TheSnackHound

When I went to the Cider Mill over the weekend, I was not just shocked by the fact that people eat peanuts with candy corn.  I, in fact, was also mesmerized by the giant apple at the Robinette Cider Mill.  As you may have guessed, my interest in giant cement, fiberglass, or wooden food items never wanes.  Afterall, a mall that I worked at during college had a play are where you could climb all over gigantic breakfast foods.  Some had steps or slides on them.

The apple just sits casually amid the picnic tables with a sign on the side that says “Please Don’t Climb.” If I was eight years old, I would consider this a mere request and not any sort of edict. Of course I was a polite child and honored polite requests, but sometimes I fell to reverse psychology. Most likely, I probably had James and the Giant Peach read to me in class that week, so was still surrounded by the world view that it was thorughly normal to interact with giant fruit. In fact, it was expected.  It was something, like growing up and being Wonder Woman, that you can look forward to in the future.  Just be patient, and it too will happen for you.

What I was most impressed by is the shading of the apple.  This wasn’t just your typical roller job on the paint.  No, sir.  The apple had dimension to its paint job, or at least I imagined it.  What I didn’t ask is what variety the apple it was supposed to be.  It didn’t quite have that deep hue of a red delicious.   It didn’t have the splashes of yellow and pale, almost pastel red that Fuji apples have.  Is it possible to just have a “generic apple” sitting out there?   I find it hard to believe that someone whose life is apples just made up a generic one to represent all Apple-Americans of all heriteges and experiments there of.

I wonder if Gwyneth Paltrow’s daughter, Apple, is going to be called Crab Apple at school.  Maybe her boyfriend will call her Golden Delicious if she is blonde.  Maybe, and we can hold out hope on this one, she will grow up and marry a nephew of Denzel Washington’s.  That would be lucky for all of us, as in the phone book, she would be listed as Washington, Apple.   I know, we can only dream about that one, can’t we?

What do I do if I just have $25.00?  I would like to say I save it for a rainy day, but this past weekend I didn’t.  I got so excited that there was an organic grocery store around here now, and I wandered around the store aimlessly.   Well, I wasn’t so aimless, I was on a mission to find the very special food products that I have been missing.  I bought a bunch of Jamaican Brew Ginger Ale that has real ginger in it, not all that high fructose corn syrup and “flavorings.”  I admit, I also bought quite a few Newman’s Own Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups.  Everywhere I went, they only had the mint ones, so I sort of am embarrassed to say that I acted like I was buying canned goods and water before a hurricane.   They may be the LAST ONES that any store carries and I had to stock up because you just never know!

I read something interesting that made me feel like a total glutton.  With $25.00 I could do something to help my country, and get a little return on my investment.   Suddenly, I was transported back intime to my high school economics class, where we ran a little business to teach us how corporations worked.  We sold stock in the “company” for $1 each to students, parents and friends.  We used the money to print T Shirts, and returned their initial investment plus a small profit to those that participated.  The project was a big success, and even a skeptical uncle thought he got a better return than the stock market.

When I was in my early twenties, I learned that you can’t get that much bang for your buck on $1.00 stocks.  Since that was a LOOOONG time ago, $1.00 in high school money in 1992 equals $25.00 of adult money in 2008.  That’s not really true, but it might as well be.  The prices in snack machines have more than doubled since then.

An investment company has come up with an idea for anyone who can spare $25.00 to be able to invest in something that will not only possibly return an investment, but expresses it as a patriotic act to rebuild America.  Rebuilding of America pools everyone’s investment and uses them to fund projects that rebuild homes.  A twenty unit property that was started before Katrina will be rebuilt.  Another project is a senuor housing unit in Kansas City which lies incomplete due to builder bankruptcy. The goal is to purchase the property to both prevent blight and to creates a worthwhile and profitable property.

Of the $25.00 an individual invests, $5.00 is collected as a fee, and $20.00 is deposited in an FDIC Certificate of Deposit that is used to back the purchase, revitalization, and sale of the properties.  In give years, the original $20.00 is returned to the investor, plus a return on the investment.   The projects creates jobs, impact the families who will be living in the properties, and also allows individuals to invest no matter their income level.

This is a very interesting concept.   It definitely matches my philosophy that few people may have a large amount of money to give to charity or to invest, but if everyone does just a little bit, it adds up to something big.   I will do more investiagation, of course, but this project is very intriguing and I will be following it.   Before I spend $40.00 on ingredients just to make three cups of salsa and then have ancho chiles in my cupboard until the next ice age, I will consider something more meaningful like this, although homemade salsa has its charm.   So does chocolate, but I can buy more chocolate later versus buying just a little bit now and someone may benefit in the process.

Okay, readers.  It is time for a “talking to.”

I am spending some time in the “old country,” the area where I was born.  It is actually still part of the New World, it is just that the ways in this part of the United States might seem a little peculiar to people in other parts of the United States.  In fact, when I go to the east coast, they tell me *I* am the one with the accent.  Wait a minute, I sound just like the newscasters, don’t I?

I digress.

At any rate, the “new thing” that is actually only a new thing to ME apparently is selling candy corn and peanuts together, all mixed up in one box or bag and calling it a snack.   This is not an excuse, apparently, to get rid of candy corn.  I have only met a few people in my whole lifetime who actually liked and SOUGHT out candy corn.  The other few people that ate candy corn did so when it was in a meddly of halloween candy and didn’t want to leave it out, or ate it “because it was there,” but wouldn’t normally.  It is kind of like having beer goggles.  You wouldn’t normally “do it” unless the circumstances were right…I should rather say when circumstances are very “wrong,” but a scientist or meteorologist would say “right” like how conditions were “right” for the Perfect Storm, even though it was really “not a really great thing to have happened.”   Just ask Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio.

How did I find this out?  I went to a Cider Mill and they had the plastic snap tight boxes filled with the stuff.  It was only $4.50 but they had marked it down to half off, as they weren’t sure if it was Thanksgiving-y enough.  Well, at that price, I guess it is time to start a holiday tradition.   Just recycle the halloween candy at Thanksgiving.  They certainly would have had minu 1″ pumpkins and corn at the first feast, wouldn’t they?  This is merely just a candy interpretation.

A side note: I always wonder why they show pumpkins on the table when people recreate the first Thanksgiving in artistic form.  They are either on the table or somewhere else for decoration.  Did the Pilgrims slice them like giant apples and serve them?  I would have assumed that the pumpkin would have been made into different things already and wouldn’t have appeared as full pumpkins.  Maybe the artist or director thought that we would want to know what the pie or the bowl of stuff was made out of and the pumpkin was there to make us remember that there were pumpkin ingredients.  Not sure about that one.

Anyways, back to the candy corn/peanut thing.  I thought that they invented at the Cider Mill, but then my mom and a few other people said, “Mmmmm….those are good together” when the subject was brought up, like some kind of convergence was happening where a roomful of people mysteriously agreed about something and knew about it for a long time at the very bottom of their soul.  Yikes.  I just can’t fathom it.  And then someone offered,” SPANISH peanuts and candy corn taste even better!”   It is understood that there is sometimes a desire to have something both salty and sweet, but are candy corns really sweet?  I always thought they were kind of blah.  I mean, they technically have sugar in them, but that is their only claim.

So, there may be some of you who think that the sensation of flavors is just great.  I admit that it is a good way to recycle, but I am not jumping on the bandwagon with you.   My least favorite candy doesn’t get better by adding something to it.

Thanksgiving is coming very soon, and it brings to mind countless happy family gatherings. My grandparents, immediate family, aunts, uncles, and cousins all get together. In the past eight years, a few children of my cousins have been added to the mix.

The tradition also involves two other things.  The first is cramming ourselves all in to a house that we would be over the capacity for. The second is Grandpa’s report. If you are far away and live out of town, you can call in for it. Grandpa always gives a blow by blow report about what was served, but he focuses on the desserts primarily. You will find out if the staples of apple pie and chiffon cake with whipped topping were trotted out.  Pretzel Jello is also something else that shows up in the mix quite frequently.  Grandpa and I always joke about him sending me a piece in the mail, and he always said it would be an envelope of smashed up yuck by the time it got there.

For the record, Grandma sent me a cake once in the mail. She sliced the pieces up and wrapped them individually and sent it by priority. When I opened it up, it was still fresh. I don’t think I shared it with anyone.

We almost lost Grandpa about seventeen years ago. He had stomach cancer, and he lost part of it. He recovered fine, but now, he has to eat as if he had lap-band. He cannot eat lare meals, and eats just a little at a time. Of course, he still finds a way to sample the desserts by taken a very small amount of each, or saving one piece for another day.

I always wondered if people had to go on a liquid diet after having an elective Bariatric surgery rather than what Grandpa had, but it dawned on me that Grandpa basically has the same diet.  He never had a weight problem, so his smaller stomach causes him to be more slight than he used to be, but we are very happy to have him around.  Grandma just makes sure to make servings small and to also include fruit if Grandpa had his fill with dinner and wants dessert but can’t stomach one of his old favorites.  In fact, he has more fun having a little bit of everything versus the rest of us who approach gluttony on our favorite and have no room for anything else.

This Thanksgiving will probably be similar to last, except I will be there for the first time in a few years.  I won’t have to call in for the report.  I will be court side!  Actually, more properly, I will be tableside.

(Above: Too much for anyone to handle, Miss Alice in Dairyland and Miss Honey meet!  It is almost like when the cast of the LoveBoat ends up on Fantasy Island.  It is just way too much excitement overload.)

When I was a kid, more specifically a fifth grader, we had the usual Math class, English Class, History Class, but instead of any sort of Sociology class, we had Wisconsin class.  Wisconsin class?  Yes, you heard me right.  Come walk with me while I take you on a journey…or in Wisconsin-ese, it would be “I’m gonna go on a trip, wanna come with?”

In this class, we learned how fur trappers portaged across rivers.  That is when you go so far that the river gets really shallow and ends and you have to carry your canoe and put it in the next river.  Literally, you ran out of water.  We learned to identify the various breeds of cattle.  I can still go to a fair and id them with the best of them.  Oh, and of course we learned about cheese.  At one point in the year we had a feast of Wisconsin Foods.  You can bet it involved heavy cream, and about fifty kinds of cheese.  The crackers were Ritz, and not made in Wisconsin but the rules were bent.  Ritz Crackers are honorary or naturalized citizens of Wisconsin.  I think we wore costumes.  Either way, if any kids were lactose intolerant, which nobody seemed to be back in my day, which was not too long ago, they would be in trouble.

If we were really lucky, the winner of the Miss Alice in Dairyland Pageant would have been an alum of our school.  That was held at the state fair and all contestants had to make their own bathing suit, be talented, and milk a cow.  The young lady got to wear a crown and sash and be Miss Alice in Dairyland until the next state fair.  It was far more prestigious than being Miss Wisconsin or anything obscure like that.

Ah, memories.

You prob’ly liked this entry, hey?

The Sproutwells are featured in a series of cartoons on YouTube.  It is a fish out of water story about a mild mannered family of vegetables doing their best to live in a human neighborhood.  They are ambassadors for FreshFunds.com, a site that rewards you for buying specially marked healthy products.

The neighbors are a little suspicious of all the packages they are getting.  It makes me wonder, though.  The Baby obviously has a shopping addiction that needs to be contended with.  However, how do the Sproutwells get to participate in the program? I mean, do they get points from being themselves?  Or do the vegetables actually buy vegetables to eat?  That doesn’t seem right, does it?

I have signed up for the freshfunds site and it is really easy. You just look for point emblems on specially marked Fresh Express salads, as well as a Chiquita product or two. You can use the points to win prizes or bid auctio-style on some pretty cool stuff. What’s more, is you can use your points to donate to charity! Staying healthy is everyone’s goal, and getting more vegetables in your diet is definitely one of the ways to do it. Just don’t leave your computer running while the fridge is open. Your radishes and cucumbers might start ordering things.

What exactly is Faygo Rock and Rye? I know it is a soft drink, but what gives it the flavor? The typical ingredients list is similar to any other soda, and the true flavor combination that causes the distinct taste is a true mystery, perhaps only known by one person at the bottling company.

Until the 1950s, Faygo pop was only available in Michigan because it would spoil. That is when they discovered there was something in the water causing that, and from there on out used a water filtration system. Through strategic marketing during Tigers games in the 1960s, and with the longer shelf life, the brand expanded to be a regional one.

I remember the commercials from the 80s

Remember when you were a kid?
Well part of you still is
That’s why we make Faygo…
Faygo Remembers…

Now, Faygo Red Pop, Cola and others have popped up around the country. Still, I have not been able to find Rock and Rye Faygo anywhere but in Michigan. There was actually an alcoholic drink called Rock and Rye. That R and R was liquer made from rye whisky with citrus flavors added, plus a piece of rock candy. I have never tried this so do not know if it was what the flavor of the Faygo version was based on, but it sure is not like any other flavor of soda that other companies carry, as far as I have tried.

Is there any other regional beverage or food you have been craving but cannot get anywhere else?

It has been a little while since I dove into the tumultuous sea of Ebay as a buyer or a seller.  Back in the day, I found that the key was, unless you had something rare (of course it couldn’t be SO rare that no one knew it existed so no one could be looking for it), you really had to market yourself and specialize. I did respectable, if not gangbuster business.

However, I always envied the person with a feedback of “5″ who sold a plastic container of hurricane wind or a haunted walking stick for gobs of money.  Why did I spend so much time retouching photos of condiment receptacles with the meticulousness of a graduation photo photographer erasing zits? My hours seemed like a waste.

Now, the big controversy is that Ebay has done away with allowing checks and money orders as a payment method.  Much rending of garments has happened.  I will say, as a seller, my best customers were those that sent checks and money order, but on the other hand, sometimes they took forever to get.  It was easy for someone to say “the check is in the mail” and then it never comes.  Meanwhile, you could have sold the item 10 times over.   The change in policy may actually speed up the process for a seller, but there is still a kink.  There is a rating system for speed of delivery, and if a seller cautiously waits a few extra days for a check to clear, they could risk getting a low rating.  These days, it seems that unless the buyer is reasonable, if you don’t practically teleport the item, you could risk getting knocked down a peg.   As it always seems with changes, people stomp their feet and threaten to leave and come right back, or a whole new crop of people give it a whirl, so it doesn’t seem to cause Ebay to pause and reflect.

Overall, if you are thinking about Selling on eBay, I recommend a few things

- Market yourself, spread the word about your own auctions
- If you plan on doing it for a length of time, specialize so that you can market to past customers for repeat business
- Don’t waste your time with $5 items on ebay.
- Or come up with something really bizarre.  Get out the toaster, or toss that $1 garage sale plate against the wall and see whose profile the broken edge looks like!
- Oh, and you better like to gamble.

A little while back, I mentioned that Ivory was a new color in Fiesta Ware this year.  I also hinted in the post on the new Fiesta Christmas dishes that chocolate would also be making a debut.  The new chocolate color starts to ship this month.  Look for it available in retail outlets and websites in the coming days.  When I first mentioned it, I did not have a photo, which wasn’t fair to mention it and not show it, but now that more information is readily available, I have one.

In the past few years in home decor, a chocolate brown and turquoise color scheme has popped up here and there, so I can’t help but think that this is meant to not only mix with neutral ivory but to be used with the stalwart of the Homer Laughlin Fiesta family, turquoise.   Maybe it is not shown as a “serving suggestion” so to speak, but I am sure some will do it.   Maybe the cutting edge designers are moving on to another color palette, but there is a trickle down for accessories.  Typically, someone keeps a sofa or an area rug for a number of years and so the colors usually stick around in accessories and low to midrange furniture over the next few years of a color palette being introduced.

For more information on past postings about fiestaware, click HERE.