John Wise

South River Miso Company in Conway, Massachusetts, is now one of our all-time favorite companies to buy from. We ordered a sampler of misos that consisted of one-pound jars with the flavors of Dandelion Leek, Azuki Bean, Sweet Tasting Brown Rice, and, Caroline’s favorite, the Chickpea Barley. Their Tamari is also quite excellent, so much so, that customers are only allowed to order two bottles per year. My favorite miso is the Azuki but having only tried four and enjoying each and every one, we have ordered the other six varieties of South River concocts.

In about a week we should receive a large box with Chickpea, Hearty Brown Rice, Three-year Barley, Sweet White, Garlic Red Pepper, and Mellow Barley misos. We had to order now as South River doesn’t ship during warm or hot months, because the miso is unpasteurized, allowing all of its living glory to remain intact.

As part of our ongoing attempt at eating healthier, we purchased a nearly seven-pound sampler of beans and seeds for sprouting from the Sproutpeople. We’ll add the various sprouts to salads, soups, juices along with fresh living granola and crackers.

The Sproutpeople sent us 20 packets of stand-alone beans, seeds, and a wide selection of custom mixes. A partial list of what was included: wheat, barley, rye, spelt, triticale, oats, Kamut, sesame, millet, amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, sunflower, pumpkin, peanut, lentils including French, crimson, red, chief, pardina, eston, green, black and white, peas including green, speckled, marrowfat, yellow, and bill jump, adzuki, mung, garbanzos, red clover, cress, garlic, alfalfa, radish, fenugreek, mustard, onion, broccoli, arugula, dill, and more.

Some people have too many condiments, we have too much olive oil. Well, who can ever have too much? We will use all of this and more. With our CSA subscription to The Little Farm in Gilbert we receive a lot of salad greens and so this variety and incredible quality of olive oils make dining on greens all the better.

The first and third bottle in the photo is from the Stonehouse California Olive Oil Company. We bought these last month at the Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco. The Olio Nuovo, also known as Sevillano Single is an early harvest and one of the most flavorful and strongest of olive oils.

The next bottle is from Joëlle, also a California company. This olive oil is my current favorite, I love the peppery, grassy flavor. This particular bottle is the hand-picked cold-pressed Early Harvest Manzanillo.

Fourth bottle is from Il Frantoio Di Montepulciano from the village of Montepulciano in Tuscany, Italy. While we tried and loved it before buying it in San Francisco, we haven’t opened this one yet.

Finally is Lapas Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Greece, which was purchased from Whole Foods, a good inexpensive everyday oil.

I recently bought a pepper sampler in order to try some of the exotic and different peppers that grow around the globe. Opening the box I found five four-ounce bags and a gift – two long narrow plastic tubes filled with peppercorns. The sampler includes a Vietnamese Gourmet Pepper, Tellicherry from India, Talamanca Del Caribe from Ecuador, Lampong from Indonesia, and Malabar from India. The first free gift was the Hawaiian Rainbow pepper pack containing Tellicherry black, Mutok white, and French Rose while the second one called Ebony & Ivory merely states Black & White peppercorns.

Peppercorns stay fresh for years, while ground pepper starts to lose flavor between three hours to four months after it is ground, depending on which authority you are reading! My sampler cost $25 and was ordered online from Bruce Morgan at www.pepper-passion.com up in the state of Washington. From order to delivery it only took six days, and now on to try our new and exotic peppers!

For the next week, I’ll be photographing things from my kitchen. This first picture is of Himalayan Crystal Salt. Who would have known there were such different qualities to salt? Commercial grocery store salt is treated with chemicals to stop it from clumping and may have iodine added, while natural salts like Himalayan and Celtic Sea Salt are not chemically treated. They may clump but they are still full of their original nutrients, making them healthier for you. I ordered mine from Elaina at PureJoyKitchen.com, where 2.2 pounds costs $29.50.