A quick couple bites of chocolate goodness...
On an impulse, I bought one of these Green & Black's Mayan Chocolate Bars a few nights ago. Though I enjoy those chocolate orange things, they aren't my first choice for a chocolate treat. But this Mayan bar had other spices in it as well, and holy cow is it yummy. Such a sensual blend of slightly bitter, rich chocolate, bright warm orange and comforting cinnamon and spices. I've been having a few squares of it every night this week, and I still have lots left. You don't need much to satisfy your chocolate craving. It does overpower wine (or at least the Valpiocella I tried it with), but it goes quite well with pumpkin beer.
Speaking of chocolate cravings, I caught a wee bit of Nigella's show over the weekend. It was the chocolate episode. While everything she made looked worth trying, I was especially excited about the last thing she made...hot chocolate...with Rum innit!! It looked sooo good. There was also cinnamon and honey in it...two of my favorite flavors at the moment. I will be making this. And I need to learn more about rum...it seems like something I should like. Dark rum. My new winter drink of choice? We'll see. Here's some intro to rum web pages and some recommendations from Forbes to get me started.
Showing posts with label products. Show all posts
Showing posts with label products. Show all posts
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Thursday, October 19, 2006
goodies gumshoe
Last week a girl at work put out her daughter's Girls Scout Cookie order form. What? I know, so soon. Well, she's from Illinois, and this is Illinois Girl Scout Cookie Season! Who knew?
So I take a gander at the order form. I see the picture of my favorite right away. Good Ol' Samoas! Except they are NOT CALLED SAMOAS!?!? They are "Caramel De-Lites!" What the!? The Thin Mints are still Thin Mints, but the other classics have different names. There's no Tagalongs, no Trefoils, no Do-Si-Dos! Most of the cookies LOOK like the familiar favorites, though. They can't do that, can they? Change the names of these American classics? I got a little panicky. So Of course I turned to my beloved Internets to clear some things up.
Turns out the Girls Scouts have two different bakers they get cookies from. There's the ones I grew up with (and tried to sell, but man, I hate selling things), and there's these other ones.
Phew! Mystery solved. The names that are so familiar still exist. I just won't see them until next March. Goodie Gumshoe has done her job. My Next case? Where do those huge Turkey Legs that you get at fairs/amusement parks COME from anyway? My thanksgiving turkey's legs are at least half the size of those suckers! I'm a little scared to find out, but I'm on the case!
So I take a gander at the order form. I see the picture of my favorite right away. Good Ol' Samoas! Except they are NOT CALLED SAMOAS!?!? They are "Caramel De-Lites!" What the!? The Thin Mints are still Thin Mints, but the other classics have different names. There's no Tagalongs, no Trefoils, no Do-Si-Dos! Most of the cookies LOOK like the familiar favorites, though. They can't do that, can they? Change the names of these American classics? I got a little panicky. So Of course I turned to my beloved Internets to clear some things up.
Turns out the Girls Scouts have two different bakers they get cookies from. There's the ones I grew up with (and tried to sell, but man, I hate selling things), and there's these other ones.
Phew! Mystery solved. The names that are so familiar still exist. I just won't see them until next March. Goodie Gumshoe has done her job. My Next case? Where do those huge Turkey Legs that you get at fairs/amusement parks COME from anyway? My thanksgiving turkey's legs are at least half the size of those suckers! I'm a little scared to find out, but I'm on the case!
Sunday, March 19, 2006
may i please have samoa
Girls Scout Cookies. Not the best cookies, but enjoyable every year. I did really like this year's New Cafe Cookie. It would go so good with hot chocolate or good coffee. It's mostly warm weather right now, though, so I'm not hitting the hot beverages so much.
I did not order Thin Mints, because I thought Jack was gonna get some from a lady at work. But he forgot. I prefer the Samoas, but I understand the addictiveness of Thin Mints. I don't crave them, but if I start, It's hard to stop. Anywhoo, we're thin mint-less. Maybe I'll have to take a crack at this recipe. They would be healthier. Or maybe we'll just get the ice cream.
I did not order Thin Mints, because I thought Jack was gonna get some from a lady at work. But he forgot. I prefer the Samoas, but I understand the addictiveness of Thin Mints. I don't crave them, but if I start, It's hard to stop. Anywhoo, we're thin mint-less. Maybe I'll have to take a crack at this recipe. They would be healthier. Or maybe we'll just get the ice cream.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
food finds
Some foods I've discovered lately that I am diggin big time...
*Pigeon Peas! I discovered a can of these green fellers in the Mexican section at my local grocery store. I gave them a try because, well, I love beans. They are soooo good! I usually combine them with cous cous, mexican spices, some lowfat cheese and salsa (I've been on a Pineapple salsa kick lately). It's cheap, easy and healthy. The Pigeon peas have a slightly nutty taste. Less "mushy" than beans...almost like edamame. Yum!
*Quaker Maple Brown Sugar Multi-grain cakes. Rice cakes? I Know! But, dang, these things are flavorful! They taste just like pancakes, but they are crunchy, and good for you! Great for a sweet-tooth snack, at only 50 calories per cake. And 1 gram of fiber! YAY! FIBER!
*Chocolate Chex Mix. In particular, the Chocolate peanutbutter variety. Such a good idea. Chocolate and peanut butter flavored chex, peanuts and little fake m&m's with pretzels. Now, there were too many pretzels, so we ate them first, so we could enjoy all the other goodness without the bother of all the darn pretzels.
*Pigeon Peas! I discovered a can of these green fellers in the Mexican section at my local grocery store. I gave them a try because, well, I love beans. They are soooo good! I usually combine them with cous cous, mexican spices, some lowfat cheese and salsa (I've been on a Pineapple salsa kick lately). It's cheap, easy and healthy. The Pigeon peas have a slightly nutty taste. Less "mushy" than beans...almost like edamame. Yum!
*Quaker Maple Brown Sugar Multi-grain cakes. Rice cakes? I Know! But, dang, these things are flavorful! They taste just like pancakes, but they are crunchy, and good for you! Great for a sweet-tooth snack, at only 50 calories per cake. And 1 gram of fiber! YAY! FIBER!
*Chocolate Chex Mix. In particular, the Chocolate peanutbutter variety. Such a good idea. Chocolate and peanut butter flavored chex, peanuts and little fake m&m's with pretzels. Now, there were too many pretzels, so we ate them first, so we could enjoy all the other goodness without the bother of all the darn pretzels.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Frozen Pizza?
Yes, frozen pizza. I can't say that there are many out there that I really like. However, I really really enjoy Red Baron's Mexican Style frozen pizza. The two best things about it? There is cilantro on it! Like nice big leaves of it so you can actually taste them! Also, tortilla chip pieces!! Brilliant! They ad a nice crunch and texture.
It also went well with our Mojitos. You know? Lime, mint leaves and sugar all smashed together with rum and club soda? One of my all-time favorite beverages. So good. Bacardi has a neat website dedicated to the Mojito, with videos about the history and a recipe. It's fun.
So, that was my Friday night!
It also went well with our Mojitos. You know? Lime, mint leaves and sugar all smashed together with rum and club soda? One of my all-time favorite beverages. So good. Bacardi has a neat website dedicated to the Mojito, with videos about the history and a recipe. It's fun.
So, that was my Friday night!
Friday, January 06, 2006
resolute
One of my little New Year's resolutions is to update this here blog more often!! What i've decided to do is not try and focus on making long posts or posts with lots of related links. Instead, I'll update whenever I have a food moment, food find, new recipe, fun link or just random food thoughts.
I'll start with two things.
ONE
Kelly gave me some peanut ginger chews (made by the Ginger People), and they are my new favorite treat. They have a nice soft and smooth but substantial texture, and the taste...oh the taste. First it's peanut buttery, then the ginger kicks in, and it's very strong. And at the end your mouth is burning and all is well.
TWO
How to order wine at a restaraunt without looking like an asshole. Kind of angry (what do you expect from a blog called "Waiter Rant?" but some very good points, nonetheless.
see? that wasn't so hard. yeah, I can do this :)
I'll start with two things.
ONE
Kelly gave me some peanut ginger chews (made by the Ginger People), and they are my new favorite treat. They have a nice soft and smooth but substantial texture, and the taste...oh the taste. First it's peanut buttery, then the ginger kicks in, and it's very strong. And at the end your mouth is burning and all is well.
TWO
How to order wine at a restaraunt without looking like an asshole. Kind of angry (what do you expect from a blog called "Waiter Rant?" but some very good points, nonetheless.
see? that wasn't so hard. yeah, I can do this :)
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
groovy garlic gift
'Tis the season for roasted garlic and gifts. Now, Alton wouldn't approve, because it only has one function. But that function is a good one...a garlic roaster! It's really quite cute. Would be a great gift *wink wink nudge nudge* :)
link swiped from ljc blog.
link swiped from ljc blog.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
weekend cocktails and cookies
Just a quick weekend food update. IÂ’m trying to update more, really I am. Okay, okay, I'll try harder :)
Friday we were in the mood for tacos and alcohol. The tacos were easy enough, some shells, some meat (expertly seasoned with spices from our cabinet by my sweetheart. who needs that sodium-ridden taco seasoning packets? Not me.) and course some cheese. I was up for any kind of drink except wine (I have a cold, it wouldn't taste right!). He didn't want beer. Margaritas sounded good, but too much work (and I don't like the pre-made mixes so much). Then we saw a display of cute bottles of assorted cocktail mixers, one of which was this Mojito mix I had my reservations, but it's actually quite yummy. We did add some fresh lime juice, just a wedge to freshen it up a bit. But it wasn't too sweet, like margarita mixes tend to be, and it had a very nice hint of mint I know, I know, how hard is it to mash up lime, mint and sugar? Well, we were feeling exceptionally lazy that night. So there.
Saturday I baked these cookies for the second time. I baked them last weekend, and they were good, but not quite sweet enough. This week I packed the brown sugar so there was more of it, I added the right amount of mlasses (don't think I measured right last time) and replaced most of the oil with applesauce, which added extra sweetness. I also sprinkled the tops of the cookies with some of the raw sugar for extra sweetness and crunch. They turned out great. Sweeter and more moist than the first time. Mipmup's right, these are a mean fall cookie.
I wanted to make this curried chickpea soup this weekend, but Jack's making chili instead. It smells delicious, and should be ready as soon as I'm done with laundry. He used chunks of chuck roast instead of ground beef, and also some ground venison we've had in the freezer for awhile. Should be hella tasty.
Friday we were in the mood for tacos and alcohol. The tacos were easy enough, some shells, some meat (expertly seasoned with spices from our cabinet by my sweetheart. who needs that sodium-ridden taco seasoning packets? Not me.) and course some cheese. I was up for any kind of drink except wine (I have a cold, it wouldn't taste right!). He didn't want beer. Margaritas sounded good, but too much work (and I don't like the pre-made mixes so much). Then we saw a display of cute bottles of assorted cocktail mixers, one of which was this Mojito mix I had my reservations, but it's actually quite yummy. We did add some fresh lime juice, just a wedge to freshen it up a bit. But it wasn't too sweet, like margarita mixes tend to be, and it had a very nice hint of mint I know, I know, how hard is it to mash up lime, mint and sugar? Well, we were feeling exceptionally lazy that night. So there.
Saturday I baked these cookies for the second time. I baked them last weekend, and they were good, but not quite sweet enough. This week I packed the brown sugar so there was more of it, I added the right amount of mlasses (don't think I measured right last time) and replaced most of the oil with applesauce, which added extra sweetness. I also sprinkled the tops of the cookies with some of the raw sugar for extra sweetness and crunch. They turned out great. Sweeter and more moist than the first time. Mipmup's right, these are a mean fall cookie.
I wanted to make this curried chickpea soup this weekend, but Jack's making chili instead. It smells delicious, and should be ready as soon as I'm done with laundry. He used chunks of chuck roast instead of ground beef, and also some ground venison we've had in the freezer for awhile. Should be hella tasty.
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
you spin me right round baby right round
Like a chicken, baby, right round, round round!
Last week Jack and I got a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store deli. Instead of just eating it plain, jack shredded off the meat and added a little olive oil and some dried mint, oregano, garlic, salt & pepper. We used that to fill wheat pitas, along with spinach and tomatoes and a sort of Tzatziki sauce Jack whipped up real quick (sour cream, yogurt, dill, pickle juice). It was such a good meal. Healthy, as well, and with plenty of leftovers.
Then I saw this not martha entry about an article for other things to do with rotisserie chicken. So I went on a quest to find some neat dinner ideas for these convenient, affordable birdies.
This article (requires a simple little free registration) has some good basic tips and ideas. It includes some quotes from the author of this book, which is currently "in transit" to my local library branch.
Sara Moulten on the food network apparently had a whole show dedicated to the wonder of rotisserie chicken uses. There's a few recipes, but this Butter Chicken (Indian Chicken with tomato cream sauce) looks especially dee-lish.
Chicken Scarpariello and Chicken soup w/latin flavors, both good ideas from Good Housekeeping.
Another general article featuring some really good tips (like take the meat off the bone when it's still warm...it comes off easier that way) and also some links to recipes.
Chicken chipotle tamales...there's not a thing about that phrase I don't like :)
3 yummy recipes from New York chefs. Yeah, real chefs eat 'em too!
With all these possibilities, I may have to consider getting my own Roncno rotisserie! Set it....and forget it!!!
Last week Jack and I got a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store deli. Instead of just eating it plain, jack shredded off the meat and added a little olive oil and some dried mint, oregano, garlic, salt & pepper. We used that to fill wheat pitas, along with spinach and tomatoes and a sort of Tzatziki sauce Jack whipped up real quick (sour cream, yogurt, dill, pickle juice). It was such a good meal. Healthy, as well, and with plenty of leftovers.
Then I saw this not martha entry about an article for other things to do with rotisserie chicken. So I went on a quest to find some neat dinner ideas for these convenient, affordable birdies.
This article (requires a simple little free registration) has some good basic tips and ideas. It includes some quotes from the author of this book, which is currently "in transit" to my local library branch.
Sara Moulten on the food network apparently had a whole show dedicated to the wonder of rotisserie chicken uses. There's a few recipes, but this Butter Chicken (Indian Chicken with tomato cream sauce) looks especially dee-lish.
Chicken Scarpariello and Chicken soup w/latin flavors, both good ideas from Good Housekeeping.
Another general article featuring some really good tips (like take the meat off the bone when it's still warm...it comes off easier that way) and also some links to recipes.
Chicken chipotle tamales...there's not a thing about that phrase I don't like :)
3 yummy recipes from New York chefs. Yeah, real chefs eat 'em too!
With all these possibilities, I may have to consider getting my own Roncno rotisserie! Set it....and forget it!!!
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
My Wine experience
Over the weekend Jack and I (thanks to a wonderful Christmas gift of 2 tickets) attended the St. Louis Food & Wine Experience at the Chase Park Plaza. So my theme this week is a whole bunch of what I can remember from this event. (I'm sorry there's not more tasting info, I didn't take notes, I just remembered what I liked...there was alot of wine to taste ;))
The wines we tasted and enjoyed:
-Ravenswood is an old favorite of mine, and we got to try the old vine Zinfandel. MMMM.
-Mad Dog's & Englishmen Shiraz Cabernet Monestrell I do enjoy blends...and this one was yummy
-Rancho Arroyo wines
-One of my favorite things was finally getting to try some Bonnydoon wines. I have admired the company for their sooper-fun website for quite some time, but haven't had the opportunity to try any of the actual wine. I tried the Cardinal Zin and the Cigar-something (which was only available in the VIP lounge-hoighty-toighty). Very good. Check out their campaign to get rid of corks.
-Also, in the VIP lounge, we tried Ice Wine for the first time (sorry don't recall a maker). It was soooooo sweet. 2 sips was enough. I mean there was a certain green-ness to it, but wow...it was like candy.
-Guenoc Reserve Wines
-Another first...Norton wines. We usually skip over the Missouri wine section at the store, because there's this stigma of being too-sweet grape-juice like wines and the dreaded white zinfandel-esque crowd pleasers. But since we were trying new things, we tried Chaumette winery's Norton, and it was delish! Quite different...very fruity and juicy without being sweet.
-Coppola Wines, which besides being yummy, had this wonderful film-geek item-A giant wine bottle with an apocalypse Now DVD in the base! Oh man, when they come out with the Godfather ones, look out...there goes my savings account.
Okay, on the food part. There wasn't very many food booths.
-There was Father Dominic the Bread Monk, though. He did a presentation and book signing. I love his show...I whish PBS would start it up again.
-The Chef from a new St. Louis restaurant Red Moon was there, too, but we missed his presentation. The restaurant, however gets a hearty recommendation from my good pal (and frequent diner-outer) Kelly.
-McArthur's Bakery provided some divine sweets. We kept making excuses to "pass by" that booth. Tiramisou, Brownies, Strawberry Shortcake....slurp.
-And jack was very excited to touch a real-live Viking range. Our next food field trip will be to the Viking Culinary Center here in town.
I'm probably forgetting things and omitting essential details, but it was a great experience. Like exploring. And can you blame me, I mean it was pretty much a bottomless wine-glass kind of situation...I chose stem in hand over pen in hand. I encourage you to explore your food favorites, whether it be wines or soups or chocolate or whatever. You'll have fun, and probably learn some stuff. Go on an adventure!
The wines we tasted and enjoyed:
-Ravenswood is an old favorite of mine, and we got to try the old vine Zinfandel. MMMM.
-Mad Dog's & Englishmen Shiraz Cabernet Monestrell I do enjoy blends...and this one was yummy
-Rancho Arroyo wines
-One of my favorite things was finally getting to try some Bonnydoon wines. I have admired the company for their sooper-fun website for quite some time, but haven't had the opportunity to try any of the actual wine. I tried the Cardinal Zin and the Cigar-something (which was only available in the VIP lounge-hoighty-toighty). Very good. Check out their campaign to get rid of corks.
-Also, in the VIP lounge, we tried Ice Wine for the first time (sorry don't recall a maker). It was soooooo sweet. 2 sips was enough. I mean there was a certain green-ness to it, but wow...it was like candy.
-Guenoc Reserve Wines
-Another first...Norton wines. We usually skip over the Missouri wine section at the store, because there's this stigma of being too-sweet grape-juice like wines and the dreaded white zinfandel-esque crowd pleasers. But since we were trying new things, we tried Chaumette winery's Norton, and it was delish! Quite different...very fruity and juicy without being sweet.
-Coppola Wines, which besides being yummy, had this wonderful film-geek item-A giant wine bottle with an apocalypse Now DVD in the base! Oh man, when they come out with the Godfather ones, look out...there goes my savings account.
Okay, on the food part. There wasn't very many food booths.
-There was Father Dominic the Bread Monk, though. He did a presentation and book signing. I love his show...I whish PBS would start it up again.
-The Chef from a new St. Louis restaurant Red Moon was there, too, but we missed his presentation. The restaurant, however gets a hearty recommendation from my good pal (and frequent diner-outer) Kelly.
-McArthur's Bakery provided some divine sweets. We kept making excuses to "pass by" that booth. Tiramisou, Brownies, Strawberry Shortcake....slurp.
-And jack was very excited to touch a real-live Viking range. Our next food field trip will be to the Viking Culinary Center here in town.
I'm probably forgetting things and omitting essential details, but it was a great experience. Like exploring. And can you blame me, I mean it was pretty much a bottomless wine-glass kind of situation...I chose stem in hand over pen in hand. I encourage you to explore your food favorites, whether it be wines or soups or chocolate or whatever. You'll have fun, and probably learn some stuff. Go on an adventure!
Monday, November 15, 2004
the unthinkable
Not my proudest food moment, but I thought I’d share anyway.
So I go out with some family and friends to this lounge at a local casino, heard some live cover songs, did some girl-talk, and drank too many Fat Tires. How do I know I had too many? Well ‘cause on the way home Jack managed to talk me into stopping by White Castle for some late-night chow. I have never liked white Castle… not one little bit. I don’t like smelling up the car with it, and I don’t like the taste nor texture of "slyders." But Jack insisted I would like their new chicken sandwiches, which are all real breast meat. He was paying…and driving, so I caved. The sandwiches were pretty good...
My fear of the crave started early in life. I saw a t.v. show one time, like a today-show type format. They had a guy on who wrote a book of top-secret recipes, and for the show he was making White Castle hamburgers. Here’s the yucky part…one of the ingredients was beef baby food! Yummmm. Kind of like This recipe. But apparently everyone and their mother has their own way of making them. Even Alton Brown. I don’t think I’ll be trying any of them soon.
I’d kind of like to see This movie though.
So I go out with some family and friends to this lounge at a local casino, heard some live cover songs, did some girl-talk, and drank too many Fat Tires. How do I know I had too many? Well ‘cause on the way home Jack managed to talk me into stopping by White Castle for some late-night chow. I have never liked white Castle… not one little bit. I don’t like smelling up the car with it, and I don’t like the taste nor texture of "slyders." But Jack insisted I would like their new chicken sandwiches, which are all real breast meat. He was paying…and driving, so I caved. The sandwiches were pretty good...
My fear of the crave started early in life. I saw a t.v. show one time, like a today-show type format. They had a guy on who wrote a book of top-secret recipes, and for the show he was making White Castle hamburgers. Here’s the yucky part…one of the ingredients was beef baby food! Yummmm. Kind of like This recipe. But apparently everyone and their mother has their own way of making them. Even Alton Brown. I don’t think I’ll be trying any of them soon.
I’d kind of like to see This movie though.
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