Artisana: A Review & Giveaway

Hey everybody! I'm back. If you missed Katie's coconut butter post from yesterday, you should really check it out. It might give you a few hints about what to do if you win this week's awesome giveaway!

You see, months and months ago I sent Artisana an email asking if I could review a few of their nut butter products on my blog. I couldn't find any Artisana products in Memphis at the time, and I was desperate to try some. I wasn't ready to take a chance and order Artisana coconut butter or nut butters online without trying some first. An Artisana rep agreed to send me a package, but months passed before anything arrived. I'd all but given up, and then finally two weeks ago, I received a mystery package. I ripped it open to reveal this:

A big ole jar of Artisana's new Cashini Butter (that's cashew and tahini), coconut butter, coconut oil, and raw Cacao Bliss (coconut chocolate butter):

And wait ... that's not all. There was also this:

These are single-serving Artisana go-packs! They're new, and I suppose Artisana was holding out so I could review their newest line of products. These convenient packs are so handy for packin' a lunch or a road trip snack. Throughout the past week, I've tried one of each go-pack on bagels and toast. My favorite was the Walnut Butter:

This stuff tastes exactly like eating straight-up walnuts schmeared on toast! I actually tried adding strawberry jam to my first batch of walnut butter and toast, but the jam masked the delicate flavor of the walnuts. I quickly determined that raw nut butters are best enjoyed unadorned.

Tying for a close second fave was the Pecan Butter and the Macadamia Butter, both of which I ate on a whole grain bagel:

Though not pictured, I enjoyed a generous schmear of the new Cashini Butter on some homemade whole wheat bread, and it was melt-in-my-mouth amazing. The delicate flavor of the cashews is the perfect complement to the sturdy tahini flavor. This stuff would make some damn fine hummus.

During the time it took Artisana to get the samples to me, my Whole Foods started selling the coconut butter. They still don't sell their raw nut butters, but at least it's a start. I knew this raw Cacao Bliss was going to be amazing, and I was right. What's better than raw coconut combined with raw cacao? Yep, nothing:

Since I can now purchase Artisana raw coconut butter in Memphis, I thought it'd be nice if I used the eight-ounce jar they sent for a fun giveaway!

For a chance to win, leave me a comment at the end of this post about your favorite way to use coconut butter. Feel free to reference Katie's post for hints. If you'd like to double your chances, tweet about the giveaway (and link back) and let me know you did in a second comment. If you want to triple your chances, post a link on Facebook and leave yet another comment for a total of three entries (comments) per person.

I'll leave the contest open until next Tuesday night at 10 p.m. (CST). And if you're not a blogger who can easily be reached through your blog, please leave an email address where I can contact you if you win. I'll randomly select the winner. Good luck!