My Knoshy Box has Arrived – and Guess What? It’s Tea Time!!!

Yay!

OK, so I’m really behind on my posts.  I’ve got a few posts hanging out in the draft section of my dashboard, just waiting for me to put the finishing touches on them.  But, I had to put this post ahead of the rest, because … IT’S TEA TIME!

I don’t know if the great minds at Knoshy actually read my blog.  I hope they do.  But, I’ve been mentioning in several box announcement posts about my desire for a tea time box.  They’ve finally given me my heart’s desire!  The theme for this month’s box is Tea Time!

So, the first thing that needs to be in a Tea Time box is tea, right?  And what better company to select a tea from for this box than Steven Smith Teamaker?  There’s a full box of Lord Bergamot (one of my very favorite Earl Grey teas – in the top three – of all time!) and even though they’re sachets – tea tastes better when it’s loose leaf! – I won’t ding ’em for going with the sachets.  I understand … I get it … not a lot of people know what to do with loose leaf tea.

They also included a package of Amsterdam Wafel cookies from Rip Van Wafels.  I’ve had these before, and they’re totally yum.  I’m glad they’re in this box.  There is also a package of my favorite shortbread cookie baker – Lark Fine Foods!  These are Sweet and Savory Olive cookies.  Interesting.

Finally, there’s a jar of You’re My Boy BLUE-berry Bourbon Jam from the Jam Stand.  This sounds like a seriously yummy jam … it would be spectacular on scones.  I might have to make some scones soon to try it out.

I’m thrilled with this month’s box!  Thank you, Knoshy!

Key Lime Pie snack from Graze

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

Snack Ingredients:

lime infused raisins, sponge pieces, mini meringues and green raisins

I received this snack in my February box from Graze.

Tea Suggestion:

When I eat pie, I like to sip on hot black tea.  And even though this is a snack mix and not technically “pie” – I decided to brew myself a cup of Malty Assam Tea from Tea People.  A really lovely pairing!

What I Think:

YUM!  This might just be my favorite snack that I’ve gotten from Graze yet!

There are two different kinds of raisins:  dark raisins that have been infused with lime, and green raisins.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen “green raisins” before.  They look like gold raisins to me, and taste like them.  Sweet and plump.  The lime infused raisins are my favorite of the two raisins though, I love the bright, citrus-y note they add to this snack mix.

The sponge … isn’t as sponge-y as I recall other ‘sponge’ from graze to be.  These are actually crunchy … like a Nilla wafer.  Tasty and they add a pie crust flavor to the mix.

I love the meringue!  Crisp and light and airy!

This snack is fun to eat when I put one of each element into my hand and eat it all at once … it is very “key lime pie” ish!  But I also enjoy popping each item into my mouth individually and exploring the flavors.

If I were to change anything about this particular snack, it would be to have more lime flavor to it.  Maybe there could be some lime in the meringue bits or the cookie bits.

My Final Thoughts:

I “loved” this snack on my Graze account.  I hope they send it to me again soon.  I’d be happy to have it in every box.

Cookies & Cream Snack from Graze

Ingredients:

mini chocolate cookies, roasted hazels, white chocolate buttons and sunflower seeds

I received this snack in my January Graze Box.

Tea Suggestion:

This was a yummy tea time snack with a cup of single estate black tea like this Lovers Leap Estate Indigo from Eden Grove.  The tea is a flavorful Ceylon and the rich flavor complemented the tasty Cookies & Cream concept of this snack.

What I Think:

This is a tasty “trail mix” like snack that is different from any trail mix that I’ve ever tasted.

First, you have tiny little crunchy chocolate cookies that are quite yummy on their own, but also tasty when you eat them with any of the other ingredients too.  They’re crunchy and sweet, but not too dense or hard.  Quite delightful to pop in the mouth and eat … a box of these would be gone in short time, so it’s a good thing that I have a limited quantity in front of me.

Then there are nickle-sized discs of white chocolate.  Creamy and yummy.  White chocolate is not my favorite way to eat chocolate, but, I like these little discs and they add a tasty “creamy” element to the cookies & cream idea behind this snack.

There are lots of sunflower kernels to this snack and that’s quite alright with me.  I don’t know that I’ve ever eaten a cookie with sunflower seed kernels in them … but, I like the crunchy, nutty sweetness that these seeds bring to the “party.”

There are even a few hazelnuts, and these are a nice addition too.  Crunchy and delicious, I love to eat one and then pop one of the cookies in my mouth, it’s a tasty flavor combination.

Neither the hazelnuts nor the sunflower kernels were particularly salty, and I found myself wishing that there was a bit more salt factor to this sweet snack because I love the combination of salty and sweet.

My Final Thoughts:

I “liked” this one.   It’s not my favorite snack from Graze, but, I enjoyed it enough to want to have it again on occasion.

My January Love with Food Box is here!

The theme of this month’s Love with Food box is “Wake Up To a New Year!”  And there were so many tasty things to “wake up to” in this box, and I just couldn’t wait to start digging in to some of them…

The first thing that I dug into was the bag of Lightly Salted Almonds from Blue Diamond Almonds.  I enjoyed these.  They’re almonds with less salt. No salty residue on my fingers after I ate these, and I also like that the whole bag was just 100 calories!  I don’t know how popular this particular variety of almond would be in my household though … my hubby and daughter are in the bad habit of liking a little bit of food with their salt.

The next thing I tried was the three candies from from Lovely Candies.  These start out with a texture that is similar to Starburst candies, but they taste juicier and fruitier … and less “waxy” than Starburst.  I like these a lot!  These are something I’d definitely like to have again.

I’ve also tried the Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies from Home Free.  These are tiny, crunchy little cookies that are gluten-free, whole grain, nut free, and appear to be vegan (no eggs or dairy).  Sadly, they’re also kind of … taste free.  They didn’t taste horrible, but they weren’t tasty either.  They just were … rather boring, and not something that I’d be sad if I never ate again.

I also quickly gobbled up the Organic Berry Berry Chewy Granola Bar from Annie’s Homegrown.  I think what I liked best about this bar is the “berry berry” part – it seems like most of the granola bars that I encounter tend to be focused on chocolate or nuts, and while there’s nothing wrong with that, I liked tasting the berries in this bar.  It wasn’t a sticky bar and had a chewy texture and there was some crunch to it too.  A satisfying granola bar.

Other items in this month’s box include:  Multi-Grain Sea Salt Skinny Sticks from Hi I’m Skinny, Banana Split Baby Mama Drama from Mama’s Magic Mix, Orange Fruit Bar from Oskri, Columbia Supremo from Coffee Borsa, Pretzo Change-O and Original Milk Chocolate Squares from Jer’s Chocolates.  I’ll be sampling these items at a later time, and writing individual reviews for them, with the exception of the coffee because I don’t do coffee!  I was able to find this coffee a home with a friend of mine who does enjoy coffee, and she enjoyed this.

This month’s box was jam-packed full of goodies!  Yay!

Whole Grain Espresso Chip Shortbread Cookies from Lark Fine Foods

The Holiday Trio box has three different cookies in it: to the left is the burnt sugar and fennel cookies, the middle is the salted rosemary, and the right is the espresso chip.

Product Information:

100% whole wheat shortbread with espresso and chocolate chips

I received the Lark Holiday Trio box which included these cookies in my December Knoshy Box!

Tea Suggestion:

When I have shortbread cookies, I like to have a rich black tea to go along with … perfect for dipping!  I chose This English Breakfast Tea from Tea of Life to drink with these cookies.  Yum!

What I Think:

OK, I am not a fan of coffee.  No, that’s not completely accurate.  I used to be a big fan of coffee, but, I realized at some point that it was that morning cup of java that was making me feel ill around 11 am every day.  And what I’m not a big fan of is feeling ill.

So, I stopped drinking coffee and started drinking more tea.  At the time that I was drinking coffee, I was also drinking tea but I was more of an occasional tea drinker.  I fell in love with tea and the rest is history.

So, whenever I’m encountered with stuff that … has coffee or coffee products in it (and espresso is coffee) I tend to be a bit … leery of it.  And so I was leery of these shortbread cookies.  But, I do love the other cookies I’ve tried from Lark so I  was hopeful.

And these are tasty.  A strong coffee taste to them and notes of chocolate.  I wish there was more chocolate but every once in a while, I get a bite with big chocolate flavor and I like that.  I love the texture of these cookies.  Lark manages to nail the shortbread texture perfectly in their cookies.  It’s sort of flaky and layer-y and buttery and crumbly … and just plain WOW!

My Final Thoughts:

These were tasty.  Of the different Lark cookies that I’ve tried, I’d have to say that these were my least favorite, but that’s because of the espresso.  I would have much rather had the spiced chocolate krinkles cookies from Lark … they sound amazing!  However, these cookies do get bonus points for being made with whole wheat.  It makes me think I’m eating healthy when I know that I’m not.  But, the illusion helps me feel less guilty … somehow.  So, I liked them … but didn’t love them as much as I’ve loved the other Lark cookies.  Still real good though.

Sugar Cookie Marshmallows from Wondermade

Product Information:

What would Christmas be without sugar cookies? We’ve sugar cookied our marshmallows so you can sugar cookie your tea, your hot chocolate or just your afternoon snacks.

What I Think:

As you might remember, I was introduced to this handmade marshmallow company by Knoshy in my November Knoshbox.  After visiting the Wondermade website, I decided I had to try their Christmas Gift Set of Marshmallows, which includes their Bourbon flavored Marshmallows, Honey flavored Marshmallows (which is only available in this Christmas set), Peppermint flavored Marshmallows, and these Sugar Cookie flavored Marshmallows.

These … are amazing.  They taste like marshmallows, of course, but I can definitely taste the sugar cookie element too.  I can taste a cookie dough-like flavor.  It’s not a strong, overwhelming presence, but its there.

The marshmallow itself tastes like a vanilla marshmallow.  Like what we think of when we think “marshmallow,” but with the added dimension of sugar cookie-ish flavor.  YUM!

And of course, the marshmallow is infinitely better than anything you’ll ever taste from a supermarket.  Trust me, if you haven’t yet tried a homemade marshmallow, once you do try one, you’ll never go back to the mass-produced stuff they sell in the grocery store!

My Final Thoughts:

These are delicious right out of the package.  That’s how I ate my first few … but then I made myself stop and save the rest for a cup of hot chocolate. They make a good, steaming cup of hot cocoa taste even better, and I was surprised that I could even taste the sugar cookie-ness of these when they were submerged in the hot chocolate!  It’s certainly more subdued in the presence of the chocolate, but, the flavor does come through.  YUM!

Chocolate Dipped Madeleine from Donsuemor

Photo from the Donsuemor website.
Click on the pic to go there.

Product Information:

Our soft, moist Traditional madeleines dipped in a chocolate coating. Savor the contrast in texture and taste. These beautiful madeleines are a decadent and harmonious treat.

I received one of these Madeleine cookies in my December Love with Food box!

Tea Suggestion:

I decided to enjoy a chai with this madeleine cookie, and the chai that I reached for today was this Coconut Chai Tea from Zhi Tea.  I liked how the creamy coconut melded with the buttery cake-like cookie, and how the black tea and spices seemed to bring out the flavor of the dark chocolate.  Really delightful.

What I Think:

YUM!

When I look at a Madeleine cookie, I always expect them to be a crunchy cookie (I don’t know why!) but these are so soft and cake-like!  I suppose because they look to me like a cookie that has been pressed through a cookie press (although I know that they’ve been baked in a mold).

So, no, they aren’t a crunchy cookie, these are light and soft, with a delicious buttery taste.  It has a rich flavor, but there is a certain delicateness to it too.  It seems to melt in my mouth when I bite into it.

The cookie on its own is quite a treat, but then to dip it in dark, rich chocolate – oh yum!  It becomes quite a heavenly little treat.

My Final Thoughts: 

Love these.  I would buy these without a second thought if I saw them in the store.

Molasses Spice Cookies from Grey Ghost Bakery

Picture from Love with Food.
Click on the pic to go there.

Product Information:

Old-fashioned flavor with a modern kick. Molasses, ginger, and vanilla combine to create a year-round chewy molasses treat reminiscent of crisp fall days, perfect with a glass of ice-cold milk.

I received a packet of these cookies in my December Love with Food box.

Tea Suggestion:

Because these cookies had a sweet and spicy taste to them, I wanted to go with a pure black tea that would allow me to experience the flavors within the cookies.  I chose this Golden Yunnan from In Pursuit of Tea, and together the cookies and tea made for a really delicious tea time treat.

What I Think:

These soft, delicious molasses cookies are the perfect cookie for this time of year.  It just tastes like Christmastime … it tastes like the holidays.  They are sweet and spicy, not quite as spicy as gingerbread cookies, but there are notes of ginger in these that provide a nice little kick.

I like the texture of these cookies.  The cookie itself is soft, but the sugar crystals on top of the cookie (they appear to have been “rolled” in raw sugar) give a little bit of crackly crunch to each bite.  There is a bit of a zesty, peppery bite to the cookies, but, the spice is countered by the sweetness of the molasses.

My Final Thoughts:

Like I said before:  these cookies taste like the holidays.  They were a delicious addition to my Love with Food box for December.  These cookies are definitely something I’d consider purchasing again!

My December Love with Food Box has arrived, and …

And it looks like I hit the jackpot!

Wowza!

Not only did this month’s Love with Food box include TEN appetizing goodies, but, also a tote/grocery bag with a Love with Food Logo on it.  Yay!  And all of this fit into the one box.  Amazing.

The first thing I noticed in this box was the sweet potato chips from Food Should Taste Good.  I’ve seen these in my grocery store and I’ve been eyeing them, and I’m glad that I have the opportunity to try them.  (Interestingly, this is the one item that isn’t on the product card or listed on the website as part of this month’s box, but it is shown in the photograph.)

Then I saw this cute marshmallow called a MaddyMelt from Madyson’s Marshmallows.  It is round and flat, and created to fit atop a mug of hot chocolate perfectly.  I can’t wait to try this with the All Natural Drinking Chcoolate from Les Confitures a l’Ancienne, also in this month’s box.

And speaking of chocolate … there is plenty of chocolate to be enjoyed in this month’s box:  there’s a white chocolate candy bar called Snow Angell Candy Bar from Betty Lou’s

The snow Angell bar is tasty, but, I found it a bit too sweet for my liking.  I think if I were selecting the items for this box, I would have gone with the “Dark Angell” candy bar.  But I get why the Snow Angell was chosen, since this is the Christmas box.  I do like that there are oats in this candy bar – a little bit different, and it makes the filling in this bar a little less sweet than “nougat” in commercially manufactured candy bars.

There’s also an Excellence 70% chocolate diamond from Lindt, and a chocolate dipped Madeleine cookie from Donsaemor.

Another cookie in this month’s box seemed perfect for the season:  Molasses Spice Cookies from Grep Ghost Bakery.  Another perfect season choice is a package of Peppermints from St. Claire’s Organics.

The peppermints are nice and minty.  Sweet but not too sweet.  I found them to be a soothing remedy for after something spicy, not just did it calm my breath but also my tummy.

And rounding out the box with some savory selections are the Natural Crispbread Crackers from 34 Degrees and a package of Spinach Dip Mix from Dessert Gardens.

See what I mean?  Wowza!  What a box!

Rosemary & Pink Sea Salt Shortbread Cookies from Dancing Deer Baking Co.

Sorry that I’ve not been posting over the last few days … I had a bad ’bout with food poisoning, of all things!  UGH!  It wasn’t fun.  I’m feeling much better now, so I thought I’d go through some of my drafts and finish up a couple of them to keep the reviews coming.  

Product Information:

Without even opening the bag, you can already smell the sweet Rosemary seeping through the wrapper. The playful balance of aromas makes this savory shortbread a perfect companion with an array of cheese and meat plates, or for a quick sweet snack, try adding a thin layer of strawberry jam.

I received one of these cookies in my November Love with Food Box.

Tea Suggestion:

Because of the sweet and savory flavors already present within these cookies, I wanted to choose a tea that would complement that.  Something that was neither too sweet nor too savory, and nothing that was too polarizing a flavor that might rob my palate of the joy of the flavors of this cookie.  I chose this amazing black tea from Joseph Wesley:  No. 03 Classic Chinese Black.  This tea is more sweet than savory, certainly, but, the sweetness of the tea helped to enhance the sweet, buttery notes of the cookie in a delightful way.  A delectable pairing.

What I Think:

Yum!  When I opened the package, I took a sniff and the rosemary is strong!

These shortbread cookies are a delicious balance of sweet and savory.  The shortbread is sweet and buttery tasting, with a delectable, delicate shortbread texture that I really like.  I’ve tried other cookies from this company before, and I can’t recall ever being disappointed by what I’ve tried from them, but this one might be the best one I’ve tried.  I love the contrast between the sweet and savory!

The rosemary and sea salt cut through the sweetness to keep the savory tones lingering into the aftertaste … these are just slightly more savory than sweet, but I like the way it works.

My Final Thoughts:  

A really delicious cookie and a nice alternative to the usual sweet shortbread cookie that one might enjoy during tea time.  I like the savory elements of this cookie.  If I must offer one complaint, then it would be that as I ate this cookie,  I did come across one single abrasive rosemary leaf that had not been crushed and obliterated, and while I do love the flavor of rosemary, I don’t love the prickly feel of the leaves when they get between my teeth.  But really, this is such a small issue for me and I enjoyed the cookie way too much to let that stop me from enjoying these in the future.