Sounds Good

The following Culinary Thrill Seeking column ran 2-4 in the Port Arthur (TX) News. And is being posted at panews@panews.com and on a Sounds Good blog. THANKS!
Darragh Doiron



Poems and recipes for a princess
My lontime fan Seabourne Stokes Jr. sent recipes for meat loaf with a French bread filling and rump roast. This Groves man has extreme attention to detail. He addresses mail to me as Princess Darragh and this time included the poem with instructions that I could laminate it in clear plastic at places like Office Depot at the counter while I wait for about $2 plus sales tax and put it on the wall at home with four push pins, my choice of colors, or on a refrigerator door with magnets.
In “Mother-Madres” he writes that mothers make at least 25 major decisions each and every day, yet the Supreme Court issues just a few a week.
“A mother is love in action,” he writes. “Mothers are angels on special assignment.”

Be mine
I have a crush, and a crunch, on Sweet Cacao Nibs, from Navitas Naturals. Billed as a new superfood snack, the organic 'raw chocolate' nibs have been a Myan fave for centuries. Food of the Gods, they call the crunch bean nibs from rainforests of Peru straight to my bowl of fruit. I don’t even want to think how good they’d be over ice cream, but I did enjoy them over a slaw with orange vinaigrette. Crazy … like a fox.
I want all my readers to try this stuff. Navitas has all kinds of healthy stuff in its catalogue. Try a Brain-Food Shake with their mesquite powder and chia seed. This may be adventurous for you, but trust me on the nibs.

Glass flippers
Just so you don’t loose the recipe, Lolita Party Shots prints it right on the snazzy little glasses. A pink fluffy “garter” rims one frosted with red hearts and the following:
I Love You
1 part vodka
1 part raspberry liqueur
1 part lemon lime soda
A secret bit of bling is hiding under the fluff.
Girly, but good.
Breast cancer is also a girl thing and Lolita, dubbed the “nation’s hottest selling hand-painted barware” has a “Pink Ribbon”-tini and wine glass. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each glass will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Don’t “turn-down” a treat
I like to make my chocolate count. I’d rather eat one great piece than a box full of lesser quality. Allison’s Gourmet’s online gift shop has a new 2-Piece Chocolates Box with vegan truffles and caramels designed as turn-down treats for Bed & Breakfast owners. Don’t you love that touch?
You may wonder why it’s important that your chocolate is vegan. Allison’s Gourmet are free from animal ingredients, cholesterol and highly-refined sweeteners. If you are sensitive to those things, Allison’s is sensitive to your needs, in a sweet, sweet cocoa powder way. If you don’t have a B&B, consider them for wedding favors.