Food Rumblings

Of course, you’ve heard of white sugar and brown sugar, but black sugar?

Apparently it’s a new trendy ingredient being used in both savory and sweet dishes.  Black sugar, more specifically, Okinawa black sugar, comes from cane juice and is purchased as a brick-like block that looks a bit like a dark chocolate bar.  After grating or chopping it, you can cook or bake with it.  I have yet to try it, but it is described as being deeper in flavor than brown sugar (like molasses in a solid form).  Black sugar appears to be a common ingredient in Japanese candies.  It can also be used in cakes or cookies, for roasting or in bbq sauces…my interest is piqued!

Black sugar can be purchased from Amazon.

Haagen-Dazs is one of those gluttonous treats that I can’t have around all of the time – too dangerous!  But when I heard that they had a new line, Haagen-Dazs Five, I was intrigued and felt it was my obligation as a food blogger to review it (really, that’s the only reason I bought some… ).  This new line of ice cream features several flavors, each with only five ingredients each – sugar, cream, eggs, milk, and a natural flavor.  The flavors currently available are mint, vanilla bean, milk chocolate, brown sugar, ginger, coffee, and passion fruit.  Besides being all-natural, Haagen-Dazs is marketing this ice cream as being lower in fat than their regular ice cream.

I don’t like the idea of chemical additives in my food, and many of my favorite ice cream stands haven’t opened for the season, so the Five line is a great opportunity to indulge – naturally.  I bought the Brown Sugar flavor and it seems creamier than a typical pint of store-bought ice cream.  In addition, it has a rich flavor that tastes like molasses and caramelized sugar.  You’ll need a sweet tooth to enjoy this flavor as it is very sweet, but it is delectable and the next best thing to my favorite ice cream stand’s home-made offerings.  You’ll scream for this ice cream!

I love popcorn, it can be a healthy and satisfying snack.  That said, the preparation always irks me.  If I buy the microwave-ready popcorn bags, I feel like I’m ingesting  too much chemical butter.  The butter congeals to the insides of the microwave bag and looks radioactive.  If I buy the good old-fashioned kernels I have to deal with cooking it on the stove – don’t get me wrong, this isn’t difficult, but if you don’t have a full-sized dishwasher then it’s just another pan to clean.  And, I’ll admit, I’m lazy when it comes to snacking.

So when I learned recently that you can pop the regular kernels in the microwave, I was shocked!  You simply pour the kernels into a brown paper bag, fold over the top, and pop away!  It’s the best of both worlds.  Add your favorite toppings – I like a small amount of butter or grated parmesan cheese on mine – and you’re ready to snack happy!  I probably should have realized that there was nothing special or fancy about those microwave-ready bags, but I’m yet again a victim of good marketing.  No more!

Exciting news for all soup lovers – I’m really excited to be a part of a great new site called What’s the Soup.  I’ll be a souper guest blogger on the site.  Keep an eye out for my weekly blog entries on all things soup.

What’s the Soup is a great resource for finding out the soup of the day at your favorite area cafes and restaurants.  They’re adding new restaurants all the time, so keep an eye out for your favorites!

I love trying original, new beers with flavorings of chocolate or fruit, so when I spied Atwater’s Vanilla Java Porter on draft at a pub last night, I was thrilled.

It arrived in its pint glass, dark and thick and enticing.  I immediately smelled it; it smelled like a vanilla bean had been submerged in my lovely porter.  Mmmm.  The taste was complex with overtones of vanilla that carried through from start to finish.  The first detectable flavor was the vanilla, followed by  a barely detectable, fleeting coffee flavor with a mild malted flavor on the finish.  It was sweet but the flavors worked well together and didn’t detract from this tasting like a great porter – no mistaking this for dessert.  (But I do have a sweet tooth, so others might disagree!)    Atwater Brewery has several other interesting ales and stouts including a cherry stout…bottoms up!