Matt’s segments for “Connoisseur’s Corner” usually air on WBZ (1030 AM) Saturdays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25, and 11:55 AM and Sundays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25 AM.

Recent samples can be found at Recent samples can be found at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1002-Connoisseurs-Corner-28654273/.

If you have ideas for future segments, please send them to Matt@Matts-Meals.com.

Also, please follow me on Twitter @MattsMeals73.

Thanks for listening and thanks for supporting our friends and neighbors in the food-service industry!

As I like to stay healthy, as I LOVE fresh fruit, and as July month is National Bueberry Month, I am trying to get my hands on as many little blue beauties as I can.

That is why I am so excited to hear that our Maine (as in the state, but also the other meaning) blueberry friends at Wyman’s have recently launched a delivery truck called the Bee (as in honey or bumble) Wild Mobile that will help distribute Wyman’s famed fruit products, including their recently-launched Just Fruit cups. It will also offer programs that educate visitors about Maine’s biggest crop and that give them opportunities for blueberry-based games and sweet swag!

As the oldest of Maine’s main fruit producers and one of the biggest in the world, Wyman’s fourth-generation family business surely knows blueberries. In fact, Wyman’s freezes about two million pounds of wild blueberries per day during July and August and enjoy a total yield of about 60 million pounds! 

While they are also the top producer of frozen blueberries and supply many famous chefs and eateries, Wyman’s offers much more, including strawberries, cherries, mangoes, and other fruits in fresh or frozen and also in powders and juices or their new cups, which contain diced fruit and Greek yogurt pellets or bananas, making sure people can enjoy even if theyu do not enjoy dairy.

To find the schedule for the Bee Wild Mobile and other Maine-ly fruity news, visit www.Wymans.com

Matt’s segments for “Connoisseur’s Corner” usually air on WBZ (1030 AM) Saturdays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25, and 11:55 AM and Sundays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25 AM.

Recent samples can be found at Recent samples can be found at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1002-Connoisseurs-Corner-28654273/.

If you have ideas for future segments, please send them to Matt@Matts-Meals.com.

Also, please follow me on Twitter @MattsMeals73.

Thanks for listening and thanks for supporting our friends and neighbors in the food-service industry!

Ask almost anyone in the Newton-Needham area (the so-called “N2 Corridor”) where to get great pizza, and if they do not mention our friends at Hearth, they will surely say Sweet Tomatoes.

Known for their creative combinations of flavors and their popular pizza truck (which is available to bring fresh pies to private and public events), Sweet Tomatioes has given a great deal to its two communities.

Now Sweet Tomatoes is making things even sweeter for their neighbors by partnering with the New England Country Mart (which is run by fourth-generation food family of J. W. Lopes) and contributing to the Mart’s Groceries that Give Initiativeby donating a portion of sales in June to the Newton Food Pantry.

As Pantry demand is up over 60% since before Covid began and is still yet to settle much, now is a critical time to give. The Pantry recently opened a branch at Lasell University in Newtn to help the 50% of students who face food insecurity. Even though they too were hurt by the pandemic, the folks at Sweet Tomatoes want to show how much their fans mean to them and so are continuing to give even as conditions improve.

So if you want a freshly-sauced pie with nearly 40 avaialble toppings or just a delicious salad, you can now get either with a side of community support thanks to our friendly neighbords at Sweet Tomatoes.

www.sweettomatoespizza.com

www.NewEnglandCountryMart.com

www.newtonfoodpantry.org

Matt’s segments for “Connoisseur’s Corner” usually air on WBZ (1030 AM) Saturdays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25, and 11:55 AM and Sundays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25 AM.

Recent samples can be found at Recent samples can be found at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1002-Connoisseurs-Corner-28654273/.

If you have ideas for future segments, please send them to Matt@Matts-Meals.com.

Also, please follow me on Twitter @MattsMeals73.

Thanks for listening and thanks for supporting our friends and neighbors in the food-service industry!

Taking inspiration from the British ciders that their neighborhood ancestors had brought over generations before, Shoal Hope Ciderworks on Cape Cod is now showing more of the people from whom they took inspiration and helping the Cape community in the process.

In partnership with the Norwood-based artistic collaborative Motherlode.TV, Shoal Hope Ciderworks is releasing a special set of bottles with labels designed by local artist Karen Cappotto. Each label recognizes individuals who have made contributions to Cape Cod culture and society, including Cape Cod charter Bartholomew Gosnold, Provincetown Arts ColonyFounder Charles Hawthorne, Wampanoag Sachem Massasoit, and William Shorey, who was the first mixed-race whaling boat captain.

Shoal Hope Ciderworks will also be making their own contributions by donating a portion of proceeds to such neighborly organizations as the Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum, the Community Development Partnership, and the United Negro College Fund. They are also preparing a program to celebrate 420^thanniversary of the Cape itself.

If the community-mindedness were not enough of a reason to promote Shoal Hope Ciderworks, the ciders are also delicious and come in such tasty types as the founding Monument (made with brown sugar), the Tequila Mockingbird (aged in Tequila barrels) and the Honey Baby made with Caep Cod cranberry bog honey.

If you can get out to the Cape this summer, be sure to check the website (ShoalHopeCiderworks.com)to see where you can try their ciders. Even if not, you can enjoy the true taste of the Cape Cod community while helping support the community as well.

ShoalHopeCiderworks.com

Matt’s segments for “Connoisseur’s Corner” usually air on WBZ (1030 AM) Saturdays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25, and 11:55 AM and Sundays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25 AM.

Recent samples can be found at Recent samples can be found at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1002-Connoisseurs-Corner-28654273/.

If you have ideas for future segments, please send them to Matt@Matts-Meals.com.

Also, please follow me on Twitter @MattsMeals73.

Thanks for listening and thanks for supporting our friends and neighbors in the food-service industry!

Have you ever asked for an ale when you wanted a lager? Ever asked for BBQ sauce in South Carolina? During the pandemic, did you make a crumble when you wanted cobbler? And what are the differences between cage-free and organic eggs?

If these and other culinary conundra have been taking up even more brain space than the pandemic already has, there is now a handy compendium that can clarify at least many of them.

Based upon her popular blog, “What’s the Difference,” Brette Washaw has put together some of her most popular food-related clarifications and distinctions into a book that can help you order (when you go out to eat again), shop and even cook more effectively and efficiently.

From apples and beer to rice and wine, the book is divided into categories that help home chefs and Michelin stars find the foods they fumble and come to a clear conclusion as to which is which and what the best options are for a given gourmand. 

So the next time you want to pickle but really need to brine or can’t tell the difference between Marmite and Vegemite (is there one?!), just reach for What’s the Difference and you too can at least sound like an expert!

www.harperwave.com

Matt’s segments for “Connoisseur’s Corner” usually air on WBZ (1030 AM) Saturdays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25, and 11:55 AM and Sundays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25 AM.

Recent samples can be found at Recent samples can be found at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1002-Connoisseurs-Corner-28654273/.

If you have ideas for future segments, please send them to Matt@Matts-Meals.com.

Also, please follow me on Twitter @MattsMeals73.

Thanks for listening and thanks for supporting our friends and neighbors in the food-service industry!

As any responsible parent is required to do, I have recently introduced my daugthrers to Monty Python. One of their early favorite sketches is “The Cheese Shop,” in which a customer tries to order every cheese he can name and eventually finds that the cheese shop is apparently altogether out of cheese. 

In addition to making us laugh, this sketch has also taught us how many different kinds of cheese there are in the world.

In an effort to support my daugthers’ further research into the world of “cheesey comestibles,” we called upon our friends at Jasper Hill Farms and were happy to see that they had more than enough to enjoy!

In fact, Jasper Hill not only offers a wide and ever-expanding menu of freshly-made award-winning cheeses that are made on a sustainable and self-susraining farm in VT’s Northeast Kingdom, they also offer curated and customizable gift boxes that can also include meats, sauces, and items from neighborly producers (and Matt’s Meals favorites) like Brewer’s Crackers, Runamok Maple and Tavour.

With a motto of “Freedom, Unity, and Cheese,” Jasper Hill brings together some of the best cheeses and complementary foods and delivers them to you so fast that you can even start your own well-stocked cheese shop.

So the next time you “come over all peckish,” you know where to go!

www.jasperhillfarm.com

Matt’s segments for “Connoisseur’s Corner” usually air on WBZ (1030 AM) Saturdays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25, and 11:55 AM and Sundays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25 AM.

Recent samples can be found at Recent samples can be found at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1002-Connoisseurs-Corner-28654273/.

If you have ideas for future segments, please send them to Matt@Matts-Meals.com.

Also, please follow me on Twitter @MattsMeals73.

Thanks for listening and thanks for supporting our friends and neighbors in the food-service industry!

Matt’s Meals has often noted how Galit Grutman of Galit’s Treats in Newton Center has repeatedly sacrificed her own bottom line to support her friends and neighbors. Whether it is giving away challah to enlisting a team of fans to deliver food to people in need, Galit is always ready to lend a hand!

In recent weeks, Galit has found a way for her many regular guests to give back while also getting something in return!

In exchange for their willingness to place a promotional sign in their yard that touts such favorites as Galit’s great coffee, unique Sabich sandwiches, and worth-the-trip rugelach, she has been giving them some of that coffee for free! After a few weeks, the signs are returned, more free coffee is given, and a new yard gets to be graced with them.

While many people decry the overwhlming amount of lawn signs that have popped up like weeds on many lawns, these signs not only help a local business but direct passers-by to one of the best places around to eat, drink, and relax!

Especially as so many of our local faves have gone away or are still at risk, it’s a great time to offer extra support. And if we can get free coffee, all the better!

www.galitstreats.com

Matt’s segments for “Connoisseur’s Corner” usually air on WBZ (1030 AM) Saturdays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25, and 11:55 AM and Sundays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25 AM.

Recent samples can be found at Recent samples can be found at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1002-Connoisseurs-Corner-28654273/.

If you have ideas for future segments, please send them to Matt@Matts-Meals.com.

Also, please follow me on Twitter @MattsMeals73.

Thanks for listening and thanks for supporting our friends and neighbors in the food-service industry!

June is Dairy Alternative Month. Apparently, about one in six Americans now face this irritable issue and many want innovative ways to help themselves enjoy the taste of their old cow-made fave without bugging Bessie.

Especially in these days of home chefs and do-it-yourselfers (especially those who want to know what is going into their recipes), I have found a new small appliance (get appliances from Orca Appliance Services )that takes those proclivities into the non-dairy dairy world.

The ChefWave MilkMade (that’s “M-A-D-E”) allows those who need to or those who simply want to control the ingredients in their dairy-free recipes to do just that by adding their own almonds, cashews, etc., flavoring them as they wish and then, with a bit of water and a few minutes of low-prep magic, come out with delicious, wholesome, non-dairy milk products that can be enjoyed alone, in coffee, or in any recipe that usually takes milk. And when you are done making the milk, the MilkMade cleans up after itself!

So whether you still fear running to the market or just want to have something to do while still at home, the MilkMade can take the yoke off your back.

www.mychefwave.com

Matt’s segments for “Connoisseur’s Corner” usually air on WBZ (1030 AM) Saturdays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25, and 11:55 AM and Sundays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25 AM.

Recent samples can be found at Recent samples can be found at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1002-Connoisseurs-Corner-28654273/.

If you have ideas for future segments, please send them to Matt@Matts-Meals.com.

Also, please follow me on Twitter @MattsMeals73.

Thanks for listening and thanks for supporting our friends and neighbors in the food-service industry!

As CBD, nootropics, and other brain-helping ingredients continue to infiltrate and revolutionize the food and drink market, it can be difficult to choose which to try. You may even feel a bit intimidated.

Fortunately, there is a new product that is sure to make you more confident in your food choices and in general!

Confidence is an organic, all-natural, sugar-free, zero-calorie beverage that includes such supportive ingredients as Ginseng, 5-HTP, Rhodiola, GABA and B vitamins and that has been shown (I think) to boost people’s moods and feelings of harmony while downplaying doubt.

Especially as people return to in-person school, pants-not-optional offices, and other elements of so-called “real life,” the ability to overcome anxiety and believe in yourself and your abilities may be more important than ever! Also, as so many people are out of practice with presenting themselves and may have been knocked down medically, economically, and emotionally during the pandemic, there may also not be a better time for such a product to arrive!

There are many choices to help you deal with all sorts of issues today, but few are as safe, effective, and easy to get down as Confidence. So try it, won’t you? 

www.confidencedrink.com

Matt’s segments for “Connoisseur’s Corner” usually air on WBZ (1030 AM) Saturdays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25, and 11:55 AM and Sundays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25 AM.

Recent samples can be found at Recent samples can be found at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1002-Connoisseurs-Corner-28654273/.

If you have ideas for future segments, please send them to Matt@Matts-Meals.com.

Also, please follow me on Twitter @MattsMeals73.

Thanks for listening and thanks for supporting our friends and neighbors in the food-service industry!

Though many people went cooking crazy duing COVID, some are finding themselves with more ingredients than they thought they would have left. And while there are many organizations that help bring unused food to those in need (as I recently reported at www.Matts-Meals.com), food storage might be the next big investment of the COVID era.

Another issue that has arisen during the pandemic has been unemployment.

These are two of the reasons why I am so excited about B-organic!

Created by Cathy DiPilato of Worcester, MA, when she lost her job, B-Organic was an invention that (like so many others) came from necessity when this housemother for international students was finding herself with more food than her guests could eat. In order to save food for later and so save money (which was becoming tight as it has for many others), DiPilato used organic materials (including old food that was turned into natural inks she uses to decorate her creations) to make a set of effective and reusable food-preservation materials that includes bags (many of which offer proper pronunciation of various veggies and fruits), aprons, and even soaps that are made from fruits that might otherwise be wasted.

If you are not sure just how long to keep items in her bags, DiPilato even has a chart of freshness on her website (https://b-organicma.com) to guide you! No matter what you have to save, however, DiPilato has a beautifully (and sustainably) decorated tool for you that will help you ave the environment and your food with organic style!

https://b-organicma.com

Matt’s segments for “Connoisseur’s Corner” usually air on WBZ (1030 AM) Saturdays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25, and 11:55 AM and Sundays at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25 AM.

Recent samples can be found at Recent samples can be found at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1002-Connoisseurs-Corner-28654273/.

If you have ideas for future segments, please send them to Matt@Matts-Meals.com.

Also, please follow me on Twitter @MattsMeals73.

Thanks for listening and thanks for supporting our friends and neighbors in the food-service industry!

While my Needham neighbors and I are privileged to have so many great eateries around (including Hearth, Latina, Spiga, Pressed, Walnut Grille, Farm Grill, The Farmhouse, and, of course, Abbott’s Frozen Custard), there are still nights when even the most food-loving among us (and among all food fans) wants to eat at home.

Fortunately, Needham has that covered too, thanks to Forklift Provisions!

While food delivery systems have exploded in recent months (much to the detriment of the restaurant industry), Forklift sets itself apart by being a local company that focuses on delivering fresh food to its neighbors. As Executive Chef Liz Garvey has a background in art as well as culinary expertrise, each offering is a tempting to the eye as it is to the palate!

With a new menu weekly and plenty of gluten free, vegetarian, vegan, and nut-free options, there is sure to be something fresh and delicious that everyone in your home enjoys on a regular basis and each item is made with as many locally-sourced ingredient, as little sodium, sugar, and other unwanted ingredients, and as much home-cooked love as possible.

Though many of us have become at least better chefs during the pandemic, Forklift has years of award-winning catering experience and so can provide meals that, if not better than yours, are at least easier to put together and clean up after. And as each week’s meals are all delivered or picked up at once, there is also no waiting for individual deliveries and no concerns of botched orders or too much packaging to deal with when the meal is done.

So the next time you want to lift a fork without lifting so many fingers, call on Forklift.

www.forkliftprovisions.com