Candy Yum Yum!

Christmas Idea #1: See's Candies

2009-12-01T21:33:00.004-05:00

I've always wanted to try See's chocolates. I'd heard about them all the time, but we don't have them here on the East Coast. So when someone from the company contacted me and asked if I'd like to try a sample, I was psyched. I was particularly excited to try the Scotchmallow, which is honey marshmallow and caramel covered in chocolate.After driving home from Thanksgiving with the von Schokolats

Now I Can Say I've Been Covered in Chocolate

2009-11-29T15:43:00.006-05:00

Every family has their post-Thanksgiving tradition. Some people go shopping on Black Friday; others go get their Christmas tree. In the Haus von Schokolat, our annual ritual is to go to the Apollo Day Spa.This year, while everyone else was getting massages, I was the guinea pig for the chocolate body polish. Yes indeedy, you heard me right. Chocolate.When we first walked into the spa, No-Nuts was

Marshmallow Cocoa Martini: Make One for Santa!

2009-11-28T20:22:00.005-05:00

Here's an early Christmas gift from me to you: my recipe for a Marshmallow Cocoa Martini! I was inspired by the Candy Corn Cordial from Halloween, so I decided to see what would happen if I infused some vodka with marshmallows. I took four large marshmallows and cut them into quarters (or you could use a handful of mini-marshmallows) and put them in a container with 3/4 cup vodka. I let it sit in

Santa, Why the Blank Stare?

2009-11-23T14:19:00.005-05:00

I figured it was time to get into the Christmas spirit, since, you know, Thanksgiving is almost here. I wouldn't want to get behind the trends and all. I decided my Christmas cheer would take the form of a Russell Stover Coconut Cream Santa. I can't say as I've ever seen these before, but it may be just because my affection for coconut is a relatively new thing.Here it is. One chocolate-covered "

An Acupuncturist Walks into the Candy Store

2009-11-21T16:56:00.005-05:00

My friend Marisa recently went to Japan with her acupuncture class to study with The Master and learn the ancient Chinese secrets of the Order of the Great Tiger. Well, I don't know if the Master part is true, but she did go there to hone her needling skills and, in the process, found some fun Japanese candy for me. I've been just kind of staring at these beauties for a few weeks now, gathering

Create Your Own Candy Bar! (Or just eat mine, like Mr. Goodbar did)

2009-11-16T14:42:00.007-05:00

A while ago, I got to thinking about what my fantasy candy bar would be. If I had any smarts at all, I would've taken this idea one step further and started a create-your-own candy bar business. But I seem to be missing the synapses that take my ideas to finished products. A mental deficiency, probably caused from drinking coffee at age 5.Enter Chocri, a German company that allows you to pick

Lemonheads and Licorice

2009-11-12T21:19:00.007-05:00

Have you missed me? I've missed you. It's been non-stop action since Halloween. I'm happy to report that the last of the Halloween candy (as far as the Sugar Baby knows) was eaten today. The rest is stashed in a drawer for No-Nuts.I got kind of sugared out after Halloween, but I think I've got my appetite back, so let's catch up, shall we? I was very excited to come across these Tropical Chewy

Shameless Commerce

2009-11-08T21:25:00.004-05:00

It may only be November, but before you know it, Christmas will be here. Check out my new magnets at my Etsy store. At 2 for $3 or a set of 5 for $6, they make a great stocking stuffer.

Halloween Post-Mortem

2009-11-06T22:25:00.003-05:00

Oh, the irony that is November. Here I am, with a house stocked full of candy and so much to write about and review, and yet I have so little time. I'm doing NaNoWriMo again, so I'm pretty much a walking zombie.But here's a few tidbits of what's been going on at the House of Yum:1) The Sugar Baby has this thing where, when he's eating a group of candies, say a handful of M&M's or a box of Dots,

Candy Corn Cordials: The Perfect Pairing with Halloween Candy

2009-11-03T15:08:00.006-05:00

My pal Marisa pretending that this is her first drink of the nightWe did it! We actually made the Candy Corn Cordials after trick-or-treating. A couple of friends from the old chocolate store days came over and we reminisced about all the good times (stuffing fudge in the toilet, fighting over who got to wait on Nut Bark Man, watching the "new kid" shove cases of candy out the back door to his

Halloween '09: What Dressing Like a Fly Agaric Mushroom Will Net You

2009-11-02T07:55:00.011-05:00

It took me a whole day to recover, but I think it's safe to say that I survived Halloween '09. First stop: Father John's for the difficult decision of which full-size bar to take. (It just occurs to me that Father John looks a lot like Ricky Gervais.)Actually, the Sugar Baby had no trouble deciding. He went straight for the Almond Joy, which was the same one he picked last year, despite the fact

2009-10-31T08:25:00.001-04:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Halloween, Phase II: Downtown Trick-or-Treat

2009-10-30T20:48:00.005-04:00

I've forgotten how exhausting trick-or-treating can be. Today was the downtown trick-or-treat where all the local stores and politicians hand out candy to the kids and coupons to the parents. Basically about five million people descend upon the town all at the same time, so there's a crush of crowds and everyone is all hot and sweaty in their costumes and tired kids are screaming and teenagers

Wah, Wah, Wah....

2009-10-29T20:21:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I promised you the great unveiling of the treats I made for the Sugar Baby's party at school. Fortunately, I made two different things.First, ghost Jell-O jigglers. Easy, fun, festive.And then, trying to be all Martha, I decided to make mini caramel apples that I saw in a magazine. Here's what you're supposed to do: use a melon baller to scoop balls of apple. Put a lollipop stick in the

Trader Joe's PB&J Bar: Chocolate + Potato Chips

2009-10-28T22:07:00.007-04:00

Knock on wood-- we're doing better here at the House of Yum. Wait until you see what I made for the Sugar Baby's party at school tomorrow. I'm just waiting for it to set up.In the meantime, let's talk about this here Trader Joe's PB&J candy bar. I've looked at this numerous times, but it never really sounded very good to me. PB&J just says sandwich, not sweet. But then, on a whim, I decided to

Halloween Cannot Be Contained

2009-10-26T19:52:00.003-04:00

We're in a state of emergency here in the House of Yum. Both the Sugar Baby and I have caught some nasty bug and we're both hacking away. Fortunately, it's not the flu, swine or avian or platypus or any other kind. But THIS IS HALLOWEEN WEEK! We have plans! Starting Wednesday, the craziness begins. Tomorrow will be a day of total rest and fluids. Nothing but chicken soup and Sesame Street all

Countdown to Halloween '09: Father John is on the Scene

2009-10-24T21:13:00.005-04:00

Verily, I say unto thee ... who's cooler than Father John? Seriously folks, this is what I'm talking about. As you know from previous years, the Sugar Baby and I have a rigid Halloween schedule. There's the trick-or-treat downtown during the day and then neighborhood trick-or-treating at night. This year there's the library party and the preschool parade, too. (Yes, of course I signed up to bring

Yummy Earth: Organic Candy That Tastes Good

2009-10-24T14:58:00.004-04:00

One of the moms at the Sugar Baby's new school found out I had a blog. Not only does she have a 3-year-old, but she also just gave birth to a brand new baby just a few weeks ago. I figured if anyone needed a special treat, it was her. So I shared some of the candy love that was sent to me from Yummy Earth. I like this company, because it was created by two dads who wanted their kids to have a

Revisiting M&M's Premiums

2009-10-22T16:05:00.002-04:00

I try not to use the self-checkout at the grocery store because 1) I want to create jobs for people, not reduce them and 2) Something always goes wrong and I have to wait for the wasteoid stoned teenager with the scraggly goatee to come help. I didn't have much choice the other day though when I was buying the incredibly stereotypical milk, eggs and bread. It was either wait in a ridiculously

What If You Have a Two-Story House With Black Shutters and a Brown Door? Huh? What then?

2009-10-21T14:39:00.004-04:00

Every Halloween, my grandparents would buy a mega-sized Hershey bar for each of us kids. We'd go to their house right after school (they lived just around the corner) and collect our prized bars. Then later that evening, all decked out in our costumes, we'd ring their doorbell for the regular booty they were dishing out to the neighborhood kids.I was sent this big bar because it is a "special

Stick Up Yer Dukes, Jeffrey Steingarten; Winner Gets a Skybar

2009-10-19T20:46:00.005-04:00

For some strange reason, the October issue of Vogue showed up in my mailbox the other day. This is quite a mystery, since I'm so not fashionable. In fact, I'm negative fashion. No doubt if I had a daughter she'd be mortified by some of my choices of dress, most often a sweatshirt and jeans. (As I'm writing this, I decided to check the mailing label. Aha! It would appear that this magazine belongs

The Great New York Candy Extravaganza, Part III

2009-10-18T21:45:00.005-04:00

After leaving Economy Candy with our haul, we decided to check out the neighborhood and the interesting little shops. One place made me stop and look. It was called Mastihashop, and at first glance, it looked like a place that sold fancy little soaps and beauty products. But then something on the sign caught my eye; it said "candy."Indeed, the shop did sell things like creams and soaps, but they

The Great New York Candy Extravaganza, Part II: The Haul

2009-10-15T13:16:00.004-04:00

It doesn't seem like so much now that it's all laid out, but I was trying to be pretty selective. So, from the back we have:two varieties of Pucca: regular shell with chocolate creme filling and chocolate shell with chocolate creme filling. I bought two boxes because these are made by Meiji, the same company that brought us the fantastic Chocorooms. The first thing I did after leaving the store

The Great New York Candy Extravaganza, Part I

2009-10-14T08:04:00.003-04:00

It's been almost four years since I've been into the city. The last time I went was before I was pregnant with the Sugar Baby. This is sad, considering I only live 1 1/2 hours away. So when my Partner-in-Crime asked me, "Hey, do you want to go to New York for your birthday?" I jumped all over it. YES! YES! YES! I've been dying to go to Economy Candy on the Lower East Side for such a long time now

Dontcha Just Wanna Take Him Home With You?

2009-10-13T21:41:00.003-04:00

I was going to wait and make a big announcement, but I've decided to go for the "soft opening" instead. So without further ado, I'd like to introduce my new Etsy shop! Yes, now you can have your very own piece of Candy Yum Yum art. My shop is still under construction (I still have to figure out how to make a banner and I have lots more items to list), but I figured I'd share it with you guys. So