Newman's Own Candy

Newman's Own Organics: Milk Chocolate Caramel Cups & Newman's Own Organics: Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cups

When I stopped in Publix today, I noticed boxes of Newman's Own candy in the discount bin. There were two flavors: milk chocolate caramel cups and dark chocolate peppermint cups. They were marked down to 79 cents; I don't know what the normal price is, although the San Francisco Chronicle says $1.49 a package out west. The Newman's Own site lists five flavors: Caramel Cup in Dark Chocolate or Milk Chocolate, Peanut Butter in Dark Chocolate or Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cup.

Each pack weighs 1.2 oz and comes with three fun size candy cups. The front of the peppermint wrapper says "made with organic chocolate." The caramel wrapper says "organic milk chocolate" on the ingredient list only.







The milk chocolate caramel cups: The thickness of the chocolate was on point. The taste was not waxy or overly milky like many brands of milk chocolate. Also, it was nice to have the chocolate divided into three pieces, so I wouldn't it eat all at once. I did not care for the caramel filling, however. It was too liquid in texture, gooey and gritty. The filling was not rich, buttery and slightly thick as I prefer. The caramel had an aftertaste I had a hard time pinning down. It was something sweet, paired with odd cheese and butter notes (not a caramel-ish butter taste); cheese is of course not one of the listed ingredients.







The dark chocolate peppermint cups: Like the caramel cups, the amount of chocolate was good. The chocolate and the peppermint filling reminded me of an upgraded version of Russell Stover sugar free dark chocolate peppermint patties. The filling is thinner in texture than a York Peppermint Patty but slightly thicker than in Russell Stover peppermint patties. You won't mistake these for a York Peppermint Patty, but they are delicious and rich none the less.

The verdict: I probably wouldn't buy Newman's Own Milk Chocolate Caramel Cups again, unless it was a gift for someone who already likes them. But I will definitely buy more Newman's Own Organics Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cups. I hope to try Newman's Own Peanut Butter Cups soon, too.

Nicole's Cafe: Middleburg, FL

Nicole's Cafe In The Country
2216 South Mimosa Avenue
Middleburg, FL 32068







Clay County readers will be interested to hear that a new restaurant is opening. It is called Nicole's Cafe In The Country. The restaurant is in the building previously occupied by B's Family Restaurant & Smokey's BBQ. A drive to Nicole's Cafe confirmed that it isn't open to the public yet; however, a workman at the back door said his men were putting in the hoods today and he expected Nicole's to be open in one to two weeks.

B's and Smokey's both left big shoes to fill. Hopefully the food at Nicole's can match or exceed the quality and friendly service of their predecessors. Working in their favor is the fact that Choo Choo Bar-B-Que shut down their public restaurant ages ago. And the service at Stone E Cabin BBQ down the street leaves a lot to be desired.

I'll add more updates as they come in.

*10/28/2012: Nicole's is open now. Someone brought me a piece of Nicole's mandarin orange cake today and it is to die for X D I'll post a review once I eat inside the restaurant

*11/4/12: Updated post

Russell Stover Red Velvet Santa

When I stopped in Walgreen's tonight, they had the seasonal Christmas candy on the shelves. I spotted Russell Stover Red Velvet Santas In Dark Chocolate and just had to try them.

Each piece of candy is 1.25 ounces. When I opened the foil wrapper, the candy had a delicious red velvet / chocolate cake smell. The outer shell is a thick layer of dark chocolate (just the right amount, in my opinion). The dark chocolate was average quality, not great but not bad either.

The red velvet filling was a let down. The filling was the color of red velvet. But that was where the similarities ended. I assumed the filling would either be creamy or gooey, like many other Russell Stover candies. I guessed wrong. It had the thickness and pliability of rubber cement or putty; I was able to form a small ball with it in my hand. I honestly couldn't tell you what the taste reminded me of, aside from "definitely not red velvet." It seemed like someone started out with red icing and decided to add thickener until it was no longer sweet or stirrable.

Here's a partial ingredient list: Dark chocolate, Vanillan, White Chocolate, Red Velvet Cake Mix, Egg Whites, Condensed Milk, Butter, Cocoa Powder.

Would I buy the red velvet Santas again ? Nope. Would I eat them if somebody gave them to me for Christmas ? Yeah. I mean, they're not gross or funky tasting. I'd probably eat them for the sake of not wasting food or because there wasn't any other candy in the house.

Searching For Good Tea

I am picky about tea. I have a hard time finding teas that I like besides black, orange pekoe, English breakfast, etc. Plus I only drink caffeine free tea at home, since caffeine keeps me awake at night; I drink just 1 serving of caffeinated, unsweetened tea at restaurants because it's a pain in the butt finding caffeine free tea at restaurants + I'm cutting back on sugar.

I started a spreadsheet the other week to figure out what ingredients I like and dislike in tea. So far I've found that the ones I dislike have carob + vanilla, which tastes like a lollipop sans the fruit flavoring to me. Here's the breakdown so far:

- Celestial Seasonings Gingbread Spice = love it
- C.S. Safari Spice Red Tea, Red Rooibos = love it
- C.S. Sugar Plum Spice = On the fence about it. It's got a nice sweet fruit taste, but it has that gross carob and vanilla taste, too.
- C.S. Bengal Spice = It really tastes like a batch of fresh sweet tea. I don't like sweet tea, but I would serve it to people who do.
- Davidson's Coconut Vanilla = Another carob and vanilla tea. Yuck.
- C.S. Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride = Really smells like cookies, but but has carob and vanilla. Thumbs down
- C.S. Cinnamon Apple Spice = Tastes like some kind of wonky fruit scented air freshener. It has carob, too.

So I need ideas. Recommend some good teas for me to try

Carmex Blog Squad: NEW Pomegranate Flavor

August in Florida is something you have to experience to believe. The weather is alternating between afternoon thunderstorms (which leave the air muggy and humid) and tropical, sunny beach weather. The bank signs list the temperature at 95 degrees and climbing. This is the time of year where skipping skincare and lip protection leads to everyone at the office asking "Whoa, you are sunburned and your lips are chapped. Why didn't you slap on some SPF ?" Not a great way to end a fun in the sun weekend. That is why I wear sunblock, stay hydrated and protect my lips with Carmex lip balm. The Carmex Blog Squad sent me a fabulous summer lip care package that you guys will flip for.



I received a beautiful yellow Carmex beach tote with sailor rope handles. Very chic! It even has a zippered pouch for storing Carmex lip balms. Bonus points for the pouch being tethered to the inside of the tote. You'll know where your lip balm, car keys and cash are at all times. This is great for forgetful people like me, who find themselves doing the "Oh no, where's my wallet / or phone" pat down after a purchase and hustling back to a store to ask if someone turned in my belongings.



Inside the tethered pouch were six Carmex SPF 15 water resistant sunscreen lip balms. The first balm is Cherry Everyday Protecting Lip Balm. Quite honestly, I am just not a strawberry person in any form. I have made someone get rid of their strawberry car air freshener in the past. I always pass on strawberry flavored sweets. There's definitely not anything off about the flavor and scent of the strawberry Carmex, it's just my tastebuds. The lip balm stayed on a long time and kept my lips very moist, though. I can tell that my sister, who loves everything strawberry, would like it. My previous review of Carmex Ultra Moisturizing Vanilla Stick and Carmex Ultra Moisturizing Lime Twist Stick can be read here.



These are the other three Carmex SPF 15 water resistant sunscreen lip balms. They are Cherry Moisturizing Lip Balm, Pomegranate Everyday Ultra Smooth Lip Balm and Original Moisturizing Lip Balm. The cherry balm glided on smoothly, had a light, fresh cherry scent and left my lips baby soft. The original moisturizing balm was a little bit gooey, but not messy or sticky. It did dry quickly, though. The original balm smelled like sunscreen, which is a scent I am nuts about! I think it would be great for summer party favors. Fill a cellophane bag with Carmex Original Moisturizing Lip Balm, a few pieces of tropical flavored candy and a beach themed keychain. Tie it with a ribbon and you're done. So easy and elegant to put together!



The newest flavor is Carmex Pomegranate Everyday Ultra Smooth Lip Balm. Like the other Carmex balms, it has "broad spectrum SPF 15" and is "sunscreen / water resistant (80 minutes)." Which is perfect for me, because I tend to spend one or two hours sunning on the beach, followed by reapplying sunscreen and lip balm and rehydrating at the cool, shady snack bar. I have bought fresh pomegranates at the grocery store. So I know how fresh poms should taste and smell. If you haven't tried one, pomegranates taste like blueberries mixed with floral and cranberry notes. Carmex Pomegranate tastes like I just drank fresh pomegranate juice. Yum! I've been wearing it while running errands and sitting in scorching hot traffic. Never a moment of trouble. My lips felt cool, refreshed and juicy. Plus there's something fun about whipping out a compact while traffic has been stalled, casually reapplying lip balm and nodding to the cute driver in the next car.

I am very impressed with Carmex Sticks and Carmex's new Pomegranate Ultra Smooth Lip Balm. Each variety was long lasting, mess free, had a great scent and had the added protection of SPF 15. What more could a happy, beach bound girl ask for ? Carmex has a list of stores that carry the balms on their website.

As a special bonus, Carmex is offering one lucky AMW reader a gift pack. Just like the one I received. You'll be the most stylish girl (or guy) on the sand. All you need to do is a leave your name, email address and a comment below; tell us which Carmex flavor you want to try most + one item you would take along if you were stranded on a desert island. One entry per person, please. Contest runs from Tuesday, August 14 at 4 PM EST and ends on Thursday, August 16 at 8 PM EST. I will pass the winner's address along to Carmex and they will personally mail out the prize. Good luck, everyone. And take care of your lips!

*Update: Congrats to Alice! You are the contest winner. Email me your full name and home address by 8 PM EST on August 16th. Otherwise a runner up will be chosen instead.