Harris & Clark

Interview with Heather Swanepoel, founder of “rinse bath & body”


Tell me about the upcoming Food School you are hosting?
We will all be making cleansers, astringents and masks for normal, oily, dry and experienced skin. We will include ingredients that you can easily find in your kitchen cupboard; or as I call it, “Food for and on your face”. These items may include avocados, bananas, oatmeal, honey, peppermint oil, lavender oil, extra virgin olive oil, pineapples and papayas. One example I’m thinking of: making a cleanser that would consist of oatmeal and honey to form a paste. Another idea I had was to teach the participants how to make a rose petal steam facial and a rose water astringent. The goal is to demonstrate the importance of how what you eat and drink can affect your skin. If I would not eat it, I would not put it on my skin. I would like the class to make some samples according to their skin type, use it when they get home and reap the benefits. They will also receive a list of ingredients, helpful hints and recipes to take home with them……..all natural recipes, of course.

What is a key important skin care habit?
Think of it as going back to basics to look better longer. When using chemically treated cosmetics, once you stop using the artificial ingredients, your progress will eventually revert back. With rinse bath & body’s special blend of ingredients, your skin will maintain all improvements naturally. After all, your skin is your biggest organ and you want to take good care of it.

Tell me about your most popular “rinse” product?
Dead Sea Mud Soap: Cocoa and Shea butter, extra virgin olive oil, almond oil, coconut oil, mud from Israel, spearmint oil and lavender oil. This soap is so wonderful that many customers use it to treat their eczema, rosacea, and psoriasis.

Any new products that we should be on the lookout for?
Dry Masks:
Oatbrasion: Colloidal oatmeal, honey powder, powdered pumice….great for exfoliating and moisturizing.
Dead Sea Clay Mask: this will have bentonite clay which will pull out impurities without over-stripping your skin and at the same time still replenish it with moisture.
These masks can be mixed with a tablespoon the following liquids based on your skin type:
Yogurt (for dry skin), milk-(for normal skin), and tomato juice or witch-hazel (for oily skin).

Anything else on the horizon?
Premade salt scrubs, new skin sticks and lip balms that consist of coffee butter and chocolate. They smell absolutely delicious! I’m also working on a travel pack. Perfect for when you’re on the road.

Heather is about to celebrate the “rinse bath & body” 5 year anniversary. She is proud that she still personally makes all of her products and that the soaps are hand poured and packaged. To make a reservation for the “rinse bath & body” Food School on Sunday, June 1st please call Harris & Clark, 770.463.6000. You can also visit Heather’s website at www.rinsesoap.com

Posted by: Julia Hurwitz

Gourmet entrepreneur is just one of Diane Pfeifer’s titles, creator of GRITS BITS Baked Snack Biscuits. Diane’s job descriptions do not stop at Grits gourmet girl, she also written many fun vegetarian cookbooks and has been a backup singer for Tammy Wynette and other famous song writer/vocalists. So why grits? Put a little southern in your mouth? These bite sized snack biscuits are baked with GRITS which come in 4 different flavors. These flavors include, Cheddar Cheese, Vidalia Onion Cheese, Jalapeno and Sweet Butter Cream. There is a nice sharp cheddar flavor to the Cheddar Cheese Biscuits. You could almost crumble them over chili or add them to your next batch of cinnamon apples. Each flavor had a wonderful consistency of grits bits in them. I felt like I could really taste the cornmeal. I also compliment the sweetness in the Vidalia Onion Cheese Biscuits. These biscuits would be great as a lamb crust or substituting it for bread crumbs when dredging your next white fish filet or chicken breast. Hmmmmmm……You can also pick up Diane’s “Gone with the Grits” cookbook which was featured on CNN and Southern Living. To purchase GRITS BITS, please feel free to stop by the Harris & Clark store or visit Diane at her site www.gritsbits.com.
“Warmest Grit-tings!”

Posted by Julia Hurwitz

Come join us for a FREE cheese tasting this Sunday, May 4th in front of Harris & Clark store. We will be showcasing over 8 different cheeses. You can’t miss this event. Bring your palette, a friend and come celebrate May Fest nibbling on wonderful local cheeses being served from 1:00pm to 5:00pm.
See you there!
Harris & Clark will be displaying:

Belle Chevre- located in Huntsville, Alabama. Founded in 1989, Belle Chevre has 51 national awards, hundreds of honorable mentioned and numerous accolades from critics.
Stop by and savor:

Herb de provence: goat cheese medallions in evoo with fresh herbs
Southern belle: montrachet style cheese w/ bourbon pecans, mint and sugar-Perfect for Derby weekend
Greek kiss: freshest of goat cheese wrapped in brined grape leave with greek essence

Locust Grove Farm- located in Knoxville, Tennessee. This unique farm only milks their sheep 150 days each year, using only fresh ingredients. No antibiotics or hormones, the flavors are all natural created by the milk it’s self and then aged in a cave environment. Cave environments are ideal for maintaining temperature and humidity, critical to the aging process of quality cheeses.
Galloway: raw sheep’s milk described as hard, crusty and nutty with a sweetness of caramel and burnt coffee
Appalachian Spring: handcrafted gouda using fresh raw milk, this cheese is white, slightly nutty with a sweet finish.
La Moncha: handcrafted batches are a close relative to a Spanish Manchego
Cumberland: a fantastic mix of green peppercorns, sweet red chili’s, onions, garlic and ginger

Sweetgrass Dairy- located in Thomasville, Georgia

The family owned dairy cows no longer live in barns on concrete. They live outdoors, get exercise, and enjoy grazing lush pastures just as cows on farms are supposed to. The Wehner family maintains sustainable, biological farming practices that always nourish the soil life first—the cornerstone for producing the highest quality foodstuffs. Sweetgrass never uses growth hormones or stimulants, and are highly conscious of providing our cows with what gives them the best life possible.
Green Hill: Award winning double cream, buttery taste with soft creamy medium rind, this cheese showcases milk from pasture grazes cows
Sevenwood: raw cow’s milk washed in balsamic vinegar, earthy fruit flavor- sevenwood comes from the seven woods allowed to age balsamic
Thomasville Tomme: raw cow’s milk, mild in taste, golden yellow with buttery charateristcs.

For more information please call Harris & Clark @ 770.463.6000

Posted by: Julia Hurwitz

Enjoy an unforgettable afternoon that will sooth the spirit and tantalize the taste buds amidst the beauty and charm of Serenbe. This special event will include a yoga session combining yoga postures to improve flexibility coupled with practices to calm the mind to reduce stress. Following the yoga, take pleasure in delectable chocolates which contain antioxidants and are known to be a natural mood elevator. This experience will not end here, the event will continue with a wine and cheese tasting. White wine is known to improve lung function and red grape skins help in the effects of anti-aging. Don’t forget the calcium from the cheese which helps build strong bones! Join us on Saturday, May 17th for a perfectly balanced affair of the body and mind lead by Akshak, Atlanta’s premiere yoga instructor. To make a reservation please call Harris & Clark at 770.463.6000 ~ Reservations required: $75.00

Posted by Julia Hurwitz

Interview with Carolyn Cary-The Nutty Girl
Posted by: Julia Hurwitz

Tell me about your Original Nutty Girl Blend.

How did the Original Blend come to be?

Fifteen years ago I received a recipe and I tucked it away. Several Thanksgivings later when my sister moved to Newnan, I remembered the recipe and wanted to make it for her. Roasting pecans was a tradition in my family so we started there. I read the recipe but I didn’t have all of the ingredients so I started adding and substituting. The mix was a hit. We sold the blend in my sister’s store and it was extremely popular. Word of mouth made us a success.

The artwork on the boxes is very creative. How did you come up with the design?

Could you recommend any food pairings or recipes?

Nutty Girl goes great with cheeses and fruit. You can top your salads with it or mix into your favorite chicken salad recipe. Another great idea is to grind it up as a delicious crust on pork loin.

Nutty Girl is sold country wide and Carolyn is excited to announce her new flavor; Spicy Almond. It will be available next year. We can’t wait to taste what we’re sure will be another delicious mix.

Julia’s nibbling experience: This nut mixture is a great snack to keep in your purse or car. I love how plump the cranberries are and must be paired with dry Bombay Shappire Martini!

Interview with Dora Leigh: Owner of Dora Leigh’s Gourmet Salsas: The Peach Salsa was chosen as one of the top 40 foods in the Flavor of Georgia Food Contest.

How did you first become interested in making Salsa?
I love salsa and eat at a lot of Mexican restaurants. I was a stay at home mom and I needed something to do so I decided to make my own salsa. It was a lot of trial and error. Then, in 1995, there was a festival in Newnan and I decided to bring my salsa. I made labels for the jars out of construction paper and brought all the salsa I had. I sold out by 11:00am. Later, someone who was at the festival called me and asked how she could get more. It was a great start and I started participating in more festivals.

What is your food philosophy?
It’s all about the ingredients. I found out very quickly cheaper tomatoes to not taste as good as the better quality brands. I also discovered that peppers taste different year to year. For example, one year the habanero salsa had the perfect heat. When I ordered the peppers the next year they were not the same color. I then learned weather and season effect color and taste. As a result, I prefer to handle all of the product control. I have denied companies that want to help produce my salsas. I make everything myself in my own commercial kitchen located in my home. I can produce 12 cases every two hours. My hope is to keep my commercial kitchen in my home no matter how successful we become.

Do you have a favorite Dora Leigh food pairing?
I get pleasure from using the Black Bean and Corn salsa as salad dressing. The Peach Salsa is great for basting a ham or marinating chicken and shrimp. Being from the south, I love black eyed peas so I have created a new salsa coming out soon made with black eyed peas, tomatoes, onions, peppers, and spices. The salsa tasted great heated and served over ham and rice.