Roots Celebrating A Renovated Grocery -- Specials, Samples To Sell My Wife Spices

La Pasta's ravioli pan-fried by Mrs. HowChow

Roots Market in Clarksville is celebrated a renovated store with a "re-grand opening" that runs all week.

They packed the place with specials and samples, reports Mrs. HowChow.  She often jokes that she'll buy anything that she samples.  Yesterday, it was pan-fried ravioli made by La Pasta in Silver Spring.

Her shopping list

Mrs. HowChow watched a demonstration, crunched some ravioli and came with pasta, garlic sauce and rosemary.  We chowed for dinner last night -- double-chowed because I had also picked up a pizza dough with Lil' Chow as we wandered around after a long stint at the Korean Society of Maryland festival.

Roots has grown on Mrs. HowChow.  She didn't feel it when we first started hanging around Clarksville.  Mostly, she went for Roots' guacamole.  But now she loves it for snacks, drinks, fruit and prepared foods. 

I think Roots does a really nice job.  We seem to end up at Whole Foods often these days, often because we love the lakefront and grass to run Lil' Chow.  But I  enjoy Roots for everything that Mrs. HowChow buys plus produce, cheeses, and interesting brands of crackers, spreads, etc.  When I need help on dinner, I need to think more about Roots' expanded prepared foods.  Anyone in the western part of the county should give the store a shot.

Click here for all of the Roots specials that run through September 27.  They also posted the list of samples and tastings, which run all week but group today and next weekend.

Ancho Squash Chili Hits The Spot At Roots; Part Of Their Expanded Prepared Food Display

Ancho Squash Chili at Roots

Take my advice knowing that I'm no chili purist, but I really enjoyed a new Roots prepared chili made with squash and ancho peppers.

Again, I'm no purist.  Barbecue and chili tend to kick up comment wars about whether chili can truly have anything but tomatoes and meat.

Prepared foods at Roots

Of course Roots' chili can't have meat.  They serve some, I think.  But the Roots-Great Sage complex in Clarksville is certainly built on the idea of good tasting vegetarian and often vegan dishes.

Roots' ancho squash chili really felt like chili to me.  The right texture -- where it is thick enough not to be stew, but chunky enough to be more than sauce.  I wouldn't have ever guessed it was based on squash.  The lead flavor is that ancho chili, smoky and lightly spicy.  Roots has created an entire kitchen to make prepared foods, and this qualified as a restaurant-quality meal that filled us both with a few slices of bread on the side.

Roots seems to be expanding its prepared food offerings.  I hadn't seen the guacamole and soup section next to the salad bar.  Now they have prepared foods in several refrigerated sections -- sandwiches, quesadillas, soups, and more.  Over recent years, they have added more breads and baked sweets.

I assume it's a smart move to differentiate from Whole Foods.  The new Columbia store must be affecting the organic groceries and other stores.  Roots' prepared items -- including that guacamole -- make it a great stop for quick eats, and it certainly keeps the stores from becoming just competitors selling the same national brands.

What other prepared foods do people recommend at Roots?  We tried some beet hummus.  Lil' Chow didn't take to it immediately, and I cringe at the idea of beet anything when I see the food dropped, thrown and smeared in our kitchen.  But Roots is a great resource in the south county.

Spectacular Lemonade At Roots: Jazzing Up With Fruit And Flavors To Refresh Your Summer

I'm a water-drinker.  The fads of flavors and teas left me unimpressed.  But Roots has captured me with lemonades that are worth the splurge.

Mint-lime.  Wheatgrass-ginger-lemon.  Strawberry-basil.  These are Roots house brand made into 16-ounce bottles that go for about $2.  They're full of flavor, done nicely where strong tastes like ginger or basil are measured nicely so that they're energizing, not overwhelming. They're a great reason to check out the Clarksville organic grocery store.

If you go to Roots, check all my posts.  But definitely check out their guacamole.  I'll hold Mrs. HowChow's guacamole over anything, but you can't beat the convenience of Roots' fresh-made version.  They buy great avocados, and that has always been tough for me.

Corn Nuts & Popcorn: The Easiest Gourmet Appetizer You Can Make; Pick It All Up At Roots

Thank Roots that you can make the easiest gourmet appetizer that I have ever seen.

At Cuba de Ayer in Philadelphia, they serve a delicious snack made of popcorn and corn nuts.  Two kinds of crunchy.  Two kinds of salty.  It's a terrific dish that Mrs. HowChow recreated from Roots Market in Clarksville.

They sell a bunch of gourmet popcorns.  Or you could make your own.  And they also sell corn nuts in their house-brand package section.  They sell all kinds of sweet and savory snacks in Roots brand packages. The corn nuts are quite good, and Mrs. HowChow mixed them up Wednesday night while I grilled vegetables.

What I Did On Summer Vacation #2: Guacamole, Kabobs, Cotton Candy And Other Comfort Foods

Guacamole from Roots Market in Clarksville

The guacamole from Roots in Clarksville feels like the flavor of our summer.

It's pricey, but it's worth every penny because it is always delicious.  The chipotle version makes a nice variation, but we keep coming back to the plain guacamole with a bag of Nana's Cocina tortilla chips thrown in the cart as well.  Fresh, zesty, seriously-filling as a snack or a meal.

You can just dip the chips.  You can zest up even a quesadilla made with pedestrian tortillas and cheese.  You can throw a party from Roots' refrigerator with their guacamole, a Cava hummus, and some chips to accompany them.  The only key is that you press plastic wrap if you're putting some back in the fridge to keep the avocado from turning brown -- and that you keep modern guacamole out of your Old El Paso tacos if you're trying to recreate the 1970s.

On top of the guac, we picked up a few other items this summer to make life fun:

Cotton candy at Sweet Treats

• Cotton candy from the Sweet Treats stand in Columbia Mall.  My mother and aunt love cotton candy.  Sugar-drunk from a visit to the Jersey Shore, they took the position that you couldn't get great cotton candy around here.  So Mrs. HowChow took eight bags to my parents' house.  Instant fun to make plates with the four flavors, and the ladies conceded that the mall's candy was top notch.
• Comfort food at Maiwand Kabob.  We took tennis lessons at Cedar Lane Park, and we relished the ease of chicken kabobs, a gyro and the pumpkin appetizer at the Afghan restaurant in the Harper's Choice village center.  That's eating for the day, and the flavors truly make this one of my favorite restaurants in Howard County.
• Oysters at Wegmans.  They may not be your cup of tea, but a slurp of salt water can make an easy meal.  I picked up a dozen oysters at Wegmans after one of their seafood folks enticed me with samples of two types.  I got several of each and taste-tested with the '34 Act Gourmet.  They sold trays already opened, or you can get a knife and shuck them yourself.  I got my short, strong knife at Frank's Seafood in Jessup, which sells similarly-delicious oysters.

Oysters at Wegmans

"Curd & Oats" - Mrs. HowChow's Nursery Rhyme

Oatcakes from Roots, tangerine ginger curd from The Breadery

Little Miss HowChow sat on her tuffet
Eating her curd and oats
Along came a spider and sat down beside her
And frightened Miss HowChow away . . . 

. . . except Mrs. HowChow took the oatcakes and the tangerine ginger curd with her.  They're just too delicious to abandon to insects.

We ate one final Sunday night dinner at the neighborhood pool, and Mrs. HowChow assembled dessert from some of the treats that she has discovered this summer.

The house-brand lemon sorbet from Wegmans.  Effie's oatcakes from Roots in Clarksville.  And a tangerine spread that she picked up at The Breadery in Oella.  These are all finds that Mrs. HowChow made as we shopped around this summer.

The Wegmans sorbets are all delicious.  But it's oatcakes that are actually better than they sound.  They're a lightly-sweet cracker or a mildly-oaty cookie.  Either way, they're delicious, and they pair perfectly with the tangerine curd -- a creamy spread almost the consistency of frosting, but strong with the taste of citrus.

They'd be great if you were assembling a picnic one weekend.  Maybe if you head off to Larriland Farm in Woodbine to pick apples and pumpkins.  Just watch out for spiders . . .

A Revolution In Bread In Howard County

Sourdough from The Breadery

In the last year or so, Howard County's simplest food has gotten way more complex -- and way more interesting if you like a crunchy crust.

We're talking about bread.  Years ago, I posted about bakeries in Howard County, and bread merited a single paragraph -- Bonaparte Bakery in Savage with side notes about the whole grain loaves at The Breadery then on Rte 40 and other people's love of Great Harvest in Columbia.

But a quiet revolution has truly changed your options -- new places, new flavors, novel spots where you can stop for fresh, exciting bread:

• Wegmans in Columbia.  This is the flashy new spot of 2012.  The bakery sits right inside the front door, and we fill bags with baguettes, rolls and other goodies.  The rolls are our new staple.  I buy eight or 10 at a time, and I freeze them two to a bag.  They're perfect to thaw for sandwiches or just to accompany dinner.
• The Breadery that relocated to Oella last summer.  An easy drive from Main Street in Ellicott City, and you can enjoy their long-standing line of whole grain loaves, along with crusty offerings like baguettes, sourdough, flat breads topped with cheese and vegetables, and the best hot dog buns that you'll ever find.



Loaves from the new Roots bakery

• Roots Market in Clarksville.  The Roots folks started a bakeshop this spring that does sweets to savory, and they now fill their displays with their own loaves -- sourdough, Russian black bread, a harvest bread coated with crunchy seeds.  We sliced ciabatta for almost every meal last weekend.

Bonaparte continues to make Savage Mill a wonderful place to stop for simple like baguettes or fantastic like the rosemary lemon bread.  The revolution is that almost every corner of the county now has bakers pushing similar excellence.

Soft sandwich breads or crusty loaves.  Simple rolls or dinner party centerpieces.  Whatever you like,  you can expect to eat something make with care and an eye on flavor, texture and fun.

The change has been so great that you have stil more hidden options for quality bread.  The Bagel Bins in Clarksville and Columbia often offer challah on Fridays.  The Shrine of St. Anthony in Clarksville sells rye and other varieties baked by Trappist monks in New York State.  And the Bon Fresco Sandwich Bakery in Columbia offers up focaccia and baguettes along with their spectacular sandwiches.

This is the gradual innovation that makes a place special.  Four great bakeries.  The specialist options -- topped off with loaves you can buy at Mom's Organic Market in Jessup or at one of the farmers markets.  Soon, the county has begun a place where you can expect to eat well and people stop saying "It's all chain restaurants and Safeway."  You can be a little proud and eat near home.

Don't forget the pretzel rolls.  That's an early Wegmans find.  Click here for all the posts about bread.

Best Ethiopian Food In Howard County

Ethiopian takeout at Roots Market

It's just Ethiopian food.  No one has opened an Ethiopian restaurant in Howard County.  But Roots Market has imported the food from Silver Spring.

The Clarksville grocer stocked a half dozen dishes cooked by the Gete Restaurant when we came through the prepared foods section on Thursday.  One with green beans and carrots.  One with greens.  One with beets and potatoes.  Two varieties of lentils.

They're all delicious.  The deep, but mild flavors that make Ethiopian so interesting.  They're all vegetable stews, although the pureed lentils were a contrast -- intensely spicy.  We bought the whole lentils.  For $8, we each got large scoops at two meals.  For $25, you could create a three-dish dinner that would easily serve four people.

Roots curates a pretty good wall of prepared foods.  Mrs. HowChow can't roll through without a container of the guacamole.  They deploy those "tasting" stations that always reel us in.  I only bought Gete's food because I tried the greens and thought they were outstanding -- the perfect texture of tender, but still something to bite.

We also ended up with Effie's Oatcakes, a last-minute trap laid at the checkout and baited with these cookie-crackers that taste of oats, butter, and a dash of salt.  Not Ethiopian, but worth picking up as well.

If you want an Ethiopian restaurant, you just need to go one exit outside the county -- Soretti's on Rte 198 in Burtonsville.  Soretti's has become a nice, casual restaurant.  It opened years ago as a cofee shop, but now it is strictly lunch and dinner.

Roots Throwing A Party This Weekend -- Cheese!

Roots Market in Clarksville is throwing its 12th birthday party this weekend.  They have discounts from Saturday to Monday -- with cheese kicking off with 15% off on Saturday.  I do love the mini cheeses on the salad bar.

Small Cheeses At Roots Market -- Special Chunks On The Salad Bar Make An Easy Cheese Plate

Cheeses from Roots, paired with green tomato pickles and spicy tomato jam

I went into Roots Market Saturday looking for vegetables, but I came out with an entire cheese plate of surprises.

Walking past the salad bar, I saw a section filled with small pieces of cheese wrapped in plastic.  Roots in Clarksville has long been one of my favorite places for cheese, but this innovation changed my plans for dinner.  Each piece was $2-4, and I quickly sorted out three varieties that seemed to go together.

Small cheeses on the salad bar

I actually got advice from Roots' cheese specialist who was going off work, but stopped to recommend varieties.  She talked up one that had mustard.  She said she had cut pieces so that people could sample.

I'm in!  Three small cheeses meant big, easy fun.  I put them on a platter with spicy tomato jam that I canned last fall and thin-sliced green tomato pickles.  Three of us sat on the patio with crackers and enjoyed the warm, dry evening while the vegetables grilled.  That's Somederale Red Dragon, Petit Basque and Cotswold -- all winners.

The small cheeses will bring me back to Roots' salad bar.  I'm happy to spend money on great cheese, but you could drop $20 on three cheeses -- and then have way more than you could eat in any reasonable time.  The small cheeses were perfect for a single plate -- and keep an eye out for the Un Mondo chorizo at Roots as well. 

Roots Is Opening A (Vegan?) Bakery

Roots Market in Clarksville appears to be opening a new bakery so they can make breads, cookies and other sweets for their markets.  There is a new Web page.  The page says they're developing vegan recipes, but I'm not sure whether to assume everything will be vegan.  Anyone know?

Hat tip to Anastasia who posted a link on the HowChow Facebook page.

Hot Pepper Lemonade, Seriously: Prometheus Springs Pomegranate Black Pepper At Roots

Prometheus Springs hot-pepper-extract drinks

The Prometheus Springs lemonade actually delivers the spice, which I have to admit that I didn't really expect.

I grabbed the Prometheus Springs drink on a whim from Roots' cold beverage cooler.  The bottle promised pomegranate black pepper flavor and capsaicin spice.  That's the natural chemical in chili peppers, the one that gives them their bite.

Imagine a light lemonade with the aftertaste -- but just a tingle -- of hot peppers.  That's what they're selling there.  I guess there was a touch of black pepper and the sweetness of pomegranate, but the success here is that they measured in just enough hot pepper flavor to turn on my taste buds without turning me off.  It's refreshing and fun -- and a surprise in an era when all kinds of drinks promise something unique yet taste like everything else.

Prometheus Springs calls this a "flavored drink."  It's really a lemonade with the main ingredients being water, sugar and lemon juice.  Prometheus makes those vague health claims required of products at an organic market.  Mostly, I thought it was fun flavor.

Roots Market in Clarksville sells other flavors with mango, lemon and wasabi.  The bottle suggests pairing them with gourmet food, and that has me interesting.  A shot of Prometheus Springs and ice cream for dessert?

Breadery's Sourdough Bread At Roots

The Breadery has abandoned us for Catonsville, but it is still sending good loaves back to Howard County.

I grabbed a sourdough loaf at Roots in Clarksville, and I have to admit that it broke my stereotypes.  It's a light, crisp bread.  I'm a sucker for loaves with that contrast between the crust and a soft inside.  I've always thought of Breadery as heavier, whole grain loaves.  The sourdough broke that mold, and it made a delicious sandwich with tomato, greens, and some prosciutto that I crisped in a pan.

If you want to try your own hand at great bread, check out the no-knead recipes by Jim Lahey.

Tart Cherry Pie From Lovebirds

Pies impress me when they taste like fruit, and the miniature tart cherry pie from Lovebirds delivers the most-interesting experience: I almost didn't notice the filing.

I noticed the cherries.  They're firm and nicely sweet and tart at the same time.  But I almost didn't notice the jellied filling -- the gelatinous downfall of most pies crammed with more sugar than fruit.

With the Lovebirds pie, the filling is a mild background that tastes like fruit.  Most of the dessert is spearing those firm cherries and slicing up a flakey crust.  The crust is superb.  Supermarket crusts may be as good as the ones that I have made, but Lovebirds gets layers and that dry, but not dried out texture.

I have seen Lovebirds recently at Gorman Produce Farm in Laurel and Roots in Clarksville.   I'd look at David's Natural Market in Columbia, because they sold there last year as well.  Last year, RDAdoc bought us a maple apple, which  also came through like a homemade dessert from a talented friend.

These are a splurge -- $8 for a pie with four small slices at Roots, maybe a few dollars less at Gorman.  But they're worth way more than some giant pies that I have bought and never finished.

Anyone know these Love Birds people?  No contact information on the package, but they say that they're baked in Howard County.

Guacamole Takeout At Root's Market

The avocado forest on the side of my house was proof that Root's Market makes its guacamole by hand.

The Clarksville market generally displays plastic containers of bright green guacamole in the prepared food sections.  They were tasting it Saturday, and we got swept up in the fun.

I know that it's made in the store because I have carried Root's vegetable trash to my compost heap.  Once, I got bags of avocado skins and pits.  The remnants clearly showed they were making guacamole, and those remnants sprouted into a late-season grove of shiny avocado plants.  Too bad they can't survive a Maryland winter.

You'll need to go to Root's since you can't grow your own.  There is salt and a little tomato.  But the dip is mostly thick avocado, left just chunky enough and worth $5-6 for a half-pound container.  You'd spend almost that much on enough avocados to fill a bowl, and you can eat Root's dip tonight -- a big point because supermarket avocados are always a few days from being ripe.  Honestly, it would make dinner with some chips or wrapped into soft tacos.  Don't you deserve an easy night?

If you have leftover, cover the guacamole in plastic wrap.  The top layer changes color, but the guacamole that we bought Saturday was still fresh for dinner Monday.  Click here for all the posts about Roots in Clarksville.

Un Mondo Chorizo At Roots Market

At the groceries that sell healthy food, I'm always looking for the items that will taste delicious.

I got to Roots for the good stuff -- vegetables, Michelle's granola, and bulk grains.  So I'm justified to grab chorizo from the display right near the checkout.

Un Mondo chorizo has the taste of spices and fat.  It's a pork sausage that we sliced onto a antipasto plate with cheese, marinated vegetables and pickled eggs.

The chorizo was unctuous and tasty, but not oily at all.  Slivers of rich flavor that contrasted beautifully with cauliflower brined in vinegar and rice crackers dusted with seaweed.  A great example of how you can make a meal of flavor from a handful of meat.

Roots Market Aiming To Re-Open August 19

Roots Market is aiming to open Thursday, August 19, according to the latest word on the company's Facebook page.  The Clarksville store had a minor fire over the weekend.

Reports Of A Fire At Roots Market In Clarksville

Roots Markets in Clarksville apparently had a small fire and will be closed until Wednesday, according to the company's Facebook page.

Not a lot of details.  It was early Sunday, according to gussika.  David Bittner tweeted about an electrical fire in a light fixture with smoke and water damage.  I will update as I hear more.

So many possible jokes about smoked cheeses.  But a fire is tough for any business, and I hope that the Roots folks can get themselves back open as soon as possible.

If you hear anything about when Roots will be closed or open, please comment below and/or email me.  I would love to publicize their situation.  If you're interested in fire departments, check out Doug Walton's unofficial Howard County fire blog or the Statter911 national blog.

Michele's Granola At All Our Organic Markets

Breakfast advice from Mrs. HowChow -- Michele's granola and some Greek yogurt.

This is the combination that has changed mornings here in Casa del HowChows.  For years, breakfast was basically the orange juice that I deliver in the morning.  Then we went to Montreal where she ate yogurt and granola in the hotel.  It reminded her of all the simple breakfasts she has enjoyed while travelling, and she decided to bring that experience home

The local option was Michele's granola, a Baltimore brand that Mrs. HowChow found in Whole Foods.  She topped her bowls with the Fage Greek yogurt.  It's a cool, sweet, crunchy breakfast, and it has inspired her to keep it up.  The granola is the key, Mrs. HowChow says.  Small packages that stay fresh.  Big chunks of granola.  She says it's like they bake trays of granola, then break it into the bag.

Have you noticed that I don't have a lot of opinions here?  She loves this stuff.  I don't want to get between a woman and her infatuation.  From my snacking, I'm impressed at how fresh the Michele's tastes.  The oats are right up front, then nuts and fruit (at least in the cinnamon raisin we have in the pantry).  Right now, Mrs. HowChow wants bags of the original flavor.  The cherry chocolate doubles as a dessert, and the ginger is her variation.  For right now, she doesn't buy pumpkin spice and the cinnamon raisin, although she thinks they might be flavors for fall.

I have seen Michele's at all the local organic markets -- Roots in Clarksville, David's Natural Market in Columbia, and Mom's Organic in Jessup.  Roots was definitely cheaper than Whole Foods, which makes a difference because this stuff runs about $6 for a 12-ounce bag.  For the record, Kristi talked up Michele's when I wrote about Greek yogurt last week.

Fage Greek Yogurt - With Honey - At Many Stores

Fage Greek yogurt is fast becoming the breakfast of choice for the sweet tooth in the HowChow household.

Fage is one of many brands pushing new variations on old fashioned yogurt.  Greek yogurts tend to be thicker, often made with cream and milk, and often fewer unprounceable ingredients.

Fage meets those standards. The yogurt is made from nothing more than milk, cream and active cultures.  Then, Fage adds honey.  Or it adds a little container of honey next to the container of yogort.  You spoon the honey on top, and it's creamier, sweeter and more natural than the supermarket brands that you grew up on.

It's also more expensive.  Pushing $2 each.  But that's a small price to pay if it actually gets you to eat breakfast in the morning.

You can find Fage at many stores.  I bought at Harris Teeter in Fulton and Columbia, Roots in Clarksville, and Whole Foods in Baltimore.  (Update: Comment below says some Giants and Safeways have Fage as well.)  We found more varieties as the store got more expensive -- two or three at Harris Teeter, a half dozen at Roots and then all those varieties plus the ellusive chery at Whole Foods.

(Update: Check the comments for a yogurt recipe and several other options.  I thought yesterday's yellow peppers were a great find, but the local passion seems to focus on yogurt!  As always, thanks for the comments.)