What Flavor is Pink?

My favorite candy season is upon us - actually it started the day after Valentine's day - Easter candy!!!  I need to devote a whole post to Easter candy, and will soon, but today, while enjoying a few "classic" Brach's jelly beans at work, I asked myself "what flavor is pink?" I love pink (and white, for that matter) jelly beans, but pink is not an easy color to discern like the red, green, orange or yellow ones are.  So naturally I Googled the question.

I was suprised by the number of other inquiring minds out there asking the same question (including the additional question what flavor is white?).  Unfortunately, these were not of much help because they were focusing on Jelly Belly's and as you know, Jelly Belly has colored diagrams and flavor charts, so that was of no help.  So I decided to go to the source itself - Brach's website (yes, I know, DUH!!). 

Here is the answer:  Pink = strawberry and White = pineapple

I guess when you see it in writing it is a bit easier to identify the flavors, though the pineapple flavor was a surprise!  I admit, however, I am still a bit perplexed over pink!

There you go!   I don't know about you, but I feel a lot better now!!

Love

“There are as many forms of love as there are moments in time”

(Jane Austen – Mansfield Park)

I love this quote, I think it is quite true.  I love my husband, my children, my family, but I also love my friends, my pets, and sometimes even my job! Each type of love is different, but at the same time just as special and meaningful.  I savor and enjoy each form of love, it is truly what makes us whole. 

The same is true for my love affair with candy – I may love Coke and chocolate, but equally - yet differently love whatever is the flavor of the moment (currently, jelly bellys – naturally, as well as Hot Tamales and Nibs!).  But these forms of candy love couldn’t be more evident than at this time of year – Valentine’s Day!!

My dear sweet husband usually (hint, hint) buys me a candy heart full of chocolates for Valentine’s Day. Oh, I love those red heart shaped boxes (I don’t even care if they are quite gaudy, the more the merrier!). The anticipation of what is inside, opening the box and savoring that wonderful chocolate smell then closely, yet quickly examining each piece in its own little nest and picking that first piece.  To start I usually seek out the round milk chocolate ones first - coconut or vanilla cream (those are my all time favorites), then venture out to square  - the caramels, or toffee ones.  But yes, I reluctantly share my box of chocolates, I have to, I am a Mom, that is what we do.  But love should be shared, admired over and celebrated.  My box of chocolates is just that: a celebration of love - love of my husband, love of being a mom, and love of chocolate!

The Magic of Christmas

This is a great time of year. It begins when the days get shorter and the light is different, it is almost like someone put a filter on the sun, but it is the beginning. Then Christmas lights start appearing in the neighborhoods, it snows even when the sun is shining. You know it, you can feel it, something magical is coming.

Like anyone, when I was young Christmas was something special, everything seem magnified, time suddenly slowed, it was simply that feeling of anticipation, waiting for Christmas day! I loved Christmas when I was growing up. One of my best memories is not one of parties or presents, but being by myself and feeling the magic of Christmas (the true introvert in me, I guess). I would shut the doors to the living room, turn off all the lights, except the Christmas tree, put Christmas music on the stereo, sing and act out the words to my favorite Christmas songs, including Winter Wonderland: “In the meadow we can build a snowman, then pretend that he is Parson Brown, He'll say: Are you married? We'll say: No man, But you can do the job when you're in town. Later on, we'll conspire, as we dream by the fire, to face unafraid, the plans that we've made, walking in a winter wonderland.” Looking back, I guess I was dreaming of the day I would be old enough to fall in love.

But dreaming aside, Christmas is also about indulging in all the wonderful Christmas candies. What makes this holiday so unique is that there are candies that only appear at this time of the year. Think about it – chocolate is available year round, jelly beans, ditto, candy corn – as I have mentioned seems to appear at all the major holidays, but not Christmas candy, just like santa, it comes only once a year!

My favorite? My all-time favorite? Ribbon Candy! I don’t even remember when I had my first taste of ribbon candy. I suspect it was at one of my grandparent’s house, but oh was I hooked! Candy that looks like glass, thin as can be, with colors different on the outside than the inside. How magical is that? Plus, they come in my favorite flavors, peppermint, spearmint, cinnamon, along with lemon and orange. With Christmas just a few weeks away, I finally bought my first box (yes, there will be more than one). I just had to capture the beauty of this delicate candy with this picture so you can appreciate just how truly magical it is, just like this time of year!

Peppermint!!!

I’m sitting here trying to think of a creative opening to talk about peppermint candy, but I can’t because I simply and honestly love anything minty.  It is a fact of life. With a mint in your mouth anything is possible. I love how refreshing mint feels when you pop a piece of anything minty in your mouth, close your eyes I know you know the sensation!

I first knew I was seriously hooked when one summer we were on one of the famous Kennedy summer vacations – driving somewhere packed in the car.  My Dad and my Mom in the front seat with one kid between them, then the rest of us piled in the back. Think of it – 4 stinky boys all next to one another. Suddenly I remember smelling something minty – the car came alive with the smell.  I was clamoring to find out what it was.  It turns out my Dad had popped a Rolaid in his mouth (who wouldn’t driving that clan of crazy kids).  Oh, how I wanted whatever it was he had. I totally didn’t realize that what he was eating was really a chalky gross mess!  How could something smell so wonderful and taste so poorly (yes, I did sneak one later when no one was looking). 

From there my minty love affair has continued for decades. I always have something minty with me, gum, Mentos, those soft peppermint balls (Have you had those? They are the best, they simply melt in your mouth! Try Bob’s Sweet Stripe Soft Mint Candy), and with the holidays approaching Brach’s Peppermint Christmas Nougats.  My love for mint also extends beyond candy – chocolate mint ice cream, mint cookies, mint brownies, even mint jelly!

With the holidays approaching peppermint is at the forefront – don’t you just love seeing the first batch of candy canes appear in the stores? It gets the senses reeling, something magical is coming. It is the time of year when I don’t try to resist temptation – these special sweets are with us for such a short time!

Quite simply, as long as there is a Coke in the fridge, something minty nearby, I am complete, there is nothing more I need!

My True Obession Revealed.....

Have you noticed I have been skirting around the most obvious thing in my life that I love the most (outside my family, friends of course, blah, blah, blah).   I don’t know why I have been waiting, maybe because the candy du jour takes precedence, or once I reveal my true obsession you will all quit reading, or maybe I was simply holding on to it just to whet your appetite, I don’t know. 

But ask anyone who knows me what I love most in this world – the one thing I truly can’t live without – they will say without hesitation:

COKE and CHOCOLATE

It is true, I love Coke. This is difficult because people may think I am talking about the drug, not the soda, but trust me, it is the soda I love!  There is nothing quite so satisfying as opening a bottle of Coke (true connoisseurs know Coke is best in a bottle – my pick – the 12 ounce plastic bottle) taking that first sip and feeling the burn as the carbonated bubbles explode in your mouth. I’m telling you, nothing and I mean nothing gives me greater pleasure! Given the choice between a glass of fine wine and an iced cold Coke – I would choose the Coke! I tend to guzzle it, I know I should savor every sip, but I can’t, I simply can’t!  Despite this addiction, and I admit, it is an addiction (just ask anyone), I do limit myself to one Coke a day (two, only on very desperately bad days). I used to ration myself to one a week, but decided the hell with it, I’m getting old, I deserve to indulge myself.  Oh, and never, ever Pepsi, it is a simply a sin if you do.

Oh, and in case you didn’t know, Coke has medicinal properties. One of my truisms that I use with my children is that Coke Cures Everything – it does, this is the truth. Feeling sad, open a Coke, feeling nauseous – well that is a no brainer, hung over – same thing. Coke Cures Everything. It does, simple as that.

But Coke is best when enjoyed with a lovely piece of Chocolate – my other true obsession.  Over the years the type of Chocolate I reach for first has changed, in fact, changed multiple times. Back on Grotto Street I used to walk up to the candy store (called the Popcorn Place). They had this mint fudge that was to die for! Then for a while my chocolate obsession was in the form of a chocolate iced cookie at S.A. I know, right? I had the timing of when the truck would deliver a fresh batch down to the minute. For many years it was Butterfingers, then Baby Ruth’s, M&Ms and lately it is English Toffee.  Today Steph and I went to a candy store called Sugar Sugar in Minneapolis – we were like kids in a candy store (well, duh, we were!) I came away with a lot of fun treats, but my favorite – sea salt caramels in milk chocolate and dark chocolate!

Well, there you have it. There is nothing left to say, well until the next time.

How to Properly Eat Candy Corn

Fall is in the air, Halloween is around the corner and the stores are filled with bags of candy! It is a great time of year, isn’t it? There is always that sweet feeling of anticipation when I see the first bags of candy corn hit the stores!  As I am walking through the aisles buying my normal groceries I can’t help notice the candy corn display. I walk by looking straight ahead, but I know they are there.  Unlike jelly beans, which I will stalk the stores looking for the first bags to appear, with candy corn the weather has to be just right – it must be sweater weather, a chill in the air and the trees must be changing colors. It must be at least mid-September at the earliest. 

Yes, these are the rules and they must be followed!  I have slowed down in front of the Halloween displays, I have even reached out to grab the bag, but not yet, I must wait just a bit longer.

When the time is just right I will buy my first bag of the season.  Once home I empty the colorful nougats in a bowl, because candy corn is for sharing (another rule of mine, and see, I do share my treats).  The temptation is to pop a handful in your mouth all at once, but avoid that temptation. There is a proper way to eat candy corn. I won’t go as far as calling it an art form, but nevertheless there are rules for this (just ask my sister Kathy, she will confirm this fact). Here is how you do it:

One at a time take a single piece of candy corn, then with the candy between your thumb and forefinger gently press until the bottom yellow section gets smooshed. Then starting with the top eat in order – white, orange and yellow. While some may disagree, please don’t reverse the order, it just isn’t right. You must do this slowly because you need to savor each piece and analyze whether the colors taste the same or different. I swear the white piece tastes differently than the others, but even in my advance age I am not positive. What do you think?

Oh, and I should mention – don’t eat candy corn outside of Fall. Christmas or Valentine’s Day candy corn is near sacrilegious. And even though they sell “Indian Candy Corn” with the chocolate bottoms, it simply just isn’t right, trust me on this. 

Necco's!!!!!

Some things in life you relish every moment and hold on to each memory and then there are other things in life you simply try to survive through.  Law School was that for me – just a means to an end – something I had to just power through.  Of course, whenever I am in survival mode I tend to indulge my sweet tooth a bit and my good habits fall to the wayside. 

One thing I remember that during finals, writing my law review paper or generally just trying to keep up there was one candy that I would turn to in order to keep myself fueled, sane and going strong.  Necco’s!  Weird choice, isn’t it?  I imagine throughout law school chocolate was a big part of that along with the requisite drinking of Coke with the chocolate, but Necco’s stand out in my mind as being fundamental to my survival.

I remember sitting in the library one day quietly, or as quietly as you can crunching on a Necco, eating one wafer after another, always delighted when my particularly favorite color would appear – pink, yellow, and yes even the brown, chocolate ones!  While quietly enjoying my reverie I looked up and saw a fellow student staring rudely at me. I thought what the heck, but quickly realized my Necco habit was probably driving him nuts. Thankfully he got up and moved so I could go back to my studying – read a page, eat a wafer, read another page, have another, and so on.

As summer quietly turns to fall I find myself searching for a roll of Neccos. Now, for those of you who are just armchair candy lovers you won’t understand this next piece, but indulge me a bit… Neccos are the best when they are slightly soft. Several years ago Neccos came out as Halloween candy. These are smaller rolls individually wrapped inside a bigger bag.  That extra layer of protection kept the candies incredibly soft and absolutely perfect!  The first year I discovered the Halloween candy I bought several bags and enjoyed everyone last one (I doubt I shared these with anyone too). The next year I couldn’t find them anywhere. Someone said Walmart had them. I never shop at Walmart, but for Neccos I would and did!  But last year I couldn’t find them anywhere. Like an addict searching for its next fix, I actually went to several different Walmart’s because someone said they aren’t all alike – nothing!  I was devastated (I know that sounds severe, but trust me, it really bummed me out for several days).

Now that Halloween candy is already appearing in the stores, the search is on again for this year. Please drop me a line if you find them anywhere!  Meanwhile, my sweet baby girl Colleen bought me a roll and as I sat in the sun reading my book (a novel, mind you, no more law books for me) and enjoying the sweet wafers I noticed that the wafers were getting softer the longer I sat in the sun, which got me thinking…..