FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Web site brims with oat recipes
By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor
Quaker Oats, one of the oldest continuously operating food brands in the country, is celebrating its 125th anniversary.
Quaker was the first brand to feature a recipe on its package (for oatmeal bread), the first cereal to offer a packaged premium (chinaware) and among the first to introduce convenience products (quick oatmeal and later "instant" oatmeal).
The company has been developing recipes using oatmeal for many years, and 245 of them are at www.quakeroatmeal.com.
In the dark
Hawaiian Isles Kona Coffee Co., whose roastmaster, Ron Montague, has created "Island Signature" blends for such Island celebrity chefs as DK Kodama at Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar and Chai Chaowasaree at Chai's Island Bistro, has released a Private Reserve Dark Roast series, including French Blend, the darkest roast (similar to DK's blend); Bueno Espresso, a shade lighter; and Midnight Café, a shade lighter still.
Montague said his company's market research showed a clear trend toward a preference for darker roasts (the espresso bar effect, no doubt). The various blends include beans from South and Central America, Sumatra and Kona, and are roasted and mixed on O'ahu. The 10-ounce packages sell for $6.99-$8.99 and are available at Foodland, Times, Wal-Mart and Daiei.
Don't bowl me over
Do you ever get the impression that good old donburi and udon have mutated in some scary ways? It's about those bowl-a this and bowl-a that products in the supermarket. Some are rice bowls, some pasta. Some are frozen and some freeze-dried.
The latest line is Uncle Ben's Breakfast Bowls (bacon, egg and potatoes, sausage egg and biscuit, seven-grain cereal and fruit — all designed to be microwaved, suggested retail, $2.79 each).
Convenient, yes, but after a round of experimentation, none of these commercial bowls are anything I can recommend. The time saved just doesn't seem worth the loss of flavor and texture, and the excess of salt, sugar, fat and preservatives.
The other night I came home bone-tired and still had a bowl of penne with olives, parsley, garlic and tomatoes on the table in 25 minutes. I used bottled kalamata olive paste and garlic from a tube (always in the fridge for moments just like this). I spent two minutes each chopping tomatoes and parsley. I had time, while the pasta was boiling, to keep one eye on "Sex and the City" while opening the mail. The flavor was worth the extra 10 minutes.
