I’m a sucker for sticky buns, with lots of nuts, and the gooier the better. It’s one item I buy at the local bakery instead of making myself. To improve what is already good, I warm it a tad and add butter. Calories, you bet! Who cares, when it is an occasional treat. Continue reading “My Weakness”
The blond brownie is a golden color with a mild molasses flavor achieved by using brown sugar instead of cocoa for flavoring. I find it interesting that the recipes I looked at and have made myself, all add some sort of chocolate to the blond brownie, usually in the form of chips. Now why not just make a chocolate brownie? Who knows? Humans are funny that way. Continue reading “Reminds Me of Home”
According to the National Day of Calendar many people receive fruitcakes as gifts sometime during the holiday season. Some people eat the holiday bread. Others may re-gift them. There are those who sneakily throw them away and others who will do so openly. But on the third day of January, another type of fruitcake, ahem, person comes out of the woodwork. These are the characters who have hoarded them, stored them and hid them so they can celebrate National Fruitcake Toss Day. The idea being, see how far you can throw one of the hard disks. Continue reading
According to the National Day of Calendar, Food Day aims to help people “Eat Real,” which is defined by them as “cutting back on sugar drinks, overly salted packaged foods and fatty, factory-farmed meats in favor of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and sustainably raised protein.” Continue reading “Eat Real”
It’s National Sticky Bun Day. I looked at the calendar last night to see what today’s subject was and woke up this morning thinking of a sticky bun. One of my favorites in any situation.
What makes a perfect sticky bun? The bun itself must be soft, easy to pull apart and be rolled with cinnamon between the layers. The topping should be a drippy, sugary, caramel goo, with so many nut pieces (I prefer pecans) you can barely see the bun. Now if you can have this, and have it warm, you have a bit of heaven. Too finalize the enjoyment, a good cup of hot coffee as an accompaniment would be my choice. Oh, and if the topping is the right amount of drippy, a moist towelette to clean the hands when done eating, would be a good idea.
Any sticky bus is good, but some are better than others. I have had some that were a week old (I like to stretch and savor my package from the bakery) that were still wonderful. On the other hand, I have had some right from the bakery, that were hard, the goo was crystalized, and the nuts almost mushy. At least the flavor was there. I can’t imagine who picked the above picture, there aren’t any nuts!
If you follow my posts, you know I generally bake my goodies from scratch, but in the case of a good sticky bun, with a yeasty flavor, I don’t take the time. Some parts of me are lazy and want to be waited on. I’m already dressed, most often I write in my pj’s, I think I will leave you now and go to Leo’s bakery for the best sticky bun in my locale. Enjoy your day.
Have you gone shopping for trail mix lately? In the super market I use, Wegmans, there are multiple kinds in the nut section, there are different kinds in the bulk food section and there are yet others in the health food section. So, I leave the definition of trail mix to you. I have read the first one made was just peanuts and raisins.
I like to take a bag of trail mix when we go on a car trip. {It used to be motorcycle trip but the husband’s back gave out, and we have had too many close friends get hurt; I’m actually afraid to get on one now days.} The handy snack satisfies all sorts of cravings. You can pick out just the chocolate when you need a sweet fix, and you can pick out all the cashews at one time, before anyone else gets to the bag. The little pieces of dried fruit often give a more sour flavor burst if that is what you desire; and all jumbled together sends the taste buds into happy land, plus puts off the “I have to stop to eat!” demand for a while. It’s a great staple for in the room too, no refrigeration or heating necessary.
Trail mix was “invented” for just that, eating on the trail when hiking. I have been on some beautiful trails in my life. Number one would be on Mt. Rainier in Washington state. We parked in the Paradise parking lot and my friend pointed UP. “You see that bench up there?” “Yeah.” “That’s where we are eating lunch.” “Really?” I didn’t have the exercise gene back then either, but I made it. Trail mix was our dessert and the begging jay birds had some too.
Now I am back living in New York state, home territory. There is a park named Harriet Hollister Spencer State Park that has wonderful views from the trails. If you didn’t grow up around here, you’ll need a GPS to find it. We also have Letchworth and Stony Brook state parks, plus many others. I’m sure you have a great park near you. Grab a bag of trail mix and go check one out.
One word of caution; dried fruit and chocolate can last almost indefinitely, not so with some types of nuts. In an open bag in the cupboard they can go rancid. So buy yourself some fresh trail mix and enjoy the Labor Day Weekend (If you are in the U.S.) while eating it, even if you do so in front of the TV, on the golf course, or around a fire pit.
Sue Spitulnik 