My February Box from Knoshy is Here!

My box from Knoshy actually arrived a few days ago.  This month’s theme is “Movie Night” and while I love the theme … some of the items in the box are curious choices for the theme.  I can see the connection with two of the items … the other two have left me wondering!

The first item that makes sense to me:  Parmesan & Rosemary flavored Microwave Popcorn from Quinn Popcorn.  I mean, who doesn’t want popcorn when watching a movie?  I’ve tried the Vermont Maple & Sea Salt Popcorn from this company, so I was really excited to try this flavor.

The second item that makes sense:  Pop Corn Pop chocolate bar from Chuao Chocolate.  Again … popcorn!  And of course, a candy bar is always a welcome treat at the movies!  I’ve tried at least one or two flavors from Chuao Chocolatier, and they are the producers of one of my very favorite chocolate bars (the firecracker bar!) so I’m thrilled to be able to try something else from them.

The next item in the box is a Basket o’ Marionberries from Willamette Valley Confectionery.  Now, don’t get me wrong – I LOVE these things.  I’ve tried them before, and I was thrilled to find them in my box this month, but, what do they have to do with Movie Night?  I guess candy is something yummy to eat at the movies?  I don’t really get a clear connection, but I’m happy to be have these yummy confections again, so I’m not complaining.

The last item in this month’s box is a “footlong” marshmallow from Quin Candy.  The flavor of the marshmallow is Water Avenue Coffee – meh.  OK.  I’m not a fan of coffee, and I don’t get how a coffee flavored marshmallow has any connection with Movie Night at all.  After perusing the Quin Candy website (I love that this company is LOCAL!) I found a couple of candies that would be more in keeping with the Movie Night Theme, like perhaps Cherry Cola Gumdrops (soft drink at the movies?  Yes!  Coffee at the movies?  No!)  or how about Popcorn Caramels?  (Yeah, it would be probably really beating the popcorn thing into the ground.)

Oh well, I like hand crafted marshmallows, so I’ll give ’em a try.  A coffee flavored marshmallow should be tasty in a hot chocolate, right?  And I’m really excited about the other products in this month’s box!

Herby Bread Basket snack from Graze

Photo from Graze.
Click on the Pic to go there.

Product Information:

garlic crostini, mini basil breadsticks and oregano rice crackers

I received this snack in my January Graze Box.

Tea Suggestion:

With this savory selection, I decided to choose something a little bit tart and a little bit sweet for an interesting contrast.  I brewed some of this Green Tea Honey and Lemon from Tea of Life.  A really nice choice.

What I Think:

This is tasty.  It’s a hearty, satisfying, savory snack.

The breadsticks are very flavorful.  There’s a big punch of basil flavor.  A nice crunch to these … but also a little bit of a “bready” inner texture that I enjoy.

I found the garlic crostini to be a little “lacking” in flavor after I’d eat one of the mini basil breadsticks mostly because the breadsticks are really loaded with flavor.  To get the most out of the garlic crostini, I found that eating them one after another helped to develop the garlic and buttery taste.

My favorite part of this snack though, is the oregano rice crackers which look like no crackers I’ve ever seen.  They are shaped like … well, imagine if you would a piece of flattened popcorn as it starts to regain some shape.  Or perhaps … they look a bit like a miniature pressed cookie.  I love the flavor of these, and I taste not just oregano but a mixture of herbs to this.  But the best thing about these little crackers is the texture.  I love the texture of rice crackers, and there seems to be a somewhat “caramel-y” taste to these too, making them quite yummy.  I’d like to be able to get a box of these on their own.

My Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed this snack, but I don’t know that I liked it enough to give it a “like.”  It’s not something that I immediately felt I needed to do like I needed to do with the chutney snack from this month’s box.  I do like those rice crackers, though and I might like them enough to “like” the snack just to get more of them.

Basket o’ Marionberries from Willamette Valley Confectionery

Photo from Foodzie. Click on the photo to go there.

Product Description:

A long time French favorite, the pâte de fruit is a little jewel-like confection bursting with fruit. The deep dark purple color comes from the local marionberry, a sweeter, juicier version of the common blackberry.

Learn more about Willamette Valley Confectionery on their website.

Tea Suggestion:

I enjoyed these yummy confections over the course of a couple of days, and tried them with different teas over these samplings.  Two different teas stood out as an outstanding pairing.  First, I recommend this Organic Gurance from Butiki Teas.  These fruity candies gave an interesting dimension to the malty tones of the tea and really accented the fruit notes of the tea as well.  The second tea I’d recommend is this delicious Sweet Roast Green Tea from Mauna Kea Tea.  The toasty notes of the tea added an interesting contrast to the sweetness of the confection.

What I Think:

If you have a sweet tooth, you may want to read more about this product.  If you don’t really care for the sweet stuff, this may not be the treat for you.

That is my way of stating up front that these are incredibly sweet.  Almost too sweet.  They are covered in sugar, and with my first bite, it almost felt like I was biting into a sugar cube.

But, that’s not to say that I dislike these, because I do like them.  But they are really sweet, and I can’t eat more than two or three at any one time.  After that, I can begin to really feel the sugar on my teeth.

All that being said …  these are also an incredible tribute to the Marionberry.  Inside the coating of sugar lies a gelled mash-up of Marionberries, and that part of these confections tastes just like the berry.  If the sugar were somehow removed from the confection, you’d have a pure Marionberry flavor.  I even came across a seed or two, and even though I’m not particularly fond of berry seeds because they tend to get stuck between my teeth, I didn’t find these to be bothersome, and seemed to lend some authenticity to the candy.  That is to say, it allowed me to somehow justify eating these sweet treats, because at least part of this was fruit-like.

My Final Thoughts:

Even though they are very sugary, I find these to be enjoyable in small amounts.  My interest is piqued at some of the other varieties of pâte de fruit that Willamette Valley Confectionery offers.  Right now, it appears that they have a “City of Roses” basket of fruit, which is rose infused pear pâte de fruit.  Sounds yummy!