Harry Potter and the Mystery of the Red Raspberry Dollars

After an exhausting day of chasing the H-man around the house (note to self: no more sugar cereal for the boy!) I was able to extricate myself and spend a blissful three hours at the movies. Sue, my kick-ass firefighter, garden guru friend picked me up and we went to see Harry Potter. I, of course, had the diaper bag stocked with Dark Raisinettes, Sno-Caps, Red Raspberry Dollars and a seltzer bottle filled with Tom Collinses. Like most people, I don't usually pay too much attention to what I'm eating during the movies, instead preferring to just shove goodies into my gaping maw. But when I took the first bite of a Raspberry Dollar, I thought, "Whoa, now. What's going on here?" The chew was softer than I remembered and the flavor was not as berry. I tried another one. Yep, there's definitely something different about these. I can only assume that the recipe has changed to make way for cheaper ingredients. Very sad.

In other news, I finally got to the Newtown Chocolatier this weekend. I took a photo of my selections, but I can't seem to access it. The store is a cute little jewelbox in a strip mall. The windows are covered with black curtains to protect the chocolate, but frankly, it feels like you're walking into a less-than-reputable house of business. The selection is small-- just one case of chocolates-- but they're all handmade and delicious looking. I got a dark chocolate covered orange peel cluster that was lovely: fresh and fruity; a dark vanilla cream: again, very fresh and a very distinct vanilla taste; an espresso truffle-- strong and dark; a champagne truffle-- yum!; and an almond caramel cluster which was divine. So good in fact, that I'm about to make a Candy Yum Yum! pronouncement:

Almonds are the ultimate candy nut

Everything about them is perfect for combining with chocolate. They're smoky and flavorful. They have great texture and crunch. They go well with milk or dark. I heart almonds.