their respective owners.