Psychic PEZ Dreams and Other Such Facebook Gems

You might remember my pal Jody from Sweet Treat of the Week. She was the one who risked her life for a Hershey bar and lived to tell about it. Well, she posted something on Facebook the other day that just begged for more detail. It all started with this:

"Last night I dreamed that for Halloween my costume was a FUNCTIONAL PEZ dispenser. I dispensed "to scale" (that is, huge) PEZ candy. It seemed like such a brilliant idea, but now that I'm awake it seems sort of dumb. And difficult."

I needed to know more about this dream, so Jody graciously answered my questions.

CYY: What do you think brought on this dream? Have you been eating PEZ? Do you collect PEZ?
Jody: I have not been eating PEZ. However, I think I've seen some in the store recently.

CYY: What type of character were you in the dream? A bunny PEZ, Hello Kitty, witch, truck?
Jody: I'm me! It's a Jody PEZ!

CYY: Was the giant PEZ going to be edible? If so, would you have made it from scratch? What flavor?

Jody: Yes it was going to be edible. However I was not going to let anyone eat it. I was going to make them give it back to me so I could dispense it repeatedly.

CYY: Would you have made your children dress up as tiny PEZs?

Jody: Yes, when my children were at an age when I could have made them do things, I would most certainly have made them dress as PEZ. However, now they are both taller than I am and I refuse to be bullied.

CYY: Could you sketch a drawing of what you looked like in the dream. (Okay, I know this is pushing it.)

Jody: Yes, I'm scanning something and will e-mail it to you.

I'm bummed that you can't really see this picture because it's quite a sight. The first picture shows the PEZ costume; the second shows how the candy is dispensed; and the third is an X-ray vision of how Jody would actually wear the costume. As you might imagine, she got lots of comments on this, including this gem from another former Sweet Treat of the Week, Kris:

"Because I'm reading this prior to my first cup of coffee, until I saw the X-ray vision, I was thinking a costume FOR PEZ. Which is really an equally brilliant idea. I mean, just imagine if you had different costumes for your Batman PEZ! It would change the whole experience."

Well ladies and gents, guess where I went on Saturday? To the Northeast Candy Collector Expo, which largely consisted of PEZ collectors and guess what? I have some exciting news to reveal to you. But it will have to wait until tomorrow, because I have a lot to say and many pictures to go with it. I need some time to let my thoughts gel. Stay tuned.

Sweet Treat of the Week: Oliver Kita!

This week's Sweet Treat of the Week is Oliver Kita, a chocolatier based in Rhinebeck, N.Y. (Why, oh why couldn't he have been around when I was little and we went to Rhinebeck every summer with my dad's model airplane club to the Aerodrome?)

Mr. Kita has serious credentials, and clearly he's passionate about chocolate. So let's have a chat with him, shall we?


You have a dream job. How did you get there?
I have always been a pastry chef and worked with chocolate. I have been creating pastry for a long time and this step just seemed like the next thing I wanted to do with my career. I feel excited about chocolate whenever I am working with it. Still do-- even today!

What are some of your favorites that you’ve created?
Palet d’Opium (blood orange, lapsang and spice) was inspired by Pearl S. Buck and her book "Imperial Woman," the story of the last empress of China before the Boxer Rebellion. I have always been influenced by Asian culture.

What do you think people are looking for in chocolate? Have tastes changed over the years?

People are looking for the most dark, dramatic, intense experience imaginable. They equate the percentage with the quality and we know that it’s not always true-- it’s just the amount of cacao content and sugar-- not the quality. One must rely upon the manufacturer of the chocolate. The American palate is improving – I see this as I tour with the chocolate to different festivals in Colorado, Miami and New York. We sample only dark Valrhona chocolate 70% from Venezuela at the shows. I used to be just beside myself with wondering, “Why is everyone asking is there milk in this chocolate- it’s dark French chocolate!” Turns out the American palate is used to Pennsylvania created chocolate that was inspired by Hershey's or Nestle and that always contains milk solids even in the dark chocolate. I finally figured it out after reading the Hershey label.

What’s your comfort chocolate? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Usually a praline or a marzipan enrobed. Sometimes, I love pistachio marzipan.

I like dark milks when I don’t feel well or am fatigued.

Are there any flavors that don’t go well with chocolate?

Well, what do you have in mind? These days they are trying everything possible.

I haven’t seen tofu or seaweed yet-- but just wait-- someone from Japan will try it out for the thrill.

They were dipping pickles at a festival I was attending last month. They sold OUT!

However, I haven’t tried beef jerky dipped in chocolate-- and probably won’t go there either.

I love your chocolate Buddhas. Why Buddha?

Mind Body Chocolate everyday. I try to help my clients learn to meditate with chocolate by staying present with the taste.

Do you have a favorite candy-related memory?

Bubble gum cards with trading images, Sour Heads, jaw breakers, and I loved “Spree” when I was in the 5th grade.

What advice do you have for chocolate-lovers?

Follow your dream and stay connected to the passion and it will take you where you need to be in this lifetime.

Where else can one say that they have to go to Paris to taste chocolate at the next salon festival and it’s considered work!

Indeed! I'd love to be able to say that!

Check out Oliver Kita's Valentine chocolates, tasting kits, Buddhas and more at www.oliverkita.com.

Sweet Treat of the Week: Kelly's Candy Stand!

I've gotten a bit off schedule with the Sweet Treat of the Week feature, but this one will make up for all the weeks I've missed. Introducing Kelly Faysash, owner of Kelly's Candy Stand, a candy buffet company located in Florida. In addition to the usual Sweet Treat questions, I've also asked her to share a little bit about how she got into creating candy buffets.

How long have you been doing candy buffets?

I’ve been hosting and designing candy buffets informally for friends and family for almost a year—professionally, for about 4 months.

How did you get into it?

My first candy buffet was for my son’s birthday party last summer. I was so tired of buying the same old favors that you get at every party—chalk, bubbles, cheapo candies and dollar store junk. I came up with the idea to design a candy buffet using the “splash bash” party theme. At the end of the party, the boys got to go crazy filling their treat bag. It was so much fun and really well-received.

The timing wasn’t quite right to launch my business then but I began gathering ideas and doing research. Even though it seems like a business you can start overnight, you need licenses, food permits, supplies, etc. Those take time but are necessary if you expect to have any credibility in event planning. While I pursued the legalities, I was also able to make a business and marketing plan to lead me in the right direction! It’s exciting to be up and running—and thinking about candy night and day!

Are there certain candies people always request (or don't want)?

Every candy buffet is unique! And of course the color scheme leads you in the direction of which candies to use. You have to consider both what looks good and what tastes good. People love rock candy because it’s nostalgic and it looks really cool and sparkly. Gummy candy and sour candy are always a hit, too. The secret is to have a variety to please all palates.

What is your favorite candy?
Twizzlers are my “go-to” candy when I need to get myself out of a bad mood—makes mouths happy, right? Peanut Butter M&Ms are genius but it’s hard to find the small bags and I can’t trust myself with the large bags! For more unique candies, I really love Chocolate Covered Cookie Dough Bites. They used to only be available at the movie theater for like $4 a box but now you can find them at the dollar store--yeah!

Share a childhood candy memory.

When I was growing up we had a 7-11 convenience store close to my house so basically my friends and I tried to scam our parents out of money all the time in order to get more candy. We’d do chores, watch siblings, swipe any change left on countertops. Then we’d make the pilgrimage to 7-11 and debate which candy we should buy. Most of the time we’d buy the Ferrara Pan candies because we could get more for our money.

Favorite fruit flavor in candy?
I definitely tend to gravitate to the pink or red candies so I’d have to say cherry/strawberry. But my absolute favorite fruit candy is the Pear Jelly Belly!

Which do you prefer: gummies or hard candies?
Gummy candy, for sure! But I’m willing to eat hard if that’s all that’s around;-)

What’s your favorite candy holiday?
I’d have to say Easter because I love the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Eggs (so much peanut butter!) and the speckled Whoppers!

What’s best: milk, dark or white?
White though it’s harder to find. Everyone loves white chocolate but for some reason it’s not as readily available on the candy aisle.

Circus Peanuts: yay or nay?
Gross—I’m never that desperate!

Thanks Kelly! Your buffets are beautiful!

Would you like to answer the "Sweet Treat of the Week" questions? You don't have to be famous-- just a candy lover! Contact me at candyyumyummail@yahoo.com.

Sweet Treat of the Week: Kayla from Teeny Boppers!

What a Sweet Treat we have this week! Our guest sweetie is Kayla, who is the head honcho at Teeny Boppers: A blog for girls. Check it out! In the meantime, here's what Kayla digs in the way of candy.

What is your favorite candy?

Definitely Reese's. Peanut butter and chocolate are soulmates!! They are sooo yummy together!

Share a childhood candy memory.

Sometimes my mom stashes candy up in the pantry. I like to (quietly!) sneak into the pantry, take a piece of candy, stuff it in my pants and then walk normally back to my room! It works like a charm!

Favorite fruit flavor in candy?

Hmm, I have to say it's either Apple or Strawberry.

Which do you prefer: gummies or hard candies?

I like hard candies because they last longer. I also don't like chewing on gummy things because of the texture.

What's your favorite candy holiday?

Halloween or Christmas because that's when you get the most candy!

What's best: milk, dark or white?

I love milk the best, but I love them all!

Circus peanuts: yay or nay?

I do like Circus Peanuts, but I prefer candy!

Thanks so much Kayla!

So you ... yeah, you. What's your excuse? Why haven't you been a Sweet Treat of the Week? Time's a-wastin'. E-mail me at candyyumyummail@yahoo.com.

Sweet Treat of the Week: Cat from Make. Bake. Create.

I've got a yummy Sweet Treat for you this week! Introducing Cat, whose blog Make. Bake. Create. is full of delicious recipes and cute little felt cookies. Cat is a high school senior who's just itching to go off to culinary school.

What's your favorite candy?

My favorite candy would have to be Reese's White Cups. I love that salty combo!

Share with us a favorite candy memory.

Probably making Scotcheroos with my Mom in the kitchen, either that or placing Peep's in the microwave on Easter morning and watching them explode.

What's your favorite fruit flavor in candy?

Blueberry. Although that artifical taste is nothing compared to a real thing. Artifical blueberry is like a new flavor all together!

Gummies or hard candies?

Tough choice, but hard candy is best for me. They tend to last longer.

Milk, white or dark?

WHITE CHOCOLATE! It's a long back story to my love of white chocolate, but we are now star-crossed lovers.

Circus Peanuts: Yay or Nay?

Nay. I can't stand the things...sorry.

Thanks Cat! Enjoy your senior year, and we'll look forward to hearing about your bakery in four years or so!

So what about you? Yeah, you! What's your excuse? Why haven't you been featured as a Sweet Treat of the Week yet? I want to hear from you! E-mail me at candyyumyummail@yahoo.com.

Sweet Treat of the Week: Foodette!

Part of the fun of blogging is you never know who you’ll meet. It turns out that this week’s Sweet Treat of the Week, Foodette from Foodette Reviews, actually lives within a half hour of me! Who knew?! Anyhow, enjoy this week’s Treat and then head over to Foodette’s excellent review site: http://www.foodette-reviews.blogspot.com/.


What is your favorite candy?

As far as taste goes, nothing is better than a See's Butterscotch Square, or a Hotel Chocolat Rocky Road bar, but for novelty, the Kinder Egg will always be my favorite. I wish I had more of them, because they amuse me to no end.

[Editor's note: I've got to get my hands on both See's and Hotel Chocolat. They seem to be a big fave amongst candy lovers. It's a travesty I haven't tried them yet!]

Share a childhood candy memory.

Coming back from France at the age of twelve, it was a really nice time of me remembering my parents, still married, quite happy. We rode back in a limousine and I fell asleep, but not before having one last Kinder Egg pressed into the hands of me, and my sister, relishing that fleeting European memory...

Favorite fruit flavor in candy?

Raspberry, although it's hard to get a really authentic flavor. Barley candies do it really well, though.

Which do you prefer: gummies or hard candies?

Gummies. Haribo gummies are my favorite. I love them so much, especially the alphabet letters and sugar mice.

What’s your favorite candy holiday?

I can't tell whether this is supposed to be "holiday candy" or "candy holiday" so I will answer to both. As for holiday candy, that would be Peeps' sugar cookie, shaped like gingerbread boy and girls, and candy holiday- what else? Halloween! Especially when people would make those little goody bags for you to take.

What’s best: milk, dark or white?

Milk chocolate. There's something to be said about a good, complex milk chocolate.

Circus Peanuts: yay or nay?

In s'mores, yay. Plain, nay.

Thanks Foodette! I've never had a Circus Peanut in a s'more before. That just might be my summer project!

(Above, Foodette enjoying a Welsh Cake in Wales. Yum!)

Calling all Yumsters! How would you like to be a Sweet Treat of the Week? Give me a shout at: candyyumyummail@yahoo.com.

Sweet Treat of the Week: Mrs. Bunnylady!

(Pictured above, Mrs. Bunnylady after eating one too many Skittles.)

Dear Yumsters, I've switched things up a bit and moved the Sweet Treat to Monday. This week’s treat is one-of-a-kind. Our guest is none other than Mrs. Bunnylady. Never heard of her? Someday she’ll be famous. As for now, Mrs. Bunnylady is the alter ego of Miss Sarah, an 11-year-old girl with a vivid imagination.
According to Sarah, Mrs. Bunnylady was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She lived on a farm with her mother, father and brother where they raised goats and alpacas. When she was 5 years old she moved to North Carolina. Mrs. Bunnylady is now 11 and makes videos where she interviews people. She is very sassy. She one day hopes to become famous on You Tube.

Dear Madame Yum Yum,

Thank you for giving me the privilege to guest host on your scrumptious Candy Yum Yum blog! I am very excited to answer your questions about candy! I am big fan of candy! I once entered a candy-eating contest and ate 300 bags of Skittles! I then had a sugar rush and had to be taken to the emergency room. Well, I guess I should begin answering your questions.

What’s your favorite candy?
My favorite candy is Skittles because they are the colors of the rainbow. I once flew over a rainbow with a leprechaun!

Tell us one of your childhood candy memories.
One of my most precious childhood candy memories happened when I was six years old. I had a pet goat named Petunia. I fed her Sweet Tarts as a treat for dessert.

What’s your favorite fruit flavor in candy?
My favorite fruit flavor in candy is grape because when I was 10 years old my math teacher would give me grape flavored candy for answering the problem 2+2. Now whenever I get a grape flavored piece of candy I put it in my grape flavored candy bag of honor and eat it five days later.
Gummies or hard candies?
I prefer hard candy because gummy candy is so hard to brush off my teeth! Whenever I eat a gummy candy I have to scrub and scrub with my little Winnie The Pooh toothbrush, but it never comes off!

What is your favorite candy holiday?
My favorite candy holiday is Easter because I always get the most eggs. I have a secret to share as to how I do that. I hide the eggs with the adults and then dress up as a five year old. I get all the eggs because I know where they are. The best part about it is that I make all the kids cry.

Milk, dark or white?
My favorite kind of chocolate is milk because when I was seven I took a trip to the Hershey's Factory and stole all the milk chocolate bars. Then I fed some to my pet Petunia and she went berserk and ran off. After that my mom grounded me for 6 weeks and I felt so sad I escaped through my window and ran to go live with the cows who make milk for the milk chocolate.

Circus Peanuts: yay or nay?
Last but not least, Circus Peanuts are sadly a nay. I loathe them because they look like styrofoam! When I first ate one I thought it was styrofoam. My mom told me it was candy, but I still did not think so and I still don't think so today!
Thank you so much for letting me answer these candy questions! Remember to always be kind to your pet goats and always get the first Easter eggs! Sincerely, Miss Bunnylady

Thanks so much, Mrs. Bunnylady! Remember to always brush your teeth after eating Skittles!

And now Yumsters, how about you? Would you like to be featured as a Sweet Treat of the Week? Give me a shout at: candyyumyummail@yahoo.com.

Sweet Treat of the Week: Michael Utzinger!

You're in for an extra special treat this week, dear Yumsters! This week’s Sweet Treat is Michael Utzinger, an Elliott Associate Professor of Religion at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, and author of Yet Saints Their Watch Are Keeping (2006).
Perhaps even more importantly, he is Madame Yum Yum’s soulmate when it comes to pop culture, convenience store foods and stories of dysfunctional families.

What is your favorite candy?
My favorite candy is “sea foam,” an airy sugar confection covered with dark chocolate. I grew up eating this candy in my hometown at McDonald’s Hand-made Candies 1064 S Getty St Muskegon, MI 49442; (231) 773-0319. Yes, this is an unapologetic endorsement. I should also add that they make a killer wintergreen chocolate-covered cream.

Share with us a childhood candy memory.

I remember buying ten packs of baseball cards, stacking all the gum, and trying to bite through all of the sticks. (I actually remember when they had gum in the packs). I also remember how much fun Pez dispensers were. And can anyone forget Pixy Sticks? You could even bite off both ends and blow sugar at your brothers.

Favorite fruit flavor in candy?

OK, I like sour apple. I don’t think it actually tastes like apple, but my kids hate the flavor, so I can eat in peace.

Which do you prefer: gummies or hard candies?

My grandfather gave up smoking after years of hard work at the C & O Railroad. He did it by replacing cigarettes with hard candy. I suspect I had a lot more years with him because of that. Plus, in Greece last summer my wife and I found ouzo flavored hard-candies. I like that anise flavor, even if they are colored blue.

What’s your favorite candy holiday?
Easter. I’ll admit that I love Cadbury eggs. Perhaps, I am simply the victim of brilliant marketing, but how can you resist them (and they are only here once a year). As a religion professor I also noticed that Walmart was marketing candy crucifixes this year. I suppose this is a candy version of “Jesus is the Reason for the Season.” I ponder, however, what this suggests about American spirituality that a chocolate cross is a cultural retort for the commodification of a sacred holiday (all for only $2.95)?

What’s best: milk, dark or white?
Dark chocolate. Like wine and coffee, too much sugar destroys the natural goodness of the cocoa flavor. However, I have one caveat: milk chocolate and peanuts are a winning combination.

Circus Peanuts: yay or nay?
I know this is a trick question since marshmallows in cereals developed from the same technology as Circus Peanuts, and I like my Lucky Charms. Truthfully, however, if I wanted a candy that tasted like sweet chalk with the texture of Silly Putty, then Circus Peanuts would be the best way to get my fix.

Thanks Mike! We’ll look forward to the release of your next book, “Spirituality & Candy: Beyond Loaves and Swedish Fishes,” available soon at Walmarts everywhere.

Hey you! Yeah you! How would you like to be a future Sweet Treat of the Week? Come on, it’s fun! Just send an e-mail to candyyumyummail@yahoo.com and say, “Hey, I’d like to dish on some candy!”

Sweet Treat of the Week: Elise Chidley

Elise Chidley, author of “The Wrong Kind of Wife?” and “Your Roots are Showing” is today’s Sweet Treat of the Week. You can check out her website at www.elisechidley.com.

What is your favorite candy?

I'm a huge fan of Cadbury's Snack bar, which is available in South Africa (where I'm from). When we go back to visit, I take a lot of (bulky) presents home to my family, and then fill in the freed-up space in my suitcase with chocolate on the return trip. The Snack bar is milk chocolate with crunchy, cookie-like pieces in it.

Share a childhood candy memory.

We used to go on an annual camping vacation with several families to a remote beach in Mozambique, a country that had barely any bread on the shelves of its stores, let alone candy. Oh, except for these hugely expensive chocolate 'umbrellas' which our parents would never buy. So we always brought bags of candy to tide us over, but these were supposed to be reserved for Christmas day. (Remember, this was in the southern hemisphere, so Christmas was in the summer time.) One year, my best friend and I found the candy supplies and pretty much flattened them on the sly. Boy, did we catch it afterwards. Good grief. That's not really a pleasant memory.

Favorite fruit flavor in candy?

Candy should not be fruit flavored. If I want to taste banana, I'll eat a banana. But orange chocolate is tolerable.

Which do you prefer: gummies or hard candies?

Gummies. I'm too impatient to suck hard candies, and chewing them means you have candy stuck in your molars all day.

What’s your favorite candy holiday?

Easter, because it's all about chocolate.

What’s best: milk, dark or white?

Milk is definitely best, though I'm trying to persuade my taste buds to like dark because that just seems more grown-up and dignified.

Circus Peanuts: yay or nay?

Do you know, I've never brought myself to try one. We didn't grow up with them, you see, so I think I by-passed that window of opportunity when a circus peanut looks appetizing.

Thanks Elise! Now go out and get yourself some Circus Peanuts, just so you can say you've tried them.

What about you, dear Yumsters? What are your candy preferences? I'd love for you to be a future Sweet Treat of the Week! Contact me at candyyumyummail@yahoo.com.

Sweet Treat of the Week: Jody Mace!

Hey Yumsters! Once again, it's time for our Sweet Treat of the Week. Today, we have Jody Mace (1 of 6 on Facebook, but number one in our hearts). She's a freelance writer and editor of Charlotte on the Cheap, a great website for those of you living in the Charlotte, NC area.

What is your favorite candy?

Cadbury Dairy Milk, made in the factory in the UK . Not Cadbury you get in the U.S., which is made by Hershey's. We lived in England for two years and twice we went to the Cadbury World, which is the best place on earth. When you walk in they give you a bag to hold all the chocolate they give you the rest of the tour. My second favorite candy is Cadbury Curly Wurlys which (I'm almost hyperventilating now) are caramel, covered with chocolate and twisted in sort of a really long braid. When you bite them they stretch really far and little flakes of the chocolate fall off and melt onto your hand and you lick them off. I need to take a breath now. On this tour at the very end, after you've been eating all this chocolate you go into this big room and they hand you, I kid you not, a little cup of melted chocolate. It's a challenge: How much can you take? When does chocolate start tasting bad? The answer: never.

Share with us a childhood candy memory.

When I was about seven, the boy across the street, Michael Horowitz, who was a year older, told me it was ok to walk to the 7-11 and get Hershey's bars. This walk involved crossing a four lane road. When I got home my mother was shocked and angry that I had gone on this dangerous journey. The fact that Michael Horowitz had said it was ok apparently held little weight. She asked me if it was worth taking my life in my hand for a Hershey's bar. How does one even begin to answer that question?

What's your favorite fruit flavor in candy?

None. I am a chocolate purist.

Which do you prefer: gummies or hard candy?

See above answer. Although I do like mint Life Savers.

What is your favorite candy holiday?

We don't celebrate the major holidays because we're Jewish. So we have matzoh instead. All of a sudden this sounds like a rotten deal. However we do observe the "Day After Easter" holiday when the bunnies are 50% off.

What's the best? Milk, dark, or white?

I'd feel so virtuous if I could honestly say "dark" but no. Milk, milk! A thousand times, milk!

Circus peanuts? Yay or Nay?

No. Actually I don't know. They don't appeal to me now, but I know I ate vast quantities of them as a kid so they must have had some redeeming quality. I also ate a lot of those little buttons that you peel off the paper, and the colored sugar that was in the little paper tubes. None of those seem so great anymore.

Thanks Jody! And Michael Horowitz, if you're out there, you owe Jody an apology. And a case of Hershey bars.

Hey you! Yeah, you! Would you like to be featured as an upcoming Sweet Treat of the Week? You know you do! Shoot off an e-mail to: candyyumyummail@yahoo.com. I promise, it'll be fun!

Sweet Treat of the Week: Eric from Beyond Candy Land!

Good day, Yumsters! Today’s Sweet Treat of the Week comes to us from Eric, creator of Beyond Candy Land. His awesome site is all about spending more time with your kids by playing really cool board games. Not like Monopoly or Clue, but really beautifully-made, honestly fun-to-play games like Chicken Cha Cha Cha and Vivo Topo!
So here’s some insight into this man of few words.

What is your favorite candy?
Chocolate with coconut.

Share a childhood candy memory.
I had an awesome friend who worked in a chocolate shop who brought me chocolate during class. Plus, she was cute. [Editor’s note: ((blush)). Oh wait. That was me, right?]

What’s your favorite fruit flavor in candy?
Cherry

Gummies or hard candies?
Hard candies.

What’s your favorite candy holiday?
Easter

Milk, dark or white?
Milk. White is not chocolate.

Circus Peanuts: yay or nay?
Hell no. They are like mutant peeps.

Thanks for sharing, Eric! (No one can accuse you of being too verbose.) We’ll look forward to reading more reviews at Beyond Candy Land.

Would you like to be a Sweet Treat of the Week? Contact me at candyyumyummail@yahoo.com if you’d like to share your candy profile!

Sweet Treat of the Week: Kate Reilly

This week's Sweet Treat of the Week comes to us from Kate Reilly, a writer and author in North Carolina. You can find her (and her blogger-in-arms Sir Buffalo Sushi) at Polka Dot Suitcase, a site devoted to the fun things in life. And one of her favorite fun things? Playing with her candy before she eats it!

What is your favorite candy?

Sponge candy from Oliver's Candies in Batavia, New York. Covered in dark chocolate, please. And you have to eat it the right way -- Kate's way: First, bite down gently on the top and bottom of one side of the cube. The chocolate will pop off in a solid, flat "wall." Then bite the adjacent side, and repeat, until you've just got the nekkid sponge candy with a top and a bottom of chocolate. Pop off the top and eat. The bottom, for some reason, is hardest to get off (it's thinnest), so you can either pop that off, if it'll come off, or put the whole sponge candy cube into your mouth at that point. Let it dissolve slowly. Then pick the sticky remainders out of your teeth, and reach for another piece. BLISS. (It's probably a good thing I live in NC now, or else I'd be in trouble with my dentist.) But...wah. Now I want Oliver's!

Share with us a childhood candy memory.

Every Easter, my family would pile in the car and we'd drive to Oliver's (about an hour away). Up the rickety wooden stairs, push open the glass door, and just inhale. It was what Willy Wonka's factory must have smelled like. Except the women who worked there were benevolent seniors, not orange-faced small people who sang spooky songs and rolled away inflated children. ...what was I saying? Oh, Easter. Right. Well, we'd walk up and down each aisle (there were only two) very slowly, looking at all the hand-made, shaped chocolates, trying to pick out what we wanted for our baskets. We didn't have a lot of money, so we couldn't pick out a ton -- and come to think of it, our parents must have saved up for this special trip! Would it be the orange-chocolate bunny? The milk chocolate cross with the white chocolate flower? The hard part was "forgetting" about what you picked until it showed up in your Easter basket later.

What's your favorite fruit flavor in candy?

Grape! Which tastes nothing like real grape, of course. Do real grapes really have a lot of flavor? They're not something you go, "mmmm, grapey..."when you pop 'em in your mouth. But grape-flavored candy? Mmmm...grapey.

Which do you prefer: gummies or hard candies?

Probably gummies. Preferably sour gummies. Ideally the really sour gummy worms. But not the yellow/green ones. Am I getting too specific here? Well, you asked. My beloved dog, years ago, would eat anything and everything she had the chance to gobble. I was eating sour gummy worms, and she came up and asked for one. I told her, "You're not going to like these." But her puppy eyes said, "Oh, yes! Yes, in fact, I will!" So I tossed her one. Here's the thing: She HATED it -- way too sour. But don't you know -- she ate it. It about made her gag, but she ate it. Then she looked at me, eyes watering,tail wagging: "Another?" But you asked about me. Right. Thing about hard candies is I always accidentally swallow them. I can't help it. I can sit and very studiously suck on them, but they're so slippery! Next thing you know, it makes a squirty dash toward the back of my mouth and zip! Down the gullet. Hard candies are sneaky. You can trust gummies.

What's your favorite candy holiday?

I just found out I missed National Chocolate Covered Raisin Day in March. I love me some chocolate-covered raisins. But is that my favorite candy holiday? Hmm...no. Christmas, I'd have to say. Between the specialty candy that comes out (which is really out all year round, but they just shape it into Christmas shapes and it fools me every year), the candy we put on gingerbread houses and the gingerbread train, and the fact that everything at Christmas magically has no calories -- yup, best candy holiday ever.

What's best: milk, dark or white?

Dark! Hands-down. Milk is second place, and I'm a little suspicious of most white chocolate. Some of it tastes too much like "faux" chocolate.

Circus Peanuts: yay or nay?

Nay, nay, nay. From Circus Peanuts stay, stay away. Stay away. (Anyone else remember Patch the Pony?) What are those things, anyway?

Thanks Kate! I hope some Oliver's sponge candy showed up in your Easter basket this year. And for all you Yumsters who don't remember Patch the Pony, don't worry-- neither do I. But you've gotta ask: why the patch?!

Sweet Treat of the Week: Courtney Phillips on Japanese Candy!

Hi Yumsters! Today’s “Sweet Treat of the Week” comes to us from Courtney Phillips, a Yumster who writes about grants for culinary school. Here she tells us all we need to know about Japanese candy! She welcomes your feedback at CourtneyPhillips80@gmail.com.

No Money for a Vacation? Take a Candy Taste-cation!
Log on to a website like http://www.asianfoodgrocer.com/ and search for candy and you won’t find any Kit-Kats or even a miniature Snickers bars among the choices, just sweet, sweet Japanese candy with crazy names like ‘Kasugai Puchirin Konpeito Sugar Candy’ and some even crazier flavors. A little Taste-cation can offer a new twist on whatever might be you old favorite.

Variety
Ever wander into a candy shop and look at all the aisles thinking, “Gee Whiz, I wish there were something radically different that I could try today.” Well, log on to a Japanese candy website and your prayers have quite radically been answered. How ‘bout some ‘Ramune candy’ flavored like a tasty tropical fruit? Or perhaps you really want to go out on a ledge and get a whole case of ‘E-ma grape mint’ candy which offers no further explanation? C’mon you only live once right?
Feeling timid and don’t want to wait on shipping? Try an old favorite domestic style.
It’s called ‘Pocky by Glico Chocolates’ and you can probably find it in almost any major grocery store or candy chain in your area. Many people have been munching on the snack since childhood, but for those who have never taken the strange step towards their first candy safari, you may not be all that surprised. ‘Pocky,’ like a lot of Japanese candy, is just a little twist on American style. Kit Kats come already covered in chocolate, but with Pocky you get to dip the sweetened bread sticks in liquid chocolate yourself. (There are other types of Pocky that come already dipped, too!)
There are even some Japanese characters on the label so you can ease your eminent switch to the Asian side! It may not be a distant departure from what you normally eat, consider it more a weekend day trip, but you gotta start somewhere right? Look for them nestled among the Asian noodles at your local grocer.

Every once in a while you get to enjoy wonders of mistranslation!
Spend a little time wandering down electronic Asian candy aisles and inevitably you will run into a potentially great product that just didn’t have the money to pay for a great translator, like ‘Flour Sack Taster’ or ‘Lotte Black Black gum.’ That’s just another great thing about what gets lost in translation – you really don’t know what you’re gonna get! Be a little adventurous, take a chance. C’mon, what’s the worst that could happen? Maybe a little tummy ache if you find something you really like!

Other places to buy strange yet tempting Japanese snacks
You’ve probably said it a million times, but ‘oh thank heaven for the internet.’ Just drop Japanese candy or even Asian candy into any search engine and you’ll be amazed at the flurry of results. Not surprisingly Ebay.com has a great selection too. Think of this as your opportunity to be a flavor ambassador in the next Taste-cation revolution!

Thanks for taking us on a candy staycation, Courtney! We'll have to bring back lots of candy souvenirs!

Would you like to be featured as a Candy Yum Yum Sweet Treat of the Week? Contact me at candyyumyummail.@yahoo.com.

Introducing Sweet Treat of the Week: Kris Bordessa!

Hey Yumsters! Today I’d like to introduce a new feature here at Candy Yum Yum. It’s called “Sweet Treat of the Week” and it’s a place where other candy lovers get to share their stories and opinions because-- you know-- it ain’t all about me!

This week’s Sweet Treat comes to us from Kris Bordessa, an author, freelance writer and co-owner of Hawaii’s BigIslandOnTheCheap.com. She knows where to get free candy on the island and takes advantage every chance she gets.

What is your favorite candy?

Can anybody really say what his or her favorite candy is? I mean, favorite favorite? That’s just too hard! Because I’m generally not much of a rule follower, I’ll take liberties with the question a bit.

• My favorite candy rack candy has got to be Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. I always LOOK at the other options, but somehow that Reese’s is what ends up in the cart.




• The very best special occasion candy is See’s. Specifically, butterscotch squares. There is only one on each level of a two pound box and you can bet that people have nearly lost their fingers when they lingered to close to my butterscotch squares. If a person lives close enough to a See’s store, she could feasibly go in and order a box (a small one!) of only butterscotch squares. Just saying.




• If I’m picking up candy at the local video store or at the movies, I’ll go for SweeTarts.

Share with us one of your childhood candy memories.

Ooh, I had several and then I remembered this: When I was little my Grandpa always kept butterscotch hard candies in his plaid shirt pocket. You know the kind that comes wrapped in golden yellow cellophane? I remember sitting on his lap and patting his chest, listening for the magic crinkle that told me yes, indeed, I was about to get candy! Probably, I was young enough that those round yellow discs were a choking hazard, but I certainly wasn’t thinking about that.

Favorite fruit flavor in candy?
Are coffee beans a fruit? Because I’d definitely take chocolate covered pea berries over traditional fruit flavors, any old day. If not, probably watermelon.

Which do you prefer: gummies or hard candies?
I’m primarily a chocolate candy kind of gal, but if I had to choose, hard candies. Jolly Ranchers are really the only kind of hard candy I’ll eat, though. Ooh. Remember when they came as a long flat stick? And you had to peel the cellophane wrapper away from the sticky candy, and if you stuck it in your pocket it would pick up bits of lint that would never be separated from the Jolly Rancher, so you just ignored them?

What’s your favorite candy holiday?
Easter! Foil wrapped chocolate eggs, Reese’s Peanut Butter eggs, chocolate bunnies (EARS first). Nothing better than sifting through green plastic grass to find one more hidden treasure.

What’s best: milk, dark or white?
Milk chocolate!

Circus Peanuts: yay or nay?
Absolutely not! My uncle used to love Circus Peanuts. He’d dip them in his coffee. Even as a young child I knew just how utterly disgusting this was.

Thanks Kris! And here's hoping you get a big bunny and some See's Butterscotch Squares in your Easter basket.

Want to be included as a Candy Yum Yum Sweet Treat of the Week? E-mail me at candyyumyummail@yahoo.com.