Resolution check-in: Could the tools and tastes make it happen?

Aren’t you just craving some fresh veggies after all this seasonal indulgence? January makes me want to stir fry onions and carrots. What a great way to use up that New Year’s cabbage. If you’ve ever thought “If I just had that (fill in the blank)” tool or food to kick start your healthy eating, consider these goodies:

 Could someone pick up some of those maroon and yellow carrots for me? I want my cutting board experience to be just like the photo on the Gardinnovations Culinary Cutting Board box. When was the last time cutting veggies excited you? Hopefully it was last summer when your Southeast Texas garden came to harvest. Your home-growns deserve this sustainable Acacia wood board with knife sharpening stones built into both sides. I also want the fresh rosemary for the built-in mortar and pestle. Just grind your peppercorns, salts, etc. in the corner of the board. A recessed compartment is where you can scrape your fancily-cut veggies until you have enough for the next step. You may just want to keep cutting on this board. Here’s to healthy eating in 2023. www.mygardinnovations.com

 Raise your hand if you’ve ever drizzled vinegar over your ice cream. I can’t actually see you, but I’m sure some Culinary Thrill Seekers have drizzled something like thick, sweet Ponti Balsamic Vinegar of Modena over premium vanilla bean ice cream for an elevated treat. Or at least heard of doing it. Decades ago I learned balsamic vinegar was part of dowries and started paying attention. Ponti has a line including truffle and cherry varieties that is perhaps even more fancy than is commonly found. I’ve spent a week drizzling it over fruits, vegetables and breads and will soon work my way into roasted meats and more. Their site guides readers to the medical and Biblical references of vinegar and explains how to look out for maturity, must and density. Even knowing something about balsamic, I was not prepared for the unleashing of sensatory pleasure from these bottles. Resolution? Play with vinegar. www.ponti.com

 Bamnut anyone? – A Noodbox has brightened my life. Quick-cooking noodle cakes that are full of flavor and healthy stuff have arrived from WhatIF Foods to color my world. Charcoal, green and orange noodles have notes of mushroom pepper, sesame garlic and cheeky curry. Barista and Everyday are milk varieties that come through. REplenish, REstore and REconnect is what they're up to, in a Planet Positive kind of way. I can’t say enough good things about the noodles from the “nood box.” Regenerative crops of Bambara groundnuts get the credit. https://whatif-foods.com/

 Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie with a January birthday. Do you know how tough that makes resolution season? darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Quandary week: last or first?

 

Culinary Thrill Seekers, we did it again. Hopefully we can all cherish the best of 2022, The highs and lows and flavors and all. This week can be a bit of a quandary as we finish holiday cookie gifts and plan for New Year’s parties and resolutions. There’s party food everywhere and we’re planning to eat better “soon.” Be healthy and remember to appreciate every small indulgence as we look forward to working toward our best eating and health practices.

Crackers have their moment at this time of year. I made a quickie version of bowties, bacon wrapped around wafers. Bits of pepperoni on Ritz rounds went into the air fryer a bit and made my spirits bright. I’m always mentioning my holiday fave of a can of smoked oysters folded into cream cheese. Use all that oil, too. This has been on my New Year’s list for decades.

Here are some holiday picks, with a reminder to use all your senses to enjoy your nibbles:   

Ethereal Craft Chocolate – Speakeasy wedding parties and a chocolate café? That’s maybe not how Ethereal Craft Chocolate describes it all, but looks like Woodstock has another hit. I’m talking about Woodstock, Illinois, where you can subscribe to organic chocolate bars with cherry, fig and citrus from the Dominican Republic; fudge and malt notes from the Philippines; and some ganache from Uganda. And I’d  have to be stopped if all their inclusion bars came at once. They include combos like scorpion pepper and pecan and almond and cocoa nibs. The bars I tried have such a different, grown-up mouth feel from off-the-shelf bars. Cool how it seems the whole world can get together about loving chocolate. Slow down and taste for mouthfeel, acidity, finish and more. Listen to your chocolate, makers suggest. Hear more at www.etherealconfections.com

Catan Pisco – Honey, fruit and floral notes make up Catan Pisco, which is made of grapes but is said to be like if vodka and Tequila had a baby. Follow? Catalina of Chile will tell you more, like how she is from one of only two countries that can legally make pisco, at www.catanpisco.com. There’s a kit you can get with The Pisco Girl coffee sugar with spices, a bottle of vanilla extract and a Catan jigger. Get some milk and cinnamon and brew up a batch of holiday heaven. Go warm or go cold but enjoy it with the gusto that Catalina would. The Spicy Saint calls for Catan Pisco with lime, simple syrup and cucumber while the Chilean Mule goes with ginger ale. I’m like, Catalina, I’ve never been to Chile, why have you been keeping this to yourself, but then again, now the sites tells you what you need to know.

 Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie wishing you the best of every bite of 2023. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

The specialty of holiday breakfasts

 

Christmas mornings have offered me quiet alone time for the past several seasons. I’ve come to count on my ideal breakfast of aromatic coffee with an egg and a side “slab” of my friend’s bread. Every year she starts to baking for myriad family and friend sets and each year I secretly hope I’m still on the list. Sometimes it comes in stages with fudge, a back-door trop off of haystacks and bars and at some point, the banana nut bread. I save this to experience for alone time on Christmas morning. The bread must be cut into thin slices, so you “get more” on your fancy little holiday plate. Though I use about a stick of butter in a year, I must have some on hand. The holiday bread must be grilled in butter.

This year Brenda shared some eggnog and there was a tad left in the bottle. She knew I save bottles for flower deliveries and crafts. I told her I’d also drain that dab of nog into a bowl and whip it into an egg breakfast. Unusual, but she endorsed the idea. Now I’m sharing with you, it was a good one.

Gumbo Season - The Pompano set out some slap-your-Mama gumbo at the Mid-County chambers' mix-and-mingle. A Christmas Eve gumbo is my family's tradition and we're not alone here in Cajun Country.  While women are often in charge of the kitchen, I started thinking about how many men in the room would aspire to a gumbo as good as the one I was having. Many a Southeast Texas gentleman boast of their gumbo accomplishments, with good reason. I called The Pompano manager the next day and he affirmed it was Chef Shannon Thomas who created the chicken and sausage masterpiece I'd enjoyed. Let me also mention, people spoke ahead of serving on how good the potato salad would be. Right again and I guessed the big ol' bowl they set out must have weighed 50 pounds. There's a reason The Pompano is a local tradition. 

 

 It’s also Amuny’s  sandwich platter season. I made a delivery and the business owners offered me some of their spread. I took just one, because I was directly headed to a holiday luncheon. Fortunately, the second stop also had an Amuny’s spread. Win-win.

 

Red Pantz sounds like a Santa thing. Stretch your imagination beyond that to a woman naming her company after the time her luggage got lost, and all she could wear to an important conference was her red yoga pants. Some how that Petra of her calm practice and she wants to bring it to you. Off all the tea flavors offered, I tried Boost Warming Tea to fuel and ignite. Organic ginger, rosemary, lemon peel and basil are soothing in a travel mug on your way to work. It could help in digestion and help you find your pants. I mean find your peace. www.redpantz.com/my247

 

To ring in the new year, consider Gel-Shotz for something already easy made easier. When your gelatin mix is already flavored like Margarita, Blue Hawaiian and Mai Tai, you are flavor forward. Add hot water and your own spirits and pour your shots in the provided cups. My taster was pleased. Remember to gel responsibly. www.gelshotz.com

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie wishing you happy holidays. All of them. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

My Elf on the Shelf needs to catch up

There’s this ‘70s-style frog that has been in my husband’s family. Every few months he or I will be startled by opening a drawer or moving a pillow to find this guy. The finder gives a low-key reaction and then hides said frog until it’s time for him to make the next move. When I see what today’s parents do with The Elf on the Shelf  Tradition, I’m in awe of these creative, funny, teaching moments. So I finally got one and we’re going to send off 2022 with a bang. He came with a Peace, Love, Christmas hoodie and cool shades. We’re getting into some trouble together. Here’s how hot he’s gotten:

The Lumistella Company (home to The Elf on the Shelf) has created countless resources to keep the tradition alive all season long, including: 

• Easy to execute elf ideas, all in the Scout Elf® Ideas app and on the website! 
• A variety of elf clothing including the Claus Couture Collection and MagiFreez  
• And set-it-and-forget-it accessories with ideas baked right in. Check out these fun ideas: https://shop.elfontheshelf.com/products/insta-moment-pop-ups 

Read on for some East Texas history and holiday ideas:

“The Thicket’s Prodigy” is Ronald G. Brock’s memoir of his father’s memoirs, I think you would say. Sharing the “Extraordinary Life of an Improbable Genius,” the book goes from the simple life of Eugene H. “Gene” Brock, who strived to become “an educated man,” his work in Los Alamos on The Manhattan Project and his NASA contributions. The son adds his perspective of boyish observations from a friend’s pet’s catnip addiction  to his part in The World Wide Web. Southeast Texas readers will understand many of these adventures and my impressions link to the food memories. Thicket folk sourced from swamp and woods for bass, frog legs, black walnuts, possum and mayhaw. When the family moved to Bryan, Safeway offered a “great leap” with culinary selections of Mellorine, the highly-touted milk substitute and the new concept of Birds Eye frozen vegetables, the author writes. Galt/Mirrin Publishing, LLC

Greeting cards with onion artwork? Thank-you notes with artichoke and herbs? Perfect for me. Up your Idea Chic order with sachets an everyone will know you for the foodie you are. A rustic bag of mulling spices for wine or cider hit the spot by a friend’s fire pit. I mulled with merlot at home and transported the blend in Mason jars. www.ideachic.net

Just glancing through the Nomatic travel bag site makes you want to hop a plane. Under new arrivals is the lite sling that’s one heck of a fancy fanny pack, or front bag if you are a hiker. The curve makes it comfy on the body and easy keep track of your passport while headed up the Swiss Alps. I can dream, can’t I? But hey, it will also keep your phone and coupons handy on a trip to the mall. Good gear makes the exercise go easier, don’t you think? www.nomatic.com

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie wishing you happy holidays. All of them. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

ICY Donuts Groves, stocking stuffers make spirits bright

 

‘Tis the ICY Donuts Season

 

    

The ICY Donuts Groves sign caught my eye and I had to drive in. I love the breakfast eggrolls they bring to Greater Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce events. I’ve already bragged about their food,  but had never been there in person. Jennifer Chang set me up with "one of those eggroll things" people love. The skin is so delicate and crispy...... Then there was the hot, fruity tea they're known for hit the It hit the spot on a windy day.  She also coaxed me into a fritter, which is already my favorite. I think all those menu offerings have the extra ingredient of "love" mixed in there.  Ms. Jennifer's super-friendly face is just one more added bonus. Groves foodies, you are so lucky.

            Let’s get Latin – Movéo is Latin for “to move” and the name of a company that has brought straight-up style to resistance bands. I’m rocking a mermaid pattern and there are artsy florals, peaches and (I couldn’t do it) junk food styles. They just feel good in your hands and you won’t mind popping one out of your bag just so people will ask about it. Style and function on much equipment/accessories, with an attitude that everyone of every size ought to feel better about getting fit is what you’ll find at www.moveofitco.com

Thena – Turmeric and colloidal oatmeal I get. The arnica in Thena Natural Wellness products threw me. I looked up the daisy-like flower from Europe, used for bruising, and found it’s also call wolf’s bane. It’s the stuff fairy tales or made of, but Thena uses very natural stuff to treat eczema and a host of other sink issues. www.thenabiz.com connects you to reviews from satisfied users and I’m another from the feel-good foot balm soothing from tea tree, eucalyptus and lemongrass.

Mighty Good – Superior dippability may be provable (and I’d be happy to try) but Zack’s Mighty Organic Tortilla Chips do have a “first” claim regarding regenerative agriculture. That’ a combo of conservation and rehabilitation that begins with soil and involves crop rotation, so Zack waited a long time to get these chips right. When I made turkey nachos with Thanksgiving leftovers, I dipped to him. They’re mighty corny, from heirloom stock; mighty sturdy from being a rested tortilla first; and come from mighty land. I was super proud to enjoy the lime and the sea salt versions. Nacho style, I’m coming for you. www.zacksmighty.com

Devoted to Freshness – At the end of the day it’s a culture and lifestyle, says the creator of Devoción coffee. At the beginning of the day it’s fresh beans from Columbia to your door in as little as 10 days. They haven’t been sitting around for months in a warehouse. I’ll spend extra morning moments grinding this batch until my bag is empty. It’s a time of awareness and gratitude that’s worth it. I’m savoring Holiday Blend with notes of mulled wine, blueberry and dark chocolate. www.devocion.com shares the beany journey. 

Plant puff – Have you ever touched a soft, cool petal to your skin?  The Japanese Organic Konjac Face sponge puff is like that, because it’s from extracts of konjac plants of Yamamoto Farms in Japan. Full of minerals and antioxidants, it cleanses and exfoliates in the freshest way. They’ve been doing this for a hundred years because it works. Something different, once activated with water, keep it in a lidded container in the fridge. RisingSunBrands.com. 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie happy to sample all the flavors of the holidays this season. Converse with her via darraghcastillo@icloud.com