Bakery on Main Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bar

“Healthy Living Through Happy Tastes Buds.”

This Bakery on Main granola bar is chewy and a little but crunchy – what my Nonna would have called toothsome. With crisp rice and nuts I taste all the flavors; sunflower seeds, peanut butter, those little chocolate chips.

It’s just sweet enough for a mid-morning snack with coffee, but not overpoweringly sugary, the way I remember commercial granola bars to be. (Think Quaker or Kudos)

This little gem’s not only gluten, it’s trans fat free, cholesterol free, dairy free, casein free and non GMO.

The last thing I tasted as I savored this bar, trying to find a moment of peace in my hectic workday was a hint of sunflower and chocolate. I’m ready to face another few hours in this office

Beth's Farm Kitchen, Mighty Hot Pepper Jelly

At the Union Square Greenmarket there’s a jam and chutney vendor called Beth’s Farm Kitchen. I always pass by, as much as I love jam, and samples, they have a plate of bread and little wooden tongue depressors to serve the jams on the bread.

The women who work the table, one of whom I believe to be Beth herself, are always very nice to their customers so one day when I was there and the table was quite I stopped to take a look at the jams. They have lots of yummy looking flavors, with very simple recipes; fruit, sugar, pectin, vinegar.

I asked if they knew if the vinegar they used was gluten free, and although she wasn’t sure Beth (I think it was Beth) took my card and said she would check when she got home and emails me. And she did. As it turns out the vinegars that they use are gluten free.

The next weekend I went back and sampled some of the jams, the ladies were kind enough to open fresh bottle of jam so that I could taste without fear of contamination. I have been fixated on getting jalapeño jelly ever since I had some at a Mexican fusion place several years ago and Beth’s has two; Mighty Hot Pepper Jelly and Habañero Jelly. I decided to start with the hot pepper jelly, which I pair with my evening slice of cheesecake and cup of tea. The sweetness of the cake cuts the heat of the jalapeños.

All the jams and chutneys have little bits of fruit and seeds, so you know they’re the real things. I’ll have to try some of my other favorite flavors when I finish this jar. Perhaps I’ll make jam filled cookies.

Mi-del Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Oh Sweet Oreos! Those tasty treats that we all love. Chocolaty cookies, sweet cream center, dunk able goodness. All of that, this cookie's is not. I must say that I had higher expectations from something that was supposed to taste like an Oreo.

The Mi-del Chocolate sandwich cookie was not what I had hoped for. The cookies are hard and dry, not very chocolaty and hard to bite. The ‘cream’ tastes something like marzipan, but the too was dry and hard. After the first bite the whole sandwich fell apart. After being soaked in milk the cookie was a little softer, but still didn’t stay together, and certainly didn’t taste anything like an Oreo.

I suppose this would still be considered a sweet treat, but I’d rather miss Oreo’s than eat these again.