Cardamom ascending

A news site from India reported that prices of Cardamom were rising. Meanwhile, Lucila, from Mexico discovered that Laleh's Iranian Cardamom tea settled her upset stomach. Intrigued, I checked it out on Wikipedia and learned that cardamom is known for its digestive properties even in China.

For a perfect holiday drink then, new HUM Botanical Spirits based on rum infused with hibiscus, cardamom and ginger is sure to get and keep you in the Christmas spirit.

It's beautiful red and richly delicious--and your stuffing-stuffed tummy will thank you for the healing properties of cardamom and ginger.

HolidayGift

My prediction (and recommendation) for this year's holiday gift is a sturdy Le Creuset pot, thanks to "Julie and Julia." My first one was a wedding present 34 years ago, still one of my three favorites, I use it every week.

Proof? I went to screen-grab a pic for you, and found that the model I chose was already sold out.

VegetableGarden

Chris writes about his plot in northern Illinois, "Well, not all is gone to ruin, as the picture shows. That represents perhaps the first tenth of the fruit on our vines. Whereas we did very well with cherry tomatoes last year, whatever inscrutable weather pattern variations that favor one plant over another have given us a bounty of cucumbers and heavenly big, rich, complex heirloom tomatoes. Cool and wet this year."

Notice the book. The family will be "eating local" all winter, this week they're making preserves.

AldiWatching

When in Germany on Nestle biz, I watched Aldi squish Wal-mart's bananas. Aldi had its own wine label, cheeses from local farmers, gorgeous produce and stunning low prices. Wal-mart finally left the market. Now I'm watching Aldi expand in the US.

What a terrific competitor for Wal-mart in grocery. Target can't prevail here, they come from dept store roots--Aldi is the same family as Trader Joe's.

Could Aldi US, based in Batavia, join McD and Kraft as Illinois's next great food company?

Flatbreads and geometry

At the Fancy Food show in Chicago last month, along with Lithuanian liquors, Japanese pine needle juice and all manner of "healthy" dark chocolate, were homely flatbreads.

Why are they popular these days?

The answer offered by an enthusiastic flatbread puveyer was that they're "not the circles and squares that everyone's so tired of." I wondered if rectangles could possibly be so much more appealing a form. He said, "No, they get broken up--into sharp angles and uneven shapes. That's what makes them interesting."

I thought of Cheetos, which get their appeal from weird shapes--and that was the only thing that made me keep from raising a skeptical eyebrow.

Ian's Natural Foods

Keep your eye on this dynamic, young company. They have switched their focus to kids. With antibiotic-free, gluten-free nuggets and chocolate chip buttons, they're poised to meet a big need. Their bright yellow packages and a new character (why an otter?) should convince kids that they provide "for me" food. And parents will show little price resistance.

Even their marketing director, Claire, is a human dynamo. She was a fellow-speaker at the Kids Marketing Mega Event.

I put my chips on this square.

Slice of Pie

This week, a new product caught my eye. A freezer package containing two slices of key lime pie. Nice!

Hot pie, no leftovers. A novel interpretation of the portion-pack trend.

Have yourself a merry little endive

Where's all this endive coming from suddenly? I've been to three schmantzy holiday parties and all three served spreads on endive rather than on crackers or breads. Endive leaves provide nifty little canoes for food: they variously carried a chicken salad, a nut concoction and a seafoody mix. They're perfectly engineered for the task and make everything taste fresh. Bring on the endives and stuffing!

Where you will eat next Black Friday

In Chico, California this Thanksgiving weekend, the streets seemed empty until Friday evening. Then, suddenly, crowds formed outside a small restaurant whose food was the antithesis of turkey, stuffing and pie. Sushi, what else? You had to wait an hour to get into the Rawbar on Main St.. How do I know? I had the same idea.

What became the substitute we could all agree on? Why, tapas at a wine bar. That filled up, too, but later--probably after sushi hopefuls had given up on getting in.

Eating goose liver pate in Chicago

My favorite hideaway, Café Bernard has sold paté for decades. Now they don't because it's outlawed in Chicago--but that doesn't mean you can't eat it. Now you order the cornichons and they GIVE your the paté.

A perfect French solution, no laws are broken but neither are they followed.

Two Chicago food CEO's

With Brenda Barnes in the CEO spot at Sara Lee and Irene Rosenberg now running Kraft, Chicago boasts two respected women CEO's in the food world. Kraft has added a health and wellness program and limited food marketing to children, Sara Lee will be bringing out lots of new products next year.

They probably both love to shop at Target--which also represents their worst nightmare. It has brought its impeccable nose for trends into the exploding world of store brands. Witness the cover of today's circular --Archer Farm's brand BLUE Corn Tortilla Chips, Spinach and Artichokes Purses, High Protein Cinnamon Cereal.

Whatever can Mac & Cheese or Pound Cake do to keep up?

Raw Chocolate?

Jessica Turano tells me that raw chocolate is big in Europe and full of healthy properties. You can't find it here in Chicago unless you're her friend. She makes it herself with secret ambrosial ingredients.

Sepia in Chicago, yum

In an unlikely neighborhood in the west loop, a little restaurant has appeared. It manages to be both exquisite and unpretentious. And it has unpasteurized Manchego cheese! But fine dining is Maggie's area, so I'll take her there when she's back from school and let her write about it here.

Aquapod on the loose!

Stepping out of a "paint your own pottery" party on Armitage this morning, an eight-year-old girl lost her grip on her small, fat-bellied Aquapod of Nestlé Water. It rolled down the sloped sidewalk till her mother made a diving save. Nice to see that a company has made water festive enough to be a party drink!

Technorati Profile

cross-dressing your package

It's Back-to-School time and that means new clothes--for food products trying to elbow their way into lunch boxes. Slim Jim turns up in a small stick pack usually favored by candy and coffee. These come inside a canister like a Pringles pack. Brilliant! I also tip my hat to LiveActive pineapple/cottage cheese that appears in a yogurt cup. And let's pay homage here to bagels and pita and pretzel "flats" that New York Style has tranformed to chips. May the best costume win!

offering food to kids who aren't hungry

The airport on Thursday reminded me of the Farmer's Market I told you about, in that when I was picking up my water for the flight i heard mothers asking kids if they wanted cookies, chips. The kids weren't thinking about food, they were excited to watch the airplanes--a sight that bored the mothers.

Mott's for Tots

Mott's gets a thumbs-up for its simple and smart product line for young toddlers. Bright colors, rounded shapes, and fruits with facial features (faces are the first things that babies recognize). Babies will light up when they see the boxes, which will make moms happy, which will make this product a big success.

Kellogg's: United Through Reading

Through an touching promotion, military parents in Iraq can read to their children back home--and Kellogg's will transmit the video for free, so the child can watch the parent tell a bedtime story.

If you love Raisin Bran and Frosted Flakes, you may have a chance to earn a free book and a "visit" with your loved one.

Paisleys and portion control

Maggie says that she's asked to create beautiful plates. What a great place to start in the quest for sensible portions--painted paisleys (or planets) rather than heaps of food! Prepared Foods magazine provides these stats about the growth of portion sizes.

Calories: portion. 20 years ago/ today

Bagel 140/ 350
Spaghetti/Meatballs 500/ 1,025
French Fries 210/ 610
Soda 88/ 250
Turkey sandwich 320/ 830
Popcorn 270/ 630
Pepperoni Pizza 600/ 950

Today at the farmer's market, I saw another toddler eating a giant muffin (was 210, now 500). I wish Maggie could have turned it into sumptuous desserts for three by dividing it artfully and adding tiny chocolate culicues.