It is always with apprehension (alright it has only been twice) that I await my Blogging by Mail package. I toss around at night dreaming on the customs goons raiding the various chocolates etc. that are meant for me.
So I was pretty chuffed on Friday that the package arrives “passed quarantine”.
And how cool is this, Sue (I’m not sure she has a blog) has sent me a Golden Gate Bridge cooky cutter. The other took me a while to work out and when I photographed this I thought it may be in the shape of California. It took some one brighter than me to recognise it as the Statue of Liberty.
Aside from these the stars of this package were the Scharffen Berger Mocha Chocolate (all gone) and what sound like the weirdest food I’ve ever heard of – Chick-O-Sticks.
The name conjures up all sorts of strange images but mainly something to do with chicken and skewers. In fact they are candy, bright orange. The same sort of nasty fake colour as cheap spray-on tan. Bite through and the texture looks just as unappealing to the eye but crisp to the mouth.
The fact that Jackie and I have scoffed them all says everything.
They are in fact “crunchy peanut butter and toasted coconut candy”.
I’m quite glad I don’t live in the US as these would certainly add to my dental woes.
There’s the San Francisco Chronicle food and home sections. I was surprised that they were broadsheet still and black & white. I’d always assumed that in Australia we’d be behind the times but our local sections are all full colour and tabloid.
Now, there’s the cocktail book reminding me of Nathalie from Monparnasse and her scented letters (Hey it was pre Internet). This has arrived in time for the summer and will enable me to indulge even more my penchant for high quality vodka (42 Below is the current fave).
I’ll be out there throwing a couple of giant shrimp (about the size of a domestic cat) on the Barby, spicing them with my Spirit of Fire and Solar Power mixes.
For now, you’ll all have to wait and see how the recipes for Sue’s Sandy Peacans and Ginger Snaps turn out.
And I suspect we’ll be consuming rather a lot of the Cranberry Chutney on Christmas eve with our turkey.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I was also surprised at the dated look of the SF Chronicle food section. It looked like something from the 80s. Plus I was surprised it didn’t include any restaurant reviews. Certainly the Aussie papers seem to be far ahead in terms of content and aesthetics.
I recently saw a US edition of Gourmet and honestly thought it was a vintage edition from 1985. Not so – it was current. Based on those two experiences, I can understand the US craze for the clean lines and fresh colours of Donna Hay and her ilk.
I was uncharacteristically very polite about it but you’ve hit the nail on the head. It makes me feel good about Epicure. Similarly, I don’t think the London papers don’t seem to be as good as ours apart from The Observer Food Monthly which my mum posts out to me which is a great glossy. I;ve always found many of the established American mags have a very fixed form in terms of type and content. the new generation of mags such as Wired, Fast Company and Ready Made are different. But they are not food mags.
Cool package to receive!
Paz
It was. Can’t wait until the next one.