A Back-to-School recommendation. This  organic slow cooker is as easy to use as a rice cooker 

By Simone Zarmati Diament

When I was in Tuscany a few months ago, I marveled at one of the staples of rustic cuisine: white beans. Creamy yet firm, they are soaked overnight and slowly simmered to melting tenderness, a delicacy that only need a dash of salt and a leaf of sage to grace the best of Tuscan cuisine. The secret is in the pot and the long and slow simmer over dying coals.

Needles to say, back in the States, I never bought a can of either beans or garbanzos ever again while indulging in the most delicious, healthy and fast recipes such as garbanzos with garlic and wilted spinach (very Mediterranean), mashed white beans to accompany a fish, meat or chicken dish; Italian minestrone soup, or in winter a long simmering braised stew. 

The pressure’s on to eat a better, healthier and more natural diet. Starting in the White House and trickling down to the public, the movement is gaining ground in schools and universities which are now growing vegetables in organic gardens. Studies have been carried out proving that what we eat definitely affects our health. Cookbooks with healthy recipes are proliferating like mushrooms after the rain, and TV shows, blogs, new related businesses are burgeoning and gadgets are flooding the market.

In my search for the perfectly cooked bean, the perfectly cooked rice and the stew with the most flavor and the tenderest cuts, I found one that actually makes sense: the VitaClay Multicooker (the model I used is  VitaClay Chef Gourmet Rice N' Slow Cooker Pro - 8 Cup) (www.vitaclaychef.com).

As cross between the crock pot — which enables you to throw a few ingredients and let them simmer to a ready-made meal when you come back home; the rice cooker — a gadget the Japanese invented with enormous success worldwide;  and the trendy again clay pots —  an ancient tradition which enables you to cook without an excess of seasonings or fat since ingredients retain their full flavor, nutrients and vitamins as they simmer in their own juices; the VitaClay Multicooker combines traditional clay pot cooking that seals in the foods nutrients and flavors, with computerized electronic and programmable slow cooking.

Moroccans use the tagine with its conical lid; the Spanish the cazuela; in Provence, the French use the tian. In Mexico, Latin America, China and the rest of Asia, people have been cooking and still cook, with clay pots, since ancient civilization.

The modern cook can now do same with similar results with the  sleek machine with a high-tech look and state-of-the-art technology — a microcomputer and precision built-in thermostat enable it to self-adjust the heat up or down based on the ingredients in the pot, the volume, and the set time —  that allows him/her to cook to make meals healthy, natural, easy, time-efficient and delicious meals without hassle, without burning.

All the cook has to do is set the Multicooker to cook over longer or shorter periods of time. The cooker has four settings (Rice, Brown Rice, Stew and Soup) with programmable cooking time from 30 minutes boil up to 12 hours slow-cook.

The secret is the mineral-rich, deep orange, naturally nonstick unglazed Chinese Zisha clay liner which, unlike non-stick aluminum or ceramic cookware, is free from non-stick chemical glazes contacting your food.  The clay bowl natural thermal retention promotes uniform cooking, it is a time-saver since it cooks faster than conventional slow cookers and it automatically keeps warm for up to 12 hours. A non-negligible bonus:  It is removable and completely dishwasher and microwave safe!

The VitaClay, an organic slow cooker as easy to use as a rice cooker that comes in 6 cup and 8 cup sizes, is perfect for families that want a healthy home-cooked meal after a busy day.  Fill it up with the ingredients in the morning before you leave to work and set it to cook slowly over the day so that it will be steaming hot and tasty when the children come home. 

The VitaClay retails for $ 79.99 and $99.99 to $129.99, depending on its size, and can be purchased online at www.vitaclaychef.com, via phone at (877) 877 - 9121 or at retailers throughout North America.

Like most successful business ideas, Cookies by Shar was born out of a need and the frustration of dissatisfaction.

It all began with a toddler's birthday party. Sharmila (Shar) Malwani, the mother of a two-year-old in Fort Lauderdale, wanted cookies instead of the traditional birthday cake for her daughter's party. Disappointed at the choices available, she decided to bake her own cookies with the best ingredients, playfully creating different designs and decorations for her daughter, her little friends and their parents who ate up everything she made, leaving nary a crumb.

As Shar's artisanal cookies made from all-natural ingredients gained in popularity,   she set out to bake professionally creative designs for sugar cookies, gingerbread and shortbread cookies, confections like freshly baked chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin, key lime cookies, brownies in one-of-a-kind designs and more.

They were discovered by Whole Foods Market in 2008 and have become a staple at parties, private events, special occasions and even, she says, business meetings.

Today Cookies by Shar gourmet bakery products are currently in approximately 40 retail stores including Epicure Market and Miami International Airport. The bakery, based in Davie, Florida, custom designs cookies with logos for high-profile corporations from Ferragamo to BMW and Nieman Marcus as well as the Ritz-Carlton, Disney and other luxury resorts  and participates in annual food festivals including the Food Network’ Sobe Wine and Food Festival.

Cookies by Shar was recently commissioned to create a cookie for the "Q," a glamorous  event  hosted by Moët Hennessy and Paula Deen and her sons at the South Beach Food and Wine Fest coming up at the end of February.

The company's repertoire has grown to include chewy coconut macaroon cookies drizzled with chocolate, cookie pops topped with caramel, mini sugar cookies sandwiches stuffed with Nutella, or topped with pure vanilla buttercream, and more...

A vast assortment of cookies is sold in gift boxes, including cookies with decorating kits for kids’ parties. They have been shipped as far as Kuwait and London.

Sharmila donates part of all sales to Share Our Strength, a national non-profit organization whose mission is to end childhood hunger, ands to The Great American Bake Sale, which mobilizes Americans to end hunger by conducting bake sales in their communities.

For additional information on Cookies by Shar, Inc., log on to www.cookiesbyshar.com, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 954-232-1328

Special is absolutely the word to describe these lovingly raised peppercorns from Kerala, India. Open the vacuum-sealed bag of Special Wynad Black or White Pepper and you are in an aromatic cloud that opens your senses in a way that only truffles can…

Grind some on any dish and find its flavors deepen and sing in your mouth.   Parameswaran's Special Wynad Black Pepper has vibrant spice, toasted nuts, ripe black and raspberry aromas, with mounting full heat and a lingering aftertaste of chocolate. Parameswaren's Wynad Pepper is one of the finest black pepper money can buy.

The Special Wynad White Pepper has explosive rich, exotic flavors of sandalwood, vanilla, and nutmeg without the expected white pepper burn.

They come all the way from the Wynad plateau of Kerala in India known for producing India's finest pepper. There they are organically grown and carefully harvested. But what makes these peppercorns so special is their extended time on the vine.

Parameswaran, the owner of the small plantation in the Wynad where he lives with his family, allows his pepper to grow until the berries are reddish and fully ripe. This makes harvesting more difficult because the vines must be picked numerous times as the berries ripen, not one time when all are green. After harvesting, the peppercorns are sun- dried, then vacuum-sealed to preserve their peak flavor and scent. The time and work is well worth it, as the berries have big, intense, complex flavor.

To produce the white pepper after harvesting, the ripe berries are soaked in 20 changes of spring water over 20 days. Once soaked, the outer skin of the berry is removed and the pepper is sun-dried and packed in the same way as the black.

The production of pepper of this quality is demanding and labor intensive. In the Wynad many households will pick a small quantity of these ripened berries for their private use, but Parameswaran is the only exporter of this fully-ripened pepper, making it rare and revered in the United States and around the world. Parameswaran's Special Wynad Pepper was featured as one of the best by Cook's Illustrated in 2008 and it still holds that accolade.

SALT TRADERS, global online purveyor --  to consumer and wholesale customers-- of exotic salt, pepper, and sugar has secured a limited supply of the black and white Parameswaran's Special Wynad peppercorns and offers them in  vacuum sealed 75 gram bags, as well as in  bulk zip bags.

It makes the perfect stocking stuffer gift idea for food lovers and home cooks.

Orders are accepted via www.SALTTRADERS.com or by calling 1-800-641-7258 (SALT).  Prices range from $9.50 to $370 (USD), excluding shipping.

Panettone is a holiday must and a tradition in over two thirds of the world. And since Thanksgiving is around the corner followed by Christmas, & New Year’s eve, what’s a better time than now for getting one...

Problem is… to resist indulging in one it until then.  And I don’t see why we should. What could be better than the tall and deliciously moist brioche-like cake studded with dried raisins and candied fruit, aromatic with orange and rich with egg and butter, for breakfast with coffee,  or as French toast, or as toasted croutons  in a salad or as dessert with a glass of Port, VinSanto or even prosecco?

A traditional medieval Italian recipe,  panettone was commercialized at the beginning of the 20^th century by Angelo Motta who gave it it its tall domed shape by making the dough rise three times, or almost 20 hours, before cooking, giving it its now-familiar light texture. The recipe was adapted by commercial giants like Nestle and, by the end of World War II,  panettone was cheap enough for everyone and soon became the country's leading Christmas sweet.

Northern Italian immigrants imported their love of panettone to Argentina and Brazil  and today panettone – also known in Spanish as "Panetón" or "Pan Dulce" -- is a must at Christmas and New Year’s Eve  with cider, hot cocoa   or liquor in all of Latin America.