New Finds–Spicy, Smoky, Salty and Sweet!

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These monthly posts are one of my favorites to put together. I have flip flopped around on KERF between accepting everything offered to me to review (why not!?) to quitting all product reviews altogether for a while (it sounds ungrateful to complain about receiving free stuff, but managing all the packages and products got really overwhelming.) I seem to have found a happy medium accepting food and lifestyle products that I think you guys would get excited about. And I always try to throw in some things that I buy or discover on my own. Today’s lot is a good bunch!

Rocky Mountain Sriracha

If you love that big red bottle with the green cap, you are gonna looooooove this! Rocky Mountain Sriracha was a collaboration between five Colorado Mesa University students, their business professor and a local entrepreneur. Together they created a fresh, natural version of the famous condiment! Inside the jar you’ll find organic culinary garlic, fresno peppers, organic agave nectar, sea salt and light vinegar.

To speed up production, they have created a Kickstarter campaign! They’re working their way to $8,000 to get this product off the ground. We could all use a little more spice in our lives : )

Find them @RMSriracha on Twitter + Instagram.

Martin + Martin Smokery

Remember my posts about Oak River Salmon? Although their kickstarter campaign fell through, Martin, Jr. and Martin III took the road less traveled to bring their dreams of selling hot smoked salmon to life: Martin x Martin Smokery. {I love their logo!! –>} Just launched this spring, you can now find their amazing hot smoked salmon on the web. I acted as a tester for their shipping process and can vouch that the salmon arrived safe, sound and totally delicious. It makes a fabulous lunch salad. Their salmon would also make a great gift for foodie friends who seem to have it all. Father’s Day anyone!?

Find the Martins on Twitter and Facebook!

Comcast Xfinity

Since we moved to Charlottesville, we have been Comcast cable and internet customers. When we lived in Charlotte we had AT&T Uverse and LOVED it. The menu was modern and when you pushed a button on the remote something happened instantly. So it was rather disappointing to come to Cville and feel like we’d gone back in time. We recently flipped our living and dining rooms back to their original configuration and decided to get a little TV action upstairs. I wanted some morning news talk, and Mazen is into Dinosaur Train and Curious George. It was a pain to schlep into the dark basement all the time. Matt had been using an old white TV he got from a friend as a computer monitor, and it was the perfect size (and color) for our living room.

In the process of adding a cable outlet in the room, I was told about Xfinity X1 by Comcast. It’s a new MODERN sleek amazing interface much like the Uverse we left in Charlotte. How did I not know about this, and why had we been stuck using the outdated interface for so long? The new one is AMAZING – it has photos of the shows like Netflix and is way better organized.

AND it’s not any more expensive! We can sync our two DVR boxes and only pay for one mama and one satellite instead of two full size boxes like before. I’m telling you this long story so you can go check to see if you have X1 in your city and can upgrade as well. Don’t miss out! (This isn’t sponsored by Xfinity – it’s brought to you by NERD KERF!)

JDs Salsas

JDs Salsa is a salsa mix that allows you to make semi-homemade salsa in minutes.

Just add the dried herb and spice blend to a can of diced tomatoes, and after a little time to marinade, you have salsa that is so much better than store-bought in a jar.

I’m sure you can also use fresh tomatoes when they’re peaking this summer along with a jalapeno from the garden.

We used this mix in our yoga-mole recipe (just mashed avocado mixed with Greek yogurt) and it serves as a great guac mix too!

Find JDs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Seersucker Drying Mat

I’m really into alternatives to a huge dish rack taking up real estate on my counters. For years we used dish towels and then upgraded to some of the Bed, Bath and Beyond commercial drying mats. While functional, they are awfully bland. That’s when I found out that there is a market of hand-made mats on Etsy. I bought a floral one Iove in the fall and added a second to my collection this spring. It’s seersucker and SO much cuter than our old crusty BB&B ones. Check out more at the HereAtSmallGoods shop!

And best of all it looks great hanging on the dishwasher to air dry  🙂

Sundara Soap

Blog reader Erin is the founder of Sundara – a boutique soap company with a mission to give back.

Sundara soaps, which are made in NYC, are vegan, biodegradable, sulfate and paraben free and boxed in 100% recycled packaging.

The best part is that proceeds from sales go directly to funding hygiene initiatives for children in underserved areas around the world. They currently have projects running in Ghana, Haiti and India. Read more on the Sundara blog! Delicious smelling soap with a good cause behind it – a win/win. So far the peppermint is my fav : )

Follow Sundara on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Peg’s Salt

While at the Hill & Holler dinner a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting Cvillian Cass, owner of Peg’s Salt. Cass’s mother Peg created this seasoned salt more than 40 years ago and she gave it away to her friends throughout her life. Peg’s Salt is a secret combination of herbs and spices, and her friends found the salt to enhance the flavor of their cooking more than regular salt alone. After Cass’s mother passed away, she came across the old recipe and began to share it. Peg’s Salt was founded in 2012 and is now a household staple in homes across Virginia and Ohio – and growing!

I have used it on everything from salads to eggs and agree- it’s delicious! One of the best seasoned salts I’ve tried. Follow Peg’s Salt on Facebook and Twitter!

Peg has offered to give 3 of you a taste of her famous salt. Enter to win below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

What’s new on your list this month!?