Thing One and Thing Two

Just got back from Norfolk, VA and made sure to check out some things for you guys! (My excuse to do random things like raid the Lindt store and visit a pound cake factory. Tracy - thanks for enduring the Lindt expedition.) Let's talk cake first.

Rowena's (http://www.rowenas.com/home.php?cat=9) is based in Norfolk and makes some awesome looking cakes. I bought their double delicious chocolate tea cake:

Can you tell how moist and awesome that is? There are chocolate chips in it and it is SOOO good!

I had to chop it up and freeze most if it so I didn't eat the whole damn thing!

Rowena's is one of those cool stories - places I like to discover when I travel. This is from their website:

Rowena opened her gourmet manufacturing facility in May of 1983 and in 25 years, her facility has grown to 18 employees, a retail store, staff offices, call center, tearoom, two spacious kitchens and two warehouses. Rowena’s has been featured in national publications such as Lady’s Home Journal, Gourmet, Bon Appetit, Taste of Home and Southern Living, and has appeared on Food Finds on the Food Network, QVC, The 700 Club and The Today Show.

Pretty impressive, huh? And her amazing cakes deserve it!! I want to try her chocolate cappuccino pound cake and the chocolate turtle cake too. Sigh. So much chocolate, so little time.

Driving back I stopped at a Stuckey's to see if they had anything new we needed to know about. The first scary thing was:

Yes - Halloween candy! Can you believe it? Already? I bought two. I wasn't that scared.

Now check this out:

I hate the name Whatchamacallit and I hate even more the new and stupid name Thingamajig. Come on! These are not great candy bar names. They sound like some crap out of Dr. Seuss. BUT here's the amazing thing - the Thingamajig - ROCKS!!!!!

I'm so not kidding you. I'm not a big Whatcha fan. I've reviewed it before - the peanut flavored crisps are lame, the caramel is only okay, overall, it's lame. I'd rather have a Rice Crispy Treat.

But the Thinga - whoa!! It says Limited Edition - and I haven't seen it in many stores - so keep your eyes peeled and grab one if you see it. It's got cocoa crisps and peanut butter (pictured on the left) - and the combo rocks!! It's heavy on the peanut butter - I loved it! I threw away the rest of the Whatcha and scarfed down all of the Thinga. I wish I'd bought more!

The picture doesn't do it justice - it doesn't look all that peanut buttery, but it is! Get one, get one, get one!

I have so much fun trying these crazy new things and then telling you all about them! So much fun for so little cash! What's your fun thing? Just remember - your life is as fun as you decide to make it!!

Pretzels, Rice and England

You know life is good if we can all come together in pursuit of the best peanut butter and chocolate combinations. And let's thank the founders of this country for breaking away from England! Scones don't exactly rock my world. Although I do love shortbread......and all that pomp and circumstance! And Monty Python!

But I love freedom more! God Bless America!!! And God Save the Peanut!

Let's talk first about some more peanut butter and pretzel combos. The first is berkshire bark's pretzelogical bark described by the company as: Belgian dark and milk chocolate, pretzels, sea salt caramel, natural peanut butter.

This is the top of the bark, the next picture shows the bark flipped over and dissected. (But this was done with love - don't go all PETC on me.) That's People for the Ethical Treatment of Chocolate for those of you who didn't get that joke.

Looks great, right? The description sounds awesome! But something was wrong here - those big blobs - peanut butter? caramel? were as hard as rocks. This was no good. I'm sad about that.

Next up, a very familiar bar, I'm sure:

This is Hershey's Take 5. The wrapper says it's made with chocolate (I guess it's not Mockolate), pretzels, caramel, peanuts, and peanut butter. My girlfriend Missy loves these things. I think there is too much pretzel. It's okay, but why have this when you can have a Reese's? I like the use of the caramel here, so I like this combination the best off all the pretzel/peanut butter offerings reviewed so far. But I don't see that pretzel really brings anything to the party.

Let's move on to crisp rice or rice crisps or whatever the hell this stuff is. Hell, Hershey doesn't even know what it is - thus the name of this bar:

Whatchamacallit? I'm going out on a limb here and I'm going to call it crap. For 230 calories I want more than a squashed rice crispy treat - without the marshmallow. This bar is described as "made with chocolate, peanut flavored crisps and caramel." The caramel is the only thing that gives this any life. I find it bland and disappointing.

It looks as exciting as it tastes. ZZZZZZ........................

I'm not much on the Nestle Crunch bar either. Crisped rice just kind of seems like a cop out. Cheap filler. But I liked it in Jer's stuff. Hmmmm........ I'm sure we'll talk of this again.

If you like crispy and light and want something peanut buttery, a MUCH better choice is:

You can have one pack containing two wafer bars for only 100 calories. These are like Kit Kats with peanut butter but a little lighter. No caramel as in the Crap bar. But more peanut buttery. And I'm all about the peanut butter!!

I saved one of my favorite peanut butter bars for last:

From our friends at Lake Champlain chocolates. This bar is here because it contains: peanuts, peanut butter, CRISP RICE and milk chocolate.

Isn't it beautiful? Doesn't just looking at that make your mouth water? The Five Star bars are all amazing - the are small but really thick. And this one is packed with peanut butter. It's a blander peanut butter than Reese's but is still terrific. And the peanuts inside are delish.

So, dear readers, what have we learned so far in our exploration of this awesome combination of peanut butter and chocolate?

New isn't always best, but just because something has been around for a while doesn't mean it can't be improved on.

Expensive doesn't always mean it's the best, but sometimes it does (the Five Star bar is great and it's not cheap).

When it comes to chocolate, no rules apply.

Chocolate is like life - you have to jump in and taste it! I love Tootsie Rolls (talk about Mockolate), but I also love Guylian chocolate seashells. How do you know what you'll like the best? Try them!! How do you know who you are? Live!

You can learn from others and they can help you along the way, but if anyone tells you they have all the answers for you, run. You'll like things based on the flavors you grew up with and a million other experiences. Obviously a lot of people think the Whatchamacallit is a great candy bar or Hershey's would have quit making it. All you owe it to yourself to do is keep trying new things and keep learning and growing. You'll find the best life (and the best chocolate) for you.

And don't forget to celebrate your freedom this 4th of July by taking a few minutes to think of all the patriots through the years who have given their lives to keep us free.

God bless chocolate, peanut butter, and the United States of America!!!