Partique Party: Cascal All-Natural Soda

"Fermented For A 'Grown-Up' Taste"




There's one thing I look forward to every holiday season: uniquely flavored sodas. I don't want plain cola or kiddie punch with my Christmas dinner. I crave something bold, flavorful and grown up. The downside, though, is not being able to find those awesome sodas the rest of the year.

Fortunately, there is a solution to that post-holiday soda hunt. Partique and Cascal All Natural Soda offered me the opportunity to host a Cascal taste test party over the Christmas holiday. Their five flavors of soda are fermented yet non-alcoholic, all natural and no sugar added. Plus Cascal is available year round at Whole Foods. Which makes me very happy! In addition, Partique and Cascal sent super nice favors (a cookbook, t-shirt and coupons) for my party guests.



Cascal Fine Dry Fermented Soda, With Notes of Apple and Anise
37% Juice and 80 Calories Per Bottle

The Apple-Anise soda was quite refreshing. The scent upon opening the bottle was similar to a good beer. The slight apple taste was pleasant, too. I recommend serving this variety at a cookout with a good steak.



Cascal Light Red Fermented Natural Soda, With Notes of Black Currant and Mirabelle
19% Juice and 60 Calories Per Bottle

The one variety that everyone rated so-so. A slightly meek pear flavor with a pinch of pomegranate was the closest any of us could detect (pear and pomegranate were on the ingredient label). Black currant didn't shine through. I wasn't sure what Mirabelle was, until I googled it.



Cascal Fine Dark Fermented Natural Soda, With Notes of Honey And Malt
38% Juice and 80 Calories Per Bottle

A+ for Honey and Malt, the hands down favorite with the AMW family. This beverage was similar to molasses flavored ginger ale. Pair this variety with a traditional Christmas dinner of turkey and stuffing. You can't go wrong with that!



Cascal Crisp White Fermented Natural Soda, With Notes of Pear, Apricot and Magnolia
31% Juice and 70 Calories Per Bottle

The dominant flavor was peach first (it's on the ingredient list) and pear second. Apricot was not noticeable. I'm unsure how magnolia is supposed to taste. Aside from that confusion, I would definitely buy Pear, Apricot and Magnolia. I love the dry, slightly sweet taste. The best pairing, in my opinion, is a salad of grilled chicken and mandarin oranges.



Cascal Ripe Rouge Fermented Natural Soda, With Notes of Cherry, Chocolate and Rose
34% Juice and 60 Calories Per Bottle

The first sip will remind of you of high quality cherry soda. The aftertaste is reminiscent of rich, dark cocoa nibs. Rose is hard to detect. Overall, a splendid flavor. A perfect beverage to serve with a light dessert, after a hearty German meal.

I was very impressed with the flavors of Cascal All Natural Soda. I'll definitely pick up a couple cases for my next party. And probably a few to go with dinner, too!

I'm unable to fit all of my party photos into one post. Visit Partique to view the rest of the pictures. You can also apply to host upcoming Partique parties of your own, when applications are posted over there.

Raw Chocolate-Almond Ice Cream

I am in a very peaceful mood today. Two reasons: I was on a five hour writing jag last night. I managed to get four chapters of a story written. Yay! And I made raw chocolate-almond ice cream from a Raw Food Living recipe. When I was writing, I kept thinking "This is great! Three chapters! Now four! And sweet homemade ice cream in the morning!" If you haven't guessed it, I'm still bouncing off the walls at the prospect of getting two or three more chapters written today. But enough about the story writing. On to the ice cream!

This is the original recipe from Raw Food Living:

Chocolate Ice Cream

For all you chocolate lovers out there, this one's for you! I actually used cacao powder in place of the cocoa powder. I think carob powder or finely ground cacao nibs would work well too.

Ice Cream Recipes
Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup cashews or pieces
1 3/4 cups purified water
1 cup maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla flavor
1/4 tsp almond flavor
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a blender.
2. Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to instructions.

The adjustments I made:
1 cup of almonds, ground up on the ice crush setting on my blender
1 cup tap water
2/3 cup Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Blue Agave Vanilla Flavored Syrup
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp Cook's Pure Chocolate Extract
1/3 cup Hershey's Natural Unsweetened cocoa powder

-I knew maple syrup wouldn't go over well with the AMW family, hence the change to vanilla syrup. I switched to almonds because that's what I had handy.

-Before pouring the vanilla syrup, I sprayed my measuring cup with cooking spray. I saw that on Martha Stewart the other day. It made pouring and later cleaning up much easier!

- I should have used a food processor instead of a blender. My blender made the almonds powder fine, but not the buttery consistency I needed. The ice cream came out creamy and absolutely delicious, except for the subtle almond powder grit. Maybe I'll use almond butter next time ?

- Lacking an ice cream maker or large metal bowls (as I've seen recommended elsewhere), I grabbed the top pot of a double boiler, lightly sprayed it with cooking spray and poured in the ice cream batter. I covered the top with aluminum foil and left it in the freezer overnight. The ice cream scooped out quite easily today.

I was pleasantly surprised to find such a simple, tasty ice cream that didn't require eggs, milk, cream or rock salt. Definitely try this one for yourself!

*12/14 update: I made this recipe a second time, but used peanut butter instead of almonds or cashews. Total perfection! I went back and forth between "Nom nom, this tastes like Nutella!" and "Nom nom, this tastes like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup!"

Carmex Blog Squad: Moisture Plus Tint Lip Balms

The most important items in my makeup case are lip balms. I can skip putting on nail polish, for example, but lip balm ? No way. Soft lips are a must! Just one catch, though: To get soft lips and wear lipstick, I usually resort to putting on either a lip balm or chapstick, followed by a layer of lipstick. Yuck!

Happily, I have found a solution. The Carmex Blog Squad sent me samples of Carmex Moisture Plus Sheer Pink and Carmex Moisture Plus Sheer Peach Tinted Lip Balms. Each tube gives you a perfect combination of lip balm and lip color.

I tested each balm for 40 minutes. Carmex Moisture Plus Sheer Pink was the first sample. Shea butter is one of the ingredients, and there is a light shea butter taste. Sheer Pink left my lips moist, but not sticky as many lip balms do. The pink color was flattering against my fair colored skin, too.





Carmex Moisture Plus Sheer Peach worked equally well as far as moisturizing. Sheer Peach was darker than Sheer Pink. I assumed this meant the color would therefore be too dark on me. But Sheer Peach was actually a slightly lighter shade on my lips than I expected. The second surprise was the subtle pineapple taste I picked up (pineapple is not on the ingredient list).





Both the Sheer Pink and the Sheer Peach have "vitamin E + aloe moisturizing protection", sunscreen (spf 15) and a slanted tip. Those of us in Florida really value having sunscreen in a beauty product! The slanted tip was helpful, too. It made putting on the lip balm quick and simple.

Carmex Moisture Plus Tint Lip Balms are also portable. You can easily stash one in a purse and have it handy to prevent dry winter lips. They also make super cute stocking stuffers or Secret Santa gifts.

Carmex Moisture Plus Tint Lip Balms are must have beauty products this winter. I highly recommend them. Look for Carmex Mositure Plus Tint Lip Balms exclusively at Walgreens and Walgreens.com

The Carmex Blog Squad has sent samples for one lucky AMW reader, too. The prize will be one Carmex Moisture Plus Sheer Pink and one Carmex Moisture Plus Sheer Peach Tinted Lip Balms.To enter the drawing, check out Carmex on Walgreens.com, then share on AMW which Carmex product is your favorite. One winner will be drawn at random on Monday, December 13, 2010 at noon EST. Entry limit is one per person and per household.

*Update #1: The winner of a Carmex pack is Ashley! Congrats! Ashley, please email your name and address to me by Friday December 17 at noon EST. Otherwise the prize goes to the runner up.
*Update #2: Ashley, your prize has shipped out.

Contest Alert: M. Sartin Design

If you love unique cake toppers, head over to M. Sartin Design. Their current contest is for a cute pair of Margaret and Maurice penguin cake toppers by Lesley Wellington of The Cat's Pajamas

Here are the contest rules:

"Win Margaret & Maurice:
Be sure to check out Lesley's shop to see what she's up to and don't forget to comment below for your chance to win the giveaway. Just tell me the name of your favorite cake topper and be sure to leave me your email address so I know how to find you. Winners will be announced on 10/20/10, so make sure you enter right away.


Extra Entries:
- Follow my blog
- Become a Fan @ www.facebook.com/msartindesign
- Blog about the giveaway and leave the link below
- Sign up for my mailing list
(Please leave one comment for each entry)"

Buca di Beppo: What did *that* mean ?

Today I received this email from Buca di Beppo:

"Your holiday party never tasted so good!

Bring the whole office to Buca for the Holidays

At Buca, our falls are decked with family-style fun, convenience and meatballs. Enjoy authentic Italian cuisine in our group-friendly atmosphere.

Call your local sales manager to make your reservation, visit bucadibeppo.com for a complete listing of locations."

Included in the ad were pictures of the usual office party attendees (the head honcho, the suck up, etc). The full picture is too large to post, so click here to view it. None of those characters bothered me, except this one:



I'm assuming Frosty is supposed to be an older woman with earrings (or a large ear lobe ?), suit & a masculine hat, and not a feminine looking older man. And Frosty certainly isn't dressed like Jack Frost or Frosty the Snowman. So I must ask why she was dubbed Frosty ? Is she frosty for being a career woman, focused only on getting ahead ? A woman leaving a frosty impression for liking to dress masculine ? A lesbian giving the office men the cold shoulder? Someone who is disdainful of the holidays, office parties & giving gifts ?

I have had many fine meals at Buca di Beppo in the past. So I have no issue with their food or service. I'm just bothered by the bizarre, possibly questionable decision to include a woman labeled Frosty in their advertisements. Anyone care to shed light on this mystery ?