SUMMER FOODIE HIGHLIGHTS:DEHYDRATED KALE (GF) AND PORTLAND

Forgive me for I have sinned:  I ate this voodoo doughnut.  But when in Portland, one must indulge.  I love it when the red jelly oozes out of the centre of the chocolate frosting covered long-john.  fab.

Oh yah. Summer.  It's been a while since I've posted what with life, teaching and mentoring.  I am taking this summer off and really trying to de-stress.  So what's new? I've purchased a new Fuji X100S camera.  It's retro cool.  All the pics here were taken with it.  I haven't figured out how to use it yet...but that'll come with time and practice.

MEI JAN HONG SINGAPORE BEEF & PORK JERKY, RICHMOND

What do M&M's and Beef Jerky have in common?

They were both prominently on display at Aberdeen Mall.  The M&M's were not edible though.

RECCHIUTI CONFECTIONS, FERRY BUILDING SAN FRANCISCO

Rose Caramel. 


One bite of this Recchiuti confection and I knew it was quality stuff.

See that one lonely square of Fleur de sel caramel from my bag of many that didn’t get squished in my carry on luggage (it’s the little square with the white diagonal lines at each corner)?  They were very tasty squished anyway.

EGGBALL (GAI DAAN JAI) WAFFLE IRON, WILLIAMS SONOMA

Eggball Waffles, a popular Hong Kong street food.  Visit the Night Market in Richmond or Vancouver’s Chinatown and you’ll find these made fresh in front of you.

CUTE BUNS: STEAMED CUSTARD-FILLED BUNS SHAPED LIKE PIGS

It’s “Bun Festival” at T and T Supermarket.  I couldn’t resist buying these.  Too cute!

HALLOWE’EN OREOS

What’s a mommy to do when her 6 year old daughter has a play-date the next morning and there’s no time to bake?

I wanted to do something craftsy, but then didn’t have any idea what to do on such short notice. You know I have a pantry of baking supplies, so I thought best to bake cookies or something. The girls could bake the cookies and decorate them for hallowe’en. I had a flashback to last Christmas when I did something similar and recalled vividly the colourful sprinkles and dragees all over the countertops and floor. You couldn’t walk a step in the kitchen without hearing the tiny crunching of the sprinkles and roly-poly dragees underfoot. If was fun but oh so messy! Also, considering my time frame, I thought I had better rethink that whole process. By the time they rolled out the dough and cut them out, it’d be time for her buddy to go home and the cookies wouldn’t even have been cooled and decorated yet.

Fortunately, I work well under a bit of duress and the creative juices seemed to be flowing. So, being the smartie-pants that I am—actually, in this case, the m&m’s-pants—I had the brilliant idea to use white chocolate-covered oreos for my cookie base and just have the girls decorate with prepared tubed black icing (from Wilton). I grabbed some mini m&m’s, some hallowe’en coloured sparkles and raided my cake decorating cupboard for little sprinkles and candies. The spider bodies are of course, brown m&m’s. The heads are brown-coloured decorator candies. I clumsily piped 8 legs on the body and had myself a pretty tasty-looking spider!

When I did my jack o’ lantern oreos, I used the same black icing to pipe the lines that would hold the orange sprinkles first. Then I piped more icing on the north pole to have the green sparkles stick. The face was piped last.

A batch of Hallowe’en cookies isn’t complete without some ghosts, so I did some simple free-hand ghosts with the piping tube. The pink sprinkled ghost is a girl ghost.

You know…kind of like a “princess” ghost? Well, you’d know what I mean if you had a girl.

I am loving these white chocolate covered oreos. Whenever I see them in the store from now on, I’m going to grab myself a few dozen bags! What a super easy treat for Hallowe’en!

Happy Hallowe’en and do link back to me with your own creative Hallowe’en Oreo images!

Boo!

BACK TO SCHOOL TREATS

organic brown rice crispies squares with ground flaxseed

I know...I know. There's a ton of sugar in marshmallows and though Rice Crispies Squares seem pretty benign junk food-wise, they do have that ooey chewy marshmallow sugar-high factor that is oh so true to junk food.

Yes, the treats have cereal, but I personally don't think most of the cereals you find in the supermarket aisles are very healthy breakfast options because of the high sugar content. That being said, of course I feed cereal to my child occasionally. Perhaps once a week or once in two weeks, Bebe sometimes has Cheerioes multigrain cereal or her favourite cereal: Kellogg's Guardian All Bran cereal (primarily for the little heart shapes I think). Though these cereals have the fibre I so want to include in her diet, they also have a fair amount of sugar. Since she doesn't eat cereal everyday though, I don't think it's too much of a problem. In fact, I rarely police Bebe's intake of sugar and don't deprive her of a few jellybeans or M&M's if she wants them. You know I would never say "no" if she asked for cupcakes or dessert! She has pretty good self control and I've never seen her over-indulge in anything sweet. She's so not like mommy ;)

My mommified rice crispies treats have been doctored in as healthy a way as possible without compromising on the much-loved taste of the original recipe we all know. I used organic brown rice cereal, marshmallows, unsalted butter and freshly ground flaxseed in my rendition. Flax is so yucky on its own that I have to hide it somewhere and this is as good a place as any.

If you ate these treats, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the original recipe and the "healthy" one. The flax is not detectable. hm. Probably because of the marshmallow. Well, I tried. Doesn't that count?

So, if you want to feel less guilty about eating rice crispies squares, then by all means take the original recipe and add up to 1/4 cup freshly ground organic flaxseed and replace the regular rice crispies cereal with organic brown rice cereal. I don't think it's necessary to locate healthy marshmallows. I just used my favourite brand from the supermarket, but I suppose if you had the energy you could use homemade chocolate marshmallows as I have in the past. Homemade is always best and you can never go wrong by adding chocolate to stuff.

BANANA CAKE POPS

white chocolate dipped banana cake pops. my cake pops are sticking out of a banana tree...a cheesy tourist souvenir i brought back from a trip to costa rica! funny how it says "made in china" on a little gold oval sticker under the base of the tree! hehe, i didn't notice that at the time!

I've finally made those fabulous cake pops that Bakerella has popularized in the food blogging world. I knew I would succumb to making the fun little treats eventually. It was just a matter of time. I had some left-over Cream Cheese Frosting and I used some homemade Banana Bread to make Banana Cake Pops. I dipped the little cake truffles into white chocolate and decorated with various dragees, sprinkles and sugars.

The technique is so gosh-darned easy that even my kids could do it. In fact, Bebe helped me mash the banana bread into a mound of moist crumbs in a bowl and helped with the assembly of the pops. I had purchased a bag of lollipop sticks at Michaels (with my trusty 40% coupon!) and I even had the forethought to purchase small clear treat bags that fit the pops perfectly. I tied a ribbon at the base of the bags and the treats look so cute!
my daughter loves anything pink...thus the pink sanding sugar

I'm imagining that these little treats are going to take over the world. Any cake or cookie would do for the truffle, I think. What a fabulous idea for leftover cake! I had to refrigerate my cake truffles before dipping them in the white chocolate. In fact, to speed things up, I put a few in the freezer for a short time to harden quickly to the sticks. I had initially tried to dip one freshly made truffle and it just slipped off the lollipop stick and kerplopped into the mass of melted chocolate. Of course, I had to rescue my melted chocolate so I had to eat that one.


the white chocolate shell i made was quite thick so that it was kind of difficult for the kids to bite into. next time, i'll take it easy with the chocolate layer. inside was the cream cheese frosting spiked banana cake truffle.

NUT LOVE: KNOCKOFF SAHALE NUTS...CAKEBRAIN'S DECODED MACADAMIA MIX RECIPE

cakebrain's macadamia nut snack blend

Okay, I concede that maybe it was a fluke, but on my first try with experimenting with ingredients, I was able to produce a reasonable facsimile of my favourite Sahale nut blend: sans hazelnuts. I like hazelnuts with chocolate, but not as a cheapie filler ingredient in a nut blend. My feeling is the hazelnuts are unnecessary. Since you're saving money not buying the name-brand snack mix, go splurge and use all macadamias!

this is pretty darned close to the sahale blend i like except i don't like hazelnuts in there so i omitted them


i insist you use the finest organic ingredients you can get your hands on 'cause...well, you deserve only the best. here you can see the brand of brown rice syrup i used in my mix


Instead of the tapioca syrup that Sahale uses, I opted for an organic Brown Rice syrup. I figured it should work just as well.

And it did. Just make sure you line your sheet pan with parchment paper and separate the clumped up nuts. This takes time, but it's worth it. I tossed my organic diced dried fruit in afterwards, but I imagine you could probably incorporate them in with the nuts at the same time with a similar effect.

Here's what I did.

The following recipe is the one I created on the fly. I just read the ingredients list on the back of the package! hee hee. pretty sneaky, huh? I used proportions according to the order they were listed in the ingredients list. Kind of. You can add more heat by increasing the chipotle or adding some other form of heat you prefer. The snack isn't sweet at all, which totally surprised me. I think you could add some additional crunch and sweetness by incorporating some evaporated cane sugar to the wet ingredients.



here's a chunk of organic unsulphured papaya alongside some organic dried mango. i admit, the mango is tougher than the softer sulphured variety, but the flavour is clean and intense

I'd like to think that my "secret" knockoff recipe is just as good as the Sahale blend and now that you've got the basic idea, you can borrow it if you want and do your own thing with your own combo of spices, nuts and dried fruit. Can you just imagine the possibilities? I'm so totally excited!

another difference: it's way cheaper per pound and you can customize it to your tastes

Please share the knowledge and do link back to me and give me a comment about how your blend turned out because I'm interested in seeing what other people can do with the basic recipe! This way everyone out there can share the nut love!

I have since purchased and tasted the other Sahale mixes and still prefer the Macadamia blend and the Pecan blend. The one with Cashews has peanuts (yuck!) in it and the Pistachio & pepitas one isn't my favourite because the flavours just don't jive with my tastebuds. Perhaps I should omit the peanuts and up the cashew quotient and see... There's no helping the pistachio blend because it's the combination of spices along with the figs and sesame seeds that I'm kind of averse to. There are better ways for me to waste calories than this one.

In fact, here's a good way to waste calories in my recipe below. Please exercise caution as these are addictive.

CAKEBRAIN'S MACADAMIA MIX
1 1/2 cups organic whole macadamia nuts
2 T organic brown rice syrup
1 T organic evaporated cane juice (omit if you don't like it too sweet; increase if you have a sweet tooth!)
1/8 t organic dried cilantro
1/8 t organic chipotle peppers (i purchased dried whole chipotles and grated them on my microplane grater); if you like heat increase the amount called for or add another form of heat
1/4 t pink himalayan sea salt
1/8 t garam masala [i didn't have cumin, so i used garam masala--which has cumin in it! substitute with cumin if you don't have garam masala]
1/4 cup diced organic unsulphured mango and papaya

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a small saucepan, heat the brown rice syrup, the evaporated cane juice and all the dried spices and salt. Mix well and continue stirring until the mixture is bubbly.
3. Add the macadamia nuts and coat well, stirring constantly; be careful not to break the nuts!
4. Spread the nuts out on the parchment-lined sheet and try to separate them as best as you can.
5. Bake for 8-10 inutes, or until golden brown and the syrup has bubbled around the nuts.
6. Set the baking sheet on a rack to cool slightly. Lift the nuts out and break off and discard any huge chunks of syrup that may have pooled around the nuts. Toss in the diced dried fruit.
7. Serve with a tall, chilled glass of beer or if you're feeling really civilized, a little glass of pastis (my choice!) with ice. See here for a pastis cocktail! Nothing like apéritifs de pastis to make you feel like you're in Provence! even if you are only in Vancouver *sigh*
8. Store in a tightly sealed container (I include a package of dessicant in my container so that the nuts don't clump together as much).

I figure with this basic recipe and method, you can use any nut, dried fruit and spice blend. I'm going to try making the pecan blend next!

These make beautiful little gifts wrapped in cellophane and ribbon or really classy trail mix for day-hikes up the North Shore mountains.

Ahhh. The North Shore Mountains! these nuts would taste great along with your ice-cold water sipped from your trendy Sigg bottle as you sat atop a mountain looking down on Vancouver!

By the way, the "Grouse Grind" is an intense hike; almost straight up a mountain that fit locals in Vancouver like to climb. People often brag about their "time", as in "I did the Grind in 32 minutes!" You'll often hear Vancouverites asking friends out to "The Grind" instead of going out for coffee. My friend's first date with a girl was on The Grind. He was able to check her out by following her as she climbed up the mountain! pretty smart, huh? The Grind is kind of a social thing that some of us Vancouverites like to do, like meeting at Jericho Beach for some beach volleyball (and a beach bbq afterwards) or a mountain bike ride through the UBC Endowment lands. And there's always at least one colleague at work who belongs to a Dragon Boat team. I must admit though that these activities are dominated by the 20-somethings. This is the active West Coast lifestyle I miss and had to put on hold because of kids. However, I'm intending to get back to it as soon as they're ready to come along with me! Fortunately, Vancouver offers plenty of outdoor activities for families too.

If you find yourself in Vancouver, and you're fit, this is a cool way to see the locals. Dress appropriately (it is a hike, y'know) by not wearing flip-flops and looking like a dweeb tourist. Do wear hiking boots and bring appropriate hiking gear and lots of water. Oh, and don't forget my classy trail mix. No, you don't need camping gear. Hopefully you won't be that slow! It's an intense aerobic workout and is known as "Nature's Stairmaster". If you're a newbie, give yourself at least 2 hours. If you're fit, you'll love it and be done in under an hour.

I know friends who go up once a week all summer. The hike is 1.8 miles (2.9 km) and the elevation gain is 2,800 feet (853 metres). The summit of the hike brings you to 3,700 feet (1,127 metres) above sea level. If you're interested in trying it out, check out this site.

Since having kids, I haven't done the Grind, but when they're a bit older, I hope to take up hiking again. Though I have done the Grind, it wasn't all too fun because it's just a straight climb and not too scenic compared to other trails. All you see are people's butts going up (not too bad a view if you're into that kind of thing, I suppose). I personally enjoy the longer, windier hikes in the North Shore Mountains. I liked hiking Mt. Fromme, which is about 10 km in length and takes about 4 hours. In the summer, you can pick wild blueberries all the way down (just watch out for bears).

And do bring my nut mix with you for energy!

NUTS! I FOUND THE PERFECT SNACK FOOD

gourmet nut blend: macadamias, hazelnuts, papaya, mango, cilantro, cumin and chipotle

Hey, you know I like to snack. It isn't often that you'd find me without one on my person...in my purse, in the top left drawer of my desk in the classroom amidst the bags and cans of green tea (I keep it locked so don't bother!), in my pantry and in my car.

This isn't even counting the myriad snacks I keep around for my kiddies (rice crackers and pretzels etc.)!

It's like I've got to eat, ya know?

I find roasted, unsalted almonds to be a great energy lifter so they're always around in a little fist-sized tin in my purse. I try not to keep processed junk around because if it's there, I'll overindulge. So for me, that crucial choice not to purchase the junk at the grocery store is key.

pecans, cranberries, orange zest and black pepper blend

One place I feel kind of safe buying snacks, is at a whole foods store. Today I went to Capers, though I'm looking forward to the new Whole Foods opening soon on Broadway and Cambie. I can't wait! I found these delicious nuts at Capers today. They come in a variety of "gourmet" flavours. Looking at the ingredient list, I'm cogitating: how the heck am I gonna make these? They're so expensive! ( but they're so good! Tell me if you have a good knock-off recipe!)

Sahale (sa-HA-lee) has 6 different "blends" of nuts:

• Dauphine: walnuts with blueberries, banana, coconut, ginger & lavender--lightly sweetened and seasoned with white pepper
• Ksar: pistachios with sesame seeds, pepitas, fig & moroccan harissa sweetened by honey & kicked up with pepper
• Sing Buri: cashews with pineapple, peanuts, lemongrass, mild chinese chili
• Socorro: macadamia nuts with hazelnuts, mangos, papaya & seasoned with cumin, cilantro, southwestern chipotle
• Soledad: almonds with apple, flax seed, dates, balsamic vinegar & cayenne
• Valdosta: pecans with cranberries, black pepper & orange zest

I purchased the "Socorro" macadamia blend and the "Valdosta" pecan blend. There is a definite sweetness to both blends. I much prefer the flavours in the macadamia blend (not so crazy about the inclusion of hazelnuts though) but the pecan blend has a nice kick to it too. I think all the blends have the sweet, salty, spicy thing going on and it appeals to me on so many levels! I'm rationalizing eating these because they're considered "whole foods".

The Sahale website is here if you want to check out the products and ingredients. From the names of the blends, I thought that this company would be more ethnic, but they're not. Looks like a couple of white guys trying to make it big like Starbucks. They're based in the Pacific Northwest, in Seattle Washington. Check out this link if you want to find out the story behind the names of their snack blends, and how to pronounce them!

I've seen the pecan blend for sale in a huge bag at Costco and was very intrigued; but afraid to buy such a huge quantity without having sampled it. I'm glad I didn't buy it because I prefer the macadamia blend. That being said, Costco's price for the huge bag is so much cheaper than the little itty bitty 142g bag I bought for around $5! Oh well, that's a good reason for moderation.

taste-rating: two thumbs up!

****

update: August 4, 2008

psssst! I've created my own knockoff recipe over here!

A VISIT TO AN ASIAN CANDY STORE

condensed milk in a tube?

The other day, we were at Yaohan Centre Mall in Richmond and I walked into an Asian candy store upstairs. OMG there were all sorts of interesting things.

I grabbed some candy bars in flavours that I've never seen before in the regular supermarkets and I even found Condensed Milk that comes in a tube! I didn't know if I were to brush my teeth with the stuff or squeeze it all over my hot buttered toast! What'll they think of next? Hm...Nutella in a tube? It probably does exist somewhere in the world.

matcha flavoured kit kat...a high end candy bar "for a moment of precious indulgence"!

chestnut-flavoured kitkat

As a child, I've always loved KitKats and Coffee Crisps. I liked to eat them in layers...you know--scrape off all the chocolate with your teeth and peel them off to eat as single wafers. The best part was the malty filling part. The flavour that blew my mind away at the Asian candy store was "Chestnut". Matcha I can see...but the chestnut flavour sure was interesting.

chocolate biscuit shaped like mushrooms

I also picked up some chocolate cookies at Yaohan. These biscuits come in cute shapes like coniferous trees and mushrooms. They're topped with chocolate that's been molded to form the cap of the mushrooms or the "leaves" of the tree. I've had these before and they are quite tasty. Bebe loves the little mushroom shapes.

it's been pointed out that these are bamboo shoot shaped (now i see the bamboo in the foreground and the bambooish font!), but as a canadian, i of course saw them as coniferous trees!

The store also had a myriad of Pocky flavours, Hello Kitty candies, asian-inspired gums, chips and other snacks. I was overwhelmed by the selection and kept wondering why in mainstream supermarkets in Canada we only get such a limited selection of flavours? We get crappy ol' coffee, strawberry, vanilla or chocolate flavours. How humdrum!

Visiting an Asian Mall in Vancouver is pretty much like walking into another country...except you can leave your passport at home! What fun!

SUPERSIZED SUSHI: GIGANTIC CALIFORNIA ROLLS

Have you ever had a craving for sushi?

I was at the local market handling a perfectly ripe avocado when the craving hit. I immediately added the avocado to my basket along with some of that fake crabmeat (surimi) made out of pollock. A fish with such an unappealing name surely needs to be processed into something else.

I had a 5-sheet package of "fancy" grade sushi seaweed in my cupboard at home, some Kokuho Rose brand sushi rice, a bottle of seasoned rice vinegar, and that weird Japanese mayonnaise in a squeeze bottle (Kewpie mayonnaise). Those are the makings for California Rolls!

Here's my recipe--actually I don't really use a recipe, I just kind of wing it, but this time I measured for your sake!

JUMBO CALIFORNIA ROLLS

these ingredients are the basics for a California Roll but you can kick it up a few notches by using the optional ingredients

3 cups cooked short-grain rice (white or brown) [I used Kokuho Rose brand]

1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar [this comes prepared in a bottle]

2 cups surimi (fake crabmeat)

1 ripe avocado, sliced

1 package sushi seaweed [I used a fancy grade 5-sheet package--the more expensive the seaweed generally, the tastier it is]

optional: these ingredients will definitely make your rolls tastier!

julienned English cucumber, tobiko for garnish, toasted sesame seeds, real crab meat
This is surimi. I know it's fake, but it's delicious!
You can substitute real crab meat if you're made of money. But if I were you, I'd rather splurge on the seaweed.

• In a large bowl, combine the seasoned rice vinegar with the hot cooked rice. Set aside to cool. Toss gently occasionally.
• Using a bamboo sushi mat, lay the roasted sushi seaweed glossy side down. Usually there are little indentations on the seaweed--these should run vertically on the mat.
• Spoon about 1 cup of the cooled seasoned sushi rice onto the seaweed. Spread the rice evenly over the seaweed. I often use a little paring knife to help me spread...I know, it's not orthodox but it keeps my hands from getting sticky! Real sushi chefs wet their hands in clean water continuously so the rice doesn't stick. They just use their hands to spread the rice.


• Take whatever filling you desire and line it up along the bottom edge of the seaweed/rice mat. Of course if you use other fillings, you won't have a California roll. I've used canned salmon or tuna, cucumber, cooked egg (scrambled), red peppers, teriyaki shitake mushrooms and the list goes on and on. Pretty much anything goes. If you want, you don't have to use raw fish at all. At this point, you can also add the mayonnaise or other thick sauces as well.


• Using the bamboo mat, roll the sushi away from you. Use the mat to help press close the roll.


• Slice the sushi rolls with a sharp knife. It helps if you clean the knife sporadically. Often, with the larger rolls, I use a serrated bread knife to cut the rolls. It helps avoid crushing the rolls (I know! also unorthodox and not very Japanesey--I'm not Japanese!) It works. Take my word for it. You won't have smushed rolls.


• Serve with a high grade soy sauce for sashimi/sushi. I like Yamasa. Kikkoman is good too. Pickled ginger and wasabi will only make it better.

MY FAVOURITE ASIAN JUNK FOODS

garlic green peas

I have a shameless addiction to sodium-laden junk food. If there were some sort of Junk Foods anonymous group, I'd have to join it. Lately, I've discovered Asian junk food at T & T, an asian supermarket chain in Vancouver which carries a myriad of Asian foods. Sometimes I find weird and funky things. Often I discover totally delicious stuff.

My snack pantry currently has favourite snacks that proclaim some sort of "health benefit" to them. Yeah, I know. Who am I kidding? Well, I'm still trying to lose those last few stubborn pounds of baby weight so I can fit into my skinny jeans again. I recently decided to go low carb as much as possible. It'll be fun to pack my low carb bento lunches for work, but sometimes it's difficult around 4pm and I've got the munchies.

Garlic Green Peas are individually packaged and handy when I need something savoury and crunchy. The ingredients are green peas, vegetable oil, garlic, sugar, salt, and garlic powder. They're made in Taiwan by this company called Global-Mart Food; Triko Foods Co. I can't read Chinese so I can't tell you what it says on the package or what their brand name is. Sorry!

I think the fact that they are portioned in these itty bitty packages helps--as long as I remember not to have more than one little package! Since the buggers are kind of difficult to rip open, that's good too for portion control. The Garlic Green Peas beat Wasabi peas in my opinion because I'm not too fond of wasabi. They would go great with a nice cold beer I imagine; yet I don't really like drinking beer... but for some reason I yearn for a beer when I'm eating these peas! On the bag, there's this bottle of sake in the background. You get the idea.
* * *

coconut flavoured roasted sunflower seeds

Another totally unexpectedly delicious Asian snack surprise came when I decided to try Coconut Flavoured roasted Sunflower seeds. I'm generally not a sunflower seed-eater and often find the way people spit the shells out kind of disgusting. However, I suspended my elitist views to give this interesting snack a try. It was SO good I couldn't believe it.only the Cha Cheer brand carries a coconut flavoured sunflower seed

All other flavoured sunflower seeds pale in flavour profile in comparison. There's anise-flavoured and spicy flavoured sunflower seeds but they're not as good. The coconut flavour is hauntingly good. You can't stop with a little handful. I don't even really like sunflower seeds in general and consider it bird food; but this stuff is so good! As well, this company's seeds are juicy and plump and the number of rotten ones are few and far between.
isn't the "engrish" translation cute? nice try. it's kind of poetic i suppose

I have since developed a sunflower seed cracking technique that obviates spitting. I crack the shells with my front teeth and pull out the seed with the fingers of my other hand before popping them in my mouth. My mother does this one-handed-crack-the-seed-with-your-teeth-use-your-tongue-to-dislodge-the-seed-and-eat-it-all-at-once technique which amazes me. She goes through about 2 to 3 seeds for every one seed I eat. She laughs and pokes fun at my obsessive-compulsive way of eating the seeds but when she hits the occasional rotten seed she pays for it! Taking it all in stride she says it's okay and it's not going to kill her. The Chinese manufacturer was even kind enough to include instructions for eating the seeds, "crack the shell with your teeth, eat the seed and spit the shell. Be cautious don't eat the seed without spitting the shell!" I just love it. har har!mmm. plump seeds!
***

the almighty japanese crispy seaweed snack. this snack kicks butt!

My favourite snack that has replaced potato chips, is Japanese Crispy Seaweed. Yes, I initially thought it would be like eating roasted Nori for sushi, the little packages of teriyaki-flavoured strips of seaweed or even the Korean flavoured seaweed. No way! This stuff is crispy and light and seasoned just right! I like to buy the Seafood flavour because the package purports to contain Omega-3, DHA and EPA. The other flavours don't have that claim. The spicy flavour is pretty good but I haven't tried their wasabi flavour. The tomato flavoured one is just too weird a combination. Thankfully, there's some translation on the package: it's called Tao Kae Noi Crispy Seaweed. The ingredients are simply seaweed, oil, seafood flavour and salt. On the back of the package are the numbers for its fatty acid composition. It's produced and distributed by Taokaenoi Food and Marketing Co. in Thailand.

this is the unseasoned side. it's a little bubbly looking. these seaweed snacks are not oily (unlike Korean seaweed snacks), but dry and crisp.

Okay, I kid you not about this little anecdote. Last year, over the course of the summer I had ingested quite a few packages of these sunflower seeds (good thing they're cheap!) and even more of the crispy seaweed (not so cheap!). My hairstylist noticed my hair was particularly strong, soft and silky. He said, "oh my goodness!" and pulled out a really weird hair. It was black at the root for about an inch and a half and then grey to the end. He carefully set the strand of hair aside so he could show his colleagues later because he had never seen someone in his whole career as a stylist (more than 30 years!) with even one hair that had done that before. It was a grey hair that had reverted back to its original colour! Cool, eh? Unfortunately, I only had one strand of hair do that. Those sunflower seeds were the only thing I changed about my diet at the time, so I'd like to think they had a hand in reclaiming my hair colour. I don't have a lot of grey to begin with, but it's kind of neat to think eating sunflower seeds and omega 3 rich foods will bring back youthful-looking hair!