Good Stuffs! (Product reviews)

I absolutely love finding new things that I can cook with; my husband knows that my idea of a great date night is for him to take me to a new market or grocer I've never been to. I'm like a kid in a candy store! Every year I tear up a little when the Jean Talon and Atwater markets both open up the outside for the summer and fold in for the winter. Basically, the only thing that makes me happier than cooking and playing in the kitchen is hunting for the stuff I'm going to be using once I get there. Hence, good stuffs.

I had originally planned to start writing about some of the places that I like to shop at tonight, but the dinner my huney cooked for us was not only amazing and simple, but also incorporated two new products that I had purchased to try out at some point. This seemed like a perfect opportunity. So, here goes.

We picked up some scallops at the fish monger down the street this afternoon, and while snooping, I realized that in and amongst all their pastas (we have a very cool fish monger! All kinds of products to go with the sea food, and frankly when I'm feeling lazy because it is so close, I'll often pop in to pick up any produce I might be short on) they carry Le Veneziane, a corn pasta. Never having tried it, I grabbed some thinking that it would be nice to have on hand for a dinner on the fly. Plus, the ones I grabbed were a larger size than I can usually find, closer to a linguini sized noodle. Once home, it was decided that something cajun would be nice, and while checking out some of the suggestions on our spices, there is a recipe for a cream based spicy seafood sauce that would be good over pasta! Great, says my guy, except that we don't have what we usually use as a cream substitute. Tah dah! Again, because I had never tried it, the last time I ran over to my favourite little shop, I had picked up some MimicCream, which I was able to hand over as though I had planned the whole thing. The best part? I then pretty much got out of the kitchen and let him do his thing as it was his night to cook!

Okay, so... The MimicCream is an almond and cashew nut cream, so this is not going to be your thing if you have any nut allergies!  Having said that, it was great to work with. Visually, it resembles a heavy cream in texture and appearance, that acts in much the same way a dairy based cream would when cooking with it. It didn't separate or go grainy with the heat (which I often find with some of the rice based substitutes), took on the flavours of the spices that were used but also didn't get lost in the dish; basically, you knew you were eating a "cream" sauce. The container holds 16oz, or 2 cups, and once opened, should be refridgerated and used within 14 days.

 

So next, the pasta. The package instructions said to cook in boiling water for 5 minutes, and that was exactly right. They held their structure really well, and had a really nice, lightly chewy texture to them that had us decide to use these in place of egg noodles. They held the sauce well, absorbing it without becoming mushy (which has me planning a tomato and seafood based pasta dish for the not so distant future) and unlike some noodles we've tried, they twirl on your fork perfectly!

 

 

Essentially, dinner was a great success, and we will Definitely be picking up both of these products again. I'm looking forward to trying different shapes of pasta for different recipes, and the cream will likely find a permanent place in our pantry.

 

 

Photo: Cajun spiced scallops with leeks and red peppers in "cream" sauce, zucchini and pasta.

 

Bon Appetit!