Oh yeah, me.

First I had to admit to Google that I had misspelled Worcestershire. (It’s not pronounced with 5 syllables, now, is it?!)

Then, the first recipe I stumbled upon was Emeril’s, which began, “Saute onion in olive oil….” Nope, not gonna do that.

So then I added “easy” to the end of my Google query. Behold, this lovely, very simple recipe.

I made it in 5 minutes, and had all of the ingredients on hand already. Smells like Worcestershire Sauce in my apartment now.

I made some granola from a recipe by Laura of Wholesome Junk Food and loved it.  I gave the recipe to my sister and she loved it.  She told me later that she had passed the recipe on to several other people who had tried it and loved it.  I recently gave the recipe to my cousin, who is enjoying it, and now her sister wants the recipe too.  Obviously time for a Smorgasbite recipe post!

Honey Toasted Granola
Adapted from The Wholesome Junk Food Cookbook by Laura Trice
Yield: 6 cups

4 cups rolled oats
1 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds (I often use a variety of nuts/seeds, combining to 2c)
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup sugar (I usually omit this)
2/3 cup honey (can substitute maple syrup)
1/2 cup oil (olive, canola, whatever)

1. Preheat oven to 325. Grease shallow 14 x 11 inch pan.

2. Combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately and then mix well. Spoon into prepared pan, firmly patting the mixture to the edges.

3. Bake for 30 minutes, turning the pan and stirring every 10 minutes or until golden brown.  (I find it often takes longer but that may be because I usually make a double batch. Just bake until it’s golden brown, that’s the key.)

Happy Halloween!  I came across some creative and somewhat spooky Essential Artists Bottles from 1800 Tequila that would be awesome for celebrating tonight.

Eleven up and coming artists contributed their designs to create these limited-edition masterpieces – with one celebrity bottle designed by Shepard Fairey’s Studio Number One.  The grand prize winner was Steven Wilson whose bottle is front and center in the picture.

My favorite is Chad Shore’s (featuring the woman with dark hair, fifth from right).

View the whole collection here.  Which is your favorite?

Melitta‘s Café Collection is so beautiful, no?  Thanks to Jessica we’ve been able to try the Classique Supreme and Parisian Vanilla.  Both are very fine grinds with lots of flavor.  The vanilla scent wafted through our whole apartment!

Melitta also has this cute “Ready Set Joe” personal brewing apparatus.  We’ve switched to using this instead of our french press for days that we only want a small amount of coffee, or if we want to “brew” different kinds of coffee for different people.  So convenient- just pour in hot water from the tea kettle and it’s ready in a minute.

18Rabbits knows how to make delicious granola bars!

From the two flavors I’ve tried (pictured), the ingredients were extremely fresh and the fillings were large plentiful, just the way I like it.

And really, anyone who offers me figs wins my heart.  Thanks, Kelsey, for sending these bars to me.

Currently loving Republic of Tea‘s new Raw Green Bush Tea- the Orange Red Carrot flavor.

Yum.

Check out new Pretzel Crisps by the makers of New York Style Bagel Chips and Pita chips!

They’re perfect for fun appetizers.  Above left is smoked salmon, cream cheese and dill atop an “Everything”-flavored pretzel crisp.  Above left is jalapeno cheddar and salami atop an Original flavor.  More pairing ideas on the website.

I’m not a huge pretzel person, but I preferred this shape (and ease of adding other flavors) compared to regular pretzels.  I served them with a cheesy sage dip at a recent dinner party and people seemed to enjoy them.  Thanks to Shaina for sending some samples my way.

My friend Rachel hosted a Saturday brunch a couple of weeks ago.  My contribution was Lemon Pound Cake from the cookbook Simply Suppers by Jennifer Chandler, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.  Thanks to Katie for sending me this cookbook; I’ve been loving many of its recipes.

Glazed Lemon Pound Cake
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened, plus extra to grease the loaf pan
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra to flour the loaf pan
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter-flavor all-vegetable shortening
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest

For the Lemon Glaze:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons water

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, shortening, and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and mix until well combined. Add the reserved flour mixture and mix until well blended. Add the milk, vanilla extract, lemon extract, and lemon zest. Stir to blend. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean,
about 60 to 70 minutes. While it is still in the pan, pierce several holes in the cake with a knife or skewer. Prepare the glaze and top before the cake is completely cooled or removed from the pan.

4. To make the glaze: In a small bowl combine the melted butter, sugar, lemon juice, and water.  Stir until the sugar has dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes. Pour the glaze over the cake and let the cake sit in the pan until the glaze is fully absorbed, about 20 minutes.

5. Remove from the pan and transfer to a serving plate. Serve at room temperature.

Serves 8.

Who knows where Bovril is for sale in NYC?

Tea & Sympathy perhaps?  Does anyone know?

My grandparents-in-law use it in beef stew but it hasn’t been easy to find lately.

I’m a fan of whole grain pastas.  The indulgence and comfort of warm pasta, with extra nutrition?  Works for me.

I was happy to test out some new Einkorn Pasta by Jovial, thanks to Lisa.

Jovial proudly presents First Ever™ Whole Grain Einkorn Pasta, made from the world’s most ancient wheat, first cultivated 12,000 years ago at the birth of agriculture.  The resulting products are wholesome, nutritious and surprisingly delicious. Einkorn was lost in time when new varieties of wheat with much higher yields were created by natural and commercial hybridization. In developing the Jovial™ brand, the company’s founders decided it was time to go beyond organic and take a closer look to find the purest of plant varieties.

Einkorn Nutritional Highlights
• High in Thiamin, essential dietary and trace minerals.
• Good source of protein, dietary fiber and a number of B Vitamins.
• Higher Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC-antioxidant capacities) twice that of durum and bread wheat.
• Higher content of tocotrienols than other species of wheat, a potent form of Vitamin E.
• Lower percentage of nutrient loss during processing
• One 2oz. serving contains as much of the antioxidant Lutein as a whole egg (which provides nutritional support to our eyes and skin).

And how about the taste?  Hearty and flavorful, in my opinion.  That said, someone who loves “regular” white pasta may not appreciate the difference.  But anyone who already enjoys whole grain pasta might want to check this out!

Peet’s Coffee has a delicious new blend of coffee called Uzuri from East Africa.

Already well known for its quality blends, Peet’s introduces Uzuri African Blend-a coffee bold beyond flavor. Uzuri, meaning “excellent and beautiful” in Swahili, was named by the Kenyan, Tanzanian and Rwandan farmers who grow the beans.

Peet’s collaborated with the nonprofit TechnoServe to bring the distinct flavors of East Africa, the birthplace of coffee, to American coffee enthusiasts while creating a sustainable business model for thousands of farmers and their communities. Through farmer training and improved processing, the farmers are now producing coffee that meets Peet’s strict quality standards, earning them an estimated 30 percent more for their crop.

My husband and I enjoyed this coffee (thanks to Drew for sending some samples).  It’s nice when a product *is* good and tastes good, too!

Now when is a Pete’s Coffee shop going to come to NYC?

Soirée is a glass globe that fits into the tops of wine bottles that acts as a decanter.  When the wine is poured, it swirls through the globe before it goes into the wine glass.

I had the pleasure of trying out the Soirée thanks to Marshall Coffy, the Sales Director.

I asked him for tips on which wines to try it with.

He replied, “Soirée is perfect for aerating wines that are tightly structured, have a high alcohol content, or wines that are muted.   For instance, “new world” wines from warm climates will have an enhanced bouquet and show richer flavors when poured with a Soirée.  Yet, even “Old World” wines or white wines will show heightened attributes despite common belief.  Young new world wine however, will present  the most dramatic effect.”

I sampled several wines with the Soirée, side-by-side the un-decanted versions.  Glasses poured through the Soirée were indeed fuller and “juicier.”

I also love how the Soirée comes with its own little stand, perfect for storing upright in a cabinet or even displaying on a kitchen counter or shelf.

As we were planning our trip to Spain for this past July, our good friends Jen and James gave us a great suggestion.

“You must try horchata!”

Horchata?  The Wikipedia entry explained that it is a beverage made from tigernuts.

In Barcelona, we found a cafe advertising horchata.  We entered and ordered one to share.  We were much more excited than the woman who served us, as evidenced from the photo above.

Verdict?  Yummy (me) or “umm… you can have the rest” (Husband).  It reminded me of homemade almond milk, with very small bits of nut discernible, and not too sweet.

A while back I was fortunate to receive some CoverMate® Food Covers in the mail to try out.

They’re springy plastic covers that fit over plates and bowls.  They could probably also double as shower caps (though I did not test this theory).

The Variety Pack is a handy assortment of four sizes, which I found really do fit just about anything.  The smallest fit nicely over a custard cup of leftover lemon slices while the largest fit around a large roasting pan.

They’re reusable and washable, though I admit that laziness had me throwing a few into the trash as they got dirty.  Now I’m all out and really missing them!  Saran wrap just doesn’t seem to cut it anymore.

Just received a review copy of Baked Explorations in the mail.  Am drooling over the cover already.

Check out the book trailer!