Eye Candy

A while ago I wrote about some licorice that Bazooka Betsy brought me back from Amsterdam. She went to a shop called Mariska Schaefer's Candy Store. Check out this great photographic portrait of Mariska in her store by Martin Alberts. Don't you just wish you could go there?

Halloween '09: What Dressing Like a Fly Agaric Mushroom Will Net You

It took me a whole day to recover, but I think it's safe to say that I survived Halloween '09. First stop: Father John's for the difficult decision of which full-size bar to take. (It just occurs to me that Father John looks a lot like Ricky Gervais.)
Actually, the Sugar Baby had no trouble deciding. He went straight for the Almond Joy, which was the same one he picked last year, despite the fact that he has no idea what it is.
I brought Father John a box of Chocorooms; I felt like he needed to experience the sheer bliss of these little delights. I hope he likes them as much as everyone else did.
But check out what he gave me: a box of melt-in-your-mouth truffles from Hauser Chocolatier in Bethel, CT. I mean, seriously, it gets no better than this.
We trick-or-treated around my parents' neighborhood for about an hour (Bazooka Betsy and Uncle Crabby joined us in the fun). I was surprised at how many people offered full-sized bars this year. At first the Sugar Baby was all hesitant to pick a piece of candy, but by the end of the night he was going for the one-two grab.
We've spent the past two days sorting through all the candy, lining them up, mixing and matching. So far he's loved everything he's had. But the most exciting piece to him was the Starlight Mint. "I got a peppermint!" he yelled. This most precious of candies remains uneaten. He simply looks at it.
More details to follow.

Random Candy Tidbits

There's been a lot going on around here this summer. Or rather, not around here, but everywhere else. We've been on the road a lot and I have all sorts of random candy tidbits to share.
First of all, we spent a week with the von Schokolats and extended family, at which time we divided into two teams and had a huge scavenger hunt. One of the items on the list was a package of Coconut M&Ms. The Baroness was the only one who found them. First she went to Rite Aid, but no luck. Then she went to the dollar store, where she found a display for them, but it was empty. She somehow managed to find the last package in the store. So it was 2 points for the Evil Knievel team. Woo hoo!* Overall, they were a hit. I thought they had that fake suntan lotion kind of coconut taste, so I was a bit disappointed. I don't have a picture, because somewhere along the way, the package got used as a coaster.
During that same trip, "Uncle Subtle" found a candy store and bought me a present: a licorice pipe and Mary Janes. Um, trying to tell me something in code? Nice. (In fact, he had never had Mary Janes before which led to a discussion about them. As they're made by Necco, I suppose they might be a New England thing. I thought everyone knew what Mary Janes were.)

[*Unfortunately, our 2 points for the Coconut M&Ms were negated by the 10 points the Baron won in the drinking contest and the eating contest--Five lobsters in one sitting-- and the 2.5 points won by Uncle Subtle in the marshmallow-and-toothpick construction contest.]Not really candy, but sweet nonetheless: Bazooka Betsy gave No-Nuts a giant box of fortune cookies that she's been saving from all her Chinese take out. Unfortunately, due to the extreme humidity, the cookies became so soft we were able to unfold them into perfect circles. So No-Nuts decided to do a craft project with the fortunes. Strangely enough, there were no duplicates. Perhaps they really are one-of-a-kind fortunes! (Art project is not shown. Actually, art project was never really made.)

And lastly, my partner-in-crime put together a goodie bag for me to get me through the many long drives I've made this summer. Check out these British beauties: Smart Alecs, Aero, Bounty, Milky Bar, Lion, Lee's Chocolate Mint and Galaxy Caramel. I had the Aero on a night I was particularly craving chocolate and it was blissful. I don't understand why Aero bars don't have less calories than other candy bars, though. It seems like they should, considering they're filled with tiny air bubbles. The Galaxy Caramel was particularly exciting, because I've never had one and a friend recently recommended it. She said she had them all the time while she was serving overseas and hasn't had them since then. All I can say is: YUM. This was like the Caramello of yore, when they were actually good and not grainy. The chocolate was smooth and the caramel was all flowy. So good. So there you have it, a few sweet tidbits to start off your week. What about you? Do you have any candy news to share?

Pondering the Candy Cane

Isn't this the cutest? The very fabulous June made it; that's her dog Kelly up there. So let's talk candy canes. It's been brought to my attention by the Ice Cube Queen that my other sister Bazooka Betsy is the candy cane aficianado amongst us. When I think back to Christmasses past, I envision Betsy sitting on the couch in her p.j.'s, reading the TV Guide and sucking on a candy cane until it formed a weapons-grade pointy spike.
It seems that No-Nuts has followed in her steps and claims peppermint bark to be her favorite holiday treat. And she made me steal a candy cane off the Christmas tree at the spa so she could enjoy some peppermint refreshment before her massage.
Yesterday I took the Sugar Baby to see Santa Claus. Most parents hesitate at this first meeting. Will their child cry? Scream in terror? Pull Santa's beard? I knew better than to worry. When we got there, Santa was busy talking to some other kids. The Sugar Baby ran right up and started waving at Santa, then leapt onto his lap. Santa gave him a really cute stuffed kangaroo and Mrs. Claus handed him--gasp!-- his very own candy cane.
Forget the chocolate cupcakes, oatmeal cookies, cider and hot chocolate. He wanted his candy cane right there and then! He held it for a while and turned it upside-down and said "Jumping J!" because, you know, he's my little brilliant prodigy. Then he sucked on it for a while and proclaimed, "This is really good!"
When Mr. Goodbar came home from work on Friday, he handed me a candy cane that apparently is filled with chocolate. I haven't eaten it yet; I'll let you know how it goes.
So, dear Yumster, what are your thoughts on candy canes? Do you like the big ones or the little ones? Do you crunch them or suck on them to make them all pointy? Do you like traditional red and white or the fancy new-fangled all different colored and flavored ones?

More on Favorite Childhood Candy

There were some great responses to my previous post on Favorite Childhood Candy. Interestingly enough, the Ice Cube Queen mentioned a candy I've never heard of: Peachstones. What are these?? And Bazooka Betsy said her favorite was Baby Ruth or Oh Henry, "which are the same thing, right?" First of all, I'm shocked that this was her favorite. I would've bet money on a Reese's. Second, any candy lover will tell you they're not the same thing, but what is the difference exactly? Off the top of my head, I'd say the caramel in a Baby Ruth is softer and thinner and the nougat sweeter, but I can't say for sure. It's been a long time since I've had either. (Admittedly, the last time I had an Oh Henry! was after my baby shower in which they were given out as favors. I guess I sort of overdosed on them because I haven't had one since.) In any case, I'll be conducting an experiment soon to determine a more accurate decision.

The Birth of my OCD (Obsessive Candy Disorder)

I think today's the day-- the day I reveal what is probably my first, and most significant candy memory. I truly believe that this was the start of my passion (obsession?) with candy.
When I wrote about the popovers, the Ice Cube Queen wrote back saying that yes, we did make popovers. We made them with the LaVallas, our neighbors, and stuck fortunes in them. I have no memory of that, but her mention of the LaVallas spurred a flashback to this important moment in Candy Yum Yum history. Here we go:

I am little. Maybe four, five, six? Next door to us live the LaVallas: Fran, Big Frank, Frankie, Sharon and Louise (Weezie). Sharon and Betsy are best friends. Weezie, although much older, is very fun and likes to play with me. Frankie and my brothers like to play football and light the swamp on fire. Fran makes a kick-ass pasta fagioli that I can't stop eating. Big Frank screams a lot. They are a quintessential presence in my young life. And then the news: they are moving to Florida to open a Carvel. I'm devastated, although I like the idea of going to visit them for ice cream.
I decide I need to get Sharon a going away present. (Why Sharon? I don't know. Perhaps it was the empathy I was feeling for Betsy.) I somehow craft a little bag out of fabric and I declare that I'm going to fill it with candy that I buy at 7-11. I empty out my piggy bank and get my sisters to take me to the store.
Now, they say smell is one of our strongest memory triggers. Verily, I say onto thee, there is no more powerful smell in my memory than the aroma of 7-11. It's impossible to describe, of course, but it's a thick, syrupy scent of fake butter, sugar and ice. I love that smell in its complete uniqueness.
I went to the candy aisle where they had a nice assortment of penny candy in wire baskets. Was it really a penny then? I think it was. I composed a nice mix of root beer barrels, Bazooka, mini Reese's and fireballs and paid for it with my hard-earned pennies.
When we exited the 7-11, the Ice Cube Queen said to me, "I bet you're going to eat all that candy yourself."
Pop! Something happened. I was being doubted and challenged. A bet you say? I'll wager a Mary Jane that I don't eat the candy.
The fact of the matter was that I think I probably would've eaten the candy had the gauntlet not been laid down, but there it was. So I trotted home and stuffed the candy into the little bag and the next morning, handed it over to Sharon as they loaded up the car. It was perhaps the biggest sacrifice I have ever made. And I'm better for it.

Repeat after me: Het Oud-Hollandsch Snoepwinkeltje

I will freely admit it: my licorice experience has been limited to Good & Plenty, Twizzlers and the occasional fancy licorice mix, but I've never really gone beyond the obvious American offerings. So when Betsy brought me back this cornucopia of licorice delights from her trip to Amsterdam, I was thrilled. The owner, Mariska Schaefer, wrote up a little list of the different "flavored" licorice that were in the bag. So far this is what I've figured out:
The left, middle row, are blueberry. Ah yes, there's blueberry again, insinuating itself into my life. These were actually really tasty, very unusual. The black licorice taste is very subtle. I don't know if I would've guessed these were blueberry; I probably would've said grape. Next to them are the honey licorice. I know this because they're shaped like honey pots and say "Honey" on them. I was expecting them to taste like Luden's cough drops, but whoa, they were really strong. That's a defining characteristic with these European licorices: they're absolutely not for the faint of heart. They're almost savory in their strength. Definitely not as sweet/sugary as American licorice.

Next I tried the top row, the brown coins and the flat black pieces. Yikes. Suffice it to say, my palate wasn't up to the challenge. These were strongstrongstrong! The little discs in the bottom left were equally as potent. The remaining flavors on the list are bay leaf, light salt and ??? (can't read it) sweet. It's hard to tell which is which because they're so overpowering.


I must admit, I don't think I'm ready to be a licorice snob, but I find the variety fascinating. The store looks really cool, the way a candy store SHOULD be! (Click on the Union Jack for English.)
(P.S. Look at those roses I bought for myself. Aren't they just spectacular?! Gotta love Trader Joe's.)

Mmmmm, bacon and chocolate

Hooray, I'm back! Well, the boxes are slowly disappearing and we're getting settled in. The other night I went to my secret candy stash and was appalled to find that it's pretty much empty. A few straggly chocolate samples, but nothing to speak of, so it's time to restock!

In the meantime, Betsy sent me an email saying a colleague sent her a Vosges Mo's Bacon Bar. Yes, you read that right: chocolate and bacon. Here's the description from the website:

Crisp, buttery, compulsively irresistible bacon and milk chocolate combination has long been a favorite of mine. I started playing with this combination at the tender age of six while eating chocolate chip pancakes drenched in maple syrup. Beside my chocolate-laden cakes laid three strips of fried bacon, just barely touching a sweet pool of maple syrup. Just a bite of the bacon was too salty and yearned for the sweet kiss of chocolate syrup. In retrospect, perhaps this was a turning point, for on that plate something magical happened: the beginnings of a combination so ethereal and delicious that it would haunt my thoughts until I found the medium to express it--chocolate

Well, when you compare it to bacon with chocolate chip pancakes, you can almost see how this would be yummy. No word yet from Betsy on how it tasted. I'll certainly keep you posted.

Hippity, hoppity, Easter's on its way

I haven't been eating too much Easter candy because frankly, I haven't wanted to buy big bags of stuff. I'd love to have a few malted milk eggs, some jelly beans and maybe a Peep or two, just to be festive. But I don't want mounds of Easter goodies sitting around tempting me. So alas, it's been a spare year. I haven't even made Henri an Easter basket. He can't eat it, of course, so I figure I might as well give myself a break before holiday madness sets in next year.
Betsy bought me a little Easter surprise, though, that I've been loving. She went to Chelsea last weekend to go gallery hopping, only to find that the galleries are closed on Sundays. Instead she spent her day going to the funky shops. Oh, how I miss those days! Anyhow, she found a shop called Three Tarts and bought me this cute little Easter box full of chocolatey almonds. Talk about addictive. The almonds are toasted so they have that nice warm nutty flavor. They are so delish.

She also brought me back one of their little pamphlets and apparently they make all sorts of little sweet yummies. Some things that look especially good to me: Peanut Butter Cookies sprinkled with Sea Salt; Cassata Parfait: chocolate-studded ricotta cream, fresh orange and crunchy biscotti garnished with chopped pistachios (oh YUM!); Lemon Coconut Yumballs: vanilla and lemon cake held together with cream of coconut and rum, rolled in white chocolate and shredded coconut; and marshmallows in the following flavors: chocolate, vanilla bean, rosemary, yuzu, raspberry and seasonal.

This sounds like a funky place. Someday I'll get back to the city...

Miscellaneous Monday stuff

1) I saw edible Easter grass at Target. What a brilliant idea! I didn't have a chance to really check it out because Henri was dangerously close to a meltdown.
2) I tried a dark truffle Hershey kiss at an open house yesterday. It was pretty good.
3) On my rogue mom's website, one woman posted that she bought her daughter a chocolate bunny as a surprise and the little girl said it tasted like "basketball." The mom tried it and agreed. Haha!
4) Fine. I've run out of Sister Secrets and I still haven't shamed my sister into posting on this blog.
5) Sue, the ass-kicking firefighter garden guru that I went to Chocopologie with, sent me her evaluation of the chocolates. She really liked them, but it goes without saying that she has more refined taste than I do. I am but a simple woman with simple tastes. But not so simple that I'd eat Palmer chocolate.

A big chocolate kiss to you!

It's almost here ... the day when we celebrate all things chocolate and sugary and lovey dovey. I hope everyone has a fabulous Valentine's Day tomorrow and may you get a big heart full of chocolate yumminess from your sweetie. If you need some last minute ideas, check out the National Confectioners Association website. They have recipes, ideas and trivia, such as: Did you know that conversation hearts once came in different shapes like horseshoes, baseballs and watches? Pretty cool.

And speaking of trivia, here's today's Sister Secret: Betsy has always had an amazing sense of willpower. When we were little, I would scarf down any candy I got right away, whereas she would save her candy for the appropriate time. One night we were all having alphabet soup for dinner and my mom said that whoever spelled their name first would win a candy bar. Betsy won and she put her candy bar next to her plate to eat after dinner. It sat there taunting me the whole time. Who would want alphabet soup when there's a Milky Way waiting to devoured?!

Update on the Jar O' Candy and Why My Sister Sucks

My sister Betsy reported back to me on the contents of the Friday candy jars she used to get from our grandparents, but she was too afraid to post on this blog. So you'll have to trust me when I relay her answer. Apparently there were rootbeer barrels and Tootsie Rolls, and she isn't sure, but thinks there might've been Bit O' Honeys and Mary Janes which, she said, she would've passed off to my mother.
She also said that Bazooka is her secret weapon. She chews it before going into meetings.
Now, because she totally sucks and won't post on this blog, I've decided I'm going to slowly give away all her candy secrets until she finally gets the nerve to stop by and say hello. Without further ado, SECRET NUMBER ONE:
She saves her Easter Peeps until they get stale; then she eats them.
Stay tuned for more secrets. Maybe I'll even turn it into a trivia contest!

Candy jar Fridays

My mother is pretty good at saving stuff, like old book reports, drawings and letters that we created over the years. Every now and then, she'll hand each of us a box stuffed with all sorts of crap that we had no idea still existed. Such was the case last week when my sister and I went to visit my parents for lunch. My mother brought out two long boxes with our names on them. Inside were photographs from our childhood-- all sorts of square, black and white pictures of us posing, with the neighbors, with each other, with stuffed animals, on the first day of school. Of course this got us reminiscing and something triggered a candy memory for my sister.
"I remember going over to Grandma and Pop Pop's every Friday and they'd hand me a TV Guide and a jar of candy." She would then go home and highlight all the shows she wanted to watch during the week, while savoring her little jar of goodies. Later in the week, when the jar was empty, she'd return it for the next Friday's refill. I have no such memory. For a long time it was just my two brothers and two sisters. I came into the picture quite a while later, so many of my memories are not the same as theirs. Like Disney World. They all got to go with my grandparents. I never did. Now this. It sounds so wonderful. A jar of candy every Friday. Who could've imagined such a thing? And what kind of candy was it? I know my grandparents enjoyed the Brach's Pick-a-Mix candy, so maybe that's what it was.

Happy National Bubble Gum Day!

This morning on the radio the announcer said it's National Bubble Gum Day. Woohoo! So for all you gum chewers out there, have a bubbleriffic day. I'm not so big into gum, but I thought I'd take some time this morning to reflect on gum stories from my past. So without further ado:

The Driveway Incident: I don't remember the actual event, but apparently something big went down in my house because my father still has a note I wrote to him. It reads, "Dear Daddy, I didn't put the gum in the driveway."

Forbidden Gum: In 7th grade science class I was chewing a piece of gum, which was strictly forbidden. The teacher, Mr. Hrbek, could smell it and asked me to open my mouth. I had pushed the gum to the roof of my mouth like a retainer, so he didn't see it. After class, he saw me blow a bubble and I heard him say to Mr. Samosky, the other science teacher, "Wow, she's good." I was proud of myself.

Bubblegum machines: I was always fascinated by the white gumballs in gum machines. For some reason they reminded me of VW Beetles. To this day, whenever I see a Beetle, I think gum.

Bazooka: Bazooka= my sister Betsy.

My favorites: If you asked me as a kid what my favorite gums were, I'd say grape Bubble Yum, Razzles and cherry Bazooka. Freshen Up was good, too. It was the gum that goes "Squirt!"

What are some of your favorite gum memories?