Archive for April, 2008
Cinco De Mayo Pińata Filled With Candy
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008Sure, not everyone celebrates Cinco de Mayo, but those who don’t are about as much fun as a life insurance quote. If you haven’t started planning for your party yet, check out this Bull Pinata With Candy. Although I usually prefer to fill my own, this makes it particularly easy for the procrastinators of the world. Now all you need is a bag of tortilla chips and some margaritas and you’re good to go.
Chocolate Ecstasy Cake - For a Birthday, Anniversary, Mother’s Day, Tuesday…
Friday, April 25th, 2008When it comes to gifts, I have a personal motto: “Always err on the side of delicious.” Given the choice between a fantastic edible gift and something you can’t eat, I’m almost always going to get the gift you can eat. People always stare at delicious food in bakeries and stores, but it’s not often that they treat themselves to a $20+ food that serves no practical purpose (though I’d argue for mood enhancement).
This Chocolate Ecstasy Cake is just one more example of an incredible gift cake that most people would never otherwise taste. It weighs in at **5 POUNDS** of fudge-y, chocolate-y goodness. The entire surface of the cake is covered in fudge frosting, chocolate wafers, some kind of extra icing, and crushed chocolate or cookies (or chocolate cookies) all over the sides. By the time you’re done, you’ll be so full and uncomfortable that you’ll need a sleep wedge to get a peaceful rest.
Let Her Eat Cake - The Best Mother’s Day Cakes
Monday, April 21st, 2008Mother’s Day is one of those holidays that always seems to sneak up on me. This year, though, I’m going to be prepared. By compiling a list of the best cake choices for Mother’s Day, I’m getting a head start on looking for a gift. I don’t know if I’ll buy a Mother’s Day cake or not, but these certainly do look delicious…
Chocolate Saucy Cakes (6 pieces)
If you’re having a Mother’s Day dinner, these cakes are the perfect dessert. Instead of spending hours in the kitchen, you can move them from the freezer to the microwave and have them ready to eat in just a couple of minutes. Diameter: 3.5″ each Weight: 1 lb, 9.5 oz. Serves: 6
Miss Grace Lemon Bundt Cake
Price: $46.9
Each of these delicious lemon bundt cakes is handmade using fresh-squeezed California lemons, fresh-grated zest and fresh eggs, and Mrs. Beasley’s secret lemon glaze to give it the moist and delicious taste that has made it a true sensation. Each lemon cake comes in the classic Miss Grace decorator tin. This is the perfect cake for a light afternoon meal on Mother’s Day.
White Chocolate Lace Cake
If this cake is 1/10 as delicious as it looks, this gift will cause your mother to secretly declare you her favorite this Mother’s Day. It starts with a white cake layered with raspberry preserves, covered with white chocolate butter cream, and then layered with more white chocolate butter cream. The cake is then topped with raspberry glaze and the white spiral design you see above. Diameter: 10″ Weight: 64 oz. Serves: 16
12 Pc. Assorted Brownie & Crumb Cake Sampler
I’ve never been disappointed by a gift from David’s, and this 12pc Brownie Crumb Cake Sampler is not likely to be an exception! The reusable David’s gift tin will come filled with: (8) amazing 4 oz. brownies in Chocolate Chip, Pecan Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter, Blondie, Cheesecake, Rocky Road and Macaroon. (4) 6 oz. crumb cake slices in flavors like Original Butter, Triple Chocolate, and Raspberry.
Any other favorites I’m forgetting? After these Mother’s Day gifts, your mom may be ready for an Orovo detox - or just a run around the block.
PMS - Party Monday - Sunday Gift Basket
Friday, April 18th, 2008In college, I remember a guy who would ask people at parties, “What channel are we watching tonight?” and then wait for a response. When the person he asked got confused, he’d yell out, “ABC - Absolute Beer Consumption! YEAH MAN!!!!” or something to that effect. He was insanely obnoxious, the kind of guy who needed a personality transplant and a large bottle of Leptovox to shed a couple hundred pounds. I have to wonder if he was behind the naming of this next gift basket.
The PMS - Party Monday-Sunday Gift Basket comes in at around $100 and includes cookies, pretzels, French Brie, Baby Gouda, some other assorted items, and your choice of wine. While I tend to think more of beer and hard liquor when it comes to “parying Monday through Saturday”, this sounds like a pretty nice gift basket.
Rooibos Red Tea & the Health Benefits of Rooibos Tea
Thursday, April 17th, 2008Until about 5 minutes, I had never heard of Rooibos Herbal Tea. Apparently, it’s an herb that grows in South Africa and is purported to offer a variety of health benefits that range from minimizing the effects of ulcers to delaying the aging process. Below, a more complete list of the health benefits of Rooibos Tea:
- Relieves nausea, constipation, ulcers, and heartburn.
- Strengthens bones and teeth (Rooibos Tea has a lot of fluoride, calcium, and manganese, apparently)
- Delays the aging process by attacking free radicals.
- Can be mixed with milk to calm colicky babies
- Rooibos Skin Care - Can be applied to the skin to lessen acne, eczema, and other skin problems (Rooibos contains zinc and alpha hydroxy)
- Rooibos tea contains no caffeine, so it makes a great bedtime drink.
- Can be used after sports or a night of drinking to restore minerals to the body.
That’s a lot to claim for a simple herbal tea, but Rooibos definitely has a strong fan base among those who know it exists. I was really surprised to see that no major franchise carried it, but you can buy Organic Rooibos loose as you see below:
Or, if you prefer, you can get something like this Rooibos Sampler that comes with 6 tins of different Rooibos varieties. This one includes Rooibos, Rooibos Berry, Rooibos Earl Grey, Rooibos Mango, Rooibos Tropics & Rooibos Vanilla.
Nostalgia in a Basket - The 50s Candy Gift Basket
Tuesday, April 8th, 2008Although Father’s Day isn’t coming up for about two months, it’s never too soon to start gathering ideas. Oh sure, I could buy something useful like a cell phone repeater or a new weed whacker, but where’s the fun in that? I think my own father would get a lot more enjoyment out of something like this 50s Candy Gift Basket.
The 50s Candy Gift Basket includes over 30 full-size pieces of candy - roughly 5 pounds of wonderful processed sugar. You get Nik-L-Nip Wax Bottles, Sen-Sen Breath Refreshment, Chuckles, Charms Ass’t Squares, Vanilla French Chew Taffy, Haviland Wintergreen Patty, Candy Buttons, Necco Wafers Chocolate, Cherry Mash, Necco Wafers Ass’t, Mary Janes, Zagnut Bar, Violet Scented Gum, Charms Pop Sweet, Walnettos, Bubble Gum Cigars, Smoothie Peanut Butter Cup,Teaberry Gum, Candy Stix Cigarettes, Oh! Henry Bar, Gold Mine Nugget Gum, Wax Lips, Skybar, Chocolate Moon Pie, Black Licorice Pipe, Abba-Zaba, Slo-Poke Jr. Sucker, Cup-o-Gold, Chocolate Cigarettes, Slap Stix, Sno-Caps, Chick-o-stick, Butter Rum Lifesavers, Clark Bar, Goetze’s Cow Tail, Vanilla Bun Bar, and Bubble Gum Cigarettes.
Funny story about the Goetze’s Cow Tails, though - As a child, I can remember my grandmother taking me out to the local Rural King (that’s a farm supply / clothing / toy store, for those of you who didn’t grow up in the middle of nowhere) and buying me a Cow Tail. I was pretty young, so I still believed…pretty much everything…and I spent hours squishing it around and feeling bad for the cow that lost its tail. As small as it was, I figured it had to have come from a baby cow…
So I guess the moral of the story is that even if you didn’t grow up in the 50s, this gift basket may stir up some funny memories from the past. If your dad (or mom, or friend, or whomever) did actually grow up in the 50s, I can pretty much guarantee that this gift will be a hit. Just make sure you have time to stick around and listen to stories about riding bikes down to the general store and how all the candy cost a nickel.
A Barack Obama Cookie Cake?
Sunday, April 6th, 2008This may be the strangest cookie cake I’ve ever encountered - The Barack Obama Cookie Cake. I’m not sure why anyone outside of his campaign would want a cake bearing his name, but I guess someone over at David’s Cookies thought there was a demand for it.
The $34.95 cookie cake itself weighs in at 1.5 pounds and has a 12 inch diameter. If you put one of these away, you’d probably have to chase it with something like Orovo for all the calories you’d have just taken in. Of course, if you’re having a party to celebrate the events of the election, this would be the perfect refreshment. I’ve never eaten a bad cookie from David’s Cookies.
The Famous Mrs. Beasley’s Make Your Own Cupcake Set
Friday, April 4th, 2008Mrs. Beasley’s cupcakes are well-known as a favorite of the stars (though I’m not sure if anyone in Hollywood actually digests them…), but their mail-order business ensures that her delicious baked goods can be delivered to anywhere from Los Angeles to remote Branson lots and anywhere in between.
As I was browsing their site, I had initially planned to order some cupcakes to arrive for a relative’s birthday. Then I realized that they have this totally awesome Mrs. Beasley’s Decorate Your Own Cupcake Kit.
The cupcake kit comes with 18 100 calorie popper cupcakes, 4 colossal cupcakes, 2 tubs of frosting, pastry bags, and *9* different toppings. And it’s only $40. Not bad at all.
