Easter review

The Ice Cube Queen sent me an e-mail on Easter. She was dismayed that I had no coverage of Easter candy. What can I say? Better late than never, that's what!
The Easter Bunny did indeed visit our house and left the Sugar Baby a basket filled with Starburst jelly beans, a tube of orange M&Ms that looked like a carrot, a mini carton of Whopper's malted milk eggs, a "Snapsy" bunny, which you break into pieces, and this:

a bag of Russell Stover Iddy Biddy Bunnies.


Look how cute!

The Easter Bunny also scored big points with these: two cans of "Kidffitti Spray Chalk."

Now I'm just taking a guess here, but I think the Bunny must've thought these were a good idea at the time. But I'm guessing he didn't really think things through, considering 1) it's like training spray paint for a future graffiti artist and 2) the big sticker on the cap that says, "REMOVE CHALK WITHIN 24 HOURS WITH A BRUSH AND WARM SOAPY WATER." So yes, I spent the latter part of Easter scrubbing the back patio with soap and a brush. And guess what? It didn't really come off completely. Color me surprised.

New York: The Dessert Edition

When the cousins were here, we took a trip into New York City to freak the Ice Cube Queen out walk around and see the sights. After getting pulled over for driving the wrong way down a one-way street ("Are those cars coming towards us?!"), we went to Max Brenner's for some fortification. The problem with that place is, you go in wanting lunch-- a sandwich or a salad-- but then it all goes to hell once you see the dessert menu. We were clever about it though; we split three lunches in order to save room for these:Chocolate cake with a mini chocolate shake and vanilla ice cream; Chocolate and toffee fondue with bananas tempura and strawberries; and a chocolate pizza with bananas, peanut butter and marshmallows. And we ate every last bite. And the piece de resistance? A picture of No-Nuts in front of the Nut Box. What a wonderful day!

OUQT! Some Random Sweethearts Stuff

Auntie Ice Cube Queen sent the Sugar Baby a box of Necco Sweethearts Smoothies for Valentine's Day. I decided to go wild and let him eat them all in one sitting. He wolfed them down without a word, and then, when he got to the last one, he said, "What does this say?"
Appropriately enough, it said "I love you." (Note the following items in the picture: Necco Sweethearts, plastic chocolate truffle, and a book called "Sweet!")

This year, the new phrases on Sweethearts are "Tweet Me," "Text Me," "You Rock," "Soul Mate," "Love Bug," and "Me + You." Alas, the obsolete "Fax Me" has been discontinued. Maybe next year they'll add "Super Poke!" or "Friend Request."

And, if you just can't get enough of that sweet Valentine's aroma, check this out. Demeter Fragrance Library has introduced three new scents to their collection: Be My Valentine, Love Me and Call Me. You can get them at Sephora.

Two New Reviews: Lindt Raisins & Nuts and Nestle Cranberry Raisinets

My goodness, I've had a lot on my candy dish lately and barely any time to write about it. The summer is whizzing by quickly. Before you know it, Halloween will be here. (In fact, that's what the grocery stores would have you think; they've already stacked out the cases of candy corn. I haven't even had a Pixy Stick or a Circus Peanut yet, for cryin' out loud.)
So, given my backlog, this is going to be a rambling, random post full of miscellany.

The Internet candy world has been abuzz with the latest candy bar from Lindt: Raisin & Nuts. Several people have done comparisons between this new Lindt bar and the classic Cadbury Fruit & Nut bar. I used to love the Cadbury version, until some brilliant rocket scientist decided to change the recipe. What used to be a creamy, milky chocolate is now gritty and flavorless. So I was excited to taste the Lindt version and see how it compared. I was not disappointed. The chocolate was smooth, creamy and sweet with a good mix of almonds and hazelnuts. My only complaint is that I wish the almonds were whole, but in the long run, it didn't matter. I wolfed that thing down. Thank you, Lindt, for restoring my faith in fruit and nut candy bars.Speaking of fruit and chocolate, another big buzz has been Nestle's Cranberry Raisinets. Oh how I wish I bought stock in the cranberry industry right before they decided to start selling dried cranberries. It used to be that cranberries were only for Thanksgiving. Now they're everywhere, including chocolate. I passed along a few packs of these to some family members for tasting. The consensus: Eh, they're fine, but nothing great. My mother said, "When I want chocolate, I want CHOCOLATE." Good point there. These little nibblies might be better in say, a cookie, than eaten alone. I love Craisins, but I think I'd still pick the classic Raisinet over the cranberry version.
And lastly these delicious chocolates. Ho, ho. I'm just joking. These aren't edible, they're candles, silly! The Ice Cube Queen was in town last week and she found these candles that are just perfect for the Candy Yum Yum homestead. My favorite is the one with the walnut.

And what about you, dear Yumsters? What has your candy land been looking like lately?

And Now, a Word from The Ice Cube Queen

The Ice Cube Queen is in town. She was barely on New England soil when she handed me two hand-written pages. This is what they said:

Dear Candy Yum Yum,
Just wait until the Sugar Baby is a teenager and you go flying around the world with him (or at least down to Florida to visit Mickey)! I'm sitting on a plane with the "no-name" niece and nephew. Actually, this is our second plane today.
Our day started early this morning when Jenny exclaimed, "I didn't realize that candy weighs so much!" Her carry-on bag was filled with candy!
As soon as we boarded the first plane, I said, "Bring on the candy-- what do you have?"
Yes, I've been brain-washed into thinking that you have to have candy at take-off and landing.
First, we opened the Good 'n Plenty box. Next ... don't cringe ... the Circus Peanuts! In the meantime, Tim opened his stash of candy. He had Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (I shudder to think how many packages he bought!) and a huge Hershey's Cookies & Cream bar.
Now we're on our second plane. Out came the Circus Peanuts and then the gummy worms!
What's left you say? Let me ask my sugared-up teens:

-Twizzlers
-Nerds
-Gobstoppers
-Oreo cookie bar
-Wintergreen mints

So if we get stuck circling the airport for hours like the last time we flew to Yum Yum state, at least we'll have candy.

P.S. Jenny informed me that she was going to buy the caramels with the white centers or cowtails, but she couldn't find them.

Well, Ice Cube Queen, it would seem that we're all cut of the same cloth! (I'll overlook the Circus Peanuts.) Perhaps they've earned their own titles. I shall call them: Carry-on Candy Girl (CCG) and The Reese's Kid. And by the way, of course you have to have candy at take-off and landing. It's a Candy Yum Yum rule!

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?

A Visit From the Ice Cube Queen!

It's amazing how quickly time flies by when you have something other than bubbles, Sesame Street and grocery shopping to keep you occupied. Like this past week. The Ice Cube Queen and two of her progeny came for a visit which flew by in a flash. But check it out: she came bearing gifts! Here we have Big Elmo modeling the chocolate p.j.'s she bought for me. They say, "All I want is chocolate. Oh ... and a couple of other things!" (Editor's note: those "things" would be sleep, and a scone and coffee in bed with the New York Times Style section. And Mr. Goodbar and the Sugar Baby off at Home Depot.)


Elmo was the model because I'm too busy doing the Derfwad Manor 5k Ass Project.


And for the Sugar Baby, there was this:

An official Florida ChocoGator! As you can see, the Sugar Baby started with a bite of the tail. He ran around the house all night saying, "Baby's Chacka Alligator!"
Hooray! Big fun from the Ice Cube Queen!

Listen Up, LifeSavers Product Developers!

No-Nuts and I had a bonding experience last night. One we would've rather not had, but the evil hellishness of it all is over and now we can laugh about it. Or not. We went to the airport last night to pick up the Ice Cube Queen who was flying in for a visit. We left the house at 7 p.m. and made a stop at IKEA where, as we were perusing the Ektorp and Popoli and Hammerschobuntubin furniture, we got a call saying the flight was delayed. Fine. So we drove home, watched an episode of Buffy, and then left the house at 10:30, driving through blinding rain and lightning, arriving at the airport at 11:30 p.m. It was then that we found out that the flight was diverted to Rhode Island and would be arriving ... when?? No one had any idea. We had no choice but to park in the Dunkin' Donuts parking lot and wait out the evening. We passed the first hour by playing 20 questions ("Is it a donut?" No. "Is it a new Southwest Chicken Flatbread?" No. Forget it. Stupid game), and then quickly succumbed to watching the rain pour down in waterfalls on the windshield. No-Nuts drifted off to sleep, and I went into some faraway La-La-Land where, as thoughts swirled around in my head, I had the most ingenious revelation: they should make a roll of all-citrus LifeSavers. Check it out: tangerine, pineapple, Key lime and grapefruit. I would totally dig that. So what do you think, LifeSavers people?

Eventually the plane landed and we got home at 4:30 a.m.-- just long enough to take a cat nap before the Sugar Baby's 6 a.m. internal alarm clock went off. But the evening wasn't a total bust. The Ice Cube Queen had plenty of candy leftover from the flight-- gummy worms, a chocolate alligator and yes, a bag of Circus Peanuts.