I love salmon.  Some people think it’s too “fishy” compared to whiter fish, but to me that’s a selling point.

I was thrilled to be contacted by Christine on behalf of Alaska Seafood, who coordinated a shipment so that I would be able to try some Alaskan Salmon and also provided the following information.

Frozen Alaska seafood is one of the highest-quality seafood choices available. It’s flash-frozen within hours of the catch—in fact, it’s often frozen at sea.

The website www.alaskaseafood.org is loaded with information about the Alaska seafood industry, including species, health and nutrition, sustainability, and cooking techniques and recipes.

When the salmon was unpacked from the box to my refrigerator, some rearranging was necessary so that the fish would fit!  I put the pear in the photo to provide a relative measure.  It was so beautifully pink, just barely thawed, with firm flesh, and skin still intact on the underside.

I baked it very simply, with a sprinkle of Fox Point dried spice mix (Penzey’s) on top.  Amazingly delicious.

Thanks to Christine and to Alaska Seafood!

Authoring a food blog has certain benefits.  Perhaps the most obvious is receiving many delicious and interesting product samples.  Another, less advertised benefit is communicating with various people and discovering commonalities, even outside of food.

In October 2008 I was reading one of my favorite food blogs, David Lebovitz’s, when I was compelled to post a comment disagreeing with one small item from this post about NYC- his assertion that public bathrooms were plentiful here.  (Visitors beware-they’re not!)  Shortly following I received an email of vehement agreement from another David Lebovitz reader and fellow (former) New Yorker, Pat Fusco, who is now a food writer in California.  Curiousity piqued (if she agrees with me, she must be a smart lady!), I read some of her articles online and left a comment.

Fast forward many months and I was contacted by a woman named Sally Shepard who works for Newman’s Own Organics.  She is friends with Pat and had seen my comment on Pat’s article.  Sally checked out my blog and graciously offered to send me some Newman’s Own Organics products to try.

So, should I stop rambling and get to the food review?  Newman’s Own Organics has a wide array of products.  From soy crisps and dried fruits to vinegars and chocolate bars, there are multiple flavors and varieties of each.  They’re also uniform in impressive quality and taste–honestly, I enjoyed every single thing.

What doesn’t vary among the offerings are the organic and sustainable origins of the ingredients: “Newman’s Own® Organics’ products meet all the requirements of the USDA’s National Organic Program. Ingredients have been grown on farms that have not used artificial fertilizers or pesticides for three years or more. The farms and processors have also met the USDA’s organic standards.”

I will absolutely be seeking out Newman’s Own Organics products when I shop.  If I had to pick my favorite few (okay, okay!) they would be:

1. Dried apricots - the moistest and most delicious dried apricots I have ever tasted.  Better than I knew existed!

2. Olive oil - great for cooking but also a nice flavor for dipping bread before dinner.

3. Ginger mints - curbs the sweet tooth in a healthy way.  Plus I love ginger!

A huge thanks to Sally, via Pat, via David for so many wonderful samples, and for helping me spread the word about a fantastic company, and for building friendship through food writing online-and through bathrooms in NYC or, rather, the lack thereof!

This probably isn’t the most popular of sentiments among food bloggers, but here goes:

I love canned olives.

(Sidenote: I also love fancy olive bar olives.  But, they almost seem like a different food entirely.)

Canned olives were a staple of my childhood.  One distinct memory comes to mind.  When my cousin Mason and I were about six years old (me the elder by five days), we sat on the floor of my kitchen and ate a can of black olives.  We then poured the black juice between two glasses and drank it.  Well, I think I only managed a few sips of mine- salt attack!- but I’m pretty sure Mason finished off his glass of olive juice.

Suffice it to say, Mason and I were canned olive champs.

So naturally I was pretty excited to revisit the canned olives of my youth, though this time with a more natural version: Lindsay Naturals Olives.

They’re ripe and firm- not mushy at all.  Both the green and black varieties are delicious.  All of them come pitted and some of them are sliced, too, which is a time-saver for recipes.  Speaking of recipes, here’s one (though I’ll admit all of my olives were eaten straight up):

Fresh-from-the-Garden Olive Toss

Prep time: 30 minutes

Servings: 10

Directions:

In a medium bowl combine olives, celery, carrot, Maui onion, cucumber, zucchini, yellow squash, cherry tomatoes, parsley and chives. Add lemon peel, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil to bowl; mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Do Ahead: Fresh-from-the-Garden Toss can be made in advance and will keep for 7 days in the refrigerator.

Makes approximately 5 cups

Serving Size: 1/2 cup

Nutrients per serving:Calories: 89 Calories from fat: 72 Total fat: 8g Monounsaturated fat: 6g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 136mg Total carbohydrates: 4g Dietary fiber: 2g Protein: 1g

Thanks to Trisha for sending me these delicious olives!

I recently had the opportunity to try Explorer’s Bounty Tribal Stone Crackers, made from yuca and 100% certified organic. These are gluten-free crackers with no added sweeteners and fat free.

Thanks for Dawn for sending these to me for free and for providing me with the following information on Yuca (which I’ve learned is not the same as yucca):

“A starchy tuberous root, Yuca (also known as cassava) has earned the distinction of being the third largest source of carbohydrates for human food in the world. The root contains significantly more fiber content than a potato.”

I sampled four flavors: original, cinnamon, garlic and onion.  I think they are best paired with toppings or dips as the crackers themselves are pretty subtle.  I enjoyed the garlic and onion varieties with brie and roasted red pepper.  Meanwhile, I put peanut butter and a drizzle of agave nectar on top of the cinnamon variety.  I dipped the original flavor in hummus.

One thing to note is that the crackers are pretty crumbly.  It’s wise to have a plate beneath your mouth as you bite lest crumbs and toppings fall onto your shirt.  This is just speculation, of course

Here’s another cool thing about this product:

“Tribal Stone Crackers are manufactured through a Manción partnership. A region of Hispaniola, in Manción charcoal is used as the primary energy source. There, however, the facility that produces the Explorer’s Bounty line of Tribal Stone Crackers has converted away from charcoal energy. Instead, it harnesses natural and organic sources like those obtained from Macadamia nut shells. It is this organic process that is used in the manufacturing of Tribal Stone Crackers. Good for you, good for the planet.”

Overall, I really enjoyed these Yuca crackers and would definitely buy them in the future.

Besides the theme of wafting bacon, these are the best food related passages I could come up with. For the record, In N Out is very nutritious. Have you ever eaten there?

1. After one particularly draining fourteen-mile death march, I lounged on my aunt’s deck, my body feeling heavy in the wooden chair as the high noon sun roasted me. My digestive system was in tatters, the result of efforts to replenish my nearly 2,000 burned calories by eating a breakfast fit for three, and continuously shoving fried eggs and toast, cereal and spoonfuls of peanut butter into my mouth.

2. That night, along with my parents and my younger siblings, I celebrated at The Cheesecake Factory with a decadent slice of sinfully-rich peanut butter swirl cheesecake. Thanks to my high mileage and fast metabolism, the calories would burn off in my sleep.

3. To cap off the night, my dad had driven me along with a carload of my teammates, to an In-N-Out Burger. At midnight, scores of paper-thin distance runners packed the famous burger joint, gorging on well-deserved “double-doubles”, the grease running down our chins.

4. Freshly showered, I pulled up to the Fight Club’s granite kitchen counter, unfolded the sports section, and sat down to my favorite breakfast: crunchy homemade peanut butter granola doused with fresh cream.

Doesn’t that make you hungry?  Doesn’t that make you want to not run ten miles?  Doesn’t that make you want to buy this fantastic book and/or meet Matt on his extensive book tour?

Kudos, Matt.

Last spring was the launch of an exciting new line of hair care, skin care, aromatics and nutraceutical supplements: Intelligent Nutrients.

Intelligent Nutrients is 100% organic.  It was developed by the founder of Aveda (and active environmentalist), Horst Rechelbacher.  Aveda is from Minnesota, like me.  But that’s not the only reason I like it!

I had the opportunity to try a whole gamut of Intelligent Nutrient products.  As you can see, they are all beautifully (but not overly) packaged.

I’ll highlight my favorites out of all of the types:

1.  Spray-On Detangler :  I have very fine hair that is incredibly prone to tangles.  I’ve never consistently used detangler, though, since I wasn’t confident in its origins or its effectiveness.  Intelligent Nutrients Detangler was very helpful while not weighing my hair down.  Its smell is fresh and light- not toxic at all!

2. Lip Delivery Nutrition (aka Lip Balm): This lip balm is great!  I love the tall, thin shape and its sweet smell.  It really “wakes up” the lips, so to speak.  And apparently it’s nutritious for them, too- score.

3. Intellimune Tablets : These are soft, crunchy pebbles that come in a bottle.  They’re chewable and a little bit “seedy” and a little bit “fruity.”  I really got used to them and now I really look forward to eating my dose (2-4 pebbles) each day.  They’re antioxidantly potent, which helps me feel better (psychologically at minimum) on those days where coffee, take-out and wine make up the rest of my intake.  (Though coffee and wine each have a lot of antioxidants too, right?)

4. Certified Organic Hair Balm : Long live hair balm!  It’s very helpful for people with fine hair (see #1), for people whose hair likes to do “its own thing,” or for people who live in humid climates: ie, for nearly everyone.  This hair balm actually reminds me a lot of Aveda’s hair stick which is shaped like a deodorant stick and deserves serious credit for keeping me and my sister looking halfway decent during high school swim seasons.

Check out the Intelligent Nutrient website for more info on each of these products as well as many more.

For people looking for a filling and guilt-free snack, popcorn is a safe bet. At 24 calories per cup, you can have five cups of air-popped popcorn for under 130 calories.

Of course, if you put butter or caramel on top, those numbers go up quite a bit.

Kernel Season’s has an extensive line of Popcorn Seasoning Flavors.  A little goes a long way so they won’t throw your diet out of whack.  The flavors are:
White Cheddar
Butter
Nacho Cheddar
Parmesan and Garlic
Ranch
Sour Cream and Onion
Salt
Caramel
Kettle Corn
Jalapeno

I’m pretty simple with my popcorn so Salt and Parmesan and Garlic were my favorite flavors.
Kernel Season’s also has its own Popping Corn.  The kernels are about twice as big as regular popping corn kernels.  I couldn’t believe it!

Crofter’s Organic has a new line of Superfruit Spreads with yummy “exotic” fruits like Maqui Berry and Yumberry.

I was so excited to try these because conventionally-grown berries have some of the highest pesticide loads. Also, these spreads are made with Fair Trade sugar and contain no artificial flavors or preservatives. It’s wonderful to have Crofter’s Organic as a healthy and delicious option in the jam/jelly/preserve/spread department.

There are four Crofter’s Superfruit Flavors and I tried and enjoyed them all.  I’m going to tell them to you in personal preferential order:

1. South American blend: Exotic blend of Maqui Berry and Passionfruit

2. Asian blend: Bright blend of Yumberry and Raspberry

3. European blend: Old world Pomegranate and Black Currant

4. North American blend: Classic Cranberry and Blueberry

The South American blend really is #1, and I’d be curious to find if there’s anyone who disagrees with me.  The passionfruit/Maqui berry combination is an incredible flavor.  The North American blend was my least favorite; there was something about it that tasted a bit “off” to me (not that it prevented me from finishing the jar!).

I enjoyed these as a toast topping and as a greek yogurt mix-in.

Chinese Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing

From Simply Salads, a wonderful cookbook by Jennifer Chandler that builds on store-bought salad greens to make an incredible variety of healthy, tasty meal-sized salads!

Makes 4 dinner salads
Peanut butter lovers beware.  The dressing in this colorful and tasty salad is addictive.

For the Peanut Dressing:
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter (if you use natural you may want to add a bit of sugar to sweeten)
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh peeled ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup canola oil
A pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

For the salad:
1/2 cup Peanut Dressing
1/2 cup fresh snow peas
1 bag (5 ounces) Spring Mix salad blend
2 cups shredded cooked chicken (can use supermarket rotisserie chicken)
2 carrots, peeled and shredded on the large holes of a traditional grater
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts
2 limes, quartered, for garnish

For the Peanut Dressing:
In a small bowl whisk together the vinegar, peanut butter, ginger, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, canola oil, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

For the salad:
Bring salted water to a boil in a medium pot. Add snow peas and cook until vibrant green and crisp tender, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Drain the peas and immerse in an ice water bath to stop the cooking process. Drain again and place in a large salad bowl.

Add the salad blend, chicken, carrots, scallions, cilantro, and peanuts and toss. Add the dressing to taste and gently toss to coat.

Garnish with lime wedges.  Serve immediately.

What’s a better way to spend a weeknight than at a wine tasting?

This past Tuesday was made quite enjoyable thanks to Maslow 6.  In a loftlike space in Tribeca, Maslow 6’s wine director, Mollie Battenhouse, presented 9 wines from Burgundy’s Cote de Beaune.  Mollie is as educational for other wine professionals as everyday wine lovers; she promotes dialogue–even disagreements–and intertwines history, geography and stories to keep everyone engaged.

We tasted 4 chardonnays and 5 pinot noirs, all from different villages with distinct noses and flavors.  Each attendee was given a helpful packet that included wine descriptions, maps, and even an order form to have your favorite wines delivered to your apartment the following day (thanks to new storefront at 211b West Broadway).

Quite fortuitously I was seated next to the cheese and pate tray, which I later discovered had been selected in a bit of a rush by the husband of Maslow 6’s founding partner and CEO, Keri Jackson Kunzle.  He has a knack for it. I met Keri, her husband and his mother (visiting from Hampshire, England) and felt I could have talked to them all for hours.  Same goes for the dozen or so others I met!  I’ve been to many lovely wine tastings, but never has the social atmosphere been as genial, welcoming and full of successful and interesting characters as at this seminar at Maslow 6.

There’s a new beverage from R.W. Knudsen Family, a brand whose juices I’ve sampled over the years.

It’s called Sparkling Essence and it has no calories, no artificial flavors and no sugars or sweeteners. It’s just sparkling spring water infused with organic ingredients.

There are four flavors and I’ve tried them all: Organic Lemon, Organic Cucumber, Organic Blueberry and Organic Mint.

Blueberry and Cucumber are by far my favorite.  Mint and Lemon were slightly “off” tasting to me but still entirely drinkable (as indicated by the the recycling bin full of empty cans).

I’ve been describing it to friends as mineral water with a LOT more flavor than regular mineral water.

Essences are packaged in attractive 10.5-ounce slim cans, sold individually and in handy 4-pack carriers.

LAVERE Anti-Aging by Lavera is celebrating its 20th anniversary and, as a result, I got to fight wrinkles.  Or rather, as I’m pretty young still, I got to preemptively fight wrinkles.

LAVERE Lifting Serum Hydro-Gel is a cute little bottle, and the gel is very gentle, unabrasive, not stingy and sweet-smelling.  It reminded me of aloe gel.  As I applied it for the first time, I was a little skeptical that something so benign would have much of an effect.

A day later, I already noticed a difference in my face.  My skin felt fresher, firmer and smoother.  This has continued as I’ve used it for several weeks now.  The 0.8 oz lasts for many, many applications.

Who knew fighting a preemptive war (against aging) could be so peaceful?!

I have enjoyed Pirate’s Booty puffed rice and corn snacks for some time now.  The Aged White Cheddar and Veggie flavors always hit the spot.

So I was delighted to discover that two new flavors of Pirate’s Booty are hitting the shores:

1. Bermuda Onion - Subtly seasoned with garlic, green chives and sweet Bermuda onions
2. Sea Salt & Vinegar - Subtly flavored with aged balsamic vinegar and coarsely ground sea salt

Ahoy, matey, they’re delicious!

Best yet, they’re all-natural, baked, 130 calories per serving (which is a surprisingly copious 1-ounce portion), trans-fat-free and gluten free.

We all hear about the importance of wearing sunscreen, but the less common side story is that not all sunscreens are made from the same ingredients.

Vivesana organic sunscreens take that side story and make it a headline.

It created the first 100% natural sun care with the highest all-natural SPF (40 & 42) on the market.  It also uses exclusively United States-grown organics and sustainable, BPA-free packaging.  Botanicals, like jojoba and apricot, hydrate and nourish.  Potent antioxidants, like green tea and raspberry seed, help scavenge radicals and repair damaged cells.  Minerals, like zinc oxide, provide broad spectrum protection. Soothing extracts, like chamomile, help comfort skin exposed to the elements.

Sound too good to be true?  It is, almost.  Two points of caution:

1. Get ready to rub.  Such a high SPF means you’ll be sporting a whitish tint for a while after applying.

2. At $29-$32 for 2.25 oz, it’s not cheap.  However, it’s dense- a little goes a long way.

Home Free Cookies are the health- and/or allergy- conscious person’s dream cookie!  They’re also likely to be the favorite cookie of bulleted-list lovers everywhere.

They are:
·         Certified organic

·         Certified whole grain – each cookie serving contains at least ½ serving of whole grains

·         Without trans fat or cholesterol

·         Free of peanuts, tree nuts, eggs and dairy

·         Fine for most people allergic to wheat (not gluten-free; contain oats)

·         Fine for most people allergic to soy (most contain soy lecithin)

·         Baked and packaged in a dedicated bakery

·         Allergen tested

·         Without corn sweeteners, artificial colors, artificial flavors, MSG, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

·         Certified vegan (oatmeal cookies, and coffee cakes)

·         Certified kosher pareve

And the taste?  I tried the chocolate chip, mini chocolate chip, and oatmeal varieties.  I shared some with friends and co-workers to get their opinions, too.

Verdict?  Regular chocolate chip, chewy and moist, are the standout winner.  Mini chocolate chip were crisp, but more like a merengue than a Chips Ahoy.  Oatmeal were “not yo’ grandma’s oatmeal cookie,” according to one friend (I finished his).  But, for people whose health or allergy concerns keep them from enjoying other varieties of cookies, Home Free flavors are appreciated options!