Etcetera

Smoke Show Sauces

There’s a great back story to how the Canadian Smoke Show sauces came about, and you can’t help but smile to read that after creating his smoky, maple-infused, jalapeño hot sauce, founder Dave Rose was able to leave his busboy job and expand the line-up. These vegan and gluten-free sauces are produced in small batches for maximum freshness, and we’re really enjoying the Jalapeño Ranch and Jalapeño Dijonnaise. 250 mL around $12, see smokeshowsauce.com for stockists – and to read the story!

Cheez-It SNAP’d

Filling that void between chips and crackers comes the snack-minded folks at Cheez-It with their “Snap’d” line up. You may already be familiar with this blend of cracker-like structure, but with the crunch of potato chips; crispy and perhaps a little more in the chip “camp” with their initial flavours too. Our favourite was Double Cheese, but Jalapeño Jack was close behind as the empty bowl showed, while Cheddar Sour Cream and Onion was still a crowd pleaser. Crunchy and crispy, we were fans. 213 g, about $4.

ZWILLING Enfinigy Digital Kitchen Scale

Inspired by the 2004 social media cult classic movie, "Mean Girls" with Lindsay Lohan, ‘Mean Girls Day’ is coming up on October 3, so we’ll be saying "That's so fetch!" and using our favourite pink appliances – and these gorgeous rose-coloured Zwilling kitchen scales are high on the list. We love that the battery is recharged via USB cable, and turns on/ off by the sensor touch display. The large glass surface means the LCD display is always visible, and you can easily add ingredients with the tare feature. $80-$120.

Lunchbox: 75+ Easy and Delicious Recipes for Lunches on the Go

Packing weekday lunches, and continually coming up with exciting and delicious meals can be a daunting proposition, but Aviva Wittenberg’s new book is bursting with tempting ideas for soups, sandwiches, flatbreads, salads, warm and cold bowls, snacks and sweets – all beautifully photographed. There are prepping and packing tips, and every recipe has a “Get Ahead” tip, so you know what can be made in advance. So lovely and so useful! $30, Appetite by Random House.

Cooking alla Giudia: A Celebration of the Jewish Food of Italy

Italian food and Jewish food – two of the world’s great cuisines come together in this weighty book, and author Benedetta Jasmine Guetta deftly weaves together the lengthy, yet little-known history of Italian Jews (broken into regions) with their culinary heritage and the recipes and ingredients that have inspired many famous Italian dishes, such as Roman deep-fried artichokes and eggplant parmigiana. Timely, included are explanations of the holidays and the foods traditionally eaten to celebrate them. $50, Artisan.

Foothills Ice Cream

Foothills Creamery have released six new ice cream flavours joining their eight existing flavours as permanent staples on grocery store shelves. These fun, summery flavours are delicious, and include Cotton Candy - with a blue marshmallow ribbon; Tiger - orange ice cream swirled with black licorice; Sea Salt Caramel Fudge, Raspberry Chocolate Truffle, Cereal Bowl - with fruity cereal pieces; and the purple Groovy Ube! 1.4 L tubs $7-$10. Check out foothillscreamery.com/where-to-buy for stockists.