I went ga-ga for the Limited Edition Raspberry M&M’s - they’re phenomenal in a good ole chocolate chip cookies recipe. Last week, while perusing the dollar store I spied these “Wildly Cherry” M&Ms. Almost as good as the raspberry and I love the red candy coating. I stuck these in a batch of chocolate chocolate chip cookies and once again, a hit!

So, for the first time ever, I ate astronaut ice cream - a dehydrated ice cream sandwich! The vanilla ice cream and chocolate cookie crust were packaged in the same white paper ice cream sandwiches have been wrapped in since their creation, but it was nice that the paper didn’t stick!

Although I expected the experience to be absolutely disgusting, I was pleasantly surprised. Once the ice cream has a chance to rehydrate in my mouth, it really did taste just like an regular old ice cream sandwich. The only real difference I found was the sandwich had a strange crunchy, starchy-like texture (like the marshmallows from Lucky Charms).  While eating it, I thought that maybe being an astronaut wouldn’t be so bad afterall…

If monkeys eat pineapple, it’s because of these deliciously crunchy, tart-sweet bits splashed with lime. Funky Monkey freeze dried fruit snacks come in a bunch of varieties, but I’m partial to JiveaLime and Purple Funk (banana chips with Acai). Fruit’s just more fun when it’s funky and crunchy, right? Right!

While working at a small French-owned bakery and café in Chicago, I came across a very traditional French sandwich -ham and butter. When a teenage girl asked me to make her this sandwich, I thought it was odd. Then I tried one and realized it is one of the simplest and most delicious things to eat - a few thin slices of deli ham laid between two halves of freshly baked, crusty French bread spread generously with with good, cold butter.

Just last week, on a whim, I ordered a butter and ham sandwich from the deli counter at Whole Foods. The girl behind the counter did the same thing I had done about ten years before — looked at me like I was nutty. She tried to change my mind, offering every condiment and sandwich topping she had at her disposal, but I declined and suggested she give ham and butter a try. If she did, it’d certainly become her newest lunch favorite.

In my book, Hellman’s is officially old news; instead Kewpie mayonnaise has taken its place on my refrigerator door. (I never thought this day would come. I’ve been a very, very loyal fan to Hellman’s for last 28 years.)

Moving on, Kewpie mayo is Japanese in origin; kind of reminds me of Blue Plate, in that it is a bit sweeter than Hellman’s, but by no means as sweet as Miracle Whip (which is technically not mayo; it is “salad dressing”); it’s a bit thicker than American style mayo; and comes in a plastic bottle that is as squeezable as a tube of toothpaste. (The Japanese have the coolest packaging—hands down!)

This mayo makes a great dipping sauce for French fries (which is very healthy, by the way), or you can smear it all over a turkey sandwich. Heck, you could just eat a spoonful it’s so tasty!

For $2 at Bouley Bakery in New York City I found what is probably my newest favorite sweet—“le cannele.” After my light lunch, I had two. (Which, by the way, is a typical meal for me. It’s the “eat light, save lots of room for dessert and pretend not to feel guilty later” diet.)

A cannele is a French pastry that is comprised of custard, flavored with a bit of cinnamon and rum or brandy, which is baked in a “cannele” mold (the mold resembles an individual-sized bundt pan without the whole in the center). The result is a pastry that has a crispy and very chewy exterior that is so dark colored it looks like it might be burnt (but it is most certainly not). The dark crust creates a rich, caramely flavor that underneath reveals a soft, moist, less chewy filling, which has a texture similar to the combination of pastry cream and a pancake. It is simply divine. Not too sweet, small enough for a light treat, and very satisfying to those who claim to not have a sweet tooth.

This is a typical lunch for many New Orleanians - a fried shrimp po-boy on French bread, dressed. Fresh, super sweet Gulf shrimp enrobed in a crackly, black pepper flecked crust, a swipe of butter on one side of the lofty bread, a swipe of mayo on the other side; crisp, cool lettuce, sunny tomatoes…the food here is grand.

An Italian coffee and panini shop just opened up around the corner from my house. It is a quaint little place that is tucked away amongst my little Uptown residential neighborhood. Often, while walking my dog, Olive, I stop in for an Americano (my favorite coffee drink made of a shot of espresso topped off with hot water—an Italian cup of joe, really). And, when I say often, I mean almost daily.

The coffee they serve is Irving Farm Coffee Company, and the espresso blend they brew to order is fantastic. It is rich and dark and has an intense creamy, nutty flavor; and best of all, it is not the slightest bit bitter. Oh, and another bonus is that it is organic.

So, after tallying up this week’s Americano expense ($9.54—which comes to almost $500 a year!!!), I decided to buy a half-pound for a whopping $12 (which will make me about 20 cups of my fancy little coffee drink—a savings of about $25). I have my coffeemaker pre-set to brew tomorrow morning at 7:00am…

A friend and I were soothing our stuffy sinuses with big bowls of aromatic and comforting Vietnamese beef Pho (soup), when we spied this case of roasted pork, chicken, duck and quail being set up. Once done with our soup, we rushed over to the check out the situation and ended up buying a spatchcocked (butterflied) Peking duck, cut into portions (no head) and packaged with a small container of duck jus. Crackly skin, tender, rich meat to dunk in the juicy, herb flecked brothy sauce…man oh man was that good. The guy hidden behind the curtain of duck (see photo above) is the master of the delectable roast. It was nothing short of sheer genius to watch him chopping, saving juices, wrapping meat packages, talking, smiling and nodding as women fought for the last quails, or debated between buying bbq or Peking duck. He sold through everything he had and all was right with the world.

This is what we need. It’s not enough that Snickers is loaded with sugar, now we need caffeine in there??? I’m already a nut-wagon. I lurve Snickers, but the sugar is enough of a “puppy upper” for this gal.