This really easy dish was inspired by an awesome visit I recently took with Kimberly to Casellula, a quaint wine and cheese bar in Midtown Manhattan. But besides the usual suspects, Kimberly and I also ordered the most delicious snack of lavender rosemary popcorn. The combination was so stupendous that it's been on my mind ever since, and I craved to recreate it at home.
I did a bit of research and found a similar recipe on the Healthy Green Kitchen blog, which I altered a little bit. Their recipe called for butter, which I chose to omit, instead just using the maple syrup and diluting it with a bit of water. Unfortunately, I didn't have any lavender on hand, so I had to omit it, but it still came out really good and so crunchy. Instead, I topped the popcorn with generous amounts of truffle salt, which definitely did the trick.
Take a look at this awesome recipe and try it at home - Dan and I loved snacking on it on a random Sunday night, while we watched Puss in Boots. Crunch on that.
Over the past couple of months, I've been lucky to get acquainted with two fabulous individuals who I've met through Mackenzi, my follow We Heart Astoria blogee. Those two people are WT and Erich from the Gardenfreude blog, based right here in Astoria. To say they know good food is an understatement, as they cultivate their own crops and grow all sorts of things - from fresh herbs and greens to veggies like tomatoes (in the summer of course), peppers, and more!
The most recent development in their veggie-lovin-life (they are vegans) is the ingenious way they've paired their fresh herbs such as rosemary, parsley, paprika, sage and others with fine quality French sea salt. It's a perfect way to finish any meal and I've been using it non-stop.
Where to find this?
I first heard about WT & Erich's legendary sea salt from friends and fellow bloggers, AJ and Meg. The fact they're both super knowledgeable about food (and good sustainable food no less) made my brows raise with excitement.
But legend became reality when I actually saw these salts being sold at Mackenzi's Pre-Holiday party at SITE. There were all kinds of flavors (all of the above I mentioned) and Mackenzi served the rosemary on popcorn, which immediately drew me in. The popcorn took on this gorgeous perfume, making you feel like you've stepped into the lushest garden. I couldn't resist so I grabbed a jar and have since become obsessed.
Rosemary Salt - As I already mentioned, the smell of this salt is heavenly (I just undid the top and took a whiff as I'm writing). Mackenzi's use of it on popcorn was clever and I highly suggest it, but since then I've also put it on toast with olive oil, pasta, my spinach/ricotta gnocchi, pea soup and virtually anything and everything it could marry into. Although I cannot wait to try some of the other flavors like the sage, I think I'll continue my love affair with rosemary a little longer.
If you're interested in trying this salt and supporting a fabulous local product, you can visit Mackenzi's store, SITE or contact Erich or WT directly. Enjoy and start pinching those fingers together!
www.gardenfreude.com
