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The Cereal Report: The Return of Fruity Yummy Mummy

So Halloween is less than a week away, and spirits are high, so to speak. I can’t say whether to take that literally or metaphorically since I feel it could be misconstrued that ghosts are smoking pot. That’s entirely possible, though I’m not sure whether they’d be potheads who smoked so much weed that they continued to do so in the afterlife, or if they’re just really stressed out ghosts who were recently hooked up, in which case they’re probably the most laid back, least effective ghouls in the history of monsters. Regardless, what I meant to say is that most people I know enjoy Halloween, and those who don’t will probably be brutally murdered on the night of, for not believing or something like that. As such, it’s high-time for another Monster Cereal review which I hope will find you in due time, since these cereals will be off shelves again soon. Admittedly I’m getting kiiinda sick of them personally since it’s been my breakfast nearly everyday since late September, but hey, ’tis the season. Let’s take a gander at the final lot of the group, Fruity Yummy Mummy.

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I didn’t write “The Return of Fruity Yummy Mummy” in the article title to be dramatic. That’s literally the official name of the cereal now.

 

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The Cereal Report: The Return of Fruit Brute

I’ll be the first to admit I’m a big kid at heart. Not quite a manchild, on account of the negative connotation it brings, but I do spend the majority of my free time playing video games and watching cartoons. A good example of this reigns in my recent discovery that Monster Cereals were back in stores for the season. After a particularly gruesome ambulance call, I departed the fire department when getting home, and needed to deposit money into the bank. Immediately following this I saw the Halloween section of Pathmark and proceeded to buy three boxes of cartoon-monster themed cereals, since that’s what all people working as first responders do after leaving work. I also bought a Super Mario Bros. game too, but that’s just pouring it on at this point. You get the idea.

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It helps me unwind. That and whiskey. Preferably together.

Interestingly enough, after resurrecting (no pun intended, I swear) Frankenberry and Booberry a few years ago, General Mills brought back Fruit Brute and Yummy Mummy for this Halloween. That’s fairly awesome for all of us people born after 1984 when it was discontinued. So pull up a chair and feel important! This is the first time in almost three decades Fruit Brute has been on shelves.

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Cheese Review: Goat’s Milk Ricotta

Last week I told of our adventures in Limburger cheese – a cheese that we ordered special from the internet.  This cheese was a much more spur of the moment purchase.  A few weekends ago on our way to the Garlic Festival we visited a local dairy farm.  I mostly just wanted to hang out with the goats, but we also wanted to buy some super fresh cheese.

The cheese is that way guys!

The cheese is that way guys!

It was really nice there because they had a large selection of fresh cheeses made from cow, sheep, and goat milk.  They also had fresh milk, butter, and eggs.  We spent a really long time in front of the refrigerator case trying to decide which cheese to try.  We probably would have bought more if we’d remembered to bring an insulated bag.  But we didn’t want to risk buying a lot of cheese and having it all go bad sitting in the car all day.  Anyway, after a lot of debate we finally decided to buy the goat’s milk ricotta.

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Cheese Review: Limburger Cheese

I’ve been told that there are people who, when they come into some extra money actually save it.  Most people I know use the money to buy something fun and frivolous they otherwise would not have.  We meanwhile spent this money on… stinky cheese.

Besides just our love of cheese, the idea for buying this cheese came from a discussion about how in old shows and cartoons like Looney Tunes Limburger cheese was always used as the quintessential smelly thing.

It’s apparently aged using the same bacteria culture that’s found on human skin to make b.o. and smelly feet. It’s even included on the list of Top 10 Stinky Cheeses in the World.  We wondered, what does limburger cheese really smell like?  Could it really smell that bad?  If it did, why would people even eat it?  The curiosity was eating away at us.  Since Limburger isn’t the kind of cheese easily found in grocery stores, and local cheese stores around here sell mostly local cheeses, we ordered it from the internet.

Hey iGourmet, we're giving you some free advertising...how about some free cheese?

Hey iGourmet, we’re giving you some free advertising…how about some free cheese?

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Snack Report: Knockoff Kinder Eggs

One of my favorite Youtube channels out there belongs to techie/comedian Stuart Ashens. When people ask me to describe what he does in videos, the best I can do is sum them up as “He’s this funny British dude who reviews terrible things.” The things in question are usually various gadgets, video games, and PC hardware, which while nerdy yes, I must indulge, however he also frequently does videos on food items as well. And I use the term food loosely, since they’re generally prepackaged items sold in the U.K. equivalent of dollar stores. While most of these focus on horror cuisine, once in a while Mr. Ashens will do reviews on genuinely nice items he found/had mailed to him.

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America and Britain, the most beautiful form of unrequited love – hate relationship.

And yes, though it’s typically much funnier watching him ingest decade-old gummy snacks or canned mystery meats, and hear his grizzled, British wit in the commentary, the nicer foods sometimes are interesting and informative. Several months ago, I learned of Kinder Eggs through his reviews. These are chocolate eggs with a capsule inside, containing a small toy/prize. Aimed at children, but made by the ritzy, Italian confection company Ferrero, they’re a neat concept that I had never seen or heard of in my entire life.

Oh and they’re totally illegal in the United States.

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