If you have read part 1 and part 2 about my sourdough starter, you might wonder what happened to that. Long story short, it got boring really quickly. Every day, I had to add flour and water to the jars. Every four days, I had to move the starter to clean jars. It quickly went from "yay, I'll be able to make sourdough bread when I want" to "*sarcasm* Oh yeah, I'll be able to make sourdough all the time, woo hoo. Not."
Halfway through this process, I realized there is a good reason for draining the excess liquid daily. The actual dough is sitting at the bottom of the jar. I ended up with four big jars of liquid before I made that discovery *bangs head on desk* Also, a lot of the recipes I tried were just meh. It's definitely not a project I'll take on again. I'll probably stick with buying sourdough from a bakery.
Friday, January 20, 2012
3 Musketeers Coconut
3 Musketeers Coconut: Chocolate Coconut Flavored Center
"Whipped Up, Fluffy Chocolate Coconut Taste"
"Artificial Flavor"
While I was at Walgreens today, I noticed a stack of 3 Musketeers Coconut bars at the checkout counter. They are 69 cents; but if you have the ten cent off Walgreens coupon this week, it's only 59 cents. The cashier told me "oh no, you don't have to go get the coupon (from the stack of ads at the door); I've got one behind the counter for you." I was tempted to load up on several bars, but decided to just get one in case I didn't like the product.
This candy smelled just like an Almond Joy Bar or Mounds Bar. There was a soft chocolate coating over a chocolate coconut flavored nougat center. The outer layer is a very rich and pleasing milk chocolate. Definitely better tasting than the chocolate used in a regular 3 Musketeers bar. The wrapper only listed the filling as being coconut flavored, but I tasted coconut in the chocolate coating, too.
The chocolate coconut flavored center was delicious. Like the chocolate shell, the nougat filling was an upgrade from other 3 Musketeers bars. The nougat was softer, the chocolate taste was more realistic and the coconut flavor was present but not overpowering.
How does 3 Musketeers Coconut compare to Coconut M&Ms, Almond Joy and Russell Stover Coconut Cream Santas? 3 Musketeers Coconut has a milder coconut taste than Almond Joy; Almond Joy has a slight coconut oil aftertaste. 3 Musketeers Coconut has a stronger coconut flavor than Coconut M&Ms or Russell Stover Coconut Cream Santas. The chocolate shell of 3 Musketeers Coconut is less milky than Russell Stover or M&Ms, too.
Each package consists of two bars. Put together, they're the length of one regular 3 Musketeers Bar. Cut into smaller pieces, they're the size of four fun size Snickers candies.
3 Musketeers Coconut does not contain a layer of nuts, shredded coconut or caramel . Although I would love it even more if caramel or nuts were added! (ETA: The wrapper says "allergy information: may contain peanuts")
I was very pleased by 3 Musketeers Coconut. Normally I only eat 3 Musketeers if it's the last chocolate piece in a candy bowl vs a bunch of hard candies. But this has changed my mind. I will definitely buy 3 Musketeers Coconut again!
"Whipped Up, Fluffy Chocolate Coconut Taste"
"Artificial Flavor"
While I was at Walgreens today, I noticed a stack of 3 Musketeers Coconut bars at the checkout counter. They are 69 cents; but if you have the ten cent off Walgreens coupon this week, it's only 59 cents. The cashier told me "oh no, you don't have to go get the coupon (from the stack of ads at the door); I've got one behind the counter for you." I was tempted to load up on several bars, but decided to just get one in case I didn't like the product.
This candy smelled just like an Almond Joy Bar or Mounds Bar. There was a soft chocolate coating over a chocolate coconut flavored nougat center. The outer layer is a very rich and pleasing milk chocolate. Definitely better tasting than the chocolate used in a regular 3 Musketeers bar. The wrapper only listed the filling as being coconut flavored, but I tasted coconut in the chocolate coating, too.
The chocolate coconut flavored center was delicious. Like the chocolate shell, the nougat filling was an upgrade from other 3 Musketeers bars. The nougat was softer, the chocolate taste was more realistic and the coconut flavor was present but not overpowering.
How does 3 Musketeers Coconut compare to Coconut M&Ms, Almond Joy and Russell Stover Coconut Cream Santas? 3 Musketeers Coconut has a milder coconut taste than Almond Joy; Almond Joy has a slight coconut oil aftertaste. 3 Musketeers Coconut has a stronger coconut flavor than Coconut M&Ms or Russell Stover Coconut Cream Santas. The chocolate shell of 3 Musketeers Coconut is less milky than Russell Stover or M&Ms, too.
Each package consists of two bars. Put together, they're the length of one regular 3 Musketeers Bar. Cut into smaller pieces, they're the size of four fun size Snickers candies.
3 Musketeers Coconut does not contain a layer of nuts, shredded coconut or caramel . Although I would love it even more if caramel or nuts were added! (ETA: The wrapper says "allergy information: may contain peanuts")
I was very pleased by 3 Musketeers Coconut. Normally I only eat 3 Musketeers if it's the last chocolate piece in a candy bowl vs a bunch of hard candies. But this has changed my mind. I will definitely buy 3 Musketeers Coconut again!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Sourdough Starter, Part 2
My sourdough starter has begun to properly separate into lighter colored dough vs the alcohol smelling liquid. Took long enough. Must be the cold weather that delayed the process.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Sourdough Starter, Part 1
A few months ago, I ordered a package of sourdough bread mix on Amazon. When I received a few teaspoons of powdered sourdough starter instead, I contacted the vendor. He said "Amazon must have put up the wrong title. Not my fault. Not taking it back from you, either, since it's a food product." Amazon was kind enough to refund my money, though, and I tossed the starter in the back of my pantry. I thought "Well, I'll give it to someone else down the road. No sense in wasting food."
This month, I was cleaning out the pantry. I came across the powdered sourdough starter. I decided to give it a try and see if I could make sourdough bread from it. I wasn't sure how long you could keep that stuff around before it goes bad, so why not ?
The home printed instructions from the vendor were vague and not very helpful. He said the starter was enough for two starts. Each start was supposed to be one teaspoon of powder plus one teaspoon of water. Which was to be followed by feeding one tablespoons of flour and one tablespoons of water 2x daily. Just one problem: there were nine teaspoons of starter in the packet. Could nine starters be made from this ? Was two a typo ? I just thought "Oh forget it, I'll dump all nine teaspoons of starter + nine teaspoons of water in this plastic tub, then feed it the recommended amount daily."
Things became more confusing once I started checking my cookbooks and googling "how to take care of my sourdough starter." Among the advice I'm wading through:
- "You can use white flour" vs "It must be whole wheat or rye flour"
- "Add one cup of water + one cup of flour 2x a day" vs "Add two cups of water + two cups of flour 2x a day"
- "Throw out your starter if it bubbles and rises but fails to separate into brown goo and light goo" vs "As long as your starter bubbles and rises daily, don't worry about separation"
- "You only need flour and water to get started" vs "You need flour, yeast, sugar" vs "Use flour, baking soda, sugar, water"
- "If your starter isn't growing fast enough, add yeast in" vs "Don't add yeast, you'll ruin the starter" vs "You can fix it with raisin sugar / pineapple / other natural method"
- "You can use starter after three days of fermenting" vs "Never use starter before it's two weeks old. You'll get blech results."
This is what I've gotten done so far:
- Week 1, Day 1-4: Starter, flour and water in plastic tub + 2x daily feedings of one tablespoon of flour and one tablespoon of water
- Week 1, Day 5: I read online "Don't put starter in plastic or metal. The flavor will leech into the starter. Always use glass to store starter. And only bake it in a glass baking dish." Oops. Switched over to glass for storage.
- Week 1 Day 6: I read online "Switch to a different, clean glass containers every four days. You don't want a cruddy, gross mixture." Check, will keep doing that.
- Week 2, Day 1: Maybe I should switch to feeding one cup of flour and one cup of water daily. Everyone is doing such a large amount, so it must be correct, right ?
- Week 2, Day 2: Huh, my cookbook says to use yeast. Let's add yeast. Oh great, this website says that a bad idea. I HOPE YOU DON'T DIE ON ME, STARTER!
I'm basically winging it as I go along at this point. More about my sourdough starter later.
*ETA: I have been using self rising flour.
This month, I was cleaning out the pantry. I came across the powdered sourdough starter. I decided to give it a try and see if I could make sourdough bread from it. I wasn't sure how long you could keep that stuff around before it goes bad, so why not ?
The home printed instructions from the vendor were vague and not very helpful. He said the starter was enough for two starts. Each start was supposed to be one teaspoon of powder plus one teaspoon of water. Which was to be followed by feeding one tablespoons of flour and one tablespoons of water 2x daily. Just one problem: there were nine teaspoons of starter in the packet. Could nine starters be made from this ? Was two a typo ? I just thought "Oh forget it, I'll dump all nine teaspoons of starter + nine teaspoons of water in this plastic tub, then feed it the recommended amount daily."
Things became more confusing once I started checking my cookbooks and googling "how to take care of my sourdough starter." Among the advice I'm wading through:
- "You can use white flour" vs "It must be whole wheat or rye flour"
- "Add one cup of water + one cup of flour 2x a day" vs "Add two cups of water + two cups of flour 2x a day"
- "Throw out your starter if it bubbles and rises but fails to separate into brown goo and light goo" vs "As long as your starter bubbles and rises daily, don't worry about separation"
- "You only need flour and water to get started" vs "You need flour, yeast, sugar" vs "Use flour, baking soda, sugar, water"
- "If your starter isn't growing fast enough, add yeast in" vs "Don't add yeast, you'll ruin the starter" vs "You can fix it with raisin sugar / pineapple / other natural method"
- "You can use starter after three days of fermenting" vs "Never use starter before it's two weeks old. You'll get blech results."
This is what I've gotten done so far:
- Week 1, Day 1-4: Starter, flour and water in plastic tub + 2x daily feedings of one tablespoon of flour and one tablespoon of water
- Week 1, Day 5: I read online "Don't put starter in plastic or metal. The flavor will leech into the starter. Always use glass to store starter. And only bake it in a glass baking dish." Oops. Switched over to glass for storage.
- Week 1 Day 6: I read online "Switch to a different, clean glass containers every four days. You don't want a cruddy, gross mixture." Check, will keep doing that.
- Week 2, Day 1: Maybe I should switch to feeding one cup of flour and one cup of water daily. Everyone is doing such a large amount, so it must be correct, right ?
- Week 2, Day 2: Huh, my cookbook says to use yeast. Let's add yeast. Oh great, this website says that a bad idea. I HOPE YOU DON'T DIE ON ME, STARTER!
I'm basically winging it as I go along at this point. More about my sourdough starter later.
*ETA: I have been using self rising flour.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Carmex Blog Squad: Healing Lotion & Cream
Where I live in Florida, the winters are a bit odd. We have sunny, humid weather in the daytime and cooler, windy weather at night. Weeks of both extremes wreak havoc on my skin. This kind of weather requires something different than simply a sunscreen or the usual nightly face cream. The Carmex Blog Squad sent me a product that fits the bill, just in time for Florida's whacky winter weather.
My package from The Carmex Blog Squad contained Carmex Healing Lotion and Carmex Healing Cream. The distinct red and yellow squeezable tubes were in a mesh gift bag, tied with a ribbon. Too cute!
5.5 oz Carmex Healing Lotion
4 oz Carmex Healing Cream
1 oz Carmex Healing Lotion
.75 oz Carmex Healing Cream
5.5 oz Carmex Healing Lotion
4 oz Carmex Healing Cream
1 oz Carmex Healing Lotion
1 oz Carmex Healing Lotion
.75 oz Carmex Healing Cream
You're probably wondering how Carmex Healing Lotion and Carmex Healing Cream compare to each other. Take a walk down the virtual beauty aisle with me:
Carmex Healing Cream (purple label)
"Use to help repair your driest rough skin"
"Non greasy pleasant scent"
"9 Healing ingredients"
- Carmex Healing Cream smells like vanilla frosting when you open the tube.
- When you squeeze a dab on your skin, the scent changes to vanilla mixed with either lemon or lime (lemon and lime are not on the ingredient list). I am a sucker for vanilla mixed with citrus, however they managed to make that scent happen *happy sigh*
- Some of the ingredients include lanolin, bees wax, cocoa seed butter, mineral oil, vanillin. That explains the vanilla scent!
- Carmex Healing lotion is not sticky or waxy when applied to skin. It dried fast on my arms, hands, legs and elbows. My skin became noticably softer within a few minutes. Many other creams take a large glob of cream or long amount of time to notice a difference. I know some of you wear gloves or socks to bed to make your lotion work, ala Miranda Hobbes from Sex and The City. Let's do away with that routine. Treat yourself to a tube of Carmex Healing Cream instead.
- The handwashing test: The true test of skin care is washing your hands. There's nothing more gross than washing your hands and having a gluey wave of skin care product slide right off. And then your hands are suddenly not soft again. It's one of my pet peeves. Carmex Healing Cream did not glop off when I washed my hands. My hands are still velvety smooth, too. Yay!
Carmex Healing Lotion (teal label)
"Use daily to soothe and protect dry skin"
"Non greasy pleasant scent"
"Aloe and vitaman E"
-Carmex Healing Lotion has a scent of honey and vanilla. The lotion takes on a light sunscreen-ish fragrance when it comes in contact with skin.(I do not know if Carmex Healing Lotion has any ingredients in common with suncreen) The smell is fainter than that of the Carmex Healing Cream (purple label); but neither product has an overpowering aroma
-A few ingredients in Carmex Healing Lotion: vitamin E linoleate, aloe leaf juice, beeswax, cocoa seed butter, mineral oil, camphor, menthol and vanillin
- The lotion feels thicker and waxier than the cream when it touches your skin. The only thing I disliked was that initial texture; it gave me the impression Carmex Healing Lotion was going to stay sticky, which fortunately was incorrect. It does dry fairly quickly. The healing lotion also made my hands as equally soft as the healing cream.
- The healing lotion passed the handwashing test, too
I was left with a very positive impression of both the Carmex Healing Lotion and the Carmex Healing Cream. The purple label Healing Cream is fantastic for repairing dry skin, especially in harsh winter weather. The teal label Healing Lotion is a must have for daily skin protection. And with a variety of package sizes to choose from, you can pick up a full size tube for your beside table and some mini tubes for stocking stuffers, holiday travel and your purse. Carmex Healing Lotion and the Carmex Healing Cream will make people take notice of your fabulous skin!
The Carmex Blog Squad will send one lucky duck AMW reader a kit like the one I received. The contest rules are simple: post who you will be gifting Carmex Healing Lotion and Carmex Healing Cream to this holiday season. The contest begins on November 30, 2011 at 2:50 PM EST. One name will be chosen at random on December 6, 2011 at 8 PM EST. The winner's prize will be shipped by the Carmex Blog Squad. One entry per person and per household, please.
*Update 1: Congrats to T! You are the winner. Email me by 8 PM on December 7th with your address. Otherwise the prize goes to the runner up.
My package from The Carmex Blog Squad contained Carmex Healing Lotion and Carmex Healing Cream. The distinct red and yellow squeezable tubes were in a mesh gift bag, tied with a ribbon. Too cute!
5.5 oz Carmex Healing Lotion
4 oz Carmex Healing Cream
1 oz Carmex Healing Lotion
.75 oz Carmex Healing Cream
5.5 oz Carmex Healing Lotion
4 oz Carmex Healing Cream
1 oz Carmex Healing Lotion
1 oz Carmex Healing Lotion
.75 oz Carmex Healing Cream
You're probably wondering how Carmex Healing Lotion and Carmex Healing Cream compare to each other. Take a walk down the virtual beauty aisle with me:
Carmex Healing Cream (purple label)
"Use to help repair your driest rough skin"
"Non greasy pleasant scent"
"9 Healing ingredients"
- Carmex Healing Cream smells like vanilla frosting when you open the tube.
- When you squeeze a dab on your skin, the scent changes to vanilla mixed with either lemon or lime (lemon and lime are not on the ingredient list). I am a sucker for vanilla mixed with citrus, however they managed to make that scent happen *happy sigh*
- Some of the ingredients include lanolin, bees wax, cocoa seed butter, mineral oil, vanillin. That explains the vanilla scent!
- Carmex Healing lotion is not sticky or waxy when applied to skin. It dried fast on my arms, hands, legs and elbows. My skin became noticably softer within a few minutes. Many other creams take a large glob of cream or long amount of time to notice a difference. I know some of you wear gloves or socks to bed to make your lotion work, ala Miranda Hobbes from Sex and The City. Let's do away with that routine. Treat yourself to a tube of Carmex Healing Cream instead.
- The handwashing test: The true test of skin care is washing your hands. There's nothing more gross than washing your hands and having a gluey wave of skin care product slide right off. And then your hands are suddenly not soft again. It's one of my pet peeves. Carmex Healing Cream did not glop off when I washed my hands. My hands are still velvety smooth, too. Yay!
Carmex Healing Lotion (teal label)
"Use daily to soothe and protect dry skin"
"Non greasy pleasant scent"
"Aloe and vitaman E"
-Carmex Healing Lotion has a scent of honey and vanilla. The lotion takes on a light sunscreen-ish fragrance when it comes in contact with skin.(I do not know if Carmex Healing Lotion has any ingredients in common with suncreen) The smell is fainter than that of the Carmex Healing Cream (purple label); but neither product has an overpowering aroma
-A few ingredients in Carmex Healing Lotion: vitamin E linoleate, aloe leaf juice, beeswax, cocoa seed butter, mineral oil, camphor, menthol and vanillin
- The lotion feels thicker and waxier than the cream when it touches your skin. The only thing I disliked was that initial texture; it gave me the impression Carmex Healing Lotion was going to stay sticky, which fortunately was incorrect. It does dry fairly quickly. The healing lotion also made my hands as equally soft as the healing cream.
- The healing lotion passed the handwashing test, too
I was left with a very positive impression of both the Carmex Healing Lotion and the Carmex Healing Cream. The purple label Healing Cream is fantastic for repairing dry skin, especially in harsh winter weather. The teal label Healing Lotion is a must have for daily skin protection. And with a variety of package sizes to choose from, you can pick up a full size tube for your beside table and some mini tubes for stocking stuffers, holiday travel and your purse. Carmex Healing Lotion and the Carmex Healing Cream will make people take notice of your fabulous skin!
The Carmex Blog Squad will send one lucky duck AMW reader a kit like the one I received. The contest rules are simple: post who you will be gifting Carmex Healing Lotion and Carmex Healing Cream to this holiday season. The contest begins on November 30, 2011 at 2:50 PM EST. One name will be chosen at random on December 6, 2011 at 8 PM EST. The winner's prize will be shipped by the Carmex Blog Squad. One entry per person and per household, please.
*Update 1: Congrats to T! You are the winner. Email me by 8 PM on December 7th with your address. Otherwise the prize goes to the runner up.
