food

Pumpkin Spice: Do You or Don’t You?

by 4 Comments

Pumpkin Spice OreoIf you’re into Twitter, you may have seen Pumpkin Spice Oreo trending about a week ago. My first thought was, “This better not be a joke, because that would just be cruel.”

When I was in CVS a few days ago, I sort of casually looked for them. I didn’t see any, so I asked.  I was told that they didn’t have them and wouldn’t be carrying them. *Gulp*

Yesterday in Stop & Shop, I sauntered over to the cookie aisle to catch a glimpse. Nothing. When I got home, I did a quick search and didn’t see anything on the Oreo website. Then I  searched on Twitter and found the Tweet pictured above.

September 24th is the official day! I had read some articles about how good the cookies were and mistakenly believed they were available for the general public. I guess only a special few were given the cookies in advance.

Needless to say, I am now mildly obsessed with trying them and will be looking forward to their arrival on store shelves. After writing about my search for them on Facebook, someone commented that I might need an intervention. Ha! Not quite yet.

I love all things pumpkin and pumpkin spice. Since I prefer summer, the annual arrival of these flavors infused into just about every food product almost makes me happy for the cold weather. Yeah, I said it!

This pumpkin spice latte recipe is one that I plan to try. This pumpkin crumb coffee cake would go nicely with it too!

pumpkinsNow one more thing that I’ve noticed with the pumpkin spice phenomenon is the racial tinge to it. When and why did that happen?  Pumpkin spice is being associated with white girls.

I posted this photo to my personal Facebook wall recently. In case you don’t click over, the quote says, “if you say ‘pumpkin spice latte’ in the mirror 3 times a white girl in yoga pants will appear & tell you all her favorite things about fall.”

I re-posted it because I think it’s hilarious, but I added that it could be “any” girl. Similarly, BuzzFeed has an article called “25 Things All Basic White Girls Do During The Fall.”

Of course, first on the list is “Get on that Pumpkin Spice Latte grind.” The top comment on this post is by Nicky Watson.

Buzzfeed, girls of color could enjoy these things too you know >_> I mean what does Buzzfeed think all black girls like to do during the fall? Twerk? Sheesh.

Agreed. What about pumpkin spice makes American culture want to associate it with “girls” first of all.  Not women. Or men. Or boys. It’s a flavor people! Shouldn’t it be gender and age neutral!? Then all people of color are uniformly dismissed from the conversation.

Granted, this is just a fall flavor. But in general, when we eliminate certain people from the greater conversation, it’s never a good thing. So the next time you eat something pumpkin spice flavored, think about who else you picture consuming it and why.

*Updated 10/10/2014* I spied the cookies! I’ve had way too many cookies recently, but when I saw these Pumpkin Spice Oreos in the store today, I decided to get them. Just to follow-up this post…. So I could report back to you! They’re good! I hope you appreciate my sacrifice.

+ + +

Photo Credit: Oreo Tweet

A Stroll in Brookline: Clear Flour Bread + Dorado Tacos

by

Clear Flour Bread storefront

At least once a year, I make my way over to Brookline to get my car detailed. Your car looks brand new after and I highly recommend it. ScrubaDub is right on Harvard Street, which is in the middle of everything.

Since it takes about four hours for the detail, it’s the perfect time to walk around the area without worrying about paying for parking. For a while, I have been hearing about Clear Flour Bread and wanted to go there. After I dropped my car off, it was just a mile walk away.

The night before, I read that their croissant was voted the Best of Boston for 2014 by Boston Magazine. So I took a stroll in shortly after noon expecting to be able to get a croissant. Ha! Not even close! You have to get to Clear Flour Bread very early in the morning. Apparently the croissants sell out soon after they open at 8am.

I’ll have to go back another time. I ended up getting a fruit tart, which I took home and shared with G. So good!

Since I was hungry at this point, on my walk back to get my car, I stopped at Dorado Tacos for something quick. My pictures didn’t come out great, so I haven’t put them on this post. I had a salmon taco, which was on a soft corn tortilla. There was more salmon than I expected and it was very good.

It was particularly hot that day. After walking, I was really thirsty. I had a Jarritos Mandarin flavored soda. The sodas are from Mexico, which goes along with the theme of the restaurant, which is that they sell Mexican street food.

After eating my quick meal, I picked up my nice shiny clean car and drove home.

Recipe: Nutella Banana Muffins

by

Nutella Banana Muffins

A lot has changed since I first baked these muffins back in 2008. I had only been blogging for two years and had never eaten Nutella. Imagine that??!!

Now I’m much more confident in my baking skills and never run out of Nutella. It’s a staple — like sugar, flour, eggs and salt. Because you never know when you’ll need to bake right? Or eat a spoonful, just because.

I’ve finally gotten around to adapting the recipe to better suit my taste and hopefully yours too.

By the way, the horrible Nutella shortage scare that was being talked about recently appears not to be true after all. Thank goodness!

According to a statement by Ferrero USA, “Inclement weather last spring in Turkey has impacted this year’s hazelnut harvest. We are tracking this issue closely and there’s no foreseeable impact on the availability of Nutella. As always, we will maintain the high quality of the Nutella product that consumers know and love.” 

Remember, World Nutella Day is February 5th and we have to make sure that we don’t run out!

By the way, have you heard that an all-Nutella restaurant called Nutelleria is planning to open in Brooklyn? Hopefully they are getting some sort of permission from Ferrero and can manage to stay out of legal hot water. Time will tell. But for now, here’s the updated muffin recipe.

Nutella Banana Muffins
(Makes a dozen)

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1/4 cup softened butter (1/2 stick)
  • 1 small ripe banana
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup Nutella
  • 3/4 cup coconut milk
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

INSTRUCTIONS:

In medium bowl, combine butter, banana, Nutella, and egg. Stir in salt, vanilla extract and baking powder. Add flour and coconut milk alternately until just combined.

Use a regular sized muffin pan with paper liners or prepare by using butter and flour to coat the pan. Pour the batter into the muffin pan and bake for 25 – 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Insert a toothpick, which should come out clean if it’s done. Let cool for a few minutes. Then eat and enjoy! I keep my muffins in the refrigerator and sometimes heat them back up in the microwave for that freshly baked feeling.

Save