Last time I mentioned the elusive Cheez Puffs, I was totally bummed out that I didn’t have the photo evidence to show you the fantastical product that showcased the uber-cool crocodile on the cover. Well, I went back to the store, and while I didn’t buy any, I got the photo evidence needed to prove the existence of the Cheez Croc. Enjoy!
Such bounty!
Mmmmm
He's So Cool!
And he loves them too!
And it can be yours for only $1.79!!
Look for the Red & Yellow Box!
Today’s post is in regards to my favorite warm beverage: Ibarra. Usually stashed away in the Mexican Foods aisle of your neighborhood grocery store, Chocolate Ibarra shows up in a little squat hexagonal box, striped in red and yellow. Inside you will find several bricks of cinnamon chocolate. The bricks are like little pies, with wedge indentations for ease of serving. It’s a pain to cut it with a knife, though, so I usually just break things down with a hammer or a rubber mallet and put in as much as I want (usually more than required).
In my opinion, Mexican chocolate is different better than the usual stuff. Mixed with warm milk you can feel the chocolatey smoothness and really taste the spices. Or you can always eat a chunk straight out of the box like I do when I’m being particularly decadent about it.
This little box is great for your pantry as it can provide a quick yummy snack and it keeps really well. The Ibarra link above with take you to their website which has some fun recipes. Seriously – Chocolate Ibarra is wicked awesome. It’s been a favorite of mine since I was a child and I still think its great! Go get a box and try it out! 
PS: FYI, Abuelita is a Nestle Brand version of Ibarra. I feel that though adequate in a shortage, it’s an inferior product. Stick to the original…buy the Ibarra.
One of the things I have yet to mention with all of my foodiness is that my husband, while a lover of good food, is vegetarian.
This can make things a little difficult sometimes when I am planning meals (or dreaming of giant beef roasts). At first, I was pretty terrible with the fake meats. Mostly the fake meats would just make me angry. I sort of had to learn the hard way that there was nothing to actually cook in the meat substitutes. You just had to defrost and/or heat. At this point, I’m fairly well versent in the varietals of fake meat brands and flavors and have (mostly) given up on trying to cook them.
Tonight, I was making organic meat n’ potatoes burritos and so I decided to try something a little different. I made a little onion, garlic, oregano, chile, and cilantro collection in some vegetable oil and then let that cook until thick. At that point, I split off some of the batch and put it into a different pan. Into the primary pan, I put some more of the delicious grass fed beef and let that begin to cook. In the other pan, I threw in some meatless ground and mixed it up, sort of letting it sit and hopefully soak in some of the juices.
While these were cooking, I cut the mixed (red, white, purple, yellow?) fingerling potatoes from McClendons and threw them in some hot oil with a dash of California Pepper from Penzey’s and a pinch of salt. I grated some cheese, cut an avocado and a little more roasted green chile as garnishes.
As the meats finished (essentially at the same time), I set things out, all prepped for yumminess.
I had stopped at Mango’s on Main Street and splurged and some fresh tortillas and chips and salsa. Despite it being burro night, I was more interested in the chips, and slathering a fresh tortilla in butter, my meat and potatoes carefully arranged on the side of the plate.
I feel like making the onion/garlic mix first was really useful in helping to make me feel like I was actually cooking my husband’s meal. I’ve often felt that the fake meats were just sort of a cheat. He tells me that the flavor was essentially the same (last time I had actually cheated and used *gasp* Trader Joe’s taco spice mix to flavor his meatless ground.) Still, though, while more time consuming, I feel like the added step was worth it in that it helped me to better judge how to make the fake meat seem like part of a dish rather than a weird vegetable condiment.
The more I cook, the more I like making more dishes, and that has gone a long way in making extra entrees fun. As I’m still battling my sinuses and hiding from the unusual cold and wind outside, it’s time to say goodnight as my day and my dinner is done. Have a good night and a fabulous bowl of chips of your own.
This afternoon, during our Pathfinder session, I pulled out my contribution to our gaming snacks – a bag of Cheez Balls. It was a bag, as opposed to the well known blue canister with yellow top. Also, the bag had a cartoon crocodile wearing sunglasses on it. Sadly, I did not think to take a photo before the bag was empty and in the trash.
Let me tell you…a page taken from childhood was revisited. It was delicious corn crunch. It was delicious cheese taste. It was delicious atomic orange powder becoming weirdly sticky on your fingers at the slightest hint of humidity.
I think that everyone was pretty excited to eat them, and I think we all tried at least one (before, you know, finishing off an entire bag in maybe 20 minutes). While I am not prepared to make Cheez Balls a recurring item on my grocery list, they were completely and totally a blast from the past bit of deliciousness and I loved every cheezy crunchy airy moment. Go ahead. Buy a bag. It’s worth all two dollars and ninety-eight cents on sale. You’ll be happy you did.
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