Latest Obsession

On the lookout for PUR Flavor Options. If there's one thing I can't stand its when a company puts out a release about a new product and then you cannot find it anywhere. This product sounds very intriguing: a PUR water pitcher with the capability of dispensing either raspberry, peach or strawberry, depending on which cartridge one uses. More to come when I find the darn thing.

Shapely Patties: Bubba Burgers

As a loyal listener of sports talk radio icon WFAN, New York, I frequently hear the commercials for something called "Bubba Burgers," supposedly the best tasting burgers on the market. The ads must have gotten into my subconscious (see, advertising does work!) because when I saw a box of the sweet onion Bubbas at my local grocer's I decided to give them a try. Keeping in mind the company's too long and quite clumsy tagline--"You'll Never Bite A Burger Better Than A Bubba!"--I was looking forward to my dinner. Each box of Bubbas contains six one-half pound burgers, each shaped like the state of Texas, which they get points for. I'd prefer to eat something that looks like the Lone Star state instead of say, California or Florida both of which would make better hot dogs. Anyway, I have to say that I found the Bubbas to be quite juicy and tasty, much better than the ground beef at the grocery store. You also spare yourself the mess of preparing the burgers--you just take them out of the freezer and pop them in the broiler or grill pan. The trick is to make sure they're good and frozen before cooking as that keeps in the juices. I also appreciate that the paper they use in between the frozen burgers doesn't rip and fall apart when you're trying to separate the patties. Bubba Burgers come in several different varieties including original, reduced fat, angus beef, jalapeno, in addition to sweet onion. I'm on the lookout for the jalapeno burgers next. Now if they can just work on that tagline...

www.bubba-burger.com

Hey, There's Pumpkin In My Cereal (Sort Of)

Those who know me are well aware that my breakfast cereal box is more likely to have a leprechaun or blue ghost adorning it. However once and awhile I'll make an attempt to have something else in my house that's "healthy" for breakfast in addition to my usual oatmeal. Occasionally I will even check the tiny area marked "Organic" in my local grocey store. Recently I was looking in that very area and a cereal caught my eye--Nature's Path Organic Flax Pumpkin Raisin Crunch. It contained pumpkin, certainly not an ingredient one sees every day. I hardly noticed the rather gigantic "FLAX PLUS" type on the box, which normally would send me running to a sweet "yabba-dabba-do" treat instead. Since the Nature's Path cereal was on sale for a very reasonable price, I figured what the heck, I do love pumpkin, hopefully it won't taste horrible, and after all it is good for me. I strolled up to the cashier leaving behind lonely boxes of SpongeBob SquarePants and Froot Loops. A few days later, I tried my new purchase and was surprised that it wasn't terrible--in fact it was pretty darn good. I took a look at a handful of the cereal and while I can't say there were very many pumpkin seeds to be found, it was still chock full of raisins and lots of other good-for-you ingredients like rolled oats, flax meal and cinnamon, all organic. It's also high in fiber and has 650 mg. Omega-3's per serving. I've also eaten the cereal as a snack without milk and I have to say I'm impressed. It may not be enough for me to try the company's other cereals (until they perhaps come out with a Flax Plus Chocolate Creme flavor) but give it a try--it's about as tasty as it comes in "healthful" cereal form.

http://www.naturespath.com/products/cold_cereals/

"Two" Good To Believe

A few months back a friend who lives up in Rochester, N.Y., mentioned that she tried this different kind of ice cream. Except it wasn't really an ice cream she related, but it had two flavors and she assured me I'd like it. Naturally I searched high and low for this product only to come up empty until a few weeks ago when it finally made its way into our East Village neighborhood. Turns out she was talking about Duetto, an interesting and unique product from the underrated folks at Turkey Hill. Don't get me wrong--I love the ice cream that, say, Ben & Jerry's, Haagen-Daz or even Edy's makes, but Turkey Hill has hit a grand slam with Duetto. Each 1.50 quart tub consists of "tangy Venice ice and creamy vanilla soft serve." Basically it has two flavors with two textures which makes it stand out from your usual ice cream. Duetto is available in four flavors: mango, raspberry, cherry and lemon (my fav). You may still have trouble finding the product but I found this gem at Key Food on Avenue A and 4th St. for $5.99. If you grew up eating Italian ices and/or soft serve ice cream from Mr. Softee, this is the best of both worlds.

www.turkeyhill.com/products/duetto-ice-cream.asp


Thanks for reading!

Welcome And Pink Grapefruit For All

Hello fellow fans of food and drink, as well as those reading this just because they know me.

Welcome to my blog where I'll be writing about food and drink that fall under the category of "It may not be new but it's new to me and it is delicious." Being the crazed foodie that I am, I will volunteer my opinions on delicious and worth-trying foods and drinks so I can make you do so as well. But it's because I love you that I want you to try them too!

If you are like me, you usually don't find yourself saying, "Boy, I'm in the mood for something yummy. I think I'll have a yogurt." However I think I found a yogurt that fits that bill. Emmi's Pink Grapefruit yogurt is amazing. It tastes fresh, has the perfect blend of tartness and sweetness along with smatterings of pink grapefruit pulp but not overdone. Very creamy and a taste sensation. Makes me want to try the other varieties of this Swiss company's offerings. (Emmi also makes apricot, blueberry and black cherry yogurt, among others.) I'll tell you one thing: I can't wait to get more of these babies and I'm not a big "plain" yogurt fan (I prefer Oreo crumbles and Reese's pieces in mine!). Available at such places as Whole Foods, Food Emporium, Gristede's, Garden of Eden and Trader Joe's, I bought mine at the wonderful East Village Cheese in NYC on Third Avenue between 9th and 10th Streets. Emmi's was priced at $1.69 per yogurt at the shop.*

*update: Dean & DeLuca on Prince St. and Broadway has Emmi's yogurts for $1.50.

Here's the link to the Emmi site (click on the yogurt link at the top): http://www.emmiusa.com/


Thanks for reading!

Questions, comments are welcome.

A side note: I want to thank my good friends Christine, Rosella and Ellie, along with my sister Susan, who prodded me into doing this blog. After all, some of the above-mentioned have been dragged to shops time and time again while I wander apparently aimlessly (I really am looking) while trying to spot the hard-to-find gem amongst the mundane. xoxo