Boudain stuffs peppers

A contact associated with the Christus St. Mary Sports Medical Center actually encouraged me to write about the food at their Greater PA Chamber ribbon cutting. No problem here. Parents of sporting teens will be happy to hear about how the center’s work. I was happy to try the chef’s peppers stuffed with boudain. That’s a pretty clever Southeast Texas treat.

So how many gingers?

Remember Ginger on Gilligan’s Island?  A beautiful redhead. I’ve only recently become aware that many Europeans refer to redheads as gingers, so it’s fitting that 2 GINGERS® Irish Whiskey, the newest member of the award-winning Irish whiskey portfolio from the Kilbeggan Distilling Co.™, comes with a drawing of two lovely ladies on the label.

2 Gingers is expanding into nine states, and lucky Texas is one of them. Nine recent Irish college grads are acting as brand ambassadors. Lucky them. 2 Gingers is smooth, malty and slightly sweet premium, blended Irish whiskey. I may not have immediately noted that, being a spirit lover who may not yet consider myself a whisky drinker, but lucky for me, makers have designed two cocktails with just such a consumer in mind. There is the Big Ginger, and the Skinny Ginger, which is about the same, save for making the ginger ale diet. I plugged in an Irish movie with Meryl Streep and enjoyed myself a Skinny Ginger, which I guess makes it a “three ginger” drink. With all that luck in the air, I was expecting a leprechaun to join me for the caramel, vanilla and citrus undertones. It was wild refereshing.

BIG GINGER®

·       2 parts 2 GINGERS® Irish Whiskey

·       Ginger Ale

·       Lemon Wedge

·       Lime Wedge

METHOD: Pour the 2 GINGERS® Irish Whiskey into a pint glass with ice. Top with ginger ale, followed by a wedge of a lemon and lime.

Tea and coffee together

Warning: Health food lovers only should keep reading.

Foodie groups are narrowed into sections of those who enjoy healthy, shall we say cleansing, fare that may not appeal to the conventional consumer.

Pure Health Nature's Green & Lean tea delivers what makers call a powerful double whammy - combining green tea leaves, known across Asia for their wealth of antioxidants, with pure, raw Green Coffee Bean containing Chlorogenic Acids. Billed as a superfood discovery, these goods are combined with warming spices such as anise, ginger and cinnamon for a stirring tea. If you are a spice lover, you can imagine the fall-inspired aroma this creates. This tea was really filling and I did experience a cleansing sensation. Here’s more from the makers:

“For healthy weight management and natural energy throughout the day, this new tea is an excellent choice. For best results, Nature's Green & Lean should be enjoyed about 30 minutes before each meal. You can visit the website for more information: www.PureHealth100.com.”

Easiest tuna ever

Tuna has kept me excited for days straight. New single serve StarKist Creations Herb&Garlic has 110 flavorful calories in an easy-open pouch that can stay in your desk drawer until you make a break. If you want a traditional sandwich, fine, but I enjoyed mine with lettuce and cherry tomatoes I packed alongside this slim, blue pouch. Because Zesty Lemon Pepper has just 80 calories, I added some crunchy fried onions to my salad when I tried this packet.

A serving of Sweet & Spicy has 90 calories and Hickory Smoked comes in at 110. Although it’s no hardship to open a traditional can of tuna and mix in what you like, these packets eliminate that “no-time-to-eat-healthy” excuse. This is a handy and flavorful lunch you can feel good about.

Shakedowns

For most of my life, I’d have considered a raw carrot as a punishment, not a treat. Thankfully for my health, my waistline and my taste buds, I tend to skip the chip and eat the rainbow now. Crunch and color are two things the carrot has going for it. Bolthouse Farms’ newest carrot snack,  Shakedowns, is a lunch-box sized bag of tiny carrots with a twist. Oops, make that a shake, literally.  Release a Ranch or Chili-Lime flavoring from one section of the bag and shake it all up for a pop of flavor that will make kids eat ‘em all up. Adults can’t resist, either. It’s  one thing to dip a carrot into a rich dip, but now the carrots themselves are the flavor. Shakedowns have just debuted in Texas. Crunch on.

ddoiron@panews.com