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Newman’s Own Organics

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

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!

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Book Club: Clean Body

Friday, April 24th, 2009

Clean Body: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleaning Yourself by Michael Dejong is the perfect book for both the product-averse and the product-obsessed-whose-bathroom-cabinet-can-hold-no-more.

According to the book, 5 kitchen staples–in various combinations–can cleanse, moisturize, exfoliate all parts of our bodies:

1. Salt

2. White Vinegar

3. Lemon

4. Baking Soda

5. Olive Oil

I’m interested in trying some of his “recipes” for body scrubs and face masks.  I think I’ll stick with my usual shampoos, though!

I appreciate how Dejong keeps the book light and humorous– far from a militant, anti-consumerist rant, it makes me more willing to give his suggestions a whirl.

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Maple Coconut Pecan Clusters with Olive Oil and Sea Salt

Thursday, January 15th, 2009

Maple Coconut Pecan Clusters with Olive Oil and Sea Salt
Adapted from Bryant Terry’s Double Maple-Coated Pecans

What I Changed (Reflected Below) and Why: Substituted raw cane sugar for maple sugar because I didn’t have maple sugar and figured it might be difficult to find and expensive; Added shaved coconut for added texture, flavor and nutrition; Added sea salt for taste; Toasted the pecans in the skillet instead of on a baking sheet in the oven so that the whole recipe would be on the range (simple!) and use just one pan (fewer dishes!)

4 cups pecan halves
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup succanat (raw cane sugar)
1 cup shaved coconut flakes
1 tsp sea salt

1.  Put pecans in large heavy cast-iron skillet and heat on medium-high range for about five minutes, stirring frequently so they don’t burn.  Pecans will be fragrant and toasted.

2. Remove pecans to a large mixing bowl and combine with the oil.  Stir with a wooden spoon until thoroughly coated.  Add the maple syrup and stir again.  Then add the coconut and sugar and stir again.

3. Warm the skillet to medium-high again and pour the mixture in, scraping the bowl to remove everything.  Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until most of the liquid has evaporated and everything begins to “cluster,” about 2-3 minutes.

4. Transfer to parchment paper and quickly spread out with the back of the wooden spoon.  Sprinkle with sea salt.  Eat slightly warm or cool.  Nuts keep for quite a while, if you can keep them around that long.

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Croutons Homemade by Mari

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

As a kid I ate only croutons from a salad.  Now I love salad and eat everything in them but the croutons since they usually taste old and bland.

Leave it up to my friend Mari to bring over homemade croutons that leave me loving them again.  Crispy with olive oil and garlicky, they’re lovely on her velvety chestnut soup or any salad.

Mari’s Croutons

5-6 slices white bread, crusts removed
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Lay one bread slice flat, cut 1/2″ strips lengthwise, then 1/2″ strips crosswise (resulting in small cubes).  Repeat with remaining slices.  You should have about 3 cups of bread cubes. Put them into a large bowl.

2. In small bowl, whisk garlic into olive oil.  Pour over bread in large bowl, tossing quickly to evenly distribute among cubes.  Don’t get too much oil onto any cube or it will turn out soggy.

3. Spread onto baking sheet and bake, turning frequently, for 7-10 minutes or until golden brown on all sides.

In Mari’s words, “Crunchy Fun!”

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Sweet Potato Stacks: Tri-color, garlic, fried sage

Monday, November 17th, 2008

Gourmet Thanksgiving in Advance (described here) Recipe #4

Quite possibly the best sweet potato recipe ever.

Tri-Color Garlic Sweet Potato Stacks

Adapted from Gourmet Magazine’s Roasted Sweet-Potato Rounds with Garlic Oil and Fried Sage

What I changed and why: Didn’t puree garlic with oil because I didn’t want the mess; Used pre-chopped jarred garlic because I’m lazy; Used three kinds of sweet potatoes because they all looked so good in the store (the flavors melded beautifully, and the various colors looked pretty); Didn’t peel the sweet potatoes out of laziness and for added nutrition; Made the olive oil extra virgin since its flavor is paramount in the final dish; Increased cooking time since tenderness is important; Changed presentation to stacks just for fun.

1 Tbsp chopped raw garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 large sweet potatoes: one garnet, one jewel, one Japanese (about 2 1/2 lb), washed and sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
24 fresh sage leaves

1. Preheat oven 450°F with rack in upper third. Toss garlic with olive oil and mix thoroughly with sweet potatoes in large bowl. Spread in 1 layer in a 15-by 10-inch shallow baking pan.

2. Bake until soft, about 30 minutes.

    3. Meanwhile, heat oil in a small heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then fry sage leaves in 2 batches, stirring, until crisp, 30 seconds to 1 minute per batch. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.

    4. To serve, stack sweet potato slices, alternating colors. Place sage leaves on top.

    Posted in Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetables | No Responses »
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    Recipe: Rosemary Roasted Pecans

    Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

    Some dear friends threw us an engagement party last Saturday. One of the couples in attendance, Lilo & Tom, gifted us a large jar of “Lilo’s Southern Love Nuts.”

    They are now gone. Yes, gone.

    Sunday, Monday, Tuesday- three days. Really, is that all?

    Well, they’re that good. Enjoy.

    Lilo’s Southern “Love Nuts” (Rosemary Roasted Pecans)

    1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil
    3 Tbsp. fresh rosemary
    1 tsp. kosher salt
    1/4 tsp. garlic powder
    1/2 tsp. ground red pepper
    4 cups pecans

    1. Preheat oven to 300F. Line two cookie sheets with aluminum foil.

    2. In a small saucepan, heat oil, rosemary, salt, garlic powder, and pepper until warmed through. Pour mixture over pecans in a bowl and toss. Drain excess oil using a colander.

    3. Quickly spread in even layers on cookie sheets. Roast nuts for 15 minutes. Cool and pack in tins. Store in cool place.

    Posted in Appetizers, Gadgets, Recipes, Snacks | 1 Response »
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