Top 10 Flavors to Watch in 2008

Just when you thought all the 2008 prediction lists were winding down, I’m dug up another. Since this blog is clearly cutting-edge (ha!), I thought I’d go through Meatless Monday’s list of Top 10 Flavors to Watch in 2008. Lately I seem to be all about comparing myself to various lists, so I’ll continue the pattern:

1. Pomegranate – I rarely eat pomegranates; maybe this is something to add to my new/rotation produce list? I had some pomegranate-flavored liqueur (Pama brand) at Thanksgiving, but that’s about it. I will say that the liqueur was delicious just mixed with seltzer, so that made a pretty low-cal cocktail. Unfortunately, not a ton of alcohol, which is kind of one of my main criteria for a good drink 🙂
2. Coffee – I really try to avoid coffee, except for those awful days at work when I am absolutely passing out on my desk. then I allow myself one cup with four teaspoons of skim milk – only 8 calories! However, it’s not even that I avoid coffee for the calories; I just don’t want to get addicted to it like so many people are, and like I used to be (I once had four Starbucks venti caramel frappucinos in a sitting. Can you say hyper? Clearly, that was in my pre-diet days: just one of those is 530 calories!). I’ve never really experimented with coffee flavors in my food, though I have some Nescafe coffee flavored syrup that would probably work well (you’re supposed to mix it with milk for a bottled-frappucino-like result). Maybe I’ll try making chili with coffee flavors – I’ve had that before at Ithaca’s Chili Cook-Off and it was delicious. Interestingly, one thing I used to eat on occasion when I was little was coffee-flavored ice cream, which I haven’t seen in a very long time, at least in grocery stores. I wonder if that will make a comeback?
3. Grape – last night, I bought grapes for the salad that I’ll be posting later today for lunch. They were $9.70. TEN DOLLARS for a freaking bag of grapes. I think I will be waiting until they come into season before experimenting with this trendy flavor.
4. Cranberry – I love cranberries, and I definitely put them in a lot of my cooking. Check out Sunday’s Middle Eastern Chicken Pot for my latest. And the recipe didn’t even call for cranberries! Clearly I am really trendy to be incorporating them into my cooking when they’re not even in the recipe.
5. Green tea – I used to think green tea was disgusting, but then in December I tried it again for the first time in a few years, and I didn’t think it was bad. I had just a plain brewed cup of hot tea, no sugar, no milk. It wasn’t anything to write home about, but it was fine. Maybe sometime soon I’ll try some of that green tea ice cream I’ve heard about? Then I could see if I really like the flavor.
6. Chili – as I already said, coffee chili is high on my list of trendy things to try. I really love chili though; it’s surprising to me that I haven’t posted a chili recipe yet since starting the blog. Lately I keep wanting to make it on Fridays/Saturdays, and then I think that maybe I’ll meet a cute guy and be able to make it for him and his friends when they watch football on Sunday, so I wait for that to happen before I make it, and then it doesn’t happen and I don’t make chili. But see what a good girlfriend I am??? Also, I should add that I have not one but two chili recipes that are absolutely awesome. This weekend I may give up hope on the guy and just make one.
7. Cinnamon – my roommate and I were discussing cinnamon last night. She said she had heard that cinnamon and paprika were both spices that you could smell, but actually not taste – it was all just in the smell. I Googled this for a while but couldn’t find anything to support her claim, not even any unfounded hoaxes (let me know if you know anything about this). I put cinnamon on my butternut squash soup (again, look for a recipe later today), and on some other things as well, like quinoa with cinnamon, raisins, and a touch of syrup. Also, I just ate part of an Au Bon Pain cinnamon roll as a morning snack (I know that sounds bad, but it was a catered breakfast thing and I actually managed to split it so I only had a QUARTER of it – 75 calories). It was yummy, though definitely a rare treat.
8. Ginseng – the only place I’ve ever seen ginseng is in various drinks, and I don’t like to drink my calories (I mostly drink water). So unless I come across some food recipes with ginseng, I may pass on this one.
9. Eucalyptus – this makes me think of koala bears… don’t they eat eucalyptus leaves? I am not a koala bear, so I’ve never had eucalyptus. I found this recipe that looks absolutely awesome (though a little tricky to make), but in addition to eucalyptus, I also need to find grape seed oil. I see a trip to Whole Foods in my near future…
10. Goji – I’ve tried dried goji berries once, when my mom picked them up at her health food co-op. I thought they were decently good, but not at all worth the $20/pound or whatever that she paid for them. Plus, I’m not a big fan of dried fruits because they’re not that satisfying for the calories. I wondered what you could do with these besides eat them plain, and sadly, a search on Food Network for goji turned up nothing. Apparently goji is so new that there aren’t really many recipes that incorporate it, so maybe I can actually make this blog cutting edge and try to do it myself! I’ll post some results later this week, that is, assuming goji isn’t too sophisticated for the teeny NYC grocery stores I frequent.