Clif Bar, everyone’s favorite on-the-go, organic, energy recharger, turns 20 this year.
To celebrate that momentous anniversary, the Emeryville company has created a new, limited-edition bar: Gary’s Panforte.
Yes, it’s inspired by the the famous Italian confection of fruits and nuts. Company Founder Gary Erickson decided to create this version in honor of his early cycling adventures over Northern Italy’s Passo di Gavia.
There’s a new tofu in town — but its origins are age-old.
Misozuke is tofu that’s coated in miso, sake and sugar, then allowed to cure for two months.
The result is tofu like you’ve never had before — salty, umami-potent, spreadable like softened butter and as creamy as foie gras.
Vegans also have embraced it as a cheese substitute.
Rau Om misozuke is made by Oanh Nguyen and Dang Vu, two Bay Area entrepreneurs who have biology degrees from MIT and Harvard.
With summer just around the corner, it’s time to kick back with a refreshing pitcher of iced tea.
Tazo makes that even easier now with its new line of Iced Tea Filterbags.
These aren’t mere bags, but large sachets of tea leaves, to better brew a large pitcher without diluting its flavor.
Recently, I had a chance to try samples of the three new flavors: Iced Black Tea (a strong pick-me-up), Iced Green Tea (with the lilt of spearmint, lemongrass and lemon verbena), and Iced Passion Tea (with notes of hibiscus, mango and passion fruit).
The generously sized sachet is easy to use. Just drop one in hot water and let steep for about five minutes. I sipped the iced black tea on a weekday afternoon when I needed that extra hit of caffeine. Even over ice, the flavor wasn’t watered down whatsoever.
A box of six tea sachets is $4.95. Find them at Starbucks stores or other grocery stores. The Portland, Ore. company is a division of Starbucks.
Contest: One lucky Food Gal reader will win a sample box of each of the three new Tazo Iced Tea Filterbags. You’ll also get a pretty glass pitcher (pictured above) to serve it in once your tea has cooled down enough to transfer it to that vessel.
Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST June 2. Winner will be announced June 4.
How to win?
The Northwest sure does love its coffee.
And Portland Roasting Coffee of Oregon has been satisfying taste buds since 1996 in a most sustainable way.
The coffee company buys coffee directly from growers, adheres to sustainable practices, has opened coffee cafes that are eco-friendly, and commits resources annually to global projects in partnership with the United Nations Millennium Development goals, whose aim is to eradicate extreme poverty. In particular, it is helping to raise awareness of the growing global water crisis, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where the company is helping to fund the building of new water wells.
Recently, I had a chance to try a couple varieties of coffee from this company, which was just named “Roaster of the Year.” The Organic Dark Colombia is rich, earthy and with a faint chocolate note. The Organic French is dark with a bold, wake-me-up-pronto flavor.
The coffees, which start at $9.50 per pound, are available at four cafes in California so far (Sacramento, Nevada City and Grass Valley, but none in the Bay Area yet. They also can be purchased on the company’s Web site.
Contest: One lucky Food Gal reader will win a sampler of eight varieties of organic coffees: Organic Espresso, Organic French, Organic Honduras, Organic House, Organic Peru, Organic Mexico, Organic Dark Columbia and Organic India.
Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST May 26. Winner will be announced May 28.
How to win?
I’m not even gluten-intolerant, but when samples of Crunchmaster Multi-Seed and Multi-Grain Crackers landed in my mail, I became addicted to them.
Yes, they’re gluten-free, cholesterol-free and low in saturated fat.
But they are big on crunch.
The thin crackers are made from California brown rice flour, sesame seeds, potato starch, quinoa seeds, flax seeds, amaranth seeds, tamari soy sauce and safflower oil.
They taste almost like a sturdier, heartier Asian rice cracker. That’s not surprising when you learn that the method for making the crackers is based on the age-old Northern Japanese technique of baking rice crackers on open grills.