Fair Trade - Ben & Jerry's

When I think of Fair Trade, I never would have guessed Ben & Jerry's!  But I attended a free Fair Trade BBQ held at Ten Thousand Villages on August 8th, and one of the handful of stations were manned by Ben & Jerry's, offering two flavors of ice cream for our enjoyment - Cherry Garcia, and something with coffee.

Turns out that over a period of 4-5 years, they have transitioned the primary ingredients of their products to Fair Trade sources:
>Cocoa
>Vanilla
>Coffee
>Bananas
>Sugar

Now they are working on the "chunks" in their ice cream.

How admirable!

Work Food Rule #1

Work Food Rule #1 - when a co-worker offers you sweets that her grandmother made, accept with great enthusiasm!

Morracan (I think) sweets

Fork Lift Food Fest 2013

I think I hit the jackpot at the Fork Lift Food Fest, a sub-component of the (hopefully, first annual) Outside the Box Music & Performing Arts Festival sponsored in large part by founder and philanthropist Ted Cutler. According to the participating restaurants list on the official website, Scampo was scheduled for Friday. Now, I like Scampo – I had a very good Restaurant Week experience there just this prior March. But with the current heat wave forecasting Friday to be the hotter of the two weekdays of the food fest, I thought I’d play smart and check it out today instead. 

I braved the overhead sun and muggy weather with my shade hat firmly tied on… and found the tented area on City Hall Plaza to be rather sparsely populated.  Good for me.  Bad for them.  The heat must have kept the crowds away as it did my friend who told me “I don’t plan on going to City Hall to roast.” 

Chart House Boston

Since I thought I had read somewhere that the food tickets ($1 each) were sold in increments of 5 and that each taste was priced at 1-5 food tickets, I did a quick walk through of the tents first, so I wouldn’t over-convert my dollars for tickets.  Turns out I was wrong though, as the ladies at my first  Food, Soda & Water Tickets stand was more than willing to sell me as many or as few food tickets my heart desired.

Avocado Crab Mango Stack 4 tix

During my grand tour, the station with the longest line (5 people deep) was Scampo at the Liberty Hotel.  I checked out the menu – Chef Lydia Shire’s Lobster Sausage with Crispy Pork Cracklin’s 4 Tickets – ding, ding, ding!  The aroma of warm melted butter filled the air…  A quick run to the ticket stand, a short wait in line, and one of those big, fat, glistening sausages threatening to jump out of the beautifully toasted bun was mine!

Lydia and her Lobster Sausage 4 tix

I hid myself in the shade of one of several umbrella-ed tables, and bit.  Juices flowed and chunks of crustacean were proudly exposed.  (And my plate blew away – oops!)  Yup, the winner was here.

Having overheard Lydia tell another diner that this was the only day they’d be at the festival, I was tempted to buy a second and to stick it in the freezer for later… but instead, I bought another and took it to a friend who worked close by.  There is joy in sharing delicious food, you know!

Jasper White's cooking demo is about to begin

FYI -

Hours:
Thursday, July 18th – 11am – 9pm
Friday, July 19th – 11am – 9pm
Saturday, July 20th – 11am – 9pm
Sunday, July 21st (grand finale!) – 11am – 5pm

Cost:
Entrance – free
Food – Tasting tickets are sold for $1 each – I think they had a credit card machine… but I paid cash, so I’m not 100% sure

Facilities:
Portapotties were set up against the side of the Government Center T station

To give you some ideas of the prices here –
Shake Shack’s Shack Burger (aka Cheeseburger) 5 tickets
State Room’s Spicy Chinese Chicken Salad, Crispy Wonton Chip, Hoisin Ginger Sauce 3 tickets
Isabelle’s Curly Cakes cupcakes ranged from 3-5 tickets

And I think the cheapest drink option at 1 ticket was at Olde Thyme Franks, in case you aren’t carrying your water bottle.

Tips:
Bring a hat
Bring water
Bring money/credit card
Bring your appetite
Bring wet naps – great for cleaning those fingers!

I bet it is going to be busier this weekend, despite the heat, since most folk won’t be stuck at work.

What would you do-oo-oo... for a Harvey Bar?

Today was day #1 of 3 straight days of Hood Harvey Bar giveaways!  Perfect for the current Boston heatwave!

There's two more days of this, supposedly from 11am - 3pm, although the pedal pusher I interacted with had told me that at 1:40pm I was fortunate to have come by on their last trip of the day!

If you're up for a cool treat, keep an eye out for the bow-tie wearing cyclists or the red-Hood-shirted ladies lugging large cooler packs around the City Hall Plaza.

Source: http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2013/07/17/free-ice-cream-city-hall-plaza-hood-harvey-bars/#ss__357717__5__ss

Coconut Rice Treats

From what I’ve read about coconut oil, it is a relatively healthy fat despite the fact that it contains a large quantity of saturated fats.  It should be stored at room temperature rather than in the refrigerator.  As it has a rather melting point at 76-78 F, it may melt in the summer months and re-solidify during the other seasons.  But whether solid white or clear liquid, it is fine.  To use it as a liquid, it may be easily melted in a warm water bath.

My interest in this new-to-me fat is due to the bottle of Extra Virgin Coconut Oil that sits in my cupboard.  We picked it up for a smoothie recipe several months ago and there it remains.  But then I ran across a recipe for Coconut Rice Treats, and so I thought, why not?

I’ve made a few changes to the recipe.  I nixed the toasted shredded coconut since I didn’t have any and the recipe had neglected to include it in the instructions, so I didn’t know whether it should be mixed in with the Rice Krispies or sprinkled on top.  And I didn’t have any cardamom, which turns out to be a pretty pricey spice (about $16 for a little jar at my local Shaw’s) so I replaced it with half cinnamon and half ginger.  I also sprinkled in a little more cereal, but not enough to make a real difference.

The results looked just like your basic Rice Krispy Treats, but to one taster, it was like “a taste of heaven!”  It also helped that I had taken it to a picnic on a warm summer day, as another commented that it was like it had just been “freshly made.”

So, if you want to make Rice Krispy Treats that are just a little special, this is a good recipe to have in your repertoire.

Coconut Rice Treats
by Chef Ann Moynihan

Serves 8

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
4 cups mini marshmallows
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
pinch salt
5 cups rice cereal
1 cup shredded coconut, toasted

Directions

1.Grease a 13 x 9 pan.
2.In a large pot, over low heat, melt the coconut oil. Add the marshmallows and stir to melt. Add the cardamom and salt, then stir to incorporate.
3.Remove from the heat and add the cereal. Stir to coat and then press into the prepared pan. Cool, cut and serve.

Source:  http://bostonchefs.com/recipe/coconut-rice-treats/

Vivian's Notes:
1) Tasted just great without the shredded coconut
2) In place of the 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom, I used 1/16 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/16 teaspoon ground ginger

ROLO Pretzel Delights

I was introduced to this yummy and easy candy recipe by a co-worker who made some for her boss' birthday; fortunately he offered me one as he passed by my cubicle.

They are sweet with a bit of saltiness, chewy with a bit of crisp and crunch.  Basically, they are yummy!  Serve at room temperature.

I made mine in the toaster oven with almonds since that's what I happen to have around the house.

ROLO Pretzel Delights

Ingredients:
Small pretzels
ROLO Chewy Caramels in Milk Chocolate
Pecan halves

Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil.
Place one pretzel for each pretzel treat desired on prepared sheet. Top each pretzel with one unwrapped ROLO Chewy Caramel in Milk Chocolate.
Bake 3 to 5 minutes or until caramel piece begins to soften, but not melt. Remove from oven; top with either pecan half or additional pretzel. Cool completely.

Microwave directions:
Line microwave-safe plate with wax paper.
Place up to 6 pretzels on plate and top each pretzel with one unwrapped ROLO Chewy Caramel in Milk Chocolate.
Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 30 seconds or until caramel has softened slightly. If necessary, microwave at MEDIUM an additional 10 seconds.* Carefully slide parchment paper and pretzels onto countertop. Top with either a pecan half or additional pretzel. Cool completely.

*Some caramels are a bit firmer and require additional heating.

SOURCE: http://www.hersheys.com/rolo/recipes.aspx?id=8631&name=ROLO-Pretzel-Delights

Food Truck Recognition

Given that the common consensus of the Boston dining scene is that it is typically rated behind that of other larger metropolitan cities such as New York City, consider my pride and amazement at running across a list where Boston was not only the first of the 7 listed in "These Gourmet Food Trucks Are Worth Following" but the last!  Yes, Boston was well represented with 2 of our terrific food trucks making Reader's Digest's list, despite the relative newness of the whole Food Truck scene in our fair city.

Clover Food Lab, with their yummy Chickpea fritter sandwich

The Chicken and Rice Guys, with their short to the point menu