Verging on the Bern, Cayenne Cocoa Snack

 Dear Sillies,

   How are you, my friends? Please be and treat yourselves well.

   In the midst of things, I tried to experience that Berning sensation that my favorite senior man incites. So I sampled a snack, Western Cocoa Cayenne - granola with cocoa nibs, cayenne pepper, and other yummy stuff. It's very low in sugar and thus a healthy snack for me. I'm trying to cut down. Sort of. Smiles. 

I've mixed it with some cashew yogurt (also very low in sugar). Mmm. It's good. Unfortunately, though I wore my favorite t-shirt*, this didn't get me there. I'd describe the flavor as sweet, fruity, crunchy, and rustic. *("Feel the Bern 2016") It has a bit of a kick; no burn, though. None at all. A bit disappointing. It's a yummy snack, though. I'd recommend making it yourself with a mix of nuts and cocoa nibs, perhaps some cranberries or raisins. Otherwise, it's not worth the $7. I give it a 5 out of 10. My tens are reserved for the man himself.  Because I love him.

 

The Latest in Chocolate: Chocolate Hummus

My Dear Sillies,
Some combinations should never have been combined. Like chocolate and chick peas. But I had to try Trader Joe's Chocolate Hummus for you, my friends. For you.

 

It's a healthy form of chocolate, especially when used as carrot dip. Hummus is for veggies. Right? No. It's wrong. It's fine on bread or by the spoonful. The chocolate has a rich, salty (not sweet) flavor, kinda like Nutella for vegan, gluten free, diabetic Spin instructors. I can also taste the chick peas, but it's altogether wrong. Don't do it, folks. This one should not have happened. 

But I'm a nice chocoholic, and I got this at Trader Joe's, so I'll give it a 5 on a 1-10 scale. 

Let me know what you think.

Take good care this week and always. 

Cado's Chocolate Avocado Ice Cream: The Latest in Chocolate

Dear Silliest of Sillies,
   We're creeping further into Fall, closer to Hallow's Eve, and -well- yeah, the world's falling apart. But hey, we're still here, and we're still keeping it silly.
   When I saw this at the grocery store, I knew that I needed to once again sacrifice my taste buds for your benefit: Cado's Chocolate Avocado Ice-Cream.  

   You love avocados, right? Chocolate ice cream too, naturally.
   And despite my look of shock or horror or outright weirdness, this stuff is really good. The chocolate tastes divinely rich but not heavy. Avocados seem to have the perfect texture to make for a tasty and healthy ice-cream. It doesn't taste avocado-y; it's a nice natural blend. Relative to other desserts, this one's low in fats, low in sugar...and yeah, we'll ignore the 4 servings thing. I finished it in two sittings, give or take one sitting. 

   All in all, my friends, I give Cado's Chocolate Avocado Ice Cream a 9 out of 10. Were it a bit cheaper, it'd be a 10. (It costs $5 or $6 - can't quite remember.)

   Might you try this? Are you an avocado fan? It might be more of a California fetish, or just my own. 

Keep a smile and stay silly, my dears.

Frozen Hot Chocolate & Spedden

Dear Silly Friends,
How are you? I hope you're managing life's challenges with your usual tenacity.
It's hard for me to imagine that the whole world isn't sweltering now - we've been facing weather in the 100s (Fahrenheit) for seemingly 89 straight weeks. Probably more like 5-6. Regardless, for you and me, I needed to do another taste test.

This time, I sampled Enlightened's FROZEN HOT COCOA.

   Pretty impressive label, right? Super high in fiber, low in sugar, fat...And only 90 cals per "serving," which means when you eat the whole thing (one real serving), it's only 360 calories.
   How'd it taste? Well, it did disappear quickly, but it was too marshmallow-y. I love marshmallows, just not when they take precedence over chocolate and replace any semblance of chocolate. Plus, dare I say? It was actually a bit too sweet for my sugar tooth. I can't recommend this one. I'll give it a 5 on a 1-10 scale of chocolate goodness. BTW, does anyone know what Erythritol is? I just noticed it on the label.
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   Now, as a reminder of how wonderful Blogland is and can be . . .
   When I found an old family photo recently, I realized that I'd been misspelling my Mom's hometown. That's why I couldn't find any indication that "Speden" still exists. But, add another "d," and it's cited in Wikipedia as a hamlet (very tiny town) in Alberta, Canada.  How exciting! Yet I'm thousands of miles away and may never see it with my own eyes.
   So I messaged Debra* (She Who Seeks), who lives in Alberta, to find out if she'd seen Spedden.  She hadn't been there, and it's a few hours away. But Debra said she'd gladly make the trek on my behalf to do some sleuthing and picture taking.
   Not only do I now have photographs of my Mom's home-town, Debra went well beyond this to embark on more research. She located and sent me a 10-12 page booklet that talks about my Grandpa Isaac and my cousins' family - the original pioneers of Spedden. Thanks to her efforts, I've learned specific details about my family, my identity. (I'd never met either Grandpa - they died far too young. My siblings and I have very few pictures of our parents' earlier days. It's priceless to have this memorabilia.)
   Thank you, Debra! You're stellar! *If you don't follow Debra, you need to. Her blog is packed with fun and meaningful gems.
    We're lucky to have this little slice of cyberspace utopia, aren't we?

Class of 1948-49, Spedden, Alberta, CANADA      ^Mom, Edith Stern, middle gal, front row


Keep a smile.
May you find treasures to appreciate daily.
Love to you, my Sillies.

Bacon Hot Chocolate!? The Latest in Chocolate

 Add chocolate, a woman's first love, to bacon, a man's; heat; then drink! Does it work? I had to find out, so I purchased Redneck Cafe's Bacon Hot Chocolate at Cost Plus World Market. It's created and distributed by McSteven's Inc. in Vancouver, Washington. 

  I excitedly poured half of the packet into water, heated it in my microwave, sipped, and...thumbs down. It doesn't work. I tasted more bacon than chocolate and struggled, in fact, to taste chocolate. The bacon flavor wasn't right either - as if it was too fatty, too non-kosher, or had been left on the grill for too long. 

   Next, I mixed the rest with almond milk and heated it. That tasted better, sweeter and creamier. But it still didn't make me smile or sigh ecstatically - as good chocolate-bacon should.

   I'm not saying it's a bad product, and I drank it all, but I suggest that you save your money for a better bacon-chocolate product like the candy bars I reviewed in the past. 

   On a scale of 1 to 10, one being utterly disgusting and ten being orgasmicly divine, I give Redneck Cafe's Bacon Hot Chocolate a 3.5. It was a decent effort, and the package is kinda enticing. It was worth a try - if only for your sake, my dear readers. Wink.

Anyone else ever try bacon hot chocolate? How does it sound?

Have a sweet, tasty week.

Rogue's Double Chocolate Stout: Don't Try This At Home or elsewhere

We interrupt our Merchant Marine story for this commercial break.
ROGUE's DOUBLE Chocolate STOUT beer...

See its darkness. Notice its shiny red bottle and the words "Double" and "Chocolate" in, respectively, white bold caps and pretty curly font. Hear me when I shout: This one's worthy of a post! Don't ever try it!

I have two housemates, both nice and smart. They know that the best way to keep the peace at home comes down to a three-word motto: FEED ROBYN CHOCOLATE. So I enjoy little chocolate mints left atop my stack of mail, leftover cookies from their work potlucks, and the like.

When Steven came to me and said, "Hey Robyn, you're welcome to try this Double Chocolate Stout," he held up this bottle.

"Thanks, Stephen. I'll review it for my blog. Is it any good?"

"Well, you can kind of taste the chocolate, I guess," Steven said. Note that Steven is very kind and rarely critical.

Still, with excitement, I uncapped the bottle. The color immediately repelled me. See above. The taste? Even worse. Where's the chocolate? I wondered. It's hardly choco-fied, much less double choco-fied. It just tastes highly stout-ified, bitter, strong, and disturbingly gross.

If anyone offers you this *bleep*, pass. If the Beer for the Shower guys, Bryan and Brandon, send you this for their very cool and fun contest win, they probably don't like you. And they are awesome, and you should follow them and read their books if you're not doing so already. And really, I'm only telling you all this because they and I have amazing followers who deserve to be warned. Don't try this crap at home or elsewhere, folks!

With a kind heart, I give Rogue's Double Chocolate Stout an unsolicited 1 on a scale of 1-10, 1 being the worst.

~~~

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program: Me and My Merchant Marine, when Troy uncovers grandma panties under the covers and a puzzled Robyn asks calmly, "Who's are those?"

Happy weekend!