Giant Gummy Bear on a Stick

Perfect for filling that giant empty corner of the kid's Easter basket.

From Vat19.com

Vat19 touts themselves as purveyors of curiously awesome products and this giant candy is no exception. After watching the curiously awesome video accompanying the product, I'm hooked! I know CheesePuff would love getting one of these in her basket from Mr. Cottontail on the morning of April 12, 2009.

Vat19 also has other curiously awesome products that I never knew I needed until scanning the files. A coffee mug with a picture of Vincent Van Gogh whose ear disappears when the mug is filled with hot liquid? Curious! Adhesive bandages with Batman-style ka-POW! statements? Awesome!

Marshmallow Peeps Diorama Contest

Get your Peeps, Bunnies, and hot glue guns ready!

Found on Flickr

Each year several newspapers hold contests to see who can do the craziest thing with Marshmallow Peeps within the confines of a shoe box.

My lovely Auntie sends me the clipping from the St. Paul Pioneer Press in hopes that I will secretly submit an entry and somehow win the contest. Last year I had a pretty good idea and I still have it tucked away, for now. If the urge strikes me, I may follow through and finally send in an entry.

This year, I see the Pioneer Press is making it harder for me. They are allowing video. I can't quite tell from the article if that means two contests or if the videos will be judged against the still photos.

Entries are not yet viewable but will be available some time in the near future at http://www.twincities.com/peeps .

I'll let you know if I win.

Visit the Marshmallow Peeps where they live at Just Born. Join contests, join the Fan Club (you do get stuff, but it's not free), or just enjoy the cute.

Oh, and by the way, most Peeps are Gluten-Free, but be sure to check the label (I noticed the Peppermint Stars at Christmas time were not Gluten-Free).

Sweet Swap

Salt Caramels

When I received an invitation to join a Sweet Swap hosted by Liz at What's to Eat Baltimore I was excited.

Then I recalled the horror story conveyed to me years ago when an aquaintence told me the story of the Cookie Swap she had recently attended. She told of a party of women bickering around a table of treats when one woman didn't receive her 'fair amount' of cookies. Someone else had received more than her and she was having none of it! An exaggeration by the story-teller? Maybe, but the story did make me wonder if this Swap was going to be a good idea.

Liz was a brave brave woman to invite a bunch of relative strangers to her home and I let her know I thought so in an email. But she seemed undaunted and I think that put me a little more at ease.

I had quite a long drive to Liz's place - over an hour according to my mapped directions. I gave myself plenty of time to get there (because I always seem to get lost whenever I have to drive further than around the corner) and I didn't get lost once! Which meant I arrived early.

The drive was really lovely and it amazes me that all that countryside is just beyond Baltimore. Just prior to the turn-off, there were gorgeous cattle in the field and surrounding the house were acres of corn.

I got to meet two other area bloggers, Katie at CupcakeRN and Courtney at The Practical Gourmet, each of whom brought a friend, and a few members of Liz's family. Everyone was really great and no one fought over the treats though there was an amount of fun treat-stealing while the swap was happening. I picked up some great recipes that I may try to convert to gluten-free very soon since my Baking Jones is almost out of control now that autumn is here.

The Salt Caramels were a good choice since no one else brought candy. They are Gluten-free. I also brought the makings of Sugar Cookie Martinis, which were really wonderful (and Gluten-free, yay!), if unphotogenic (they look like milk in a martini glass... I know you can imagine that).

To make Sugar Cookie Martinis I mixed Vanilla Vodka, Rum (I used sugar cane rum), Butterscotch Schnapps,and Licor 43 with half & half in a shaker of ice. They were really delicious. I don't have amounts of each liquor to give. A friend had one at a bar, conveyed the ingredients to me and I mixed and taste-tested to get the amounts correct.

I have to say Thanks again to Liz, her family, and the other bloggers and guests at the Sweet Swap. You made the experience really wonderful and not at all scary!

Good Friends

You know you have good friends when they secretly send the perfect gift... what could be a more perfect Halloween present than giant eyeball, candy slime with body parts, and stickers with hairy backs and armpits???



...just the fact that it's all Gluten-free!

Thank you THANK YOU Karan!



(I do apologize for the hack-editing job. I don't have the fancy photo editor I used to have.)

Halloween at Michael's

Michael's Craft Store is one of my favorite places to browse at Halloween. They have an extensive collection of animated mini-village scenes in stores that are really cool. Apparently you can't buy them on the Michael's website.

This year Michael's has a nice variety of Martha Stewart craft products. If you have been unable to muddle through the copying of her stencils in the Martha Stewart craft magazines or website, Michael's now makes them for you.


A few treasures made it into my shopping basket including some Martha Stewart Baking Cups. Because one can never have too many cute papers for cupcakes.

The four styles you see on the right come in one pack of the Martha Baking Cups. There are two more packs of Baking Cups on the lower left that are Wilton. Only one of these styles was available when I checked the Michael's website and none were available on the Wilton website.

I found a couple of fun candies that I hadn't seen at Michael's before. Slithering Snake Suckers from Bee International were surprisingly affordable. The 12-inch snake (stop snickering, fools) was under $1.50. The flavor key on the package reverse says the candy snake can be found in

Green = Apple
Red & White = Strawberry
Black & Orange = Grape
Orange & Yellow = Orange

On my trip, there were only two snake flavors available so I'll keep an eye out for other varieties (more shopping? Why, it's research for my blog... really Dear!).


I also found Halloween Gummy Tape Worms from Kandy Kastle. Two tasty gummy worms in one pack. I didn't see varieties of this pack but inside my pack were an orange worm that tasted like orange and a green worm that tasted like lime. Each flavor worm can be pulled independently of the other so you could just eat your favorite or share with a friend (or fiend).

Halloween Stinks

Get in the mood early.


Halloween fragrance by Jesus Del Pozo at drugstore.com


Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin Shower Gel at Bath & Body Works


Halloween Bath Set from Colorful Images.com




A message to the Googler from Antioch, California...
Gummy Fetus candy? I like your thinnin' Baba Louie but it doesn't seem to have been invented yet. Why? Cuz it's really sick to want to eat a fetus. Even a candy one.
Other baby-theme candies to try:
Baby Bottle Pop
Sugar Babies
Lollipops in the shape of baby feet
Cry Baby gumballs
Gummy Sea Babies
Licorice Babies
Chocolate Babies (sic)
Baby Stick Climbers
and a product I'm not familiar with: Baby Lucas Candy from Mexico in flavors of Mango, Spicy Orange and Chamoy (Isn't that what I dry my car with after a wash?)




I have answered a question about storing Confectioner's Sugar at Ask a Pastry Chef

Bacon Chocolate Bar and Bacon Extras

I first heard about bacon infused chocolate at Food Chronicles ~ Back of the House. I was instantly intrigued, as I'm sure you are!



I read more about it here.
Their sentiments are mine exactly: the mad, dangerous, lovely chocolatiers of Vosges Haute Chocolat have seen fit to bestow upon the world a bacon candy bar.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Said bar consists of applewood smoked bacon, alder smoked salt, deep milk chocolate, and the contents of every fever dream I've had since young girlhood.

The Bacon Exotic Candy Bar is currently sold out on the Vosges website, but I, for one fully intend to press my nose up against my monitor until they're back in stock.

That blog also features a few more stories on lovely bacon flavored foods (i.e. bacon cotton candy!) so check them out.

A blog named Holy Shitake has a bacon post that requires mentioning because I have been thinking about this recipe since I first read it two years ago.

Okay well, as long as I'm on a bacon roll, I give you this website. Weird Meat "documents experiences eating strange food, as I travel around the world. What is weird to one, is normal to another. I want to find out why. Includes articles, travel stories, photos." Some highlights from weird meat (and I assure you I found no low lights) include Deep Fried Sand Worms in China and Hermaphrodite Frog Guts (he explains it's like a sweet soup) also in China. There are many more foods and many more countries and just so you know, this blog spurred me to purchase Crocodile Jerky on my recent trip to Florida though I haven't yet been brave enough to try it. True, WeirdMeat Blog doesn't include bacon so what is it doing as part of this post? I have no idea, so there.

I'm a little tired, so sue me.



Technorati tags bacon+chocolate+weird food+Weird Meat+food+candy