Category Archives: Great Finds

Unusual Apricots — But Hurry

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Divine Angelcots

Wait, don’t touch that dial or keypad. There is nothing wrong with your eyes or this photo. Indeed, these apricots, with their yellow-green tinged skin, appear unripe. But don’t be fooled.

These are rare Angelcots, a hybrid of a Moroccan and an Iranian apricot. They’re being grown in this country on only two acres of farmland in Brentwood.

The velvety exterior is yellow when ripe, with sometimes a bit of a blush at the stem end. The flesh itself is creamy white. And the taste? Delicately honey sweet, and juicy beyond belief.

If you want to try them, you better hurry. I got my 1-pound container for $3.29 at my neighborhood Trader Joe’s in San Jose. The sign said they’re available only through about the end of June. Oops, gotta go. Need to run to Trader Joe’s to stock up on more.

Popchips Addiction

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Yes, I have one. But that’s not a bad thing. Not when Popchips are all natural, not fried, have no trans fat, and zero saturated fat (well, except for the wonderful cheddar cheese version that has a pittance).

Never heard of Popchips? Get thee a bag now (about $1.50 for a 1-ounce one). The San Francisco product, which debuted a year ago, is now available in nearly 3,000 retail stores in the Western United States including Safeway, and Whole Foods. A 1-ounce serving has 120 calories, compared to 160 calories for the same serving of Ruffles Original.

Made with potatoes, organic white corn and whole grain brown rice, the Popchips are made using heat and pressure. The resulting chips are light and crispy in texture. They come in nine flavors, including new “salt and pepper” (with a subtle seasoned taste); and “sea salt and vinegar” (the bold vinegar tartness tickles your nose the second you open the bag). Whatever flavor you choose, you’ll be hard pressed to eat just one.

Cupcake Craze

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Kara's Cupcakes

Cupcake mania, which hit New York first (“Sex and The City,” anyone?), then spread to Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, is finally making its way to the South Bay/Peninsula.

Talk about taking your sweet time.

While those metropolitan areas long have boasted stand-alone bakeries specializing in nothing but cupcakes, we who have been frosting-starved in the South Bay/Peninsula finally will get our baked-good due when Kara’s Cupcakes is expected to open two locations in September: one in San Jose’s Santana Row (next to Pluto’s), and the other in Palo Alto’s Town & Country Village. Because the Santana Row location will be tiny — just 300 square feet — it’ll have a smaller selection, but promises to showcase the bakery’s most popular flavors.

Kara Lind, who worked in marketing for Conde Nast, found her true passion when she attended Tante Marie Cooking School’s baking program in San Francisco. Her first Kara’s Cupcakes bakery opened in 2006 on Scott Street in San Francisco. Since then, she’s added a second location in San Francisco, this one at historic Ghirardeli Square.

The cupcakes are made daily with such premium ingredients as Scharffen Berger chocolate, Clover Dairy products, and Flying Goat organic coffee. Regular cupcakes, $3 each, come in flavors such as Buttery Buttermilk, Chocolate Velvet, and Kara’s Karrot. Filled cupcakes, $3.25 each, come in such decadent concoctions as the “Fleur de Sel” (a chocolate cupcake with caramel filling, ganache frosting, and sea salt).

What does Lind find so irresistible about cupcakes?

“They are just filled with so much happiness,” she says. “They are like a little piece of joy.”

Who can argue with that?

Pie? Oh My!

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Olson's cherry pie

It’s cherry season, when Food Gal’s fancy turns to cherry pie. Not just any cherry pie, though, but the one made by C.J. Olson’s Cherries stand in Sunnyvale.

The fruit stand, which has been in the same location since 1899, has weathered a lot of changes over the decades, including development all around it. But one thing hasn’t changed: During cherry season, you’ll find sweet, juicy, fresh cherries sold at the stand in abundance May through August, and November through February.

Deborah Olson, fourth generation owner/manager of the fruit stand, is a trained pastry chef. Is it any wonder then that her Bing cherry pie is the stuff of dreams? It boasts a super flaky crust, and the filling is bursting with cherries without being cloyingly sweet. When a pie is this good, it’s almost a waste of time to try to make one better yourself.

A 6-inch pie is $11.99, and available for shipping year-round. The 8-inch version ($17.99) and 10-inch one ($21.99) are offered only at the fruit stand.

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