As I look out the window, I see the wing rise, bending higher than the top of the fuselage into the sky. It is indeed a modern miracle.

A long time ago, I remember my father coming home with an interesting, stiff fiber that was sort of intertwined—woven yet very stiff. He cautioned me to be very careful, indicating that it could easily pierce the skin and even a finger. I quickly handed it back to him. He explained, as best as I can remember, that this was an amazing new fiber that could be as strong as steel but flexible. It was beyond my young mind to understand, but I do remember that it could easily pierce my finger!

If you didn't know, the 787 is a composite carbon fiber plane. The fuselage and the wing are made of this miracle material. What does it mean for you as a passenger? In the end, a smoother ride, lower cabin pressure, which is better for your head, larger windows, and windows that dim to make you think it's nighttime. Okay, the windows dimming aren't related to the carbon fiber, but it's still a very cool feature.

Leaving out of Seattle has its challenges, like some of the longest lines for cars, security, and not-so-great food prepared for the plane.

It wasn't always this way. I remember in the '80s, or was it the early '90s, when I met and toured the kitchens with the Chef for Alaska Airlines.

The Chef had been brought in to make food a "feature" to attract more customers, and for many years, he created some amazing meals, all for the plane.

Every passenger on board had the choice of protein like a gorgeous steak, salmon, or chicken, all served with metal utensils. It was indeed a meal worth eating. In fact, you would look forward to it, or as intended, book a flight on Alaska just because the food was great!

It was truly a feat of the kitchen. The amount of money spent was tiny for the flavor-rich tastes you would get! For just a few dollars, the Chef was able to create a memorable meal.

Sadly, cost-cutting has removed good food from domestic flying.

Some countries just have great food on their flagship carriers, especially when leaving from their respective home base. Traveling internationally and seeking out great food on the plane is worth it to me.

Today, it is important to bring snacks on the plane (I think there is a movie by that name—Snacks on the Plane). I try to remember to bring something savory (read: salt), crunchy (not too loud), and sweet. And, of course, chocolate.

The question is: how good? The beauty of Peanut M&M's are that they're like dinner and dessert in a single bite. Peanuts are legumes (dinner) and chocolate has properties to keep airplane diseases away, act as an anti-platelet to help with circulation, increase HDL while decreasing LDL, and provide polyphenols to prevent DNA damage or, as I like to call it, dessert. (Maybe the cocoa in the M&M's might not have these properties.)

Sometimes, though, as satisfying as M&M's can be, good chocolate is way more fulfilling! On my recent trip, I took half a pound of Cru Sauvage just in case the unusual treats I was seeking didn't satisfy the craving that was bound to happen.

None of the Cru Sauvage returned to the states....

Click Here To See Everything Featured in This Newsletter!

I have been remiss to mention any recipe with cocoa powder. We still have no idea if and when we will see our cocoa powder again. Food is funny. We get attached to a flavor and it is hard to change!

This recipe is the best. Easy to make, impossible to not make it perfect!

And it is chocolate, after all. My summertime version includes ice cream and maybe blueberries.

With just four ingredients, the only skill you need is mixing (and a little melting) to make this drop dead delicious cake!

See the Easy Best Chocolate Cake Recipe here!

These are made for their amazing combination of ingredients to make a chocolatey, crunchy hazelnut cookie divine! Just because they don't have flour in them doesn't mean they can't be unbelievable!

These crunch-filled Chocolate Hazelnut cookies are to die for. Well, perhaps not quite that far, but they are pretty gosh darn good!

Open the package and you instantly get a sweet whiff of cocoa and hazelnut! Perfectly lovely! The bite has a nice crispness to it, and as you chew, you get crunchy bites of hazelnut bits.

I find these flourless chocolate hazelnut cookies hard to resist. Eat them with contentment.

Different from flour-based cookies, the crunch and the bite are a great experience. If you like crunchy and chocolate cookies, these are fabulous!

Raise your expectations to a new plane, and you will be happy and filled with hazelnuts and dark chocolate!

Shop now for Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies!

These taste the best right out of the bag—crunchy, sweet, and filled with WOW!

If you have never tried caramelized cocoa nibs, you should.

Candied cocoa nibs are sweet and not as bitter as regular cocoa nibs because they've been rolled in sugar and then baked. Yum!

These candied cocoa nibs can be added to any kind of dough or shortbread, baked in cakes, sponges, or used in praline fillings, and on ice cream. Or, just eat them right out of the bag—that is what I do! Try them and have fun!

Think of baked cakes, biscuits. Add texture to pralines, fillings, ice creams, chocolate bars, florentines and hazelnut biscuits. Decorate desserts, pastries, tortes and pralines/chocolates.

Shop now for Caramelized Cocoa Nibs!

These crushed light cookie flakes are a joy to eat! The crunch is a good munch and so light that topping whipped cream is perfection!

Add these buttery, toasty-sweet shards to ganache, frostings and truffles for a super crunch.

Called for in classic French recipes, these pastry flakes are a common ingredient when making Praline Feuillete or filling for Praline.

Shop now for Feuilletine Flakes - Pastry Crunch!

Eating Feuilletine Flakes by the handful is like the best cookie ever, but not quite. By adding luxurious hazelnut creme from Andrea Slitti and a bunch of fabulous chocolate, you get a cookie that has just about everything you might want, since it is like a great candy bar!

See the Feuilletine Flakes Hazelnut Creme Cookie Recipe here!

This favorite chocolate and hazelnut cream spread is so crazy good, all you need is a spoon to consume it straight from the jar. And if you have any left, you can also use it in baking, sandwiches, topping a cookie, and making candy.

Try a little with a spoon and you will find it thicker than you might expect. Hot weather, of course, will soften the spread, and in the reverse, cold will firm it up. It is so good you won't care!

It is so good that when you do add it to something like your favorite banana bread, it is totally transformed!

Just don't have it in you to bake right now? All you need is a spoon with this Hazelnut Creme!

Shop now for Slitti Nocciolata Hazelnut Creme!

A wonderfully fragrant dried coconut. These huge flakes are what professional bakers call "wide cut" and while they are great for decoration and baking, they also work well in savory recipes. These flakes have absolutely nothing added, no sugar and no preservatives.

Shop now for Dried Unsweetened Coconut - Wide Cut!

Ok, so probably a million calories when you eat the whole thing yourself...yet even with that knowledge I still make it once a year. Now seems like the right time.

Take this recipe from the label (Bordens Eagle Brand of sweetened condensed milk) and change out the graham crackers with any of the Effie's Biscuits and make it much better. You can also mix Effie's Biscuits with the graham crackers and still get the flavor, plus the extra crunch. The Pecan Cakes are perfect; the Oatcakes are always great to crumble on a fruit crisp, and the Cocoa Cakes work perfectly with chocolate recipes.

See the easy Magic 7 Layer Cookie Basic Recipe here!

I had the best risotto in a restaurant that I can remember, a couple of weeks ago in New York and it reminded me how wonderful risotto is!

When it is done right, adding all sorts of additional ingredients makes it a fun dish.

For me the best part of making risotto is the process. The methodical stirring is calming and good for the brain.

It is easy to make, and if you want to make it perfect then you have to take your time! And that's a good thing.

See the Risotto with Zucchini Recipe here!

Delicate without adding a flavor, rice bran oil just may be the world's healthiest edible oil. Rice bran oil comes from the most nutritious part of the rice grain, loaded with monounsaturated fats & polyunsaturated fats, as well as vitamin E. These are the good fats that help your body lose weight.

Which means that Non-GMO rice bran oil is not only nutritious, but a superior salad, cooking, baking and frying oil that leaves no lingering aftertaste.

Use this oil in place of rapeseed/canola and vegetable/soy bean oil for a much cleaner taste.

Shop now for Rice Bran Oil!

Goes with the recipe below.

See the Lentil Pate with Bell Pepper Piperade Recipe here!

Goes with the Lentil recipe above.

See the Sweet Pepper Piperade Recipe here!

Adapted from How to Cook Everything, The Basics: All You Need to Make Great Food, by Mark Bittman. This is a good cookbook to have in your library, it has almost everything in it.

See the Chicken Stew with Garlic Recipe here!

One of the most popular garlics of the porcelain hardneck variety. Music hardneck garlic features typically large cloves that are easy to peel and easy to use. Whether you smoosh, crush or slice thin to make the perfect sauce or marinade, one clove is the perfect size.

Less in your face with heat and spice than other porcelain hardnecks, don't be fooled as this Music sings the song of potent garlic flavor!

From Rock and Roll to Country to Jazz, we love our Music!

Fresh, organic Music hardneck garlic is the least hot of the porcelain garlic varieties. The large bulbs have a sweet flavor when baked. Eaten raw, they have a very hot, spicy flavor.

Shop now for Music Organic Garlic here!