Marriage Vows

"I promise not to finish your chocolate bar while you are off watching a soccer game."

Dan and I received some fancy chocolates for Christmas.  I think both of these bars were from Eva and Ben.  And since Dan is the coffee-lover in our house, it would be unfair of me to finish off the Seattle Chocolates Pike Place Espresso Dark Chocolate Truffle Bar With Espresso Infusion.



But the B.T. McElrath Chocolatier Salty Dog Chocolate Bar (Butter toffee with sea salt) is fair game.

They're both quite good, BTW.  I wish the B.T.M bar had a little more toffee, but the salt level is perfect.

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Happy Hours

Dan and I visited our friend Jenny (of Wiksten) for a casual "Happy Hour" at her new studio on Friday evening. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and talking with her studio mates, neighbors across the courtyard, their husbands and boyfriends, an 18-year old cat, and etc.

I was already Jenny's fan (as well as friend), but now I know of a few more designers doing beautiful work in the neighborhood.  Her studio mates and neighbors are terribly talented.

I coveted Jennifer's fox claw earrings and bullet ring, as well as Fay's delicate hoops with oxidized copper teardrop slivers.  Shannon's recycled leather handbags, made from vintage leather jackets, were simple and perfect.  Nicolette, across the courtyard with Fay, has a charming florist's studio, currently featuring the largest and most beautiful peonies I'd ever seen.

Anyone who needs to buy me a present should feel free to speak to one of these five ladies.

Our surroundings were made more pleasant by the handsome handbags, gorgeous flowers, delicate and lovely jewelry x2, elderflower cocktails, champagne, wine, baked goods from Saltie, and a green courtyard beyond generous windows.

From Saltie, we enjoyed olive oil loaf/poundcake, lavender and olive shortbreads (two separate things, not one mix of flavors),  and a rhubarb gallette (a sort of rhubarb tart with a partial envelope of crust).  I think the olive shortbread was my favorite, but all the items were nice.  Still, the sparkling company really did overshadow even these charming snacks.  How happy I felt!

It was a gorgeous way to spend an early evening.

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It's all true.

Ike & Sam's Kettlecorn (original flavor) is, indeed "sweet and salty."  I quite liked the combination, and the quality of this product seemed high.  Beside the well-balanced flavors, there were plenty of fully-popped, unbroken kernels of corn in the bag.  Though it's new to me, I'd trust this brand with a future snack attack.

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Crackin' Good

Chuao's Firecracker chocolate bar with chipotle, salt, and "popping candy" (think Pop Rocks) caused quite a tizzy around the office this afternoon. Angela sent it to me for my birthday, so everyone who got some is lucky I was feeling generous.

There's not much spice to the chipotle and not much saltiness to the salt in this bar, but that's good. The popping candies are doing enough; your tongue doesn't need anymore distractions.

All who tasted it seemed intrigued enough to consider eating it again or buying it for a friend, so I call this novel bar a keeper -- and I know first-hand that it makes a great gift!

Saltie: Stormy Seas

After having it recommended to me several times, I finally tripped over to Saltie yesterday afternoon. Saltie is a tiny sandwich shop near Metropolitan and Havemeyer in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Sandwiches (with nautical names), drinks, and desserts are served there, so I settled in for a simple, two-course lunch.




I ordered a Scuttlebutt (sandwich), which turned out to be a beauty, built on attractive (focaccia?) bread and filled with what I identified as mozzarella cheese, black olives, capers, perfectly hard boiled egg, greens (including a lot of parsley), and something orange and fibrous that I assume was mashed sweet potato. An aioli sauce served as the dressing.

The combination of egg, greens, and sweet potato with the aioli was amazing. The focaccia bread-as-bun had a nice flavor, too, even if it was too much bread for me to eat (I find most sandwiches are too heavy on the bread, though, so this may be a personal thing). However, the capers and black olives made the sandwich incredibly salty and I ended up scraping most of them off.

I can't stress this next part enough: I like capers. I like olives. I love salt, and always thought I had a high tolerance for the seasoning, but apparently the chef at Saltie has a much greater love for the stuff than I do. She wins any "who likes salt more" competition, just by virtue of this one sandwich. I can't even come in a distant second. I understand that salt, and the interplay between salt and other elements, is an important component in their menu (hence the cafe's name), but if this sandwich is representative of the general "saltiness" level of every savory item at Saltie, it could be that none of the sandwiches here are right for me. I am surprised and humbled. 

I say this may be true of the savory menu items because I had a very different experience with the sweet part of my meal. When I turned to dessert, I found that the Apple Gallette I had chosen was not salty at all -- in a good way. I am sure there was salt in the pastry, but it didn't taste predominately of salt. Praise the heavens! The sweet pastry shell and sweet-tart apple filling came together in a way that was comforting, reassuring, and worthy of a little applause. Thank goodness for dessert.




I'd eat at Saltie again, and even try another sandwich for comparison's sake, but I have a feeling I'd be going back for the sweet -- not the salt.

[Please note that at least 4 of my good friends, who have very good taste in food, love this sandwich above all others at Saltie.  So I may have just gotten some particularly salty olives on the day I went.]

Land of 10,000 Snacks

When we were in the Twin Cities, one of my favorite brother-sister duos (Matt and Laura, which is not to say that their sibling, Claire, is not also delightful, just that she wasn't in town) made generous gifts to me of assorted local snack foods. I must apologize for the delay in getting up a responsive blog post. But, at last, I have tried them all!

If only I didn't like these snacks so much; I could have called this blog post, "Minne-so-so," which seems pretty clever to me right now (I wouldn't say I'm blogging drunk, but I also wouldn't say I'm coming from a place of total sobriety). But how could I not enjoy the following?!

1. Pearson's Salted Nut Roll. I am so into salt with chocolate. Nothing tastes better after two white Russians and a big glass of water. This is like if peanuts that had only ever been to the zoo went to the CIRCUS!




2. Old Dutch Ketchup Potato Chips. Sweet. That's a description, not an interjection. Sweet and slightly tangy, the bag announces they are "Delivered fresh from the heart of the Upper Midwest." These are perfect for early evenings when you're just home from work and not looking forward to making dinner. The flavor isn't complex enough, so you're required to chase them with real food, but they're interesting enough to tide you over those minutes you need to sit on the couch and just recharge.

3. B.T. McElrath Chile Limon Chocolate Bar. Light on the limon, the chocolate has a rich, cocoa flavor and the spice builds with each bite. The citrus peeks through after a few. It can't make me Mayan, but it can make me miss Mexico.



*sigh*

4. Pearson's Milk Chocolate Bun with Caramel and Roasted Peanuts. Sticky in a delightful way, the Bun grabs hold and doesn't let go. Want to chew something over? Try one of these. Thick with caramel, it's a fistful of yum without being totally tooth-threatening.

5. Pearson's Nut Goodie (Original flavor). The Nut Goodie is a lot like the Bun, with chocolate and peanuts encasing flavor, but somehow the chocolate in the Goodie tastes like it is of a higher quality. The tan filling must be maple, which I don't always enjoy in sweets (beyond syrup), but it isn't bad. I can see why this would be a classic -- especially for maple fans.

6. Pearson's Milk Chocolate Bun with Vanilla and Roasted Peanuts. I don't know why, but I was suspicious of this one. I expected it to be heavy-handed on the vanilla. I also didn't see how it could compare to the caramel variety. But it is pleasing, filled with a subtle, though sweet, vanilla mash.

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Mmmmmminnesota! Thanks, Matt (and Jessica) and Laura! I hope you don't mind if I come visit again sooner, rather than later. The Twin Cities taste sweet to me.

Dare I Say It? Better than Boxed?

I've had some irreverent thoughts about brownies. The one that feels most like blasphemy? I usually find boxed or bagged brownie mix to make a better batch. But these babies are the best I have made in a long, long time (should I have said "a bazillion years" to keep the accidental alliteration going?).

Kelly at Eat Make Read posted this recipe. I think you'd do well to bake them yourself. That little bit of Maldon sea salt goes the extra mile. I happened to have most of a box in the pantry because of last year's margarita cookies (that recipe was from Smitten Kitchen), and boy am I glad.




They don't carry the recommended Valrhona chocolate at Whole Foods, so I used Green & Black's organic baking chocolate (72% cocoa). The resulting brownies were rich, thick, and dense. They also managed to be flaky on top, with a crackly crust, but soft and chewy and tender of crumb. Win-win!

This is a big statement, but... if I were forced to only make one brownie recipe for the rest of my life (boy, I am glad this is just a hypothetical situation I posed to myself), I think I would choose these.

It's scary to have one's world turned upside down, but my boxed mix days may be over.

Almond Joy

Angela practically insisted I buy these salty chocolate-covered almonds at Trader Joe's.

She was right.

They were amazing.

If you like salt, chocolate, and nuts, watch for Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Almonds (Made with Belgian chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt and turbinado sugar). If you don't like these ingredients, I cannot help you.

Saltermelon

Mr. L. suggested that sea salt on watermelon is a good idea, so I tried it this morning. I just happened to have a bit of organic watermelon in the fridge for my breakfast and some fancy flaky sea salt on the pantry shelves (bought for use in a margarita cookie recipe).

The salt sure perked up my pale slices. If the watermelon had been deep red and juicy I bet it would have been even better. I'm adding this seasoning idea to my snacking repertoire.

I don't mean to be stereotypical, but I do happen to be eating chocolate and thinking about shoes.

I'm being honest in the title of this post, if a bit defensive. I'm not into chocolate and shoes because I'm female. I'm into them because I'm me. And I've got my priorities (fairly) straight -- I don't love them to the detriment of more intellectual pursuits (not that I'm pursuing that many intellectual things through this blog, as you know). But I do happen to be a lady who likes both chocolate and shoes. Give me a break, imaginary critics. There are plenty of men out there who enjoy these things, too (or would, if men's shoes came in such variety).

Tragedy! It has been a week of woe, where my shoes are concerned. Finally, the weather is warm enough for me to show off my recently acquired toenail polish, and my open-toed shoes are torturing me every chance they get. First, a very old pair of low-heeled brown sandals gave up the ghost. I just can't get the ankle straps to stay up. Over the years, I've tried taping, tightening, adjusting constantly, and ignoring; I've hit my limit. Goodbye, low-heeled brown sandals.

Then, a new pair of $6 flip flops (bought on sale over the winter and tried on, but not worn while walking around until yesterday) turned on me. These jerkos not only chose to both dig their fake-leather straps into my feet, causing the sort of pain that feels like it will leave bruises, but the right-foot flop decided to twist as I walked, leaving my right foot constantly falling off the sole of its shoe. I thought I had finally found that elusive plain black thong I'd been looking for (no crazy colors or fake crystals on my flip flops, please). But I was wrong. Why, oh why? Also, goodbye.

I should have been wearing my supremely comfortable (once they're broken in), never-angering handmade moccasins by Manimal, because I have them in two colors (support small business owners! Watch for sample sales!) and I love them. Wanting to show off my pedicure was nothing but hubris. If I'd gone for the toe-enclosing mocs I would not have been doomed to two days of foot pain and rage.

Wait a minute. Am I going to talk about inedibles for the rest of this item? Let's get to the snacks. A few moments of sanity amidst my days of furious feet? Brought to me by eating squares of a Vosges Haute Chocolat Goji bar. This fancy chocolate was an unexpected gift from Louis, produced upon the occasion of our finishing a monster (5 months or more) recording project at work. Thanks, Louis!

"Tibetan goji berries/pink Himalayan salt/deep milk chocolate/45% cacao" is printed on the front of the box for this 3 oz. (85 g.) bar. On the back? An overwritten essay on "How To Enjoy An Exotic Candy Bar" by someone named Katrina (whose bio was also overwritten, so I stopped reading it), including instructions such as "Take 3 deep breaths. Rub your thumb on the chocolate to help release the..." blahblahblah.

I didn't take three deep breaths. I rubbed my thumb on nothing. I just ate the chocolate. And it was delicious. I had forgotten about the Goji berries promised by the packaging, so their chewiness surprised me. The salt, which I was looking forward to, was as good (and pink) as I'd hoped. I love salt with chocolate. I did wonder if this bar might be better in a darker chocolate, but I'm no snob; I like milk chocolate, too. In fact, though I've had other flavors of chocolate bar from this line, the Goji Bar is my favorite so far.

Eating a bit of the bar yesterday helped me get through the day without running out to buy replacement shoes just so I could take the rotten flip flops off. Eating some today has me feeling like I take whatever shoes come next, good or bad. And that's some empowering salty chocolate!

Twisted

Dad and Dan picked up some Pretzel Depot pretzels yesterday morning.

These aren't just any pretzels. They're prize-winners -- declared this year's Best Traditional Soft Pretzels in the Philadelphia Independence Visitor Center's annual pretzel month contest (October is National Pretzel Month).

According to my mom, this is what a Philly pretzel is supposed to taste like. They're terrific, says me.

Duds in the Dark

I am a fan of the classic combo of movie theater popcorn with artificial butter-flavored grease, but don't usually do "mix-ins." Several have been recommended to me over the years. I think it was Gina who recently said I had to try my popcorn mixed with a box of Milk Duds and reminded me of that particular marriage of snacks.

I vowed then to try it "soon" - and tonight I did. I felt it might be appropriate to take a culinary risk as part of my experience of the new Bond film, "Sciencey Measure of Comfort." So I did the 'corn and 'Duds thing.

Verdict: not bad. I get the sweet and salt allure. But to really optimize the flavors and textures of this marriage, the popcorn needs to be hotter and the Milk Duds smaller. I think a homemade version would be best.

And so, in conclusion,

Lesson 1: more expensive convenience snacking does not win the flavor race.

Lesson 2: not every director knows how to make action scenes make visual sense.




(Credit where credit is due. I once emailed another cartoonist to inform him [politely] that I felt he was ripping off B. Breathed's style. I thought he should know he wasn't getting away with it. And I thoroughly recommend a visit to Bloom County. Classics of Western Literature: Bloom Country 1985-1989 is a transcendent collection.)

Snapshot Review: Deep River Snacks Salt & Vinegar

Progo and I have a new favorite salt and vinegar potato chip. The slices are thick and crunchy; the flavor is like sour, biting velvet. That's a good description of the cat, too. But I hope not me.

My five senses

(another import from the luffly Anastasia, as found in her overseas Snack Sampler)

Smiths (by Walkers) Chipsticks Ready Salted Maize & Potato Snack smell kind of bland and sour, like white bread plus shoestring potatos with an unfortunate twist.

Chipsticks look like french fries (or "chips," for you Brits) if they were made by a honeycomb-creating alien life form of some sort. They look like they should be studied under a microscope by biologists.

Chipsticks feel kind of oily and rough, chew like cardboard and styrafoam were fused together, and leave a slick residue on the tongue and roof of the mouth.

Chipsticks taste very (very) salty with an undercurrent of corn and a soupçon of potato. One might say the salt wallops one's taste buds like a Brixton skinhead with a tire iron. The flavor, like the smell, is fairly bland outside of the salt. Frankly, they taste a bit old.

Chipsticks sound like nothing until one bites into them. Then, they sound crispy at first, all the air in them making quite a crunch. Eventually the sound is more muted as they are compressed into a smishy stick-to-the-tops-of-your-teeth paste.

p.s. I like the packaging. It's demurely festive. It's a clown at the beach. It's litter outside an abandoned state fair booth in a Ray Bradbury story.

Another Pairing

Hey, does salty chocolate match with Turkish Sufi music?

I've got a new album called Folk Lute of Anatolia (Ali Ekber Çiçek, voice and bağlama) and one of the last treats from Vienna, Meersalz Schokolade by Leysieffer [This is a rich, dark chocolate with large grains of salt. It's quite the saltiest chocolate I've ever tasted, but it's delicious and melts beautifully on the tongue]. And then, in a little while, we're all going to watch Little Women (1933, with Katherine Hepburn as Jo). Isn't life grand?