Snack of the Afternoon, 2/6/12: Canada’s Coffee Crisp Candy

February 6, 2012

Wafer-y goodness.

Today my bosses and I got a package in the mail from a Canadian work-friend (from a project we worked on last year). With gifts for everybody! Canadians are so nice.

My present was a 10-pack of a Canadian candy called Coffee Crisp. I wasn’t previously aware that such a thing existed, but I was excited because everybody knows that chocolate candies are better outside the United States. (I’ve probably talked about this before.)

Ooh la la.

So even though lactose is literally listed as an ingredient (it’s the same word in French and English), I was like– whatever. Delicacies from other countries are exempt from scrutiny. Right now. Because I said so. (And because I don’t even know if I should bother to worry about these negligible amounts of lactose– I mean, it’s not a GLASS of MILK.) (Incidentally– allergy-wise– these were make in a peanut-free facility… how progressive, Canada.)

At least each bar has no cholesterol and 2% of my daily calcium intake. So I’ve consumed 4% of my daily calcium intake via candy today. Thank, Canada!

I’m a sucker for anything wafer-related and the chocolate-coffee combination was sweet and not too strong. As the package promises, it’s “un gouter léger, délicieux.” Or– for those of you who don’t speak French (including me)– it “makes a nice light snack.”

I’m meeting a new work-friend for our latest project tomorrow, and will offer her a Coffee Crisp. The circle of work-friends! (PS– The old friend and the new friend have names that start with C, making this all very alliterative.)

What are your favorite foreign candies?

xoxo…

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A Cure for the Mondays: RAINBOW CUPCAKES!!!

August 29, 2011

Possibly the greatest thing you'll see this week/decade.

I recently turned 25. So far being a quarter-century old has been pretty awesome.

For example, my friend Whitney (who I’ve known since 2005-ish–so, for 6+ years?! This is what being old feels like…) made RAINBOW CUPCAKES for me! I took about twenty-five thousand pictures. Here are a few to beat your Monday blues…

With every bite, they get prettier.

There’s something psychedelic about these cupcakes… like a lava lamp, or a tie-dyed T-shirt. I love that even the wrappers were rainbow-fied.

Can you see the happy face?

That was my 2nd cupcake… I only ate two. Like a big girl. Each one had a different swirl/color pattern.

Pretty inside and out.

And though I’m not a fan of posting my own picture on here, I had to show you this… photo (and idea) by Sam.

Amazing rainbow technicolor cupcake eye!

In case you’re wondering HOW Whitney achieved this– first of all, she works in production design. AKA, she’s professionally creative and crafty. Technical specs-wise– she used vanilla cake mix, gel food coloring, and Funfetti frosting.

Here’s a picture she sent during the process…

Painting? No-- baking.

I’ve seen a rainbow cake before, but never a rainbow cupcake! Life-changing! I can now go forth into the world as a full-blown 25-year-old.

Can I frame a cupcake wrapper? Is that crazy-pants?

The best part? I still have two left in my refrigerator. Shall I have a rainbow cupcake for breakfast?

When I was, like, 11 years old, if you had told me that when I turned 25 I’d be living in LA, working in TV and eating rainbow cupcakes for breakfast– I think I would have been pretty pumped. I shouldn’t be so hard on myself. That 11-year-old would totally think I’ve made it in life. Time to retire!

Actually– time to go to work.

And THANKS, WHITNEY! :)

xoxo…

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‘Cause It’s Hot Hot Hot

August 26, 2011

Ugh.

When I was in 10th grade (I think), I went to a conference for liberal Jewish kids, held in Washington, DC. It was December. I’d never been to the East Coast in the snow. I met a kid from Michigan, who was originally from Alaska. Or something like that. And he said, “Yuck, I’d never want to live in California. It’s soooo hot there.”

But that’s not really true. It’s typically pretty temperate out here. Honestly, it probably gets hotter in the summer in certain parts of Michigan than it does here, if my experiences with the East Coast are any indication. (Miserable summers, miserable winters.)

But anyway, it IS really, really hot in Southern California right now. Like, 106 degrees in Los Feliz hot. (I checked the weather for Sherman Oaks and Santa Monica, just to compare. 102 and 75, respectively.) (And apparently it’s only 5 degrees hotter in Palm Springs, at 111– yikes. When you’re almost as hot as the hottest place possible around here– YIKES.)

Yesterday the heat made me a bit ill/dehydrated, so today I’m just lazing around my apartment, trying to recover. (Of course I’m going to an OUTDOOR CONCERT later, but hopefully things cool down by then.) (And of course my apartment doesn’t have central AC and tends to heat up like an oven, soo….)

The best thing to eat in this weather? The best thing in my freezer, at least? Tropical Popsicles. Or–as Sam has coined them– Tropsicles. At 15 calories each, on a day like today I can eat MANY Tropsicles, guilt free. I like to take two out at once, so the second one gets nice and slushy.

You can see the second trop "on deck."

I’m going to try to catch up on some blogging, since there’s not much else I feel like doing right now.

At least I’m not in the hurricane zone. Stay safe, everybody in Irene’s path!

Also, the title of this post makes me think of a live-action video I used to have of Samuel E. Wright (the voice of Sebastian) singing and dancing with a bunch of Little Mermaid-loving kids. I can’t find that, but here’s the song.

How do you beat the heat?

xoxo…

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Snack of the [Morning]: CHALLAH FRENCH TOAST (Swingers Diner)

March 26, 2011

CHALLAH!

I met up with a friend at Swingers this morning. I’m definitely an omelet/eggs/toast girl, but when I found out that the French toast is CHALLAH French toast, I decided to try it. Saturday morning is Shabbat, after all.

Sometimes you just have to go for it.

Of course, later I felt vaguely ill. (I thought I was only going to get one piece… but when I got two, I ate both.)

But at the time, I was totally up for splitting this peanut butter & chocolate cupcake for dessert. (As if the French toast wasn’t dessert-y enough.)

You're my favorite mistake.

There were actual peanuts in the cake, which looked kinda squat & cornbread-like. But was good. And I like the chocolate frosting. It was grainy in a way that appealed to me. (Of course, I ate it very sparingly. That’s a ridiculous excess of frosting.)

So next time I’ll pass on the French toast (but glad I tried it/indulged) and maybe try a s’more cupcake. (And– if I can break myself away from breakfast foods, which I love at diners– order something with quinoa.)

Happy almost-Havdalah, Jews! (Wish I had a guitarist, a braided candle, wine, and some spices in a funny container.)

[EDIT: My parents are on it! Hilarious.]

xoxo…

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Snack of the Afternoon, 3/21/11: Metaphorical Lemonade

March 21, 2011

Whoops.

Howdy. After a morning of blood-letting (I have small veins… sometimes petite is not a good thing) and finding out that my glasses are going to take longer than I thought, I went a little stir-crazy and asked my eye doctor if I could steal some Focus Dailies (disposable contacts)– just for the drive to LA. And he said okay. And my eyes said okay and spent 90 minutes obeying the contact lenses.

So I’m back in LA. YES! (And trying not to drive…)

Today’s snack is not a food. It’s a plant, but not a food plant. (As far as I know.)

Backstory: Remember how I gave Mr. Tea the pancake molds? Well, he gave me a hydrangea. And I went into overprotective parent mode, always wondering if I’d watered it enough– and possibly over-watering it, just to be safe.

Before I left for my eye appointment on Saturday morning, Mr. Tea said, “Maybe you should bring the hydrangea in. It’s supposed to rain.” (I keep the hydrangea on my balcony.) (Urban garden!) Not really understanding the type of storm that was headed for LA, I said, “Perfect. I’ll leave it out, and then I won’t have to worry about whether it has enough water.”

Well, it got enough water, all right. (See top photo.) (My roommate actually brought the hydrangea inside last night, but I put it back out there for dramatic effect/because I thought the sun would heal it?) (I’m kind of silly.)

I told Mr. Tea the bad news: It had taken me a whopping less-than-a-month to kill his lovely gift. And I was also pretty depressed, because that hydrangea was my baby/pet. (I take a lot of unnecessary pictures of it.)

But Mr. Tea was not perturbed. He sent me a link to an eHow Guide to pruning hydrangeas. So prune I did! (AKA cut off the broken stems.)

Revived!

(The picture came out dark, and pulling up the exposure gave it that halo effect.)

Looking a lot less sideways, right?

And it just so happened that my yellow mums from the Farmers’ Market were way past ready to throw out (and I didn’t get a chance to go to the market this weekend for purple daisies… if there even WAS a market, what with the storm and the LA marathon), so I was able to use my prunings to make a new bouquet. (Also Mr. Tea’s idea.) (The man’s a genius!)

Problem solved.

Out of one thrashed plant, I got a vase full of lovely flowers and a more or less vertical hydrangea again. My sadness about the plant gave way to… feeling pretty proud of myself for fixing it up (with encouragement from the internet-chatting sidelines).

So I managed to dig myself out of a few low spots today. I got back to LA despite an initial lack of options AND I managed to turn a wretched outdoor plant into a not-so-wretched (and sometimes-outdoor, but probably not when it rains) plant, and a lovely indoor arrangement. I took my metaphorical lemons, and made myself some metaphorical lemonade. Sweet, sweet lemonade.

I love the delicate/papery/butterfly-ness of these flowers.

Looks pretty alive, right?

I reported to Mr. Tea that all was well, and the plant and its clippings were looking good. “That’s the beauty of a potted plant,” he said. “It’s the gift that keeps on giving.”

Not to get all shmoopsy, but I was thinking that latter sentiment about Mr. Tea himself.

xoxo…

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Snack of the [Weekend]: May the (Pancake) Force Be With You

March 20, 2011

Looks easy enough...

First of all, can I just say– this has been a kinda shitty weekend. For the past… over a week, my contacts have not been cooperating with my eyes. I went to an ophthalmologist in LA, and he said it was seasonal allergies (which I’ve never had before…). I wasn’t appeased, so yesterday I came home and went to my lifelong optometrist, and he flipped my eyelids inside out (fun…) and found them to be all GPC-d up. As in, giant papillary conjunctivitis. Caused by… my contact lenses. Hooray!

SO I am using steroid eyedrops, which cost A HUNDRED DOLLARS for 5 mL. (Like, a teaspoon. Maybe less.) And I can’t wear my contacts for MAYBE months. Probably weeks. (I generally wear my contacts ALL THE TIME.) (Which… caused this, I guess.)

PROBLEM: My current mega-prescription glasses are not up-to-date, so I’m seeing at something like 20/200. And my right eye has RANDOMLY jumped from -9.5 to -12. (My left eye did that a few years ago, but went back to normal pretty fast.) (Only it jumped from -10 to -7… like, miracle-better. For two minutes.)

I’m feeling like one of those people on “Mystery Diagnosis” right now. Waiting for new glasses, but hoping my right eye will go back to freaking normal pretty soon. (And getting some blood tests done in the meantime.) (And… stuck at home until I get some glasses that allow me to see well enough to DRIVE.)

But aaaaaanyway… pancakes.

There are three truths about Mr. Tea that hold themselves to be self-evident. One: He drinks a lot of tea. Two: He likes to make pancakes from scratch, with real buttermilk. Three: Star Wars is his favorite movie.

When I saw Star Wars pancake molds at Williams Sonoma, I said to myself, “I must buy these and make up some reason to give Mr. Tea a present.”

I’m not exactly Star Wars illiterate, but I was so young when I saw the original films on TV (I have not seen all of the new ones, but… I don’t think that’s a mark against me) that they all kinda blend together in my head. (I’m guessing I saw them in random bits and spurts, because my dad probably watched them many times on TV as I was growing up.) I have to ask, “Which one has the Ewoks?” “Which one has the golden bikini?” And I have no idea what the chronology is. (Spaceballs on the other hand– I’m fluent.)

As usual, Mr. Tea did most of the cooking and I did most of the documenting.

Vader in progress…

Gasp. My mask is filling with batter!

Warning: You WILL want to hum the Imperial March while making these.

The pancake molds’ eye holes were a bit strange. Yoda’s filled with batter when we flipped him, but were still visible/creepy.

See you I do.

Has he ever looked more like an alien?

The Stormtrooper got stuck in his mold, and seemed very upset about it. Look at his sad mouth! (Actually his respirator?)

Why have you foresaken me?!

I thought the Stormtrooper looked like a depressed Grimace (the McDonald’s character).

Very appropriate find, Google Images!

Speaking of things that are purple, eventually we gave up on the molds (so much cleaning) and made some good ol’ fashioned blueberry pancakes.

Flippin' the flapjacks.

My friend who owns the Star Wars molds told me that they get easier the more you make them. So eventually they might actually look like they do on the package?

Practice makes perfect?

But Mr. Tea suspects– and I tend to agree– that that picture is a LIE. He’s not even sure those are pancakes, in the picture. And food styling is a notoriously lie-filled endeavor.

But… who cares? It’s still fun to have the OPTION of making some novelty Star Wars character pancakes, with/for all the nerds in your life. (Williams Sonoma has a whole line of Star Wars stuff.)

If you have a good attitude and a sense of whimsy, you’ll enjoy making these (and watching them come out somewhat strange/hilarious-looking), whether or not they turn out exactly as pictured on the packaging and/or fully edible. It’s weekend fun. Which I hope you’re having right about now. (I’m about to drown my sorrows in some Dreyer’s Mint Cookie Crunch.)

See you later! (But maybe not WELL.) (Enjoy the rain and wind, Southern California.)

xoxo…

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(Sorta) Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

March 17, 2011

I love the ruffly frosting.

I’m not trying to front or anything. I don’t really celebrate/care about St. Patrick’s Day. But today I was gifted with a green, obviously-for-the-holiday cupcake. So I figured I should post it in a timely fashion.

Every St. Patrick’s Day I TRY to remember to wear green (because where I grew up, pinching was a REAL DANGER). Like, this morning at the gym (where I watch the news… two birds, one elliptical) I heard them say it was St. Patrick’s Day, and I saw the LEPRECHAUN on the weather forecast, and that Al Roker only gave the weather for places like Shamrock, Ohio (or wherever it was). And I thought, “I have to remember to wear green.”

CUT TO: I’m driving to work, wearing a gray shirt and a blue hoodie, when somebody on the radio mentions St. Patrick’s Day. And I start yelling at myself (literally), because how dumb am I? That’s two years running that I have forgotten to wear green (but randomly DID wear green underwear… both years).

As I drove toward my building at work, the first thing that I saw was a man wearing GREEN JEANS. (HA.) I said to myself, “Oh no, pinching time FOR SURE.” But so far, so good. That guy was the anomaly. (As people in green jeans usually are.)

Anyway, this cupcake is from Studio Cafe Magazzino, makers of the most amazing vegan veggie puree soups (I’m sure I’ll blog their real food later). So of course the cupcake was delicious, the frosting so sugary and perfect that I actually ate it all.

I love the ruffly-ness of the way it was frosted. Sam posits that they were trying to make a St. Patrick’s Day-appropriate cabbage. You decide.

So yeah, by the luck of the Irish I got a little cupcake treat.

Must be the green underwear.

xoxo…

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Snack of the Afternoon, 3/7/11: PRETZEL ROLLS from The Bread Man/Hollywood Farmers’ Market

March 7, 2011

You're a star.

I sorta got off my weightlifting/Farmers’ Marketing routine for a month or so, because I went on several cool little weekend trips, got sick, etc. But now I’m back in the groove, and my new resolution is to buy one thing from the market each week. Because it’s more fun if you’re in it to buy.

A few weeks ago I finally acquired a vase (from Target) (for my Valentine’s flowers… AWWW), so it’s a no-brainer to keep buying flowers for the vase. I feel like such an adult/cool person with an interesting life (fake it ’til you make it?), walking around with a bunch of flowers tied up in newspaper.

Last week I bought two bunches of mums (one yellow, one white) for five dollars. (I also bought a box of Samoas, which are still called Samoas in Los Angeles– WHEW.) A week later, I took this picture.

Still kicking!

It’s obviously too soon to replace them, but this week at the same stand I scoped out some lovely purple daisies. I’m not saying that I’m EXCITED for the mums to die. That would be mean. But I am excited for purple daisies. Probably next weekend. (Sorry mums!)

I’ve been changing the water every few days, and sprinkling some sugar into the water for nutrients. (Note: Flower water smells HORRIBLE. Like… nasty cheese or something. But the flowers are so pretty. It’s worth it.) (Having flowers has made me so responsible. Like, I have to do the dishes so that I’ll have room in the sink to refill the vase.) (Maybe in a few years I’ll be ready for a goldfish.)

This week I decided to finally buy the pretzel rolls I’ve been coveting (you know I’m all about the soft pretzels… though I STILL haven’t blogged the ones in Philly– whoops), from The Bread Man’s booth. A bag of rolls was $4.50.

Happy faces.

They were slightly oily to the touch, but in a bakery way. I zapped mine in the microwave so it would be warm. My one sadness is that there didn’t seem to be any salt baked into the rolls. I like my pretzels with a little salt.

But… now I’ve tried them! Now I don’t have to wonder/covet/stalk anymore! And next week I’ll buy something else (or two).

And I’ll try to write more! I have such a backlog of photos.

xoxo…

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Suck on This: SUKOKA SOFT COFFEE CANDY

January 7, 2011

Have a bite of coffee.

My mom and I were at Cost Plus World Market a few weeks ago, and she bought these coffee candies out of curiosity. (Side note: Don’t let the kinda generic name fool you– Cost Plus is the BEST! If there is one in your neighborhood, you MUST go… they have everything amazing from everywhere, including IMPORTED chocolates from CANADA and ENGLAND.) (And really pretty scarves, and alcohol, and cool wrapping paper… EVERYTHING.)

Our house is always overflowing with my mom’s favorite coffee candies, which I find to be WAY too strong. Like, whoa. Like, I need to spit this out IMMEDIATELY. So of course she tried the Sukokas and deemed them not strong enough. I, on the other hand, find them to be delightfully mild– like a nice latte. (I like them A LATTE? Hahahapuns.) I’m not a coffee drinker or a caffeine person, but I’m one of those weirdies who drinks decaf because I like the flavor of coffee. (Well… certain coffees, I guess.)

These candies are also nice because they start out firm and become chewy after a few moments. So they turn from hard candy to chewy candy… magic. (I start gnawing on them immediately… I’m impatient.) I brought them on my trip to eat on the plane when I got sick of gum (ear popping blargh), and I’m still carrying them around in my purse. They make a nice little treat throughout the day.

I also like to offer them around to people. “Indonesian coffee milk candy, anybody?” I feel like a worldly worldly person, even though I have no idea whether these are actually a popular thing in Indonesia, where they are made. (They PROBABLY are, or why would Cost Plus bother to import them?)

Anyway. I like these. My mom likes the other ones. YOU be the judge.

xoxo…

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Snack of the [Morning]: PRETZEL BAGEL!!! (Einstein Bros.)

January 7, 2011

HOW have I not heard of this before?

You guys, I know. I have not even blogged the Philly soft pretzels yet. But it’s easier at work to do quick blurby posts, and I’m very excited to share this morning’s find with you: PRETZEL BAGEL! Bagel made of pretzel!

Lately I seem to discover a new food every day. There’s so much out there in the food-iverse! It’s expanding at the speed of… flavors? Food trucks? (They probably can’t drive over 50 mph… and LA streets are treacherous with potholes, post-rain.)

Apparently our local Noah’s has become an Einstein Bros. (they’re the same thing– I figured this out when my sister in St. Louis sent me a picture of the exact same Noah’s pumpkin shmear, with the Einstein logo), and therefore no longer has sourdough bagels… but HAS pretzel bagels? (Maybe Noah’s had them before, but we never had them at the office… so I ASSUME this is new, because who would NOT buy a pretzel bagel if it was available?)

Hi, guys!

RIP sourdough, but pretzel is very exciting! (And… not listed on their website? Spooky.) Especially because I have been on a bit of a pretzel-quest lately.

Spoiler alert about the Philly pretzels– I never got a fresh-baked one, so they were all a little cold. Because I’m at the office, I was able to zap my pretzel bagel (batzel? pragel?) in the microwave for ten seconds, and that made ALL the difference. Warm pretzels for the win! (I need to invent a portable, hand-held microwave for my next Philly trip.) (Or just show up at the pretzel-ry when the pretzels are coming out of the oven.)

I ate it plain, because cream cheese seemed unnecessary. And I’m not a mustard-on-pretzels person. The pretzel is enough! (And I always try to scrape off most of the salt… my sodium intake is already frightening, I’m sure.) (Microwave soup for lunch most days.)

Happy Friday! Happy pretzel-hunting to all! (Hopefully I’ll do a few more posts for ya… we’ll see where the day takes me.)

xoxo…

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