P-I-N-K-B-E-R-R-Y

I can seriously do without the Lady Tigra remix on Pinkberry's homepage where she spells out pinkberry about a million times, it's wicked stupid and annoying.
Now that I got that outta my system I would like to rejoice in the fact that they ditched that nasty coffee flavor they used to have and replaced it with pomegranate which is oh so tasty.
This is going to be a problem in the summer. I will totally walk out of my way to get this everyday probably. Who am I kidding, it's already a problem and it's the middle of winter. I guess that's a testament to just how yummy I think it is. I mean look how cute and happy that little guys is.

The good word

I haven't tried this yet and well quite frankly, I am a little scared too. The last thing I need is a new nut butter in my life. I have it on good word that this is some rockin' stuff. I will of course have my fingers in a jar of this before the end of the weekend.

1/24/09 UPDATE
I tried this today and It's good. Thankfully, I can't see myself eating this by the fingerful right out of the jar but I would definitely spread this on a warm piece of toast or dip some apple or banana slices into this tasty concoction.

Truvia

This is the newest "natural sweeter" out on the market.
With the masses becoming more aware of their health and well being people are making more of an effort to look at the ingredients in the foods they are eating. Many people are beginning to consciously replace overly refined food items in their diet with more natural and whole foods. In turn food companies are being forced to create foods that are seemingly more natural and less refined. I feel it’s important to do a little research on these new foods that are being offered to us as healthier alternatives. Being a former user of Equal and a current user of stevia I decided to take a look into Truvia. What I discovered is that Truvia is not stevia, it's a new sweetener using stevia.

Stevia has been a battleground for the sugar and artificial sweetener industry for sometime now. Many of the big sugar and sweetener companies have spent a number of years and a lot of money lobbying against the likes of stevia. Imagine what would it do to business if a completely natural no calorie sweetener were readily available? But what if they could find a way to get in on it? This past December (as in last month) the FDA approved the use of a stevia byproduct that was created jointly by companies Cargill (America's second largest private corporation) and Coca-Cola. Stevia, as in the whole plant, continues to be labeled as a dietary supplement and it remains unapproved by the FDA.

Truvia's claims
1) It's not made in a lab like other no calorie artificial sweeteners
2) It's made from plants

Yes there are stevia plants involved. They use a process of steeping the leaves that produces what they have coined rebiana, which allows them to isolate best tasting part of the plant leaving behind the crude unnecessary parts like fiber for example. They further "purify" the isolated rebiana AKA refine it. Technically table sugar is also made from a plant but it’s the refining process that complicates matters and makes it nutritionally undesirable.

Truvia's other main ingredient is a sweet flavored bulking agent called Erythritol, which is a sugar alcohol. Erythritol is made by breaking down food starch into glucose. Then a yeast called Moniliella pollinis is added to the glucose. By way of fermentation, the glucose is broken down into erythritol. The erythritol is then purified into 99.5% pure erythritol.* It does appear to be less harmful than saccharin and aspartame, but it's not exactly what I would call naturally occurring and as far as I am concerned saying this ingredient wasn't made in a lab would be a lie.

Lastly Truvia contains "natural flavors" aka MSG and other things, which if used in certain amounts do not need to be listed according to the FDA. Overall I think it’s certainly a better choice than Equal, Sweet'n'low and Splenda but why not just use stevia it's pure form?



*http://abouterythritol.homestead.com

Perfectly poached pears

One of my favorite deserts or breakfasts

2 Bosc pears
2 cinnamon sticks
5 cloves
Apple cider
Small baking dish that fits both pears

Preheat 400 degrees. Slice off the bottom of the pears making it flat and place them in the oven safe dish. Add cloves, cinnamon sticks and about 1’’ of apple cider. Bake in the oven for about 50-60 minutes.

Serve by its self or with ice cream, whip cream, crème fraiche or yogurt.

Since this was today’s breakfast I had it with Old Chatham maple sheep’s milk yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Holy chicken sausages

There's good reason for the rays of light shinning from behind these sausages. It's because they are heavenly! I haven't tried the beef franks yet but any of the chicken sausages are pretty darn tasty. What really won me over while I was deciding whether or not to add these links to my shopping cart was that they don't use pork casing better known as pig intestines. Ick! I think you'd be surprised to know how many chicken sausages come nicely packaged in pork intestines. For some reason that just kinda irks me.
Both natural and organic chicken sausages are made from antibiotic-free, hormone-free, %100 vegetarian fed chickens, preservative-free - no nitrates, no nitrites, no sodium lactate (whatever that is), they are gluten-free and wheat-free, casing- free, and made from skinless chicken leg and thigh meat- no chicken skins, ever! All I can say is that whatever is in them is wonderful.
The only real difference I can see between the natural and the organic sausages is that the organic sausages use organic organic vegetables, herbs and spices.

I think I got these at WholeFoods. You can check Bilinski's website to see where else they are sold.

Two other interesting things I have recently learned about chicken.
1. The leg and thigh meat are as lean as the breast meat. It's is just darker in color because they move those parts and therefore there is more blood circulating in that area.
2. All chicken in the U.S. must be hormone-free and steroid-free as per the USDA. What you want to look out for is antibiotic- free.

Easy does it

Two of my favorite cookbooks from Jenny White are now available together as one! Seriously, this actually is the best ever. There are pictures for all 400 recipes and each recipe is no more than three or four ingredients not including salt, pepper and olive oil.

Delicious meals don't have to be complicated. Simplicity is key here and each ingredient really has the chance to shine. No matter if you are out to impress others or just yourself now anyone can make a great tasting meal, and I mean anyone!

GET YOURS

Easy oven roasted chicken

1 free range organic chicken
3 onions
6 small carrots
2 yams
1 lemon
Fresh thyme
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

Preheat oven 400 degrees. Chicken should be room temperate. Chicken can be out of the fridge for up to 3 hours and remain safe to eat. Anything longer than this is potentially unsafe.

Chop the onions into quarters, the carrots approximately one and half inch long pieces and the yams into approximately two inch cubes. Toss all vegetables plus 8-10 sprigs of thyme together in olive oil, salt and pepper.
Rub 1-2 tbs of thyme leaves underneath the skin covering the chicken breasts.
Rub olive oil all over the outside of the chicken and then place chicken in roasting or large baking dish. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze over the chicken, then sprinkle on salt and fresh ground pepper. Add vegetables along with the sprigs of thyme to your pan then place in the oven. Cook for about an hour and 15 minutes.

Your chicken is done when the liquid inside the chicken is clear. You can tell this by holding the chicken upright. If the juices run clear you are most likely done, if the juice is pink (with blood) you have a ways to go. Another thing I suggest is that you check the meat between the leg and breast. If this meat is at all pink then your chicken is not done yet. Leave it in the oven and check on it every 5-8 minutes.

Once the chicken is done remove it from the oven. The legs should be very easily pulled away from the body. If the vegetables aren't yet completely tender in the middle and crispy on the outside then you can put the vegetables back into the oven for about another 15 minutes.

Fon-DO!

Cheese fondue is a must in Switzerland. Soooo good! I like to give my cubes of bread a good soak in the pot and then fish them out.