Sounds Good

Will Bella replace my old friend for tea?
I was just looking at the trusty silver tea kettle I’ve kept on the stove since I bought it to help sterilize Jasmine’s baby bottles. It’s old, and I love it. It made me think of who would get it when I’m gone.
Less than a week later, Bella came into my life. She is a round, flirty red Copco kettle with a perky rounded handle. You don’t whistle at this hot little number, she whistles at you when your water is boiling. This cute young thing is now a neighbor of the bigger, grandfatherly silver kettle on my stove. Is it frivolous to keep two kettles? I’ve decided not, since Target stocks a variety of Copco products that are in the $20 range. Besides, Jasmine will apparently leave the nest someday, and I guess I do want her to be in hot water.

South meets New York for hot stuff
It’s cold at my desk, no matter the season. When I finally got a bottle of Tabasco’s new Buffalo Style Hot Sauce, I poured over my spinach/tomato/cheese pasta so I could warm up. I loved it, as expected. I’ve never met a Tabasco I didn’t like, and this tastes just like you think it will. I’m drawn to hot stuff in any season, so I’ll be trying this stuff on chicken wings no matter how the summer heats up.


Farmer’s Harvest
Organic sea salt, no preservatives and whole grain pasta are the proudly listed perks of new selections in Stouffer’s Farmer’s Harvest line. My daughter and I switched off bites of Roasted Chicken & Bowtie Pasta with a vegetable medley and lasagna. We each decided our favorite of the two was what was more featured on the other’s plate. (Hey, I really liked the Stouffer’s lasagna, and that’s saying a lot since my chef nephew had just brought a whole pan over featuring lemon peel in his cheese sauce.)
For breakfast, we tried some of the feeds-five family pack of macaroni and cheese with real cheddar. I realize mac & cheese is a topic many of you feel dearly about, but it passed my test. I’m glad to see more “real” food going into boxes these days.


Oil’s well
When my sister visits she always asks “Don’t you have any canola oil?” I use olive for everything. This time I’ll hand her Better Body Canola Oil which is a “rare expeller-pressed canola oil lower in saturated fat than all cooking oils yet higher in Vitamin E,D, K and Omega’s 3 and 6, which are essential fatty acids that can reduce the risk of heart disease and heart passage inflammation,” makers say. Okay, so now there’s two healthy oils in my kitchen. Any others will have to pass rigorous testing, or I don’t want to bother with it. Better Body has passed my health test, too. Pour it on.
ddoiron@panews.com