Let's check it out and see if I should take the plunge.
CinnaFuego is old news, so I wasn't going to blog about it...until I found out how unpopular it was. I knew I had to post something to clear it's good name.What is CinnaFuego?
Confused by the title? It's referencing a song that has been stuck in my head for over 20 years! I swore that I must have heard it on the radio. Nope! It was actually from a 1991 Barbie cassette tape! I FOUND IT! (I freaking love YouTube!) I even found the full album, including the She's got the Look cover, 19:17!
Anyway, I love chai, and was actually looking into buying some spices and making it at home from scratch, which is fairly easy to do, but I spotted this at Trader Joe's and thought I would treat myself to a little laziness.
I'm hoping that this will be good!
Spicy switch-up with some spooky Sriracha Doritos!Sriracha has returned from the retired-flavor-graveyard, so it's not new-new, but like Dots, I never got around to reviewing it, so why not do it now when it's all dressed up for Halloween?Look at this bag! It packs a lot of playfulness into a simple layout. We have a flaming-red Dorito that casts a tall shadow in the shape of a bottle of sriracha. It's giving me looming Nosferatu and Bram Stoker's Dracula-vibes. Putting the final nail in the coffin, there's a classic horror-drip font, in bright green, with hints of texture. All of these factors come together to create a surprisingly sophisticated Halloween package. So unassuming, yet, so perfect.
Boo! After copious amounts of overtime at my day job, getting sick, getting better, and turning another year older, I'm back! Ready to make up for lost time with a new post every day from now until Halloween! (AND a special live stream with a friend of mine on her channel closer to the holiday! I'll keep you posted.)
Let's start with a spicy, spooky, Halloween Burger from Burger King!
I don't usually eat at Burger King, but when I do, it's because they have a Halloween themed burger.
These were actually sent to me as a gift, which is awesome, but they were a little worse for wear upon arrival. Shipping things, especially food stuff, is just so chaotic right now. But, they're still good to go, so I'm going to power on through!
New Blazin' Hot Planters Cheez Balls - GiftLong time no see...or should I say "type?"
Little life update, I'm sick and awaiting PCR results. My brain is kicking me, making me feel like I shouldn't be wasting all this valuable time at home. I should be writing blog posts, making art, or doing chores. It's like the infamous episode of the Twilight Zone, " there's time now...," but the twist is, I have absolutely no energy.
I wake up, feed all five pets, let the dogs out, eat something, answer a few work emails, and then afterwards I feel so tired that I go right back to bed. Rinse and repeat 3-4 times a day, and that's how the last 5 days have been. Sometimes my eyes burn so badly that I can't even watch a movie while I rest. (I did manage to watch Voyagers on HBO the other day, it's basically Lord of the Flies in space, I do not recommend it.)
Today, day 5 of my isolation, to combat my feelings of useless-ness, I actually made myself a cup of coffee (with leftover eggnog, since my Christmas gathering was canceled I have so much eggnog left) in an attempt to boost my energy levels enough to do something productive. So here we are with today's review!
I got these as part of a gift a while back and never got around to trying them. If you recall, I found the normal Cheez Balls really disappointing, so I was in no rush to try these. Oh how wrong I was...
I haven't had Hot Tamales in ages, but you know what I have had? Red Hots. And no offense to Tamales fans, but I think they are the superior cinnamon-based candy.
Red Hots are tiny dot-shaped candies with a glossy exterior and crunchy, sugary, interior, both packed with bold cinnamon flavoring. Think Big Red, but with a crunch.
This might just be a me-thing, but my favorite way to eat them is when they are stale. When Red Hots have been sitting in your pantry for a while the first layer of candy softens and gets kind of chewy, while the interior stays crisp and crunchy. It's the best. I like to add them to holiday baking, so I always have some on hand and the older they get, the better they are for snacking. Just like Peeps! When those little bunnies and chicks get old, and a little shriveled, that's when Peeps are at their prime. (Bunny shape is vastly superior thanks to it's ears! Why can't fancy flavors come in bunny-shape?) In my opinion they get more similar to Mar-bits aka freeze dried marshmallows. I used to stab a bunch of holes in the clear window of the Peeps package and leave them on the counter for a while.
So, when I saw these new Hot Tamales Peeps, I was excited because it's the best of both worlds, but skeptical about how "fierce" they would actually be.
Let's get (hopefully) spicy!
More chips from Aldi! Admittedly they had even more flavors at the store last week. They had these two Mexican-themed flavors, and two "Brunch" kind of flavors which were Moscow Mule and Bloody Mary. Now Bloody Mary could work, but Moscow Mule? In Chip-form? They weren't really my taste, so I passed them up, but there two were way more my speed.
Check out the video review, or keep reading for the written post and close up photos!
The most interesting thing about these new flavors is their lack of uniqueness. I'm getting flashbacks to the Chili Nut, Coffee Nut, and Honey Nut m&m's that were released back in ...2016?! Wow, it honestly feels like that was just last year, but (apparently) it's been a while.
Here we are again, in 2019, with a new trio of flavors to vote for, but are they really that "new?" Mexican Jalapeno is a call back to 2016's Chili Nut, We've had Coconut m&m's back in 2012, and Toffee? Okay, I'll admit, that one is pretty "new," but if it turns out that this is just caramel-flavored (which I suspect it is) we've already seen that before as well.
So, will anything here impress me?
After falling in love with the recent influx of spicy sweet snacks, like the Sweet Heat Skittles and Starbursts I reviewed last year, I couldn't resist trying the trend in Gusher form.
Design-wise, this product is sticking to the same guidelines as the "Sweet Heat" treats. We have a basic, black, backdrop with some hot rod style flames. It's simple, bold, and to the point. The black box definitely stands out among the cartoon-covered fruit snack boxes on the shelves, so even though I feel like it's a little "Blah" looking as far as packaging is concerned, it more than serves it purpose.
Apparently Gushers, as a brand, do not vary their individual packet designs? If you look at the back panel there is some black stamped text claiming these are "Sweet Heat," but it's very easily ignored. (Interesting that the text says "Sweet Heat" and not Sweet & Fiery" like the box.) Keeping the pouches the same is a cost effective choice, for sure, but it also lends itself well to pranks. Think you're getting sweet, normal, Gushers? Think again!
Inside the pouch are three different flavors:
Check out my thriving fig tree in the background!
New (written) posts are coming up this week.
Keep Up with My Daily Adventures on Social Media!© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net
I really enjoyed the Sweet Heat Starbursts, so when my friend Melissa mentioned that she saw the Skittles version at Wawa, I drove over there (got some gas) and grabbed a bag. Now we shall see is these items are unique enough to stand on their own, or if one should reign supreme.
I posted these on Instagram and they got a moderate amount of attention, so I picked all three up to review...and then didn't review anything for, like, a month. (Or two.) What can I say, I sucked at blogging in 2017. I debated on saving these for a #tbt post, but they're still available at my local Aldi, so I might as well share my thought in case any of you have been wanting to check these out before they disappear.
Sometimes gimmicky things are done for gimmicky reasons, like when companies release obviously bad flavors in order to generate hype and publicity. After all, we all know there's some sadistic joy in sharing knowingly bad food with friends, otherwise those Beanboozled and Bertie Botts beans wouldn't be as popular as they are. The real question is, are these Starbursts one of those items? I'm not sure. Sweet and spicy is one of my favorite combinations, like honey-hot-wings. (Oh man, I really want some wings right now...) These could either be great, and fill an area that's lacky on USA's candy shelves, or they could be disgusting flops. We won't know until we try!
I haven't reviewed a jerky product since that uncured Srircha Bacon version from Trader Joe's in May of 2015! Over a year without jerky, can you believe it?
My eating preferences have always leaned more towards the veggie side, but even though I'm dating a vegetarian, I'm still an omnivore who LOVES chicken wings, bacon, and jerky. A while ago Aldi had these fancy flavored jerky bags in their Special Buy section and since I was craving jerky, I bought all three bags. Time to break my year-long jerky-drought with some "Artisan" Fusion Jerky!
Pescatarian-Monday just doesn't have the same ring to it...
My #meatlessmonday post will just have to wait until I get home for dinner, because today I'm eating more frozen sushi from Aldi!
Never in my life have I craved kimchi as much as I have the last few weeks.
Kimchi (often spelled kimchee) is a fermented vegetable side dish that originated in Korea. The fermentation process gives these veggies a complex flavoring that is usually paired with a healthy dose of chili peppers for heat. Prepackaged jars are easily found at Korean grocery stores, like my beloved H-Mart, but lately it's been finding it's way into mainstream cuisine and grocery shops. I think you can buy kimchio at Wegman's these days and possibly at some Shop Rites. I've always liked kimchi but recently I feel like something in me has snapped and now I am craving it like never before. (I blame the delicious kimchi samples at this year's Summer Fancy Food Show.)
I may not have a jar of kimchi on hand to satisfy this craving, but I have flavored seaweed snacks, so those will have to do.
