The Perfect Summer White Wine (by John Syfor)

The name may sound familiar, as I recently featured this wines' "red relative". Well, Summer is here and it is time to bring out some "refreshing white wines". The 2011 Cooper Hill Pinot Gris from Willamette Valley, Oregon grabbed my attention with its crisp acidity and enticing fruit. It is light in body, but has plenty of Pinot Gris’ characteristic. Peach and green herb flavors. Grab a bottle and chill it down to cut through the heat. This wine is perfect for a barbecue, the beach, or just relaxing by poolside (or on the stoop, depending on "how you roll"). And just like the red wine from this producer, it is made with organic and biodynamic grapes.

John Syfor - Wine Consultant

Federal Wines and Spirits

29 State Street, Boston MA

john@federalwine.com

Gluten-Free: French Meadow Fudge Brownies

French Meadow Bakery donates a variety of foods to Pierce's Pantry -- including muffins, rolls and brownies.

The box, waiting for me.

Today it's all about the brownies.  Gluten-free fudge brownies, to be exact.  A think, chunky bottom layer of chocolate brownie with a generous top layer of pure chocolate fudge.  With a seal of approval from the Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO)!

Everyone in my home loves these things.  My daughter takes huge bites, my partner is visibly disappointed when I point out that he can just get a ninety-nine cent brownie at a convenience store & eat it when Liberty & I aren't around, and I hide the brownies from both of them in the back of the freezer behind the frozen breastmilk.  (Well, not anymore given one of the two reads this.  See what I do to illustrate a point for you, Mass Bytes readers?)

They're delicious frozen, chilled or warmed.  Marvelous in ice cream, at the bottom of an ice cream sundae... oh so good!  Rich, super moist, dense and chewy and with a fabulous texture.  Seriously better than most glutenous brownies on the market.  Somehow these are lactose-free, peanut-free, and casein-free as well.

Allegedly easy not to eat all at once.

Perhaps because they're also all-natural and organic; French Meadow Bakery only makes (highly innovative) organic baked goods and avoids using genetically modified ingredients (GMOs).  In fact, they're the longest continuously running certified organic bakery in the US!  Or maybe it's the southern Georgia charm?  Either way, it's a good thing these wonderfully moreish gluten-free brownies are individually wrapped or there would be trouble in my house.

The Acton food pantry has had handfuls of these brownies for a while -- and now they have display cases full of them!  This is exciting, as I currently have cravings for these specific brownies if I haven't had them for a few days.  And since I haven't had one since the beginning of the week and I've spent all this time on this post, it is now time for a surreptitious gluten free brownie.  Don't tell anyone.

This is a good idea.

Get a $1 coupon for any of French Meadow's products (including a nine box of these) from their website and then go buy them in the freezer section at your local Whole Foods, Harvest, natural foods grocer or request that they carry them.  You're welcome.

Get Gardening! The Earth Needs It. by Eden Riche

Get Gardening! The Earth Needs It. by Eden Riche 

Gardening is the main attraction in spring, so become a part of it. Help the world bloom and fill you with life sustaining nutrients.

Now that all the cold weather sentiment is starting to thaw, we’re ready to put our gloves on! Thought you were putting the gloves away did you? Nope you thought wrong. It’s gardening time. Spare yourself some voracious nails, blistered fingers and unexpected sunburns and grab a pair of gardening gloves! They come in cute colors and patterns for you prissy/sissy gardeners.

Gardening is the main attraction in spring, so become a part of it. Help the world bloom and fill you with life sustaining nutrients. It’s time everyone started doing their part. If you are an active participant in the game called life, then you eat food. Where does it come from you ask? That’s right. The Earth. The Earth gives us plants, animals, sun, water, pretty much all the nutrients a human body requires to sustain. So what gives us the right to think that the Earth is going to keep supplying us with these things if we don’t put our work in? I’m not talking about making money by going to work every day, I’m talking about working for the survival of humanity.

Nana's Sunday Food Funnies - April 8, 2012

Nana's Sunday Food Funnies - April 8, 2012