Baby Roma Tomatoes with Herb Ricotta

These easy to make and beautiful gems combine fresh flavors to make a classic hor d’oeuvre or plated starter. Ripe Roma tomatoes, fresh herbs and a simple, homemade ricotta cheese recipe makes for a flavor explosion that sings of Summer patios, crisp white wines and the company of family and friends. This recipe is very easy to multiply to fit your needs and the ricotta filling can be used on crustini and in pasta dishes as well.

Ingredients:

1.5 cps Homemade Ricotta

2 cloves of Garlic, grated

Zest of 1/2 Lemon

3 Tbs of fresh herbs (rosemary, dill, basil, lavender buds)

2 Tbs Fresh Chives, small slice

1.5 tsp Kosher Salt

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

1lb Baby Roma Tomatoes

Fresh Herbs for garnish

Method:

1. Combine all filing ingredients and reserve in fridge.
2. Gently wash and dry tomatoes.
3. Using a very sharp knife, cut a small sliver off of each tomato end then cut tomatoes in half on the bias. Cutting just the slightest bit of each end off will allow halves to sit upright.
4. Gently cut out the seeds and insides of each half and discard.
5. Pat halves with dry paper towel to absorb excess moisture.
6. Fill a piping bag (or zip lock bag with it’s end cut) with the cheese mixture and fill each tomato half.
7. Garnish and chill until service.
8. Cam be made 2-3 hours in advance.

Options:

• Use different varieties of a single herb: 5 basil ricotta, pineapple and varigated sage, lemon thyme and orange thyme are just a few ideas.
• Add chopped olives and anchovies.
• Add chilled, minced, grilled chicken for an ultra rich chicken salad.
• Broil tomatoes before adding garnish and serve hot…. really, the sky is the limit.

Roasted Corn, Herb and Ricotta Ravioli

Thanks to ready-made wonton wrappers making your own ravioli can take a matter of minutes vs. labour-intense hours. This recipe can be easily augmented to include any flavour profile you wish or can got from vegetarian to non-vegetarian in minutes with the addition of cooked chicken, meat or seafood.

Once prepared these ravioli can be cooked immediately or blanched, chilled in cold water and rubbed with olive oil for later use via a quick bath on boiling water. The corn used is on the cob and can be roasted directly over the flame of any home gas stove or on a backyard grill. A good, dark char on the kernels is more important than cooking the corn completely through. Thawed frozen corn kernels can also be used off season by flash roasting in a non-stick pan over the highest heat setting.

Ingredients: Serves 6 (8 Ravioli per guest)

1 Package of Wonton Skins, 400gm

2 Egg Whites, lightly whipped

4-6 Fresh Ears of Corn, flame roasted and sliced off of the cob

2 cps Homemade Ricotta

4 tsp Fresh Sage, finely chopped

4 tsp Fresh Shives, finely sliced

2 tsp Fresh Cilantro, chopped

2 tsp Fresh Lime zest or 1/4 tsp natural lime powder

2 Tbs. Parmesan Cheese

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Ground Cumin (preferably roasted)

2 tsp Kosher Salt

1/2 tsp Ancho Chili Powder

Enough whey left over from ricotta making to cook all of the raiolli.

Herbs and Parmesan cheese to garnish.

Method:

1. Char the corn over an open flame, turning every minute or so to get an even toast all the way around. Don’t worry if some of the kernels get quite black, this will only add to the smoky flavour of the dish.
2. Cool the corn then the kernels cut from the cobs, using 1/2cp for the ricotta filling and reserving the rest for garnish.
3. Combine remaining ingredients except for the egg whites to make your filling.
4. Lay out 6-8 wonton skins at a time on a clean surface, brush lightly with egg white and place a teaspoon of filling in the center of each wonton and seal with a second, gently pushing out any extra air.
5. Continue until all of the filling and skins are used. Freeze wontons in a single layer or cook fresh.
6. Heat the left over whey from your ricotta making add salt to taste with 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Gently boil fresh ravioli for 1-2 mins or frozen ravioli for 3-4 mins until wonton is translucent.
7. Toss with sauce of choice (light cream sauce, red sauce or hot whey) and garnish with fresh herbs and remainder of roasted corn.

Options:

• Prepare ravioli in advance: cook ravioli for slightly less time than directed and shock immediately in ice cold water to stop cooking. Dry with paper towel, brush with olive oil and store on a sheet pan covered with plastic wrap. Separate layers of pre-cooked ravioli with more plastic wrap and seal tightly. Ravioli can be kept refrigerated this way up to two days in advance. Reheat in boiling water of hot whey when needed.

The Dairy Days of Summer

Ricotta is an incredibly easy cheese to make. Though it’s traditionally made with the whey left over from hard cheese manufacturing (makes you wonder why it’s so expensive doesn’t it?) the average cook can use a mixture of whole milk dairy to produce the same effect.  Whole milk and yogurt are the best options to start with. Balkan style or Greek style yogurts are best due to their rich taste and high fat content.  Use the best dairy you can find including organic, raw or goat milks and if you’re feeling really decadent you can make a full fat version using heavy cream. You can also make a similar cheese using soy milk or a mixture of soy and dairy milk. Have fun and say goodbye to the watery, overly expensive store-bought stuff you’ve been buying. Check out additional recipes like including this delicate, fresh ricotta like Roasted Corn, Herb and Ricotta Ravioli and Baby Roma Tomatoes with Herb Ricotta.

Soy Ricotta with Buckwheat Honey and Lavender & Fresh Whole Milk Ricotta with Olive Oil and Lemon

Fresh Homemade Ricotta:

yields around 2 lbs

1 Gal (or 4 Lts) Whole Milk
1 Quart Plain Whole-Milk Yogurt (the higher the fat % the better)
3 teaspoons White Vinegar
1 teaspoon of Lemon Juice
1-2 teaspoon Salt (reserve 1 teaspoon for finished ricotta if necessary)
1/2 cup Heavy Cream

Method:

1. In a large stainless steel pot, bring the milk, yogurt, vinegar, lemon juice and salt over medium heat. Stir for a few minutes just enough to blend all of the ingredients. Heat until just under boiling then turn off completely and let sit for 2 minutes. Don’t actually allow the mixture to boil since too much heat will lead to rubbery curds.
2. Line a strainer with a few layers of cheesecloth (or use a new, fine weave, all cotton dish towel) and set it over a deep bowl.
3. Carefully pour the milk mixture into the strainer and let drain for 10-15 minutes. Gather the cheesecloth around the curds and squeeze gently to extract any excess liquid. This will leave you with very dry ricotta.
4. Reserve the left over whey (the liquid separated out from the curd) for additional recipes and as a tasty drink for people and pets.
5. If desired add in the heavy cream and some of the left over whey to create a smoother, creamier ricotta. Of just add more whey and omit cream. Adjust salt as needed.

Use immediately while still warm or chill thoroughly and refrigerated for up to three days.

Options:

• Use all lemon juice vs. Vinegar and add an additional 2 tsp for a more tangy and lemony curd.
• Though you can used reduced fat milk and/or yogurt the trues tastes lies in the high fat content.
• Removes as much whey as possible to use the ricotta as a salad topping or as a finish for baked goods.

• 

  Baby Roma Tomatoes filled with Herb Ricotta

Soy Ricotta:

yields just under 2 cps

4 cps Soy Milk (plain for savoury and vanilla for dessert ricotta)
1 teaspoon White Vinegar
2 teaspoons Lemon Juice
Salt as needed

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients and bring to a gentle simmer.
2. Cook for 2-3mins then store then fridge overnight to allow whey and curds to slowly separate.
3. Strain through extra thick cheesecloth for 2 hours.
4. *Due to the very fine, small curds formed soy ricotta tends to hold far more water and requires longer straining.
5. Add additional salt where needed.

This vegan ricotta is best used chilled though it can be added to hot pasta dishes just before service. The vanilla version is particularly delicious served as a spread on muffins, breakfast breads or on fresh fruit. Store for 3-5 days refrigerated.

If you don’t have time to make your own fabulous dairy products then you can check out Hans Dairy, the largest Ontario dairy specializing in South Asian dairy products, and their new Lassi/Yogurt Smoothies in Passion Fruit and Mango flavours. Delicious chilled or on ice and surprisingly fat-free even though the mouth feel is decidedly silky, rich and smooth. With only 70 calories per 125 mL it’s a great snack when you’re on the run or for lunch boxes. Look for Hans line of quality dairy products in South Asian grocery stores.

Hans Passion Fruit and Mango Lassi

Denmark on a Fork

True Danish pastry

While driving cross country from Germany to Jutland, Denmark  it’s hard to imagine that pork is the main stay of the Danish diet. With nary a pig in sight amidst the wild lilac bushes, horse pastures, Lego Land and the constant whirl of electricity producing windmills, Denmark leads the industry in green wind power equipment manufacturing by the way, it makes one wonder where all of that pork comes from?

Such thoughts quickly faded away as our hosts, old family friends, greeted us with a late breakfast spread worthy of Holger Danske, the sleeping Danish warrior. Now I’m not much of a breakfast person but in the face of such a delicious Koldt Bord, an assortment of cold, sliced meats, cheeses, vegetables, pork pates and seafood spreads, along with a multitude of jams and breads I was hooked. In Denmark the open face sandwich or Smørrebrød is king be it for breakfast, lunch or a quick snack. Your Smørrebrød can be made on moist, thinly sliced rye bread (always buttered!) know as rugbrød but may also be featured on any of the crisp rolls common to Danish bakeries.

The crowning jewel is a taste of true Danish pastry served individually or in the shape of an open circle with its golden edges rolled inwards towards the filling.  After seven years of hearing my husband denounce what I knew of as “Danish Pastry” as unworthy imitators of the flaky sweets he survived on twenty-five years ago as an exchange student, I was more than a little eager for the “real deal”. As promised, the flaky, buttery pastry was spectacular and a very far cry from the overly frosted, often soggy and rarely flaky Danishes most of us are used to. For our first breakfast we were treated to a ring of pastry meant to be sliced and shared at the table. Filled with a sweet cream reminiscent of French pastry cream but richer in color and egg yolks combined with dollops of white icing demarcating each serving. It was well worth the wait.

Granted not every visitor to Denmark will have the opportunity to eat so well in a private home and if it does happen it is a special event for all reserved for visiting guests and family.  Though eating out is a luxury for most Danes, due to high prices, it’s a must for most tourists. One thing to keep in mind is that Denmark has opted not to join the EU so your buying power with the Danish kroner will not go as far as your Euros will within neighboring EU countries; so do budget accordingly. Eating out will also be particularly hard for vegetarians since Denmark’s cuisine is heavily meat based and it’s not unusual to have seemingly vegetarian items like potatoes or cabbage cooked with meat fats or bits of pork.

If it’s meat you crave though you will have many options from plump sausages to cutlets, roasts or Smørrebrød piled high for a hearty mid-day lunch or filling dinner, you will not be left wanting.  On route to Kronborg castle in Helsignor we ate a great lunch at a local eatery; one of many which lined the cobble stoned pedestrian walk through the center of town. Shop doors stood open to the Spring weather displaying curred meats, incredible local and imported cheeses from around the world and stylish clothing beckoning visitors and locals alike to take a look inside or sample a taste. It was a great way to take in the full measure of Danish cuisine where stinky cheese on sweet rye bread is cherished along with a nice cold beer or shot of icy Aquavit.

Even if you can’t get to Denmark any time soon there’s no reason why you can’t create your own Koldt Bord feast at home. Most grocery stores carry the wonderful bricks of the thinly sliced rye bread you’ll need to create your Smørrebrød and the rest can be left up to your imagination. With grocery chains like Loblaws now carrying vegetarian pates and tofu spreads the vegetarians in your life with have just as much fun creating their own delicious masterpieces right along side you.

Tak !

True Danish pastry

Mmmm, more meat…

Not healthy but very tasty

Sausages, potatoes and brown gravy

Breakfast in Denmark

Picky, picky, picky!

Freshly picked berries at Whittamore's Farms

When I go grocery shopping I’m pretty picky, I turn containers over, sniff fruit, hold olive oil up for inspection, thump melons and gaze into the eyes of aquatic life on display. As a “city girl” growing up in a car-less household the thought of going to pick seasonal produce at “local” farms always excited me. I am enchanted by anything that grows on a tree or a bush that I can pick and eat; it’s really magical and never ceases to amaze me. Unfortunately not having a vehicle in New York City, or even friends with vehicles,  meant no picking trips. But it did leave me with a real longing to partake in all of the pick-your-own fun I heard about but couldn’t partake in as a kid. Instead I spent my time finding fruit bearing bushes and trees in Central Park. I knew where the best mulberry, sour cherry and apple trees were and thrilled at finding the occasional apricot tree; birthed no doubt by a pit being pitched over the park wall by a Central Park West bus stop. I spent years harvesting my precious gems while onlookers gawked and asked if my treasures were “safe to eat”. It wasn’t until my early 20′s that I was able to go once in a while with a friend with a car, but I still never quite got the full experience until last week.

With the workers strike in full effect this past Canada Day my family, some neighbors and I decided to visit Whittamore’s Farms for the day for a little picking action. At Whittamore’s you have the option of bringing your own containers, plastic bags are frowned upon in the berry fields, or you can purchase inexpensive and large buckets from the farm itself. We opted not to go too crazy since we had plans to pick snow peas, sugar snap peas and new potatoes later in the day. I was amazed at the sheer size of the farm, the amount of people who had the same idea plus the civility and order at which everyone interacted. I think I was even more excited than my 4-year-old who, naturally, couldn’t abide by the “No Eating!!” signs posted everywhere.

Pookus and the Pea: pea picking is serious work

After we were assigned our own row to pick it was impossible for three of us to gather all of the incredibly fresh and delicate fruits at our feet. We simply weren’t prepared to leave with gallons of berries so we left plenty behind for the next group of pickers. Thankfully the forecast called for a mix of sun and light rain so the drifting clouds overhead kept our backs from baking while we squatted over to find red jeweled berries, bright green pea pods and muddy potatoes. It really makes you think hard about the millions of migrant workers who scrape by picking delicate produce for our supermarket enjoyment. These are hard working people doing physically draining work!

Tractor makes for easy "picking" of new potatoes

In the end we left with mounds of red berries, tons pea pods that make delicious raw snacks and some amazingly fresh potatoes that required some serious washing and scrubbing. The farm’s store yielded even more goodies from delicious baked goods, fresh garlic, amazingly flavorful cheeses from  Empire Cheese & Butter Co-op and the same farm-fresh produce from the fields if picking isn’t your thing. For little kids there’s the “Fun Farm Yard” for animal petting, hay rides, a bouncy farmhouse and all manner of things to climb on. $5 a child for 2 year-old and up isn’t bad for unlimited access but they do make adults pay as well, which may limit your desire to take the whole family in.

A week later our strawberries are still fairly fresh (don’t cover them after picking and when refrigerated so they can breathe and whatever you do don’t wash them until you need to use them!) and we have tons of snap still left in our beans.

Strawberry Short Cake Roulade: ½ Sheet Pan or 6, 2” servings

Strawberry Short Cake Roulade with fresh Ontario Strawberries

Strawberry Filling:

2 Quarts Fresh Strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/2′s or 1/4′s depending on size
1 cp Water or Juice of choice
1 cp Sugar (more or less depending on the sweetness of the berries)
2 Limes,  juiced
1 tsp Fresh Ginger, grated fine

1 Large Box of Natural Fruit Pectin

pinch of salt

Method:

1. Wash, hull and slice strawberries. Reserve half and add half to a 2 quart sauce pan.
2. Combine remainder of ingredients except pectin and reserved berries.
3. Stirring constantly over medium heat cook berries until sugar is dissolved and mixture is bubbling. Cook for 8-10mins stirring occasionally.
4. Add in fruit pectin stirring until dissolved.
5. Increase heat and bring mixture to a rolling boil stirring continuously and boil for 1 min.
6. Remove filling from heat, pour into a bowl and allow to cool down completely while refrigerated.
7. When cool add in fresh berries, mix well.

Cake Batter:
4 Egg Yolks
1/3 cp Vegetable Oil
½ cp Water
½ Tbs Vanilla Extract

7oz Cake Flour
3.5oz Sugar
2tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Salt

4 Egg Whites
1/8 tsp Cream of Tartar
1tsp Water
3.5oz Sugar

Garnish:
Powdered Sugar, whipped cream and fresh mint

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Oil a 15- by 10- by 1-inch shallow baking pan and line bottom lengthwise | with a large piece of wax or parchment paper, letting paper hang over ends by 2 inches.
2. Combine yolks, oil, water and vanilla in mixer. Mix with paddle or (hand whip) on medium-high speed until light and pale. 8-10mins.
3. Combine and sift cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
4. Slowly add flour mix to whipped yolks until well incorporated and no lumps are present. But don’t over mix.
5. Combine water and cream of tarter then add to egg white.
6. Whip whites on medium speed until they double in volume.
7. Increase speed to high and slowly steam in sugar until whites are stiff but still creamy. Aprox. 1-2mins.
8. Fold whipped whites gently into yolk/flour mixture until well incorporated making sure to keep as much air in the batter as possible.
9. Spread batter evenly in baking pan and bake in middle of oven until puffed and top is dry to the touch, 15 to 18 minutes or until top is very lightly browned and cake pulls away from pan edges.
10. Transfer pan to a rack. Cover top with 2 layers of damp paper towels and let stand 5 minutes, then remove towels and cool for 5mins. Loosen edges with a sharp knife.
11. Sift powdered sugar over top of cake layer and overlap with a clean kitchen towel lengthwise. Place a baking sheet over cake and invert cake onto it, gently peeling off wax paper lining.
12. While cake is still slightly warm, roll cake the long way using the kitchen towel to make the roll as tight as possible w/out breaking the cake. Place cake seam side down on baking tray and allow to cool completely at room temperature. About 15-20mins.
13. Once cooled, carefully unroll cake leaving the towel underneath. Cake will have a nice, gentle curve to it.
14. Spoon half of the strawberry filling into the curve of the cake.
15. Put a long platter next to a long side of cake. Using towel underneath as an aid, roll up cake jelly roll–style, beginning with a long side with the berries at the back. Carefully transfer cake, seam side down, to platter, using towel to help slide cake. (Cake may crack but will still hold together.)
16. Dust cake generously with powdered sugar before serving and garnish slices with remaining berry filling, whipped cream and fresh mint.

*Options:

• Substitute strawberries for other fresh fruits.
• Use 1cp whipped cream along with berries when filling the cake.
• Use cookie cutters to cut rounds out of finished sheet cake for individual short cakes.
• Bake cake in prepared round pans for stackable cake layers. Add an additional 5-8minutes in baking time.

One of a Kind Show

I had the pleasure of attending the One of a Kind Show this past Spring (yes, I Know, this post is woefully late on here) at Toronto’s Direct Energy Center. I naturally couldn’t wait to check out the food products, do some sampling and get a feel for the kinds of culinary items displayed. This is in no way a complete summary on all of the booths, just some of my particular favorites.

It was definitely a mixed bag offerings from fair to great. My best advice would be to show up as early as possible during a weekday rather than at 12:30 on the final day like we did. It’s much more enjoyable to sample products when there isn’t an elbow in your back and someone’s heel squishing your toe as someone muscles in to get their free taste. It also makes you look (and feel) like less of a street urchin vying for that last scrap of discarded bread simply by way of having to practically fight your way towards the poor sales person handing out samples.

Once you get down to business and have the time to enjoy both the samples as well as the conversation with the very passionate entrepreneurs, you’ll see why everyone loves coming to this show two times a year.

Doing trade shows are never easy and doing shows involving food are particularly challenging. After all you have to keep the food safe to sample and keep a smile on your face regardless of how many times you’ve answered the question “What is this?” or “Are there nuts in this?”.

It was wonderful to see so many Canadian manufactured food products displayed. Though there were quite a few vendors I wanted to focus on some of the companies that are a little ahead of the pack in terms of combining great product taste, variety, packaging and salesmanship.

Saigon Soul Spring Rolls

Saigon Soul Food has been a show favourite for years. Owner Tam Nguyen has clearly put time, money and a great deal of thought behind the company’s look when setting up their large booth complete with Asian pottery, motifs and traditional attire on the staff. Nguyen wins for best salesmanship due to her calm yet energetic presence in the face of hungry hordes. I’m happy to report the food is equally as good with an impressive vegetarian spring roll that clearly contains more than the regularly bland mixture of mung bean sprouts and cabbage. It’s no wonder Nguyen sells out of product at each show since Saigon doesn’t offer online ordering. Luckily you can purchase their spring rolls, additional appetizers and complimentary dipping sauces at various Whole Foods and Pusateri’s in downtown Toronto as well as at select locations found on their website. Gluten-free items can be special ordered.

Award Winning Products from Henderson Farms

Henderson Farms out of Wolf Island, Ontario comes in second for over all congeniality as well as their very generous offering of samples. When you’ve got more than ten products on display it really does serve your best interest to offer samples for as many of them as possible. It’s unreasonable to expect customers to buy blind based on just one item and they clearly understand that at Henderson. Being a family run business (from harvest to the graphic design of their packaging) clearly comes through in their approach to dealing with customers where you truly feel your questions are being taken to heart and answered respectfully.

With such delightful combinations like “Organic Fig-Rhubarb Marmalade”, the mildly floral “Stinging Nettle Jelly” and lovely “Wild Dandelion Wine Jelly” it’s no wonder they were busy. All of Henderson’s award-winning condiments are hand-made in small batches with produce grown on their farm. Thankfully they offer a mail order form on their website and are happy to take corporate gift orders over the phone. They can also be found at numerous craft shows and retail stores across Canada throughout the year.

Hot Stuff Mini Sala Trio

Brooks Pepperfire Foods Inc. makes a line of impressive hot sauces, pepper infused salt, BBQ sauces and delicious confection called “The Antidote” made from reduced heavy cream and dark maple syrup. The best part was being able to sample at least 20 of their finest sauces arranged from light to blisteringly hot to allow tasters to make their way up the smouldering line in order to truly enjoy the complex flavours before their tongues crashed and burned. I made through from start to finish but discovered a small, painless blister on the inside of my cheek 5 mins later which proved to be an interesting surprise since I can usually handle a lot of heat. So if you’re going to dive into the deep end, do it slowly and cautiously because it’s hot in there! By far the best sauces I sampled were the three mango creations “Mango Chutney”, “Baby Mango”, “Mango Fire” and “Red Savina Mango” that are richly flavoured with ripe mango (fresh, not powdered or canned). The chutney is made with natural cane sugar which lends a depth of sweetness with a heavy base note vs. the flat taste of white cane sugar or the hollow taste of corn syrup. Their “Peanut-Free Thai Sauce” is incredibly good and if you can figure out how they mimic the very authentic peanut taste w/out peanuts or chemicals I’ll come over and cook you dinner. Greg Brook, the owner and mixologist of these firebombs has done a great job with the pepperfire site. Great product descriptions, multiple search options, great gift packages and they even private label two of their best selling sauces for you to give away as wedding favours, birthday, corporate or holiday gifts. With the ability to drop-ship your customized orders it makes for the easiest way to get your special gifts into the hands, and on the tongues, of friends and family. If you’re looking to support a growing local business then check out their Sexy Salsa Financing Project to help them raise much needed expanssion capital via customer donations and special orders.

Other great companies to consider:

Olive Tapenade from The Garlic Box

The Garlic Box: 10 years of great products made with cold-climate Canadian Garlic. If you’re a garlic fiend you will love their creative line of products.

Delices Erabeille : Great caramel sauces, “Port Jelly” and other fine condiments. Unfortunately their entire site is in French with no English version that I could find (Google translate does a horrible job with the site) so if that’s a problem for you, you may just have to find them at local craft shows listed, in French, on their website.

Coach House Shortbread Company: Great packaging from this small, Toronto craft baker.

Milsean Shoppe : Milsean, Gaelic for “Sweet Things”, makes a mean “Demerara Butter Crunch” treat that is addictive and delicious. This beautiful family-run establishment is well worth a visit in B.C.’s Fraser Valley. Just bring me back some butter crunch on your return!

Sweet Truth's Almond Butter Toffee With A Ginger Twist

Sweet Truth Candy Company : Insanely good toffee that you will not want to share so buy some for yourself and some as a gift. Gold star for their Ginger Twist Toffee.

Odile Choclat: Sheek looking, diminutive confections that look too good to eat. Visit their new retail shop at 829 Dundas Street West to put these beauties to the test.

Bareback Berries From So Hot Sauces

Gourmet Mini Wild-Only Tins

The Fishery: salmon paté, gourmet canned wild smoked salmon, tuna, scallops & oysters. Not overly salty, smoky or fatty. The kind of canned seafood that puts store brand fish to utter shame.

Sohot: “..specialty, gourmet hot sauce designed so that you can taste your food!”. Light on heat and big on color.

Mary Macleod’s Shortbread: This booth was mobbed when I arrived but after being jostled to and fro for a bit I was finally able to get a very small sample of her melt-in-your-mouth Dutch chocolate shortbread.

Mini Chocolate Crunch Shortbread from Mary Macleod's

A simialr version of this review can be found at Prospere-Magazine, the women’s lifestyle and career ezine.