Well, it was a long project and there are still a few sections under construction, but we have slipped into our new "skin" and we're looking pretty spiffy! Better navigation, lots of shots of all of the products that are available by clicking the camera icons...We think you'll be pleased!

New products just posted!! Flor de Sal, the Portugese equivalent to France's amazingly expensive Fleur de Sel sea salt and just as delicious if not more. So much less expensive! Flor de Sal is like snowflakes of salt (natives call this "salt cream"), skimmed off the surface of the sea to be drifted over your dishes just before serving. We have it available in bags and in a glass container with spoon for you to refill.

Also new: Elegant tropical fruit curds that are sinfully good. If you know about and love lemon curd, you'll definitely want to try our Lilikoi (best seller) and Guava curds. The possibilities for using these delectible spreads are many and we'll include recipes. Featured in Oprah's "O" magazine and several others as a food not to be missed.

Time to get back to work...Thanks for the visit!

Whew...Where did March go???

We've been shipping and running around getting ready for spring...Lots of Dedham bunnies going out the door for Easter gifts and new merchandise arriving daily. The new website template is coming along but isn't yet ready for prime time. We think you're going to approve!

Our new restaurant cookware is on its way, as is "Laughing Dog" vanilla, a wonderfully fragrant addition to your favorite dessert recipes. Organic and pure -- we're sure you'll be back for more! Should be up on the site shortly.

Well, short post tonight. I'm off to bed. Scottish Tartan Day tomorrow at the fairgrounds. Gotta be there!

Our Mighty Maine Lobstermen

We've been working with Maine Lobster Direct for many years now and they're still our customers' provider of wonderful Live Maine Lobster, lobster dinners, lobster tails, fresh fish and seafood, all from the cold clear waters of the North Atlantic.

They ship live Maine lobster and seafood directly to our customers overnight. Maine Lobster Direct is a family owned business located on Union Wharf in the heart of Portland, Maine's working waterfront. Since 1995, they've prided themselves on shipping only the finest quality lobster and seafood while offering their customers excellent service with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. For our son Andy's last birthday, we ordered live lobbies, threw together a salad and poured some good wine, and feasted out on the deck until late in the night. Preparation was a breeze, and the meal was unforgettable.

Food and Wine Magazine named Maine Lobster Direct one of the top mail-order seafood companies in the U.S.A. Well deserved, we say.

Maine Lobster Direct and their employees have proudly made a donation to the American Red Cross in support of the fishing families of the Gulf Coast and all persons effected by Hurricane Katrina.

What's happening at The White Whale office? Work goes on setting up the new template for the website. I'm really pleased with the way it's looking and my work is speeding up now as the framework is set up and I only need to pop in the products and links. Hope you all like it when it's done! Navigation will be easier and the new look will be more economical space-wise. Andy was the one who told me that the site as it is is attractive but too "busy". I always listen to my guys when they tell me what's hot and what's not and try to keep the Whale up to date! :0)

Lots of orders from customers preparing to celebrate St. Paddy's day -- they've been shopping our British Section like crazy this week.

Signing out for now...Off to the office to answer email, then up to Seattle to help youngest son Joe with a move. Cheers!

New White Whale format underway!

I'm busily pouring the White Whale website into a new "skin" -- template -- and hope to have it done by the end of March. Easier navigation and lots of new products! Brand new Ganz ceramics, Volrath cookware and bakeware, and beautiful mixed wood cutting boards. We think the salmon cutting board will be a best seller!

Finally! Our Scottish "Sporran Aprons" are back in stock and on their way to all of the patient folks who ordered them at Christmas time.
Response was tremendous to these great Scottish themed aprons, we sold out, and then Ulster Weavers couldn't get another shipment to us for two months. They're reorganizing...

Dennis, our neighbor up the way, has placed his wonderful wooden Country Toys in our Children's Section here at The White Whale, and our customers love them. Well made, handsome pine toys that keep kids busy and happy for hours -- we're going to buy some for our granddaughters, who are arriving for a week's visit tonight! They're one year and six years old and we know they'll be down on the floor with those wooden toys for hours.

The sun is out today here in Gig Harbor after a week of amazingly cold, windy weather. The crocuses are up, though, and spring is coming, so we're stocking up on Tom Douglas rubs for warm weather grilling. Some of our customers grill outside all year 'round, braving the cold and wet to create the perfect meal! They swear by Tom Douglas and his rubs and won't use anything else. The less rugged among us grill indoors... :0D

Our Tom Douglas Salmon Rub is the most popular, but the pork rub is a close second. We sell the rubs in three pound packages now, too! This was a customer request from several folks who are serious grillers and found the small Tom Douglas rub containers not to last long enough.

Well, I'm off to finish readying the playroom for the kids. Only a few hours to go and then happy chaos for a week!

Peggy

Moby's White Whale Blog launches!

There's always a first post for a new blog, and this is it! Enjoy...

Moby's the man here in The White Whale Kitchen. He advises us on new kitchenware and gadget purchases, teas to check out ( Market Spice Tea is still number one -- scroll past the coffee and teapots), and on his recommendation we're bringing in a new line of restaurant quality cookware from Volrath this spring. Awesome, heavy-weight layered chef's pans with great release. I took one home to test and it's become my favorite small frypan. Wish I'd asked for a bigger one now! This is serious cookware that performs beautifully. We should have Volrath in a month or so...

Schlemmertopf clay pots continue to be hot, hot, hot...
We're reordering them constantly. There are tons of claypot recipes all over the net now. Everything comes out juicy and tender with amazing flavor.

New White Whale lines:

We have a good stock of Chinese Herbal Teas and Medicines from our new friends David and Teah in Seattle. They have made these herbal teas and preparations their life's work. We encourage you to try these amazing products for heart, lung, blood, stomach, wellbeing -- the real stuff from ancient Chinese sources.

CELTIC SHOUT OUT! We've had great response to our British foods, teas and gifts segment. Get your Heinz Beans and PG Tips tea delivered to your door!
(The priest at our church, St. Pat's in Tacoma, ordered a case of the beans. As a boy in Ireland, he took them on fishing trips and ate them cold right out of the can. When he wanted to be fancy, he heated them over the fire first!)

Ulster Weavers in Ireland has caught on fast at The White Whale. These aren't easy to get so we've socked in a good supply of Irish and Scottish themed linens. Beautiful Irish linen tablecloths for holiday feasts, kilt and sporran aprons, irish shamrock tea cozies and teatowels, pvc aprons for kids and adults that just wipe clean, and some whimsical tea towels with art from Simon Drew to keep you smiling in the kitchen.

Aromatherapy is basic for lots of our White Whale customers, and we have the best. Pharmacopia is hot in all the Oscar gift baskets and the Hollywood glitterati love it. Surprisingly not terribly expensive. Citrus, rosemary, lavender, ginger. Not to be missed.

NEW SECTIONS ON THE WAY! Look for "Let's Make Dessert" and "Bread Baker's Corner" coming soon.

Here's Moby's favorite cheese cake recipe (Hey! It's your dairy food group!) from Mom's venerable Betty Crocker cookbook circa 1966. YOU MUST MAKE THIS!!:

Heat oven to 275. Butter 9" springform pan. Dust bottom and sides with a mixture of 1/2 cup fine graham cracker crumbs, one T sugar, and 1/4 t each nutmeg and cinnamon. Pour filling (below) into prepared pan. Bake for 70 minutes. Turn off oven and leave in 1 hour without opening oven door. Remove from oven and cool. Spread top with cherry glaze. Remove cheesecake from pan just before serving. 16-20 servings.

Filling:
5 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 lb. cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup commercial sour cream
2 T flour
1 T vanilla

Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored. Gradually beat in sugar. Break up cream cheese and add to egg mixture, beating until smooth. Add sour cream, flour, and vanilla; continue beating until smooth. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Gently fold into cheese mixture. (If your beaten whites are really fluffy, you may end up with extra filling. I just prepare a smaller pan for the overflow and bake it in with the bigger cheesecake. It will get browner than the big one, but it will still be a yummy treat for someone special.)
Cherry Glaze:
1 can (16 oz.) red tart pitted cherries
1/2 cup sugar
2 T cornstarch
few drops red food coloring if desired

Drain cherries, reserving the liquid. Add enough water to cherry juice to make one cup. Combine with sugar and cornstarch in saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in cherries and food coloring. When cool, spread over cooled cheesecake. Refrigerate until set.

MOBY'S ADVICE FOR FEBRUARY 11: LOVE TO CREATE IN THE KITCHEN? COOK WITH A BUDDY. YOU COOK; THEY CLEAN. THEY GET TO EAT YOUR GREAT FOOD, AND YOU CAN SIT DOWN AFTER THE MEAL AND CHILL. :0)