my mecca: aka sur la table

I was home on Sunday for father's day, and made a trip over to Tyson's Corner. As soon as I had set foot in Sur la Table, the clouds parted and trumpets sounded from above. I was giddy with excitement as I bounced between the specialty baking equipment section and the knives case. They have the most impressive selection of ceramic ramekins and souffle cups anywhere, along with any type of kitchen tool imaginable, and pots galore! Knowing my special fondness of Sharffen Berger cocao nibs (my favorite bar is the Nibby Bar, hard to find now because of its popularity and limited quantities), Mr. S got me these:

Just our luck, they were on sale! 50% off! I tore into these babies like they were going out of style. I have a serious illness. Ah well. Anyway, I walked out the store half an hour later, with my bag of goodies in hand:

2 heavy gauge aluminum round cake pans, 8"
piping tip, 1/2"
frosting/palette knife
Sharffen Berger chocolate covered coffee beans
SB chocolate covered nibs

weekend groceries

Unlike my parents who go food shopping just once a week, I prefer to go a couple times a week, each time picking up a few things I may need that night or the next day. And besides, I really love grocery shopping- I can always find an excuse to go.

Friday: Belvedere Square
-egg & swiss sandwich on an everything bagel; 2 cinnamon raisin bagels from Gregg's Bagels
-1/3 lb. smoked egg salad from Neopol
-Spanish blood oranges
-a cup of creamy leek, mushroom & potato soup from Atwater's

Saturday: Whole Foods Inner Harbor
-Silk soymilk
-Kashi Good Friends cereal
-blueberry scone (if I could eat one food for the rest of my life...)
-raisin walnut roll
-quart chicken tortilla soup (needed more spice- not caliente enough)
-loose granola - pumpkin spice
-sweet & spicy beef jerky
-blueberries

Sunday: Trader Joe's in Pikesville
-large white eggs ($.99 for a dozen!)
-apricot & raspberry shortbread cookies (all butter...need I say more)
-whole milk
-tamales w/chile & cheese (these are really good for being frozen; it practically steams itself in the microwave bc of the corn husks)
-gardenburger meatless riblets (these vegetarian made-to-look-like-meat products are actually pretty good- they are smothered in sauce)
-karat cake (dense moist cake, but frosting:cake ratio is sadly disappointing)
-greek style yogurt
-golden raisins
-mini cinnamon raisin bagels
-canned plum tomatoes
-chunky peanut butter
-chicken masala& brown rice dinner (I wouldn't recommend for anyone who's had the real thing)
-Ms. May's pecan crunch (I adore this line of snacks - crunchy slow roasted nuts sweetened w/ cane sugar)
-turkey bacon
-mini seedless watermelon
-hummus w/ horseradish
-2lb. yellow onions
-cherry tomotoes
-mini fresh mozzarella balls

I would've bought more produce, but I'm planning a trip to H-mart this week. TJ's had some attractive looking baby portabellas and fresh shitakes today, but I was in more of a fruit mode. For anyone who loves peanut butter like me, there's a product at TJ's I highly recommend, the sunflower seed butter.
There's an incredibly roasted nutty taste with a pleasant sweetness, much more so than regular old PB. And it's only $2.99 here, compared to about 2x that at Whole Foods. I just wish it came in smooth and chunky! I suppose it's pretty easy to make- roast up some sunflower seeds and blend in the food processor with a dash of oil. (I'll have to try this at home this week, stay tuned)

would you eat a koala bear?

That is the question I pose today.

Um....YEAH especially when they're chocolate-filled and just so damn adorable. Well, they are actually filled with "edible butter cream" and "food chocolate flavouring essence." Made in Malaysia, go figure. Whoever designs the packaging for asian snacks is a marketing genius. It lures you in with its rolly-polly colorful exterior, often abound with misspelled or nonsensical english. Just look at that little bear in the middle with his belly button exposed to the world! He's screaming to be devoured!

This is just one of the goodies I brought home from the asian market tonight.

(from top left)
Kecap manis - from Indonesia, this is a sweet soy sauce flavored with garlic and star anise. It's sweetened with palm sugar and is used as a BBQ sauce and marinade for meat. The sauce is thick and not at all salty and has a very rich caramely flavor.

Wide rice noodles - I want to make Thai drunken noodles next week.

Rice wrappers with shrimp - The chinese call this chang fen, which means "long noodles." One of my favorite dishes to get at Cantonese dimsum restaurants.

Mung beans - aka chinese "green beans." This is used alot in desserts and some congees. It has a "cooling" effect on the body, which means it helps to take away some of the heat and stress away. I'll make a sweet soup out of this, chill it, and eat it as a snack or dessert.

Total cost: $7