You’ve all heard the news, right? Drinking out of plastic water bottles is BAD! The worst offender is the bottle made from PET—polyethylene terephthalate—which has been proven to release DEHP, a compound known to disrupt reproductive health. Soda pop and juice is commonly sold in bottles containing PET plastic. From what I’ve read, the compounds only break down and leach after repeated use of the bottle, but that shouldn’t be of any comfort. Production and disposal of these plastics has led to contamination of air and ground water. If you had yourself tested for plasticizers, I doubt you’d like the results.

Next up is the harder polycarbonate plastics. Think Nalgene. These types of bottles contain Bisphenol-A. Bisphenol-A binds to estrogen receptors, causing reproductive issues as well. Recently, many companies removed all Nalgene and Nalgene type bottles from their shelves. Canada officially declared Bisphenol-A hazardous to human health.

So what’s a person to do? I like to have a water bottle in my car. My husband packs one to work. We all use them for something, right? Along with a gazillion other plastic products. (Which is another issue…) Well, here’s at least one alternative for you to consider—SIGG.

SIGG is Swiss company with worldwide presence. They make their bottles out of lightweight aluminum, and use a water-based non-toxic interior lining. Plus, the bottles are cool! With 144 designs and 22 styles of lids, SIGG has something for everyone. Their line-up even includes kids’ bottles, sports bottles, thermal bottles, and flasks. I got mine a couple weeks ago, and I love it. Check out their website and get one for yourself.

For more information about plastics and plastic drinking bottles, visit these two sites:

Earth Resource

Wikipedia. Be sure to check out the list of references at the bottom of the page.

A few weeks ago, when my husband wasn’t feeling well, I went to the store for Tylenol, Kleenex, and throat lozenges, and ended up spending a bit of time in front of the ice cream coolers. I admit, it was a relief to be “off duty,” if only for twenty minutes, and I was going to enjoy the time away from hubby’s illness. Plus, I thought ice cream might numb his aching throat, and, well, just plain taste good. I browsed the usual Ben and Jerry’s section, scanned the Haagen Dazs and Dove pints. And then there they were, on the top shelf, sporting bright colors and interesting flavors—Ciao Bella Gelato.

If you’ve never had gelato, here’s the scoop. It’s an Italian-style ice cream that contains only twenty percent air by volume (as opposed to American ice cream’s 60 percent), and less butterfat. It’s incredibly smooth and rich. Often, one scoop will leave you more that satisfied.

The Ciao Bella company is based in New York, but you can find their products nationwide. In addition to gelato, they produce sorbets and other specialty desserts. Some of the gelato flavors are: bourbon butter pecan, caramel, chocolate hazelnut, cinnamon, coconut, dulce de leche, espresso, fromage blanc, ginger, green tea, hazelnut biscotti, lemon poppy seed, lychee, pistachio, rum raison, strawberry, several varieties of vanilla, and zabaione, plus a whole lot more. Their sorbets come in apricot chardonnay, blackberry cabernet, blood orange, cassis, champagne, chocolate orange, lemongrass coconut, mango, margarita, passion fruit, peach, pear, and many more. Don’t they all sound fabulous?! To view the full list, click here, and keep in mind that many of these flavors are available by the scoop at venues only. The pints come in more limited flavors. To find out where you can purchase a pint, or enjoy a scoop or two, you can search via your zip code on this page of Ciao Bella’s website. My local Safeway wasn’t on the list, however, and they had at least 6 varieties… If nobody in your area carries the brand, you can have it shipped to you. Keep in mind it will be expensive…

I took home a pint of chocolate hazelnut, and it was divine. Next on my list to try is the blood orange sorbet. Oh, yeah!

We eat a lot of salads in this house. Raw, cut veggies, too. Hence, we tend to go through a lot of dressing. We have our go-to favorites, and though I’m always buying new bottles to sample, they never quite become a regular in our household. So, we rotate through our three dressings, and then start over again. It can get tiring quick. Also, store bought salad dressing can contain a lot of junk—salt, hydrogenated oil, and, if they’re creamy especially, fat. I prefer oil and vinegar, or citrus based dressings. And I like them subtle. I don’t like to pucker when I take a bite!

When I can, or when a recipe calls for it, I’ll make my own dressing. Many of the recipes I find, however, use a half and half ratio–half vinegar, half oil. I prefer less oil in mine, and usually cut that portion down to one-third, or even one-quarter. You can easily adjust the ratio in your homemade dressings, too. Try playing with the following recipe and see what you prefer.

Note: I found this hazelnut oil at Safeway, with the rest of their oils. Though on the pricey side, it has great, nutty flavor, and a little goes a long way. For a different flavor, try pairing the hazelnut oil with different vinegars and citrus juice, as well. I’m also anxious to try this oil in stir-fry, as a variation of sesame oil. I have a recipe that contains chicken, hazelnuts, dried cherries, and spinach that it’d go well with. Actually, those ingredients sound good in a salad, too!

Ingredients:

juice from two large grapefruits, sans seeds
1-2 tbsp. sugar (adjust depending on sweetness of grapefruits)
1 tsp. cardamom
6 tbsp. hazelnut oil

Method:

In a small saucepan heat the grapefruit juice and sugar over low until the sugar is melted. Let cool. Whisk in cardamom powder and hazelnut oil. If not using immediately, pour into a jar. It should keep for about one week. Shake well before use, as the juice and oil will separate.

This list always interests me. How do the editors choose? How do they even find out about half of this stuff? And more importantly, how accessible are these places, these foods, these drinks, to the general population? Before we take a sneak peek inside the 2008 list, let’s go back and look at 2007’s Tastes to Try. How many did you experience? I didn’t fare too well, but I came to the list late, so that’s my excuse. Of those I picked out, here are the 2007 tastes I still have yet to try:

#27 Peruvian Food. I seriously need to get my passport.

#43 Amaranth. A high-protein grain loved by the Aztecs. Is it anything like quinoa? I love quinoa!

#48 Syrah from South Africa. I love Aussie Shiraz, and I’m betting South African is superb. Gotta get me some!

#71 Mangosteens. Has the FDA approved this Thai fruit for import? I’m not sure. I haven’t seen it in the market yet, but I’ll keep looking. I did, however, try cherimoya, prickly pear, and the pepino melon this year.

#73 Wild Artichokes. Italian imports. Mmmmm.

And the one trend for 2007 that I will never, ever understand? Bacon in desserts.

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Now for my personal 2008 Tastes to Try. The full list is in the January 2008 issue of Food and Wine.

#4 Mochi Creams. A Tokyo craze, these desserts are made with mochi rice balls that are filled with ingredients like caramel pudding, green tea, and red sweet potato. Yum!

#25 Costa Rica. I really do need to get my passport.

#29 Napa’s Best Market. 40,000 square feet of gourmet food. What more could you want?

#35 Exquisite Tea Blends. I love tea, especially in the winter, and these blends that combine unique flavors like almond and coconut sound tremendous.

#52 Sicilian Almonds. Almonds that taste like marzipan? Sign me up!

#73 New Exotic Herbs. Rare edible plants. The environmentalist in me doesn’t like this idea, but I’m curious…

#83 Barrel-Aged Beers. I love beer—dark beer. Beer aged in oak barrels that adds wood, vanilla, and fruit essences? Oh, yes!

#99 Miso Lager and Other Japanese Beers. I’m down for the Echigo Stout, which is said to rival Guinness, and the Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout.

Hmmm. I better get busy!

I recently received two boxes of Cheryl & Co. Halloween sugar cookies from a woman I interviewed, and I must admit, I’m addicted. I’m usually more of a salty snacker, preferring pretzels or nuts over sweets, but I’ve found myself craving one of these cookies, along with a hot cup of tea, late in the morning for the past week.

What makes the cookies so good? The first thing I like about them is they don’t contain preservatives. I have one of those finicky digestive systems that doesn’t like too much junk running through it. Upon arrival, I promptly froze one box, and placed the other in the refrigerator. This alone has kept me from pigging out on them. Out of sight, out of mind, as the saying goes. But when I get that craving, it’s perfect to go to the fridge, slide one out of the box, and unwrap it from its decorative wrapper. Ah. Nice and fresh.

What really makes these cookie winners, however, is the fact that the frosting isn’t overly sweet. I’m not a frosting fan, in general. That gunk that comes on cake? I scrape it off. I do like a light layer of cream cheese frosting on carrot cake, but otherwise, my general rule is plain. This frosting, however, works just fine, and the sugar cookie underneath it is moist and perfectly crumbly.

Now that I’ve had the frosted pumpkin cut-outs, I’m anxious to try the snickerdoodles, lemon bursts, and apricot almond bars. They also have a Sweet and Savory Tower that looks great. Fruit and cheese is my favorite!

Check out Cheryl & Co. full selection, which includes gift baskets for just about any occasion, on their website.