Moon Mail

Barbara Tropp, owner of China Moon Cafe in San Francisco and author of “The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking” and (of course) “China Moon Cookbook,” is publishing something new--a mail-order catalogue of Chinese oils, flavorings and utensils. It lists, among other things, products made at her restaurant such as chile-orange oil and a mixture for tea-smoking duck. For a copy of the catalogue, write to China Moon Catalogue, 630 Post St., San Francisco, Calif. 94109.

Clean and Green

Boskovich Farms already sells convenience spinach triple-washed and trimmed, a 10-ounce package that is the equivalent of three bunches. The back of the package also gives instructions for cooking, including steaming and microwaving techniques, and salad ideas. This month it will make the last part obsolete when it introduces a spinach salad-in-a-bag, complete with Henri’s salad dressing and Marie Callender’s cheese and garlic croutons. In Southern California supermarkets as of this weekend.

No, Thanks--I’ll Just Have an American Broil

Hmm. According to the National Live Stock & Meat Board, London broil is not a cut of meat but a recipe: marinated beefsteak, broiled and sliced across the grain. Furthermore, the traditional cut for it is not what many butchers call London broil (which is often a cut of chuck or top round) but flank steak, and the recipe first surfaced not in London but in this country, in 1946.

New Pretzel Brand: the N/O

Newman’s Own, Paul Newman’s line of sauces and condiments, has a new division called Newman’s Own Organics--The Second Generation. Long story short: His daughter Nell ( striking resemblance to her mother, Joanne Woodward) is making pretzels from organic wheat grown in accordance with Oregon Tilth Standards. They come salted or unsalted, either as pretzel sticks or in a superimposed N and O (Newman’s Own--get it?) shape that looks like the end of a very small branding iron. Like her father, Nell donates 100% of her after-tax profits to charity. In supermarkets.

You’re Not Leaving the Table Until You Finish Your Cookie

Studies show that 24% of all snacking is now done in the morning, so Nabisco is starting a line of children’s granola cookies with mainline cookie flavors (Oreo, Chips Ahoy! and Nutter Butter). If you think about it, that’s not really so strange. Nutritionally speaking, granola has always been more like a crumbled cookie than a cereal anyhow.

Messages, Messages Everywhere

An East Coast firm has devised a way of printing directly on foods by ink jet. It assumes it’s going to be printing brand names, but dollars to doughnuts the main use will be mandated by the FDA: nutritional data on kiwis, storage reminders on swordfish steaks, a salmonella warning on every egg shell.