Marshmallow review

Here's the review of the Plush Puff Marshmallows previously promised.

I tried all 6 varieties. These were top of the line, premium sweets, and value always comes into play on this.

The Chocolate was excellent. They had a very good, intense chocolate flavor, enhanced by tiny chocolate chips on top.
I dropped two into my coffee, and it turned into a premium mocha cappuccino as good as any 5 buck cup at Starbucks. Worth every penny.

The S'more flavor was ok. I suppose it tasted like a s'more, but part of the s'more experience is the melting chocolate and toasted marshmallow. Hard to match that. It was ok, but not great.

The Caramel is a mixed review. I didn't like it at all, but the Mrs. loved it. Go figure. It was just too, ordinary, I guess, for me. Kind of boring. Pass.

The Vanilla, again, same thing. While it had a very pronounced vanilla flavor, it wasn't that much better than a Campfire. Considering one could buy a bag of marshmallows for about the cost of the two I put in my hot chocolate, I'd have to say pass on them, too.

The Mint were weird, only because I did not expect to find such an intense mint taste in a marshmallow. The taste was really good, and would probably be good on their own or mixed in tea.

Lastly, the Lemon Meringue. It tasted like lemon meringue pie. Really. The flavor was intense, and very natural tasting. I would seriously consider buying these again.

Overall, I would buy the chocolate and lemon, and maybe the mint. Yes, they are a bit pricey, but if used to make a couple cent home made coffee or tea into a high dollar gourmet treat, it's a good deal. And, in fairness to the company, the ingredients used seem to be the best. No cheap corn syrup. Sugar, brown rice syrup, honey and all natural extracts are not inexpensive.

They would make a nice treat, or a decent holiday gift.

Peanut Butter and Company

The Mrs. went to a new store over the weekend because that's what she does. I think the name is the Christmas Tree Shop in Freehold, and she found a bunch of stuff on spoecial. One of these things is Peanut Butter and Company Spicy Peanut Butter. This sells at QVC for around 8 bucks for a 16 oz. jar and around the same (with shipping) at the company website. She paid $2.69.

But it is only a bargain if it's good, right? And, it is very good.

And hot as heck, too. When I had my toast with this and jelly this morning, it brought the heat. And it stayed for a while. It wasn't painful heat, but it definately woke up the old taste buds. I would have to say I liked it a lot, but not for 8 bucks a jar. Ok, so I'm cheap, but prefer the term frugal. Unfortunately, we are out of tomatoes, so I couldn't have it as a PB&T, which, of course, is the ultimate test for me. If the jar makes it to the weekend, the Mrs. will make a trip to Shop Rite to get a tomato so I can really enjoy my peanut butter. It's good with jelly, for you non adventurist types.



Coming soon: Marshmallow taste test.

MMMMMMarshmallows

Last week the phone rang, and the nice lady on the phone wanted to know if it was ok to ship my marshmallows on Monday.

"What marshmallows?"

After some hemming and hawing, I got the story. It seems the Mrs. had ordered gourmet marshmallows. However due to some sort of client--marshmallow sales person confidentiality agreement she could not discuss the purchase with me.

So, I got her number, called the Mrs. at work and got the whole story. It seems she had clicked on an ad on this blog, and was interested in mail order marshmallows.

$45 and a week later, a box showed up with 6 rather small bags of marshmallows.

Naturally, after yelling about spending $45 for marshmallows, I tore into the chocolate chipetta bag.

Holy moley!!! These are the best marshmallows I have ever eaten in my life. Not that I am a marshmallow expert by any stretch of the imagination. Marshmallows are something to either toast or dump in hot chocolate. But not these.

They are crazy expensive. I'd estimate based on shipping and the cost of them, they are $7.50 for 16-18 of the little tasty sugary pillows, or about a half buck each.

So far, I have only eaten the chocolate ones (I'm a diabetic--you want I should lapse into a coma or something) and they are spectacular.

I checked the ingredients, and that may be part of the reason for the expense. No cheap corn syrup or unpronounceable things in them. Sugar, honey, brown rice syrup, and various extracts and what you would use if you wanted to make marshmallows at home yourself. The chocolate ones are topped with tiny chocolate chips.

The taste? Wow! I mean it. These are great. It took every available bit of restraint I had to not eat the entire little bag. I plan to add 2 to my coffee tomorrow morning to turn it into a mochaccino.

I would describe it as not very sweet, but really bursting with chocolate flavor. Not a wimpy flavor, but a full bodied chocolate.

I can't wait to try the other varieties. Don't confuse these with Campfire or Sta Puff marshmallows. That would be like comparing a steak house filet mignon and baked potato to a quarter pounder and fries.

They come in 6 different varieties. I'll get to them over the next few weeks or so, and report back.

http://www.plushpuffs.com/

Such a lunch!

Today I had a nice mid day repast with the Mrs. We ordered the "Lunch Special" from a local Chinese restaurant. It was a deal and a half. For $5.85, I had a large portion of General Tso's (Cho's, Tsao's?) chicken, some vegetable fried rice, and an egg roll. Oh, and the fortune cookie was included. I've heard of places that charge for the cookie. That's not right.
Anyway, it was a good portion of food. I'm full and happy. I could have gone to MickeyD's, Wendy's or the King, and would have spent just as much or more for a "value meal," and it would not have made me as satisfied. Of course I could have gone to White Castle and had a bunch of delicious Slyders for that price (don't want to upset the good folks at White Castle again--they get pretty sensitive) but tasty steam/ grilled little burgers with the big taste just weren't going to cut it today.
(Yes I'm a suckup. I know the VP of marketing from WC has read my blog, and I want to stay on her good side. Maybe she'll give my readers some free burgers, which would be a great promotion, by the way. Just sayin'. White Castle Slyders, as read on www.thejoyoftoast.blogspot.com would certainly look swell on the next promotional poster.)
Back to my lunch. I'm not sure how great a general Tsao was, but the man could certainly make spicy chicken. The place we ordered from today spices it exactly perfectly for me. Some make it so hot, I can barely eat it. And I have to be careful because they may leave those little super hot peppers in the sauce, and more than once I've accidentally eaten one of them. And lunch should never hurt that much. This place just seasons it without leaving those stupid peppers in it. Hot without pain. I really don't want to sweat like a Cambodian hooker just from eating a piece of chicken.
Oh, and I got a fortune cookie and, of course, I played the fortune cookie game with it. The game always works, and is always funny.
Just read your fortune, and add "In bed" after it.
Today's fortune--Determination is what you need now--in bed. LOL. It always works.