Now let’s move onto cooking oils. We all know about olive oil, but what about grapeseed oil? A few months ago, my fiance and I were shopping for oil for deep frying lumpia. While I reached for the corn oil, he picked up a bottle of grapeseed oil instead. I was quite skeptical at the time because we knew nothing about grapeseed oil, whether or not it was good for deep frying or if it would alter the flavor of the food. Well, we used it and the lumpias turned out just fine. So when I saw the Salute Sante grapeseed oil booth, I was excited. It turns out that grapeseed oil has a high smoke point, which makes it great for deep frying. Grapeseed oil is also lower in saturated fat than olive oil and has almost no taste. Salute Sante is an eco friendly company. Not only do they use recyclable cans, but they will also recycle your used oil! (I’m not sure if this applies to restaurants only.)
These beautiful satin boxes by Isabelle caught my eye.
They hold individually wrapped cookies and make great gifts. My friend told me that they are popular in Taiwan, for the Chinese tradition of giving cookies to relatives before you get married. Isabelle cookie boxes are available now at Chinese supermarkets like Ranch 99.
Yes, this is green rice you are looking at above. It is the Lotus Food’s Jade Pearl Bamboo Rice made with bamboo leaf extract. Rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, the Jade Pearl Bamboo Rice is also gluten-free. Lotus Foods also carries a stainless steel rice cooker. What is special about stainless steel, you ask? It is a non-reactive metal that will not rust or peel. Most rice cookers are made of aluminum and there is evidence that aluminum may be linked to Alzheimer’s disease. I am not here to debate whether or not aluminum causes this disease, but I love the idea of a stainless steel rice cooker.
Then there were these cute tea tumblers by Pacific Cornetta.
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