morning mates

Imagine... a bagel and a package of jam all in one handy-dandy package. Hell, don't even bother imagining it. It's a complete waste of your time.

What the heck was Dempster's thinking about when they put out this "innovation"? A bagel can be bought (freshly toasted, might I add) on practically any street corner of the city. Why would I need to buy one that's been sitting on the shelves for a few weeks, packed full of preservatives, and probably stale for that matter?

(Note: no one has dared to open the package as yet.)

It's great and all that they were handing them out at Union Station today, but really, the only people that should be in line for this are the people who can't afford to buy food, and even then, they'll get a better meal at the nearest soup kitchen.

Watch out for these at your neighbourhood grocery store. Watch them flop, and watch Dempster's parent (Maple Leaf foods) take a beating in their next quarter results.

Imagine that.

using up the leftovers

Lemon lime meringue, using up the leftover lime curd and egg whites from the weekend. Not quite as good as the others because I ran out of the lime curd, but devoured really quickly nonetheless.

Conclusion: More lime curd = better cupcakes = more raves

indulgence

I'm a little hard pressed to say which one of this weekend's cupcake experiments turned out better. Cupcake A is a remake of a blueberry lime curd cake (sans blueberry) that I tried a couple weeks ago and bombed. Cupcake B is a decadent chocolate shiraz that I pulled out of a book and altered slightly.

Cupcake A, according to the cousins and the cousins' beaus, is absolutely fabulous and the best cupcake they've ever had. The cake is airy and light, and the tang of the lime curd filling is perfectly complemented by the whip cream frosting.

Cupcake B, (not yet tested by anyone other than myself at the moment) is smooth and chocolately and absolutely decadent, with the fullest hint of the shiraz that was used. Chocolate AND wine... can there be anything better? I think not. Only downer is the super-sweet water icing. I wanted it to look a certain way, but I think I'm going to have to tweak the icing a bit when I do this again. The taste of the shiraz gets a little lost amongst the flavour of pure sweetness. Still, the cake itself is amazing... and, it's pretty.

what a waste of cuteness!

So incredibly easy to make, I can't believe people actually charge $0.75 a piece! Nothing more than royal icing and a little colour, piped onto parchment paper and then stuck onto a sugarcube.

I love the effect, and want to make a lot more, only I don't know what to do with them once I've made them. Do people really eat them? Put them into their tea or coffee?

Maybe I should take orders... $0.50 a sugarcube... it's a bargain! Anyone?

cupcake math for the geek in me

+

=

&

rambutan

I can't believe it's taken me almost 30 years to try a Rambutan. Actually, I'm sure I've tried it sometime in a prior life, but I brushed it aside as a "meh" and then quickly forgot about it.

Rambutan has the texture of a Longan or a Mamoncillo (spanish lime), meaning that the flesh of the fruit is a lot more firm and chewy than a Lichee. It also means that it's a lot more work to eat one. It has a slightly more citrusy flavour and none of the tonguebiting aftertaste of the Longan... bonus.

The spiky spines are somewhat intimidating at first, but they're actually kind of soft and pose no harm when you grasp the fruit and crack it open to reveal the shiny eyeball-looking fruit inside. Eat the flesh, not the seed. I was told the seed was bitter, so I took a bite (spat it out). Found out later that it's poisonous. Whoops.


Still not a rave. More of a "meh." Nothing that I would crave and make a special trip to buy. But then again, I don't really like Longans either. It's a texture thing.

the-bear-that-walks-like-this...

The meaning behind the name of this Russian confectionary was more entertaining than the candy itself. Actually, the motions of the woman who was trying to tell me how the bear walked was more entertaining than the name of the candy.

It's a cross between a Coffee Crisp and a Bounty with nary a hint of coconut. Slightly creamy with a dark chocolate outside, it's not too bad if you're looking for a chocolate that's not too sweet. Too bad it's got that slightly chewy wafer in it that reminds me of a stale Kit Kat. Otherwise, I'd be all over that Russian teddy bear.

just because it's halloween...

... doesn't mean you can try to kill us.

Tastes like pumpkin flavoured sugar with a strange stale cookie crunch. Feels like you're biting into a mouthful of plasticine. The orange icing looks a lot like plasticine.

'nuff said.

Hurts me that I bought one when they were giving them away free at the counter.

cafe supreme...at yonge and queen

Smoked salmon and cream cheese in a whole wheat grilled pita, stuffed with just enough capers, sweet onions and black olives. Accompanied by a side of sun-dried tomatoe couscous, and a spicy asian slaw.

For under $10.

What the heck took me so long to try this place?!

Their sandwiches look amazing and their soups are better than the run-of-the-mill-fresh-out-of-the-can type that everywhere else in the vacinity offers.

Henceforth known as my new go-to place near the office (besides the Victoria St. diner, of course).

where: SW corner of Queen and Victoria, just nestled behind 1 Queen St E.

too much of a good thing

I love these little roasted crabs. I really do. But after you've played with one for a while, and posed it for pictures, it just doesn't feel right to eat it anymore.

It's just too damn cute.

where: Galleria Supermarket