I {Heart} Organic Wine – Quick V-Day Suggestions

 I know you.  You’ve waited until the last minute to think about Valentine’s Day.  Give your Tender Valentine a few warm fuzzies with our last minute wine suggestions. 

Organic wine is not always easy to find.  Dave Russo of G.B. Russo and Sons in Grand Rapids, MI has some of the best in the area (and probably in the country).  Dave has several of these wines on sale right now.  So stop by on your way to see your honey.

Some quick picks with some quick facts:

Ehlers Organic Wine

Organic Status?  Made with certified organic grapes 

Country?  U.S.A./ California

Value?:  High-end wine for a good price

Ehlers Vineyards cultivate their wines using organic and biodynamic methods – all done for bottom line results and best taste.  One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of these wines support the Leducq Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to funding international cardiovascular research. 

Read More:  http://www.ehlersestate.com/organicvineyard

 

Natura Wine (Emiliana Organic Vineyards)

Organic Status?:  100% Certified Organic

Country?:  Chile

Value?:  Great wine, good price

Take a visit to the Emiliana Organic Vineyards’ web site to learn about organic and biodynamic farming in wine.  It’s fascinating.  The Gewurztraminer that G.B. Russo carries has a good review from i-winereview.com:

“It is a gentle wine, rather feminine and floral in character, showing honey and flowers on the nose and stonefruit on the palate. Cleanly made, this is both a good sipping wine and one that would combine nicely with Asian cuisine.”

I-winereview.com

Read more about Natura Wines, Emiliana Organic Vineyards and organic and biodynamic wine production:

http://www.emiliana.cl/organic-biodynamic/

La Vielle Ferme

Organic Status? – This wine is raised with organic principals, but its neighbors are not organic. 

Country?:  France

Value?:  Excellent.  Good wine, great price.

One unique attribute of this wine is that there are no added sulphites.  Trace amounts of sulphites are natural in wine.  However, sulphites are usually added used to kill the yeast and stop the fermentation (if you don’t kill the yeast you get vinegar).  La Vielle Ferme uses a flash heating process instead to stop fermentation.  

'La Vieille Ferme is producing exuberant and delicious wines.'

James Suckling : The wine spectator

Read More:  http://www.lavieilleferme.com

You can also find these at G.B. Russo & Sons

1.    Perrin & Fils:  Cote Du Rhone Villages (France)

2.    Tres Sabores:  California



Announced Today: Food Allergy Labeling Laws in Canada

New Food Allergy labeling laws were announced in Canada today.  Labels on food will now include ingredients derived from gluten sources, sulphites and "other allergens".  Beer and wine are left out of the labeling requirements for now after hard lobbying from the beer industry.  But indicators show that alcohol might be in our allergen-labeling future.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/pointofview/2011/02/food-allergies-do-you-have-any.html

The Best Allergen-free Chocolate

Since I am a chocolaholic, I will always be on the lookout for the best chocolate for baking, cooking, eating and giving.  Here is a start to my list.  I'll keep adding to it and letting you know what else I find out!

Cooking, Baking & Confections

Barry Callebaut - North America - DARK CHOCOLATE

• Dairy Free (processed on a dedicated dairy-free, dark chocolate North American factory line & tested for milk.)
• Kosher
• Vegan (no animal products are processed on their dark chocolate line)
• Contains small amounts of soy (soy lecithin is used for consistency)
  
• GMO Status?  Currently Unknown.
• **May be OK for gluten and nut allergies (currently, nuts and gluten products are not processed in the North American Factory, however, there is no testing for this at the moment.  Some European factories do process nuts). **If you have nut and gluten allergies, please do your own research

• Used by confection makers, restaurants and bakers world-wide

www.barry-callebaut.com

Check out Tender Palate's recips for Almond Cognac Truffles (contains nuts) & for our Coconut Truffles (dairy-free) using Callebaut.

Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

& Bittersweet Chunks

• Free of the 8 most common allergens (NO wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish, or shellfish. Also made without casein, potato, sesame or sulfites).
• Nut-free (tested and produced in a dedicated nut-free and gluten-free facility)
• Gluten-free  (tested and produced in a dedicated nut-free and gluten-free facility)
• **Dairy-free (tested)
• **Soy-free (tested)
• **(produced in a facility that also processes dairy and soy, but produced on a dedicated dairy-and soy-free line.  Ingredients have been additionally tested for the presence of dairy and soy)
• GMO status?  Currently unknown.

http://www.enjoylifefoods.com

Giving & Eating

Indie Candy 

Indie Candy makes allergen-free confections for Tender Foodies of all kinds.  They offer selections that are:

• Gluten-free
• Dairy-free
• Soy-free
• Nut-free
• Kosher
• Vegan
• Feingold Diet Approved

www.indiecandy.com

Check out what The Tender Foodie has to say about Indie Candy in our Review.

If Chocolate Were the Perfect Man, Would He Be Dairy-free?

XOXO, Love, Chocolate.

I love chocolate.  So much so, that when I was a kid my mother used to hide the chocolate chips from me.  If she didn’t, she could never find any in the house when she wanted to bake.  I had already eaten them.  She hid that yellow bag of semi-sweet morsels in the most unlikely places, too -- the china cabinet, the back of the coat closet, the piano bench…  I would always (I mean always) find them.  One day my “choco-dar” led me to a little fire safe in the basement.  I knew they were in there (and they were indeed).   So I sat for an hour pondering potential combinations.  I summoned all of my magic powers, “If I believe I can open this safe, I can.  I will. I will”.  A chocoholic I am, a safecracker, not so much. 

When I found out that my adult dairy allergies would limit the kinds of chocolate I would be able to eat, I went through a period of denial.  Those “traces” of dairy wouldn’t really harm me, would they?  My own body finally forced my illusions to hit the reality fan.  I realized that this secret romance with the forbidden was over.  Until I met Barry Callebaut.

Barry Callebaut, Je T’aime

Valentine’s Day always makes me think of chocolate.  And of love.  And making truffles.  This year I was determined to finally find the perfect high quality dairy-free chocolate for these little confections.  And during my search, I spoke to the very charming and intelligent folks at Callebaut, a chocolate manufacturer based in Zurich, Switzerland.  They have factories in 26 countries and are the only chocolate manufacturer in North America with a dedicated, dairy-free dark chocolate line.  They test for it, too.  While they do not produce gluten or nut products in this factory, they also do not yet test for the presence of those allergens (so do your own research).  They are, however, considering additional allergen-testing, so they can serve a larger Tender Foodie market.   As for soy, there are small amounts of soy lecithin in Callebaut chocolate used to give the chocolate the best consistency. 

Before I called Callebaut, I asked myself the question… what is the perfect chocolate, anyway?  Is it anything like the “perfect man”?  I’ve made many mistakes in my love affair with chocolate.  So I wondered . . .

If chocolate were the “perfect man”, what would he say?

 (And maybe, just maybe could “he” even have a little French accent?) 

Mon Petit Bonbon,

You are the most interesting and wonderful woman I have ever met (I like him already).   I want to learn all about you and satisfy your every need...  I will not drink milk because you cannot.  If you need me to be Vegan, I am yours.  I’ll live and travel only to places that are gluten-free… so mon cher, you can have me anywhere.

Don’t worry, my love, I’ll protect you.  I got tested.  And if religion is important to you, I can even become Kosher. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to change “who” I am.  I am chocolate.  I respect my home, the rainforest, and the knowledge of the farmers who raised me.  If you were looking for a cheap roll in the hay, you would not be the one.  I need a woman who appreciates my finer qualities.  And you do.

I am a little naughty, you know.  And so are you, my little vixen, especially when you are with me.  But I have the beans to be faithful. I will not let any GMOs, politicians, or biotech powerhouses get into my pants.   

And now, I must tell you something that you may not want to hear.  I am not really an aphrodisiac.  Please don’t be disappointed.  I am not perfect.  I am only a food.  But we are meant for each other.  My serotonin-making tryptophan will increase your desire and my phenylethylamine will make you will fall in love with me over and over again.  I promise.  Each time we are together, we will keep it real so that you have as many anti-oxidants as I can give to you.  Especially when we turn out the lights. And when you unwrap every ounce of me and it’s dark.  Very, very dark.

My final promise:  I am good for both your brain and your heart – you don’t have to choose.  And when I melt in your mouth, your passion will last four times longer than if I had simply, lustfully kissed you. 

Ah, mon cherie, until I melt in your mouth again…

Xoxo, Love,

Chocolate

 My Dairy-Free Picks for Making Candy & Baking

  I suppose, there is no such thing as the perfect man.  And if the perfect man existed, would we like him?  I’m not so sure that we would.  I was afraid this would also be true for the perfect allergen-free chocolate.  Perfect isn’t always very interesting or very good.  But when it comes to food – being perfect often means that the quality, texture and taste is sooooo, so very much better.  And in the case of chocolate, being perfect in the hands of the experts is a very good thing. 

Barry Callebaut

Bittersweet / Dark Chocolate

http://www.barry-callebaut.com

• Dairy-free in North America

Enjoy Life

http://www.enjoylifefoods.com

Semi-sweet chocolate chips

• Dairy-free
• Nut-free
• Soy-free
• Gluten-free

Click here for the allergen-free chocolates that are the best for baking, candy-making and giving.



Are Oats Gluten Free?

ARE OATS GLUTEN-FREE? It depends. Oats do not naturally contain gluten. However, they contain a protein called "avenin" to which many folks (especially those with Celiac disease) are sensitive. Oats can be dusted with wheat flour at the factory. And can also be contaminated on the farm.  Wheat & oats often are planted in rotation on the same land, causing cross-contact.  If you are able to have oats, get the gluten-free kind.  But introduce oats carefully and mindfully if you have a gluten allergy.

Bob's Red MIll has a great blog post about this.  Read on!