Pythons, Gators and Bears, oh my!
Perona Farms Game Dinner returns - wilder than ever!
By Peter Genovese/The Star-Ledger
Published: January 23, 2013 at 7:53 AM
...The event, which started in the mid-’80s but has not been held since 2005, advertised a lineup of A-list chefs — Daniel Boulud, David Burke, Robert Irvine, Douglas Rodriguez and Ken Oringer, among others — who assemble in Perona Farms’ kitchen to cook for the 110 people shelling out $1,000 apiece for the dinner.
Sounds steep, but the price tag gives you a chance to schmooze with the celeb chefs and sample food they would likely never cook for anyone else, not to mention make a contribution to charity.
For full article, video and SALTOPIA's mention: http://www.nj.com/entertainment/dining/index.ssf/2013/01/pythons_gators_and_bears_oh_my.html
Sounds steep, but the price tag gives you a chance to schmooze with the celeb chefs and sample food they would likely never cook for anyone else, not to mention make a contribution to charity.
For full article, video and SALTOPIA's mention: http://www.nj.com/entertainment/dining/index.ssf/2013/01/pythons_gators_and_bears_oh_my.html
NJ Magazine's Suzanne Zimmer Lowery's column "SOUP TO NUTS" shares salty story:
Getting Granular With the "Salt Junkie"
Published: Monday, August 27, 2012 02:54 PM
by: New Jersey Monthly
Kimarie Santiago, 34, a self-professed "salt junkie," does magical things with the world’s oldest flavor enhancer. Her latest creation is ‘Krossed Keys,’ a rich black-truffle salt that she calls her “dirty habit.” Santiago, also known as Long Valley's "Salt Girl," is the creative force behind Saltopia, whose naturally-flavored salts can add allure to even the most mundane ingredients.
“I’m not really a very good cook," Santiago, says, "but with the right seasonings I can make almost anything delicious.”
When the busy mother of two young children started the business last January, “I had no idea that people would like salt as much as I do.”
Perhaps take that statement with a grain of salt.
In fact, tinkering with salts of various kinds has been Santiago's hobby for the last decade. Her friends always enjoyed her creations and she often gave away jars of her distinctive salts as gifts. Her friends urged her to take the next step and open a business.
Her 17 hand-made salts, available in 3.4 oz jars selling for $12 each (except Krossed Keys, $20), come in a rainbow of colors and flavors.
What she calls her “mad scientist project” begins by purchasing various sea salts from around the world. Santiago has become somewhat of an expert on the crystal structure of salt, which varies with the environment in which it was created. Different structures have different levels of saltiness and porousness and blend with or absorb other flavors in different ways.
To make her Kiss & Tell garlic salt, she begins by boiling garlic in a small amount of water to draw out the essence. She then adds the salt, which dissolves, forming a kind of slush, which recrystallizes when it dries. Afterwards, she extracts the garlic pulp, dries it through slow roasting and mixes it with the infused salt for the turbo-charged flavor her products are known for.
When you open a jar of her garlic salt, you can actually smell it across the room.
Her salts have many uses. Up Close and Peachy, a fruit-and-cinnamon blend, is recommended for use on a yogurt parfait or pork tenderloin. Hot Head, a habanero-infused salt, can take vegetables, seafood and meats to a whole new level. Other flavors include coconut, mushroom and pomegranate, all with clever names like Magma-Licious, Mushy Love and Pom-Pom Girl. One of her most popular items is a $25 sample set containing a miniature test tube of each flavor.
With international orders coming in from as far away as Brazil, Salt Girl is a bit taken aback. “I guess I just didn’t realize the power of salt,” she says.
For the rest of Suzanne's article: http://njmonthly.com/blogs/soup-to-nuts/2012/8/27/getting-granular-with-the-salt-junkie.html
Published: Monday, August 27, 2012 02:54 PM
by: New Jersey Monthly
Kimarie Santiago, 34, a self-professed "salt junkie," does magical things with the world’s oldest flavor enhancer. Her latest creation is ‘Krossed Keys,’ a rich black-truffle salt that she calls her “dirty habit.” Santiago, also known as Long Valley's "Salt Girl," is the creative force behind Saltopia, whose naturally-flavored salts can add allure to even the most mundane ingredients.
“I’m not really a very good cook," Santiago, says, "but with the right seasonings I can make almost anything delicious.”
When the busy mother of two young children started the business last January, “I had no idea that people would like salt as much as I do.”
Perhaps take that statement with a grain of salt.
In fact, tinkering with salts of various kinds has been Santiago's hobby for the last decade. Her friends always enjoyed her creations and she often gave away jars of her distinctive salts as gifts. Her friends urged her to take the next step and open a business.
Her 17 hand-made salts, available in 3.4 oz jars selling for $12 each (except Krossed Keys, $20), come in a rainbow of colors and flavors.
What she calls her “mad scientist project” begins by purchasing various sea salts from around the world. Santiago has become somewhat of an expert on the crystal structure of salt, which varies with the environment in which it was created. Different structures have different levels of saltiness and porousness and blend with or absorb other flavors in different ways.
To make her Kiss & Tell garlic salt, she begins by boiling garlic in a small amount of water to draw out the essence. She then adds the salt, which dissolves, forming a kind of slush, which recrystallizes when it dries. Afterwards, she extracts the garlic pulp, dries it through slow roasting and mixes it with the infused salt for the turbo-charged flavor her products are known for.
When you open a jar of her garlic salt, you can actually smell it across the room.
Her salts have many uses. Up Close and Peachy, a fruit-and-cinnamon blend, is recommended for use on a yogurt parfait or pork tenderloin. Hot Head, a habanero-infused salt, can take vegetables, seafood and meats to a whole new level. Other flavors include coconut, mushroom and pomegranate, all with clever names like Magma-Licious, Mushy Love and Pom-Pom Girl. One of her most popular items is a $25 sample set containing a miniature test tube of each flavor.
With international orders coming in from as far away as Brazil, Salt Girl is a bit taken aback. “I guess I just didn’t realize the power of salt,” she says.
For the rest of Suzanne's article: http://njmonthly.com/blogs/soup-to-nuts/2012/8/27/getting-granular-with-the-salt-junkie.html
SALTOPIA back in the press...this time a fantastic piece within Rachel Weston's column:
"GUTSY GOURMET: Dare to prepare yak steak, ostrich eggs and other odd ball offerings from farmer's markets"
Published: Wednesday, July 25, 2012, 8:00am
by: Star Ledger Entertainment Desk
...In a pinch
Sometimes just a little sprinkle of salt is all you need to finish a dish. Saltopia (saltopiasalts.com), the brainchild of Long Valley's Kimarie Santiago, offers inventive flavors that enliven savory or sweet dishes. The coconut-infused “Magma-licious” will jazz up a batch of brownies or shrimp. Mushy Love, a blend of salt and six types of mushrooms, peps up rice pilaf or beef. Vampire’s Tease, featuring cabernet sauvignon and cherries, perfectly pairs with duck breast. Alderwood smoked salt lets vegetarians have smoky flavor without those taboo meat products.
Get your fix ($12 for a 3.4-ounce jar) at the Blairstown Farmers Market (Route 521, Blairstown, Saturdays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.). For more locations, go to saltopiasalts.com.
For the rest of Rachel's article: http://www.nj.com/entertainment/dining/index.ssf/2012/07/gutsy_gourmet.html
Published: Wednesday, July 25, 2012, 8:00am
by: Star Ledger Entertainment Desk
...In a pinch
Sometimes just a little sprinkle of salt is all you need to finish a dish. Saltopia (saltopiasalts.com), the brainchild of Long Valley's Kimarie Santiago, offers inventive flavors that enliven savory or sweet dishes. The coconut-infused “Magma-licious” will jazz up a batch of brownies or shrimp. Mushy Love, a blend of salt and six types of mushrooms, peps up rice pilaf or beef. Vampire’s Tease, featuring cabernet sauvignon and cherries, perfectly pairs with duck breast. Alderwood smoked salt lets vegetarians have smoky flavor without those taboo meat products.
Get your fix ($12 for a 3.4-ounce jar) at the Blairstown Farmers Market (Route 521, Blairstown, Saturdays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.). For more locations, go to saltopiasalts.com.
For the rest of Rachel's article: http://www.nj.com/entertainment/dining/index.ssf/2012/07/gutsy_gourmet.html
We made the paper...woohoo! Thank you Jerry McCrea for the lovely photo!
Farmers markets flourish in Garden State
Published: Sunday, April 08, 2012, 9:45 AM
By Joe Moszczynsky, The Star-Ledger
Kelly Keebler had already bought some blue cheese and some pierogis from area farmers, and now she was eyeing some knockwurst.
After a few moments of consideration, Keebler bought the sausage from a Wantage farmer who had a host of products on sale at the Newton Winter Farmers’ Market. Keebler, who lives in nearby Andover Township, said she wanted a product that was both fresh and produced locally.
"I wanted better quality and I think we need to have a closer relationship with our food," she said. "And," she said of the sausages, "they taste so much better." The growing interest in food quality and healthy eating has caused the number of seasonal farmers markets in the Garden State to skyrocket in recent years — from just 35 in 2001 to 148 last year, according to Lynn Richmond, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Agriculture.
"Farmers markets have become trendy," said Kendrya Close, director of the Blairs-town-based Foodshed Alliance, which serves as a liaison between farmers and towns in Sussex, Morris and Warren counties.
Full story continues here: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/farmers_markets_flourish_in_ga.html
Published: Sunday, April 08, 2012, 9:45 AM
By Joe Moszczynsky, The Star-Ledger
Kelly Keebler had already bought some blue cheese and some pierogis from area farmers, and now she was eyeing some knockwurst.
After a few moments of consideration, Keebler bought the sausage from a Wantage farmer who had a host of products on sale at the Newton Winter Farmers’ Market. Keebler, who lives in nearby Andover Township, said she wanted a product that was both fresh and produced locally.
"I wanted better quality and I think we need to have a closer relationship with our food," she said. "And," she said of the sausages, "they taste so much better." The growing interest in food quality and healthy eating has caused the number of seasonal farmers markets in the Garden State to skyrocket in recent years — from just 35 in 2001 to 148 last year, according to Lynn Richmond, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Agriculture.
"Farmers markets have become trendy," said Kendrya Close, director of the Blairs-town-based Foodshed Alliance, which serves as a liaison between farmers and towns in Sussex, Morris and Warren counties.
Full story continues here: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/farmers_markets_flourish_in_ga.html
