Etcetera

Cococo 2020 Advent Calendar

Whatever age you are, the holidays wouldn’t be complete without an advent calendar, and this year Cococo’s calendar is celebrating their winners from the last few years of the International Chocolate Awards – and Cococo has plenty of winners! All our favourites are here plus a few surprises; too many to list here as of the 24 chocolates in the calendar there are 12 different types, but we’re drooling just reading the list! 240 g, $49 in Cococo stores and at CococoChocolatiers.com.

Mother May I Hummus

Mediterranean-inspired food is really on-trend, and Calgary’s Nada Choufi makes some of the best hummus around! Her recipe is 100+ years old and is vegan and gluten-free. As well as the original, try Sweet Potato (with rosemary and spices), Roasted Beet, Spicy Sriracha, and Baked Falafel (where falafel spices are incorporated into the hummus). At Co-op locations in Calgary, Edmonton, and Red Deer, as well as other good grocery stores. 300 mL $6-$7.

Happy Planner Accessory Books

Even the most organised of us can use some tools for our recipes and recipe planners, and The Happy Planner Recipe Accessory Book does just the job. They say it contains 1129 different pieces of sticky notes, notepad and stickers (and we’re inclined to take their word for it rather than count ourselves!), but we do know that there are 20 sticker sheets, one notepad, and four sticky notepads of 20 sheets each! $18-20 at Michaels, Staples and Walmart.

Ninja NeverStick Frying Pan

We’re always up for the challenge when we hear the claim, “no sticking, chipping, or flaking” so we put the new Ninja frying pan to the test – and they’re right. We used no butter or oil for our scrambled and fried eggs – and they just slipped right out of the pan! We tried searing, sautéing, and broiling, and we love that the coating and handle are oven safe up to 500° F, so it goes from all stovetops straight into the oven. Dishwasher-safe too. A range of sizes and prices at Canadian Tire.

Floating Leaf Wild Rice Blend

We’re really enjoying experimenting with this Prairie Gourmet wild rice blend; it makes a lovely change to some of our regular rice dishes and it’s particularly good as the star in a risotto or added to your risotto rice. It’s a blend of wild rice, riceberry rice (a unique whole grain brown rice), red rice, and medium and long grain brown rice. The wild rice is local from the prairies, and it’s glutenfree, vegan, and kosher. Widely available in markets and online. 400 g, around $5

Hildon Water

From a single source on an English Country Estate, for the last 31 years Hildon Water has graced the tables of some of the finest houses in England and Wales. New to Canada, you can now be queen in your home as Hildon was granted the Royal Warrant of Appointment to The Queen a few years ago. Available both still and sparkling, Hildon water is in glass bottles (no plastic waste!). 750 mL $2.95 from Italian Centre Shops in Calgary and Edmonton, Andy’s IGA, and at hildonwater.ca.

FoodSaver Multi-Use Food Preservation System

Many are eating in a lot more these days, so we’ve been trialling The FoodSaver to discover the benefits for ourselves, and it’s been a great addition to our kitchen. It’s a combination of a heat sealer and handheld vacuum sealer, and has proven really useful for batch cooking, preventing waste, and for when we buy in bulk – and also for those restaurant meals that we’ve had wrapped! The food keeps up to five times longer in the freezer and it helps prevent freezer burn too. $199 at Canadian Tire.

Sorbos Straws

Canada has announced the plan to ban six single-use plastic items by the end of 2021: supermarket bags, stir sticks, sixpack rings, cutlery, food ware made from hard-to-recycle plastics, and straws. You may have seen Sorbos by the checkout in your local liquor store and wondered what they are – biodegradable and edible, individually wrapped straws in seven flavours! They’re gluten-free, last 30-45 minutes in drinks, have only 27 calories and 6 g of beet root sugar each, 25 cents.

Rviita Energy Teas

Ryiita Energy Teas were created in Calgary by a brother and sister team, along with a childhood friend, after a close friend suffered a heart attack attributed to too many energy drinks. Their alternative is a blend of natural caffeine from black tea and guarana seeds, fruit juices and organic honey, with no added colours or sweeteners. The soft packs are perfect for hiking and cycling and can be used to make ice packs too! Choose Strawberry, Blackberry, Peach or Elderberry, 355 mL around $5.

Sarjesa Teas

With a very different back-story, and one well worth reading on their website, Sarjesa is a Calgary-based, socially focused tea company with 20 percent of the profits from each box donated to impactful violence prevention programs for women in crisis. Sarjesa teas are blends of Canadian-grown herbs and imported fair-trade teas, in five varieties: Peppermint, Chamomile, Earl Grey, Green Tea, and Spiced Chai. 30 servings $9, available at select Sobeys stores and at sarjesa.com.

Abeego Beeswax Food Wrap

While we’re talking food preservation systems, have you tried Abeego food wrap, from Victoria, B.C.? We found them on-packed on several different wines in liquor stores this summer, including the Hahn Pinot Noir shown, and had to try them! If you lose the cork from your bottle, just pop on one of the small wraps – they’re good for food, and even keep your sparkling wine bubbly too, and you can wash and reuse again and again for at least a year! 6 small food wraps $18, canada.abeego.com.

The French Laundry, Per Se

This weighty tome (over 2.5 Kg!), 400-page book, takes us into the life and work of one of the world’s most respected and awarded restaurateurs, Thomas Keller, and is filled with stories and iconic recipes from his two Michelin three-star restaurants, The French Laundry in Yountville, California, and Per Se in New York City. We’re transported into his world with essays of “Patience and Persistence” and “Inspiration Versus Influence” and can’t wait to make the 70 beloved recipes! $85, Artisan Books.