Tag Food

Squirrel Follow-Up –> What’s he eating?

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Remember the Squirrel from last week with that HUGE — piece of FOOD — in his mouth? Nobody knew what it could be. Such an odd “thing.”

Well, guess what, I happened to walk by a tree and as I looked on the ground, I saw it! Yes, I saw, “IT.” I saw what the squirrel had in his mouth. I picked the weird thing up. It was VERY STICKY, like sap. Imagine my surprise when it was sticking to my fingers, felt prickly and I could NOT let go of it. I had to fling it off. Horror of horrors.

As I looked at it, I noticed there were more at the bottom of the tree. So, I peered up into the tree and LOOK what I saw. YES, a bunch of them growing on the branch.

I’ve NEVER seen a tree with these “things” in my entire life.

I stopped people as they walked by asking what tree this was, NO LUCK! So, I did searches online. Challenging, since I didn’t know what search words to use — “sticky spikey ball in tree?”

Needless to say, my searches didn’t pull up much. THEN a brainstorm, I have a friend who used to work at the arboretum. She must know this tree, right?

She messaged, it’s a HAZLENUT tree.

I went back to the tree for further inspection. See photo of where the nuts were. The nuts are protected inside a green leaf-like hairy bract with ragged edges. Nuts in clusters of 2-5.

I LOVE hazelnuts, so this was a GREAT find.

No wonder the squirrel was dodging me left to right! He thought I was after his hazelnuts!

And you know what — NEXT TIME, I might just go after him!

Have you watched that show on Netflix called, “ALONE?” One participant was desperate for food, it was winter, hard to find food. A squirrel had stashed away mushrooms at the top of a tree. The participant cut the tree down to get the mushrooms. He apologized to the squirrel (who wasn’t there), “Everyone for himself in the wilderness! We’ve got to SURVIVE!”

Great wilderness show if you haven’t seen it!

I will have more appreciation for the hazelnuts in Nutella, Loacker wafers, Ferrero Rocher, Godiva, and Kinder Buono chocolates now!

Don’t you LOVE life’s surprises! Thank you, Mr. Squirrel!

Squirrel – What is that in his mouth?

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I got so lucky. This squirrel posed for the camera. Look how close I got. You can tell he is hesitant. Wondering if he’s going to have to FIGHT to keep his… WHAT IS THAT in his mouth?

It started like this. I was out walking. I saw this squirrel on the sidewalk. I immediately STOPPED, because he was so darn cute with that HUGE root, dead flower (couldn’t place it) in his mouth.

At first, he wasn’t aware of me. When he got to the top of the fence… THEN I could tell, he was starting to think I “might” be a threat. You can see in his eyes and stance that he knew he had to ACT FAST or he might lose this HUGE food item. That is the motherland!

He happened to turn, I got another GREAT photo. Here he’s making an “assessment” of the situation.

This was the highlight of my walk. I’ve never gotten this close to a squirrel before. They are usually so fast to run away. Photography has become so easy with our phones. Fun getting these photos.

So, I ask you, “WHAT is that in his mouth?”

Happy Valentine’s Day – 2022!

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I really like linzer cookies. To start, I like, NO – I LOVE raspberries. Shout out to my future boyfriend, you’ve got Valentine’s Day all wrapped up. Surprise me with a heart shaped dish full of raspberries and a heart shaped box with something shiny (Jewelry, need to be specific, right. I don’t want to end up with a little silver spoon or a business card holder.) in it and YOUR GOLDEN!

I spoke to some friends who don’t do anything for Valentine’s Day. If they are alone, they find it depressing. Personally, I think it is a nice day to do something loving for another person. Even if you are alone, you can do something for a friend, your kids, a family member, etc. It’s a day to be thoughtful.

Back to the linzer cookies. One day, I want to make them. A few years ago I bought the cookie cutters. I got the recipe. I was THAT close to making them, but didn’t. So, they are still on the “bucket list.”

I get emails from TableWare International. I’ve always liked tableware products, so it’s fun to see the latest industry news. GUESS WHAT – Fiesta (leading dinnerware brand) comes out with a new color every year. This year they have some new HEART shaped dishes. They’re really pretty. See TableWare International’s article, “Love it! Heart-themed pieces from Fiesta Dinnerware.”

The Fiesta dishes look similar to THIS photo with the fruit. Visit FiestaFactoryDirect.com to see ALL the color choices. Oh, and look at their ABOUT section. They started in 1871, two brothers from East Liverpool, Ohio, quite a story.

Do you see how FUN and EASY it can be to make Valentine’s Day special?! It’s all about the hearts!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

When a Moose means a lot!

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Moose memories. For over 30 years, every September my father went moose hunting in Canada. He’d be gone three weeks in the wilderness with either my brothers or friends. That was a highlight of his year. Two months before he left, he’d go shopping for groceries to bring on the trip. He’s start pulling out his hunting gear, etc. It was a big ordeal, all of us helping to pack up the truck.

We then would eat moose meat ALL year. The moose burgers were good, but if we heard my Dad yell to my mother, “Pull out a moose roast for tonight,” we ran to visit our friends. Moose roasts were so dry and gamey tasting, just AWFUL! My Dad wised up to this tactic of ours and would say, “EVERYONE will be home for dinner tonight!”

My Dad liked to play pranks on his buddies. Since we had a lot of moose meat, he would give some to his friends. One year he had the hoof of the moose, wrapped it in the white paper that the butcher shop uses and wrote “TENDERLOIN” on it! Gave it to his friend and waited. It took a few months, but you can imagine when his friend called. He sure was mad, his poor wife was unwrapping the “tenderloin” package and found the hoof. She was NOT amused and did not want anymore moose meat from my Dad.

When we were kids we’d have our friends over for dinner. They were excited about having hamburger and french fries. We would stare at them as they ate their burger and keep asking, “So, what do you think? Do you like the burger?”

They would say, “YES, it’s really good!”

When they were finished eating we would tell them they had just eaten a moose burger. At first they looked at us and said, “WE WHAT???” You just had a moose burger. Wasn’t it good! They had to agree, moose burgers were good.

Now my Dad is in his 80s, going moose hunting is too strenuous for him. So, of course, there is sadness to this. I know my Dad misses going. A surprise happened at the store. LOOK, what I found — A MOOSE PLATE!!

I smiled. My Dad would look great at the head of the table for Thanksgiving with his very own MOOSE PLATE!

So, he will have a BIG SURPRISE this year. I hope he likes it as much as I do.

He’s got to smile… RIGHT!!

Oktoberfest… cancelled?

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You know something is up, when ALL you want is schnitzel.

Lately, I kept thinking of ⏤ NO, I was craving ⏤ SCHNITZEL. I haven’t had it for a long time. I wondered where the sudden desire came from.

Then the other day, I got a message from TimeOut – Chicago. Do you follow TimeOut for your city? It’s really good. If you sign up, you receive weekly updates with events going on in your area.

THAT is how I found out WHY I was craving schnitzel. Of course, it’s almost the end of September, time for Oktoberfest! I was reading that Oktoberfest was cancelled in Munich. I’m sure they will have smaller celebrations around the city. COVID can’t cancel everything this year, RIGHT!

Turns out, Chicago has a lot of Oktoberfest events, it’s not cancelled here. Even something at our Zoo with a band. LOVE the German lederhosen, dirndls and Bavarian music. I have a dirndl, need to dust it off, see if it fits.

YES, we need to be careful with COVID and big crowds, but at the same time, can’t cancel Oktoberfest!

I’m off to find some schnitzel, pretzel, beer and gotta have a brat! Is it asking too much to have red cabbage and Dampfnudel (steamed dumpling, see photo) with vanilla sauce (my favorite)?!

Laughing – I’ll put on “THE- COVID 10 lbs” just celebrating Oktoberfest!

PROST! (Cheers!)

A little bit of Paris in Dublin!

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IMG_1653Today it was late afternoon and I was looking for a place to take a break, rest my feet and get some tea. I looked across the street and felt like I was in Paris when I saw “Le Petit Parisien.” You know a place is good when you walk in and it is vey crowded.

They had different desserts to choose from, I chose a lemon meringue. Here is what arrived, lovely and delicious. I’ll have to ask my Seattle Blogger friend, “Travel-Gourmand,” how this bakery compares to her write up on Seattle Bakeries. If you are headed to Seattle, you’ll want to see her post, “Seattle Bakery Recommendations.”

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An Irish fellow Blogger (Hope I can find her name and thank her.) recommended I try a place called, “Queen of Tarts.” I tried to go there, but it was raining and people had taken shelter inside… good plan!

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There are a lot of wonderful cafes/bakeries to go to.

Makes me wonder, if there is ONE FOODIE BLOGGER out there who has focused on visiting/writing about different cafes around the world. I’d love to see a Blog focused on that.

Anyone have cafe recommendations for Vienna? It’s on my Bucket List.

By the way, I looked up “cafe” to see if it had to have an accent or not. Sounds like BOTH work. What does the Chicago Manual of Style say?

Now, how do I find that specific cafe Blogger? Does this Blogger exist?

Fortune Cookie Writer Retires After 30 Years Due to Writer’s Block

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IMG_1588See this fortune cookie?! That is how writer’s block looks to a fortune cookie writer.

Donald Lau, CFO at Wonton Food, Inc. has been the writer behind ALL those fortune cookies we read after our Chinese meals. Can you imagine, 30 years of creatively writing 100 fortunes a year? That is a big job! I commend him for writing this long. We all know that “writer’s block” is terrible.

Mr. Lau hired his replacement, a fellow by the name of James Wong, 43 years old. It’s good that Wong is young, if he follows in Mr. Lau’s footsteps, he could be writing fortunes well into his 70s.

Did you know that Wonton Food, Inc. is the largest manufacturer of fortune cookies in the United States? They have operations in New York, Texas and Tennessee.

Since reading this story, I have a better appreciation for fortune writing.

Here is one message that I saved. It was a good one.

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How about YOU, do you have a special fortune you saved?

Curious to know… WHAT was YOUR FORTUNE?

 

WayCap Ez – Raising money on Kickstarter for refillable steel coffee capsule for Nespresso® machines

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Italians have done it again! Through the help of their FIRST Kickstarter campaign in April 2016, they had 3,827 backers pledge €234,407 to support the creation of their refillable steel coffee capsule, so you don’t have to use the pods. Great idea!

WayCap Ez is on their second round of funding through Kickstarter. Based on customer feedback they have been fine tuning the capsule by adding different tops that accommodate various grounds of coffee. Go to their Second Kickstarter page to see a video of how the capsule works. You can still back their second round of fundraising until May 2, 2017.

On their Facebook page, I was reading mixed product reviews from customers. Remember, WayCap Ez is still in their infancy, so I say, “Give them a chance!” Through our feedback they will keep fine tuning the capsule for better use. Inventions are never perfect the first go around. Got to give these Italians credit for coming up with a clever idea, which produces no waste, except for the coffee grounds. Oh, and the steel capsule is being made in Italy.

I’m Italian — I wish them luck!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to find out how to order my capsule.  Buon appetito!

 

 

The $100 Golden Donut

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The $100 Golden Cristal Ube Donut at Manila Social Club. (MANILASOCIALCLUB VIA INSTAGRAM)

There is something comforting about donuts. We like them at work in the morning, on the weekend and who doesn’t remember after a College party wanting to stop for a donut on the way back to the dorms.

So, I knew my daughter was homesick when she said she was Googling donuts. While her Googling results did not find a place open in Ireland for late night delivery, she did come across the donut of all donuts. A golden donut, which costs $100 out of Brooklyn… and we both laughed with relief, because they do not ship Internationally yet!

In this Youtube video created by Barcroft TV, click here, you can see how Björn De La Cruz, executive-chef and co-owner at the Manila Social Club in Brooklyn, New York decided to create this luxurious eatable masterpiece.

I know… some of you are fainting, some of you are in an uproar saying your Dunkin’ Donuts at 99 cents is good enough and you would NEVER pay $100 for a donut, but before you write this off, consider that luxury and decadence comes at a cost. My daughter is into baking, so for her trying this donut would be “worth it” to find out WHAT a luxurious donut really tastes like. Now, we could be economical about this. Let’s say we ordered this golden donut to celebrate the New Year and we had 10 friends visiting. That would break down the individual cost of the donut to $10 each. Now, we’d have to be really accurate in cutting the donut into 10 individual bites, so we wouldn’t lose even one flake of gold. THEN we would make a toast and each eat our bite at the same time bringing in the New Year!  Eating gold on New Year’s Eve should indicate a prosperous New Year is ahead, YES?

So, I ask you… Is a golden donut worth $100?   What’s on your Bucket List?