Tillamook Country Smoker Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper All Natural Beef Jerky

GAWD DAMMIT ALL TO HELL!!!

Zapp's New Orleans Kettle Style Evil Eye

You remind me of the chips.
What chips?
The chips with the power.
What power?
The power of voodoo.
Who do?
You do.
Do what?
Remind of the chips

SAL de IBIZA Salt & Vinegar Chips

Today I woke up and chose self-care.

Diamond of California Hickory Smoked Bacon Walnuts

Fourth times the charm?

Diamond of California Teriyaki Wasabi Walnuts

Third times the charm? Hope I'm not disappointed.

Diamond of California Hot Honey Walnuts

Guess who's back? With more walnuts?

Diamond of California Himalayan Pink Salt Walnuts

Walnuts are my least favorite nut.

HARIBO Herzebeben & HARIBO Primavera Erdbeeren

After work one day, I decided to run some errands. I went to a couple places, but I usually like to plan my errands so everything is in one spot so I don't have to drive all crazy around town.

So the store I went to was in a shopping plaza next to a Cost Plus World Market - which I hadn't gone to in ages. Not finding anything in the store that I liked, I headed next door.

SONIC SLUSHED DROPS

I think the first time I really heard of SONIC was when I was on a "road trip," and we stopped for some grub in Oklahoma. We pulled up to a SONIC Drive-In, and from what I can recall, I had a pleasant food experience.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Jelly Beans Mix

In all honesty, I have no idea where I picked these up, but two thoughts crossed my mind when I saw them: 1. these could be interesting, and 2. they remind me of my brother.

Chocolate Storybook Cotton Candy - Bacon

So... friends of mine tagged me on a post of theirs on Facebook of bacon cotton candy. I was ecstatic and joked about when I was getting some. Shortly after that inquiry, I received a dm to expect a package within a couple days.

Peeps Marshmallow - Hot Tamales Fierce Cinnamon

I love Peeps!

I honestly cannot remember the first time I ever had a Peep. I'm guessing it was a rather long time ago. I don't remember eating them when I was single-digit young, so I probably tried them out in my teens, but whenever I first tried them, I became a fan.

Sol Cuisine - Crispy Chik'n - Plant Based Bites

pic from site - not my image

Last night I was craving something to eat, but I didn't want to cook something too time-consuming. 

Since I like trying out new things, I have the habit of going to the store with a list but then seeing something that interests me... and into the cart it goes. I wouldn't necessarily call it impulse-buying completely since I do read and review the item to see if it's something that I will like. (Yeah, I don't put EVERYTHING in my cart that catches my eye.)

Bubbies Hawaii - Cookie Dough [Brownie Batter with Peanut Butter Ice Cream Inside]

Hello and welcome to another PMS inspired purchase.

Back in the day when "powerloss" entered my life, my cravings would be on the sweet side. As I got older, it was a coin toss of sweet versus salty. There are even days where I craved spicy (which if you knew me, you'd know spicy and I have had an odd relationship - but I have been known to go through a Del Taco drive-thru and order deep-fried jalapeno slices... and nearly finished them every time save for the fact I'd get full and could eat no more).

AIZA'S SWEETS Pastillas de Ube

I think I've already spoken about my love of ube. It's just so tasty. And if it's a flavor option - especially for a dessert - I'm most likely going to try it.

A friend at work (another Filipina) and often have conversations about food, and we both excited about Filipino food A LOT. One day when she got into the office, she stopped by my desk and handed me a bag of treats. When I saw the purple, I immediately got excited.

Chewy milk candy with purple yam.

Siren Protein Bites - Lemon Poppyseed

While out running errands, I started to get a little hungry, but I didn't want to stop and eat a full meal since I had planned on cooking when I got home. So I opted for a snack I could eat while driving around.

Cadbury Creme Egg Cookies (Limited Edition)

When I was little, I was a bit obsessed with the Cadbury Egg.

I blame the commercials.

They usually played around Easter every year. I'd see a big fluffy bunny rabbit twitching its little nose, and clucking like a chicken laying an egg. But this bunny was different - this bunny laid Cadbury eggs.

In the commercial, someone would unwrap an egg, tear it in two, and show off the ooey-gooey insides (which were the color of an actual egg - yellow center with white around it).

I was fascinated. Plus - the bunny was adorable, and the fact it "bok-bok'd" like a chicken made me laugh.

I can't remember how long it was after seeing those commercials that I actually had one of the eggs - but I do remember my reaction though, and it was a little less than favorable. I was super excited to try one, but when I did, the inside wasn't 100% appealing. The flavor and consistency of the creme were not what I expected. But for some reason every time I saw a Cadbury Egg, I had to get one and try it out. (Now, I feel the need to say here that they were a rather popular item so actually acquiring one when I wanted one wasn't always a success so I didn't have TONS of them.)

Fast forward to now! At the store, minding my own business, checking out the candy section (like I do - don't judge!) and what do I see? Cadbury Cookies!

And they're Limited Edition - so I just had to have them.

Visually, they remind me of Thin Mints all covered in chocolate, and when you bite into them, they have crispy crunchy cookies, but in the middle of those cookies is the infamous creme that - as a child - I did not enjoy or remember fondly. But a lot of my tastes and flavors changed since I was little so I bought them and tried them at home.

And I like them!

I don't know. Maybe it's a different creme-filling (I get more caramel notes than I did before), but they are quite yummy. They are also very sweet. I highly suggest only one or two as well as a glass of milk or water as a palate cleanser.

The 4.9 oz package housed 8 cookies.

A serving is 2 cookies which leave 4 servings per package - and each serving is 170 calories.

I hope "Limited Edition" means they were just testing them out to see if people liked them... and they bring them back. It also makes me want to try Cadbury Eggs again.

https://www.cadburyusa.com/en_us/home.html
https://www.mondelezinternational.com/

Later my lovelies.

Have Goodness!
Rae

Garoto Chocolate Bon Bon Assortment

I like to go to Cost Plus World Market. They have lots of neat things. I've gotten some gifts for friends and family there.

For me?

I usually go home with a number of items from the food and drink area. And I usually leave with more than I really should.

I live alone for frak sakes. Me? In an apartment full of snacks and booze? Gee, what could possibly go wrong?

One of the things that caught my eye was a little box of chocolates, and just like Forrest Gump's Mama always said - you never know what you're gonna get.

To be fair, I've rarely met a chocolate I didn't like or at least was okay enough to chew and not spit out - so this assortment had that going for them at least. I do remember thinking the coloring of the box made me think of Charleston Chew - but when I eventually opened the box up, I then thought this would be candy I'd have grabbed from a cracked open pinata. (And yes, I've been to many a party with many a pinata so I'm speaking from experience.

Without further ado - the chocolates!

In order of how they appear on the back of the box.

Baton Extra Milk (Extra Milk)

The packaging of this chocolate reminds me of a small pack of Smarties or Rolaids, but when I unwrapped it, it was a solid tiny rolling pin of chocolate. When I bit into it, the insides look like there was some white chocolate in there.

It looked and smelled like sweet milk chocolate.

Baton AO Leite (Milk)

Wrapped the same as the previous "baton" but when I bit into this one, it was all chocolate though a darker milk chocolate than the first one.

Opereta Creme (Cashew Nut)

This one was wrapped like a Hershey Nugget. It looked and smelled like white chocolate. It tasted fine, but I didn't really taste any cashew nut... which was disappointing since I love cashews.

Pacoca (Peanut Butter)

This candy was packed like a pull/twist hard candy... or Tootsie Roll. The chocolate itself looked like a mini-Butterfinger. The bite was soft and definitely tasted like peanut butter and also had a strong peanut butter scent. 

Caribe (Banana)

This was the same twist-type packaging and look like the previous candy. The smell was faintly of banana, but the taste was VERY banana. It also had the color of over-ripe bananas and was chewy like molasses.

Talente Duo Caramelo Salgado (50% Cocoa & Salted Caramel)

This one was packaged like a Ghiradelli chocolate square but a little smaller. It smelled sweet like chocolate, and I could taste the cocoa and caramel. It also had a bit of crunch to it.

It Coco (Coconut)

This was another twist candy that unwrapped looked like a mini Butterfinger. Ohhh, I could smell the coconut - which made me happy - but it was denser in texture than an Almond Joy or Mounds bar. Tasty!

AO Leite (28% cocoa)

This was another Hershey nugget size candy. It definitely smelled like chocolate - a little deeper than milk chocolate but softer than a dark chocolate. The initial bite is a bit hard, but after a while, it gets chewy as you chew it. 

Crocante (Peanut Crunch)

Another Tootsie roll wrap-type. Also mini Butterfinger size. This one had the crunch consistency in the ballpark of an actual Butterfinger though it leaned a little toward a peanut brittle consistency - like if a Butterfinger and peanut brittle had a baby

Talento Duo Maracuja (50% Cocoa & Passion Fruit)

This last one is packaged like a smaller Ghiradelli square, but the top layer smelled lovely and quite "passion-fruity." I could smell more chocolate than fruit, and the fruity top half looked more like milk chocolate with black dots in it (most likely the passionfruit seeds). The fruit flavor wasn't bitter but significantly different from the other chocolates.

1 box is 10.5oz, and the infamous "they" say a serving is 2 pieces (which results in 11 servings per box).

Overall, not a bad box of chocolate. My favorites would be (in order they were reviewed): Pacoca (Peanut Butter), Caribe (Banana), Talente Duo Caramelo Salgado (50% Cocoa & Salted Caramel), It Coco (Coconut), and Crocante (Peanut Crunch),

The rest can tie for second place.

I think I'd much prefer a bulk bin I can grab my preferred flavors from as opposed to getting a box and only eating perhaps half the chocolates in said box. But overall - not a disappointing box of chocolates.

https://www.worldmarket.com/product/garoto+chocolate+bon+bon+assortment.do?sortby=ourPicks

https://www.garoto.com.br/#1

https://www.garoto.com.br/produtos/lista/caixas#1

Later my lovelies.

Have Goodness!
Rae

ZAZUBEAN - Pomegranate & Hazelnut with Coconut Sugar

One day after work on my way to my friend's house for a weekly friend get together, I stopped by a store for some wine (like you do), and as an impulse buy, I got a chocolate bar that looked promising. (To be fair and totally honest, the pomegranate caught my eye first... and then there was the coconut aspect. It being chocolate was just a bonus at that point.)

The front label also says that it's chocolate with coconut milk which sounds extra yummy and promising.

Opening the bar makes me think of when Charlie opened his Wonka bar and found his Golden Ticket... but I wasn't expecting anything but chocolate in this case.

Removing the bar from the foil wrapper, the chocolate is sectioned in small rectangles like a Hershey bar. Right away, I can smell the fruit mixed with the chocolate which is happy-making on its own. Breaking off a section, I can see the hazelnuts mixed into the chocolate, and as I chew it, everything blends well together. I get a little bit of everything - nothing overpowers the taste. I can't taste any of the coconut, but that's most likely because it wasn't an ingredient per se - the sugar and milk mixed together with everything else results in a great final chocolate bar. I think the only obvious way I could taste the coconut would be if there were shredded bits in it, but I feel the milk at least helped with the smooth and creamy texture.taste.

Tasty tasty chocolate of the Underworld!

The bar is 3oz and 55% cacao. One serving is half a bar (or 1.5oz) and is 240 calories.

In checking out the website, they have other chocolate bars with fun-sounding names that I'm curious to try. But first, I need to finish this bar.

https://www.zazubean.com/coconut-sugar-chocolate
https://www.zazubean.com/

Later my lovelies.

Have Goodness!
Rae

Trader Joe's Cauliflower Gnocchi

I was that random kid that liked her vegetables.

Granted I wasn't open to ALL veggies and fruits - that was more my brother - but I liked most.

But when I think back on my childhood, I had been presented with the basics: apples, pears, bananas, oranges, lettuce, carrots, etc. There were more exotic types of things when I was older - such as mango and rhubarb - but there were so many more fruits and vegetables that I didn't know of (or try) until I was older... or had dinner at a friends house.

I think cauliflower was always on my radar. I've always been a curious person, and I'd see a lot of things during my many trips to the grocery store with my mother - most we never bought since my mother usually stuck to staple vegetables like carrots, onions, etc. I remember seeing cauliflower which I thought looked rather similar to broccoli.

It wasn't until I was older that I had cauliflower - mostly as a side vegetable dish or mixed in with other vegetables. By now, I've tried cauliflower rice, cauliflower crust for pizza... I've even made veggie tacos with seasoned and roasted cauliflower florets. Cauliflower is like tofu where it alone doesn't have a lot of flavor, but you can mix it with other things, and it'll soak up the flavor of the dish.

So as mentioned in my Kale Gnocchi post, I first found out about Cauliflower Gnocchi via YouTube. The gnocchi looked like white tater tots and was good on its own, but I added seasonings and cheese to mine... so it was extra yummy.

It's quite a versatile item. I have since bought more from Trader Joe's and have plans for different ways to prep it. Thinking about it now though - I'm leaning toward cheese... maybe an alfredo sauce or something... or some cut up chicken or sausage.

The bag is 12oz and contains 2.5 servings - each serving being about a cup and 140 calories. (Again, my math reminds me that a cup is 8oz, right? I'm assuming they mean the cooked result is more?)

https://www.traderjoes.com/digin/post/cauliflower-gnocchi

Later my lovelies.

Have Goodness!
Rae