MarieBelle Chocolates: Direct from New York City comes an amazing array of gourmet chocolates, and we wanted to get you ready for holiday gift giving. Now we have a female CEO, Maribel Lieberman who grew up in Honduras around scads of cacao fields. Her love of chocolate led her to create the MarieBelle brand nearly 20 years ago. When we opened up the small artisanal box in our offices, I had to swat away the hands from getting too grabby. The nine-piece Chocolate Ganache Blue Box with dark and milk chocolate runs $35. With lovely artwork painted atop each chocolate, the enclosed folded papers explains every exquisite flavor. A sweet little story explains each one. See www.mariebelle.com.
WUJU Foods: They were right. The Asian Tang Potato Crisps is, in a word, addictive. Made with Vietnamese spices, this new order of chip has no MSG and yields a delectable pho soup flavor. How can that be? New company WUJU foods aims to make Asian flavors more approachable for American palates with its line of sauces, snacks, and marinades, to elevate entrees. There’s Chili Crisp Szechuan chili oil highlighted on pizza as a way to kick up the food experience. Then there’s the savory and sweet extra hot Hot Sauce recommended for use on a breakfast sandwich. If you dare, add Pineapple Agave Marinade for kicked up chicken WUJU founder, Larry Wu, is on a mission to carry on the tradition of his parents – hard working restauranteurs who immigrated to the United States in the 1970’s and spent almost 50 years successfully connecting communities with creative Asian cuisine. These gourmet products can be purchased online through Amazon. See www.wujufoods.com for details. Happy cooking and happy gifting!
Atoria’s Family Bakery: You can enjoy the array of Atoria’s repertoire such as the naan bread, pizza crust, lavash, and pita bread which we tried and LOVED. When you are going on the road, save yourself money from going out to buy lunch and dinner unnecessarily. Buy a pack of naan, pita pocket, or make a rolled lavash ahead of time. When I go on my travels, I really do love to make the yummiest sandwiches, rollups, or to go foods. I am so happy to have discovered Atoria’s Family Bakery which is indeed a family-run operation. The family does not use GMO ingredients, no do they rely on artificial ingredients, artificial preservatives, or fake coloring. Available at Safeway, you can find out more concerning their family roots and backstory on www.atoriasfamilybakery.com