Teaser......

Ok, so I've been GONE. I took the kids to Fresno for a vacation. For 3 of the days it was 110-112--HOT! Thanks to my AWESOME brother-in-law, Matt, my kids enjoyed HOURS in the pool. We had a FANTASTIC time, saw some friends, hung out with family, and played and played and played. I'll blog in better detail, with photos, later.

For now, I just have a teaser for all of you: FLAVORED RAISINS!

The Madera Tribune had an article about my newest obsession--here's part of the article. (Click on "Madera Tribune" if you want to read the whole thing.)

Grapes are a seasonal fruit, but when they become raisins, they are transformed into a year-round product. Increasing the uses for the product may not only prove to be a culinary delight but may give a boost to the local economy and the raisin farmers and packing companies that produce them.

Local distributor Kinabrew Farms collaborated with Victor Packing to market the flavored raisins. Bruce Kinabrew began selling them in October 2003.

Kinabrew said these raisins aren’t flavored topically, the raisins are dehydrated and re-hydrated and infused with fruit juice, so they won’t lose their flavor when used in muffins or other baked goods.

He sells customers large or small quantities in five flavors: blueberry, raspberry, sour cherry, peach and strawberry. All-natural fruit juice is used as flavoring. No artificial flavoring and no sugar are added. The food is high in potassium, iron and fiber.

“One fourth cup gives you 10 percent of what you need for the day,” Kinabrew said.

Flavored raisins are said to have a shelf life of two years and can easily be marketed as a winter fruit, a product that Kinabrew sells as, “Berry Blasters,” at Farmers Markets and Cole’s Books and Bagels. They were introduced at the 2004 World Ag Expo in Tulare. The product caught notice even though Kinabrew was one of 1,500 vendors. Sales were increased by 40 percent the next day.

“That launched us,” Kinabrew said.

Ok, these were SOOOOOOO good! And I'm not much of a raisin fan (sorry, Dan). I'll eat some with a handful of dry roasted peanuts, but I don't just sit down with a bunch of raisins. Yeah, now I do! They are so soft and fresh. The raspberry raisins taste like CANDY, but they're good for you! Wow, do I LOVE these! Hannah does too. We bought some raspberry, strawberry, and peach raisins. YUMMY!