Juicy birria tacos were worth the wait

Birria - It's taken me more than year to try birria tacos. Worth it. A friend referred me to La Envidia on Gulfway Drive. Here this was served with a side cup of red sauce for taco dipping.  It was slap-your-mama good. The traditional definition is tacos served with a sauce of dried chilis, annato paste, onion, tomatoes and spices. Southeast Texans love their "gravy" so there's no need for an extra push. If you haven't tried them, please do. 

Scraps, Please – When you’re begging for scraps that seem like the best example of recycling, you may be enjoying Andie’s Eats Cake Scraps, tempting layers of cake and frosting in a cute little jar. Each new creative flavor I tried was my new fave. Wait ‘til you see her full on cakes and Karma Cookies. May we suggest the Drunken Shamrock in March? See what Leprechauns could deliver at www.andieseats.com

Bonnie & Pop – As we walk in faith toward a religious season, go nuts with an indulgence that is “Star-K Kosher, Halal and divine.” A woman and daughter named their fresh-focused chocolate/snack gifting company in their relatives’ honor. There was both a Bonnie and a Pop in my family as well. If the name caught my eye, so did the presentation and taste. A flat sort of wooden crate offered a peek at nuts to come, including Chili Con Lemon Pistachios. “Open the latch and be dazzled,” teases the branding materials. Got me. Makers suggest sending birthday wishes or even a “quarantine hello” to your friends and family. Dazzle ‘em from www.bonnieandpop.com

Calypso Light is 5 calories and refreshing, so… win. Super-colorful drinks like Ocean Blue, Strawberry Lemonade and Southern Peach don’t always come with a low-cal tag. King Juice Co. of Milwaukee has been creating flavor combos since 1985. They’ve gone tropical so I’m taking a 16-ounce vacation. www.drinkcalypso.com

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who would love to hear about your Culinary Thrill Seeking. Share with her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

 

Peddler’s Paradise for treasure thrill seeking

Michael has only one rule at Peddler’s Paradise. I suggest you visit him at 3190 Merriman Street in Port Neches to find out what it is. Need tables, chairs or dishes? This consignment shop could furnish your culinary corner. Dolls, tins and treasures keep shoppers intrigued and coming back for more. Michael – that’s all it says on the biz card – is pretty  intriguing himself.

Two Fakers:

Risotto? Really? – I knew that RightRice risotto was different, but I forgot why when I made the best risotto I’d ever made. It was easy, too. Creamy Parmesan Style risotto is made from vegetables. Lentils in fact. You may have thought you didn’t like your veggies. Bet you like these.  I threw in frozen spinach and topped it with feta. Now that was good, and “way fewer carbs,” as the bag promotes. Betterer Foods of San Francisco delivers this. www.RightRice.com

 

Not Milk – You can quit making fun of plant-based milk alternatives. I’m in love with Not Milk in whole and 2 percent because it slurps, froths and tastes like milk. The company gives those attributes at www.notco.com and I’ll vouch for a delicious pour. Message on the carton: “Hello Curious Foodie. Welcome to the Future.” They’re talking to us!

 

Pass the Cornbread – Kentucky is famous for producing racehorses, bourbon and hemp. Didn’t know about the last one? Cornbread Hemp of Louisville, Ky. has a video that could make you a proud American to get various types of relief from their fresh fruit, full spectrum, flower only and 100 percent organic product. You see those dropper bottles everywhere now… this one is powerful in a good way, with a recommended dose of daily, before bedtime. Organic berry gummies are just way above other options. These are square, sprinkled with sweet crystals and put me in the mind of gourmet Turkish Delights. Again, these have a more calming effect that others I’ve sampled. These herbal supplements are worth reading about at www.cornbreadhemp.com

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie getting ready for Cajun Heritage Festival, April 2, at the Carl A. Parker Multipurpose Center in Port Arthur. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Lent and shamrocks

It’s that crazy time-change/self-examine/green beer time of year. Let’s get to it, beginning with new ideas for the age-old egg:

 

“The Fresh Eggs Daily Cookbook” - Colorful sprinkles, lime bourbon sour and cardamom streusel blueberry muffins are some prizes you may not expect in a book focusing on eggs. This just-right-for-Lent book also could inspire you to keep going meatless with images of fried egg on buttered avocado toast or to give a sunny look to your Easter deviled eggs with turmeric. If you want to stay creative with your own chicken’s eggs or if you need new ideas for your store-bought, Lisa Steele of www.fresheggsdaily.com has your cookbook for the unexpected.  Easiest thing ever: Fried eggs with apricot jam on top, crumbled goat cheese sprinkled about and fresh thyme and Kosher salt for garnish. 

Cooking in Purple – I almost went with Royal Blue, but nah, I can’t quit purple. Zavor’s colorful options on silicone grips and removable handles for easy storage aren’t even the best part. Maybe it’s the vented lid? Zavor Noir line is cast aluminum cookware and I think the 100 percent Whitford Fusion TI Ceramic Nonstick Coating is the stuff. Meals I’ve made in the first weekend of use: cooked an egg in there, stir-fried, made a pasta sauce and cooked up a huge batch of chicken thighs in the spacious sauté pan. Remove handles and grips to put these babies in the oven. They like lower heat because they’re sensitive in the good way. The pans come in bunches of sizes the line pairs nicely with my Zavor air fryer. Get cooking at www.zavoramerica.com

Daisy Cakes –  Kim “Daisy” Nelson has unleashed her baking superpowers. She’s done the “farm fresh” work of creating Daisy Cakes so with a click, her Southern Hospitality, (as seen on TV) arrives frozen at your door. A sweet and creamy coconut-covered layer cake of love kept in my freezer until I could share it with friends. Boy howdy, did we dig in. Cake for breakfast is a thing and it is heaven. If you caught a “Shark Tank” notice in 2011, you may already be onto this. If not, see what Daisy does to carrots, red velvet and Cake in a Jar now, at www.ilovedaisycakes.com

Collagen – Maybe health care is a Lenten topic because sometimes it seems like “punishment” to think about aching joints. Stir in Some Wellness!” say the people from www.GreatLakesWellness.com with their quick-dissolve peptides and get hydrolysate in the chocolate collagen from here. I agree they are inobtrusive add-ins to coffee, oatmeal and smoothies. Now’s the season to investigate scooping toward better skin, nails, etc.

 

Gloves in a Bottle – If cooking dinner makes your hands hurt from knicks and snags, just think what nurses are going through with all this hand washing in colder weather. Eczema and psoriasis? The worst. Gloves in a Bottle is different. This “shielding lotion” forms a second skin for hands and body and offers “unparalleled relief for dry, cracked and irritated skin.” It’s not greasy, lasts through washes and is simply the best I’ve used for irritated winter skin. www.glovesinabottle.com offers this soothing stuff.

 

Comfy – Go ahead and wear your big, fuzzy, knee-length sherpa blanket with a hoodie. It’s called Teddy Bear Quarter-Zip and you may feel like a stuffed toy. That just means everybody wants to hug you. And who’s gonna see you? Fans as you wear your team’s color in the stands? A spouse who catches you binging with foodie spreads as you binge-watch movies? The may tease, but they are cold and jealous. www.thecomfy.com

 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie cracking some eggs to make the omelet. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Coffee and Tea Pleasures

Ever open a coffee bag so your reading break smells like a coffee shop? Does a spot of tea lift your spirits? Top-notch equipment and product enhances your daily rituals. We hosted a tea-party to try new things with a friend who was wowed.

VelociTea Tea Maker is the kettle that has taught me what tea should be like. I knew but never thought it could truly make a difference how long you steep your green, black or herbal teas. This one does it for you and somehow gets the hot water up into your infusion basket. This automatic tea maker has amazing, fragrant teas to play with. There’s so much fruit in loose teas like Wild Strawberry and Raspberry Patch. Don’t ask questions. Just watch the show going on in your clear kettle and enjoy the proper tea. We did. I love this and use it daily. There’s plenty more online, like the clear “catch and release” IngenuiTEA maker that steeps until you set it over your cup to flow out. Another show.

Lardera Coffee Roasters has some scents and flavors to stimulate your senses with descriptions such as “fruit bomb with lush notes of cherry…” for Catuai Anaerobic and “layered notes o juicy citrus accented by sweet sugar cane and milk chocolate” from Kenya Washed. Some people don’t know they can have – and deserve – all this happiness. Find downright sexy coffee tools including black smart electric kettle, called the fastest, most accurate electric coffee kettle on the market, capable of boiling 16 ounces of water in less than 100 seconds. The thin gooseneck spout makes elegant, like a swan. Your heated water pours out slowly, making the entire process a mindful one. Ask this smart thing to keep water hot for 30 minutes. The Chestnut C2 Max Grinder just feels good in the hand. Grind out one pot’s worth at a time and savor the whole process. In your hand is 38mm CNC Stainless Steel conical burrs with 36 settings from iced to espresso. Thoroughly impressive. Look for a Smart Electric Kettle.  

Irish Whiskey Spirit-Infused Coffee from at www.firedeptcoffee.com is a follow up to the Vanilla Bean Bourbon I shared with readers. Get ready for St. Pat’s day because this small-batch good stuff is packed with aroma, toffee, butterscotch and vanilla. Can you believe you can get stuff this good in your own house? Thanks, caffeine-loving Fire Dept. folk.

Stash – If you want to fight over the question of tea vs. coffee, then I’d suggest doing it with Stash and their wall of flavors. They have more quality varieties than our grandmothers had in the whole grocery store. I like the fruity ones, the spicy ones and even enjoyed some very strong licorice Stash. These are some new-to-me treats that serve as a dessert in some cases: Golden Turmeric Chai is very trendy. There’s Decaf Chocolate Hazelnut, Moroccan Mint and Chocolate Mint. Coconut Mango is for car travel. Soon enough, I’ll switch from hot to iced. Blueberry Superfruit is the one for people who don’t even think they like tea and Citron Meyer… well if you don’t love it, and you’re a Southerner, then I can’t help you. www.stashtea.com

Amor Perfecto – Colombia’s finest has been a dream and now Amor Perfecto claims “The World’s Freshest Coffee” on a beautiful brown box that opens like some sort of index file of gold-foil wrapped envelopes of beans. It could hold an engagement ring. Notes inside an array of blends include citrus, caramel, strawberry and cinnamon. Here’s the new thing: They roast and pack at nearly 9,000 feet in elevation. Coffee is exposed to roughly 25 percent less oxygen, so you get more flavor and lasting freshness. www.amorperfecto.com

 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie probably enjoying a cup right now. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com