Easter egg toast. Use the same concept for Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, Valentine and other “holiday toast” (photos courtesy Arla USA).

Make Easter egg toast as a holiday treat.

These were made with blueberry cream cheese from Arla USA, maker of cream cheese spreads in blueberry, herbs & spices, peppercorn, original and lite.

You can bring these toasts ready-made to the table, or bring the individual ingredients for an assemble-your-own activity.

Use the same concept for Christmas toast, Independence Day Toast, St. Patrick’s Day toast, Valentine toast, and so on.
 
RECIPE: EASTER TOAST

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. SLICE the fruits and vegetables into halves, coins or matchsticks, as desired.

2. CUT the toast into ovals using a large, sharp scissors. You can buy oval cookie cutters, but we printed out an oval template, cut out and placed over the toast as a guideline.

3. ASSEMBLE and serve.

Don’t toss the toast trimmings. If you’re not the type to nibble as you cook, then:

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*Avoid thick slices or dense breads stuffed with dried fruits and nuts. They’re not as easy to cut into neat ovals.
  

We’re not suggesting that you mold your own chocolate bunnies, make rocher nests of almonds and chocolate filled with your own truffles, or take on homemade Peeps.

Rather, just decorate some of your everyday favorite snacks with drizzled candy melts in seasonal colors.

It is as simple as:

 
That’s it!

As with chocolate, candy melt brands vary by quality and price. Merckens* and Wilton are two quality brands.

You also want to use fresh melts—nothing that’s been sitting in a cupboard (or on a retailer’s shelf) for a year.

Here are some examples of colors to play with:

WILTON CANDY MELTS

Colors – Vanilla Flavor*

 
Other Flavors† & Colors

 
Wilton drizzle is $1.99 for a 2-ounce/56g pouch. One package covers 3 dozen mini pretzels, as shown in photo #1.

You can buy them online or check the Wilton store locator for a retailer near you.

Don’t buy candy melts way in advance to keep until you need them: Fresh candy melts work better.
 
 
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*All colors of Merckens wafers are flavored with artificial vanilla, as are the vanilla-flavored colors from Wilton. Candy melts are great for decorating, and people, and some people melt the wafers into colored bark and other candy. But flavor-wise, they are no substitute for chocolate—or for hand-tinted white chocolate.

†These are artificial flavors as well. The chocolate varieties are flavored with cocoa.

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Recipes for [1] [2] and [3] from Wilton: drizzled pretzels, drizzled potato chips and colored peanuts-and-popcorn. [4] Flower bites made with pretzels and Easter M&Ms, bound together with white candy melts. Here are instructions from Two Sisters Crafting.

[5] Candy melts come in a rainbow of colors, that can be blended together to make still other colors. [6] These may look like chocolate wafers from a fine chocolatier, but they’re candy coating—candy melts—without any cocoa butter (both photos courtesy Merckens).

Candy melts are not quite chocolate, but they look like it.

They are made in two formats: disks/wafers to melt and then use to decorate confections (used to adhere the M&Ms in photo #4 and larger projects like these), and microwaveable pouches to drizzle (the used in photos #1, #2 and #3).

Candy melts have several other names: compound coating, confectionary coating, decorator’s chocolate, pâté glacée and summer coating.

Candy melts are an imitation chocolate product that substitutes vegetable oil for all or part of the cocoa butter in chocolate. In milk chocolate-flavored melts, whey powders, whey derivatives and dairy blends can be used instead of powdered milk.

Thus, the flavor of candy melts is not as fine as chocolate. If you bite into a piece of “chocolate” that doesn’t taste as rich or velvety on the tongue, it may well be made from candy melts.

People who think they “hate white chocolate” may have experienced white candy melts instead: artificial chocolate flavored with artificial vanilla. Sometimes, the most beautiful creations are crafted from candy melts that don’t taste as good as they should.

In the U.S., commercial products made with confectionary coating must be designated “chocolate-flavored.”

Why do people use candy melts if it isn’t as tasty?

The white coating was often tinted pastel pink, blue and green. The products were called “summer chocolate,” not artificial chocolate.

Again, that’s why so many people dislike white “chocolate.” Give the best white chocolate a try.
 
 
TIPS

There are plenty of videos on YouTube and online articles that explain how to work with the disks. However, since the ideas above use only the drizzling pouches, not much instruction is needed except: Start with a very small cut in the pouch or your drizzle may wider than you’d like.

Here’s how to read the freshness code on candy melts bags.

March 26th is National Spinach Day, and you know what that means: Eat some spinach to celebrate!

July 16th is National Fresh Spinach Day. This recipe can be enjoyed on either day

The colorful, nutritious recipe (photo #1) makes a nice lunch or dinner. Fresh spinach, orange segments, peppers, and red onion make a colorful base for salmon or other fish fillets.

And there are many more recipes below, including spinach mashed potatoes, a great idea (photo #4).
 
 
RECIPE #1: SPINACH SALAD WITH PAN-SEARED SALMON, ORANGES, RED ONION & AVOCADO

The recipe, sent to us by the California Avocado Commission, is from Salmon: A Cookbook, by Diane Morgan (photo #3).

Prep time is 10 minutes, and cook time is 10 minutes.

Ingredients For 4 Servings

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*Brush the exposed avocado with olive oil or cover tightly with plastic wrap to prevent oxidation (browning). As with all fruits and vegetables, wash the avocado before cutting.

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Preparation

1. COMBINE the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and sugar in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid, with salt and pepper to taste. Cover tightly and shake vigorously to blend. Taste and adjust the seasonings; set it aside.

2. PLACE the spinach, onion, and bell pepper in a large salad bowl. Put the orange segments in a separate, small bowl.

3. SEASON the salmon on both sides with a bit of salt and pepper. Place a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the remaining olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the salmon, skin-side down, and cook until the skin is crisp about 4 minutes.

4. CAREFULLY TURN the salmon and cook until the fillets are almost opaque throughout, but still very moist—or an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 125°F to 130°F—about 4 minutes. Transfer to a warm plate and set aside while you toss the salad.

5. TO SERVE: Add the orange segments to the salad bowl, give the dressing a last-minute shake, and pour it over the salad. Toss gently. Arrange the salad on 4 dinner plates. Place a salmon fillet in the center, on top of the salad; garnish each salad with 4 slices of avocado, and serve immediately.

[2] Pick up some perky, fresh spinach (photo © Ocean Mist | Chronicle Books).

[3] This recipe is from Salmon: A Cookbook (photo © Chronicle Books).

[4] Recipe #2, below: mashed potatoes and spinach (photo © Idaho Potato Commission).

What a great idea! Sunchokes add another dimension to the recipe, but if you can’t find them or don’t want them, leave them out.

In fact, here’s a very easy preparation for spinach mashed potatoes: Simply make mashed potatoes. Cook frozen spinach and press out the water. Blend with the mashed potatoes. Add butter or cream, garlic, salt, and pepper to taste. Roasting a head of garlic (photo #5) and mashing it into the potatoes and spinach is a delicious idea.

Ingredients For 4-6 Servings

 
Preparation

1. COOK the potatoes: Place the potatoes in cold water and heat the water to just below boiling. The water will be steaming but not moving. Cook the potatoes in the steaming water until fork tender, about 1½ hours.

2. HEAT the oven to 350°F. Toss the sunchokes in olive oil and salt and pepper. Rub the garlic head with olive oil and wrap it in foil. Place the sun chokes and garlic on a sheet pan. While the potatoes are cooking…

[6] Portabellas stuffed with spinach. Here’s the recipe (photo © Healthy Recipes Blogs).

[7] Baked spinach chips. Here’s the recipe from from Hungry Couple (photo © Hungry Couple).

3. ROAST the sunchokes and garlic until soft, 35 to 45 minutes. Remove them from the oven and turn down the oven temperature to 325°F. Squeeze the cloves from the garlic and set aside. Remove the cooked sunchokes from the oven and puree with 1/2 cup cream, using an immersion blender or food processor.

4. REMOVE the fork-tender potatoes from the water. Place in the to dry the potato skins. While potato skins dry…

5. HEAT a second pot of water to boiling, to blanch the spinach. While waiting for the water to boil, melt the butter in a small saucepan, and blend in the remaining cup of cream until hot. Set aside.

6. PREPARE the ice bath (ice cubes in a bowl of water). Prepare the spinach in boiling water for two minutes. Remove it with a strainer and plunge it into the ice water. Squeeze out the water and purée the spinach with a food processor or immersion blender. Set aside.

7. REMOVE the potatoes from the oven. Leave the skins on. In a large pot, smash the potatoes with a potato masher, adding small amounts of the hot cream/butter mixture as you go, until the potatoes are fluffy. Squeeze in the garlic cloves and sunchoke purée and continue to smash. Fold in the puréed spinach. Adjust seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF SPINACH

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea), is native to central and western Asia (think ancient Persia). It is a member of the botanical family Amaranthaceae, which also includes amaranth, beet, chard, lamb’s quarters (mache), and quinoa, plus numerous flowering house and garden plants.

At some point, spinach was introduced to India and subsequently to Nepal. It arrived in China around 647 C.E., where it was known as the “Persian vegetable.”

It became a popular vegetable in the Arab Mediterranean, and in 827 was brought to Italy by the Saracens. It arrived in Spain by the latter part of the 12th century, and in Germany by the 13th century.

Spinach first appeared in England and France in the 14th century and quickly became popular because it could be harvested in early spring when other vegetables were scarce.

Spinach was supposedly the favorite vegetable of Catherine de’ Medici (1519-1589), wife of King Henry II of France. Dishes served on a bed of spinach are known as “Florentine” after her birthplace, Florence.

“Florentine” dishes are sometimes served with Mornay sauce, a béchamel sauce with cheese (usually Gruyère or Parmesan).

1. ANGRY ORCHARD: ORCHARD’S EDGE KNOTTY PEAR
Hard apple cider is hot, but what about perry?

Pears are also turned into hard cider, called perry in the U.K.; but perry is not as well known in the U.S.

American cider makers tend to label their perries as pear cider. And there are far fewer of them.

We’ve had all of Angry Orchard’s 13 apple ciders, but these days it’s their one perry—a.k.a. Orchard’s Edge Knotty Pear—that has our attention.

It’s available nationwide, and will open your eyes to the joys of pear hard cider. We need for more American cider lovers to try it and convince Angry Orchard that there is a market for more perry.

The term perry comes from the Old French word for pear, peré (PEH-ray), from the Latin word for pear, pirum.

As with apples, the pear varieties used to make cider tend to be sour, and aren’t pleasant eating.

Next step: Look for Knotty Pear cider and buy it. If you find several brands, buy them all and have a perry tasting.

Discover more about Angry Orchard ciders.
 
 
2. COFFIG: ROASTED FIG COFFEE SUBSTITUTE

We’ve tried caffeine-free coffee substitutes: Thanks but no thanks. But Coffig has succeeded in making a natural coffee alternative from roasted figs.

We didn’t believe it until we tried it. It really does substitute for coffee, hot or iced. If you’re looking for an alternative, try it.

We think you’ll like it. And there’s a 100% Money Back Customer Satisfaction Guarantee if you don’t.

Coffig comes in convenient, individually wrapped “tea bags” for single cups; as well as in pouches of powder for making larger batches. The product is 100% roasted black figs.

You can buy them on the website: Coffig.com, and on Amazon.
 
 
3. SAMUEL ADAMS: GRAPEFRUIT REBEL IPA

In 2014, Samuel Adams introduced Rebel IPA, their take on a West Coast IPA (India Pale Ale).

West Coast-style IPAs use hops from the Pacific Northwest, which have different flavors than European hops, and generally have more hop intensity.

We liked Rebel IPA. So did a lot of other people. It did so well in these IPA-happy times that siblings began to arrive: Rebel Rouser Double IPA, Rebel Rider Session IPA, Rebel Juiced IPA, Rebel White Citra IPA and our favorite, Rebel Grapefruit IPA.

We are fans of wines with grapefruit notes, like French Sauvignon Blancs, and love it in beer, too. Rebel Grapefruit IPA is brewed with real grapefruit in the mash, for a prominence of flavor that complements the citrus of the hops.

See it, try it. Find details at SamuelAdams.com.

Find more beer types and terms in our Beer Glossary.

 
 
4. SEALAND BIRK: ORGANIC BIRCH WATER

First came coconut water, then maple water, and now birch water.

The producer, Sealand Birk (birk is Danish for birch), advises: Drink your water from a tree—just like the Vikings used to…the people of the Nordic regions rejuvenate their body and soul after long, harsh winters with the uplifting spring tonic of birch tree water.

Birch water has become “the detox ingredient de jour” thanks to its antioxidant- and mineral-rich nutrient profile. It won the drink category of the 2016 Nature & Health Natural Food Awards.

We had the opportunity to drink the line at a trade show, and proclaimed every flavor (blueberry, cranberry, elderflower, gooseberry, mango, raspberry rhubarb) and the unflavored original winners.

So where can you buy it? Write to info@sealandbirk.com with your zip code.

[1] Knotty Pear from Angry Orchard is a perry: pear cider (photo courtesy Angry Orchard). [2] Coffig is a coffee substitute made from figs (photo Pinterest). [3] Our new favorite beer from Samuel Adams: Rebel Grapefruit IPA (photo Boston Brewery). [4] Refreshing, nutritious water tapped from birch trees, available plain or flavored (photo Sealand Birk). [5] Sprite’s first new entry in 56 years: Cherry Sprite (photo Coca-Cola).

Hopefully they’re coming soon. You can ask to be emailed when they arrive.

The company’s main website is based in Australia, and has e-commerce; but the U.S. website currently does not.

Otherwise, you may just have to tap a birch tree.

One could do worse than be a tapper of birches.
 
 
5. SPRITE: CHERRY SPRITE & CHERRY SPRITE ZERO

Lemon-lime Sprite was introduced to the U.S. in 1961 as a competitor to 7 Up. Why has it taken this long to come up with a line extension, Cherry Sprite?

The answer is vending machine technology; specifically, Coca-Cola Freestyle, the touch screen soda fountain that has changed drink dispensing in movie theaters and other soda-thirsty locations.

The machine features 165 different variations of Coca-Cola products: Coke, Diet Coke, Dr. Pepper, Sprite and the company’s other brands. Consumers can add flavors to their base drink of choice.

Upon review of purchase data, cherry was the number-one flavor added to Sprite. Thus, you can now buy Sprite Cherry and Sprite Cherry Zero in 20-ounce bottles in stores nationwide. The new flavor was a long time coming, but worth the wait.

Theatre fans note: Formulations for the Freestyle dispenser and the bottled versions of Sprite Cherry and Sprite Cherry Zero vary a bit. The most obvious difference is that Sprite with added cherry flavor from the Freestyle produces a red-tinted drink, whereas bottled Sprite Cherry and Sprite Cherry Zero is clear.

And LeBron James drinks it. See him at Sprite.com.
  

[2] Ready for its close up: Facundo Neo rum.

[3] The Facundo Bacardi Rum Collection.

If we were lucky enough to have a bottle, we’d sip it straight as the rum was intended, and substitute another white rum in the cocktail.

Bacardi’s Facundo Bacardi Rum Collection, introduced in 2013, is the distiller’s commitment to the emerging category of premium sipping rums. The rums are made from the company’s private rum reserve: the finest batches of rum aged for very long times.

The line was championed by Facundo L. Bacardi, who strongly felt that the company should be a player in the emerging category of premium rums.

The four expressions range from $45-$250 a bottle. They are made in different styles and produce a wide range of flavor experiences.

For example, the first rum in the collection, Facundo Neo, is a blend of rums that have been aged for up to eight years.

It’s not exactly your basic quality brand white rum, used to make a Mojito or Piña Colada. Regular white rum is aged for a year, sometimes more.

The result of the extra aging and the fact that the “best” barrels were aged: Neo’s flavor profile is beautifully balanced, with notes of banana, almonds, and freshly cut grass. To experience them, sip them neat or on the rocks.

If you’re a person for whom money is no object, you can use whatever rum you like in mixed drinks. But truth to tell with the recipe below, after you mix vermouth and two liqueurs with the rum, only the most professional palate could articulate the difference.
 
 
A NOTE ABOUT AGED RUM

It’s easy to understand the age categories of tequila, scotch, and other spirits. The producing countries have laws that govern, among other things, how long the spirit has been aged prior to bottling.

For example, Mexican laws govern how many months a tequila can be aged in order to be called silver, reposado, anejo, extra anejo tequilas (details).

With rum, aging can last from one to thirty years or more, but you often won’t find a number on the bottle*. There are exceptions, such as Appleton (the top expression is 50 years old!) and Flor de Cana.

The Facundo expressions include Facundo Neo Rum, Facundo Eximo Rum, Facundo Exquisito Rum and Facundo Paraiso XA Rum. Each is aged longer than the next. But as with most rums, don’t expect to know how long that aging period was.

That’s because, unlike other spirit-producing areas, Caribbean countries did not stake their claim to exclusivity by passing appropriate laws to protect their rights, i.e., that only alcohol distilled in the Caribbean can be called rum. (Scotch can only be produced in Scotland, bourbon can only be produced in the U.S., tequila in Mexico, etc.)

That makes any rules and regulations hard to enforce. Even proofs vary (40 proof vs. 50 proof for white rum, for example).

Thus, Mexico requires white rum to be aged a minimum of 8 months. The Dominican Republic requires one year. Venezuela requires two years.

Naming standards also vary. Argentina defines rums as white, gold, light, and extra light. Barbados calls them white, overproof, and matured. The U.S. defines the categories as rum, rum liqueur, and flavored rum [source].

Some distillers use the word “premium” to describe their best-aged spirits. Another common description is the word “anejo,” old. “Gran anejo” is even older.

But none of these terms tells you how long the rum has aged. It’s the blender or distiller who decides what to call it.

In their marketing literature, you’ll find terms like aged, aged even longer, and aged extensively—without explanation. Here’s an article that tries to explain what cannot be explained.

So don’t try to figure it out: Just enjoy it.
 
 
RECIPE: BANANA CHOCOLATE COCKTAIL

Beyond the Banana Daiquiri: a banana-chocolate cocktail for those who like to drink their dessert.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

In a mixing glass, stir all the ingredients with plenty of ice. Strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube. Garnish with a dry banana chip and a lemon peel.

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*Age is beginning to appear in some rum bottles, such as Appleton and Flor de Cana aged rums. But again, statements of age may vary by country. For example, a Scotch may be a blend of ages from 8 to 15 years, but by law it has to specify the youngest Scotch in the blend, e.g., 8 Year Old. It’s too soon to tell what will happen with the rum category as a whole.