I’m not a big cheese lover, but I do have my favorites…like Queso Oaxaca!
I never thought I could love a Latin cheese more than queso fresco and cotija cheese, but Queso Oaxaca had me at hello.
If you’ve never tasted Queso Oaxaca, also known as quesillo, think of it as a Mexican mozzarella. Hand-stretched into long ribbons of string cheese and rolled up like a ball of yarn, it has a subtle flavor, and a wonderful texture. I like Queso Oaxaca more than Mozzarella - by a landslide.
Queso Oaxaca is gooey and mildly tangy when served warm. It’s almost Brie-like. Delicious!
Very versatile, this cheese is also the base for the classic Mexican dish Queso Fundido, a Central American twist on cheese fondue. It was a silver medal winner at the 2002 American Cheese Society Awards.
I will explain later why I’m featuring such a junk food extravaganza (as there’s much more to come), but for now, listen up!
If you love bananas and chocolate, you are in for a TREAT!
A soft and creamy banana center greets you from your first nibble of a delicious
Choco Banana! You don’t get some dried up sliver of banana covered in pseudo-chocolate with this product. No way.
I’m talking a smoooooth and cream-a-licious banana buttercream dream willingly loved tight in quality chocolate!
Or how about…
Chocolate-Dipped Pineapple Rings!
Ultimate Confections takes their already wonderful Australian glace pineapple, and dips rings of it in smooth dark Belgian chocolate - giving you a pound of temptations. Mmmm!
And if you’re craving a chocolate dessert that is fun, but more on the romantic side that you can share with your love, then consider:
Quickie French Fondue!
Chocolate connoisseurs, this fondue will rank at the top of any you’ve tasted! Praline-flavored dark chocolate in a ready-to-serve pottery crock awaits.
Because after all, who has time to play Betty Crocker making fondue from scratch?
I want my sugar NOW!
Simply remove the lid and microwave for 2-3 minutes or set in hot water during your meal to enjoy when ready to serve dessert! Dip pieces of fresh fruit (banana, strawberries, apple, grapes, cherries or melon), cookies, croissants, brioche, baguette bites or dried fruits and nuts in this warm chocolate bath.
You know what to do - click the pic of your choice and try not to eat it all at once!
Like automobiles, all olive oil is NOT the same. There’s your functional kind, and then there’s the kind you want to show off!
Olio Verde extra-virgin olive oil hails from a country estate in Sicily. This luxurious, unfiltered golden-green oil is the perfect condiment to drizzle on your favorite foods.
It’s liquid gold!
And from France…
Moulins de la Brague (The Mill of La Brague), in the South of France, is a fifth generation family-owned mill that produces the best extra-virgin olive oil and olive related products. Moulin de la Brague olive oil is made from three handpicked varieties of amazing olives. You’ll love the satiny finish and fruity, fresh flavor.
Today was an exceptionally good day. See, I told you all I needed was a normal amount of sleep. I’m human again!
My day went as follows…
I’ve been growing my hair long for years now; and since I have a lot of it, I usually wear it up in a bun. So sexy, right?
Well, the girls in my hair cult are gonna love this one…
So today while I was at work, I let my hair down for a while because my bun was too tight. I wasn’t making a big production out of it at all. In fact, I thought I was being pretty incognito about it.
I was in a pretty relaxed mood today, so I just let my hair fly and be its naturally
fluffy self.
I was stunned by the number of compliments I got on my hair today! I suppose it was an utter shock to my co-workers since they’re used to seeing my hair always slicked back and neatly tucked away.
Maybe they thought I didn’t even have hair at all.
But the comment that made my day was:
“You have AWESOME hair. Why don’t you wear it out more often? It’s beautiful!”
To a girl like me who has a serious hair fetish and is always playing in her hair, that’s like the ultimate compliment. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Am I bragging? Maybe.
But after the past few days that I’ve had, just indulge me a little.
I’ve been WAY overdue for seeing something cute, so I did a search for kittens on YouTube and found something so ridiculously sweet.
I mean it when I say I am so grateful that God took the time to create cats. I so appreciate them. They truly bring me joy and put the biggest smile on my face.
Since it’s been over a year since my little guy passed away, I *SO* want a kitten now. This clip is the final straw that has made me decide to get a kitten the minute kitty season hits. You have to hear this kitten’s little baby meows.
I don’t know what it is with me and artichokes, but I just can’t get enough of them!
I have a genuine affection for artichokes, and always have.
If you’re inviting me over for dinner and an artichoke is involved, go ahead and pencil my S.O. and I in as CONFIRMED!
So let’s discuss artichoke specifics for a minute…
You should know that Viola Carini grilled artichokes are absolutely divine. These Italian artichoke hearts are roasted to perfection over an open fire all nice and tender.
My favorite way to eat them? Snack on them whole, add them to a salad, or stir them into a cream sauce and toss the sauce with my favorite pasta. They’re even great as a side dish to broiled lamb chops or Kobe beef.
I have a Top 10 list of my all-time favorite foods, and you better believe that not only are shiitake mushrooms on it, but artichokes are two points ahead of them.
I am so over prosciutto. Really, I am. I am proscuitto-ed OUT.
Maybe The Food Network is to blame, maybe it’s Mario Batali or my spending too much time in Italy. But I just realized today how done with proscuitto I really am.
I know I’m not the only one.
Don’t act like every restaurant you went to in the ’90s didn’t force-feed you prosciutto, too. It was in everything. If a restaurant wanted to seem chic, they’d slip a nib of proscuitto in a dish for good measure.
Even if it was an Asian, non-fusion restaurant, somewhere on the menu you’d see,
“with proscuitto…” Or pine nuts. Or balsamic vinegar. Wait, one more… Parmigiano-Reggiano.
And I am here to tell you, I want you to stop. Stop it with the proscuitto. Please.
Look, we get it: Italy is a country that makes great delicacies. We understand.
Hey, I like sexy food just as much as the next girl. I’m a confessed passionate eater!
But there is such a thing as overkill.
Thus, I just saw my divorce attorney, and he and I have agreed that it’s time for me to start seeing others. So I am. Meet Lomo, my Spanish hunk of meat. There is nothing quite like new love!
Lomo is a dry-cured loin of pork from Spain, meaty and tender with virtually no fat (just how I like my men!).
Cured with salt, garlic, paprika and other spices to accent the delicious jamón (ham) flavor, many people prefer Lomo even over Spain’s Serrano ham.
With over 50,000 of you visiting my blog on any given day, I’m pleased that I have a large enough audience to reach with this gentle reminder.
I hadn’t intended on sharing this with the world, but I heard a good word today that stirred my spirit. It’s an important enough message that we should all keep in the front of our minds, and it’s too good to keep to myself.
Last week was a particularly rough news week in the area of relationships, given the Bishop Thomas Weeks III and Prophetess Juanita Bynum fiasco, the Amy Winehouse and Blake Fielder-Civil debacle, and even televangelists Paula and Randy White announcing their divorce.
In other words, we’re talking the true definition of a week that was (all jokes aside)
a hot mess.
News flash: Marriage is not for everyone.
Since I understand the interconnectedness of us all, I felt a twinge of sadness for humanity in general last week, how it’s sometimes so hard for even grown adults to just chill and play nicely together in the sandbox. We tell children to do it, but we can’t even get a handle on this our dang selves.
A wise, elderly lady shared a story with me today on how she made the CHOICE to forgive an unskilled doctor who wronged her grandson to the point of his health failing. She reminded me that forgiveness is never something one feels like doing: it’s a choice. You make the decision to let something go…and you do.
This wise woman said, “If you wait until you feel like forgiving someone, that day will never, ever arrive - so it’s the same as holding the grudge eternally. The intention to forgive is not the answer; it’s the act of truly forgiving that releases you both to go free.”
So she made the decision to forgive the doctor. When she prayed that night, she said, “Lord, please also forgive him. He made a mistake. He didn’t know what he was doing.”
She told me, “Forgiving doesn’t mean it’s OK what the person did (because it’s not), and it doesn’t mean you will forget it (because you won’t). It means, although you did something stupid that I will never think was right and I may never forget, I release you from the equation by forgiving you. And I will never mention it to you again. You have a clean slate with me.”
Imagine how wonderful that doctor must have felt, for flubbing so badly and certainly being held accountable for his actions by the hospital…but to the people who mattered the most - he has no debt.
I’m filing this baby under the topic of Health, because forgiveness and releasing negativity is good for our mental health, emotional health, spiritual health, and even our physical health.
Now go and tell everyone you know about this…and I better not hear about any of you in the news this week actin’ up!
Click here to check out one of my favorite books on forgiveness. Lord knows you need it!
…a slightly crunchy outside and a soft, smooth inside… Rich chocolate hazelnut mousse layered over a delectable chocolate cake. This exquisite European masterpiece is then hand-wrapped in an almond sponge cake.
That’s pure creamy hazelnut-almond love right there!
Our shipping containers are state-of-the-art. This product will be shipped using fully-encased styrofoam with foil coating inside and out. This keeps the cold in and the heat out. All cakes are shipped fully frozen.