I love to use vanilla when I bake. It mellows some flavors and brings others out, not to mention that it adds a wonderful flavor of its own. I have many kinds of vanilla, including extracts, beans, powders and sugars.

One of my favorite types of vanilla is vanilla bean paste, which is a mixture of vanilla beans with a little sugar, water and a thickening agent. It can be used interchangeably with vanilla extract, but it gives the look of having used a real vanilla bean and seems to add an even stronger flavor. It is perfect for custards, puddings, ice cream and even plain vanilla cakes, where you really get to showcase the little flecks of vanilla bean.

I have had difficulty finding vanilla paste in nearby stores lately, but I came across a similar product: Sonoma Syrup Co.'s Vanilla Bean Crush. This is vanilla extract that has the vanilla seeds reserved and added back into the finished product. With a quick shake of the bottle before using, you get some of those tiny, lovely seeds into whatever you're making. It isn't quite as strong as vanilla paste, but it is much nicer than some generic vanillas that I have had recently. Unfortunately, it's not much easier to find than the vanilla paste, but since the bottle is quite large, it will probably last for some time.

The vanilla crush is $17 for 8-oz. and the vanilla paste is $12 for 4-oz. Both are worth every penny.

I have made strawberry milkshakes at home before. I like them thick, so I use strawberries and ice cream, sometimes thinning it with a touch of milk. Occasionally, I will add in some chocolate. Other people like to use yogurts or add sweeteners, like honey to their shakes. Chances are good that no one makes a McDonald's-style shake at home, though. Why? According to the Guardian, that shake has 59 ingredients, most of which are verging on unpronounceable and found in the "artificial strawberry flavoring."

That milkshake probably contains the following: "milkfat and nonfat milk, sugar, sweet whey, high-fructose corn syrup, guar gum, monoglycerides and diglycerides, cellulose gum, sodium phosphate, carrageenan, citric acid, E129 and artificial strawberry flavor."

That flavoring, on the other hand, has:

Colored sushi wraps may just be the next trend in dining, but flavored sushi wraps will surely be the one after that. Not only do they look good, but they taste good and improve the flavor of whatever they’re wrapped around. These patent-pending flavored sushi wraps are made by Origami Foods. They come in flavors ranging from the savory, like bell pepper, broccoli, Italian, Mexican and curry, to the sweet, like blueberry, strawberry and apple-cinnamon, so these wraps have dessert applications in addition to more traditional wrap uses.

All of the wraps are at least 75% fruit or vegetable and up to 100% and though the flavors are strong, the wraps are very low calorie. They are made using high-intensity drying techniques so that the final product is shelf-stable, which means that not only are these tasty and healthy additions to food, but they are convenient to keep around. If you visit the Origami Foods site, you can request a sample of the product.