3 Local Products to Try this Summer

by Marilyn Hawkes | Photography by Angelina Aragon

Glorious Granola

Besides being one of the more charming eateries in Scottsdale, Arcadia Farms Marketplace (sibling of Arcadia Farms Café, both owned and operated by Carolyn Ellis) churns out a top-notch granola ($7.95) studded with tangy dried apricots and crunchy roasted pecans. The house-made granola, crafted with organic ingredients, has no additives or artificial flavors. In addition to dried fruits and nuts, the granola is loaded with oats, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), coconut and cinnamon, all sweetened with brown sugar. Take a container home and top a bowl of yogurt and berries, enjoy with milk or eat the sweet and chewy mix by the handful. You can also linger over a yogurt and granola parfait at the café. While this artisanal granola has been around for decades, legions of Phoenicians have yet to discover this stalwart snack. It’s a keeper. 

Arcadia Farms Marketplace
7020 E. First Ave., Scottsdale
480-947-2666, themarketplaceonfirst.com

Craft Coffee Beans

In 2012, Sam Beger and Nicholas DiPastena founded Blue House Coffee Roasters in Flagstaff, later moving the business to Tempe, peddling coffee from a bicycle cart. Today, Blue House is a fixture at Valley farmers markets, selling Garfield Blend Medium Roast Coffee ($20) and Bulldog Blend Dark Roast ($18) along with other seasonal and limited-release coffees. Blue House sources coffee from 18 different countries, getting about 50 percent of its beans directly from farmers who prioritize quality and sustainability. The other half comes from the fair-trade market. Blue House Coffee has a brick-and-mortar café at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus in Downtown Phoenix and operates mobile coffee bars for event catering. “We’re a very local, community-based company,” says Maria Del Pilar, who leads the company’s Downtown roasting opeation. Find retail options online.

Blue House Coffee Roasters
bluehousecoffee.com

Confetti Cake Mix

About two years ago, cookbook author and Food Network personality Molly Yeh visited Tempe’s Hayden Flour Mills. Co-owner Emma Zimmerman admits she was starstruck and delighted when Yeh proposed collaborating on a confetti cake mix ($13.99) with sprinkles, Yeh’s signature touch. Using Yeh’s recipe as a starting point, Zimmerman created a classic vanilla cake mix incorporating freshly milled flour with other clean ingredients. “It was hard tracking down dye-free sprinkles that tasted good, because most sprinkles are full of dyes,” she says. The confetti cake mix has been so popular with customers that Zimmerman is also contemplating a cookie mix. An added local touch: Phoenix artist Sarah Hurwitz designed the whimsical, eye-catching box. Find Molly Yeh and Hayden Flour Mills Confetti Cake Mix at Sphinx Date Co. Palm & Pantry, Agritopia Farm Store or online.

Hayden Flour Mills
haydenflourmills.com