Fun with Food and Drink

Shopping at Jungle Jim’s International Grocery store, we obviously enjoy seeking unusual products. When I saw this interesting wine I had to try it. My husband kindly suggested I buy two, saving one for the novelty.

I did not enjoy the taste. Oh, well. I tried something new.

Visits to Aldi are sometimes adventurous, as well. While walking the snack aisle I saw something that didn’t belong there. It was a miniature waffle iron with a snowflake design.

I showed it to my husband, put it back, and decided to seek the product display. The low cost decided me to buy one. Rather than dig through the stacked boxes above my head, I went back for the misplaced merchandise.

Lucky for me, it was still there. I joined my husband at the self checkout with item in hand. He just hoped I would use it. And so I have, pleased how my favorite pancake mix turned out so perfectly. This took three minutes on the oiled and preheated appliance.

Merry Christmas, all!

What a fun and tasty new experience, right? Are you a fan of either waffles and/or pancakes? -

Marble Soda

Marble soda is something I discovered on a gourmet restaurant menu somewhere (?) after playing around on Apple Maps. This was a few weeks ago and I’ve been meaning to share my Amazon purchase of it.

Tasting a Classic Japanese Summer Treat

Unfortunately, I didn’t film myself releasing the marble. There’s a minor trick to it but nothing too difficult. The flavors underwhelmed me. I think the original tasted most refreshing and least synthetic.

Isn’t it amazing how many sodas, created generations ago, were marketed as health tonics? Are you familiar with the related insulting term ‘snake oil salesman’?

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You Win Some; You Lose Some

My husband enjoys food so much that he watches Youtube channels devoted to cooking, often with me and sometimes without. And we’ve gotten some excellent ideas.

A recent video from Guga on Chinese style orange chicken was one my guy insisted I make. Guga's experiment regarded the sauce. He replaced orange juice concentrate with orange flavored Tang drink mix. It took forever to make, yet remained thin and runny even after I added two tablespoons of cornstarch, and had an unpleasant brownish hue.

I found the flavor profile almost synthetic, totally unlike the delicious chicken dish from our favorite Chinese-American restaurant, China Cottage. Fortunately my husband liked what I’d made; I ate two chunks of the fried chicken fresh and he finished the rest over a few days.

Are you familiar with Guga and his various Youtube channels? Isn’t it funny that advertisers used to tout the stuff as what astronauts drank in space?

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My New Hobby – & – Some Peculiar Side Benefits

As smart phone apps go, my current favorite is maps. Besides offering directions (of course), the app also offers satellite views. My addiction hobby began locally, looking at my own home. Spreading to local neighborhoods introduced me to a tiny new coffee house/bistro I would never have discovered on my own.

Best of all, many points of interest provide a website. Museums, parks, bars, restaurants, etc bring adventure and even some exoticism to my quaint suburban life.

This has even led me to try new things beyond local businesses. My favorite so far came from Japan, a product called candied yuzu peel.

A longtime fan of balanced sweet and sour tastes, I read of yuzu off a New Orleans restaurant menu. The ingredient was used either as a cocktail component or salad topping. Of course I’ve forgotten. ~rolls eyes~ I purchased a packet off of Amazon.com and hope to investigate its other forms, as well.

What is your favorite candy or beverage profile?

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Following a Theme... (WARNING: Fake but Graphic Gore Ahead)

During a recent meal out my drink came chilled by a very cool looking solid ice sphere. It made me wonder if someone made skull shaped ice trays.

And they do! My husband found several silicon models and purchased the one rated highest on Amazon, which only cost a few dollars. My fun experimenting with ever creepier additives has been priceless.

~grin~

If you don’t want to risk getting grossed out you should skip the photo at bottom. Hint: adding a dollop of tart cherry jam proved to be my best idea yet.

Have you ever seen a novelty ice cube? If you were to buy such an ice tray, what shape would you choose?

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Do you see a tiny second skull?

Here is a bonus fact for those horror fans who hung in there:

Adding cooked rice fragments grossed me out. Tinted green with a dot of wasabi, those ‘maggots’ looked way too real as the ice melted. And the feel of them... Ugh!

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A Bit of Good Luck, Some Holiday Flavors, and Bit of a Bummer

To get a minor disappointment out of the way, my husband told me Gary Larson asks that no one posts his Far Side comics on social media. It’s understandable since everyone has to make a living, so here is a link to The Daily Dose. I don’t know if ad blockers will prevent viewing, but be sure to show him some love by clicking on the hearts if you can and do visit.

Meanwhile, I’ve been experimenting a little in the kitchen. It started with leftover apple cider from a failed recipe. I debated how to cut the sweetness and am not a big fan of hot drinks, though mulled cider is nice. Then I remembered my reduced calorie cranberry juice cocktail contains apple. Mixing one part cider with about three parts juice, it turned out okay. Then I added a can of diet 7Up. Yum… Refreshing, too. There is no picture because, to be honest, the muddy color looks unappealing. If you try some variation or other let me know what you think.

This morning I tried a simple recipe from ‘American Lifestyle’ magazine and baked actual cookies for a change. While our ground ginger and cinnamon are ancient, the treats turned out tasty. I almost ruined them, however. This recipe calls for baking soda, not the baking powder I pulled to mix with the flour and spices. What luck I caught and corrected that error in time. I wonder how they would have turned out. Not good, I imagine.

I lacked the pretty crystal sugar;
and we didn't miss it...

Do you know the difference between baking soda and powder? Did you know that freezing peeled ginger root both keeps it fresh and makes shredding easier?

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Mirror, Mirror

My husband and I often joke that I live the life of a housecat. The fact Jezebel has become almost a Voodoo doll for my existence takes this to the next level.

Case in point, she developed that aforementioned limp in her right front leg about the same time my right shoulder became painful. Fortunately, we both recovered. She must have landed wrong following a jump. While my injury is a mystery, a doctor’s recommended painkiller and exercise regimens healed me.

Meanwhile, I also related a false cancer scare caused by the well meaning vet technician who left a message regarding her blood test results. Guess what happened last week following my latest mammogram?

Yup. I got a surprise, dreaded call to come back for further examination.

No worries, though.

A complicated cyst was diagnosed during my follow-up ultrasound. Unsurprised, the doctor advised more scans in six months just to make certain the abnormality is stable.

That last bit of news left me much calmer. Things are looking up! Heck, last week we got our initial shingles vaccinations after being on the waiting list for almost a year. We’ll get the secondary booster sometime within the next six months.

My arm still hurts and itches a bit around the injection sight, but that’s preferable to the agonizing condition it’s meant to prevent. The Christian reverend I engaged to perform our 1997 wedding suffered a shingles outbreak before our big day. Fortunately, that considerate man got us into contact with a surrogate.

That fellow showed up late to the B&B I booked, late enough to make some folks nervous, but did a fine job. For me, it just meant we’d enjoy yet another engagement party before eloping.  To my groom’s chagrin, my promise of an intimate service didn’t pan out like he expected. Both our mother’s hosted large pre-parties in Northeast Ohio and the wedding guest list doubled over what he expected. How could I have turned away friends’ and coworkers’ spouses?

As for the big day, those memories remain the favorite out of all my five decades. Nothing upset me, not even when my father smashed my three tiered cake against the wall. I’ll save that story for another post. The tell fits nicely with a strange bit of recent news.

Do you know the tradition of freezing a portion of wedding cake for the couple to share on their first anniversary? How about washing it down with sparkling wine for breakfast?

We did. Heh… What yummy decadence.

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Morning Fix & an Imposter

For whatever reason, caffeine no longer agrees with me. I have gone from a few (complimentary, I might add) cups a day at my former office job to using caution when ordering iced tea at restaurants. No refills, please. Don’t feel bad, though, my caffeine intake really isn’t missed.

A few years ago I found a fruity green tea that seemed interesting. And boy, howdy, is it ever refreshing served over ice, even better than hot. To make a box last longer I first steep a plain green tea bag in a small amount of boiling water for two minutes.

The Good Stuff

Then I swap out the bags and let the concoction sit for as long as I can stand. More time equals stronger flavor, of course, not that it needs any help in that department.

It would seem I’m not the only area resident who is a fan. Sometimes the shelf is empty of this particular flavor. During this last shortage, my dutiful husband waited while I perused other brands.

At last I selected a Lipton product boasting the same fruits. No. Never again. That stuff tasted synthetic. Yet the box boasted ‘more fruit flavor’ than before. Odder still is the fact it contains soy.

Why?

I tried various ways to make it palatable to no avail. Doubling up on that instead of using plain green to use them up faster, I ended up tossing out the last three bags. For me, that’s rare. It bothers me letting any food stuffs go to waste.

Have you ever had anything açaí flavored?

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