Mountain High; Sentence Fragments

The Brown & Haley Mountain "bar" (they're round) triumvirate. From Tacoma, Washington. By the makers of Almond Roca Buttercrunch. Thinking of Ranier.

Mountain. Round lumpiness. Smells nutty. Vanilla cream filling. Like a cherry mash with no cherry. Which brings us to.

Cherry Mountain. Same thick, irregular lump. Intensely cherry smell. Very sweet cherry middle. Less filling than in the original bar. Less nutty. Nicely smooshy as you chew.

Peanut Butter Mountain. Best for last? Most oblong and puddly looking. Faintest scent. First bite all chocolate - cursed oblong! Rich, soft chocolate. Crunch of nuts. Peanut butter inside. Want more. Happy smooth.

Who else a Northwest favorite? Tia!

Just as I suspected.

Dan was happy that Tia sent along a mini pack of Aplets and Cotlets ("Apple and Apricot Confections with Crunchy Walnuts") in her box o' snacks. This is because I do not like them, so it was the one thing in the box he knew I would give to him outright.

I've already mentioned my dislike of these somewhat gelatinous - yet crunchy - and powdery cubes, so it would be boring to go into all that again. I thought it would be more fair to get the other side of the story. This is no exaggeration of our interview:

(Snackreligious): Dan, what is it you enjoy about Aplets and Cotlets?

(Dan): Ummm...That's a good question. [long pause]. I'm sure it will come to me.

[Long pause]

(SR): Do you think it will come to you within the next few minutes?

(D): No. No I don't.

(SR): I rest my case.

---

Okay, so maybe that was boring, too. But still.

Direct from Spokane

Washington Wild Huckleberry Tea ("Slightly Sinful") is made in Spokane, Washington.

Spokane, eh? I can't say I've had the pleasure. But have I tasted you through your Huckleberry tisane? Have you been steeped too long and become slightly bitter, soapy, and over-perfumed?

Wait. That's my fault, not the tea's. We added hot water to the concoction and made it much better, cleaner, and berrier. Nice aroma, too. Yumz.



Thanks, R!

"Watch out, Texas!" (that's the chili talking, not me).

Apparently, the Pacific Northwest has its own take on chili. I know this because R+M came back from Spokane with a PNW chili mix for me to try.

Here is Buckeye Beans & Herbs' Rip Roar'n Lentil Chili mix (does it really save time to leave out the "i" in "Roarin'?") in the making. Ingredients: tomato, lentils, meat, onion, spices. No beans. Dan thought to add some mushrooms.

I say anything with lentils counts as health food. You know who makes the best lentils? Eat Records in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. But I digress. The chili was, perhaps, under-spiced, but quite good with scallions and a little cheese. Sour cream would have raised the volume even more.

Lentils in chili - a good idea. I wouldn't say Texas owns chili just yet. After all, if you don't know chilly, how can you really know chili? Washington State's got a lock on spicy soup/stew weather. That's for sure. And so, the Pacific Northwest remains in the game.


---

Sidebar: I had the Food Network on in the background for a while this morning. One of the show hosts used the phrase "rock it out" far too much and also gave the instruction (more than once) to set food aside or let it cook without watching it by saying, "treat it like a stepchild." I disapprove. Even hearing her say, "It smells brown," which is the type of inaccurate statement I can find endearing in a tv host (if not overused), couldn't redeem her carelessness.

I am spoiled rotten.

It is after midnight, which makes it Wednesday, which means I can tell you this without having to write it as a Poetry Tuesday poem (I love Poetry Tuesday, but a prose post about this will be faster):

Just as I am one final item (well, not including a couple of teas) away from completing my survey of the snacks in the box Anastasia sent me from the UK, I received a new box of sweet, sweet trouble sent from Washington State. Some of the goodies are regional treats and/or unfamiliar to me. Other items are classic snacks I have not written about yet here. All are inspiring great waves of emotion and gratitude.

Oh, Tia, thank you. My tongue hurts just looking at this stuff.

Jenny and the Giant Peach

Our vacation to Portland and Seattle was an exercise in me not researching and over-preparing for every moment of a trip. Since we speak the language and had a place to stay in each city I figured I could relax about the details for once.

The one thing on my "must-see" list in Seattle was Pike Place Market. I knew it would be crowded and touristy (and that there might be cool places in Seattle that are more worth a trip), but I love greenmarkets and farmers' markets and covered markets, so I had to see it. I didn't consider there would also be a mixture of non-food stores (like a tiny magic shop and an art collective boutique) and souvenir shops. I did think it might be bigger, with more produce, but that isn't to say I was disappointed. The produce that was in evidence was plentiful and prettily displayed (though with some hand-lettered signs begging people not to touch the merchandise. I'm supposed to buy produce I'm not allowed to touch?).



My favorite store in the market was a spice and rub (and tea and sundries, etc.) shop near the entrance to the market (hang a left at the tourists crowded around the fish tossers). This is the spice cabinet of my dreams.



My least favorite experience in the market was being heckled by vendors. I don't get people selling things who single out and heckle their potential customers, but some customers probably find the vendors to be funny and charming. I was tiring of the patter of a guy at a pasta stand when he called to me (as I was standing against a pole to steady my camera while trying to get a good flash-less photo), saying something like, "Young lady, [note: he was younger than me] when you finish holding up that pole, you should try our chocolate pasta." I did not choose to sample the chocolate linguine. I was taking a picture, not lounging against a pole.

Heckling is one thing, but I don't mind barkers. Or free samples. That's why I gladly headed over to the man handing out slices of what he claimed was "Possibly the best peach you'll ever eat" in front of a display of the same peaches and a sign that said "Oh My God Peaches." It looked pretty enough:



I didn't eat it for several hours, though I was risking giving it an inadvertent bruising. I took that peach to the Space Needle park first, intending to eat it on our picnic there, but only photographed it near the fountain and didn't actually get around to eating it until I got back to the house. The anticipation of waiting (hoping it would be excellent) could have hurt the experience, but when the moment came it seemed only to make that peach sweeter.




Because although I did not say, "Oh my God," when I bit into it, that barker was right. It was probably the best peach I've ever eaten. I should mention that it was also the most expensive peach I've ever eaten ($2!) but, in the end, so, so worth it. I'm talking big, soft, tree-ripened, sweet, juicy, and meltingly tender (and not bruised much after hours of being carried around). It was so heart-rendingly delicious I even found myself somewhat reluctant to share a few bites with Dan and Eva (though I did). Just Uh-Mazing!

Sailing the Seas of Cheese

I believe I mentioned I'd say more about the cheese curds we consumed in Seattle. I've loved cheese curds since, as a kid, we would take family trips from our home near the Mississippi River in Iowa across the border to get some "real Wisconsin cheese" across the river. If you haven't had cheese curds, or if you haven't had superior cheese curds, you should know that it's true that the good ones squeak when you chew them.

I've had curds that squeak and curds that refuse to comment, but I'd never eaten flavored cheese curds until about 2 weeks ago. These, from Beecher's Handmade Cheese, an artisan shop near Pike Place Market (where you can watch the cheese being made on site, as pictured above), come as small curds soaking in a sort of marinade. We purchased two flavors - Chipotle Pepper and Market Herb. Both were good, if a little wet and messy (and squeakless). Regular, "dry" cheese curds can be eaten with the fingers. These were best on bread (or, potentially, crackers). My favorite of the two types we tried was the Market Herb, but I prefer fresh and unflavored. Next stop - fried!

Menaced

Some gulls let us know they were jealous of our picnic lunch at the fountain near the Seattle Space Needle.



They were acting territorial about who got to stand closest to us.



Extended eye contact with an animal or bird activates my "I must feed you" instinct, but I know that's generally frowned upon. I stuck to my personal rule: "I won't feed them on purpose, but if I drop something they can have it" and then tried not to do any accidental-on-purpose littering of bread.

But, come on! Who wouldn't want some of this bread?



Ingenious! This stylish loaf was found near Pike Place Market at a lovely bakery named Le Panier.



Crusty! Chewy! Fresh! Yum (More about those cheese curds soon). Also, notice the giant drink in the penultimate photo above? That's an enormous lemonade with no less than an entire lemon (cut in half) floating inside. From this place:




We sat and ate (bread, cheese curds, donut nectarines) and were snuck up on by seagulls and watched children playing in the giant fountain (which varied its stream and patterns, sometimes playing music). Pretty cheery day.





Yeah, kid. Go for it.

Scenic vistas make me hungry.

When we stopped to have a bite to eat while hiking around Deception Pass in Washington state, we enjoyed three different flavors of chocolate with grey sea salt we had picked up at Bayleaf in Coupeville. The "Aztec Chile" spicy version was my favorite. The salt grains made the experience a little transcendent and there were roasted pepitas inside.



Another flavor was burnt caramel. Delicious. The third had coconut flakes and almonds inside.



We, a thoughtful bunch, picked up all of our trash. The birds, who had previously snacked on shrimp, did not. They left behind the heads.

Campy

Beautiful sunsets and (more importantly) dry weather in the Seattle area led us camping. We made our way to Deception Pass State Park on Whidbey Island, north of Seattle. Once on the island, we stopped at Bayleaf in Coupeville, a charming shop selling cheese, bread, wine, chocolates, and more.

We bought camping snacks there, including some wine (screw-top necessary), bricks of marigold gouda and a spicy cheese, individual puddings in rich flavors, mini chocolates, crusty bread, and some the best sausage I've had to date.

Oh, hadn't you heard? I'm eating some pork now. Mostly hard sausages and prosciutto/bacon. I'll save the wherefore for another entry.

Now, about those sausages --



Both (we bought two flavors) were perfect. Fresh air and beautiful views may have made it tastier, but it was already sharp (both the "hot" version and the less spicy) and chewy and moist. Beautiful. And for a camping trip, you really can't beat the portability of hard sausages and bread. I could have eaten nothing but this all weekend. I might have gotten ill, but I wouldn't have cared up until that oops-I-got-ill point.

If you like sausage, keep an eye out for this label:

Make mine a monkey?

As much as I like chocolate, I'm not that into "mocha" flavored drinks. But I do like frozen-whipped-smoothie-icy beverages. So I was all for trying an advertised "Monkey Mocha" after a long car ride on a sunny day. Dan saw the sign and hopped out of the car to buy a couple while we were in line outside the parking lot for the ferry to Whidbey Island, north of Seattle, WA, and he made it back to the vehicle just in time for us to board and drink the mochas on the crossing. Not bad. Hit the spot, as they say.

Yet -- why "monkey?" It certainly wasn't an ingredient. Was there banana in there? I didn't taste any. Nor was it served by monkeys. The bikini coffees at the bikini espresso stands are served by bikini-clad women (ask me what I think about this), so shouldn't the monkey mochas be served by primates? Nice mocha; confusing name.

Nopelets and notlets

Cranaplet, originally uploaded by jennybunny.

I do not like aplets and cotlets. In years past they were given to us at Christmas as gifts by friends of the family, so I have known that I dislike them for a while. Recently, Dan insisted on buying them as a genuine Washington state treat for a camping trip. I thought I should give them another try, especially as I might like this new cranberry flavor more. I did not.

They are not "deliciously soft." The jellied texture grosses me out. The plasticky taste does not please me. And the walnuts suspended in the semi-solid goo remind me of when I did not like "nuts in things. "

I was kind of glad they got soggy and wrecked in the cooler and had to be thrown away. Sorry, Dan.