FINDS

This Steg’s for You

In 1995, a research company named Ambergene began reviving microbes from insects that had been preserved in amber for millions of years. Several turned out to be strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the same yeast we use today for making beer and bread.

Naturally, Ambergene’s president then hired a reputable brew master (Bill Evans of Carmel Brewing Co.), who produced a line of microbe-brews in time for the May opening of “The Lost World.” They included Raptor Red, Stegosaurus Stout and T-Rex Lager. The last is a moderately hopped dark gold lager with a creamy head. One sipper’s comment: “It tastes like beer!”

Fossil Fuels Brewing Co. also has plans to set up microbrewery restaurants in tourist centers around the world. Besides beer, they’ll serve pizzas, pretzels and bread sticks made with the same prehistoric yeasts.

Some of the first batch of dinobeers is still available at Universal Studios, but about 200 of the 22-ounce bottles are being offered for sale on the Internet:https://www.fossilfuels.com

That is, unless you want to use that archaic communications medium the telephone, in which case call (888) 67-4-FUEL.

All It’s Cracked Up to Be

A lot of us have filled our patios with all the broken-ceramic-tile tables we can use. Maybe it’s time to expand the trendy technique to trivets. Southern California artist Mike McCormick makes 12x12-inch serving trays in several heat-resistant patterns. Each is framed with an iron base.

$70 at Doin’ Dishes in Long Beach and Santa Monica.

Relish the Thought

Imagine a pasta sauce from a jar that doesn’t need doctoring. One that you could fix in a hurry on a weeknight but also serve proudly to weekend dinner guests. Fire-Roasted Vegetable Pesto, one of the newest products from Costa Mesa’s Fox’s Fine Foods, is that kind of sauce.

But the story really begins with relish. Company co-founder Kim Fox used to take dude-ranch vacations every summer with her father, Bob Fox. On one trip, Fox and her father rode up to a wooden house beside a Montana river. There they met a woman who made and sold amazing relishes and other condiments. The three became friends and when Sara Wiley died, she left her recipes to the father and daughter as a gift. In the meantime, Fox’s father had considered marketing his own grandmother’s mustard recipe. When he died without realizing his goal, Fox found herself with a wealth of terrific recipes and an itch to finish the job her father had begun. She started her company in 1993 with just one product, a variation on Sara Wiley’s relish. More relishes and eventually sauces followed (Fox’s Yellow Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto won Most Outstanding New Product at a 1995 trade show). This year, Fox introduced Mouth-Watering Mustard based on the family recipe. Sara and Bob would be proud.

$7.50 to $9.99 per jar in many Southland stores, including Farmers Market Atrium Court, Newport Beach; Christopher Ranch, Glendale; A Store for Cooks, Laguna Niguel; all Bristol Farms locations; La Brea Bakery, Los Angeles; Pacific Ranch Market, Orange.