Thanks to the Gallo Family Vineyard, a romantic Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to break the bank. Some inexpensive–but good!–wine and homemade dessert can make your evening sweet and sensible. The Moscato, a light-bodied wine with flavors of peach, honey and citrus, and Sweet Red, a light to-medium-bodied wine with flavors of apple, pear and tropical fruit, are just $5 a bottle, and pair perfectly with the below Gallo Family Vineyard’s signature recipes.

Fresh Pear Torta

We tend to go out to drink in order to unwind from the stress of the work week. Once in a while, however, people decide to use drinking as an added challenge in life, a sort of sudden sharp focus consisting of pain and punishment to ones taste buds in the name of pride and story (and occasionally a t-shirt.)

So it is with Poe’s Kitchen’s devil mix known as the Ghost Chili Margarita, an infamous drink with the claim that it is so hot, it cannot be finished without the use of heat-dulling aids. I, thoroughly representing Blast Magazine, took this challenge this Friday to see if the drink had the kick to back up the claim.

Before tasting begins, a waiver must be signed in to alleviate Poe’s Kitchen from responsibility of you harming yourself in the consumption of the drink. Once the proper signatures have been put on the proper lines, the drink is prepared. It looks almost childlike, a sort of cherry red mixture served up with a lime. There are warning signs though, including the bottle of tequila filled to the brim with sinister looking peppers used to mix the Margarita. There is also an unmarked red bottle, which squirts a thin red liquid that burns to smell, and a thin line of chili and habanero powder put on the rim in under the traditional salt.

But it’s a challenge for a reason. I said what nearly were my last words (“I’ve always loved my mother and Big Bang Theory isn’t funny!”) and took a drink.

There’s a certain state of mind that believes that if you are to complete this challenge, you must take it the entire drink in a single moment, in order to not allow the more cautious parts of your brain to tell you how suicidal that really is. So I sucked it through the straw in a single breath and then sit back proud of my accomplishment.

I looked at the bartenders and patrons and think you see faces of awe and excitement. Then it sunk in that these are faces of terror and alarm. Then it hit me.

The pain was something out of Dante; it was freezing cold and burning hot all at once, with just a hint of being stabbed for good measure.

I headed for the bathroom instinctively, and while it felt like the world was falling out from under me, enough focus eventually got me to the stall. From there, primal functions of my body’s self-preservation systems kicked in and everything that had gone in from the last 48 hours came out of any place with an opening. Luckily it went black after a while, and sweet, sweet unconsciousness kicked in.

I came to, stumbled out of the bathroom, paid my bill, and had a friend take me home before the ambulance likely showed up, and I would have had to explain to nice EMTs why they had to ride out to Boylston Street.

The challenge complete, I walked away under my own power with a story to tell and a possible ulcer to deal with.

As a drink goes, Poe’s Kitchen’s Ghost Chili Margarita packs a bit of a kick. If your insides happen to be replaced with the engine of a diesel truck, then it might be something to try out. If you want to enjoy what precious little time you have with your stomach lining however, you may want to try the Sam Brick Red.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest found compelling evidence that ingestion of artificial food dyes can contribute to hyperactivity, restlessness and attention problems in some children, especially those with ADHD. Fortunately, there are now natural alternatives available, made primarily from vegetable colorants. (Media credit/Hemera Collection)

Many of us are still wary of food dyes because of reports about links between red dye #2 and cancer in the 1970s. While red dye #2 was subsequently banned from products sold in the United States, many health-conscious consumers continue to avoid foods with other artificial colors or dyes—even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) still considers them safe for human consumption.

But a 2010 analysis of past research on links between food dyes and health by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) found compelling evidence that ingestion of artificial dyes can contribute to hyperactivity, restlessness and attention problems in some children—particularly those with ADHD. “What’s more, the studies suggested that removing dyes from those children’s diet was a quarter to half as effective in reducing those symptoms as giving the kids Ritalin or other stimulants,” reports Nancy Cordes, CBS News’ Consumer Safety Correspondent. “In other words, certain kids with ADHD might not need drugs if the artificial dyes were removed from their diets.” Several commonly used artificial food dyes are suspected carcinogens as well.

While it might be impossible to prevent your children from eating anything with artificial dye, you can do your part by shopping at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s—both chains have banned products that use artificial dyes and carry all-natural food coloring for home cooking and baking projects.

One brand to look for is India Tree, which makes a line of food coloring derived from vegetable colorants. The company’s “Nature’s Colors Natural Decorating Colors” contain no corn syrup or synthetic dyes, and are highly recommended for coloring icing in rich jewel tones or soft pastels.

Another company specializing in natural (as well as organic) food colors is Nature’s Flavors, whose products are widely used commercially in ice cream, baked goods, frosting, dairy products, syrups, sauces, beverages and even hair colors. The company recently began to sell their products to consumers, as well, through retail stores. They use a variety of plant materials, including beets, turmeric root, annatto seeds, purple carrot, purple cabbage, gardenia flowers, hibiscus flowers and grape skin. “Our natural food colors are made from plants and contain powerful antioxidants, which help the body repair itself from the effects of oxidation,” claims Nature’s Flavors. “Using natural or organic food colors may actually help the brain and slow down the effects of aging.”

Another leading maker of all-natural food coloring is Chefmaster, whose products can be found at Whole Foods and other natural and high end food retailers, as well as on amazon.com and elsewhere online.

CPSI would like the FDA to ban eight of the most common artificial dyes, or at least affix a warning label to products that contain them: “Warning: The artificial coloring in this food causes hyperactivity and behavioral problems in some children.” In the meantime, concerned eaters should stick with products, stores and restaurants that use natural ingredients.

CONTACTS: India Tree, www.indiatree.com; Nature’s Flavors, www.naturesflavors.com; CPSI’s “Food Dyes: A Rainbow of Risks,” www.cspinet.org/new/pdf/food-dyes-rainbow-of-risks.pdf.

(Media Credit/Melissa Ostrow via UrbanDaddy.com)

There was a time when cocktails weren’t trendy, but classic. For most of Boston, that time has passed, but for Elm Street’s clandestine Saloon, that time is now. Upon walking into Somerville’s newest basement joint, one anticipates the impressive atmosphere and bar menu. To our surprise, it was the soundtrack that proved immediately impressive. The sound of Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris affirmed our suspicions that good things were to come.

And come, they did, in the form of the bright green Nay Sayer cocktail ($10), remarkably complex fried pickled peppers ($9) and a savory steak and kidney pie ($26). As a cocktail, the Nay Sayer is bad for you while tasting very, very good. Indeed, the shot of wheatgrass included in the whiskey and ginger beer mix makes the concoction feel almost healthful.

The wine list is slightly narrow-minded, obviously aiming to please to masses, but the cocktails easy compensate for this. The Ward 44 ($10) is the alcoholic answer to smoky, chocolate covered bacon, and the Corpse Reviver no. 2 ($10) provides tart, absinthe laced refreshment.

Where food is concerned, the deep fried pickled peppers stuffed with Boursin cheese reign over all other appetizers. The steak and kidney pie earned accolades from a native Brit, as well as this reporter and her companion. The savory filling and delightfully rich crust allow one to forget, and even embrace, the fact that it is cold outside.

A reported favorite of Davis Square’s “Slutcracker “cast, Saloon is not to be missed. Whether you crave brown walls, brown gravy, or brown liquor, it is sure to satisfy.

Saloon, 255 Elm St, Somerville; 617-628-4444; www.saloondavis.com

This fall, Blast and the makers of Vampyre Vodka gave you some blood-suckingly delicious Halloween-inspired cocktail recipes to try. Now, it’s your turn! Submit your own holiday cocktail ideas featuring Vampyre Vodka to us by Jan. 1, and one lucky winner will receive a Vampyre Vodka t-shirt, Vampire gourmet coffee and Vampire dark Belgian chocolate. Don’t forget to give your cocktail a blood-curdlingly awesome name!

Email your cocktail recipes to me at shannonconeill@gmail.com with the subject line “Blast Vampyre Vodka Cocktail Contest” by Jan. 1. Include your name and contact information in the e-mail. And sorry, we know vampires are ageless, but you must be 21+ to enter the contest.

With all the focus on turkey, mashed potatoes and yams, one important part of a Thanksgiving meal is often overlooked: the cocktails. Thankfully, Drambuie Liqueur and William Grant & Sons Distillers gave Blast some delicious and festive drink recipes for you to sip before, during, and after the best meal of the year.

Solerno Celebration Punch

1 bottle Solerno

1 bottle Lillet Rouge

1 bottle dry, sparkling white wine

16 ounces freshly brewed, strong, chai spiced black tea (no cream or sugar added)

8 ounces Fever Tree Ginger Beer

8 ounces freshly squeezed lemon juice

16 dashes Angostura bitters

Over a large block of ice in a punch bowl, pour all of the ingredients and stir to combine. Garnish with thinly sliced orange wheels. Serve in punch cups with a cinnamon stick and small wedge of orange.

Cranberry Sauce Cooler

1 ounce Solerno blood orange Liqueur

1 ounce Hendrick’s Gin

2 barspoons Solerno Cranberry Sauce*

1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice

2 ounces soda water

Shake Solerno, Hendrick’s, lemon juice and cranberry sauce* over ice and strain into a tall glass over fresh ice. Fill with soda water and stir to incorporate.  Garnish with a fresh cranberry and an orange twist.

Solerno Cranberry Sauce*

1 bag of fresh, organic cranberries, washed

3/4  cup organic sugar

1/4 cup Solerno

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

1/2 cup Lillet Rouge

1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest

1 pinch ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 cinnamon stick

In a medium sized saucepan over medium heat, dissolve the sugar in the orange juice, Solerno and Lillet Rouge.  Add the spices and orange zest, stir in the cranberries and cook until the cranberries start to pop (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and place sauce in a bowl. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.

First & Last

2 part apple juice

.5 part lemon juice

.5 part simple syrup (1:1 ratio)

1 part Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum

.5 part sparkling wine

In a punch bowl, add juices and syrup together over ice. Add rum and stir gently.  Slowly pour sparkling wine into punch.  Add sliced oranges and apples to punch bowl and serve cold.

Milagro Horchata Punch

6 parts Milagro Anejo

2 parts Averna

2 parts lime juice

1 part almond syrup or Orgeat

6 parts Horchata

8 Thai basil or basil leaves

2 parts pear juice

8 dashes barrel-aged bitters

1 part water

Mix all ingredients in a large punch bowl, allowing two hours for basil to infuse. Remove basil before serving. Serve over ice with a garnish of pear slices and cinnamon.

Hot Gin Punch

24 ounces Hendrick’s Gin

24 ounces Madeira wine

6 lemon twists

1 orange slice

3 large chunks pineapple

3 ounces honey

1 ounce fresh lemon juice

3 cloves

1 pinch ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon brown sugar

Add all the ingredients to a large saucepan over low heat and simmer for 20 minutes. To serve, strain and pour the hot mixture into a punch bowl or teapot and garnish with orange slices studded with cloves.

Drambuie Toddy with Ginger and Green Tea

1 1/4 part Drambuie

2 thin slices fresh ginger

1 thin slice lemon

6 parts green tea (piping hot)

In a large mug, add all ingredients. Stir, then let steep for 1 minute. Serve hot.

Drambuie & Cider 

1 part Drambuie

4 parts hot cider

Pour ingredients into a mug. Stir and serve with a cinnamon stick.

When beer lovers think of craft beers, certain names come to mind: Redhook, Magic Hat, Smuttynose, Samuel Adams. A name not on the list? Bud Light. But that’s something the beer’s company could be trying to change.

This January, Anheuser-Busch InBev is set to release a new brew, Bud Light Platinum, the company said Wednesday in a statement. The new beer “appeals to a key group of beer drinkers and expands consumer occasions,” the company says, leading some to wonder if this is the company’s attempt to “tap in” to a popular craft beer market. US beer sales were down 1 percent by volume in 2010, but craft beer sales, in dollars, rose 15 percent in the first half of 2011, according to the Brewers Association.

But what makes a “craft” beer? The Brewers Association defines a craft brewer as “small, independent and traditional”–all things Anheuser-Busch InBev, the largest brewer in the world, arguably is not. So is “craft” beer set to be the next ambiguous but trendy label, a la “green” or “natural”?  We’ll have to wait and see.

Researchers have found no direct links between diet sodas and specific human health problems. Initial reports that implicated aspartame, widely use to sweeten diet sodas, in a wide range of human health problems including cancer turned out to be false -- though certainly much healthier beverage choices abound. (Media credit/julesreyes via Flickr)

While rumors have circulated for years that diet sodas are unhealthy, researchers have found no direct links between such drinks and specific human health problems. Aspartame (also known as NutraSweet) is the sugar-alternative of choice for most diet soda makers. It’s 180 times sweeter than sugar but contains no significant calories and does not promote tooth decay. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first approved aspartame in 1974, though health advocates held up its widespread use for over a decade.

Over half of Americans consume aspartame regularly in soda and other foods—all told, diet varieties accounted for some 29 percent of the soft drink market for the top 10 sodas in 2010, according to Beverage Digest—so it is certainly reasonable to be concerned about any potential health effects. However, initial reports that implicated aspartame in seizures, headaches, depression, anxiety, memory loss, birth defects, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus, methanol toxicity and even cancer turned out to be false (even a hoax), according to a wide range of reputable, peer-reviewed studies and clinical and epidemiological research.

Another concern that has been voiced about aspartame is that it produces methanol when metabolized, which converts to formaldehyde (and then formic acid) in the body. But studies have shown that the amount of methanol in aspartame is less than that found in natural sources such as fruit juices, citrus fruits and some fermented beverages, and that the amount of formaldehyde generated is also small compared to that produced routinely by the body from other foods and drugs.

While aspartame and diet sodas have not been linked directly to specific health problems, researchers who surveyed the eating, drinking, smoking and exercise habits of some 2,500 New Yorkers between 2003 and 2010 did find that those who drank at least one diet soda per day had a 61 percent higher risk of so-called vascular events (e.g. heart attack or stroke) than those who avoided Diet Coke and other products with aspartame. “If our results are confirmed with future studies, then it would suggest that diet soda may not be the optimal substitute for sugar-sweetened beverages for protection against vascular outcomes,” reported the study’s lead author, Hannah Gardener of the University of Miami School of Medicine.

But others say that such a finding constitutes a link, not proof of cause and effect—and that those who have switched to diet sodas may be replacing the calories they used to get from regular sodas with other unhealthy foods that may be increasing their risk of heart attack or stroke.

The takeaway should be that those who drink soda regularly, diet or otherwise, should be sure to exercise and eat right otherwise. Or, better yet…give up the soda entirely. According to Katherine Zeratsky, a nutritionist with the Mayo Clinic, healthier choices abound. She suggests starting off the day with a glass of 100 percent fruit juice and then drinking skim milk with meals. “Sip water throughout the day,” she recommends. “For variety, try sparkling water or add a squirt of lemon or cranberry juice to your water.”

CONTACTS: “Miller School Researchers Link Diet Soda and Salt to Cardiovascular Risk,” www.med.miami.edu/news/miller-school-researchers-link-diet-soda-and-salt-to-cardiovascular-risk.

My dad drinks Scotch, so I drink Scotch.

Odds are, you have a similar tale. Scotch, single malt, bourbon — our dads seems to be whiskey guys, and there’s something tough and sophisticated about that.

And that means I drink whiskey too. Where do we begin? Well Charlie Whitfield, a brand ambassador for The Macallan offers a few tips on whiskey drinking and whiskey etiquette that perhaps will make you outshine your father in whiskey appreciation … one day.

BLAST: What are some of the common whiskey terms? What do phrases like “single malt” and “cask strength” mean?

CHARLIE WHITFIELD: Cask Strength – for this style of Scotch the whiskey comes straight from the cask and has no water added to it. Normally water is added to bring it down to bottling strength, usually to around 40-43 percent alcohol by volume. In the case of The Macallan Cask Strength, it is bottled at original cask strength, 59 percent ABV, without chill filtration or the addition of water. This delivers an exceptionally rich Macallan, wonderfully rich in color with dried fruits, spice and chocolate orange, best enjoyed with a splash of water to release the complex and sumptuous flavors.

Blended Scotch (like The Famous Grouse) which makes up around 90 percent of the Scotch whiskey industry, is a mix of different types of grain, corn, and single malt whiskeys and can come from any number of distilleries (anywhere from two to sometimes 50). A single malt making up around 9 percent of total Scotch production, can only come from one geographical location (one distillery) and can only be made using malted barley, water and yeast.

Vatted Malt is a blend of two or more single malt whiskeys.

Cask Maturation — Over 60 percent of all the aroma and flavor in Scotch comes from the interaction between the oak casks and the spirit during the maturation process. Therefore it is vital to use oak casks of the very best quality. The Macallan currently invests around $20 million dollars into our oak casks each year, hand crafting and picking each and every one.

BLAST: What kind of glass should one drink Scotch in?

CW: Whatever drinking vessel you can get your hands on! Whiskey is a drink to be savored, time spent enjoying the flavors on the nose are equally important as those on the palate. It is down to personal preference, though I would recommend a glass that tapers towards the mouth, the result being that it captures the delicious and varied aromas in your Scotch. They say that there are around 150 different flavor compounds in a single malt. The Glencairn style glass would be a good example to start with.

BLAST: What’s the difference between Scotch and other whiskeys?

CW: In order to be called a Scotch, the whiskey must be made in Scotland and matured in oak casks for at least three years. Whiskey is also made in other countries such as America, Canada, Ireland and Japan.

BLAST: What is a good intro-scotch for a young person to get started with?

CW: I would recommend a lighter style Scotch with more fruity and floral flavors. This style is much more accessible to someone new to Scotch and not too overpowering and rich on the palate. The Macallan Fine Oak range fits this style profile perfectly. The Macallan Fine Oak 15 is currently my wife’s favorite.

BLAST: How should a person drink Scotch? Ice or no ice?

CW: At the end of the day it is your Scotch, you should drink it however you enjoy it! I would suggest trying it neat to start with, so you can enjoy it in its truest form. Adding a couple of drops of water actually opens up the bouquet of the Scotch and releases the full aroma profile. Adding ice slightly numbs the aromas and flavors but is a refreshing alternative. The Macallan Ice Ball machine creates perfect spheres of ice, which due to less surface area, melt much more slowly, chilling your Scotch to perfection without turning it into a diluted mess!

BLAST: Why Macallan?

The unrivaled quality and consistency of the brand, combined with the unique history and heritage of the distillery. Just as important to me are the people who represent The Macallan and the “family” approach I’ve already noticed to the way we do business.

My first memories of Scotch whisky are more for it’s medicinal purposes, helping me to sleep, whilst at anchor during particularly stormy nights when sailing off the West coast of Scotland. It has now become my drink of choice.

Unofficially I’ve been associated with The Macallan since I was two years old! My granny entered me into a raffle and I won first prize, two cases of The Macallan 10 Year Old. My father drank one case but gave me the remaining case when I reached legal drinking age! The Macallan also played a part in my proposal to my American wife last year, in the snowy Highlands of Scotland, but that’s another story!

The relationship between Trick-or-Treater X and Resident Y is undeniably strange. No other social situation genuinely approaches the dynamic created when a small costumed stranger knocks on a door and receives candy from a larger, likely un-costumed adult.

From the perspective of the candy giver, it may be one of the strangest social obligations in existence. In the eyes of a child, it is one of the most exciting nights of the year. Both of these participants represent two completely different emotional investments in a single bizarre evening.

However, there is a bridge between these gaps that is oft overlooked. It presents itself in the form of that climactic moment when a child, either alone or in company, dumps out their pillowcase, pumpkin shaped bucket, or plastic cauldron, to analyze their haul. The nostalgia of this moment is buried in that pile of sugary concoctions, and slowly builds as the candy is carefully sorted and organized by small sets of hands.

If you’re willing to romanticize the experience a little, it can be viewed as an individual’s first material conquest. The candies that spill out onto that floor are not items directly purchased by the child’s parents. Nor are they gifts unwrapped during a birthday or Christmas. They were obtained by a direct action performed by the child, and therefore the senses of ownership and pride are both heightened.

It is this notion of material pride that is very much an adult concept (I won’t go as far as labeling it mature), and it should be the thread that connects the two generations in their Halloween experience. Children comparing candy is no different than adults flaunting new pieces of technology, or inviting people over to see the new bar they put in their basement.

Therefore, as adults it should be our responsibility to put forth a reasonable amount of effort into our candy selections. Although we may be far removed from the youthful vigor that energized Halloweens past, we should still embrace the influence that comes with being on the other side of this timeless interaction.

With that thought in mind, here are a few short candy inspired lists (subjective of course) to help you contribute to the greater cause and make you the coolest house on the block. Keep in mind that Full-Size is the standard that I’m working with. Although King-Size Candy is aptly named, I understand it can be out of one’s budget.

Greatest Hits

1. Milky Way
2. Three Musketeer
3. Snickers
4. Twix
5. M&M’s Plain/Peanut
6. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
7. Kit Kat
8. Hershey Chocolate Bar
9. Nestle Crunch Bar
10. Junior Mints

Non-Chocolate Classics

1. Skittles
2. Starburst
3. Sour Patch Kids
4. Gummy Bears (I prefer Black Forest)
5. Swedish Fish
6. Nerds
7. Twizzlers
8. Sweet Tarts
9. Mike & Ikes

Some Alternative Choices

1. Gummy Food Packs (Burgers, Hotdogs, Pizza)
2. Pretzel M&M’s (Sweet and salty is always a good decision)
3. Fun Dip (interactive but a parent’s nightmare)
4. Ring Pop (or anything resembling candy jewelry)

Candy to Avoid

1. Loose Items/Anything Not Packaged (for the obvious reasons)
2. Candy Corn
3. Mound/Almond Joy (coconut seems too hit or miss with kids)
4. Tootsie Rolls
5. Gum (step up your game people)
6. Milk Duds/Sugar Daddys (aka the teeth destroyers)
7. Whoppers/Malted Milk Balls
8. Black Licorice
9. Ju Ju Bees
10. Good N’ Plenty/Fruity (the evil twin of Mike & Ike’s)

This is just a guideline, based on what I feel younger children prefer on a general basis. I left off some big names and probably overlooked a few more, so please don’t be too critical. Now go and enjoy your Halloween!

We’re all about making lists that make your mouth water. A few years ago, we put out a list of 10 things that taste like Generation Y childhood. Retro things like that combined with the coming Halloween holiday got us thinking of all of the treats that, good or bad, are no longer available in this day and age.

Here are 20 of them.

20. Gator Gum

Drinks and gums are a bad idea, but that didn’t stop Gatorade from releasing lemon-lime and orange gum in the 1970s, again in the 80s, in the late 90s and finally i the early 2000s.

Never a commercial hit, the gum did quench thirst. It was manufactured by Fleer, which we also know for its sports cards.

19. Yoo-Hoo chocolate bar

Yoo-Hoo commercials were all over the airwaves when we were kids, but we didn’t do much to help the chocolate drink succeed as a chocolate bar.

Described as “chocolatey coated nougat,” the candy was essentially a lighter 3 Musketeers bar.

If you’re a big fan, the Yoo-Hoo: Chocolate Flavored Bars Freezer Pops are still on store shelves.

18. Heinz EZ Squirt

Someone thought this was a good idea, and some people actually liked this.

In 2000, Heinz gave the world mustard-style squeeze bottles. Great. But they didn’t stop there. They released their signature ketchup in purple and green colors. It completely backfired. As it turns out, (most) people do not like eating food covered in what looks like boogers and puke.

The product was quickly pulled due to poor sales.

17. The Arch Deluxe

Odds are we never even ate one of these as a kid. The McDonald’s Arch Deluxe was marketed at our sophisticated, burger-enjoying parents.

Trouble was, they didn’t eat it either.

Introduced in 1996, the “burger for adults” arrived with a $100 million advertising campaign. It became one of the costliest flops in fast food history.

The burger was essentially a quarter-pounder with a circular piece of peppered bacon on top, with the usual fixings and special sauce. I don’t know what’s so sophisticated about that.

16. PB Crisps

“Peanut butter with a crunch” — PB Crisps were cookies filled with peanut butter introduced in 1992.

They were delicious, and that was a problem, apparently. More than 2,000 people have signed an online petition to bring the snack back, but Kraft has said it has no plans to re-introduce PB Crisps.

15. Butterfinger BBs

We were actually shocked to learn that BBs had not only been discontinued, but they’ve been gone since 2006. The Bart Simpsons-endorsed Butterfinger BB’s were similar to Whoppers.

In 2009, Nestle brought the product back as Butterfinger Mini Bites. But it’s not the same without the implication of gun violence that BBs gave us as kids.

14. French Toast Crunch

Another victim of the great junk food purge of 2006.

This artificially flavored cereal was launched in 2001. It originally looked like mini slices of bread, but General Mills eventually made it look more like Cinnamon Toast Crunch before pulling it off shelves.

If you are obsessed with French Toast Crunch, you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding it. It’s still produced and marketed in Canada, in the original bread slice design, as “French Toast Crunch” and “Croque pain doré.”

13. Pepsi Blue

Pepsi Blue was only around for two years, but it’s product placement is forever etched into our early 21st Century popular culture, with advertisements by Britney Spears, Sev and Papa Roach and a very memorable appearance in “The Italian Job” as well as “Garfield: The Movie.”

But Pepsi Blue was a nightmare. It was marketed as “Pepsi, but berry” but it was way too sweet and sugary, tasting like cotton candy more than cola. It also used the controversial Blue 1 color that was actually banned in several countries when Pepsi Blue was released.

Today, Pepsi Blue is still available in Malaysia, or you can buy Jolt Blue CX2, which tastes strikingly similar.

12. Magic Middles

These were gooooooood.

But the 90s was a turbulent time in the food world, and these delicious cookies with the hard exterior and melty chocolate center were not meant to last.

11. Ecto-Cooler

This wasn’t even a product that was meant to last more than a few months or years, but Hi-C’s Ecto-Cooler, a tie-in to the 1987 animated series “The Real Ghostbusters” (based on the 1984 movie) lasted until 2007, when Minute Maid finally pulled the plug.

The box and the drink’s popular commercials featured the Ghostbusters character Slimer. It was an orange/tangerine/green drink that was delicious and tasted like summer and movies and everything that was great about being a kid in the 90s.

In 2001, Ecto-Cooler was renamed Shoutin’ Orange Tangergreen, and Slimer was replaced with a weird “lip monster.” In 2006, it was renamed Crazy Citrus Cooler. A year later, it was gone.

Earlier this year, Dog and Pony Show figured out how to make a drink that tastes exactly like Ecto-Cooler.

10. 3D Doritos

These sucked. Clearly some people disagreed, and there is a Facebook group with nearly 8,000 fans of 3D Doritos, a thinner snack, puffed out into more of a nugget than a corn chip.

3D Doritos sold poorly, and it didn’t help that an open bag of these things smelled like a wet dog. Not a great marketing trick.

9. Squeezits

The Squeezit actually had an impressive run during the sugary snack heyday.

This non-carbonated soft drink was sold by General Mills from the mid-1980s until 2001. It came in a plastic container, and the premise was simple: Open it and squeeze to drink.

Flavors included Chucklin’ Cherry, Berry B. Wild, Grumpy Grape (later changed to Gallopin’ Grape), Silly Billy Strawberry, Rockin’ Red Puncher, Mean Green Puncher, Smarty Arty Orange, and Troppi Tropical Punch. For a limited time there were mystery flavors in Black Bottles.

There are rumors that Squeezits were making a comeback this year, but we could not confirm.

8. The Supersize

This one you’ll really never see again. The malign-ment of fast food in this decade (and rightly so) has caused restaurants to reshape their offerings so it doesn’t look as obvious that they are feeding you pure death in the form of salty fried potatoes and processed beef.

But back in the day, we ordered our Supersize fries after the multicultural group of skinny kids on the television commercials looked like they were having so much fun eating at McDonald’s every day.

7. Orbitz

Before the gum or the travel website, we had Orbitz, the gravity-defying drink with the floating orbs.

The fruity beverage was marketed by Clearly Canadian in 1997. It was a complete flop — visually appealing but not delicious in the least.

Orbitz got its spacial effect from gellan gum, which created a microscopic spiderweb effect that allowed the edible falls to float around.

We really had some weird foods back in the day…

6. Surge

In 1996, Coca-Cola wanted to compete with Pepsi’s successful Mountain Dew green citrus soft drink. Surge was originally introduced in Norway as Urge, where it is still available for sale today.

Surge cold well in the US for a few years, but it quickly started to slip when people realized that the “extreme sports” marketing was bogus — it was just a bunch of sugar and caffeine that was bad for you nad not as tasty as Mountain Dew.

Today, Coke’s Vault is similar to Surge, only with more caffeine.

5. Crispy M&M’s

Weird. People generally just loved these M&M candies with the crispy rice center, but they were discontinued in 2005 after six years.

The problem might have been an overabundance of good things. A lot of different M&M varieties came out over years, including M&M’s Minis, dark chocolate, mint, almonds, orange chocolate, coconut, pretzel, cherry, and peanut butter.

Crispy M&M’s are still available in Europe, Australia, and southeast Asia.

4. Jimmy Dean Chocolate Chip Pancake-wrapped Sausage On A Stick

Oh Jesus.

This might have had a chance if it were released in the 80s, or even the 90s, but not the late 2000s.

Speaking of too much of a good thing — chocolate chips, pancakes, and sausage … on a friggin’ stick.

This lasted about a year. Thank God.

3. Crystal Pepsi.

Here’s the thing, 20 years ago a marketing gimmick emerged promoting “clearness” as equal to purity and goodness. It wasn’t started by or limited to soft drinks.

But in 1992, Pepsi introduced four markets, including Providence, to Crystal Pepsi. It sold well, so the company released the product nationwide.

It was a miserable failure, given the millions of dollars in marketing Pepsi had invested. The product was gone within the year.

There is a rumor that Pepsi is releasing a clear cola again next year. We shall see.

2. Waffle Crisp

This cereal is not officially discontinued, but good luck finding it on the shelf at your local Stop & Shop or Market Basket.

The maple syrup-flavored corn cereal bits were launched in 1996 with a gaggle of grannies seen in commercials laboring away to make more cereal.

The cereal is readily available online if you want to relive your glory years of sugary sweet breakfast.

1. Oreo O’s

This cereal IS gone — except in South Korea, of all places.

Oreo O’s was launched in 1998 and discontinued in 2007. It is a perfect example of a cereal whose box is better for you to eat than the actual food inside.

There was also something called Extreme Creme Taste Oreo O’s, which contained marshmallows that tasted like Oreo cream.

Why can’t you get them anymore? About three years ago, Kraft and Post parted ways. Post owns the recipe to the cereal, but Kraft owns the trademark and rights to use the Oreo name, leaving no company able to make Oreo O’s cereal. Doh.

Honorable mention: Dad’s Root Beer

You can still find Dad’s at specialty stores and on Amazon.com, but it’s all but disappeared from grocery stores. Monarch Beverage Company, which bought the rights to the root beer in 1986, helped make it the second most produced root beer in the US before it all but died out in the past decade. Today, you pretty much can’t find it in the Northeast, and some people have complained that online bottles, which can go for $3 a piece, don’t taste the same and are made with corn syrup instead of sugar.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

If recent reports concerning the Red Sox historical collapse are any indication, the chicken may have been fleeing from the Boston clubhouse.

Among other accusations, Red Sox captain Jason Varitek and starters Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and John Lackey have been ousted for eating fried chicken and drinking beer in the clubhouse during games. This revelation, paired with the news that the trio decided to cut back on their training regimen, provides Red Sox Nation with an all too familiar feeling.

While the Curse of the Bambino may have had a more weighted mystique than the aura surrounding a bucket of Popeye’s chicken, it seems as though the end result is the same: overweight athletes are once again causing Boston’s problems.

However, rather than perpetuate the storm of negativity that has been raging since the Red Sox fell short of the playoffs, it seemed about time to take a glass half full perspective.

The following is a list of foods that could be deemed unhealthier than Popeye’s fried kryptonite that seemed to plague Fenway Park.

1. PB & C Milkshake – Cold Stone Creamery

This fun-filled beverage received the title of America’s Unhealthiest Drink in 2010. Weighing in at respectable 2000 calories, one of these shakes equals a days worth of calorie intake. Whether you like it, love it, or gotta have it, this is one desert that makes a fried chicken breast look like a mixed greens salad.

2. Fettuccine Alfredo – Olive Garden

The Fettuccine Alfredo dinner at Olive Garden contains 1,220 calories and 1,350 mg of sodium. If John Lackey had spent the seventh inning stretch digging into this delicious bowl of carbohydrates he might have shattered the Red Sox record for worst earned run average by a starting pitcher. Oh wait, he did that anyway.

3. Cheesy Breadsticks – Papa Gino’s

I’m not going to lie it stung a little to throw this particular menu item on the list. However, with a stat line of 1,300 calories and 3,730 mg of sodium in a small breadstick (2 servings), it couldn’t be avoided. The fact that this could be considered a precursor to a few slices of pizza makes for a scary combination.

4. – Large Tuna Melt – Quiznos

This large sub approaches the 2,000 calories club thanks to a generous serving of mayonnaise. The sub itself is big enough that it might’ve taken John Lester four whole innings to eat — which is pretty close to the length of his average start in September.

5. Chicken Carbonara Bread Bowl – Dominos

1,300+ calories and almost 200 carbohydrates are used in the construction of this fairly new addition to the Dominos menu. With Dominos uber-efficient online ordering system, the Red Sox rotation would’ve known exactly when it was time to go “stretch out” in the clubhouse.

6. Jalapeno Smokehouse Burger – Chilis

5,250 mg of sodium almost manages to overshadow the fact that this particular burger packs a whalloping 1,750 calories. Let’s just be thankful that it isn’t offered in bucket form.

7. Sausage, Egg, and Cheddar on Asiago Bagel – Au Bon Pain

You thought you were safe breakfast, but I couldn’t overlook your potential to ruin a John Lackey day-game start. This particular breakfast sandwich features 810 calories and 1,500 mg of sodium. If you’re going enjoy this breakfast item in bed, you may want to get comfortable.

8. Chicken and Spinach Salad – IHOP

That’s right, salad. Don’t let the leafy greens fool you. This IHOP menu item is making a run at the more traditional taboo foods with its 1,600 calorie count. It lures you in with the nutritional reputation of spinach, and next thing you know you paid $15 million for a salad that never meets your expectations, and spends every post game interview passing the blame to other salads. That got a little weird.

9. Crispy Calamari – Red Lobster

I cast my rod out into the Atlantic to find this seafood dish that boasts an impressive 1,500 calories and 3,060 mg of sodium. One time Marlin Josh Beckett may have met his match in terms of former sea creatures being detrimental to health of New Englanders (Clearly I’m still a little bitter).

10. Fried Chicken Breast – Popeyes

We have come full circle. It is time to put the star of the Red Sox dietary drama under the microscope. One fried chicken breast from Popeyes contains 440 calories and 1,330 mg of sodium. Okay, so maybe the guilty pleasure of Lackey and company can stand toe to toe with the rest of this list. However, I have to assume that if these three pitchers shared a bucket of chicken like they shared their inability to protect a 9 game wild card lead in September, then maybe it’s not so bad.

Even though a plastic food steamer may be marked “BPA-free,” there's no guarantee it won't leach other endocrine disrupting chemicals into food or drinks. Consumers might want to just play it safe and opt for food steamers made of tried and true plastic-free materials, like glass, stainless steel or bamboo. (Media credit/Wen-Yan King via Flickr)

While you may never know for sure whether the plastic parts in a food steamer will contribute to health problems down the road, why gamble? Plastic marked with a #7 recycling symbol—signifying mixed sources (polycarbonate) or otherwise hard-to-classify plastics (such as acrylonitrile styrene or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene)—is considered one of the riskiest in terms of chemical exposure. Polycarbonates are the most common types of plastic in items marked #7. And any of these three “feedstocks” just mentioned could contain Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical in widespread use since the 1930s to harden plastic.

Researchers have found that exposure to BPA, a known “endocrine disruptor” that can mimic the body’s natural hormones, can lead to neurological and reproductive problems. As a result, public health advocates recommend not using containers marked with #7 for storing, heating or serving food/drinks so as to minimize the amount of BPA in our bloodstreams. Keeping BPA out of our bodies is an uphill battle: A recent study found that 96 percent of pregnant women in the U.S. have at least trace amounts of BPA in their systems already (and probably the rest of us do as well).

In response to increased consumer awareness about the potential risks of exposure to BPA, many bottle and container makers are now marketing versions of their plastic products that are BPA-free—and the trend has extended to food steamers, with several now available in BPA-free versions, including Oster’s 5712, Black & Decker’s HS1050, and Big & Fast’s Plastic Electric Food Steamer. Buyers beware: Even some BPA-free steamers have non-stick surface made from PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene, better known as Teflon), another hazardous chemical that health advocates recommend avoiding.

But to complicate matters further, a July 2011 study by a group of Texas-based researchers and published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Environmental Health Perspectives found that just because a plastic product is marked “BPA-free” doesn’t guarantee that it won’t leach other endocrine disrupting chemicals—what the study refers to as “estrogenic activity” or “EA”—into food or drinks: “Almost all commercially available plastic products we sampled—independent of the type of resin, product or retail source—leached chemicals having reliably detectable EA, including those advertised as BPA free,” the researchers reported. In some cases, BPA-free products released greater amounts of estrogenic chemicals than even products known to contain BPA.

In light of all this, consumers might want to just opt for food steamers (and food storage and preparation items) made of tried and true plastic-free materials like glass or stainless steel. Some highly rated non-plastic, non-Teflon food steamers include Secura’s 3-Tier Stainless Steel Food Steamer ($90), Miracle Exclusives’ Stainless Steel Rice Cooker and Vegetable Steamer ME81 ($70), and World Cuisine’s 4-quart Red Enamel Cast-Iron Steamer with a tempered glass colander and a tempered glass lid ($220). And don’t forget: You can save yourself some money and kitchen storage space by just getting an inexpensive metal steamer basket, collapsible insert or bamboo steamer, available at any cookware store for less than $20.

CONTACT: Environmental Health Perspectives, ehp03.niehs.nih.gov.

I’m the Scotch guy at Blast. As editor, I don’t part with any of the whiskey samples that come into the newsroom.

And all of a sudden, a rare whiskey with the most complex taste ever comes around.

The Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch 3 is a $250 whiskey. I don’t expect all of you (nor I) to go around buying it up, if we can ever find it. But it’s a singularly good whiskey that has a vanilla start and a very complex finish with a bite and very strong oak taste.

“We’re fortunate to have some very old and very rare whiskey maturing at The Balvenie Distillery,” said Balvenie malt master David Stewart. “We’ve identified what we believe to be a fantastic range of liquids that will complement one another completely. The result is a marriage where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The tun is hand-filled and it takes some doing. The tun has a capacity of two thousand liters so filling it is pretty thirsty work I assure you, but a fantastic and rewarding process none the less. As with everything we do at the distillery, it’s very hands-on but it makes the end result all the more worthwhile.”

You’ll hear all kinds of pairing suggestions, but let me save you the time: filet mignon. If you’re paying this much for Scotch, go buy a $50 dry aged filet and broil it. Pour some butter over before you broil it. Once it’s cooked, pour warm cognac over it and light the cognac on fire. Then drink this Scotch with that buttery, boozed steak filet. I think death row inmates order this.

The Tun 1401 comes from a range of casks/barrels including Hogsheads, Sherry butts, and American oak barrels that date many years apart. The contents are placed in the distillery’s Tun 1401, a large marrying vessel that lets them settle before the bottling process.

The whiskey is 50.3 percent alcohol by volume. Drink it neat or with a cold element like the Skybar Chill Cubes from my friends over there. at Skybar. These solid metal cubes get cold in the freezer but don’t melt and dilute this amazing liquor with water.

Frank Zoll at work. (Courtesy of Zoll Cellars.)

On Wednesday, the Boston Center for Adult Education (BCAE) will be hosting Frank Zoll of Zoll Cellars in Shrewsbury as part of a two-part winemaking class. The two classes will feature Frank, who is the owner and primary winemaker at his vineyard, directing students in the creation of wine, from the crushing of grapes to the bottling of their very own homemade bottles.

Zoll’s passion for food and beverage began as child, when he would make bread as a hobby and continued when he attended Johnson & Wales in Providence, Rhode Island, graduating in 1997. In 2001, while he was pastry chef at The Marriot Marquis in New York City, often cooking for up to 3,000 people, Frank began making wine in his parents’ kitchen. Starting with grapes he’d procure from California, Massachusetts, and New York, Zoll began making more and more wine until, in 2008, he planted his first vineyard in Shrewsbury. The next year Zoll Cellars was a genuine winery and has continued to grow since the first Zoll Cellars bottles were introduced to commercial market in late 2010.

Zoll Cellars grows roughly 25 percent of the grapes they use for the wines in their repertoire. The varietal grown in Shrewsbury is Traminette, which is a French-American hybrid that shares many characteristics with a Gewurztraminer, strong and heady with a heavily perfumed scent of grapefruit, honey, and peach. Frank contracts most of the other grapes, including Riesling and Cab Franc, from other states.

Wines produced on the East Coast and in the middle of this country do not have a reputation for yielding the highest quality wines; that distinction has been bestowed upon California, Oregon, and Washington, but Zoll is looking to open people’s eyes to the growing quality of local wines.

“I want to show people what is growing around them, we can make good wine in this region,” he said. “We have an Alsatian like terroir with an elevation of 500 or so feet. It is similar to a Zone 5, French varietals grow well in Massachusetts.”

Currently Zoll Cellars distributes to nearly 20 wine and liquor stores across Massachusetts and is expanding. In 2011 they have sold over 500 cases.

Zoll is teaching the wine class at BCAE because he has noticed how much people enjoy consuming wine and that there has been a rising interest in the industry as a whole. On October 12th at 6:00pm Zoll will bring in a between 400 and 500 pounds of Riesling and a 30 gallon ratchet-press to the BCAE and instruct the students while they crush the grapes by hand. “We’re going to put the Riseling into fermentation for four weeks at room temperature, then bottle it in November,” says Zoll. “Each student will take home six bottles just in time for Thanksgiving.”

The second class, on November 15, will involve the bottling of the wine. Zoll chose Riesling because it pairs well with the traditional Thanksgiving Dinner. “It’s similar to a nouveau style of Riesling,” he said. “It goes very well with both roasted turkey and butternut squash.”

You can sign up for the class online at the BCAE website.

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s SUPERFOODS!

Drop that Dorito in the name of science. OK, maybe you don’t need science to school you on the fact that a corn chip dusted with salt and nacho cheese flavoring may not be the healthiest addition to your diet. However, science has determined that certain “superfoods” exist that mere perception may not be able to uncover.

This eclectic grouping of foods has been deemed “super” for their ability to reduce the likelihood of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and improve overall health. Each item is rich in important nutrients and anti-oxidants, and can help reduce cholesterol.

While there is no superfood directory for the curious diner to consult, many of the lists in existence feature a lot of the same eats. That being said, here is a list of 10 healthy (and common) superfoods to incorporate into your daily diet.

1. Berries

Berries such as blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries all provide a good source of fiber and memory boosting anti-oxidants. Each one provides a delicious means for maintaining a healthy digestive system.

You can also feel green about eating blueberries, because the odds are they’re local. Maine is the largest producer of blueberries in the world, producing 25 percent of all the lowbush blueberries in North America.

2. Salmon

Wild salmon and other fatty, cold water fish are rich in Omega 3’s that help reduce the risks of heart disease, arthritis, and like their counterparts from the berry group, may even help with memory loss.

So take out that spear you’ve had collecting dust in the attic, go find a nice cold river, and do some food shopping!

3. Spinach

The E. coli and Salmonella scares are long over. The bad press for spinach has finally gone away.

Now then, all Popeye jokes aside, the myth of spinach creating a stronger and healthier you isn’t far from the truth. Featuring an all star team of nutrients and very little in the way of calories, Spinach can help reduce the risk of heart disease, cataracts and even cancer. While it may not lead you to say, “Lift things up and put them down,” regular consumption of this dark green veggie certainly has its benefits.

4. Tomatoes

Although they are locked in a constant identity crisis, tomatoes can confidently claim their place among the ranks of superfoods. This staple of American agriculture is loaded with beneficial nutrients that provide a healthy boost to your diet.

The cherry on top of this superfood sundae has to be the fact that the tomato based products we all know and love (pizza sauce, ketchup, BBQ sauce, etc.) are all full of the same nutrients you get from fresh tomatoes! While this isn’t exactly an invitation to start thawing out those microwave pizzas, it does provide an easy way to incorporate tomatoes into your diet when they aren’t in season.

5. Beans

Beans may not be a sexy food, but they have a fantastic personality. They provide a great source of protein, without the saturated fats that are present in red meats, and can help reduce the risk of heart disease by keeping cholesterol levels in check.

Looking even deeper into their charm, beans are also rich in fiber and other essential nutrients. So while that medium rare T-bone steak may look enticing, health experts say that it’s important to substitute meat for beans every so often.

6. Tea

One of the more popular superfoods, tea is incredibly healthy and features zero calories if you can resist the urge to turn it into a sugar dumping ground. This first rate superfood helps prevent a laundry list of health risks including stroke, cancer, osteoporosis, and high blood pressure.

Instead of throwing that keg party you had planned for Saturday, why not invite your friends over for some tea and crumpets, raise those pinkies, and see where the night takes you.

7. Yogurt

Low fat yogurt is another easily accessible and nutrient-rich superfood. It’s an excellent breakfast option, or a good go to if you are looking for a between meal snack. You can add berries or rolled oats, (spoiler alert) another superfood, to give your yogurt a textural kick.

8. Nuts

Nuts may not be the healthiest option when taken at face value, but they can be an excellent nutritional source when cycled into your diet in moderation. The list of nutrients that they feature, including protein and Vitamin-E, help lower the chances of heart attack by a significant margin, and also help prevent other chronic conditions such as cancer and diabetes.

Walnuts are one of the healthiest varieties. though almonds tend to take a lot of the nut credit. Walnuts can reduce bad cholesterol (LDL), prevent gallstones, aid insomnia, protect bones and can even help in weight loss.

9. Broccoli

The vegetable many of us dream about at night has even more to offer than we first thought. In fact, there are compounds in broccoli that reduce the risks of tumors by a staggering amount (in the 50-60% range). Broccoli is also teeming with other nutrients that boost our immune systems, and contains a very low calorie count. In fact, broccoli is such a nutritional powerhouse, that one may even wish to write a song about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRW27fyvwCs

10. Whole Grains

Whole grains, such as oats, are a great cholesterol reducer, and like the other aforementioned superfoods, can help lower the risk of common heart conditions. Oats especially, are a very potent independent source of protein and fiber, and are probably one of the more cost efficient options available in the superfoods family.

Well there you have it. Ten “superfoods” that you can work into your diet on your way to becoming a healthier you. The best part is that each item is readily available at your local food store. No excursions into an exotic jungle. No phone calls to the village shaman. No majestic waterfalls that look like they belong in a shampoo commercial. Just ten easy to find foods that will help improve your quality of life!

(Media Credit/46137 via Flickr)

Hurra fur bier! It’s Oktoberfest season, and Blast has gathered information about the up-and-coming New England beer festivals that will have you dancing to Oompah music, yodeling to your heart’s content, chugging German beer from your stein, noshing on pumpkin-themed food, playing keg bowling, and…chicken dancing?

Connecticut

October 14: Brewfest at the Beach, The Pavilion at Ocean Beach Park, New London

The rain-or-shine event will feature live music, food, over 150 different types of beer, and ahh, that fresh sea air!

6 p.m. to 9 p.m., tickets $25 in advance/$30 at door.

October 15: The Connecticut Tigers Octoberfest and Chili Cook-Off, Dodd Stadium, Norwich

There is a three month period, between when the air is too thick to breathe and the apocalyptic snow fall, that New England becomes arguably the most beautiful places in the world. The fall season of September through November, a time when 70-degree weather reigns and the foliage paints a natural landscape, is the reward for living for in the area and a true call for celebration.

And as every true New Englander knows, no celebration is complete without the correct beer.

The Northeast is privy to some of the better brewers in the country and has its share of standards. But as you belly up to your favorite bars and shop through your regular package stores, why not take advantage of fall 2011 and give a new beer a try.

Here’s Blast Magazines list of the top 5 best unknown beers, locally brewed and just waiting to become your new favorites.

5. Wachusett Octoberfest

The Wachusett Brewing Company, the Westmister-based brewer which is mainly known for its economically priced blueberry flavored beer, also releases an Octoberfest seasonal. A thicker brew that comes off slightly bitter, the beer has a slightly less warm temperament than most of the autumn releases. But any fan of the Blueberry brew will enjoy this seasonal offering.

4. Hex

Magic Hat, South Burlington VT’s own pride and joy for strange brews, has come out with the Halloween theme seasoned Hex Octoberfest. Holding up Magic Hat’s reputation for strong taste and thick constancy, Hex is not something that can be sipped in a relaxed manner. Fans of hops will not be disappointed.

3. Pumpkin Works

Locally brewed in Boston Beer Works, this pumpkin beer is a fine example of something original in the way of autumn beer. An odd combination of smooth taste and strong spice, the beer goes down quicker than some of the more bitter seasonals, but let it be said it will get on top of you quick. (Only available at Boston Beer Works)

2. The Great Pumpkin Ale

Straight from the best kept secret in The People’s Republic comes The Great Pumpkin Ale. A specialty brew from the Cambridge Brewing Company, this fantastic offering marks the first time the company has actually bottled its beer. The Great Pumpkin has a great taste and good consistency, with its only real flaw being that it’s a rare find in most stores.

It is an unfiltered ale, and the company is promising better availability this year “cuz we’re making a LOT of it.”

1. Smashed Pumpkin Ale

Those who have been around the area may have noticed Shipyard Pumpkin beer making its mark on several large chains and bars around the area. But what you may not know is that the Portland Maine company makes another brew known as Smashed Pumpkin. It is only available at a limited amount of liquor stores (and only in pint sized bottles) but this beer is worth the looking. Amazing flavor, good consistency, and 9 percent by volume make this the best $10 you spend all fall.

So there you have it. Blast Magazine’s top five under the radar New England brewed beers for the fall seasons. Go out and enjoy the weather and ale while you can, because we’ll be walking through six to twelve inches of snow before you know it.

I like FlipFlop wine right away, because every time I buy a bottle, someone gets a pair of shoes in a third world country through the Soles4Souls charity.

As an Italian, when I do drink white wine, it’s usually pinot grigio, and FlipFlop makes a good one.

It’s crisp, like biting unto an apple. The taste does not overpower. In fact, I’d label FlipFlop Pinot Grigio very light. There is a citrus overtime and clean finish. It’s the kind of wine you want to serve ice cold outside, during one of those last hot days before fall truly kicks in.

On that note, the wine pairs excellently with summer foods like eggplant and acidy Italian foods like tomato bruschetta or a spicy chicken dish.

It’s not going to impress your wine connoisseur friends who are used to $50 bottles. At just $7, it’s a picnic wine, best served at parties and barbeques where quantity beats out swishing and sipping.

For “Saturday Night Live” fans who have always wanted a taste of the famous Schweddy Balls, you’re in luck! Ben & Jerry’s announced yesterday that it has launched its newest limited edition flavor, Schweddy Balls, which is Fair Trade vanilla ice cream with a hint of rum, fudge-covered rum balls and milk chocolate malt balls. Mmm, balls!

Available nationwide, the ice cream honors the classic SNL skit starring Ana Gasteyer and Molly Shannon, who play hosts of the National Public Radio-type show entitled “Delicious Dish,” and their guest Pete Schweddy, played by Alec Baldwin, owner of Season’s Eatings Bakery.

“For a long time, I thought that ‘Here Lies Pete Schweddy’ would end up on my tombstone,” Alec Baldwin said in a press release. “Now, thanks to Ben & Jerry’s, the goodness of the Schweddy family recipe won’t go with me to the great beyond. It is immortalized here, right now, and it’s an ice cream. Ben & Jerry’s and Schweddy. Two great names in American dessert, together at last.”

Former SNL cast member Ana Gasteyer said of the news, “The Schweddy Balls sketch was a personal favorite from my SNL run, so I am pleased as holiday punch that Ben and Jerry’s has taken it upon themselves to share the Schweddy Family recipe with the world. As a person and a performer, I am a sucker for holiday balls. And I have no doubt this ice cream will cause many to scream, ‘Good times.’”

So grab a pint of glistening, creamy Schweddy Balls and watch the premier of SNL’s 37th season on Sept. 24 at 11:30 p.m. We bet your mouth is already watering at the thought of those balls!

Calling all animal lovers! The Cocheco Valley Humane Society in Dover, N.H., invites you to the gala of the fall: The Great Catsby. Arrive at the 1920s-themed event in your best flapper or gangster garb and have your photo taken red carpet-style next to an antique car, sip cocktails and enjoy hors d’oeuvres while perusing the many silent auction items, including wine, jewelry, gift certificates, artwork and more.

After a delectable dinner and decadent dessert, bid on priceless experiences at the live auction, where you  could become a character in a murder mystery novel or an actor in New Hampshire’s famous Haunted Overload’s haunted walk.

The gala will benefit animals such as Hank, a kitten who was tossed out of a moving vehicle. He is being nursed back to health at the shelter.

Details

What: The Great Catsby gala

Where: The Portsmouth Sheraton Harborside Hotel, Portsmouth, N.H.

When: Sept. 17, 6 to 10 P.M.

Tickets: Tickets are $80 per person and are available online at cvhsonline.org or by calling 603-749-5322 Ext. 112. All proceeds go to the care and well being of the animals sheltered at Cocheco Valley Humane Society. Hurry! Tickets are on sale only until Sept. 9 at 10 P.M.

After undergoing major renovations and menu changes, Tryst restaurant in Arlington is celebrating its grand re-opening on Sept. 12 with “buy one get one free” entrees–and you’re invited!

Chef/owner Paul Turano proudly debuts the completion of his vision for Tryst, which has been at its 689 Massachusetts Ave. location for nearly seven years. A tapas menu and updated, lively decor help Turano bring the city to the suburbs.

“When I first opened Tryst, my goal was to bring the Boston dining scene to the suburbs, and I think we’ve done that to some extent, but life gets in the way,” says Turano. “I originally had planned to return to honing the concept less than a year after we opened, but things got busy pretty quickly. Two kids and thousands of supportive customers later I feel like I have finally completed my vision of bringing a city-like neighborhood restaurant to Arlington.”

The New Menu

Just a Fling

Shrimp Tacos with avocado, red onion and Aji crema, $8

Local Corn Chowder with avocado spuma and cornbread crouton, $8

Sassafras Glazed Baby Back Ribs with house-made kim chee, $10

Duck Wraps  with spiced cashews and crunchy vegetables, $11

Crispy Fried Calamari  with arugula, cherry tomatoes and hot pepper aioli, $12

Tomato, Basil and Fresh Mozzarella Flatbread,  $10

Habanero Chicken Wings with Great Hill bleu cheese and carrot pickles, $9

House-made Guacamole and Chips, $10

Artisan Cheese Plate  with three cheeses and spiced fruits, $11

A Lil’ Something on the Side

($6 each or three for $15)

Marinated Olives

Roasted Asparagus with evoo and parmesan

Truffle Fries

Sweet and Spicy Bar Nuts

Cheese Croquettes

Ricotta Stuffed Squash Blossoms with curried tomato sauce

Griddled Rice Cake

Getting Fresh

Simply Tossed Greens with champagne mustard vinaigrette, $6

Market Salad with Boston lettuce, shaved seasonal vegetables, seven-grain croutons and mustard vinaigrette, $9

Heirloom Tomato Salad  with burrata, arugula, sourdough crostini and vin cotto, $9

Baby Spinach Salad with Great Hill bleu cheese, poached cherries, pecan crisps and apple cider vinaigrette, $9

Caesar Salad with hearts of romaine, evoo, roasted garlic, cracked pepper and sourdough crouton, $9

(Add roasted chicken, $3, add steak tips, $6, to any salad) 

Getting Serious

Herb Roasted All-Natural Chicken with potato puree, toasted almond green beans and natural juices, $18

Prime Sirloin Tips with cheese croquettes, arugula and smoked tomato, $19

Slow Roasted Salmon with crab stuffed squash blossom, griddled rice cake and avocado salad, $24

Wild Striped Bass with “summer minestrone,” house-made pancetta and lemon aioli, $25

Pig Under a Brick with corn polenta, mostarda, collard greens and apricot glaze,  $22

Grilled Angus Sirloin with potato puree, roasted asparagus and truffle butter, $29

The Grand Re-opening

When: Monday, Sept. 12 from 5 to 8 P.M.

Where: Tryst, 689 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington

RSVP: Reservations are required. Call 781-641-2227 or visit trystrestaurant.com for more information.

New Yorkers needing a java fix have a new hangout. Internationally acclaimed The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, which is nearly 50 years old, opens its first East Coast location today on 1412 Broadway at 39th Street in New York City. This is just the first of the Los Angeles-based coffee shop’s upcoming New York City locations, where coffee and tea lovers can sip on The Bean’s (as it’s affectionately known) famous Arabica coffee, which is  custom roasted in small batches in California, enjoy its hand-plucked whole leaf teas, and munch on its freshly baked goods.

For more information, go to facebook.com/CoffeeBeanNY.

Freezing foods in plastic containers isn't as worrisome as heating them, but if you're leery of plastic, glass containers designed to withstand large temperature extremes, such as Ball Jars (aka Mason jars), like the one pictured here, or anything made by Pyrex, can be a sensible alternative. Just be sure not to load them to the brim as some foods expand when frozen. (Media credit/Wikipedia)

Reusing leftover plastic food containers to store items in the freezer may be noble environmentally, but it might not be wise from the perspective of keeping food safely frozen and tasting its best when later heated up and served. Many such containers are designed for one-time use and then recycling, so it’s not worth risking using them over and over. Likewise, wax paper, bread wrappers and cardboard cartons should not be used to store frozen foods; these types of containers don’t provide enough of a barrier to moisture and odors and also may not keep food fresh when frozen.

Luckily though, many other materials are suitable for use as freezer-safe storage containers, at least according to the National Center for Home Food Preparation. To qualify as “freezer-safe,” the Georgia-based non-profit maintains, food storage containers must resist moisture-vapor, oil, grease and water as well as brittleness and cracking at low temperatures, while being durable, leak-proof and easy-to seal. They must also protect foods from absorption of off-flavors or odors. “Good freezing materials include rigid containers made of aluminum, glass, plastic, tin or heavily waxed cardboard; bags and sheets of moisture-vapor resistant wraps; and laminated papers made specially for freezing,” reports the group.

As to the leaking of unsafe constituent chemicals (BPA, phthalates, etc.) from certain plastics into foods, freezing is generally less of a threat than heating, but it is better to avoid plastics known to be problematic anyway just to be safe.  Polycarbonate plastic, marked with #7, contains BPA while polyvinyl chloride, marked with #3, contains potentially harmful phthalates. If a plastic item does not bear a recycling number on its bottom, steer clear as it may well be a mix, which classifies it as a #7 polycarbonate.

Of course, the majority of plastic containers designed for freezer use are safe and, since they can be washed and reused, are a better choice than disposable freezer bags and wraps. For those still leery of using plastic at all, glass containers designed to withstand large temperature extremes, such as Ball Freezing Jars (Mason jars) or anything made by Pyrex—regular glass containers could break when frozen or if thawed too quickly—can be a sensible alternative. Also, beware of loading up glass containers to the brim before freezing; some foods expand when frozen so leaving a little extra room between the top of the food and the bottom of the (airtight) lid is always a good idea.

However you store your frozen delicacies, keep in mind that freezing food may inactivate microbes like bacteria and mold but may not destroy them. According to dietician and author Elaine Magee on the MedicineNet website, just thawing out frozen foods doesn’t necessarily mean they are automatically safe to eat. Foods that require cooking still require cooking for health’s sake after thawing. Also, Magee recommends quickly labeling and dating any foods you are freezing to facilitate purging of potentially spoiled or tasteless food down the line.

CONTACTS: National Center for Home Food Preparation, www.uga.edu/nchfp/; Pyrex, www.pyrex.com; Ball, www.freshpreserving.com; MedicineNet, www.medicinenet.com.

Boxed wines have many environmental advantages over bottled, but some of the plastic bags inside the boxes contain BPA, a synthetic chemical that has been linked to a range of human health problems. Bota Box, pictured here, and many other box wines come in BPA-free packaging. The simple way to know is to read the labels when you’re wine shopping. (Peter Knocke via Flickr)

Does boxed wine use BPA-free plastic?

The short answer is: “It depends.” A fairly recent innovation in wine packaging, the so-called Bag-in-Box (BIB) dispenser makes use of a plastic bag with a nozzle surrounded by a corrugated cardboard box. The whole package sits easily on a shelf and usually features a built-in spout for easy pouring and resealing. The main benefit is that each box can hold about four bottles-worth of wine, and the BIB technology prevents oxidation, keeping the wine fresh for up to six weeks after the seal has been broken initially.

Besides costing less to manufacture than glass bottles, the Bag-in-Box apparatus, invented by Scholle packaging a half century ago, weighs significantly less, stacks more efficiently (meaning more wine can go with each container load) and will not shatter if dropped. As such, they are easier to transport, which keeps costs down and reduces the carbon footprint of the entire distribution process. While U.S. wine buyers traditionally have viewed wine in a box as cheap and unsavory, several American and European wineries are working to turn that view around by putting out award-winning vintages by the box. Eco-conscious yet no less discriminating wine consumers are helping to drive the growing demand for boxed wines in the U.S., which currently command about 10 percent of U.S. supermarket wine sales.

But boxed wine may have an environmental dark side: Some of the plastic bags inside the boxes contain Bisphenol-A (BPA), a synthetic chemical that has been in use for four decades to strengthen plastic food containers and other items but recently has been linked to a range of human health problems. “A growing amount of scientific research has linked BPA exposure to altered development of the brain and behavioral changes, a predisposition to prostate and breast cancer, reproductive harm, diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease,” reports the non-profit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

The bags are made out of #7 plastic, a catchall category typically containing mixed types of plastic (“polycarbonate”), combined for various practical reasons. As more and more research comes to light, many environmentalists and public health advocates are warning consumers to avoid storing any food or drinks in containers made out of #7 plastic, as there is likelihood that BPA could be part of the mix.

Most wineries offering boxed wines make it clear if their plastic bags do not contain BPA. For one, Scholle Packaging, inventors of the BIB system and one of the largest wine box manufacturers, uses only BPA-free #7 plastic in their bags. Perini, Campo Largo, Bota Box and many other box wines come in BPA-free packaging. The simple way to know is to read the labels when you’re wine shopping.

Also, don’t think that by avoiding boxed wine you are necessarily avoiding BPA. Researchers have found that the plastic stoppers so many of us use to cap an unfinished bottle, not to mention the lining of concrete vats used to store wine at many wineries, contain and can leach BPA into your glass. That’s not to say that all wine contains BPA; quite the contrary, in fact, as most bottled wine still never comes into contact with plastic and as such does not carry any BPA-stigma. Regardless, the more you know, the safer you can be—so that the worst thing you get from your wine is a hangover.

CONTACTS: Scholle, www.scholle.com; NRDC, www.nrdc.org; Bota Box, www.botabox.com.

Historic Rhode Island charm. Breathtaking waterfront views. Gourmet food and wine. Shaded, outdoor lounges. Next weekend, wine enthusiasts will flock to the cool Rhode Island seashore for the second-annual Newport WineFest, a lush outdoor bash that boasts cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs, wine seminars, and hundreds of wine, beer and spirit tastings.

The founder and executive director of the Boston Wine School, Jonathan Alsop, will lead wine seminars, while locally loved food talent, renowned gourmet chefs, reality TV stars and cookbook authors share their secrets during cooking demonstrations.

Here’s a look at the culinary talent taking on this year’s WineFest:

Today’s Vermont Cheesemakers’ Festival may be sold out, but cheese lovers everywhere can taste the festival’s star cheeses with the Best of the Fest sample package delivered to their doors.

Choose a four ($49) or six ($69) cheese sampler put together by Cheese Traders & Wine Sellers, featuring a varied selection of 4 to 8 ounce cheeses that will include at least one cow, goat and sheep milk cheese, at least one smoked or blue cheese, and, of course, Vermont’s famous aged cheddar.

“Every year, the festival sells out,” said Rachel Schaal, the festival’s event organizer. “The Best of the Fest is a way to expand the experience of the festival beyond just the one day, and a way for people to participate in the celebration of Vermont cheesemakers from their own homes.”

To order a Best of the Fest sampler, go here, and choose a one-time order or a monthly subscription (both samplers ship for free). To find out more about the Vermont Cheesemakers’ Festival, go to www.vtcheesefest.com.

An open pomegranate (WikiMedia)

It has been nearly a decade since the pomegranate began being widely marketed as a superfood that is full of antioxidants and vitamins. In those newborn moments, around the same time Tom Brady was making us realize that Drew Bledsoe really wasn’t that good, the heart shaped logo commercials started popping up on mainstream television. We were made to believe that if you care about the future of the universe you will drink pomegranate juice or dig around the membrane ridden rind of fruit to collect the obnoxious, finger-staining seeds (arils, actually, as a 27-year-old who sports a yoga mat as a nearly constant accessory is bound to snort to themselves). If you were exceptionally healthy, and occasionally got wheatgrass shots as a social activity, you would drink the juice straight up, riding out the storm of bitterness because you had the foresight that the tannic liquid that sends slight shivers of displeasure up your spine would make you live longer, and therefore be a better person.

This sentiment of healthy living eventually started to trickle down the mountain streams of Prius’ and amateur photography to the hedonistic laymen’s water source located in what most call “mainstream society” (is there a more telling proof that we live in a consumer-based society where the line of who the consumer is and isn’t becomes increasingly blurred with each passing moment than the fact that anyone with an iPhone can state whether or not they like artsy photographs by simply pressing a button and taking artsy photographs? “Hey, look, I appreciate old photos from the twenties. That’s why I put my camera on that setting during Alanna’s birthday at Hunter’s apartment”. You are taking a picture that others can consume, kind of. What you are doing, more so, is consuming a technology that rewards you with pleasurable and instantaneous real life visuals).

Anyways, once that damn pomegranate made its way down here two things happened in succession. First, stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s became inordinately more popular and expanded at a staggering rate because they sold food that was of higher quality; they recognized an opportunity to exist outside of a niche. Then the mainstream supermarkets re-branded themselves and took on more products that would cater to this ever growing demographic of educated east and west coasters while keeping on the products that consisted of processed ingredients which have made Americans happy for decades. The perpetually-failing Trix rabbit began existing in the same aisle as nutritious Kashi Go Lean, whose box consists of a Venn Diagram illustrating the grams of protein, fiber, and low-fat it has (I didn’t know “low-fat” could be the subject of a sentence, but apparently I was wrong. I also heralded Michael Cera as the next Tom Hanks to friends around the time when Superbad and Juno came out. It appears I was wrong about that as well).

During this time 7-11 started carrying Odwalla drinks and Cliff Bars, all of which contain various superfood ingredients and bank off of being as rustic as possible. This used to be the weird food that was at the counter of REI when you were buying hiking boots for summer camp (and you imagined tasted like chalk). Then in 2001 Coca-Cola bought Odwalla, allowing the beverage to, hypothetically, be distributed anywhere.

The Odwalla Superfood drink, which is a deep-green shake that contains barley grass, wheat sprouts, spirulina, and chlorella (as well as a bunch of sweet, everyday fruits), has an ironic, self-deprecating couple paragraphs on its own bottle. The label tells us that the drink looks like vomit, but pleads with us to try it because it tastes so good and is better for you than nearly anything else. This is a conscious maneuver, sort of like the slightly awkward girl being funny and self-deprecating to hang out with the pretty girls. “I know it doesn’t look like I should be here, but I have value. If you think deeply, you will see that.” Odwalla can exist amongst sodas and sports drinks because it knows its place (for better or worse). These health drink and bar companies are now a permanent part of our supermarkets and convenience stores. If you are feeling bad about yourself and you stop at your local mart, you can now choose to buy a drink that looks like pond scum, along with some raw, unsalted almonds and automatically get a quick jolt of pleasure cascading through your brain because, for once, you made a decision that is not harmful to your body (the metaphor involving the less pretty girl could go on here, but I will spare you). The pleasure of eating isn’t just in the barely conscious act of consuming a smorgasbord of simple carbohydrates to escape anymore; it also lies in the super conscious act of consuming things that are good for you.

The chase for the fountain of youth is over; we now have supplements of youth and beta carotene. Finding a shortcut to living forever has been replaced by obsessive types doing everything they can to look young as long as possible and to live for as long as possible (realism replaces daydreaming), genetics be damned. Yet, as I browse through supermarkets and take a look the prices on some items that I feel like I am supposed to eat now, I wonder whether or not this health craze is necessary. Maybe I don’t need that pomegranate to live past 50; maybe we had the secrets all along. All these new supplements and drinks and trendy, rare fruits that you burn 300 calories preparing to eat were marketed as healthy because no one was buying them before. They all needed to say something about themselves to standout. Yet, all these old, tired vegetables that we used to get fed at dinner are, for the most part, just as good for you as these new, skinny jean wearing bastards.

The most valuable thing about the age of nutritional enlightenment is that it has made us conscious that we should take time to think about what we put in our body; not that it gave us new foods to consume. Celebrity nutritionists and their ilk have turned not putting shit into your body into a science, which it doesn’t have to be. Here are some rules to live by that make things simpler than counting the amount of each vitamin you consume on a daily basis:

• If something is green and from nature, eat a lot of it.
• If something is brightly colored and from nature, eat a lot of that as well.
• If an animal is not active and looks fat when it is alive, don’t eat that much of it (to make it clearer; if an animal is involved in games where liquored up hicks push it over, don’t eat a lot of it).
• If an animal runs around and gets exercise while it is alive, you should probably eat a lot of it.
• If a nut is raw, it is very good for you. If a nut is salted, it is kind of good for you. If a nut is honey roasted, it is candy.
• Don’t eat a lot of candy.
• If after eating something you defecate liquid or don’t defecate at all, you probably shouldn’t eat it a lot and should definitely diversify your diet.
• Regarding bread or rice, the darker it is the better it is for you. The lighter the color, the worse it is for you. Eat a lot of the dark kind.
• While writing a piece about food, if you start to sound like Jeff Foxworthy, you are probably a hack.

Shaynal Patel stands in his shop (Laura Krantz for Blast Magazine)

RENNES, France — Finding a croissant in France isn’t difficult, but good luck if you want a bagel.

Until a few months ago, a craving for a sesame seed with cream cheese was nearly impossible to satisfy, but thanks to a New Zealander on a mission, the city of Rennes has been enlightened.

“We want to show French people we do fantastic products of the highest quality,” said Shaynal Patel, owner of Le Tiki café.

But unfortunately, says the 35-year-old entrepreneur from Auckland, the French haven’t seemed to notice.

Le Tiki also serves espresso-based drinks like macchiatos and cappuccinos that are equally uncommon in France. But his goal of serving high-quality Anglo-Saxon food and drink hasn’t captivated French taste buds and the café suffers from empty lunchtime tables.

“On the surface you’d think that cultures would be very very similar but it’s really two distinct different cultures,” he said.

Battling stereotypes of obese, hamburger-gorging Anglo-Saxons, Patel said coaxing the French into trying fare from an English-speaking café isn’t easy.

“People don’t understand the choices in coffees. There are so many options,” he said, explaining the many ways he dresses up a shot of espresso.

“There’s a beautiful café culture in New Zealand, in Australia. Throughout the entire region you’ve got really, really high standards of café culture,” he said.

Eyes gleaming, Patel described New Zealand coffee shops as burgeoning with fair trade ingredients, knowledgeable baristas and friendly atmospheres, three ideas virtually unimportant to French clientele.

The French are equally un-intrigued by take-away drinks. The point of a French coffee is to sit down and drink it.

But whereas New Zealanders might want their cappuccino wrapped in a cardboard sleeve, Patel said they still expect it to be of the highest quality.

“It’s just hard to break into the psychology of letting people know there’s more than just a little espresso out there,” Patel said.

Served in a tiny cup the size of most Americans’ first sip, the dainty shot of caffeine is virtually the same everywhere. The gourmet coffee culture that has Americans choosing their beans, roasts, grinds, flavors, temperatures and milk percentages hasn’t made it to the land of baguettes and brie.

But Patel, whose passion is coffee and customer service, is convinced they’ll like it if they have a go.

“People who tried say ‘super bon.’ They are amazed that Anglo-Saxon food can taste that good,” he said.

After operating a coffee shop in Auckland for three years, Patel, who previously worked in retail, followed his wife back to her hometown of Rennes, the capital of Brittany and home to over 60,000 students.

As a foreigner, Patel wasn’t sure to find work in France, so he transplanted his café to Rennes.

After what he describes as a nightmare of bureaucratic hurdles – including finding someone in France who knew how to make bagels –Le Tiki opened early this year.

To give coffee-drinkers the New Zealand vibe, he decorated Le Tiki in bright colors, rugby posters, a map of the islands and a clock set to Auckland time.

Patel serves carrot cake, cheese cake, pecan pie, cookies, muffins, granola and doughnuts along with bagels, wraps and salads.

He makes some of the food and the rest comes from other bakeries in France. He calls his customers by name and chats from behind the hissing espresso machine. If someone doesn’t like their drink, he’ll re-make it.

The menu includes macchiatos, cappuccinos, lattés, americanos and the flat white, a Down Under drink similar to a cappuccino but with thicker foam. He also makes frappes, milkshakes and smoothies.

But the drinks are as foreign to the French as goose liver is to Americans, and the French respond with equal hesitation.

“There is a psychological block in Rennes,” Patel said, so he has had to adapt his New Zealand habits to the Français.

He created a three-course prix fixe lunch menu because on their two-hour lunch breaks the French like full meals.

“If they do sit they are absolutely satisfied after,” he said.

Something he will never modify is his cheerful disposition. A French customer once told him he smiled too much.

“I’m just being myself,” said Patel.

Nor will Patel change the quality of his ingredients. As a result, his prices are higher than many other cafés. His drinks range from 1.90€ to 4€ whereas French cafés serve espresso starting at 1€.

“It might cost five cents extra for a sachet of [fair trade] sugar, but it changes peoples’ lives in a third world country,” he said.

Still, he said it’s discouraging to see an empty patio in a line of bustling restaurants.

Whereas Kiwi customers are willing to pay more for higher quality, in France he’s learned price is everything.

The French would rather pay less for a pain au chocolat than risk a few extra euros to try carrot cake.

“You would think a lot of young people would be willing to try but it doesn’t work like that,” he said.

As a result, most of his current customers are English speakers who find Le Tiki an escape from French life.

“We’ve kept afloat with Anglo-Saxon customers but that’s not the reason we’re here,” he said.

In the five months Le Tiki has been open for business, Patel has met American, English, Irish, Scottish and Australian customers.

“It’s like a little bit of home to come and have a chat,” said Annabelle Strang, 22, of Sydney, Australia, a Le Tiki regular who lives in Rennes.

“In Australia the take-away coffee culture is just such a big thing,” said Strang, who studies French.

And slowly, French customers are trickling in. Many are people who have traveled to New Zealand or Anglophone countries and squeal with delight upon finding foods from their travels, Patel said.

Stefania Targowski, 25, a French language teacher in Rennes, said she especially likes the café because it’s a chance to speak English.

“Each time it’s a little voyage when you enter,” said Targowski, recalling the months she lived in San Francisco.

She was drinking a milkshake on the sunny patio with her friend Salomé Duringer, 24, who is French but lives in England.

“If you don’t like espresso it’s not easy,” Duringer said, explaining the challenge of finding other types of coffee drinks in France.

This French preference for all things French is the force confronting Patel.

According to a survey cited in a May Reuters article, French diners are top among Europeans to dine in restaurants of the country’s home-cooking.

In comparison, less than 20 percent of bookings made in the United States through Livebookings.com were made for restaurants serving American cuisine.

As trying as his mission is, Patel said it has taught him a lot about French culture.

“French people are proud of their cultural heritage and their food, which is a good thing, however they’re not open to what the rest of the world has to offer. It’s very closed and very protective of French culture.”

Even more difficult than attracting French customers has been Patel’s endeavors to make friends in Rennes.

He has found many Anglo-Saxons soccer mates, but mingling with the French has proved next to impossible.

“The majority who haven’t traveled are very, very closed and that’s sad,” Patel said.

Despite his frankness, he is optimistic. He said café business increased after a recent review in the local newspaper, and word of mouth continues to be the best publicity.

Long-term, however, he sees himself returning to New Zealand.

“The world is moving forward. It’s a bit scary to see that things aren’t really moving or progressing in France as you think it would,” he said.

Based on his experience in the café, Patel said the French don’t share New Zealanders’ eagerness to experience other cultures, cuisines and people.

“We’re open to French culture but French culture is not open to us,” he said.

It takes superior willpower to deny the waitress when she suggests a tasty appetizer or recites the desert menu in mouth-watering detail. Normally the words “zucchini blossom frittata” are enough to make eyes light up and heads nod enthusiastically. The chance to nosh on delectable items for a good cause makes saying “Yes, please!” even easier.

For the week of June 12 to 19, restaurants across the Greater Boston area will be donating portions of their proceeds to the American Red Cross, benefiting tornado relief efforts in Western Massachusetts (and Boston foodies’ discerning palates). Greater Boston’s restaurateurs are doing their part by making such generous donations; do yours by keeping these establishments in mind as you make plans for the upcoming week!

Participating restaurants

62 Restaurant & Wine Bar, located in Salem, will be donating 15 percent of their dinner sales on Sunday, June 19.

Boston’s Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro will be donating 100 percent of their dessert sales on Monday, June 13 and Tuesday, June 14.

Bella Luna Restaurant & Milky Way Lounge, located in Jamaica Plain, will be donating 75 percent of sales of their Smoked Trout pâte with Pickled Red Onion and Capers on Crostini ($8) from Sunday, June 12 through Sunday, June 19.

The Beehive, located in Boston’s South End, will be donating 100 percent of their dessert sales on Tuesday, June 14.

Bondir, located in Cambridge, will be donating 100 percent of dessert sales from Sunday, June 12 through Sunday, June 19, 2011.

Blue on Highland, an upscale eatery in Needham, will be donating 50 percent of their dessert sales on Monday, June 13 and Tuesday, June 14.

Burtons Grill, a New England-based restaurant group, will be donating 10 percent of their total dinner sales on Monday, June 13 from their Massachusetts restaurants in Boston, North Andover, Hingham and Peabody and their South Windsor, Conn., location.

Butter Café & Bakery in Walpole will be donating 50 percent of take-home dinner sales from Monday, June 13 through Friday, June 17.

China Blossom, the legendary family-run restaurant in North Andover, will be donating 10 percent of their dinner sales on Monday, June 13.

Dante, located in Cambridge, will be donating 100 percent of sales of their Zucchini Blossom Frittata with buffalo ricotta and basil honey ($15) from Sunday, June 12 through Sunday, June 19.

Myers + Chang, located in Boston’s South End, will be donating 100 percent of proceeds from their Mama Chang’s Pork and Chive Dumplings ($11) from Sunday, June 12 through Sunday, June 19.

Nebo, located in Boston’s North End, will be donating 100 percent of sales from their Zeppole dessert, which is fried dough puffs dusted with powdered sugar ($6) from Sunday, June 12 through Sunday, June 19.

Orzo Trattoria, located in North Andover, will be donating 15 percent of their lunch sales on Wednesday, June 15 and Thursday, June 16.

Taranta, located in Boston’s North End, will be donating 100 percent of proceeds from their Guavannolis dessert, which is guava and ricotta mini cannolis with pistachio brittle ($8).

Tryst, located in Arlington, will be donating 100 percent of their dessert proceeds on Monday, June 13, Tuesday, June 14, and Wednesday, June 15.

On gorgeous summer days, it seems as if everyone heads to restaurant patios and decks for lunch. Yes, it’s nice to be outside, but do you really want to wait forever for a cramped table? The Beacon Hill Hotel and Bistro has a romantic, old fashioned and chic solution: a picnic.

Just call ahead one hour and order your meal picnic-style, grab that special someone and dine outside at the Public Gardens (just steps away from the Bistro) or at the location of your choice. They’ll even give you a blanket and a basket!

Choose items from the following menu for your picnic in the park:

Tea-cured gravlax, herbed potato salad, green beans and baby greens, $13

Seasonal greens, pear, goat cheese, endives and hazelnuts, $9

Frisée salad with blue cheese, apples, bacon and walnuts, $9

Mediterranean grilled chicken salad with tomato, feta and green olives, $10

Lentil and farro burger, baby spinach, spiced yogurt and red pepper salad, $12

Steak salad with organic romaine, walnuts, blue cheese, tomatoes and red wine vinaigrette, $18

Grilled ground sirloin burger with Kosher dill pickles and french fries, $13

Baked croque madame, smoked ham, béchamel, soft farm egg with baby greens and pommes frites, $13

Maine crab roll with crème fraîche, red peppers and mustard, greens and pommes frites, $14

The picnic-style menu is available beginning June 6 (and will continue until the weather turns cold) on Mondays through Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.  For more information, go to www.beaconhillhotel.com or call 617-723-1133 or 617-723-7575.

It is not every day that one gets to sample wines within the walls of Fenway Park’s State Street Pavilion; rarer still is the opportunity to do so for a good cause. Yet on May 10, 2011, the Foundation for Fighting Blindness provided Bostonians with the opportunity to do just that. For the second consecutive year, Boston’s business community, civic leaders and philanthropists came together to raise their glasses and raise funds to support research to save and restore sight

From left to right, co-chairs of the event James Antonelli, Monique Antonelli, Laura Trainor, Erin Trainor, Kevin Trainor and Scot Trainor.

More obvious than anything else, the elegant event’s atmosphere was abuzz with interest. Curious guests looked over the myriad of items set out for silent auction. With packages ranging from designer watches to wine cork wreathes to sports jerseys, there was indeed something for everyone. Those not eyeing the auction were engaged with vendors and distributors who served up tastes of fine wines from locales that ranged from Portugal to Portsmouth, R.I.

At two years old, the annual wine tasting is a baby, but the Foundation for Fighting Blindness (FFB) is no neophyte when it comes to throwing events. In prior years the FFB hosted two separate large scale events, a gala in the spring and a golf tournament in the fall. The intention of the wine tasting was to unite the two. Considering the awe inspiring locale of the legendary Fenway Park and the chicness of the wine and hors d’oeuvres, it is safe to that the FFB was successful in doing exactly that.

When asked about the event’s biggest perk, co-chair Scot Trainor replied without hesitation, “Absolutely Fenway Park! You just can’t beat the venue.” Both Trainor and his brother were diagnosed with Usher Syndrome, the most common condition that affects both hearing and vision, as young children and have been involved with the  FFB for over a decade. Scot and Erin Trainor, Kevin and Laura Trainor, and Monique and James Antonelli all served as co-chairs for the night’s event.

Founded in 1971,  the FFB defines its goal as “driving research that would lead to preventions, treatments, and cures for the entire spectrum of blinding retinal diseases–including macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, and Usher Syndrome–that together affect more than 10 million Americans and millions more throughout the world.” The Trainor family was happy to note that nearly all of the funds raised at events such as this goes directly to research. Over the past 10 years, the FFB has raised $1 million to benefit institutions such as Massachusetts Eye and Ear.

This autographed jersey was one of the many items up for auction.

A speech given later in the evening by Trainor’s sister Monique Antonelli described the personal impact of retinal diseases. “Those suffering struggle in dimly lit places, and restaurants, bars and movie theaters are perennial obstacles,” she said. “There is a poignant  pain that accompanies the contemplation of a child who will never take in a starry July sky or know the thrill of playing Little League baseball.”

These sentiments were echoed in a conversation with Erin Trainor, Scot Trainor’s wife. To those suffering or coping with the diagnosis of a loved one, she advises, “Try and lead as normal a life as you can. Because you can.” Such a goal, so important and empowering, is moving ever closer to becoming the easy reality it should be through the efforts of the Trainor family and the FFB. When the FFB’s chairman of the board, Gordon Gund, was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa in 1971, there was absolutely nothing that could be done for his condition. Today, the FFB is the largest foundation of its kind in the world, funding research that is now allowing doctors to restore vision.

Upon hearing this, the emotion and support from the crowd was palpable. Looking around, it was clear why a wine tasting was more fitting than a gala or a golf tournament: with achievements as great as this being announced, it is only appropriate that those in attendance should be able to raise a toast.

Americans today spend upwards of $4 billion yearly on soy food products. Although the versatile soybean provides many health benefits, some 90 percent of the U.S. crop is grown using genetically modified seeds, engineered to withstand repeated dousing with Monsanto's herbicide, glyphosate (popularly known as RoundUp). (Media credit/Timothy Valentine via Flickr)

Food products made with soy have enjoyed great popularity in the U.S. and elsewhere in recent years. Two decades ago, Americans spent $300 million a year on soy food products; today we spend over $4 billion. More and more adults are substituting soy—a great source of protein—for meat, while a quarter of all baby formula contains soy instead of milk. Many school lunch programs nationwide have added soy-based veggie burgers to their menus, as have countless restaurants, including diners and fast food chains.

And there are hundreds of other edible uses of the legume, which now vies with corn for the title of America’s most popular agricultural crop. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration promotes the inclusion of soy into other foods to cut down on heart attack risk. Clinical studies have shown that soy can also lower the risk for certain types of breast and prostate cancer.

But there may be a dark side to soy’s popularity and abundance. “Many of soy’s health benefits have been linked to isoflavones—plant compounds that mimic estrogen,” reports Lindsey Konkel in Environmental Health News. “But animal studies suggest that eating large amounts of those estrogenic compounds might reduce fertility in women, trigger premature puberty and disrupt development of fetuses and children.” But before you dump out all your soy foods, note that the operative phrase here is “large amounts” which, in laboratory science, can mean amounts substantially above what one would consume in real life.

Also at issue is that upwards of 90 percent of the U.S. soybean crop is grown using genetically modified (GM) seeds sold by Monsanto. These have been engineered to withstand repeated dousing with the herbicide, glyphosate (also sold by Monsanto and marketed as RoundUp). According to the nonprofit Non GMO Project, this allows soybean farmers to repeatedly spray their fields with RoundUp to kill all weeds (and other nearby plant life) except for the soybean plants they are growing.

The U.S. government permits the sale and consumption of GM foods, but many consumers aren’t so sure it’s OK to eat them—given not only the genetic tinkering but also the exposure to so much glyphosate. Due to these concerns, the European Union has had a moratorium on GM crops of all kinds since 1998.

The fact that genetically modified soy may be present in as much as 70 percent of all food products found in U.S. supermarkets means that a vast majority of Americans may be putting a lot of GM soy into their systems every day. And not just directly via cereals, breads and pasta: Some 98 percent of the U.S. soybean crop is fed to livestock, so consumers of meat, eggs and dairy are indirectly ingesting the products of scientific tinkering with unknown implications for human health.

Since GM soy has only been around and abundant for less than a decade, no one yet knows for sure what the long term health effects, if any, will be on the populations of countries such as the U.S. that swear by it. Natural foods stores like WholeFoods are your best bet for finding non-GM foods of all sorts.

CONTACTS: Environmental Health News, www.environmentalhealthnews.org; Non GMO Project, www.nongmoproject.org.

The Max Brenner dining room looks like it belongs in Willy Wonka's factory.

There’s a new restaurant in town, right on Boston’s “Restaurant Row” in the Back Bay. Max Brenner Boston is a new chocolate-themed restaurant designed to entice all your senses and indulge even the biggest sweet-tooth’s desires.

Max Brenner, also known as “The Bald Man,” calls what he does a “chocolate culture.” In the early ‘90s, Brenner started his chocolate career by working throughout Europe as an apprentice to some of the most renowned pastry chefs and chocolate experts in the world. While in Paris, he also encountered some of the leading fashion designers, sparking in him a creative interest in design and aesthetics as well. By the late ‘90s, Brenner had his own small workshop where he began to offer his wild chocolate creations. His new vision was to expand the experience of chocolate beyond taste to an emotional experience that encompasses what chocolate symbolizes to people in their lives. Over the next decade, Brenner opened a series of restaurants both internationally and stateside, finally opening his 36th location right here in Beantown at 745 Boylston St. at the end of March.

I popped in for dinner on a Monday evening, eager to see this “chocolate culture” for myself. As a self-proclaimed chocoholic and foodie, the promise of a whole chocolate experience drew me like a moth to a flame. The second I pulled open the large double doors, the scent of warm chocolate wafted out–an excellent beginning! My guest and I were sat immediately, and took a few minutes to check out the walls of lab beakers filled with chocolate chips, the pipes labeled “100 percent pure chocolate” criss-crossing the ceiling and the walls painted with Hershey bars, Oreos and hearts. It’s as if a room from Willy Wonka’s factory was plunked down right here in the city.

Chocolate Pizza with milk and white chocolate, ice cream and marshmallows ($7.50).

We are given two menus, one with appetizers and dinner items and the other with desserts and drinks. I order the Berry Nutty Professor (peanut liqueur, Frangelico, Chambord and milk chocolate served on the rocks and garnished with a chocolate strawberry; $11.50), which is possibly the best drink I’ve ever had. My guest orders a fruit-flavored Brazilian Breezer (acai liqueur, cranberry juice and guava nectar; $11.95) and we dig into appetizers of Chicken, Bacon & Cheddar Rolls ($12.95; individual $7.25) and a tower of Black & Tan Beer Battered Vidalia Onion Rings with, yes, dark chocolate ranch dipping sauce ($6.95).

For dinner, we order the Brenner Burger Maxed Out with American Kobe beef, which comes with waffle fries dusted with chili and cocoa powder and served with a pickle ($15.95), and the Tostones Alla Marie, a grilled steak with plantains and rice and beans ($18.25). I complement my burger, which melts in my mouth, with a Banana Split Martini served in a stemless glass over crushed ice ($12.95). It comes on a platter with a beaker of extra martini and a small bowl of cut bananas and whipped cream dusted with powdered sugar.  It’s certainly the most interesting drink presentation I’ve seen, and bonus points for the small beaker of additional martini.

Although I’m stuffed at this point, not ordering dessert would be a crime. As I flip through pages of international hot chocolates, milkshakes, fondues, cakes and ice cream, I decide on a Suckao, a small, dense, concentrated shot of rich chocolate ($5.25). Another platter comes over, this time filled with a small cup of cream being heated over a candle, a bowl of dark chocolate chips, and a metal spoon used to spoon in and melt as much or as little dark chocolate as you’d like to add. My guest has an Eighties Milkshake made with milk chocolate ganache and vanilla bourbon ice cream ($7.95), served in a “drink me” glass reminiscent of “Alice in Wonderland,” keeping the whimsical theme alive through the very end of the meal.

Banana Split Waffle with vanilla bourbon ice cream, milk chocolate truffle, and caramelized Rice Krispies ($13.95).

As we leave, we pass through the gift shop where you can purchase homemade candies, cookbooks, t-shirts, body lotions, and a whole host of other products. A staff member offers us a sample praline, and I summon strength to find room for one more bite in my very full stomach, and am of course glad I did. I would be sluggishly dragging my feet back to my car after a meal like that if I weren’t practically vibrating on a sugar rush.

Max Brenner has won me over. Conveniently located in the Back Bay, it is accessible to both parking garages and public transportation. Entrees are all under $30, pretty reasonably priced for downtown Boston, and there wasn’t a thing I tried that I didn’t enjoy. I loved the nostalgic feeling of childhood favorites remembered and reinterpreted into this modern experience, and will gladly meet you there for a milkshake anytime.

Max Brenner, 745 Boylston St., Boston, 617-274-1741, www.maxbrenner.com

Pimm’s Cup

8 oz. Pimm’s No. 1

24 oz. chilled lemon-lime soda

Add mint, cucumber, orange and strawberry.

Mix in a pitcher (call it a “jug” if you want to impress the queen) filled with ice.

Serves 8. Cheers!

Although fruits and vegetables are still our best source of nutrients, those grown decades ago were much richer in vitamins and minerals than the varieties most of us get today. The main culprit in this disturbing nutritional trend is soil depletion. (Media credit/Martin Poole via Digital Vision/Thinkstock)

It would be overkill to say that the carrot you eat today has very little nutrition in it—especially compared to some of the other less healthy foods you likely also eat—but it is true that fruits and vegetables grown decades ago were much richer in vitamins and minerals than the varieties most of us get today. The main culprit in this disturbing nutritional trend is soil depletion: Modern intensive agricultural methods have stripped increasing amounts of nutrients from the soil in which the food we eat grows. Sadly, each successive generation of fast-growing, pest-resistant carrot is truly less good for you than the one before.

A landmark study on the topic by Donald Davis and his team of researchers from the University of Texas (UT) at Austin’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry was published in December 2004 in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition. They studied U.S. Department of Agriculture nutritional data from both 1950 and 1999 for 43 different vegetables and fruits, finding “reliable declines” in the amount of protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and vitamin C over the past half century. Davis and his colleagues chalk up this declining nutritional content to the preponderance of agricultural practices designed to improve traits (size, growth rate, pest resistance) other than nutrition.

“Efforts to breed new varieties of crops that provide greater yield, pest resistance and climate adaptability have allowed crops to grow bigger and more rapidly,” reported Davis, “but their ability to manufacture or uptake nutrients has not kept pace with their rapid growth.” There have likely been declines in other nutrients, too, he said, such as magnesium, zinc and vitamins B-6 and E, but they were not studied in 1950 and more research is needed to find out how much less we are getting of these key vitamins and minerals.

The Organic Consumers Association cites several other studies with similar findings: A Kushi Institute analysis of nutrient data from 1975 to 1997 found that average calcium levels in 12 fresh vegetables dropped 27 percent; iron levels 37 percent; vitamin A levels 21 percent, and vitamin C levels 30 percent. A similar study of British nutrient data from 1930 to 1980, published in the British Food Journal, found that in 20 vegetables the average calcium content had declined 19 percent; iron 22 percent; and potassium 14 percent. Yet another study concluded that one would have to eat eight oranges today to derive the same amount of Vitamin A as our grandparents would have gotten from one.

What can be done? The key to healthier produce is healthier soil. Alternating fields between growing seasons to give land time to restore would be one important step. Also, foregoing pesticides and fertilizers in favor of organic growing methods is good for the soil, the produce and its consumers. Those who want to get the most nutritious fruits and vegetables should buy regularly from local organic farmers.

UT’s Davis warns that just because fruits and vegetables aren’t as healthy as they used to be doesn’t mean we should avoid them. “Vegetables are extraordinarily rich in nutrients and beneficial phytochemicals,” he reported. “They are still there, and vegetables and fruits are our best sources for these.”

CONTACTS: Journal of the American College of Nutrition, www.jacn.org; Kushi Institute, www.kushiinstitute.org; Organic Consumers Association, www.organicconsumers.org.

Child labor may have been used to make your favorite chocolate candy (Media Credit/Shanubi via Flickr)

Many people are aware that conventionally grown produce is covered in pesticides. Documentaries such as Frontline’s “Modern Meat” and websites such as PETA’s www.meat.org have showed us the horrors of the meat industry. It may be common knowledge that the food industry has a shady side, but it’s still somehow shocking to consider that the adorable chocolate rabbit you were about to bite the head off of may not be so innocent after all.

Giselle Achecar, the life force behind the “eco-edutainment” site Eco-Rico, is passionate about bringing the darker side of the chocolate industry to light. In her Web TV series, Achecar comes across as the younger, sassier, (definitely more caffeinated) version of Paula Deen that you’d like to grab a drink with. What sets both Achecar and Eco-Rico apart from other environmental activist websites is the fact that they are fun. Achecar admits that the topics she discusses can be pretty heavy, but insists that the best way to get one’s message across is through enthusiasm and energy.

First, the bad news: In that West Africa is still predominantly rural, agriculture accounts for 25 percent of its regional GDP, with more than half of jobs based in that sector. Cocoa is the region’s main agricultural export. It is typical for children to work on family farms, and so long as the work is not deemed dangerous and/or preventing a child from attending school, it is not considered child labor. However, the International Labour Organization estimates that 74 million child laborers ages 4 to 15 are engaged in hazardous activities, with 69 percent of those children working in agriculture.

A 2009 publication from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development states, “Recent studies in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire show that nearly half of all children living on cocoa farms have been engaged in at least one hazardous activity. These include carrying heavy loads, spraying fertilizers and pesticides or cutting trees. In addition, some children have been trafficked from other regions of the country or neighbouring countries. This practice is one that international conventions recognise as criminal.”

So what does corporate chocolate have to say? While representatives from Cadbury (owned by Kraft) and Nestle could not be reached for comment, their websites do address the issue. Cadbury’s site says, “Kraft Foods is involved in substantial efforts designed to ensure that children are not harmed in cocoa farming and worst forms of child labor are eradicated.” Nestle’s site says something similar, claiming, “We fully support the United Nations Global Compact’s guiding principles on human rights and labour and aim to provide an example of good human rights and labour practices throughout our business activities.”

With rhetoric effectively dropped, the issue at hand is still unresolved; protocols, organizations and corporations may claim to have the best of intentions, but child labor is still being used to produce chocolate.

“It is a sick, sick irony that the same chocolate that you and me and everyone else that hands out chocolate to little happy trick-or-treaters on Halloween is the same chocolate that is being farmed by kids just like them,” said Achecar.

Thankfully, Achecar reminds us that supporting such practices is completely avoidable. While she refrains from lauding one brand over another, she does emphasize the importance of making sure any all chocolate purchased is fair trade certified. Ultimately, this ensures three things: the product is produced in an environmentally sustainable fashion, the workers are paid fair wages, and no forced or abusive child labor was involved. Purchasing fair trade items is an incredibly small act with an incredibly large impact.

In addition to being better for the world, fair trade chocolate is also better for you. “Chocolate is one of the most complex foods,” Achecar said. “It has over 300 identifiable chemical compounds that are proven mood-lifters.” In order to benefit from these compounds, chocolate has to be 70 percent cocoa, otherwise the added milk and sugar diminishes the effect.

For more information about the health benefits of fair trade certified chocolate and for delicious recipes using it, go to eco-rico.com. Further information on child labor and cocoa can be found at www.ilo.org, and information regrading Fair Trade is available at www.transfairusa.org.