Diablito from Splash Fruits

I didn't drink him.

Today I went to the outlet mall to check out some hair products for my Fro-ness. I'm always on the search for anything that can tame "the beast" without damaging my hair. Usually when I find something that works, it gets discontinued or becomes uber expensive leaving me to search out other affordable methods.

But I digress.

On the way to the beauty supply store I passed what I thought was a fruit stand... in the mall. Literally. I thought it was just a bunch of dudes selling cut up fruit at the mall to people. I don't mind it. I love fruit. Thought it was fine idea to me. But I went for hair stuff first.

Achievement Unlocked: 

Acquired Paul Mitchell - Curls "Twist Around" and "Full Circle Leave-In Treatment"

Done in the beauty supply store, I headed back for some fruit. I thought I'd at least take a look, maybe get something, and then head to Cold Stone Creamery for a drink (they apparently have Boba Milk Tea there now - at least the one in mall did).

Stopping at what I thought was a fruit stand of sorts, I saw that the name on the little set up was called "Splash Fruits" - and it's mostly fruit. I saw giant trays of watermelon, passionfruit, mango, cantaloupe, honeydew... (I'm sure there are ones that I'm missing a lot more).

There wasn't too long of a line so I walked about the little set up and saw their menu.

Snapshot of menu - complete with my silhouette

In checking out the menu, I wanted to try it all, but I settled for the Diablito. 

I'm still craving spicy in my later years, which is odd since some foods I'm now able to take, but other spicy items still need a little work. I've also had this weird fascination with mango con chile. I LOVE mangos and wanted to have some, but I never pick them up at the store. I've made elote before, but for some reason, I have yet to muster up the gumption to try some mango con chile.

Maybe later... from these guys.

Now anything with "Diablo" in it is sure to kill me because it usually means - in the food world, at

I got the small size.

least - FIRE! FIRE! YOU'RE GOING TO DIE! (Or something like that.)In any case, I paid for my drink, he gave me my ticket, and I walked around to watch the fruit chef in action.

The dude took an entire watermelon and sliced it like a samurai. Damn! And it looked like a lot of things he was making were Coctel de Frutas (fruit cocktail), the second most popular item being the Tostilocos which also looked great.

My drink consisted of crushed ice, tamarind, chamoy, tajin, lemon and salt (though in looking up the recipe on the interwebs, there are many variations to the beverage, some of which are alcoholic making me think of the variations on Bloody Marys - another fave beverage of mine).. I tried watching him make it, but he was on the other side, his back blocking my view. All I really saw was him do was get the ice from the machine.

Then he called out my number, and I saw this delicious thing of shaved iceness, and I thought "Yes, of delicious refreshment of mine. Come to Mama... so mama may suck your innards out through a tamarind coated straw." 

Funny side note about tamarind - I've always been a little phobic of tamarind. Not sure that's the right word, but I would be of the mindset "OH! Something new! I want to try it!" and then this weird part of my mind would say "NOOOO!!! It looks weird. It's going to taste TERRIBLE! DON'T DO IT!

Hellooooo tasty treat!

FOR THE LOVE OF GAWD!" Then Alithea S flew in from Colorado for her grandfather's (mother's father) birthday. While she was here, Kathy W and I managed to sneak in some "basking" time with her. We spent almost all day Sunday with her, and stayed for dinner (BURGERS!!!) and family time. Some of the birthday party leftovers were offered up to me and Kathy, and I was gifted with the big unopened bottle of Tamarind Jarritos. When I asked what it tasted like, all Alithea could say was "it's sweet?" followed by "you'll just have to taste it."

So after drinking this drink, I'm SO going to try the soda (which is made with 100% sugar and NOT caffeinated - so sayeth the bottle).

In any case, I waited until I got back to the car before I took a sip, and I was literally sitting parked in my car in the parking garage saying aloud "Damn! That tastes amazing!"

Would I Ever Try This Again? WTF do you think? I just can't decide if I want to chance the mango or go for the fruit cocktail.

Lay's Chips - Southern Biscuits and Gravy & New York Reuben

So I'm trying to be a good girl and lose some weight. Not because I want to be anorexically thin. I know my body and know its shape, and that ain't ever gonna happen, y'all - mmmkay? Even if I wanted it - which I don't.

I have been rather proud of myself. I'll go to the store to pick up a few things, and I'll come across that impulsively want - like cheese or bread or something. But I've been good about walking way, reasoning with myself "Do I really want or need that?"

If you happened by me while I'm at the store, you might see me talking to myself. "Nope... you don't need anymore cheese. You have those two small blocks at home. You can get some later when you run out." That kind of thing.

There is also the whole "talking myself out of sweets" self-chat. I am amazed at the levels of NO I tell myself on a regular basis. Admittedly I will indulge in some kind of splurge like for ice cream or something, but I've also been good with "No... just a couple bites. You don't have to devour the whole thing in one sitting."

The fact that I'm listening to myself is MIND BLOWING!

One day while shopping for my oatmeal fixings (See? Healthy!), I went down the chip aisle and saw some Larry the Cable Guy's Biscuits & Gravy Chips. Now I love me some chips (PMS loves the salty goodness, and I just love chips and dip in general). I also love biscuits and gravy. But the bag was like $5.00, and I wasn't willing to spend that on something that I would most likely not enjoy. (Just had a feeling.) Still I was curious.

Fast forward to this past week when I was running errands with Jessie F. We did our thing and were heading back to her place and stopped by the store for dinner things when I walked right past some chips display extravaganza. And what did I find? Lay's Chips - 2/$5.00. And one of the flavors was biscuits and gravy.

Now the Lay's bags were a bit bigger than Larry's chip bags, and I could get two for the price of one of his. So I let it sit as we shopped for dinner.

I had completely forgot Lay's was doing the whole "Do Us A Flavor" again. This time around, the flavors are tastier. Granted I only had two so far, but still. In the same section of the display as the biscuits and gravy were the New York Reuben chips. Later at the end of our shopping spree, I decided to go back for the chips. Walking up in the opposite direction, the other side of the display had a third flavor - Greek Gyro (or something along those lines). Jessie was behind me, so I turned and asked her, "Reubens or gyros?" Loving the former, she immediately said REUBEN, and that was done.

Per our normal ritual, we ate, made cocktails and then sat on her couch to chit chat the night away. Me being me, before food, I whipped out the chips, opening biscuits and gravy first. DEAR GAWD! I love those things. I smelled the bag, and you could smell the faint scent of the breakfast treat, but once you bite into the chip? Dude. Lovely.

We ate a couple of those before I set that bag aside and opened the reuben bag. The smell from this bag was spot on sandwich goodness. The flavor was there, but we agreed it smelled more like the sandwich than it tasted.

The general consensus was that the biscuits and gravy won by a bit more, but the reuben bag was still pretty tasty. I am quite surprised in my current PMS "I want to eat everything covered in chocolate and salt" state that I didn't devour both bags completely, but I managed to display some willpower. Both flavors are quite addicting. Jessie would forget she was eating them and eventually push the bag to me begging me to take them away from her. In the end, I put them away, the bags and our friendship still in tact.

Willpower, people. The fact that I can control cravings while I'm PMS'ing the frak out?  Proof magic exists.

Well done Hailey Green (Southern Biscuits & Gravy) and Jeff Solensky (New York Reuben) with the help of Lay's. Y'all made some great chips.

Would I Ever Try This Again?: I say "yes". My PMS says "HELLS YEAH!!!"

https://www.dousaflavor.com/