As you read all of our posts of special gifts on our Holland America Conference at Sea, you may wonder if that was all we did, receive gifts. Well, thanks to many people, we received more than you can imagine and Joan Joffa was responsible for Dr. Kracker Krackers.

I've been busy writing articles and had not posted my comments on Dr. Kracker. Well, I can't wait any longer. You see, I saved the last two crackers so I could be eating them when I did this. Well, sitting by my desk, I'm down to the last one and craving it, so now is the time to do the write-up.

Norm and I brought our two packages home. We went through our first package of Dr. Kracker's Seede Spelt crackers over a couple of days - they were delicious with soup or cheese. The second package I rationed out to last us longer.

What I really liked was it only took 3 or 4 to be completely satisfied and it is perfect for me around 3:30 or 4 when I need something.

What makes these artisan-baked to perfect crispness crackers different, a lot. The Seeded Spelt has sunflower seeds which bled well with the nutty organic sesame seeds. Apparently the organic spelt flour provides a sweeter flavor than wheat flour. This flavor also has organic flax seeds, organic spelt bran, sea salt, yeast and organic barley malt syrup.

Dr. Kracker offers five flavors: Klassic 3 Seed; Pumpkin Cheddar; Seeded Spelt; Seedlander and Sunflower Cheddar.

Knowing I want to try the other flavors, I went on line to the Dr. Kracker website to see where I could purchase more of these delicious crackers. They are distributed through many outlets including Fresh n'Easy, Sprouts, Warehouse Vitamins, Wegmans and Whole Foods. There are many more health conscious stores available and you can check out locations by state.

For those who want the convenience of the Internet, you can purchase Dr. Kracker's Krackers on Amazon and Green Shopper.com.

Let me know what you think. I'm curious to see if you like them as much as Norm and I do.

Culinarily yours,

Maralyn D. Hill, President

The perks? The Pillow Gifts! For the product research of course . . .

Each evening on our recent IFWTWA "Conference at Sea," aboard the ms Oosterdam, we would return to our cabin to find another delightful surprise on our pillows!

While waiting for my flight home in San Diego I had time to enjoy some of my goodies. The Whole Dried Peach Wedges from Stoneridge Orchards became one of my favorites as soon as I opened the package. Ok, I come from the land of fruits and nuts-literally (Oregon) so I know good fruit, but popping one of these slices into your mouth becomes a revelation. They taste like peaches! Not desiccant. Rich, ripe peaches. And you can't stop eating them. . .

As the back of the packages states, Stoneridge Orchards a Skylar/Haley product, brings you "the best tasting, all natural gourmet dried fruit and berries that nature has to offer." They also produce dried cranberries,and berry products sourced right here in the Pacific Northwest.

I checked their website at www.stoneridgeorchards.com and the dried fruit is available at Wegman's, Costco, Sam's Clubs, Albertson's and BJ's Club among others. I encourage you to pick some up. The taste and quality are that different. It smells like concentrated fruit. A perfect, healthy snack and I'm hooked.

I settled into my airplane seat and savored another wedge. If a peach can be described as having a perfumed odour - I'll have to say this dried fruit does.
Yummy research all the way to Portland. What a great job I have!