Runamok with your cheese, and a pumpkin update

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     Don't you love when you can pair with pears? Runamok Maple is making it even more tempting to upgrade your syrup collection. There's a set for ice cream pairing, featuring Rum and Rye Barrel-Aged; tea pairing with Makrut Lime-Leaf infused maple (have you ever heard of such a thing?); Day + Night with Sugarmaker's Cut; and what I got for cheese.          

                             For cheese you have my already-fave  creation from this company, Hibiscus Flower-infused Maple, Elderberry Infused Maple, Pecan Wood Smoked Maple and Bourbon Barrel-Aged Maple. Did you think your cheese game could get any better? Go with hard cheeses such as cheddar or gouda for the barrel-aged and smoked and get soft with brie or camembert for the infused goodies.          

                             This pairing collection would be a great gift and recipients could think about the larger version of the beautiful bottles thee elixirs come in. Also, consider Runamok Maple recipes that will at least make you think you've been to Vermont.

                             We love salmon and Dijon mustard, but would we Cajun-style lovers have thought to season that blend with a bit of Runamok Smoked Maple Syrup as well? I took a photo of  my family’s “sweet” cheese party featuring a pair dish a guest whipped up. Get creative.

                 

            Pumpkin update: You have to plan for lunch at my friend B's house. It's not like we hadn't already had our fill of fajitas and assorted salsas. There was Butterscotch Bomb puddings with heaps of freshly-whipped cream. Someone brought in a sopapilla cheesecake.

            Festive Hershey's chocolate bites adorned the dessert table. Then my friend pops up like a light bulb goes off over her head. "Do you like Pumpkin?" she asks. Now, what was I supposed to say?

            That's how I found out about Blue Bell's Spiced Pumpkin Pecan ice cream. It's everything you love about pumpkin pie, but cool and creamy. That's this week's update for the flavor that has dominated the season for the past several years.

            Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie ready for adventure in travel and on the plate. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Is your dog in on the pumpkin spice trend?

            The pumpkin spice trend is hotter than ever. After  shopping at gourmet grocers in Houston and snapping photos of pumpkin biscotti, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin spice seeds, pumpkin granola bark, pumpkin soup crackers and actual pumpkins, I put the camera away. 

      I brought home pumpkin spice coffee and a wee pumpkin for decor.   

    Did you realize that to be totally on trend, you will be feeding  pumpkin to your dog this season?

     I spotted a box of pumpkin dog treats. That was the day after I saw a Rachel Ray magazine spread on feeding fresh or canned pumpkin to your dogs.

    It's a thing. 

    What else to dogs get? In Houston's Central Market I was near the grind-your-own nut butter station. As I was considering whether to splurge on the calories and money for almond butter for my breakfast toast, a couple was discussing what sort of specially nut butters they would get to trick their dog into taking his pills. 

    As usual for the past several years, I invite readers to send me pumpkin updates this fall.

            Here’s my tip: Keep a shaker full of pumpkin spice to sprinkle on toast, into coffee and swirl into oatmeal. Keep it handy just for a whiff of fall flavor.

            Also, you can still send me your  contact if you would like to be in the pot for a 2018 Farmer's Almanac. Email me by Oct. 13 and I will share the issues that the makers sent to me, while supplies last.

            Happy harvest!

Darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Bettie Jean's is home style; It's time for pumpkins

Bettie       Bettie Jean’s

                      It pays to have connections. Bettina Evans invited French High Class of ’83 classmates to a get together at her new restaurant Bettie Jean’s Homestyle Cooking. She served us chicken spaghetti for dinner, even though she’s usually just open at lunch. A few of us got shrimp and grits and one stuck to her diet and got shrimp over salad greens. Several of us got tiny pies to take home. My sweet potato pie made a great breakfast the next day, though some of the coconut pies were devoured on site, at 2604 Dowlen Road in Beaumont.

                      I’m seeing on Facebook that Bettie Jean’s is getting well known and getting good reviews for a variety of soul foods that I’m looking forward to check out for lunch. French folks are wishing you well, Bettina!

              Sounds Good: Pumpkin

                      The pumpkin has begun. Before the white went away for Labor Day, I stepped into a supermarket and pumpkin snack cakes, pumpkin soup, pumpkin coffee and the like popped from every aisle.  I drove home to find pumpkin décor dotting several yards. For two or three years, this column has recorded pumpkin alerts. Readers, share your favorite pumpkin discoveries.

              Sounds Good: Seasonal color

                      Want to look as good and rich as Fall tastes? Keratin protein peptide is for strengthening nails, and Dermelect has crafted the “ME’ Unearthed Collection with hues such as Verdure, a lush hunter green; Diggin’ You, a crème burnt umber that puts me in the mind of coffee beans; Nobody’s Fool, a chrome marigold; and To the Core, a russet copper. Check into www.dermelect.com and you’ll look fabulous this season and help Trees for the Future plant something like 10,000 trees.

             

A world of adventure

                      I’d love to blend my culinary global tour with cultures of the world. A new atlas designed for children fuels my desires. The great sardine run of South Africa? Never heard of it before this book. The fact that peahens choose mates on the size and quality of the peacock’s tail feathers, entertaining and not surprising. November and December in Zambia’s Kasanka National Park is the time when mangos and waterberries are at their best, so that’s when 8 million straw-colored fruit bats head gather for the largest mammal migration anywhere on earth. Did not know that before. You don’t need a kid to enjoy “Atlas of Animal Adventures: A Collection of Nature’s Most Unmissable Events, Epic Migrations and Extraordinary Behaviors,” but it sure would make a great afternoon to enjoy learning with one. Lucy Letherland illustrated this oversized book and Rachel Williams and Emily Hawkins wrote it. I’ve always loved a good Atlas. This one will hold interest for years.

              darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Pumpkin, flamingos still trending

       Every year we share some pumpkin spice love in Culinary Thrill Seeking. It’s still trending and my first taste of the season was from pumpkin muffins from my friend Jennie in Ohio.

       Jennie is the real story here. I met this amazing woman while working at the Beaumont Bennigan’s in the ‘80s. She brought a fresh out-of-state vibe, bright pink lipstick and a lot of fun to evening shifts.

        I can’t recall if my love of flamingos began with her, but I think of her just about every time I see a pink plastic pair of birds in a funky setting.

       Through the miracle of Facebook, she heard I’d be traveling near her and she came down to get me. There was pizza and catching up and it seems they played ‘80s music everywhere we stopped.

       Guess what gift she’d picked up for me, even before she knew she would soon run into me? A jeweled flamingo brooch.

       It seems Jennie is still the coolest thing ever, and hosts theme parties. One of her hits: Takeout and Champagne. Guests show up at her door with their favorite takeout and a little story about their dish. 

       Thanks for more memories, Jennie. And the pumpkin muffins.

Nuts:

       I thought I was getting pumpkin spiced nuts to share with a group, but when I opened the bag from Emerald, I realized they the glazed pecans were labeled “Pecan Pie.”

       Still addictive, the group agreed. I tried to prove to myself that there had been a bag marked “pumpkin,” but I can’t find it. No worries. I’ve enjoyed anything Emerald line does have to crunch.

Darraghcastillo@icloud.com