Rhubarb Cocktails

What says spring and early summer than rhubarb? Nothing. That's what.

If you're tired of strawberry rhubarb pies or even rhubarb crisps, turning to fun, flavorful cocktails is a great way to take advantage of the bounty of rhubarb available this time of year. Here's two great ways to use the same rhubarb simple syrup.

First, make the rhubarb syrup so it can cool.

Rhubarb Simple Syrup

1 cup white sugar
1 cup water
2 cups chopped rhubarb

Combine and heat over a medium heat for 20 minutes. Strain through a chinois and reserve the leftover rhubarb pulp for use with vanilla ice cream or greek yogurt.

For the first cocktail, I wanted to experiment with mezcal.

Smoky Rhubarb Margarita

2 oz. mezcal
1 oz. Patron Citronage
1 oz. rhubarb simple syrup
Juice of 1 lime

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker over ice and strain into glass with crushed ice.

Next, I wanted to experiment with bourbon. It paired really well.

Rhu McClanahan

2 oz. Kentucky bourbon
1 oz. Rhubarb simple syrup
4 dashes Peychaud's bitters
Ginger Ale

Combine first three ingredients in a highball glass filled with crushed ice and top with ginger ale.

Best Damn Greens Recipe

As a southerner, I'm contractually obligated to love greens. I've tried over the years to approximate the melting and porky goodness found in the greens at southern soul food restaurants. Dancing around with using bacon or even pancetta, I've never hit the bulls-eye. That is until last night. Using turnip and collard greens with smoked pork neck bones proved to be the magic trick.

Ingredients:
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lb. smoked pork neck bones
• 1 lb. bunch turnip greens, stems removed, well rinsed and cut in ribbons
• 1 lb. bunch collard greens, stems removed, well rinsed and cut in ribbons

Sautee the red onion in a deep pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic once onion is softened and sautee until fragrant. Add neck bones and sautee briefly.

Cover with water to top of bones. Simmer for 1 hour to 90 minutes covered.

Add greens to pot and simmer covered for 2 hours. Add more water if pot gets dry.

Serve with cider vinegar and/or hot sauce if desired.

Pictured above: Brunswick stew, sweet potato souffle, black-eyed peas, buttermilk biscuit and best damn greens.

Tropical Kraken Rum Punch

Happy New Year! We rung in the new year with this delightfully fruity rum punch.

4 oz. Kraken rum (black spiced rum)

4 oz. white rum

2 oz. Bacardi select (dark rum)

2 oz. Grand Marnier

Juice of three limes and lime peels reserved

Juice of two lemons and lemon peels reserved

6 oz. ginger simple syrup (below)

4 oz. guava nectar

4 oz. mango nectar

4 oz. pineapple juice

¼ cup sugar

Ginger ale

Combine peeled and chopped fresh ginger with one cup sugar and one cup water. Cook at a low simmer for 10 minutes. Strain and cool.

Muddle sugar with lemon and lime peels in large glass pitcher to release the natural citrus oils.

Combine liquors and juices with muddled sugar. Stir.

Serve over crushed ice in tumblers/cocktail glasses leaving about a half inch. Top with ginger ale and stir.

Sea Bass Ceviche

As a cool dish, ceviche is perfect in the summer, but you can serve it anytime of year and wow your guests with a unique appetizer. Serve in a martini glass for the extra pizazz.

Ingredients:
• Juice of two large limes
• Juice of two lemons
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon minced shallots
• 1 teaspoon minced serrano chili OR 1 tablespoon minced jalapeno
• 1 lb. sea bass fillets, skinned, cubed in small dice
• Salt to taste
• 1 avocado cubed (wait to prepare until ready to serve)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro

Combine all ingredients except last two ingredients and let marinate covered and refrigerated for 3 to 4 hours.

When ready to serve add cubed avocado and cilantro and stir.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Classic Fish Soup

Trying to recreate the absolutely awesome fish soup we had at The Fishery in San Diego this fall, I purchased a lovely red snapper from Whole Foods for the dish. Combined with fresh fennel and other vegetables, this is a healthy, satisfying soup that's great as a starter or main course.

Ingredients:
• Red Snapper, skinned, filleted, bones reserved for stock
• 3 small or 2 medium fennel bulbs, chopped, stalks reserved for stock
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
• 1 small shallot, minced
• Pinch of saffron
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• 8 cups total fish stock (combine fresh and store bought)
• 1 12 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• Salt and pepper to taste

Use the reserved fish bones and fennel stalks to make a homemade fish stock. Cover with water, season with salt, and gently simmer for 30 to 45 minutes. Keep warm.

Saute fennel, onion, celery in olive oil over medium heat until onion is translucent. Season with salt and black pepper.

Add garlic and shallots and saute until fragrant.

Add saffron and red pepper flakes followed by wine. Increase heat and bring to a boil.

Add stock, lemon juice and zest, tomatoes and tomato paste.

Bring to boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes or more.

5 minutes before ready to serve, add cubed snapper fillets to soup.

Garnish with flat leaf parsley and serve with a plank of garlic bread.

Tuscan White Bean Dip

One of our favorite stand-bys for dinner parties and entertaining is a very simple but flavorful Tuscan White Bean Dip.

Recipe:

One can of cannellini beans (great northern) rinsed in a colander
Juice of half a lemon
1 garlic clove
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Blend in a food processor until smooth.

The beauty of this recipe is you can easily modify to suit your tastes. A little more lemon juice makes for a tangy treat. A little more olive oil makes the dip even creamier.

I serve this with good Italian bread toasted and rubbed with garlic. Pairing it with roasted vegetables as part of an antipasti platter allows your guests to construct their own crostini.

Pineapple Frozen Margaritas

Wanting to use up some leftover pineapple, I took a stab at a pineapple margarita. Even though it was a cold winter's night, the frozen margarita was incredibly refreshing. Can't wait to make this again on a hot summer day.

Recipe:

2.5 oz. tequila
1 oz. Cointreau/orange liqueur
1 oz. grenadine
1 oz. light agave syrup
3 slices of pineapple
ice

Mix all ingredients in blender and pulse until blended.

Serve with a garnish of pineapple and enjoy.

Naf Naf: Excellent, Affordable Middle Eastern Cuisine

Naf Naf Grill, http://www.nafnafgrill.com, is a quickly expanding local chain of Middle Eastern fast casual restaurants. They've gone from the original location on Ogden in Naperville to multiple west suburban locations (Freedom Commons and Fox Valley Mall), a Niles location, and one in Chicago.

There's not a loser on their entire menu. Everything from the pitas to the hummus to their signature chicken shwarma are all excellent. The Veggie Feast features falafel, baba ghanoush, hummus, purple cabbage salad and tabule salad. The chicken and beef kebabs are also stellar.

Quick and affordable, Naf Naf has a clean, modern feel that is inviting for families, couples or takeout.

Cobra Corn - Healthy snack with bold flavor made in Chicago

Cobra Corn is popcorn seasoned with a one-of-a-kind flavor, Mumbai Masala. A unique blend of 10 Indian spices & seasonings. The founder of the company is Mihir, whose mother created the recipe as a way to feed him as hungry teenager and appeal to both his American and Indian taste preferences. It became so popular with friends, even when he went off to college, that he knew he was on to something. Now the snack is available for everyone to enjoy. You can find it online at www.cobracorn.com or at more than 100 retailers nationwide. In Chicago there are many locations to find it, including two Whole Foods locations (Gold Coast and South Loop), as well as in suburbs like Naperville at Michael's Fresh Market. If you love Indian spice and are tired of the same old snack options, give Cobra Corn a try!

Cobra Corn bonuses:

• No artificial flavors or colors
• No preservatives
• No MSG or maltodextrin
• No Cholesterol
• Good source of fiber
• 0g Trans Fat per serving
• Popcorn is a gluten-free food

New Black Olive Tapenade from The Gracious Gourmet

Black Olive Tapenade from The Gracious Gourmet
Brand new product from Connecticut's award-winning The Gracious Gourmet. Black Olive Tapenade: This classic olive tapenade marries three kinds of olives with extra virgin
olive oil, thyme and parsley. Meyer lemons and capers add a twist of vibrant flavor.

Blackberry Margaritas

After finding frozen seedless blackberry puree at a local Hispanic market, we decided to see what we could create with it. Jeff created Blackberry Margaritas to go with our braised chicken tacos tonight. It turned out to be both a beautiful and delicious drink. Dare I say we are also getting our antioxidants out of this? The leftover puree will likely be mixed with maple syrup tomorrow for waffles.

Blackberry Margaritas

In a cocktail shaker combine with crushed ice:
Juice of 1 lemon or 2-3 limes
3 T of seedless, unsweetened frozen blackberry puree (thawed)
2 T sugar (can add more sugar if you like it sweeter
2 shots Patron Citron
5 shots Jose Quervo Gold Tequila

Serve over crushed ice. Rim glasses with sugar/salt mixture if desired.

Nouveau Southern Dinner Party

Nouveau Southern Dinner Party

We enjoyed a small gathering last weekend of friends for appetizers and cocktails inspired by the South. We put our own twist on it, doing a duo of duos — two takes with modern twists — on Southern classics.

The menu was as follows:

• Homemade Pimento Cheese Spread on Crostini (http://vinoevittles.blogspot.com/2010/07/pimento-cheese-recipe.html)
  
• Southern Pickle Platter: with pickled green tomatoes, okra and sweet petite gherkins
• Double Oink Roll-ups: sausage balls wrapped in bacon and baked with a brown sugar and mustard glaze
• Chicken Wing Duo: traditional spicy and Memphis Rendezvous barbecue style. Served with homemade buttermilk blue cheese dressing and crudité (http://vinoevittles.blogspot.com/2010/09/bama-baked-wings-recipe-offers-healthy.html)
  
• Duo of Deviled Eggs: avocado and cayenne eggs, as well as traditional made with sweet gherkins and garnished with smoked Spanish paprika
• Red Velvet Cupcakes for dessert with Cream Cheese frosting (the beautiful cupcake liners are from Sutton Gourmet Paper www.suttongourmetpaper.com) I like Martha Stewart's recipe for the cupcakes and frosting.
• Cocktails: A Drunken Arnold Palmer (made with Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka and homemade lemonade) and an Alabama Sunset (made with brandy, prosecco and muddles blackberries and sugar)

Mini Chevre Cheesecakes with Spiced Cherries

Ingredients:

• 1 cup crushed graham crackers or other cookies
• 1/2 cup plus 1T sugar
• 4 T melted unsalted butter
• 1 and 1/2 packages of regular cream cheese (12 oz. total)
• 1 (4 oz.) package of chevre (goat cheese in log form)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 2 large lightly beaten eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 jar Spiced Sour Cherry Spread from The Gracious Gourmet
  
• 18 cupcake liners

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard cupcake pan with cupcake papers. Mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter and 1 T of sugar. Press 1 T of the graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each of the 18 cupcake liners in the cupcake pan. Bake until firm, about 6 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.
2. Reduce oven temp to 275. Beat softened cream cheese and goat cheese together with a mixer on med. speed. Add 1/2 cup of sugar and vanilla. Keep blending. Add eggs slowly, scraping sides of bowl into mixture. Add sour cream and pinch of salt. Pour batter into baking cups, filling nearly to the tops.
3. Bake until sides are set but centers are wobbly, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool on wire racks. Wrap tops of cheesecakes tightly in pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for four hours or overnight. Serve with 1/2 T of Spiced Sour Cherry Spread from The Gracious Gourmet (more or less can be used as desired). Will keep 3 days in the fridge. (www.thegraciousgourmet.com)

This recipe was adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe called "Mini Cheesecakes with Apricot Jam." I changed the cookie crust, kind of cheese, topping and adjusted the ingredients to better proportions. Makes 18 individual cakes. The topping is also fantastic! It has notes of red wine and lemon juice and spice in it. Not overwhelming at all! And the whole cherries in it are just gorgeous for the holidays.

The cupcake liners used are from Sutton Gourmet Paper! They bake up beautifully and hold color and design with just one liner. I am not showing the other striped papers I used from another company not to be mentioned! They turned out greasy and the crust burnt. So, I highly recommend Sutton Gourmet Paper! Order online at www.suttongourmetpaper.com

Bama Baked Wings recipe offers healthy option to football favorite

Wings and football are a classic combination, but healthful game-day food often doesn't make the cut. Here's a recipe for hot wings that will satisfy hungry fans and take a little bit of the calorie and fat sting out of enjoying deep fried wings. Named "Bama Baked Wings" for the University of Alabama football team, these wings are good enough for SEC fans — who boast being the most passionate college football followers in the nation. That means fans here in Illinois will also be impressed, no matter what college or pro tem they root for.

Instead of using Frank's brand hot sauce for northern-style Buffalo wings, this recipe calls for Louisiana brand hot sauce ... even though The Crimson Tide and LSU don't play nice together on the field! Louisiana brand is easy to find in Aurora-area grocery stores. Also listed is a recipe for blue cheese dressing that won't be as bad for your diet as store-bought stuff in a jar.

Bama Baked Wings Recipe

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 6 pounds of fresh chicken wings, cut into drum and wing parts
• 1 c flour
• 1 egg beaten with 2/3 cup of water
• 2 T. Seasoned Salt or Creole Seasoning
• canola cooking spray
• 2 sticks of butter (can substitute light butter)
• 3 T. red wine vinegar
• 3/4 c. Louisiana brand hot sauce (can use less for milder wings)

For the blue cheese dressing, mix together everything but the veggies. Refrigerate until the wings are ready to serve.

• 1 cup Light Sour Cream
• 1 cup Olive Oil Mayo
• 1 tub of blue cheese crumbles (can also use light blue cheese crumbles)
• garlic salt and pepper to taste
• 2 T. milk
• dash of red wine vinegar
• cut celery and carrot into sticks for snacking

Directions: Cut the wings so they are separated into drum and wing sections. If using frozen wings, make sure they are defrosted overnight before baking. Cover 2 hotel pans or baking sheets with foil — you may need three pans depending on how large they are. Spray the foil with canola cooking spray. Mix the flour and seasoned salt in a bowl. Dip the wings in the egg wash and then bread them in the flour mixture. Spread the wings out evenly on the baking sheets. Lightly spray the top of the wings with canola spray. Bake in a 425-degree oven for 20 minutes. Turn the wings after the 20 minutes and set timer for another 10. In a saucepan, melt the two sticks of butter. Add the hot sauce and 3 T. of vinegar. Stir until blended. Take the wings out of the oven and brush them on one side with the hot sauce mixture using a pastry or grilling brush. Return to the oven again for 10-15 minutes or until they seem done.

Brush on extra sauce if desired before serving. Set out blue cheese dressing, carrot and veggie stick alongside the wings.

Tarte de Pommes-tini

Inspired by one of Chicago's hot new restaurants, Girl & The Goat, this cocktail recipes uses the French apple brandy Calvados and rum to provide smooth fall flavor. Phil Vettel of the Chicago Tribune gave Girl & The Goat a great first review, but you don't have to drive all the way downtown to enjoy this sophisticated sipper.

The cocktail on the menu at the Girl & The Goat is named "The Pirate Norman." Chef Stephanie Izard of Top Chef fame and her staff likely named the drink after its two main ingredients, aged rum (pirate) and the Normandy import of Calvados (Norman). This interpreted recipe of the Girl & The Goat cocktail is called "Tarte de Pommes-tini" or roughly "apple tart-tini" in French. While it may not be the exact Pirate Norman from Girl & The Goat, the taste may be just perfect for those martini lovers who never truly embraced the overly sweet "apple-tini" craze. And the flavor comparision to the original is pretty close. The ingredients are easy to find in the western suburbs of Chicago. Calvados is easy to find and is often used for cooking. Make sure the rum you choose is a dark aged rum.

Tarte de Pommes-tini

(enough for two cocktails with some extra left for refills)

Combine in a martini shaker with crushed ice:

• 2 shots Calvados
• 4 shots aged rum
• juice of 1 lemon (strained of pulp)
• 3 tsp. of sugar

Shake and strain the cocktail, serving in martini glasses.

Best place to shop for sausage in Aurora is the century-old Wurst Kitchen

If you love grilling brats, sausages and just about any other kind of encased or smoked meats, your best bet is to visit the Wurst Kitchen Sausage Co. in Aurora. In business in the Fox Valley for more than 115 years, the Wurst Kitchen started out making handmade and all-natural smoked and processed meats, largely serving the area's German community. Today the shop carries on the tradition of producing handmade sausages and meats, creating more than 80 different varieties throughout the year.
Polish sausage, bratwurst and veal bratwurst are just a few of the great choices for shoppers visiting Wurst Kitchen. More unusual flavors include Pizza, Taco, Tequila & Lime and Cherry Bomb bratwurst. At any given time the shop carries 40 varieties. A package of four large size brats or sausages are priced around $8. A list of offerings can be found here.

Located at the corner of Union and 2nd Street on Aurora's east side, the shop shows that it has strong roots. This location happens to be the original. For those who live further west of Aurora, Wurst Kitchen also operates an outlet and restaurant in downtown Plano (12 W. Main St.). A recent Saturday afternoon the Plano restaurant boasted a pig roast on premises. Catering options are available, and hunters will also find that Wurst Kitchen can process game like venison or foul. Contact the store for more details.

Shopping for South Asian Specialties in Illinois' Fox Valley

Located near the Fox Valley Mall in Aurora (3577 E New York St.), Namaste Bazar offers a wide variety of fresh, frozen and packaged foods focused on Indian and South Asian specialties. The store, which opened in May, is easy to shop and also offers chaat — savory snacks — with a menu of items like panipuri, bhelpuri, masala puri, sevpuri, and more in addition to masala tea and coffee.

The friendly owners seem to take great pride in the 1,200-plus items they stock, making it a welcoming place for shoppers of all backgrounds. The quaint outdoor seating area is very inviting for sitting and enjoying chaat or coffee during good weather. Free wi-fi is available in the store.

Even shoppers who may not be familiar with the ins and outs of Indian cooking will find a great deal to purchase at the store. There is a plentiful selection of frozen meals and treats available that will greatly expand the variety of convenience meals you keep on hand in your kitchen. There are also many ready-to-eat South Asian snack mixes and convenient spice blends that will help a cook who is intimidated by mastering a new cuisine. The spice selection is extensive and prices are very reasonable. Namaste Bazar even offers a savings club for frequent shoppers that provides discount prices, coupons, rewards gifts and more.

Pasta with White Wine, Sausage & Tomato Sauce

Skip the jarred pasta sauce and hamburger combo. This recipe for spaghetti rigati with a tomato-sausage and white wine sauce bursts with flavor that's much better than the old grocery store standard.

The key is using good Italian sausage such as the freshly made offerings you find at Aurora's Prisco's Fine Foods. The best type for this recipe is the bulk Italian sausage made without fennel. Many specialty stores like Prisco's offer the option to buy the sausage with or without fennel.

Another essential ingredient to this recipe is using high-quality tomatoes, even though it calls for jarred or canned varieties. San Marzano tomatoes are readily available at the grocery store, even though you may have to look past many domestic offerings to find them. They are imported from Italy and have the most flavor of the canned tomatoes you will find. Spaghetti Rigati is the best for this recipe because the sauce clings to the tiny ridges on each strand. Barilla offers a version that is easy to find at most stores.

Here is the recipe for Spaghetti Rigati with Sausage Red Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 pound bulk Italian sausage (preferably without fennel)
• 1 jar of pureed San Marzano Tomatoes 700 g (or equivalent canned crushed tomatoes)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup white wine
• salt and pepper to taste
• 5 leaves of fresh basil (or dried basil to taste)
• 1 pound box of Barilla Spaghetti Rigati
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Combine white wine with the sausage in a medium size bowl and work the wine into the sausage with your hands. This helps break up the sausage and give it a nice texture for the sauce, as well as add flavor. Add it to a hot pan and cook the sausage until nearly browned. Use a paper towel to dab up any extra grease from the sausage that you may not want in the sauce. Leaving some fat in the pan is good for the flavor. Add the olive oil and chopped garlic and cook just a couple of minutes more until the garlic is golden. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the 700g jar of pureed tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste, and continue to simmer for 15 minutes.

While the sauce is cooking, prepare the pasta and make sure it a nice al dente texture. Rinse all the tomatoes out of the jar with a little bit of the cooking pasta water and add to the sauce. Near the end of the simmering process, add the chopped basil leaves. More or less can be used to taste. When the pasta is cooked, add part of the sauce to the pasta in the pan. Stir over medium heat to coat the pasta and influse flavor. Serve with dollops of extra sauce and grated cheese.

Pleasant Ridge Reserve named America's best cheese by ACS

Last weekend in Seattle, The American Cheese Society held its annual conference and competition to announce the best artisan cheeses in the land. For cheese lovers, the event was appropriately titled "Cheese-a-topia," with a bounty of fine cheese producers gathering to showcase their best work. The winner of "Best in Show" from Saturday's competition just happened to be nearby cheese producer Uplands Cheese of Dodgeville, WI, just three hours north of Aurora.

The winning cheese is the Extra Aged Pleasant Ridge Reserve, a hard cheese in the style of a Gruyere that is full of flavor that can only be found in the unique milk of the cows on this Wisconsin farm. "We make Pleasant Ridge Reserve only during the summer months, while our cows are grazing on fresh pasture," according to the Uplands Cheese website. "This milk is full of flavor — and nutritional qualities -— not found in the milk of cows kept inside and fed stored feed. We use only fresh milk that is never pasteurized, and age the cheese in ripening rooms on our farm to ensure that our cheese expresses all of the flavor complexity possible in a grass-fed, raw-milk cheese."

Pleasant Ridge reserve is not new to awards. Most notably, it was named Best of Show at both the 2001 and the 2005 American Cheese Society competitions, making it the only cheese in that competition's history to win the top honor twice. It was also named the US Champion Cheese in the 2003 and is the only cheese ever to win both national competitions, according to the producers.

Uplands Cheese Company is owned and operated by two families: Mike and Carol Gingrich and Dan and Jeanne Patenaude. After years of farming separately as neighbors, in 1994 they bought the farm together. The cheese is made only from milk on the farm, which makes it a farmstead cheese.

This prestigious cheese will excite Fox Valley foodies who want to try the very best. You can order it online or find it in Chicago at Pastoral, a specialty food store that carries a wide variety of artisan cheese. Another way to get the cheese is tell the manager of your favorite store that you would like to see it in stock. For fine dining options, Vie in Western Springs currently features the cheese on its menu as part of a dessert cheese plate. Call ahead to make sure it is still available.

Namaste Bazar offers great South Asian Specialties in Aurora

Located near the Fox Valley Mall in Aurora (3577 E New York St.), Namaste Bazar offers a wide variety of fresh, frozen and packaged foods focused on Indian and South Asian specialties. The store, which opened in May, is easy to shop and also offers chaat — savory snacks — with a menu of items like panipuri, bhelpuri, masala puri, sevpuri, and more in addition to masala tea and coffee.

The friendly owners seem to take great pride in the 1,200-plus items they stock, making it a welcoming place for shoppers of all backgrounds. The quaint outdoor seating area is very inviting for sitting and enjoying chaat or coffee during good weather. Free wi-fi is available in the store.

Even shoppers who may not be familiar with the ins and outs of Indian cooking will find a great deal to purchase at the store. There is a plentiful selection of frozen meals and treats available that will greatly expand the variety of convenience meals you keep on hand in your kitchen. There are also many ready-to-eat South Asian snack mixes and convenient spice blends that will help a cook who is intimidated by mastering a new cuisine. The spice selection is extensive and prices are very reasonable. Namaste Bazar even offers a savings club for frequent shoppers that provides discount prices, coupons, rewards gifts and more.