From the Mailman

My extremely hardworking mailman, Leroy, brought me an envelope full of recipes a while back and I'm just now getting around to posting about it. Bless his heart, I don't know how he makes it through these 100°+ temperatures we've been having every day. He walks about half of his route and it's hot out there! He tells me that he eats citrus fruit during the day which helps keep him cool.

The envelope evidently arrived as a result of my joining the NAKANO Splash Recipe Club at Mizkan, which I had to do in order to receive the free recipe booklets. While I don't normally sign up for online newsletters and such, I wanted the booklets badly enough to do so this time. And I have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised to learn that, so far, my inbox hasn't filled up with the unwanted spam I was trying to avoid.

I received a very nicely done 28 page booklet called Memorable Meals (2010) which features Holland House cooking wines and vinegars. The two photos below show a couple of the interior pages.

It's not even 9 am yet and I already wish I were having this Creamy Seafood Pasta for lunch. I'll need some garlic bread on the side.


The recipe here shows that they've added some shredded zuchinni which I think is a nice addition to the dish.


There were also four different fold-out recipe card folders, each containing a manufacturer's coupon. There are several recipes on perforated cards in each folder.

There's one for Holland House Premium Vinegars:


And another for Holland House Cooking Wine:


There's another for World Harbors Sauces and Marinades. Can't say that I've ever used this brand before or even noticed it on the shelf. I'll have to take another look as there are 16 different bottles pictured in the folder. Maple Wasabi sauce and marinade and the Cheriyaki glaze sound interesting.


I use the Nakano rice vinegars quite a bit, but this folder shows seven different types--I've only ever seen two or three. Again, this warrants a closer look at the shelves.


I suppose I'm considered old school due to my desire to receive these recipes in the mail, printed on nice glossy paper, as opposed to viewing them on a tiny little smart phone. But I'll tell you--the thrill of opening the envelope and getting out a new recipe booklet is still the same now as it was when I was a kid. The paper booklets motivate and inspire me so much more than a PDF file.