amanda mcclements

ChicoBag 's Produce Stand Collection of reusable produce bags. In my efforts to be an overachieving ecofriendly citizen, there was one scenario that was regularly cramping my striving-for-sustainable style. I'm in the checkout line at the grocery store, reusable grocery bags clutched dutifully in my hands. It seems counterproductive to put plastic produce bags into my reusable bag, so I go bagless and pile all my loose, wobbling, rolling fruits and veggies on the grocery belt. Then comes the stink-eye from the checkout person and apologies from me as I try to corral my wayward produce. So when a free sample of ChicoBag 's Produce Stand Collection arrived in the mail, I was eager to test drive them. The cute little tomato pouch holds three reusable bags, each with a specialty. The hemp-cotton bag absorbs moisture making it good for leafy greens, the mesh rePETe (made from recycled plastic bottles) allows ethylene gas to escape so pair it with apples, oranges and potato...

Polly Brown is chef and owner of POLLYstyle Artisanal Baked Goods . You can find her fabulous graham crackers and other sweets at the forthcoming Filter Coffeehouse & Espresso Bar near Dupont, Cork Market , Cowgirl Creamery , Mid City Caffe , Big Bear , Peregrine Espresso and more. (See the full list on her site .) 1. Salad frisée and seasonal oysters at Brasserie Beck 2. The burger at Palena 3. Seaweed salad at Spices 4. Fried chicken at The General Store 5. Sourdough waffle at Teaism Previous Chef Five Bites: Cathal Armstrong , Dani Arana , David Guas , Josh Short , Michel Richard , Haidar Karoum , Ryan Morgan , Shannon Overmiller , Anthony Chittum , Jonathan Krinn & Jon Mathieson , Victor Albisu , Vatche Benguian , John Snedden , Nicholas Stefanelli , Travis Olson , Brian Robinson , Cliff Wharton , Alex Bollinger , Massimo Fabbri , Daniel Bortnick , Rob Weland , Olivier Perret , Dennis Marron , Dean Gold , Mike Isabella , Bryan Voltaggio , Geoff Tracy...

I think it's safe to say that the pumpkin whoopie pies from Pecan Meadow Farms, available at the 14th and U farmers market , now have a cult following. And for good reason. The sweets start with pumpkins grown on the farm — no canned stuff here. They're made with Pecan Meadow's free-range eggs (also delicious on their own) and are filled with fluffy sweet cream cheese icing. Mentions of the pies regularly show up on my Twitter feed, and I've even overheard people talking about them over brunch at Saint-Ex . Get to the market each Saturday early to get 'em before they're gone. Lucky for me, I have some wonderful friends who make sure that if I miss the market, I don't miss the whoopie pies. In fact, two just showed up at my door. Pardon me, I have a whoopie pie to eat...

TWG's whole leaf teas TWG photos Last week, a story in The New York Times reported that high-end gourmet tea sales are thriving despite the dismal global economic situation. It seems that quality tea is a small luxury many people are willing to splurge on. This winter, I had the chance to sample teas from TWG Tea , one of the luxury brands featured in the story. TWG made its US debut in December, and you can find their teas at Georgetown's Dean & DeLuca and online . And this week in Manhattan, Madison Avenue's Dean & DeLuca will open a dedicated TWG Tea counter with 58 loose leaf teas. The Singapore-based company sources tea leaves from the most desirable harvests from tea gardens around the globe, and like wine, some of the teas carry a single-estate distinction. The leaves are gorgeous — the largest and most fragrant I've encountered in my amateur tea drinking. The White House Tea (a perfectly elegant DC souvenir, don't you think?) is a juicy blend of wh...

Trickling Springs Creamery milk on the shelf at the new Aroma Bakery and Market on U Street NW. I just downed a glass of cold, rich Trickling Springs Creamery milk that I scored yesterday, off a shelf right beside the Pepsi, from Aroma Bakery and Market . The U Street newcomer (1320 U St. NW) recently opened with a basic deli counter (the tomatoes are local), baked goods, a few fridges full of drinks and some staple items. But back to the milk. Local, organic milk from grass-fed cows just isn't the kind of thing you see in many DC convenience stores. And generally speaking, save for a few spots like So's Your Mom , the city's corner stores, markets, bodegas — whatever you like to call them — are fairly run-of-the-mill. But things seem to be looking up — especially if you're a foodie. When Timor Bodega opened at 200 Rhode Island Ave. at the end of 2007, food lovers and neighbors rejoiced over the selection of local meats, dairy (also Trickling Springs), vegetables a...

Okra chips by the sea. I was about 5 the year I found a junk food oasis on the beach. My extended family was on vacation at Holden Beach on the North Carolina coast, a trip we make most summers, when my mom and I took an overly ambitious trek down the island. She'd given birth to my little brother only a few weeks before and thought a nice long walk would help burn off some baby weight. We made it a good ways from our rented house when mom got faint — maybe too soon for a post-baby beach marathon — and our beloved stretch of sand took on an ominous resemblance to the Sahara desert. That's when the oasis appeared. A massive Indian family (in number, not girth) was having a party under a few small tents on the beach (huge, magnificent tents to a five-year-old!!). We dragged our hot, sandy, dehydrated selves over to ask for a drink. There were probably some wonderful Indian delicacies on the loaded buffet tables I could have tasted for the first time, but my wide eyes zeroed in o...

Cava Mezze's spicy hummus It's always nice to see a locally produced food hit the big time — or the big grocery stores. Cava Mezze , a Greek restaurant in Rockville and soon on Capitol Hill, recently launched a line of hummus and dips that you can find in eight area Whole Foods . The products, handcrafted in small batches, include harissa, white bean salad, eggplant and roasted red pepper dip, tzatziki, feta and hummus. I'm a big fan of the thick spicy hummus — the kick comes from the addition of harissa. Have a favorite local food? Let us all know.

You already know I love the gingery heat-packing Domaine de Canton , mainly for sipping and spiking Champagne. Now, comes this eye-catching dessert from PS 7's pastry chef Leon Baker, featuring the spicy liqueur infused into chocolate-coated cheesecake lollipops. Ooh la la. The lollipops are available in the restaurant's lounge for $5.

Haldi drinks tout health benefits from curcumin Add to the ever-growing list of ingredients with buzzed-about health claims: curcumin, the main component in turmeric. The claim is that it may have anti-inflammatory properties . I'm an eternal skeptic, so I don't buy products based on health claims. I buy them for more practical reasons like, you know, pretty packaging. But seriously, I keep buying them if they taste good. Which brings me to Haldi , a shiny bottled beverage available at Whole Foods. After trying the green tea flavor (I'm not as crazy about the wild berry), I find myself reaching for it again and again. It's mildly sweet and lemony with a hint of spice. And who knows, maybe just maybe it'll cure some ails.

Orange and ginger make a delightful combination in Siggi's skyr metrocurean photo Longtime readers of this site may remember the first time I waxed poetic about skyr. For the uninitiated, it's a traditional Icelandic product that's a lot like yogurt. It's naturally high in protein and fat free — hell, I'd call it health food — but the consistency is rich, creamy and totally worthy of dessert. Even better, it lacks that creepy gelatinous texture I associate with fat-free yogurt. An Icelandic brand of skyr appeared in DC-area Whole Foods stores more than two years ago. Now comes Siggi's , an Icelandic-style yogurt made in New York by Iceland native Siggi Hilmarsson. (Here's his story , courtesy The Amateur Gourmet.) I first read about Siggi's in Gourmet a few months ago and finally noticed it on the shelves of the P Street Whole Foods last week. I picked up the orange and ginger flavor and I'm hooked. The orange is subtle, not juicy, and there are a...

Smith Meadows' oat and winter-wheat fresh pasta, available at the Dupont FreshFarm Market Just because it's freezing outside doesn't mean you can't find great products at farmers markets that are worth bundling up for. Case in point, Smith Meadows ' fresh pasta made with the farm's own eggs from free-range chickens. I picked up the oat and winter-wheat pasta ($5) last Sunday at the Dupont FreshFarm Market , which operates year-round. For a quick lunch, I topped the pasta with sauteed collards and a sauce of garlic, cream, butter and a little tomato paste. The pasta has a great texture and a hearty flavor. Smith Meadows also makes ravioli in flavors like blue cheese pecan, sweet potato and apple cheddar. The selection at the market changes each week. I'll be back for seconds of the oat pasta and a taste of the ravioli.

Of my absolute favorite flavors, ginger ranks right near the top. So I was eager to learn more about Domaine de Canton , a new ginger liqueur, at its DC launch dinner at Central this week. It's made with baby Vietnamese ginger, Cognac, ginseng, honey and Tahitian vanilla bean, the result being a sweet and distinctly spicy ginger flavor. Central bar manager Justin Guthrie and Derek Brown and Phil Greene of the Museum of the American Cocktail mixed up Domaine de Canton drinks for the dinner, showing off the liqueur's versatility. Domaine de Canton is popping up on cocktail menus at area bars, including Bourbon , EatBar , Urbana and Founding Farmers , and at liquor stores like Potomac Wine and Spirits and Chevy Chase Wine and Spirits. The bottle, above, may just be the coolest on your bar. I'll be drinking it this winter in sparkling wine. For more ideas, check out the recipes on the web site .

Wine snobs can stop reading now. A novel vino brand that debuted last year just hit the shelves in DC and Maryland. Aiming to make pairing wine with food at home less daunting, Wine That Loves takes five popular American foods and offers a wine that, well, love s each food. The bottle names and simple graphics spell it out. The current line-up (above) includes Wine That Loves Roasted Chicken, Wine That Loves Pasta With Tomato Sauce, Wine That Loves Pizza, Wine That Loves Grilled Salmon, and Wine That Loves Grilled Steak. They sell for $12.99. Noticeably absent from the labels are vintage, varietal and country — the point being simplicity, after all. Varietals were recently added to the web site, but with a disclaimer from the wines' creator, Ralph Hersom, a former wine director for Le Cirque in New York City: "If you are familiar with the varietals in our wine, don’t necessarily expect our wine to taste the way wines from those varietals typically taste. But, do expect our ...

Do you BYOB — bring your own bag — when you go to the store or farmers market? If you're looking for reusable bags that make a statement, Bon Appetit's blog points out BYOB , a Canadian company producing a sharp collection of eco and fashion conscious totes. I like their not-so-subtle " Cheeky " bag, pictured above (about $30). Last summer, the craze over designer Anya Hindmarch's I'm Not A Plastic Bag helped put the plastic bag problem on the map. I've acquired a collection of freebie reusable bags from spots like the Garden District (with a purchase) and Whole Foods (always available to purchase), and I use paper grocery bags to put out the recycling at home. What's your preference? Paper, reusable or *gasp* plastic?

My favorite type of gift is one that doesn't stick around long, gathering dust on some shelf or sinking to the back of a closet. What better fits that category than food? This holiday season, give friends and family a taste of DC with these locally made treats. • Chocolate: Thanks to a boom in local chocolatiers, the city's selection of locally made chocolates keeps getting better. Pictured above is a coconut truffle from The Cacao Tree . Owner Sandra Escobar makes a variety of delicious artisanal truffles. For more local chocolates and sweets, check out Artisan Confections , Christopher's Confections , Chocolaterie Wanders , J Chocolatier , Kingsbury Chocolates (which is about to open a cocoa gallery on 14th Street NW) and Locolat . Shops selling locally made chocolates include Biagio Fine Chocolate and Artfully Chocolate . • Toigo Farms Bloody Mary Mix : This fiery hot mix, pictured above, is often available at the Dupont FreshFarm Market . Perfect for a holiday bru...

If you're the kind of person who's always doctoring your bloody mary because it's never quite spicy enough, get thee to the farmers market (today's Penn Quarter FreshFarm market runs from 3-7 p.m.!) and seek out the Toigo Orchards folks. Toigo's "Birth of Pain" bloody mary mix has everything your deprived senses could want: a sinister devil with pointy yellow teeth on the label, locally grown heirloom tomatoes, and a searing, lip-numbing heat courtesy of scotch bonnet peppers and horseradish. And it's so luxuriously thick it'll coat the ice cubes in your glass. I stuck a hot pickled okra in mine, but next time I'm reaching for a spicy Mean Bean or two. (Metrocurean photo.)

Word from the owners of Dolcezza is that they have loads of local strawberries from Toigo Orchards, and they are putting the fruit to good use in strawberry sorbetto infused with mint and strawberry gelato made with Lewes Dairy cream. Be on the lookout for new flavors popping up regularly, like strawberry sorbetto with local lavender and strawberry sorbetto with anejo tequila. (Mmm.) Visit their gelato blog to find out what flavor chef Ris Lacoste likes with strawberries. (Photo AVA Strawberries.)

Since the first shipments of Indian mangoes in almost 20 years arrived on U.S. shores earlier this month, people (including readers of this blog) have been scrambling to find them. If you've missed what all the fuss is about, this quote from Madhur Jaffrey's March New York Times op-ed should put things into perspective: "What America will be getting is the King of Fruit, Indian masterpieces that are burnished like jewels, oozing sweet, complex flavors acquired after two millenniums of painstaking grafting." So just where can you get your hands (or spoon) on one of these masterpieces? Rasika , my favorite spot for Indian food, was offering the mangoes last week for dessert, paired with cardamom ice cream for $8. The restaurant is currently waiting for another shipment, expected to arrive this weekend. And a story in today's Washington Post Food section mentions a few area Indian markets that have been selling the Alphonso mangoes — and the trouble they've ...

They always get you at the cash register. Those cleverly packaged, point-of-purchase products prey of your impulsive nature. And so it was at Pulp last week, when I couldn't help but succumb to these timely and shockingly smelly bacon mints. They smell, no, they reek like bacon bits, and so will your fingers after you've handled them. And the taste? Did you really think I bought them to eat? No, just to laugh at and show off to company. But I did eat one. And only one. They taste like mint coated in faux bacon flavoring. Mmmm. Strips of gummy bacon were also for sale at the counter. Uncle Oinker's Savory Bacon Mints $3.25 per tin Available at Pulp (Metrocurean photos.)

I remember reading about New Yorker Rick Field's pickles a few years ago in The New York Times and making a mental note to track down a jar or two. Being a Southerner, I'm addicted to spicy okra pickles, and I believe I've mentioned here before how much I like salt . Save the occasional magazine endorsement of Rick's Picks , I kind of forgot about them until I spotted a neat line of jars at Whole Foods this week. And I've fallen hard for the pungent and spicy Mean Beans, pickled green beans spiked with cayenne pepper in a dill brine. The Windy City Wasabeans, flavored with soy and wasabi, are tasty, too. Whole Foods also had the Bee 'n' Beez ("turbocharged bread and butter pickles"), Phat Beets, GT 1000s, Slices of Life and Spears of Influence. I always keep a few jars of Talk O' Texas hot okra pickles in the pantry, so I'm eager to try Rick's Picks Smokra (what a great name) with smoked paprika added to the mix. (There's a two jar...