Category — What I'm Loving

My new love is relatively new to the market – Rachel’s Cottage Cheese.  Some of you may have tried Rachel’s yogurts – they come in funky, exotic flavors (Vanilla Chai, Pomegranate Acai).  I have actually never tried those – I’m such a plain Greek yogurt fan, so I figured I’d save myself from getting hooked on another relatively-expensive indulgence.

But when I saw that Rachel’s was out with some interestingly flavored cottage cheese cups, and that they were each around 130 calories with around 14 grams of protein, it piqued my interest.  I found them last week at the Fresh Pond Whole Foods and I am already on my second batch of them.

So far, I’ve tried the Pomegranate Orange Cranberry, the Pear Mangosteen, the Sundried Tomato Pesto and the Cucumber Dill.  The only two I haven’t been able to find are the Roasted Red Pepper and the Lemon Verbena Berry.  I don’t have a favorite – I love all that I’ve tried and whether I’d reach for sweet or savory depends on my mood at the moment.  They’ve got a nice creamy taste, and because there’re no artificial flavors, the pomegranate and orange tastes like real fruit, the cucumber dill is very fresh and zippy with good veggie/herb flavor, etc.  Almost as if you made it up yourself.

So while I remain a big fan of plain cottage cheese with my own mix-ins, this is a convenient, portion-controlled option, with mix-ins that I wouldn’t necessarily take time to do myself.  I’ve been most often having one as a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack and the protein provides a nice hold-over ’til lunch or dinner.

Here’s the link to Rachel’s Dairy if you want to get the lowdown for yourself . . . .

© 2009, Semi-Sweet. All rights reserved.

I am a Whole Foods sucker.  I think there is a little Sarah Isenberg detector that goes off when I pull into their parking lot:  “Whoop!  Whoop!  Put out your most expensive munchies/probiotic supplements/seasonal chocolates/cheese!”  But today, my impulse-shop paid off in spades.  I have a new love.  This is not new to the market, but new to me . . . . WFM’s own Thai Ginger Marinade.

I was in the Fresh Pond Whole Foods this afternoon and as I sidled up to the fish counter, I was overwhelmed by the tastiest aroma.  After I procured my cod (the Isenberg fish of choice, 24/7), I turned around and visited the nearby guy doing some grilling.  Turns out he had marinated either mah-mahi or swordfish (can’t remember which, I know that neither were Isenberg-approved varieties) in WFM’s Thai Ginger Marinade.  I bought the marinade, untasted, because it smelled so. damn. good.

I re-worked my whole menu tonight around this marinade – we were on deck for cod Veracruz and some accompanying sides in a similar vein, but I went Asian.  I used up some cabbage I’d shredded last night and made my cabbage slaw, then basted my cod fillets with the marinade and poured a little around them in a baking dish.  I baked them, basting every 10 minutes or so, for around 25 minutes.  I also steamed some green beans and made some lo mein.

This marinade knocked my socks off.  The ingredients are simple:  canola oil, shoyu, water, fish sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil, ginger, cliantro, garlic and crushed red pepper.  It’s got a great soy tang, but it’s more complex than your usual soy-saucey sauce – probably because of the fish sauce.  It’s also got a nice deep roasty flavor from the sesame oil, and it’s got a kick to it.  It is strong on cod, so if you’re a cod-purist, it might not be for you.  But it was so good that I put a teaspoon over my green beans.    I could think of 1,000 applications for this stuff – for instance, as a marinade for tofu – then do up a stirfry with loads of veggies and season the whole shebang with more of the marinade.  Or I’m pretty sure it’d be great thinned out a bit (to mellow the flavor, not because it’s viscous) to make a dipping sauce for plain baked or fried tofu triangles.  Or dumplings.  Or to dress your plain Chinese noodles. 

Yum.

© 2009, Semi-Sweet. All rights reserved.