Stonewall Kitchen Onion and Garlic Jam and ‘wichcraft’s Tomato Relish turn sandwiches like grilled cheese or turkey into a restaurant inspired feast. Throw in a Panini maker and she feels as if she could hang out a sandwich making shingle.

A drizzle of Crema di Balsimico – concentrated balsamic vinegar – stands in for a salad dressing, tops bruschetta, adds some zing to a frozen pizza and even creates an over the top ice cream topper when mashed with a few berries.

And her new favorite find? Rare Bird Preserves’ Chocolate Cherry is perfect on toast, a croissant, or any kind of a nut butter sandwich. It’s such a fabulous find that it’s become Girlawhirl’s new favorite hostess gift.

Small and deeply orange in color, with hardly any seeds, the Sugar Belle is the perfect mix of sweet and tart, and packs a tangy punch. It’s been in development at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences since 1985 when plant breeder Fred Gmitter found a single tree with what he described as, “The best citrus I’d ever eaten in my life.”

He used that tree to begin work on the Sugar Belle, which continues to be met with sweet success. Growers report that, “Every time we’ve tested it with different groups, it’s been wildly popular.”

Girlawhirl agrees wholeheartedly, and is happy to hear that because this particular variety of fruit matures quickly, it’s becoming more readily available at her local grocery stores.

The “adventure” part adds a fun twist. There is a list of 16 Adventure Ingredients – ginger, raw honey, peanut butter, papaya, cumin, paprika among others, one or more of which need to be incorporated into the recipe.

Girlawhirl’s recipe is almost perfected…

Get the full details online at chocolateadventurecontest.com. And hurry – recipes must be submitted by 1/3/10!

One thing she does have time for is puff pastry because she can buy it frozen, thaw it and then use it for so many things that end up fabulous. Whether it’s Ina Garten’s Ham and Cheese in Puff Pastry for a cocktail party or Claire Robinson’s French Onion Tart that she can make on a Sunday afternoon and enjoy with soup or a salad for many meals throughout the week, or even cinnamon-sugar twists to eat with her morning coffee, Girlawhirl’s determined to tackle puff pastry.

How hard can it be to roll into the shape she needs and bake? As a child Girlawhirl rolled dough plenty of times, and she even has an old rolling pin in the back of her cupboard, behind her pots and pans. But these days, when it comes to rolling, Girlawhirl’s tiny apartment is a detriment. Yes, there’s one piece of countertop that’s big enough to roll her pastry on, but she’d never just sprinkle on some flour and go. In her over-100-year-old building, there’s a good chance the counter’s older than she is, and quite frankly, clean up would be a nightmare.

Undeterred, Girlawhirl found the solution in a rolling mat. Made of silicone so dough won’t stick to it, and big enough so that there’s plenty of room for a generous sprinkle of flour to settle in around the dough, Girlawhirl can practice with all kinds of shapes and sizes of puff pastry. Inches marked out on the edges keep her on track when she’s making squares and rectangles, and when she’s ready to graduate to pie or pizza dough there are circular templates sketched out on the mat. And clean up is easy as can be – she just shakes off the excess flour into the sink, washes the mat and she’s done.

Girlawhirl found her Non-stick Rolling Mat online at KingArthurFlour.com. There’s also one that comes in a set with a Rolling Pin.