One More Time!

Hello Everyone!  Since my last blog post did get some attention toward my Kickstarter campaign, I thought I’d come back and try again, since we’re trying again with a new Kickstarter Campaign!

The goal of the last campaign was a bit too big and I wasn’t able to attain that goal.  However, we have now reached the goal for the new campaign and if all continues to go well with it – we’ll successfully take over 52Teas!

As those of you who have read my past reviews are probably aware, I’m a bit of tea freak and this acquisition is a DREAM coming true for me.  I hope that you’ll all support me and help me make this dream a reality!

While we have reached the goal – we still could really use your help in reaching the stretch goals of the campaign.  We want a new website and we need some other equipment and the extra boost of those stretch goals will help make those things happen for me.

So PLEASE – visit my Kickstarter campaign and contribute what you can to help us!

I’ll reward you with some awesome tea!  And really, is there a better reward than tea?

My Thai Snack from Graze

Photo from Graze
Click on the pic to go there.

Product Information:

sweet chilli sauce with baked soy bites

I received a tray of this snack in my December Graze Box.

Tea Suggestion:

I decided that iced tea seemed the ideal choice for this snack.  And since it’s a Thai inspired snack, I went with a lime flavored tea, specifically, this Key Lime Cheesecake flavored Iced Tea from Southern Boy Teas!  The tangy lime and cream cheese notes played perfectly with the spicy-sweet sauce in this snack.

What I Think: 

YUM!  After taking my first bite of this My Thai Snack from Graze, I immediately clicked on the “Love” button on the Graze website.  This snack is the perfect snack for me.   The whole snack tray is just 84 calories, too!

The baked soy ‘bites’ are little rounds that are thicker than a chip – they remind me of “tater tot rounds” which are about a third as tall as a typical tater tot.  These are about the same size as those tater tot rounds.  They are crispy and have a light texture to them.  They are lightly salty, and really, that’s mostly all you taste.  You get a little bit of salt and a whole lot of crunch … but no extraneous flavors to interfere with the delightful taste of the sweet and spicy sauce.

Then again, I’m not eating them without the sauce … so I can’t say with certainty that if I were to focus on the flavor of these soy bites that there wouldn’t be more that I could taste from them.  The sauce is just too amazing to not dip the soy bite into!

The sauce looks a bit like a jelly.  It is sweet and spicy, and there is a delicious balance between these two contrasting notes.  The sweet tastes a bit like a sugared sweetness … not really like honey or other sweetener.  The spiciness comes from the chili pepper (you can see the flakes throughout the sauce).  There is a slight vinegar-y tang to the sauce, and perhaps just a hint of garlic.  But mostly, what I taste is the sweetness and the spiciness of this sauce … and I love it.  I want a jar of this stuff.

My Final Thoughts:

LOVE!  This just may be my favorite snack that I’ve tried from Graze yet.  I’d be thrilled if they sent this my way every single month.  Oh!  And I didn’t let the extra sauce go to waste, either.  We had some chips in the pantry – Original Pringles – which are not as healthy a choice as the soy bites and did add to the calorie count of the snack (probably more calories than I care to know!), but I didn’t want to waste a single bit of this sauce.  I love it.  The chips tasted great with the sauce too.

Alehouse Cheddar Crackers from Castleton Crackers

Product Information:

Castleton Crackers of Vermont never ceases to amaze us with their delicious new crackers. The latest out of Vermont is their Alehouse Cheddar made with local craft ale, cheddar cheese and very mild horseradish mustard. All natural, and hand-made in Vermont.

I received a full sized box of these crackers in my November Knoshbox.

Tea Suggestion:

I chose a mild white tea go to with these crackers.  I wanted something mild because I didn’t want anything to interfere with some of the more nuanced flavors of the cracker and I wanted something cooling to soften the effect of the horseradish mustard.  The horseradish is mild, as the description above states, but, it does build a little bit and the white tea helped to cleanse the palate in between crackers.  I chose this China Mutan White Tea from Mark T. Wendell – and the crackers and tea made for a lovely tea time!

What I Think:

I’ve tried a few different Castleton Crackers since I’ve started this blog.  The first package that I tried were the Windham Wheat crackers, and then I tried the Rutland Rye and the Sesame Graham crackers.  Now we have the Alehouse Cheddar Crackers and these are reaffirming for me why I love this company’s crackers so much.

Not only are they a handcrafted cracker that are made in small batches and obviously broken by hand rather than crafted in an assembly line in a factory somewhere, but the flavor of these crackers just cannot be beat!  You just can’t get this kind of taste in a commercially manufactured cracker.  The crackers not only look like they were made in someone’s home kitchen, but they taste like it too!  You can taste the love in them.

As much as I loved the salty and sweet contrasts of the aforementioned Graham Crackers that I tried most recently from this company, I think that these Alehouse Cheddar might be my new favorite.  It’s surprising to me, really, because I’m not a big fan of alcohol, as I’ve mentioned before, but, I love the way the flavors are represented in these crackers.

I taste the cheddar, but it doesn’t hit me over the head with cheesy flavor.  I taste notes of the ale, but the most intriguing note that captures my interest is the horseradish.  It’s not an overwhelming flavor … it’s in balance with the other notes in the cracker.  But, it is a flavor that builds and after I’ve eaten a couple of crackers my mouth is pleasantly warm and I can feel that enjoyable “burn” in the top of my throat and even that hint of a sting near my eyes and nasal passages that one gets from horseradish.  I love horseradish, so these notes were certainly a welcome surprise to this cracker.  I like that it starts out subtle but the heat builds.

My Final Thoughts:

I really like these crackers.  Then again, I’ve really enjoyed all the different crackers I’ve tried from this company … but I think that the unique layers of flavor in this cracker might just make it my favorite!  They have the cheese, they’ve got some ale flavor, and some horseradish mustard … all that you need is a cup of tea!

My Love With Food Box is Back!

A few months ago, I stopped my subscription with Love with Food mostly because I had fallen so far behind on my product reviews and I didn’t need so many more products coming in … putting me even further behind.  But now that I’m getting caught up, this was a box I wanted to reinstate right away because I missed it.

And for good reason.  I had forgotten just how many treasures Love With Food packs into each and every monthly tasting box!

This month’s box features a guest curator:  Chef Ming Tsai.  I was excited to see what Ming Tsai would put in this month’s box … and there is quite a huge array of goodies in the box this month.

The first two items that I’m really excited about are two “tea bags” of sipping broth from Millie’s Savory Teas.  I previously tried one of these teas/broths and while it wasn’t my favorite “tea” … as a broth, I found it tasty.  In this month’s Love With Food box, there are two flavors that I haven’t yet tried so I look forward to sampling those.   I’m also really excited to try the Bruschetta Dipin Dip!  I love Bruschetta … and I’m looking forward to trying this!

This month’s box also featured a bag of Crunchy Cinnamon Apple Chips from barefruit – a product I’ve previously reviewed, so I won’t be reviewing it again, but I think this is a great opportunity to pass along a healthier “chip” choice to my youngest daughter who recently pledged to start eating healthy.

Also in this month’s box:  A tube of Wild Garden Roasted Garlic Hummus Dip (I previously reviewed the Traditional Hummus Dip), A Gluten Free Blueberry Fruit Bar from BettyLou’s, Cinnamon Crunch from Cosmos Creations, Cherry Berry Raw Cookie from Licious Organics, and Fruit Snacks from YumEarth Organics.

And in case you lost count … that’s TEN items in this month’s box!  Woot!  And given the sheer number of items in the box, it surprises me that there’s only one that I’ve previously tried!  It looks like I picked the right month to start my Love With Food subscription back up!

If you’re interested in subscribing, you can learn more here.

Black Raspberry flavored FruitWater from Glacéau

Product Information:

rich. refreshing.  naturally flavored with just a hint of tartness. taste the burst of billions of bubbles in our sparkling black raspberry flavored fruitwater®. it’s a little tart, a little sweet. all delicious. just like you.

I received a bottle of fruitwater in my July Goodies Box.

What I Think:

So, the first thing that I check out when I get a drink like this in one of my tasting boxes is the label.  Does it contain Aspartame?  No, this product doesn’t, it contains Sucralose … which is still an artificial sweetener but, it isn’t as dangerous to me personally as Aspartame is.  I’m quite allergic to Aspartame, when I consume it, I am pretty much OUT for the day.  I start feeling sick, like I’m going to vomit, and I feel dizzy – well, dizzier than usual! – and I need to lay down.  I’m just NOT good after I consume Aspartame.

But, Sucralose doesn’t affect me that way, so I felt safe cracking open this bottle of fruitwater.  Unfortunately … it still tastes very artificially sweetened.  Icky!

Once my palate can get past that yucky artificial taste, I can taste the berry flavor.  This … on it’s own, beyond the artificial sweetened taste is alright … I think this would actually be something I could drink if it had been sweetened with something like cane sugar or even agave nectar.  As it is, though, I can’t drink much of this, because my palate is just telling me NO!  I suppose I’ll give the rest of this to my husband … he’ll probably love it.

My Final Thoughts:

Didn’t like it enough to even drink half a bottle of it.  The berry flavor would be nice if it was sweetened with something not artificial.  For those who don’t mind that “diet-y” chemical-y taste and aftertaste, I can see the appeal of a drink like this, but me … I’ll stick with my tea, thanks!

Goodies Box for July

Getting caught up!  Yay!

July’s Goodies Box brought something a little new … the box itself!  The box is a little smaller, but, with a smarter design with two compartments which makes it an ideal shipper for the drink that is often included in these boxes.  Usually, the drink is together in the large box area, and it moves around and possibly crushes the food … or, they need to wrap the drink package with bubble wrap to help prevent the crushing of the food.  This new box design keeps the food separate from the drink … and this way, the delicate chips and cookies don’t get crushed!

Cherry Lovers Candies from Gimbal’s

June brought some very intriguing offerings from Goodies Co.  The first item that I tore into was the Cherry Lovers Candies by Gimbal’s Fine Candies.  Overall, these were a really great addition to the goodies box.  Some of the candies were super yummy, while others I found a bit too much on the “too much” side.  Let me explain:  I love Jelly Bellys, however, my least favorite flavors are the cherry flavored ones, because they are just too … tart yet cloyingly sweet – if that makes sense.  That’s what I mean by “too much”.  The Cherry Lovers have nine different flavors:  Cherry Daiquiri (too much), Chocolate Cherry (YUM!), Kiwi Cherry (I only had one of these in my bag, and it wasn’t enough to form an adequate assessment.), Bing Cherry (too much), Wild Cherry (too much), Black Cherry (too much), Cherry Vanilla (Very YUM!), Cherry Cheesecake (my favorite!), and Cherry Cola (another very, very YUM!).  So, as I said, overall, a yummy package of candies … but, some of them were just a bit too much for my liking.

Also in June’s box were Fresh Corn and Sea Salt chips from The Better Chip, Caramel Corn from Cosmos, Original Multi-Seed Crackers from Crunchmaster, and black raspberry flavored fruitwater from Glacéau.  Individual reviews for each of these will be posted later!

Overall, I was a little disappointed by this box, as it seems like there were fewer “goodies” than in past boxes.  However, I did enjoy the Cherry Lovers candies and look forward to trying the other items as well.  Still a great value at $7!

The Goodies Box for June!

Yeah, I’m way behind.  I’ve said it before, and here I am saying it again!  Fortunately, though, the Goodies Box is getting better with arriving in a timely manner.  June’s box arrived on the 27th of June and while it isn’t the biggest deal when the box arrives a day or two (and in some cases three or four!) days after the month is over, I like it when they get their act together and the box comes within the month it should arrive.

This month’s box seems to be all about snacking.  There were six products in this month’s box, including a full-sized tube of STAX Que Rico Adobadas Chips, which I’ve already tried.  These are pretty tasty.  They remind me a lot of Pringles, not just because of the nature of the packaging, but the chips themselves have the same texture and potato taste as Pringles snack chips.  That said, the flavoring of these chips is pretty unique, tasting like a cross between a spicy BBQ and a picante salsa flavor.  These definitely have some kick to them!

The Cheese flavored Pringles Sticks were also tasty.  These remind me a lot of “Cheese It” type crackers, except that they’re long, very slender sticks rather than square crackers.  They’re crunchy, cheesy, and a lot of fun to eat.

The other three products in June’s box include: a sampler package of Duchy Originals Highland Shortbread cookies, Cheddar Jalapeno Pasta Chips from Pastitas, a bottle of “Dream Water,” and Honey Dijon Roasted Seaweed Snacks from Gimme.  That last one is one that makes me a little nervous, because I am not a fan of seaweed.  I’ll try ’em, but I have a feeling I won’t be finishing ’em.  I guess we’ll see!

I can’t say that I’m overly enthused by the contents of this month’s box, although I am interested in trying the Pastitas chips because of their uniqueness factor, and the Dream Water holds some appeal as well.

One thing that I am a little disappointed with is that Goodies has stopped including a product card with their box.  Instead, we get a card that says:

For details about your Taster’s Box and to review or buy, visit http://www.goodies.co/box

This card also includes a promo code for those who want to subscribe without a waiting list.  (So if you want to subscribe without the waiting list – I wasn’t aware that there was a waiting list! – just be the first to comment on this review, include your email address, and I’ll email you with the promo code.  

But I preferred getting the product card that told me a little bit about each product.  This new card gives the box a much more “generic” sort of feel.

It’s still the best “bargain” tasting box that I’ve found … even if the products aren’t as gourmet as what I’d find with some of the other subscriptions I’ve tried.

My Goodies Box for April arrived … before May!

Yeah, I’m just late writing about it!  I’m behind writing about EVERYTHING … but I hope to get caught up eventually.

April’s Goodies Box has all been devoured by now, with the exception of the Raspberry Acai Celsius beverage.  And since I’ve already eaten nearly all the April box, rather than writing individual reviews on each of these, I’ll just tell you my thoughts briefly on each of the products here.

The first product I tore into was the Sea Salt MultiGrain Sweet Potato Chips from Green Giant.  These are pretty darned tasty.  I loved the multi-grain aspect of these … they ended up tasting a lot like “Sun Chips” but with a sweet potato taste that made them better than most other multi-grain chips.  These are something I will definitely keep my eye out for when grocery shopping!

Next up was the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Zone Perfect Nutrition Bar.  I love cookie dough, and the consistency of this nutrition bar … before biting in to it … was very much like cookie dough, so I had high hopes for this.  But, unfortunately, after I bit into the bar and started chewing … the texture became very “diet food” like.  It tasted alright, but it wasn’t something that inspired me to want to buy another bar.  It wasn’t what I’d call tasty … it was acceptable, but the texture made it less than enjoyable to eat.

Then I tasted the Apricot Almond Chai True Bar.  This is seriously yummy!  The spice in this is very distinct and I like that.  Lots of cardamom, ginger and cinnamon!  The cardamom is especially nice here, it has a slight citrus-y tone that compliments the apricot very well.  Lots of crunch to this bar, and a whole lot of flavor.  The apricot comes through nicely.  The texture is crunchy and I like that it didn’t feel overly sticky to the fingers. This will be something that I’ll want again and again – definitely one of the very best energy/health bars I’ve ever tasted.

Angie’s Sweet & Salty Popcorn is an entirely different story all together.  I really enjoyed this tasty snack.  The popcorn is light and crispy, the sweet coating on the kernels isn’t a heavy one – it’s lightly sweet, but, there is enough of an almost-caramel-y taste there that makes me think of a salted caramel without being too cloying.  It’s a nice alternative to the overly sweet snack.

The last product that I’ve tried from this box are the Olomomo Chai Bliss Almonds.  I LOVE THESE … and it’s not just because they’re chai-ishly flavored.  They are delicious and crunchy and sweet and spicy and just about everything I want from a snack (except possibly, they’re not chocolate.  What can I say, at the end of the day, I’m still a chocoholic!) I could snack on these every day … and my only real complaint about this “goodie” from my Goodie Box is that the package was so small, and it was just a handful of Chai Bliss goodness.  This is something I WILL hunt down and get more of!

Overall, I really enjoyed my April Box, and as I said, some products were more memorable than others.  I haven’t yet tried the Celsius drink, but, when I do, I’ll post a review of it.  Until then … maybe I’ll get May’s Goodie Box article posted!  ha!

Hazelnut Cream Soda from Mt. Angel Brewing Company

Product Description:

THE WILLIAMETTE VALLEY IS ALSO KNOWN FOR ITS WIDE VARIETY OF NUTS. AMONG THE MOST POPULAR IS THE HAZELNUT. KNOWN AROUND THE WORLD FOR ITS QUALITY AND GREAT NUTTY FLAVOR IT IS USED IN EVERY TYPE OF DESSERT POSSIBLE. WE HAVE TAKEN THE HAZELNUT EXTRACT AND CREATED A UNIQUE TASTE IN THE SODA WORLD. SMOOTH, CREAMY AND NUTTY IT IS BEYOND A DOUBT A GREAT ALTERNATIVE FOR YOUR SODA TASTES.

Learn more about Mt. Angel Brewing Company on their website.

What I Think:

I happened upon this bottle of soda while dining in a Portland restaurant.  I had never heard of hazelnut soda before, and I was definitely intrigued!  I love hazelnuts, and while I’m not a big fan of soda pop (I much prefer tea!), I will occasionally indulge in a soda now and then, usually when I find something interesting and unique like this Hazelnut Cream Soda!

And it certainly is unique, although there is something quite familiar about it too.  It has a base flavor of vanilla cream soda – a really rich, delicious vanilla cream soda with an emphasis on the VANILLA!  Very sweet, very creamy, and tastes a bit like a ice cream soda … imagine having an ice cream soda with a big scoop of real vanilla ice cream that has melted in the soda … that’s what this tastes like!  Yummy vanilla goodness.

But let’s not forget about the hazelnut, because that’s in there too!  The hazelnut melds beautifully with the vanilla tones, to create a sweet and nutty, slightly toasty flavor that perfectly complements the flavor of the vanilla.

My Final Thoughts:

This is really, really good.  I mean, I was fairly confident that I’d enjoy this, but, I didn’t realize what a treat I was in for with this soda.   As I’ve said many times before, I’m not a big soda enthusiast, but, if I found this while shopping I might pick up a bottle for one of those special times when I want something sweet and fizzy.

Abella Italian Kitchen

I was so excited when Living Social offered this deal that I ordered without even stopping to check where Abella Italian Kitchen was located … Wilsonville?  Yikes!  My husband has been really awesome about taking me to these different restaurants but he doesn’t really like it when I select a place that’s outside Portland.  So, I asked my daughter to join me instead, and I had a nice luncheon with her. 

Broiled Polenta

Location:  8309 SW Main Street, Wilsonville, Oregon

Order:  For an appetizer, we ordered the Broiled Polenta ($6.95).  I ordered the Chicken Piccata entree ($13.95) and a refreshing glass of Marionberry Lemonade.

What I Think:

It was such a lovely day when we visited Abella Italian Restaurant that we decided to dine outside on the patio.  Our server, Cody, was an exceptionally nice and attentive server.  Very friendly and personable.  If you’ve been reading many of my restaurant reviews, you know that I don’t make it a habit to comment on the service unless it really stands out for being either very good or very bad … here, it was VERY good.

My daughter ordered the Chicken Caesar Salad and she loved it!

We were served our drinks right away, and the Marionberry Lemonade was really good.  I liked that while it was a little on the sweeter side than your typical lemonade (thanks to the marionberries), it wasn’t too sweet.  Cody told us that he makes the marionberry puree himself with fresh marionberries, and the freshness of these berries could be tasted.  A nice balance between sweet and tart, and I enjoyed it so much that I’d revisit this restaurant for nothing more but a glass of the refreshing lemonade.

The Broiled Polenta was delicious.  The polenta was creamy on the inside with a slight crispiness from the broiled crust.  The gorgonzola cheese added a palate-pleasing tangy note to the dish, and the tomato sauce tasted freshly made.
I found it to be very filling, though, I think I would have been satisfied to order just this as my luncheon appetizer.

But then, I wouldn’t have had the Chicken Piccata, and really, this was the highlight of the lunch.  Not the service (which was exemplary), not the lemonade (which was stunning), not even the polenta that I enjoyed so much.  The Chicken Piccata outshined everything, and really, isn’t that what you want when you visit a restaurant?  For your entree to be the crowning moment of the event?

The best Chicken Picatta I’ve ever had.

I love Chicken Piccata anyway, it’s one of my favorite dishes, but it’s one that sometimes just isn’t done right.  Even when it’s not done right, it is still good, but, it isn’t something that I’d sing praises over like I’m doing with this dish.  The chicken was so tender it seemed to melt in my mouth, and the sauce was a perfect balance of flavors and textures.  I could taste the garlic and the touch of wine, it was buttery and sweet and the capers gave it just the right amount of salty taste.  The pasta was cooked al dente and the sauce was a creamy delight.  It was a medley of flavor and texture.  Sublime!

My Final Thoughts:

While the place is a little pricy, if I had the chance to visit again (hopefully another Living Social voucher will come my way!) I would.  And, while I’d like to say that I’d explore the menu and try something new, I probably wouldn’t.  The Chicken Piccata was just too good, I would order it again in a heartbeat.  Perhaps my exploration will take place with the appetizer!