TheSnackHound

This weekend, the story came up again about “51 In a Bucket,” the mythical menu item at Charlie’s Shake Shop in Mukwonago, Wisconsin.  It seems that any time a new person comes into my life and the subject of ice cream comes up, I have to mention it.  Pretty soon, people are going to believe I am just making it up, as I have yet to find a reference online.  Truth be told, one website does come up when I search, and that is my own blog.

I have posted on local “remember when” sites, and the craigslist that would be local to the area and have not come up with one person that can recall the existence of the shop with Scratch N Sniff Stickers sold at the counter and a chocolate syrup smudged Joust video game in the back.   Charlie’s closed sometime in the late 80s and either became a bicycle shop, or had been a bicycle shop before the ice cream shop.  My memory is a little disorganized on that fact.   At any rate, go read the post to be either delighted or grossed out by the celebrated dairy gluttony.

Yesterday, I was enticed by a sandwich board to try some sort of Peppermint Mocha contraption over at Beyond Juice.  The drink was test marketed especially for me, I think, by the National Association of Coffee Baristas.  They know that I don’t drink coffee.  At all.  Somehow, however, because this drink featured “the basic meal in a cup formula” and peppermint flavoring and a hint of choco related flavor, the guise was to trick me into believing that this particular libation really didn’t have coffee in it.  It wasn’t really the Colombian Connection coffee drink from their menu with peppermint thrown in.

I naively pondered the idea that it would be too late in the day for caffeine.  To some folks, the cut off is 7 or 8 p.m., but because my unscathed bodily system does not often consume caffeine, I had to remind myself that it would probably have an effect closer to crack.  Of course, I didn’t remind myself, but ordered one of the said drinks at 4 p.m., following advice of regular mortals who had a mainline drip set up to coffee.

Needless to say, I had a very productive 3 hours.  Later on, laying in my bed, I experienced that dazed state of being periodically aware of, “Oh, I’m not sleeping yet.  When am I going to fall asleep.”  I groggily looked at the alarm clock, and though my brain was awake, my body was feeble, and I went back to sleep for another hour.   Today I still feel sort of buzzed but ready to crash any moment for a nap.

Was it worth it?  Well, I did get several servings of fruits and veggies betwixt and between the peppermint and coffee, which I thought would counteract the effects, but lo and behold it didn’t.   All in all, I might just do it again, but ask for them to zap the caffeine out of it.  And they can’t.  So they would just pretend.  Then I’d just pretend.  And then I’d be up all night. Again.

Did you do something not so bright lately caffeine wise?

This is a sponsored guest post written by a Press Release on behalf of PBM Products. Post powered by Sponzai.

GORDONSVILLE, VA., December  2 , 2009—PBM Products, LLC, a leading infant formula company that supplies store-brand infant formulas to Walmart, Sam’s Club, Target, Kroger, Walgreens, and other retailers, has received a favorable jury verdict and a $13.5 million damages award in its false advertising lawsuit against Mead Johnson & Co., the operating subsidiary of   Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (NYSE: MJN) (“Mead Johnson”), the makers of the national-brand Enfamil® LIPIL® Infant Formula.  Mead Johnson is 83 percent-owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb.

PBM’s lawsuit claimed that Mead Johnson engaged in false and misleading campaigns against PBM’s competing store-brand of infant formulas, suggesting they do not provide the same nutrition as Mead Johnson’s brands.  PBM’s store-brand infant formulas cost up to 50 percent less than Enfamil® LIPIL®.  The $13.5 million in damages awarded by the jury in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia is one of the largest damages awards ever for a false advertising case.

“This decision by a jury of the people confirms that Mead Johnson’s ads have been false in suggesting that there is a nutritional difference between our store-brand formula products and their products, when in fact the only major difference is price,” said PBM CEO Paul B. Manning.  “Despite Mead Johnson’s scare tactics, parents are assured that PBM’s formula products are as high quality and nutritious as Mead Johnson’s.”

U.S. District Court Judge James R. Spencer issued his written rulings yesterday following the November 10^th jury verdict. Judge Spencer’s written rulings permanently enjoined Mead Johnson from making any false statements concerning PBM’s infant formula, including the claims Mead Johnson previously made in Enfamil advertising that “It may be tempting to try a less expensive store brand, but only Enfamil LIPIL is clinically proven to improve brain and eye development,” and “there are plenty of other ways to save on baby expenses without cutting back on nutrition.”  The Court also ordered Mead Johnson to retrieve from the public domain all advertising or promotional materials containing these or any other false claims about PBM’s store brand infant formula.  

The details of the decision and the complaint are posted online in full at:

·      http://www.pbmproducts.com/docs/Order_Laches.pdf

·      http://www.pbmproducts.com/docs/PBM_Complaint_MJ_III_LIPIL.pdf

The nutritional supplements under examination in the case are two fats, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and ARA (arachidonic acid), which Mead Johnson calls “LIPIL®” solely for marketing purposes and touts as promoting infant brain and eye development. PBM’s claim focused on Mead Johnson’s direct mailing to more than 1.6 million parents of an alarming blurry picture of a child’s cartoon duck next to a clear picture of the same image which suggested that anything other than the Enfamil LIPIL® blend of ingredients is inferior and will result in poor eye and brain development.  Other parts of the false advertising campaign consist of statements that only Enfamil LIPIL has been proven to confer visual and mental benefits on infants, and store-brand formulas are a “cut-back in nutrition” compared to Enfamil. 

PBM successfully argued that these advertisements were false and misleading especially since PBM store- brand infant formulas have the same nutrients at the same levels as Enfamil.  PBM infant formulas are formulated to contain DHA and ARA, and are sourced from the same supplier in amounts which equal or exceed the DHA and ARA in Mead Johnson’s Enfamil LIPIL®. 

This decision marks the third time PBM Products has sued Mead Johnson for false advertising claims. On the prior occasions Mead Johnson admitted that it made false claims about PBM’s products.  It is also the first false advertising case to focus on the issue of DHA and ARA nutritional ingredients in formula, which were introduced into the market in 2003 and have become a staple in recent years by many brands as key components for infant development.

“This jury verdict should send a significant and clear message to Mead Johnson about the way it conducts marketing and advertising for its brands,” said Manning.  “This lawsuit also demonstrates our complete commitment to defending our products and the valuable brands of our retail partners.”

“As a parent and supporter of children’s medical research, I take a personal responsibility in assuring our customers that the products we produce are healthy and nutritionally equivalent to brand names like Enfamil® LIPIL®.  It is important, especially now, for parents to know that there are lower priced yet highly nutritious store-brand formulas that will provide the same benefit to their children as any national brand name formula product,” Manning added.   

The U.S. infant formula market is estimated at $3.4 billion and the global market is estimated at $7.9 billion.

All of PBM’s formulas, and for that matter all of U.S. infant formulas, are subject to the exacting standards of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), pursuant to the Infant Formula Act of 1980.  This legislation vested FDA with the authority to ensure that all infant formula products sold in the United States provide the necessary levels of identified nutrients required for the growth of healthy babies. For more information, visit this FDA link.

PBM Products was represented by the law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP.  Partners from the firm’s advertising practice, Harold P. Weinberger and Jonathan M. Wagner in New York, led the team.  

About PBM

PBM is privately owned and based in Gordonsville, VA.  PBM companies specialize in manufacturing, distributing, and marketing consumer food, nutritional, and pharmaceutical products. For more information, visit www.pbmproducts.com.

Enfamil® LIPIL® are registered trademarks of Mead Johnson & Co.

In the 1930s, the Homer Laughlin China Company produced this informative look at how china is made. There were a few items in the process I thought looked like Fiesta Ware, but the finished items are other products from their vast selection of patterns. It was not a training video, as we only get a cursory look at the process versus drilling down each step, but it is definitely entertaining.

Not so entertaining is the selected soundtrack. See? You should have read the entire blog entry before your itchy fingers pressed “Play,” so you could be fairly warned. When you watch this video, turn down the volume on your computer. The music may seem quaint at first, but then evolves into a somewhat distracting “smooth jazz’ that has nothing to do with the film, nor does it match the action.  It seems as some folks who have discovered the video on Youtube share the sentiment.   Perhaps this footage will be reevaluated at some point and era appropriate, or at least music that matches the action, will be included.   For now, the silent version is even highly entertaining.  At least to me.  But I’m a big geek about these things.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hiltons of Branson. All opinions are 100% mine.

(At left: We need a little Christmas, right this very minute. Um….a little more than that. Well…Steven Seagal volunteers for the police force in New Orleans. Maybe Santa moonlights, too.)

Are you generally sick of everything and everybody? Or, are you generally a happy person, but just overwhelmed by the choices and the baking of the season? If either of that its you, it may sound mighty attractive to load up the kids and the dog or cat and go somewhere else for Christmas, somewhere where nobody knows you. “But how will Santa find us?”

Well, Santa and the Mrs. are hanging out at the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel through December 23rd this year. They needed to refuel and recharge a little bit before the big day. Mrs. Claus will be reading stories for all of the kids, and of course, the big guy himself will stop in for a visit.   It goes without saying that you need to book right now.  Then hop in the car.  You don’t want to miss a guaranteed sighting of the man and woman in red to present all of the corroborating evidence that you have been very very good this year.  I haven’t figured out if the most effective way to handle it is to present a large volume of evidence, or is it sheerly based on content.  Someone could write one sentence of something really, really good that they did and clinch it right there.

Over at the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing, you can experience the “It’s a Wonderful Life” package, where you may receive a spa treatment with your stay. It will surely melt your troubles away. However, I can’t guarantee it will melt the fat from all of the extra cookies away.

There is so much to do and see.  You can stay at the hotels the entire time, nice and cozy warm, or you can venture into the adorable downtown Branson area to peep at some Christmas lights and do a little shopping.  You can even “let yourself go” and not do your hair because everyone you know and anyone that would run into you and point a finger at you are miles away.  Why is this such an obsession?  I would want to end the year up “nice” instead of being tempted to get into an argument about my hair with someone who was just gunning for one.

So, hop in the car and go have a talk with the Big Guy before you run into your neighbor, Myrtle McBusypants.   Well, if you do, then just book the massage before you present your evidence.

It’s time to go through the little painted decorative tin with “MAIL” embossed on it.  A reader submitted a question:

Mark writes:

I want those Salt and Pepper Shakers!

I assume he is talking about the photo of the dachshund salt and pepper shakers in the bottom left corner of my blog design template.   At least, I hope he is talking about the dachshund salt and pepper shakers in the bottom left corner of my blog design template. I placed them at left for those of you who don’t want to bend down that far.

If he isn’t, then I guess he just likes to send random and incomprehensible phrases to random people on the ‘net.  Perhaps he ascribes to the chaos theory and it just so happened that he randomly sent a phrase that actually meant something to the sender.  Amazing.

For the rest of you, the doxies are the Kikkerland Dachshund Salt and Peper Shakers. This pair is not for sale, as I my dachshunds would be mad if I parted with their little friends. However, you can own a pair that looks just like mine. on the internet at Quincy Shipping used to have them, but no longer do. If you don’t want to hunt, Click Here to buy them right now!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Birdfeeders.com. All opinions are 100% mine.

Ahoy ye landlubbers! Were you sitting on your sofa, when you suddenly turned to the man (or woman) of your dreams and said, “Honey, wasn’t it fun when we went on the cruise two years ago.”

And he’ll say: “Why, yes it was. You know we decided never to go again because you were sick the whole time.”

“Ah, yes. But we always loved looking out the port hole of the dining area. In fact, that is the only memory I have besides the view of the toilet.  I remember thinking how refreshing it looked, and that I had forgotten my Dramamine.”

“I never want to go on a cruise again either,” he said, crushing the last ounce of your spirit.  You know full well, however, that he is referring to your dimenhydrinate induced hallucinations that almost had you kicked off of the ship.  Dr. Doolittle can talk to the animals, but when you start getting a little too adamant about them answering back, it gets ugly, especially if they are only animals in a mural on deck C.  “Too bad there are no dinner cruises.”

“But wait!,” you exclaim. What about having left over chile con carne and making our dining room our OWN theme restaurant?”

Then, you both marvel at the new bird ship port hole bird feeder, which of course is the perfect gift for someone special because there is no possible way they can currently have one. Of course, if they get two, well then their ship just has more than one window. Of course, it is not equipped to be plastered into the wall, but hung in front of the window, the bird feeder has the same effect.  Perhaps you will attract seagulls to your yard.  Well, the port hole is part of the Nautical Collection of Bird Feeders, but with my luck some very terrestrial robins will fancy it, and the sea faring birds won’t come inland just because I have one, but perhaps I am on to something.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t have some item that could be used for those birds that don’t like that much complication or glamor.  This rooster bird feeder tempts me to put it in the kitchen and serve shot glass desserts from it.  Notice, I didn’t say I was GOING TO DO IT, I just said it was TEMPTING ME.

Somewhere along the way, I jumped the rails. In other words, this rambling has me very off track.  I think I am going to truck on over to Birdfeeders.com and see what other kind of mess my brain can get into. Martha would be so proud.  I may not be gathering walnuts in the Maine woods for my homemade walnut furniture stain, but I do know how to bring the outdoors in…literally.

Readers have spoken and wanted me to remind you of the famous peanut butter cookie recipe.  Of course, they could look back and see I posted it two years ago, but I guess your fingers are broken.  So, here it is in its entirety… Dysfunctional Peanut Butter Cookies.

Here is a very simple recipe that an eight year old should be able to make by themselves. However, because it is so simple, there are many ways for someone who overthinks things, such as myself, to make mush out of it.

Here is the premise:

Ingredients List:
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Peanut Butter
1 Egg

Mix the three ingredients in a bowl. With a spoon or whisk.

(Aside #1: Now, this is where the recipe went south for me once. I successfully cracked the egg and measured out very level and accurate one cup portions of the other 2/3 of the ingredients. Where I erred, is that I thoroughly mixed the egg and peanut butter. After I created he promising mix, I realized that my chemistry was off. I should have started with the egg and sugar.

What resulted, were dough balls that were reminiscent of gumdrops, with the sugar as the exoskeleton. A slightly gritty consistency. Okay…back to the recipe.)

Now, divide the portions up into 8-12 portions, depending on how large you would like to make the cookies. Although, I might add, nothing is stopping you from making one huge cookie. Place them on a cookie sheet.

I forgot to add that you need to preheat the oven or the toaster for this. DO NOT USE THE MICROWAVE. (I will say it again. Just don’t do it.) I *think* you would want to set the temperature at 350 or 450, but I really don’t remember. If you are used to baking, you will know what temperature it is supposed to be on.

(Aside number #2: A common mistake is to bake at the wrong temperature. Unless you check them every five seconds. They can quickly turn from mush to crispy in an instant so be careful.)

When they are all baked, take them out to cool.

(Aside number #3: I have to admit that half the time, the cookies turn out soggy and half the time they turn out like a hockey puck. There is a fine balance between leaving them very soft knowing that they will continue to bake on the inside while they cool, and taking them out too soon and basically eating peanut butter with raw egg drippings on it)

If my luck is on your side, you will get 5 really nice cookies out of these, 1 unfit for consumption, and 6 others that you would never serve, but you eat yourself out of mercy. You don’t want to waste food, after all.

Look on the bright side: It is a great way to fill up Grandma’s cookie platter and add the inviting smell of fresh baked cookies to your home.  Buy a cookie dough scented candle to cover up the evidence.