New takes on tofu, wine at food show
TRADE | Companies showcase gourmet goodies that rejuvenate kitchen, body
Imagine wandering for hours amid tables of the best cheeses, chocolates, confections, coffees, olives, sauces, dips and chips while friendly fellow foodies beg you to take a taste. Sounds like a dream, right?
It is until about six hours in, when you'd rather have a glass of water and an antacid than another gourmet fruit and spice spread on organic macadamia flax bread.
Still, the feast that was the Global Food and Style Expo, held Sunday through Tuesday at McCormick Place, brought new and truly wonderful discoveries to Chicago restaurateurs and retailers.
Chefs, bakers, importers and artisans big and small proudly presented their goodies, showcasing both responsible practices and wild caloric abandon.
You might want to try a few of these finds:
Feeling a little under the weather? Especially this year's weather? You could try light therapy, moving to Florida, antidepressants or maybe just a Chocolate Prescription.
The 72 percent cacao bars are packaged in 1-ounce portions, each just enough for one day. A $19.99 box contains seven bars, a week's supply. A four-week prescription is $76.99, or join the Chocolate Lover's Club and save 10 percent each month. Get your daily dose at www.chocolateprescription.com.
So you think you might try cooking with wine ... but you always end up drinking it first? You can have your glass and marinate, too. Mia Sebastiani has dealcoholized her family's Sonoma wines and turned them into super-flavorful Mia's Kitchen Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay reductions.
With no fat or sodium and few calories, they're an indulgence minus the hangover or regret. Pair as you would with wine -- the Cab is great with grilled food, and the Chardonnay gives shellfish, potstickers and the like a kick. They're also great slugged straight from a plastic cup. A two bottle gift pack is $39 online at www.miaswinesauce.com.
Tofu Shirataki turns tofu into spaghetti, fettuccine and angel hair "noodles." They're vegan, low-carb, low-fat, sugar-free, cholesterol-free, gluten-free, dairy-free and almost-guilt free, with 20 calories per serving. Even better, they taste like the real deal (for recipe ideas, go to www.house-foods.com/yummy_recipes.html).
The only thing that might give your secret away is the smell when you open the package. Just pour the noodles into a colander, rinse for a minute under cold running water and it's delizioso, just like mama used to make (if mama were Japanese). Find Tofu Shirataki in the refrigerated section of Sunset Foods and some Whole Foods stores.
Julianne Will is a Chicago free-lance writer.
You really should take time to stop and taste the roses -- namely, those growing in the Kazanlak Valley in central Bulgaria, which have been harvested and turned into Sence Nectar, a drink and drink mixer.
While the scent is a dead ringer for your grandma's perfume, the taste is surprisingly light and fresh. The rose nectar can be consumed straight or mixed into clear sodas or alcoholic beverages. Its pink color and delicate bottle make it a pretty wedding favor and a popular choice with Champagne. Find Sence at Sam's or Binny's or online at www.sencenectar.com.
Usually when someone slips something into your drink, it's bad news. But Healthy To Go's Go Greens Super Fruits and Veggies packet has more than 40 fruit and vegetable powders to power your bottled water. How often do you chug kale, pomegranate, acai, grapeseed extract, rice bran, white tea, barley grass and other good stuff? This handy mega mix serves it all up without added sugar for 32 measly calories.
Healthy To Go also makes a Green Tea Energy Fusion and Acai Natural Energy Boost and just debuted Berrie Crush Plus C. Check out the drink mixes at GNC, Vitamin Shoppe or online at www.togobrands.com.
One Thousand Hills Fair Trade coffee is a rich roast resulting from a partnership between Michigan State University, Lansing, Mich.-based Paramount Coffee and Rwandan farmers. It's an international goodwill program ($1 per pound supports the Rwanda initiative) with a Midwestern connection.
Paramount also makes Caffe Rosa, a blend created by roast master and breast cancer survivor Kathi Zollman. For each bag sold, $1 is donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Visit www.paramountcoffee.com.
Julianne Will is a Chicago free-lance writer.