Category Archives: New Products

Summer’s Made for Iced Tea — And A Food Gal Giveaway

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Mighty Leaf Tea's Ginger Peach iced tea.

Mighty Leaf Tea’s Ginger Peach iced tea.

I am not a soda gal.

Too sweet and too many unnecessary calories for me.

When I want to quench my thirst in summer, I reach for a glass of iced tea instead.

I don’t add any extra honey, sugar or artificial sweeteners, either. I like the tannic nature it has all on its own. If I really want to get fancy, I’ll muddle some fresh fruit, mint leaves or even cucumber slices in it.

That’s exactly what I did when Mighty Leaf Tea sent me some samples to try recently. Its over-sized tea bags make it easy to brew a big pitcher of iced tea in minutes. I steeped a bag of Ginger Peach Iced Tea for 5 minutes, then added some ice cubes to chill it down. Since I’d just come back from the farmer’s market, I sliced up some nectarines and added them to the iced tea for a pretty — and pretty delicious — gulp on a warm day.

The iced tea bags come in four varieties.

The iced tea bags come in four varieties.

CONTEST: One lucky Food Gal reader will win samples of Mighty Leaf Tea’s four iced teas:  Sunburst Green, Ginger Peach, Calypso Mango and Organic Black. What’s more, the winner also will receive the Takeya plastic iced tea pitcher and Takeya glass water bottle, both pictured above.

Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST June 29. Winner will be announced July 1.

How to win?

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Moroccan Made Easy (A Bonus Post For the Week)

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Boneless leg of lamb gets the Moroccan treatment.

Boneless leg of lamb gets the Moroccan treatment.

Creating the exotic flavors of Morocco in your own kitchen just got a whole lot easier, thanks to Chef Mourad Lahlou of San Francisco’s Aziza restaurant

His new line of gourmet spices, mixes and sauces for Williams-Sonoma transports you to this faraway land with its heady fragrances and flavors. Recently, I had a chance to try out a sample of his “Mourad’s Moroccan Roasting & Grilling Rub.”

Open the lid to reveal the golden curry-hued powder pungent of turmeric, cumin and ginger. Just smelling it makes you hungry.

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Greek Yogurt Cake

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My idea of health food.

My idea of health food.

Yogurt does a body good.

This cake has plenty of yogurt in it.

Ergo, this cake is bona fide health food.

OK, maybe not. But can you blame me for trying? Especially when this “Greek Yogurt Cake” is so moist and tender, with a wonderful tang to it?

The recipe is from the new cookbook, “Mad Hungry Cravings” (Artisan) of which I received a review copy. Lucinda Scala Quinn, executive food editor of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and mother of three, has created comforting dishes sure to appeal to families — everything from chicken chive burgers to “Eggplant Parm Stacks” to banana chocolate chip cookies.

For this cake, I used Nancy’s Organic Greek Yogurt, of which I recently received a sample. The nonfat version is so thick and creamy that it’s hard to believe it’s made with skim milk. What’s more, the company says that each serving contains more than 56 billion active probiotic cultures, which are thought to aid digestion and strengthen the immune system. See, yogurt cake is good for  you. (wink, wink)

Thick and creamy Greek yogurt.

Thick and creamy Greek yogurt.

The yogurt, available in 6-ounce ($2.29) and 24-ounce ($6.69) containers is sold at Albertson’s, Safeway, Whole Foods, Raley’s, Andronico’s, Rainbow Grocery, Real Food, and Mollie Stone’s stores.

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DavidsTea Spring Collection and A Food Gal Giveaway

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Pom Tango tea by David's Tea.

Pom Tango tea by David’s Tea.

With the arrival of spring comes a new collection of teas and infusions from Montreal’s DavidsTea, which is expanding rapidly into the United States.

Last year, it opened its first locale in San Francisco. There are now five in the Bay Area.

What sets the company apart is its inventiveness with blends. Sure, you’ve probably had flowers and fruit mixed in with your tea leaves before. But not quite to this extent. We’re talking big chunks of dried fruit, sizable enough to pick out to eat and enough of it to resemble trail mix.

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Sunsweet Gets Into the Baking Business

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Purple Country Bread from the new line of baked goods from Sunsweet.

Purple Country Bread from the new line of baked goods from Sunsweet.

 

Sunsweet Growers, Inc., whom you know for its dried fruit, is getting into the baking business with its new line of breads, cookies and pastries — all made with dried plums (otherwise known by their less fashionable moniker: prunes).

The products tout the healthfulness of prunes, which are higher in antioxidants and fiber, and lower in sugar, than raisins and dried cranberries.

What sets the baked goods apart, too, is their color. They’re made with purple wheat and purple corn, giving them eye-catching swirls of vividness.

Recently, I had a chance to sample the products, which are available at Costco in Southern California, and which will make their way to Northern California Costco locations in the near future.

The Sunsweet Bakery products retail for about $4.99.

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