Posted by theo at 11:14 am
Aug 272010
I recently bought a small sample of Organic Trail Mix at the local shop. I almost fainted at the cost of $9.35/pound (here’s my point of reference..this week lobster is going for $3.99/pound..) but bought a small sample just to check it out. .. Well, as expected, it was interesting and had a nice mix of flavors going on. However, I don’t think I’ll be buying it again anytime soon. And the reason is not so much the cost as the fact that it’s only various ingredients mixed together .. simple. And so this is something that could be customize to one’s own palate to be an even better match for you personal preferences.
For instance, almonds and walnuts would be increased, and the raisins .. these would be changed to organic jumbo raisins (which I’m pretty fond of).. And having a sweet-tooth there would probably be some broken up Newman’s O’s cookies in there. All made fresh and exactly how you like it.
Posted by theo at 7:53 pm
Aug 112010
If your repertoire for cantaloupe is limited to slicing and eating on a plate consider the following:
- Cantaloupe Based Organic Fruit Salad (made with Cantaloupe, Strawberries, Pineapple, Blueberries and Banana)
- Cantaloupe Ice Pops (made with Cantaloupe, water, sugar and mint leaves)
- Cantaloupe Martini (made with pureed cantaloupe, water, sugar & lime mixed with Vodka & Midori)
Not only are there many foods we haven’t tried but many different ways to serve the foods we now love. Go ahead, be fearless. Laugh at your mistakes and delight in your successes.
Posted by theo at 3:44 pm
Aug 102010
If you’re not using fresh roasted organic coffee beans then your coffee is unnecessarily sub-par. .. How do I know this? Simple chemistry and the nature of the beans. Here’s the skinny:
- Roasted Coffee Looses Most Of It’s Aromatics About 1 Week After Roasting: One of the largest contributing factors to the complexity and fullness of freshly roasted coffee comes about due to the presence of volatile aromatic compounds. After about one week these will deteriorate to an unacceptable level. This is one of the reasons instant is so bad, it virtually has no aromatic compounds left.
- Sealed, Vacuumed-Pack, Nitrogen Protected Etc Will Not Solve The Problem: Big Coffee will roast beans and have an expiration date 6-7 mounts out. Your coffee will still get stale no matter how it’s packaged, all they can do is somewhat slow it down. … Don’t believe the hype.
- Buy From A Roaster Who Ships The Same Day They Roast: One of the reasons I like Cafe Valverde is that they do just that. Is the 1-2 days shipping an issue? No. The reason being that right after roasting the beans need 1-2 days to degas the residual carbon dioxide still left in the beans. So when they get to you they’ll be ready for brewing. I’m lucky Joan & Nelson from Cafe Valverde roast right up the street. When I had a “coffee emergency” (about to run out soon) they took my order and roasted on the same day. Good people, good coffee.
- Consider Roasting Your Own: Just like there was a revolution in home baked bread about 10 years ago now there is a similar thing occurring in the coffee world. People are purchasing the green coffee beans and roasting at home. My friends at Cafe Verde tell me this is growing rapidly and they are shipping the beans all around the world (including to the base in Antarctica). By the way, the green coffee bean side of their business is called Invalsa.
This is such an important topic that we have launched a new blog called EnCoffee that deals strictly with coffee & espresso, it’s enjoyment and creation. Join us if you want to take a journey and learn more of this wonderful, friendly and satisfying world. It’s similar to the culture of wine but for me even better since I can enjoy coffee at any time of the day and actually have the option to craft the product by roasting my own beans. Please share post this with a friend. Cheers!
Related Coffee Posts at EnCoffee:
Posted by theo at 6:08 pm
Aug 062010
Need a quick, delicious and cooling ice cream sandwich? Need it Organic? Need it with virtually NO WORK. Then read on:
One of the things I personally don’t like about traditional ice cream sandwiches are they’re not organic, the “cookie” is mushy and they have too much ice cream and not enough cookie going on (for me anyway). Oh, and they are work if you want to make your own. So here’s a solution that uses all store bought materials and can be put together in no time. Here’s what you do:
- Go Shopping: Buy a package of Newman’s O’s Organic Cookies and buy some organic ice cream or frozen yogurt.
- Remove the Icing: Twist the Newman’s O’s Cookies into two halves and scrape out the icing with a butter knife.
- Add Ice Cream: Take some ice cream out using the butter knife and spread on the Newman’s O Cookie half. Replace the other half to make the sandwich.
- Refrigerate: Chances are the cookie halves softened the ice cream. Freeze until hard again or it will just squeeze out when you bite in (but eating the ice cream coming out the sides is a good thing.. I’ve tried it). If the ice cream never gets hard enough then break the Newman’s Cookies into bite size chunks prior to assembling.
Now this may be a little too much chocolate cookie flavor for some but I really love it. Enjoy!
Posted by theo at 7:37 pm
Aug 042010
If you have been buying locally grown produce your decision has done more than improve the quality of food on your table. One of the “ripple effects” has been a dramatic increase in the number of farms even in the small state of Massachusetts. This is a growing movement away from the mega-mart and towards [...click to contimue reading...]
Posted by theo at 6:45 pm
Jul 042010
The EU Steps Up It’s Organic Program With The Euro-Leaf And New Regulations For Organic Aquaculture.
Posted by theo at 2:33 pm
Jul 022010
It’s a common misconception that eating organically is the equivalent of subsisting on a diet of twigs, roots and berries. This is of course is to the uninitiated who tend to follow in zombie-like fashion a preference for “real food” (as opposed to the radical stuff we like to consume). .. OK then.. So let’s take a look at [...click to contimue reading...]
Posted by theo at 3:21 pm
Jun 252010
Of all the blog categories to use for this post, “Try Something New” was really a no-brainer. As mentioned before, and before, ad nauseam.. we are generally stuck within culinary boundaries of our own making where we eat an extremely limited variety of foods … day..after day… after day. .. Now don’t get me wrong, Green Peppercorns [...click to contimue reading...]
Posted by theo at 7:12 pm
Jun 232010
Opened a bottle of Wild Harvest Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil and here’s what I found.
Posted by theo at 6:50 pm
Jun 182010
A look inside an organic coffee roasting business from a flavor, process and social responsibility perspective as well as my non-organic father’s take on the whole thing.