We are unusually well outfitted for pasta, this month. New on the shelves are several organic pastas — spaghetti, penne rigato, and fusilli — straight from Italy, by Santini. (Also new from Santini are some rich Italian spreads: Artichoke, Sicilian, and Pesto.) Also new in stock is Annie’s Whole Wheat Penne. And Papadini Hi-Protein Pasta, both spaghetti and rotini, is a patented low-carb lentil pasta with "more protein than steak." It’s gluten-free and wheat-free, and with just a few natural ingredients, it’s a low-carb treat without strange chemical additives.

With perfect timing, Rising Moon Organics offers a range of new pasta sauces: Kalamata Olive & Asiago, Port & Parmesan, Garlic & Merlot, and Garlic & Chanterelle Mushroom. Rising Moon is based in Oregon, but prides itself on its European sensibilities. Or maybe you’d prefer the local flavor of Dominick’s Pasta Sauce, also now available on our shelves, made locally by the brothers Dominick DeLeo and Cosimo Crupi, operators of Dominick’s Pizza in Slingerlands.

To the various fruit pies by Wholly Healthy we’ve now added a nice little frozen cheesecake. Shady Maple Farms, meanwhile, offers two new flavors of its signature Stroopwafel: plain Maple, and Peanut Butter & Maple, as well as the original Honey Maple. Our line of Panda licorice has been augmented by new Assorted Filled Licorice — licorice with banana, caramel, and strawberry fillings. Endangered Species Baby Bars are miniature morsels of dark chocolate with a fruit tang — Koala flavored with cherry essence, Zebra with tangerine — and 10% of profits go to protecting these and other endangered species. Over in bulk aisle, do try new Pollen Drops by Queen Bee Gardens, a small family-owned business in northern Wyoming — sweetened with honey, of course, not sugar.

If, on the other hand, you prefer to bake your own treats, you should notice that we’re now carrying the Ghiradelli Sweet Cheddar, Dill Sour Cream, and Lightly Salted are well regarded. But the most of the loot is for the sweet tooth. The pick of the litter, in my opinion: Flax Snax, sweets by a small family concern in Oneonta, in Raspberry, Banana, Pumpkin and Chocolate. Whether they cure eczema, as its makers say they do, is beyond me — they taste pretty good though.

A couple of notable cheeses are newly in stock. Saint Agur, from Monts du Velay in Auvergne, "a smooth, creamy cheese with a rich blue taste," is what’s called a "true blue" — not necessarily for blue cheese beginners! Also try the Moliterno, a sheep’s milk cheese aged at least six months, rubbed with olive oil.