Somehow the image of eating scones while drinking a really good cup of tea always seems so upper class to us! We are not sure why that is so, but, then again, back in Brooklyn, not too many of the neighborhood Joes ate scones. In fact, none of the bakeries even sold them! A good Black And White, a Charlotte Ruse or even a big Hammantasch were all easy to get. Just not a scone.

Well, now you can make scones easily at home! Sticky Fingers Bakeries introduces five scone mixes that are all excellent and easy to make. These OU-D mixes are available in better shops everywhere.

Flavors include: Pumpkin Spice, Spiced Eggnog, Peppermint Chocolate Chip, Merry Eggnog and Cinnamon Raisin. Each one is yummier than the next!

www.stickyfingersbakeries.com

The UTJ has issued the following statement re the recent spate of arrests of rabbis in the Metro NYC area:

“The Union for Traditional Judaism and its rabbinic arm, Morashah, the Rabbininc Fellowship of the UTJ, stand in shock and sadness at the crimes allegedly committed by a number of rabbis arrested on July 23, 2009. We do not know if they are guilty or innocent but the charges remind us that every Jew is expected to be of the highest moral fiber as demanded by our Torah and tradition. It is indeed demoralizing to us and our children, when rabbinic leadership appears to have failed in such a flagrant way.
The law of the land is the law and those who breach that law are held accountable. If rabbis have been involved in such breaking of the law, we have the confidence in the legal system to deal with it properly. If they are innocent, likewise we trust the law to exonerate them. In our Halakhic (Jewish legal) system, for those who truly live by it, the ends could not justify the means.
These days are what have been traditionally called the bein hametzarim, the sad days that lead up to the commemoration of the destruction of our sacred Temple in Jerusalem so many years ago on the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av. Among the reasons given for that tragedy, was the selfishness of people. We pray that those who may have sinned so grievously will repent and that this disgrace to our community will be erased by the good works of those who will again make us proud. May it be our will, as well as God’s, that this be so.”

This OU certified product is always fresh pressed, 100% juice (not from concentrate), with no additives, no added sugar, no filler juice, no preservatives and made in a green earth friendly processing plant. The product shelf life is 18 months. Oh, and did we mention that it is USDA NOP certified organic?

Check out these amazing flavors: pomegranate, pomegranate tart cherry, pomegranate purple carrot, tart cherry, fig, purple carrot, apricot peach, quince, pear, grape and apple.

We never knew that carrots were originally purple and were genetically altered to produce orange carrots. So, we tried the purple carrot. It was delish. We tried the pomegranate tart cherry- it was tart, but it was great!

Beware, the juice contains a fairly high amount of carbs, so be careful!

Smart Juices LLC
52 East Union Blvd
Bethlehem, PA 18018

www.smartjuice.com

For the longest time, we Jews have wondered what it would take to have a kosher food store at Woodbury Commons, here in NYS. After all, the place is usually very visibly filled with religious Jews who had no real food options up to now.

Welcome to KAPLAN’S KOSHER KORNER- It’s Glatt to be Good!

Glatt kosher, chasidische shechita, pat yisrael and a mashgiach tmidi.

Certification is by the OK. The Kosher Korner is located in the EVERGREEN COURT between 412 and 423 on the map, near Lacoste.

The cart features sandwiches by Subrose and frozen treats by Klein’s.

Next time you are out and about doing retail therapy at the huge Woodbury Commons outlet stores, check out Kosher Korner.

The following appeared on AOL:

Decoding Food Ingredients
By JUSTINE VAN DER LEUN
Posted: 2009-07-22

Sodium Bisulfite

Certain toilet bowl cleaners are almost 50 percent sodium bisulfite, and most commercial wines also contain it. When dissolved in water-based liquids, sodium bisulfite releases sulfur gas that kills bacteria, yeasts, molds, and fungi. It also prevents oxidation, which protects wine from turning to vinegar.

This popular compound has a dubious past. It was banned from use on raw fruits and veggies by the FDA in the ’80s following the deaths of 13 people who unknowingly consumed produce treated with toxic amounts of the preservative. Today, the FDA maintains that sulfites are generally safe. The Center for Science in the Public Interest however, warns asthmatics and others sensitive to sulfites to avoid it completely. It is now most commonly used in pet foods, potato chips and dried and pickled foods.

Benzoyl Peroxide

What do white bread and acne cream have in common? Best-known as a zit-zapper, benzoyl peroxide is an effective bleaching agent, and as such is used in teeth whitening products and to bleach cheese, whey and flour.

While benzoyl peroxide is generally considered benign, there has been some debate over its safety and necessity. Usually, artisanal bread and cheese do not contain this bleaching agent, and some national companies, like King Arthur, don’t use benzoyl peroxide in their bread or flour. Did you really need another reason to choose whole wheat?

Potassium Bromate

Potassium bromate is a seemingly innocuous powder added to biscuits, breads and rolls to make them rise. But there’s a hitch: Potassium bromate is known to cause cancer in animals, and creates a cancer risk in humans. Usually, potassium bromate is completely dissipated by the baking process, but if too much is added or bread is not cooked for long enough at a high enough temperature, dangerous residual amounts remain.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer defines potassium bromate as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” Because it’s difficult to control how a company uses the ingredient, almost all countries have banned it from use in food products. In the United States, however, the FDA has merely been asking bakers to voluntarily stop using it; some have not complied. The Center for Science in the Public Interest categorizes potassium bromate as an additive to avoid, defining it as “very poorly tested and not worth any risk.” To avoid potassium bromate, also look for “bromated flour” on labels.

Tetrasodium Phosphorate

Tetrasodium phosphorate has the unglamorous distinction of being the common ingredient in multiple semi-gooey foods. The transparent crystals are used as an emulsifier, a buffering agent and a thickening agent in chicken nuggets, pudding, imitation crab and lobster, canned tuna and many soy-based faux meats. It is also an effective detergent and tartar control agent, which can be found in toothpaste, soap, and dental floss. Despite its unglamorous pedigree, tetrasodium phosphorate has not seen much controversy, though in high doses, it can be mildly toxic.

Sodium Nitrite

Nitrite, found in hot dogs, is positively unnerving: This crystalline powder is used to dye fabrics, manufacture rubber chemicals and to fix color in packaged meats. If consumed in high doses, it’s toxic. It can also trigger migraines. If that’s not enough to freak you out, how about this: According to a study in the “Journal of the American Medical Association,” people who ate processed meat were 50 percent more likely to develop colorectal cancer. A study in the “Journal of the National Cancer Institute” found that those who ate the most processed meats had a 68 percent higher risk of pancreatic cancer than those who ate the least. The Center for Science in the Public Interest categorizes nitrate as an additive to avoid. If possible, stay away from packaged meats, or buy the nitrite-free varieties popping up in supermarkets across the country.

Methylparaben

Methylparaben can be found in, among other things, lipstick, local anesthetic, salad dressings, dried meats, potato-based snacks and candy. Like most compounds in the paraben family, it’s antimicrobial and is used most often as a preservative in foods, drinks and cosmetics. While multiple studies have reported that parabens are safe, a few more recent studies suggest a possible link between parabens — including ethylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparabe — to breast cancer. Industries that use parabens insist on their proven track record, while some public interest organizations believe that parabens require further study to definitively confirm their safety.

Lactic Acid

Enjoy a tart cup of yogurt in the morning? Or a nice side of sauerkraut with your Bavarian sausage feast? You have lactic acid to thank for that bittersweet taste. Lactic acid is a harmless organic acid that occurs naturally in sour milk or is added to food as a syrupy liquid produced from either milk-sugar fermentation or corn fermentation. Lactic acid infuses food with tartness, adjusts PH balance, and can control micro-organisms and bacteria. As a fermentation booster, it is used in rye and sourdough breads. As a moisturizer and exfoliant, it’s added to skin lotions. Lactic acid spends most of its time preserving or flavoring baby food, candy, frozen desserts, salad dressings, seafood, and more.

Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein

You may think you’ve sworn off monosodium glutamate, or MSG, but you’re eating its equivalent in some brands of chicken noodle soup. That’s because MSG — that demonized flavor enhancer — comes in many forms, and one of them is hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP).

HVP is a brown powder that is produced when cereals and legumes like corn, soy and wheat are boiled in hydrochloric acid and then neutralized with sodium hydroxide. The powder contains, among other things, glutamic acid, the sodium salt form of which is MSG. Food producers don’t want to be associated with MSG — the infamous bad boy of the ingredients world, believed to be linked to neurological problems and known to trigger severe allergic reactions and migraines — but they do want to infuse their broths, stews, and meat and poultry products with its savory taste. Enter HVP, which sounds pretty healthy, with the words “vegetable” and “protein” in it.

While it may not do harm to those who aren’t sensitive to it, it’s risky for those whose systems react badly to glutamates. To avoid unknowingly consuming glutamates, check labels (even of products marked “No MSG”) for other sources of glutamate like autolyzed yeast extract and hydrolyzed yeast extract.