Early Tomatoes with aged Balsamico, Extra Virgin Olive Oil/John Coltrane-Miles Davis and Swedish Sea Salt-plus a new cookie discovery (Almondina)
Early Tomatoes
With the recent spate of cold weather, my taste buds went back into their mid-Winter slumber. I imagined a wake-up call from a culinary standpoint that would drive me out of my rut and into the mindset of Summer. With the upcoming weekend promising warm, if not hot weather, vegetables that scream SUMMER are doing the trick to get me out of this phase. The other day, a box of greenhouse grown tomatoes were purchased. Usually I shy away from hot-house or hydroponic anything. In this case I am happily wrong.
Sunset Tomatoes come in a clear plastic box. They read on the lable: Goodness Grown Naturally. What does this mean? I did some research into these products and was happily surprised by what I found. Their ethos of sustainability must include mention of the Green Grass Project .
The first part of the project is the statement that their product is environmentally & eco-friendly. But how do you make a vegetable eco-friendly? First the company uses bleach free recycled paper for some of their products, recycled plastic for others. Low carbon footprint shipping is utilized.
PHASE 1 – GROWING
PHASE 2 – PACKAGING
PHASE 3 – DISTRIBUTION
Image reproduced from Sunset Foods Website (Thank you!)From Sunset’s webpage: “Our veggies are grown in a biologically controlled, herbicide-free environment.” Digging a bit deeper, I found that their greenhouses uses the following:
From the growing stages to the packaged product on the shelf, our company reuses, reduces, and recycles.
Product Conservation – Our produce is grown in an earth friendly medium using fewer chemicals
Recycled Fertilizer – Our fertilizer comes from recycled leech and reusable organic cocoa peat, rather than a product that would normally create waste
Greenhouse – State of the art greenhouses produce lower greenhouse gases and increases environmental sustainability
Water – Wastewater is treated and recycled, our greenhouses use up to 50% less water than field grown produce
Alternative Fuel Use – We use recycled ingredients such as wood shavings and other waste products that normally would have gone to the trash
Energy Conservation – Our warehouses use energy efficient florescent light bulbs, our buildings use natural light from skylights instead of bulbs in the summer
The Flavors: Spark of a Summer Tomato months before they arrive in New Jersey.
Taste: Pleasantly acidic, great foil for the best Olive Oil and really old traditionally made Balsamic Vinegar, if you use that “Supermarket” stuff, you don’t know what real Balsamic tastes like. It is not the same thing. I suggest finding products from the company called: Campo Bello Doro foods.
The combination: Campari brand tomatoes taste like late Summer. They are available at Whole Foods and other stores in the United States
The Recipe:
Slice three or more Campari brand tomatoes (or your choice of tomatoes)
Finally, scatter the some Fleur de Sel over the tomato, olive oil and balsamic to release the aroma and flavors.
Falksalt from Sweden
I drive a Swedish car. (Volvo) Love Swedish cameras. Swedish movies with their marvelous gray tones. I lust after Swedish food products too. A few months ago at the Roger Smith Hotel Food Writers Conference, I was introduced to a magical new product. Swedish Sea Salt. This is not your typical sea salt. The typical product screams SALT. This product says very clearly: OCEAN. Falksalt is crisp, saline and shimmering. They use Mediterranean Sea water. Seems like a long way from the Mediterranean to Sweden, but inside the blue box, designed in a somewhat retro hip fashion lies a magical potion for finishing a dish or a cocktail.Fleur de Sel Cocktail
Wild River Review Does Cocktails.
2 Limes cut into chunks
1 Juicy Pink Grapefruit cut into chunks
3 Shots (or more) Hendrick’s Gin
Preparation:
Muddle citrus fruits with a scant pinch of your favorite fleur de sel *I used Falksalt in the recipe*
Add the Gin and some freshly cracked ice to cocktail shaker
Add about a teaspoon of superfine sugar
Shake, Strain into a tall glass filled with fresh ice
Garnish with Pink Grapefruit slice and Lime chunks
Finish with another pinch (over the top) of fleur de sel.
Serve your friend and make another for yourself.
Falksalt
Almondina Cookies
Almondina Brand Biscuits
A recent visit to Linkedin revealed a new contact who distributes the product named Almondina. I hadn’t tasted Almondina in several years and this piqued my interest. The original recipe dates back to 1929! According to the tear sheet that came with my samples (Thank you to their PR department for sending me this product) Almondina is “Grandmother’s secret recipe with no fat, no cholesterol. Originally known as Petit Gateau Sec, Almondina is a crunchy, mere wafer of a cookie, with the warmth of roasted almonds, plump raisins and warm vanilla notes. Almondina is not your usual cookie. It has no trans-fats, nor does it have salt or preservatives. I found the cookie to be marvelous with cheese and wine, especially the chocolate and cherry variety. The Sesame version is perfect with a nice runny brie. The Cinnaroma brand is perfect with a spot of tea. All the varieties come packed in a segmented package that protects the fragile cookies from damage. Each of their products are Kosher and Pareve.
Ingredients vary, but the essential ones are: Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Sugar, Egg Whites, fruits-like raisins and cherries, almonds, sesame seeds and love. Ok, love isn’t on the label, but try one and taste the passion that only love brings to your plate.
They are a little slice of deliciousness!
According to the “tear” sheet, the company aims to: “Put a delicious and healthful cookie on every table.” Not a bad idea!
Close Up!
Flavors include: Original, Gingerspice, Cinnaroma, Choconut, Pumpkin Spice, Anniversary, Sesame, and my favorite-Chocolate Cherry.
They don’t taste like diet cookies.
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Wild River Review/ Wild Table editor, Warren Bobrow grew up on a farm in Morristown, NJ. A graduate of Emerson College with a degree in Film, he spent his senior year as a research assistant in visual thinking at CAVS / MIT.
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