On June 8th, 2010, Bryan and I welcomed our beautiful and healthy daughter, Kaia, to the world. Her name means “the womanly personification of Earth” and she was born at 11:56 am weighing 6 pounds 1 ounce. She is so tiny that backpacking and paddling trips won’t be feasible for a little while yet so we are just enjoying time on local walks and such. In the meantime I am back to posting new recipes and sharing my food finds with you.

I’ll start off with a little treat I discovered recently,  Côte d’Or Lemon Ginger, a filled dark chocolate bar that is a yummy addition to the fare in my pack. As many of you know, I adore ginger and chocolate. It is one of my favorite flavor combinations, however, I was unsure how I would feel when lemon had been added to the mix. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I really love this combination. The chocolate is not as dark as other dark chocolate bars I’ve enjoyed in the past — I’d put the cocoa content at about 60%. The bits of ginger add a nice bite and the lemon enhances the richness of the chocolate. The filling is a tiny bit mousse-like and of a lighter consistency than the outside.

At over four dollars a bar it is one of the more expensive treats — that said, it’s one I’d purchase again. It would make a great after dinner treat on the trail or even for a quiet night of watching fireflies in the backyard.

Last week I was in a Shoppers Drug Mart location that had a postal outlet. While Bryan was mailing a White Box stove to a customer, I took the opportunity to browse the snacks section. I like to do that from time to time as Shoppers often brings in unusual products. I wasn’t disappointed.

As I looked at the top shelf I noticed a brand of trail mix that I had not seen before and it was on sale. The brand was Sahale Snacks based out of Seattle, Washington in the USA.

I have to say that I was immediately intrigued by the unusual flavor combinations and I ended up purchasing three different nut-based, snack blends. They were the Dauphine, Soledad and Socorro mixes.

The Dauphine is a walnut based blend with dried blueberries,  banana chips, coconut, ginger, white pepper and lavender. I love the flavor of lavender which is also in one of my favorite spice blends, Herbes de Provence. It is an unusual combination for a trail mix but refreshingly different. The bite of the ginger with the white pepper kicks it up nicely.

The Soledad is an almond based blend with dried apple pieces, dates, flax seeds, balsamic vinegar and red pepper. The sweetness of the fruit really pairs nicely with the balsamic vinegar and the red pepper (cayenne) adds a bit of spicy contrast.

Last, but certainly not least, is the Socorro, a macadamia nut based blend with hazelnuts, sweet mango, papaya and smoky chipotle pepper. The addition of cumin and cilantro give this mix a southwest vibe.

There are several other flavors offered by the company and if they are as good as the ones I sampled, you won’t be disappointed.

Just before I left to go teach my wilderness cooking workshop in Algonquin Provincial Park, I discovered a neat product. I was in Staples of all places, picking up supplies to bind the workbooks for the workshop participants. As I reached the end of the aisle I saw a rack of products from Twinings.

I drink Twinings Tea quite often but the packaging seemed different, prettier, so I picked up a box of the Lady Grey flavor for closer inspection. Cold Brewed Iced Tea! What a great idea.

I decided to grab a box even though it was a little pricey. I figured that it would be worth a try and I wasn’t disappointed. The tea was delicious and tasted great even without being sweetened.

While the package says the tea takes about 5 minutes to steep, I found that I needed to let it steep for double the time because I was using quite a bit more water in my Camelbak than what was recommended with the instructions.