Exciting Things Are Happening In The Food World...

Exciting things like caviar made from seaweed.  Yes, I said seaweed.  How they did it is a mystery (a.k.a. proprietary secret), but they will be saving some of the endangered species!

"Real caviar" is harvested from sturgeon fish - mainly the Beluga (most expensive), Osetra, and Sevruga.

The fish are usually killed in this process.

The meat may be sold at market, so waste can be avoided, but overfishing is still an issue.  Some of the wild populations have decreased globally as much as 93%, due to overfishing, bycatching, poaching, and loss of habitat via dam building.  As a result, the Beluga sturgeon was listed as Endangered as early as 1996.  Though there are still some wild Beluga populations, a few rely on stocking and, in other areas, they are "regionally extinct."  In an effort to reduce strain on the already distressed species, the U.S. banned the importation of beluga caviar in 2005, and it became illegal to transport any remaining caviar across state lines.  Even with this ban, the populations continued to dwindle.  As of 2010, the Beluga sturgeon was placed on the IUCN Red list of endangered species and cited as Critically Endangered.  It is at these late stages that conservation efforts are increasing.  There are now fish farming operations in existence that stock live fish, and supply sturgeon caviar to try and help fight the decline.  Some have found ways of harvesting the roe without killing the fish, but the price is still high, and fish live out their life in an overcrowded tank- surely this is not ideal.  Sustainability here is questionable.  The fact remains that sturgeons take years to mature; Beluga females clock in between 15 and 18 years before being ready to spawn (other species from 8 years - still a long time).  This only begins to illustrate the issue.  When you take into account the complex breeding patterns involving seasons, temperatures, locations, etcetera, you start to see the larger picture.  There is also evidence suggesting that pesticides are negatively affecting their ability to spawn in the wild (sound familiar?).  To further complicate the issue, as the species gets rarer, the price goes up.  This creates an even greater temptation for poachers; a 2009 record indicated that Beluga caviar had reached $8,000.00 U.S. dollars per Kilogram (approximately 2.2 lbs).  A website listing has the current price per Kilo at $10,560.00 USD.  Though it says that the item is "discontinued," and there are two sentences about the ban on U.S. trade, you can still see the price and light images of the product.  The website also says that the ban was effective as of "April 2007."  Typo?  According to the Federal Register, the "notice [of the ban was] effective September 30, 2005."  Something 'fishy' going on here - it doesn't seem like they were in a hurry, and at the very least, it's apparent that not quite enough is being done to protect this species.  The caviar from the other two sturgeon species, Osetra and Sevruga (sometimes referred to as more "affordable"- my question is 'for who?'), are still a fair chunk of change.  Unless you're prepared to shell out $300 for a 2 oz tin, you won't be tasting these anytime soon.
But what if there were a completely sustainable and stably-priced (and Vegan!) alternative?

Enter Caviart®.


Made in a variety of flavors and colors, and affordable for everyone, Caviart® is a truly sustainable, fish-friendly, and green option.  It tastes just like lumpfish caviar - it has the look, flavor, and texture (and the little 'pop') of real fish roe.  You really need to taste it to believe it.  Serve it on some mini-toasts with pate or creme fraiche - your guests will be impressed.

I wish I could tell you exactly where it's available; It's a very new product to the U.S.  Your best bet is to ask your local stores to get ahold of it.  If you're in the Midwest/Central U.S., have your store contact Long Grove Specialty Foods (brokers for the Midwest & Central region).


Sources:

"The Beluga's Blues." by Anita Hamilton. Time Magazine Online. April 10, 2003.  http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,407380,00.html

"Huso huso (Beluga, European Sturgeon, Giant Sturgeon, Great Sturgeon)." Gesner, J., Chebanov, M. & Freyhof, J. 2010.  Huso huso The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. IUCN Redlist of Endangered Species. http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/10269/0

"About Caviar." http://www.igourmet.com/caviar.asp

"Sevruga."  http://www.caviarexpress.com/Russian-Sevruga-Caviar

"U.S. to Ban Imports of Beluga Caviar." by Felicity Barringer. Washington, NY Times Online. September 29, 2005.

Chocolate du jour

Chocolate, in recent years, has become the source of both considerable delight and substantial disappointment.  When the chocolate is real, and by real I mean actual chocolate- not just corn syrup and fillers, it is a wonderous thing, nigh irresistible.  When it has reached "Halloween Candy" status, as my family has dubbed it, it is somewhat of a disappointment.  Without bashing names, it has become apparent to me (and several of my friends will also attest to this) that the candies I once ate as a kid have had their formulas changed several times - they just don't taste as good as they used to, and now include corn syrup, soy (and it's various forms), overly refined sugar, emulsifiers, preservatives, artificial flavorings, colorings, and an extra dose of instant heartburn.
Fortunately, I've found refuge.  There are some companies/brands that are making real chocolate, and there are several of these that are doing it very very well.  Normally I do not feel the need to write about chocolate.  However, when chocolate is truly spectacular, it most definitely necessitates written acknowledgement.

The Hot Chocolate Sparrow, Orleans, MA

When you enter the store (locals and cool kids come in the back door), you are almost immediately greeted by the sweet smells of freshly brewed coffee, pastry, and chocolate.  It's not a very big store, and not very flashy - but it is a very inviting space, and really it's the sweets and the camaraderie that you come for anyway.  To one side of the store is a long and wonderous glass countertop filled with all kinds of delightful chocolaty items.  The chocolate is all hand made, with their own recipes. They have everything from the expected solid chocolate (white, milk, and dark), to the adventurous, including chocolate covered fruit or coffee beans and chocolate bark with sea salt - that's right... sea salt.  I was skeptical of this new offering at first, but my doubt soon turned to love after one taste.  This combination of salty and sweet is very dangerous, especially if you are hungry.  The one piece of bark purchased did not last long, it barely made it to the car, hence the lack of a photograph (like I said, dangerous).  In addition to the salty bark, there are chocolate truffles; equally addictive if not more so, and a host of other delectable items.  I find it almost impossible to leave without a bag full of goodies.
If you have extra time, and a good friend, it's absolutely worth it to order a fancy dessert, or open that box you just purchased at the glass counter, and enjoy it with a nice cup of freshly brewed coffee.

I found the following two chocolate bars in The Main Street Gourmet (Orleans, MA), and I hope to find them somewhere locally soon as I cannot get to Orleans often.

Villars Larmes de Poire Williams

This milk chocolate bar filled with Poire Williams (Villars, Product of Switzerland) was absolutely amazing.  If you have the chance, I recommend you try it. Smooth chocolate, a little bit of crunch from the natural sugars in the Poire William, and the sweet aftertaste of ripened pears.  (Poire William is that pear brandy that you frequently see with a whole pear in the bottle - The great secret of the whole fruit in a glass bottle? They place the bottle over the pear while it's small and growing on the tree.)

Dolfin Noir Lavande Fine de Haute-Provence

The Noir Lavande Fine de Haute-Provence (Dolfin, Product of Belgium) is a bar of smooth, rich Dark Chocolate with lots of Lavender flowers.  Bite into a square and breath through the nostrils at the same time for the full experience.  It is an unusual sensation of eating chocolate-covered flowers. It is possibly not for everyone, as lavender can be a strong flavor, but I adore lavender in chocolate, and ice cream.  Croatia sparked my interest in Lavender (where I first tasted the lavender ice cream) it's very popular there and is grown all over the place.  I have been inspired to plant several pots of it in my patio herb garden, and I intend to experiment!

Big Chunks of Fruit!

Dagoba

Another delicious discovery; Dagoba Organic Chocolate.  My most recent favorite being their Roseberry variety, with big pieces of raspberries and rosehips in dark chocolate.  They make 12 different chocolate bars, as well as tasting squares, drinking chocolate, and several other products. (Sci-Fi geek note: Yes I will admit that I did find the name similarity Dagoba vs. Dagobah amusing. Just to clarify, Dagoba is chocolate, Dagobah is a fictional planet from the movie Star Wars.)

The Chocolate Garden

Most recently, I was fortunate enough to be able to stop in at The Chocolate Garden in Coloma, Michigan.  They are a purveyor of spectacular handmade truffles, in 26 flavors!  There is a reason they "have been featured repeatedly on The Food Network as well as Fine Living TV and the Travel Chanel."  These truffles are truly a wonder to behold (cue ethereal music)- an incredibly smooth center, perfect balance of flavor - you will feel like royalty just biting into one.  Don't worry- you don't have to go all the way to Michigan to get them, you can order online.  Handmade with high quality ingredients, and some unique flavors like Vanilla Rose (real distilled rose petals), Citrus Ginger, and Cayenne Kick - these truffles are extraordinary.

I hope to make more fascinating chocolate discoveries...soon.

Cake Pops!

Table-top Kitchen at Expo West

Natural Products Expo West was a blast! I had tons of fun, and met lots of great people.  I had created two recipes for cake pops specifically for the show, and I was so happy to find that everyone loved them.  It was hard to keep them on the table - they were devoured so quickly!  

And everyone asked for the recipe.... 

The Device

So here we are, without further ado:

For these recipes I used a Bella Cake Pop maker (there are other companies that produce cake pop makers, you don't necessarily have to have a Bella).  Make sure to follow the directions with your appliance! The instructions for the Bella maker say to season the cooking surface <- this is VERY important, you don't want your creations to stick to the surface.  In addition, if the maker says to throw out the first batch or two, do it.  I know it will be painful to just throw the first ones away, but trust me, you should (they don't taste good).

On with the baking!

Vegan & Gluten Free Coconut Cloud Bites®
with Hodgson Mill Coconut Flour

Makes about 24 Cake Pops (this recipe can be doubled)

Whisk the egg replacer and
warm water together until
smooth.  Put aside.

Coconut Flour!

½ cup       Hodgson Mill Coconut flour

¼ cup       Morena Non-GMO pure cane sugar (or organic cane sugar)

1 tsp          Rumford aluminum free, double acting baking powder

¼ tsp         baking soda

¼ tsp         Hodgson Mill Gluten Free Xanthan Gum

¼ tsp         salt

2 Tblsp     Ener-G Egg Replacer

         +

½ cup       warm water

¼ cup       virgin coconut oil, melted

½ cup       coconut milk (non-gmo soy, almond or rice will work too, but coconut is best)

½ tsp        vanilla

Whisk the egg replacer and the warm water together until smooth, set aside.   Mix the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl, then stir in the wet ingredients.  Mix until uniform.  Place the batter in a pastry bag (or a food-storage bag with the corner cut off) and squeeze the batter into your cake pop maker.  You want to fill the wells just a bit higher than the edge, but don't fill them up too much - the batter will squeeze out from the wells and you'll have a big mess (I found this out the hard way).  Cook about 3-5 minutes (you can open the pop-maker after three minutes to check- if they're not done, leave for another minute or two.  Try to resist opening it any earlier than 3 minutes - I know they smell delicious and you'd like them to be done even sooner, but if you open the pop-maker too early, it will destroy your sweet, wonderful creation).  Open cake pop maker and let stand about 30 seconds before carefully removing cake poppers. (A bamboo skewer and a spoon work well for this- nudge the pop with the skewer and roll it gently onto the spoon. Don't try to dig the pops out with anything metal- metal utensils will damage the non-stick surface)  Allow to cool (centers will be very hot when fresh out of the appliance).

mixin' dry ingredients
together

*Coconut Cloud Bites® name and recipe are Registered Trademarks of snackforyourmind.blogspot.com

First couple of batches might not be
so round.  Don't worry! You'll get it!

Vegan & Gluten Free Chocolate Almond Dream Bites® with Hodgson Mill Almond Flour

Makes about 12 to 15 Cake Pops 

(you can double this recipe too, if you like)

     

1 cup           Hodgson Mill Almond Meal

1/3 cup       cocoa powder (non-alkaline)

3 Tblsp       Morena Non-GMO pure cane sugar (or an organic cane sugar)

¾ tsp           Rumford aluminum free, double acting baking powder

¼ tsp           baking soda

¼ tsp           salt

½ tsp           Hodgson Mill gluten free xanthan gum

2 ¼ tsp        Ener-G Egg Replacer

      +

3 Tblsp       warm water

2 Tblsp       organic virgin coconut oil, melted

¼ tsp           almond extract

¼ cup          coconut milk (non-gmo soy, rice or almond will work, but coconut is best)

Whisk warm water and egg replacer together until smooth, set aside.  Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.  Add wet ingredients and stir until uniform.  Scoop the batter into a pastry bag (or a food-storage bag with the corner cut off) and squeeze it into your cake pop maker.  You want to fill the wells just a bit higher than the edge.  Again, don't over-fill, the batter needs some room to expand (this recipe takes a tiny bit less batter than the Coconut Clouds®.  Cook about 3 to 5 minutes.  Open cake pop maker and let stand 30 seconds before carefully removing cake poppers. (again with the bamboo skewers and a spoon.) Please, allow them to cool a little (the centers will be very hot when fresh, and burnt tongues are not fun).

One Hot Pop - Yes,
the photo is blurry.  I had to
roll the cake a bit so it
didn't burn my hand.

*Chocolate Almond Dream Bites® name and recipe are Registered Trademarks of snackforyourmind.blogspot.com


These bites are tasty; great for an after-school snack, for parties, or whenever!  I tried two other versions at the show too - I mixed in some Vegan Coconut Bacon (yes, that's what you just read, Vegan Coconut Bacon - and it's Gluten Free too! How cool is that?) from Phoney Baloney's, and some maple syrup into the Coconut recipe - seriously delicious savory sweet!
  And then, there were some lovely folks there from Texas: Barton Creek Crossing (Kenny and Willi Ann, with their amazing little girl Abby!).  They make some incredible Pumpkin and Apple Spreads.  Willi suggested trying pumpkin with the coconut, so we did.... and an incredible treat was born! Like eating the middle of a pumpkin pie.

And I intend on experimenting more - we'll just have to see what turns up.
But most importantly, eat them and enjoy!

Tipu's Chai Review

motivational packaging

It comes in adorable fold-over-the-top brightly colored bags.  They even give you words of encouragement as you open the package.  And opening this bag of Tipu's® Chai could be the best decision you ever make.
 
The depth of flavor in this chai is incredible! You can taste the bright, organic spices. No bitterness here. Been out snow shoveling? This will warm you up from the inside out! It has that delicious, complex aroma - like the first bite of a slice of home-made pumpkin pie, or freshly baked gingersnap cookies.  So robust, yet perfectly balanced; it has a combination of spicy and sweet that has been named a top product (rightly so), and has been featured in Prevention Magazine, Organic Spa Magazine, Tea Magazine, and New Hope 360.  Garnering awards at the 2008 World Tea Expo, and with numerous happy customer reviews, this tea blend is taking the Chai-drinkers by storm.

Look at that rich caramel color!

The recipe for this tea was passed down by his Grandmother to his Mother to Bipin Patel, and there is no question; you can taste the love in this tea.

A brief history of this marvelous beverage as it appears on tipuschai.com:
"Tipu's® Chai was originally served in a popular Indian restaurant founded by Bipin Patel in Missoula, Montana, in 1997. Bipin’s authentic Indian chai was in high demand and quickly became a favorite menu item. Before long, he started selling it to other restaurants, local businesses and coffee shops. Then, in 2007, Bipin sold the restaurant to focus his efforts on sharing his grandmother’s special recipe with the world."

Tipu's makes their original slow-brew certified organic chai tea, in regular and decaf.  They used to offer a liquid concentrate as well, but in order to be more environmentally friendly, they discontinued it.  This really is a great thing; the environment wins (less packaging/waste), you win (more tea at a better price/smaller shipping cost), and Tipu's wins (they sell more tea).  That's just an all-around good deal.

The Simple Life

Their newest line is called Tipu's Chai Now®.  It's a micro-ground "quick brew" tea and comes in three varieties:
Tipu's Chai Now® The Simple Life (tea, organic spices, ginger; you add milk or milk substitute, or milk and hot water, and sweetener if you wish).

Chai Tea Latte Blend

Tipu's Chai Now® Sweet & Spicy (tea, organic evaporated cane juice, organic spices, ginger; add hot water and your choice of milk or milk substitute).

Tipu’s Chai Now® Latte (organic evaporated cane juice, organic Non-GMO soy milk powder, tea, organic spices, ginger; a full on package - all you need is hot water, and a mug of course.  This one is great if you're in a hurry, or tired of shoveling snow, or anytime for that matter).

Sweet & Spicy

All three are Vegan, Certified Kosher, and made with the highest quality, organic ingredients.

With Tipu's Chai Now®, you will notice some spices and tea bits that settle to the bottom, but this is a great indication that the ingredients are REAL.  There is no artificial anything in these Chai blends!  They are FREE of chemicals and preservatives.  What more can you ask for?  If you are a chai drinker, even just the occasional sipper... I highly recommend that you try Tipu's Chai.  If you're a more adventurous Chai drinker, Tipu's also has many different recipes that you can experiment with like 'Hot Apple Chai-der', 'Chai Nog', or 'Tipu's Chai Now Frappe'.

You can get your bag of Tipu's Chai online at http://www.shop.tipuschai.com/, or look for a retailer that sells it near you .  If you don't see it in your local store or coffee shop but would like to, ask your store manager to request retail information from Tipu's online.