One last Spain post for my foodies…

I just wanted to share some of the food I DEVOURED in Spain for those of you who live to eat…

I promise I’ll be quick!

A simple lunch…

Followed by a decadent dinner…

Tomato and goat cheese salad

Beef carpaccio with sheep’s-milk cheese

Tuna carpaccio with pink peppercorn and dill

Filet mignon with foie

Vanilla bean panna cotta with black currants…

Me pre-FACESTUFF

Me in action!

Grilled calamari for another yummy lunch…

A little scampi party…

Tasty tapas…

That is all! I hope you salivated at least a little!

Next up: LONG overdue Nashville Trip posts!!!

Food Review: Ryvita Pumpkin Seeds & Oats Crispbread

I grabbed this on a PMS whim at the store a few months ago because it was still Autumn-ish outside and this sounded like something that I could use as a vehicle to consume cheese.

I also hopped on the pumpkin craze bandwagon this year, so I was curious to see how far it would take me.

Other than being slightly cardboardish, these are very much like Triscuits, but better, and not salty (which I was very happy about)
Triscuits are for losers.
They give me headaches with all that godforsaken salt.
These are fancy UK Triscuits for grown-ups.
These were hearty, nutty, and served their purpose dutifully.
There are also a ton of flavors….
http://www.ryvita.co.uk/

REVIEW: Archer Farms Honey Mustard Savory Pretzels!!

Behold! The most delicious salty pretzel-oriented snack I have come across in recent history.
I give you, with great pleasure and yellow-mustard-dust-covered fingers,
Archer Farms Honey Mustard Savory Pretzels!

If you don’t like Honey Mustard than this isn’t for you.
If you don’t like having fun or delectable bite-sized snacks, then this is also probably not for you.
If you are at all any sort of “hater” or are generally disliked by your peers then I dare say this palatial wonder is not for you.
If you are against devouring an entire bag of crunchy and perfectly seasoned pieces of pretzel heaven, then I must say this is indeed not for you.
(And on top of that, we are friends no more!)
Which, is totally okay with me, because it means that Target will never ever run out of Honey Mustard Pretzels, and I don’t have to deal with your irritating snack-disliking nonesene!
So, c’mon mustard lovers of the blogosphere…gaze with me now at the glorious mustard love dust!

Let’s all drool together in unison while simultaneously chanting praise for the greatness that is the union of mustard and pretzels!
Louder! LOUDER!
FEEL THE GLORY OF THE MARRIAGE OF SALTY AND SWEET!!
ARE YOU FEELIN IT!?
Okay. Okay.
That’s pretty good.

REVIEW: CHOBANI NON-FAT GREEK YOGURT

It is no secret if you keep up with my food blog that I’m a huge Greek Yogurt advocate.
Fage yogurt is one on my favorite things to snack on when I need something sweet and healthy.
I did a review not too long ago expressing my affection for its whipped and tart deliciousness.
And then I took a glamour shot of us together so I would remember our love always:

You can read the FAGE review that I did here:
http://gimmeyummy.wordpress.com/2009/01/14/fage-will-you-go-to-the-dance-with-me/
Just in case you have been living under a rock, greek yogurt is creamy, tart, fluffy, and packed with protein. It taunts you with its palate teasing yogurty goodness and leaves you crying into your plastic yogurt container when it’s all gone.
I was curious as to whether my devotion to Fage could be tainted by another yogurt brand so when I was in Whole Foods Market last week, I decided to try Chobani brand greek yogurt.
(which unlike Fage comes in a non-fat with fruit version)
I tried their Blueberry offering.
It was kind of scary looking until I stirred it up.

Chobani has the distinct tart taste of greek yogurt, but the consistency is not much different from regular Yoplait yogurt.

Chobani is delicious and creamy, although not at all thick and fluffy at all like my beloved Fage.
Regardless of the lack of fluff, the texture was nice and smooth and there were actually whole berries in the yogurt (not just sugar-laden puree).

Chabani is seriously tasty stuff.
It was tart, sweet, and much better that traditional yogurt.
Alas, I need that thick fluffy action in my yogurt.
I’m not sure I can go back to regular-textured yogurt now.
Fage has basically ruined other yogurt for me.
Isn’t that the tell tale sign of true love?

Check out Chobani’s website and coupon offer here: http://www.chobani.com/

REVIEW: Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds

I have worked at a moderately fancy restaurant in Downtown Nashville for many years now and typically we always have a door guy opening doors for guests and thanking them as they leave. About a year and a half ago our door guy quit and we just never got a new one. I don’t think it really matters too terribly much either way, but we finally hired a new one (Ernie) and although I’m clearly indifferent about his job position he came bearing great snacking magic tucked away in a ziplock baggy in his suit jacket and has thusly changed my life via Cocoa Roast Almonds.

Simply combine the flavor profile of Almonds with the after taste of cocoa puffs.
Voila!
The amazing thing to me is that they only have one gram of sugar. The almonds are literally just caked in cocoa powder.

No high fructose corn blah blah blah….just real deal cocoa! And they are real deal delicious. But maybe not so inexpensive….
Ernie buys them in a giant tub at Sam’s Club for like 10 bucks. I bought this little container at Harris Teeter for 7 bucks. So yeah, try them first and when you fall in love (AND YOU WILL) go to Sam’s club and save yourself some green or get someone you know who has a membership to grab them for you on their next outing!
(I guess Ernie can stay after all.)

Siamese chip

P1070806, originally uploaded by Jamie Susan.

Of course I plucked this out of a just-opened bag of organic tortilla chips. I can’t get away from twins!!!
Still, I thought it was pretty special.
It’s extra tortilla-span makes it the perfect vessel for delivering more guacamole into my face.

REVIEW: Archer Farms Salsa & Tortilla chips & sweet revenge

As previously noted with much disappointment, my dear, sweet (perpetually starving) pup, “Nina” decided to taste test 80% of my delicious breakfast the other morning and I have been trying to come up with a way to get back at her ever since. Revenge seeking on a dog is not easy, but I got lucky.

I am actively trying to test out as many of the Target Brand “Archer Farms” offerings as possible since falling in love with their amazing trail mixes & dried fruits recently….

It has been ballsweat hot outside recently which makes me crave refreshing snacks..
SO I BOUGHT SOME CHIPS & SALSA!!
Mango Peach (which is apparently organic!?)

AND
Corn, Black Bean, and Roasted Red Pepper

I realized that my doggies were watching me intently (especially Nina) as I took pictures of the salsa jars and decided that I might have a little fun with the salsa-on-chip shots.

Let’s start with the Mango Peach salsa:

Please note the gorgeous chunks of fruit sparkling on the crunchy multigrain tortilla chip.
And then also note Nina’s much-tortured “want!” doggie expression as she wishes upon sweet velvet wish that I will drop my treasure directly into her mouth!
HA! Not this time Nina Bear!

Okay so onto the Corn, Blackbean, and Roasted Red Pepper salsa:

Pay close attention to the chunky veggies present in this salsa, and then make sure to notice my other curious pup Sake ready to get in on the action!

Other than the super entertaining albeit semi-cruel teasing of my pups, the salsa was ho-hum when it came to living up to the “medium” level of heat the label promised.
Both salsas were flavorful and satisfying, but lacked that extra “yeehaw” that I prefer.
The tortilla chips are delicious and crunchy and have the perfect level of saltiness.
(which really made the Mango Peach Salsa stand out!)

Despite the lack of piss-your-pants-spice, I will probably get these flavors again because I was pretty impressed with the freshness of the taste and the chunky action.
More Archer Farms reviews soon!!

Blueberry Muffin

P1070339, originally uploaded by Jamie Susan.

Although I work in a restaurant and it would make sense that I’d just drink free coffee here and forget about wasting the $20 a week on triple-shot skinny caramel iced lattes, the coffee at my work tastes like pencil shavings and dust bunnies and is hereby undrinkable. I will stick with my luxuriously divine (albeit crazy expensive) espresso drinks thankyouverymuch.. (For now anyway while I still have a job and can afford to splurge)
This past Saturday I went to one of my favorite coffee places in East Nashville, Portland Brew. I ordered my usual stupid-fancy drink and decided on a whim that an overcast day such as this particular day could be much improved by eating a delicious muffin.
I then snatched up a gorgeous blueberry muffin, paid, and sped away to work.
I drank my coffee so fast it would have been silly to take a picture. But the muffin was so pretty and quirky I had to share it. It was really rich and creamy and the baker must have used a pound of butter! (eeeeeeekkk!)
I prefer lighter muffins, but the large fresh blueberries helped balance the heaviness of my muffin and totally won me over. Check out Portland Brew for tasty coffee & treats!http://www.portlandbrewcoffee.com/

REVIEW: A True Delight? hmmmmmm.

I get a lot of free samples of new food products in the mail and usually they get eaten so quickly that they don’t quite make it into the ol’ gimmeyummy. So when I got a free Quaker True Delights granola bar in the mail I vowed to hang onto it until I could devote time to review it properly.
The first thing I’m going to say is that I totally dig the packaging. Very sexy for a granola bar. Maybe the type of granola bar you are supposed to eat in bed after a raunchy night of hot spank?

Even the flavor combination is sexy. Raspberries=sexy. Dark chocolate=very sexy. Almonds? sure…sexy….whatever…
And especially the name….”True Delights.” (officially seeing a pattern here.)
Okay, so I open the package and am immediately pleased with the amount and size of the “raspberries” and chocolate chunks jutting out of the the granola bar.

I’m starting to realize that this granola bar is mostly chocolate and definitely trying to get in my pants.
Let’s eat this bad boy!
I take a bite…..chew…..ponder the taste for a second, and suddenly the flavor gives me a strong sweeping wave of childhood nostalgia….
but I can’t quite place it….a weird sort of tangy faux-raspberry taste…slightly medicinal…oddly pleasant and the same time disgustingly misplaced next to the chocolate….hmmmmm….

And then the light bulb goes on, and I understand what I’m tasting.
Flinstones vitamins!! Specifically the raspberry flavored ones.

If you look closely at the picture of the granola bar you’ll see little red flecks speckled amongst the oats & chocolate chunks.
That must be the culprit for the vitamin taste.
And all I can think is…”How weird….do they not have taste testers at Quaker that attempt to prevent this kind of fuck-up?”

So, needless to say I’m met with a bit of confusion concerning this granola bar.
It isn’t BAD per se, but I think maybe I only feel that way because I LOVE Flinstones vitamins?
I’m truly perplexed over this one. At first I just thought the granola bar was going to delight me in a naughty, decadent, and foodporn kinda way.
And now I just wish I had eaten a handful of children’s vitamins instead of this granola bar.
Less calories, much more nutritionally beneficial, and tastes much better.

Look, its not the worst granola bar I’ve ever had, but the raspberry aspect was done poorly, it was really strange, and I didn’t finish it.
I would not reccommend this one folks….