Richmond Times-Dispatch (Virginia)
- July 12, 2006 Wednesday
- Zachary Reid
- FOOD BRIEFS

Food Briefs

Brew a donation
Bike racer and apparent tea aficionado Lance Armstrong is the inspiration for Chantal's Livestrong Loop Teakettle. The bright yellow -- as in, the color Armstrong wore the many times he was leading the Tour de France -- holds 1.8 quarts. It's porcelain enamel on the outside, steel on the inside and $50 at the register. The company donates $2 per pot to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. For more info or to find a retailer, visit www.chantal.com.

Flavor infused
Callisons is trying to take the guess work out of kebabing. The company's Seasoned Skewers put the flavor into the food -- not on top of it. Its skewers are infused with oils and flavors in six styles: Citrus Rosemary, Mexican Fiesta, Honey Bourbon, Garlic Herb, Thai Coconut Lime and Indian Mango Curry. Simply soak the pre-flavored skewers for 10 to 15 minutes, spear your favorite ingredients, then let sit another 10 to 15 minutes. Cook and serve. The skewers come in 10-packs. For more information or to find a retailer, check out www.seasoned skewers.com.

District of cheese
San Francisco's Cowgirl Creamery has opened its first East Coast location, and its line of artisan cheeses now includes those from a Virginia dairy. It'll take you a couple of hours to get there, but it's heaven-in-retail for cheeselovers. The D.C. shop offers more than 80 choices in an ever-changing selection. The shop also sells wine, bread and all the other stuff that comes in handy when you're sitting down with a big chunk of cheese. Come September, there will even be a cheese tasting bar.

The selections include sheep's milk cheese from the Everona Dairy in Rapidan (www.everona dairy.com).

The shop is at 919 F St. NW in Washington (202-393-6880). It's open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. It's closed Sunday. For more info, check out www. cowgirlcreamery.com.

Cool Italian stuff
Buitoni is adding choices to its line of refrigerated pastas and sauces. It now sells two kinds of Bruschetta: Classic (robust tomatoes, red peppers and the like) and Tuscan (chunky, sweet tomatoes, roasted vegetables) in 10½-ounce resealable containers. They cost about $4 each.

Other new products include Whole Wheat Four Cheese Ravioli (9 ounces, $4); Arrabiata Sauce (15 ounces, $4) and Vodka Sauce (15 ounces, $4).

Try a new taste
Murray is selling a reformulated sugar-free chocolate chip cookie. -- The cookies are sweetened with Splenda, a recipe change the company will apply to all 18 of its sugar-free cookies.

Colorful cutlery
It's time to stow away your rusty old paring knife. Hot summer days call for a more colorful tool. Kuhn Rikon's 7½-inch knife is sharp enough to slice the most delicate tomatoes, sturdy enough to cut through the hardest cheese and bright enough to add zip to any cutting board. The blades are high-carbon stainless steel. They come in a choice of orange, pink, red, blue, green and yellow and cost about $8 each.

Dancing days
Ever get so excited about tasting something new, you start dancing around? Willing to put your moves on tape and let the world see?

In honor of National Ice Cream -- and to promote its new line of shakes and smoothies -- Cold Stone Creamery is holding a Shake It Up dance contest.

The idea is simple: tape yourself doing a one-minute dance inspired by a shake or a smoothie. The contest runs through July 23. There will be seven regional winners, each of whom will be flown to New York City. A grand prize winner gets $15,000 and Cold Stone shakes and smoothies for life. For more details, check out www.coldstonecreamery.com.

Stuffing leftovers
Hunting season's still a buckshot away, but it's never too early to think about what you'll do with the next slab of venison you bring home. Homemade sausage comes to mind. Mostly because the folks at Hi Mountain Seasonings sent in a box with enough seasonings, casings and directions for turning 30 pounds of meat into what they swear will be an edible treat. We here on the Homemade Meat Treat Desk will give it a try.

Interested yourself, check out www.himtnjerky.com for a full selection of seasoning kits, tips for getting the most out of your meat and to find retailers.