I was at an Asian market, looking for some other things, and was thirsty. I saw a whole bunch of canned juices and the like in a cooler, along with the more common Coke products. Feeling adventurous, I got myself a can of sugar cane juice. “How could this be bad?” I thought to myself. “After all, it’s sugar cane and water. Should be nice and sweet, with a different taste.” In the parking lot walking to my car, I opened the can, took a swig, and promptly spit it onto the asphalt. The remaining liquid quickly found its way to the ground as I poured it out. If this stuff ain’t for drinking, what the heck do you use it for?
In the US, Halvah is sold in blocks, sometimes chocolate covered. You buy it refridgerated in many grocery stores… I think it’s kind of dry and crumbly, and not very sweet, but not gross (then again, I’ve never had any that arrived in a canister! I would think the oils go rancid very easily.)
I also like Turkish Delight, the kind you get at a Lebanese market in Dearborn, MI or NYC. It’s a big coil all covered in powdered sugar and the lady hacks off a chunk for you. Flavored with rosewater and lots of pistachios! Nummy. Please note however, that the packaged British kind is gross.
Dude, you’re better off with Dolly Madison Zingers. Mmmmm…Zingers.
In high school, I devoured the V. C. Andrews “Ruby” series of books, about a girl from the Louisiana bayou, and was absolutely fascinated by the yummy descriptions of traditional Cajun/Creole dishes. I really wanted to try jambalaya. It sounded like absolute culinary heaven!
So, one night, my dad gets a box of jambalaya mix from Zataranz or whatever it’s called, and mixes some up. The verdict? Eh…it wasn’t oh my god, this is disgusting, it was just…so ho-hum. But it was basically slimy rice with some pork and shrimp mixed in. And the spices weren’t that great. Now, maybe real, authentic, homemade jambalaya is good, and the mix stuff isn’t so hot, but I was very disappointed.
And just now, my mother and I went to Giant Eagle to pick up some take out and dessert for dinner. She spotted canoli at the bakery, and was thrilled, as she LOVES canoli, and hasn’t had any for a long time. Well, we get home, and she takes a bite, and starts making all these faces. They put nutmeg in their canoli. She doesn’t like it. So I’ll eat it, I suppose. It’s not bad-a bit sweet, but then I can wash it down with ice cold milk.
Idlewild, I wouldn’t give the hostess fruit pie such a bad rap as some in here. It might not live up to your mythological expectations and it is certainly not as good as my Mom’s, nor my own, homemade pies, but there is something really special about the sugar glazed, pastry crust. I’m not sure if they deep fry it or if it is just a really short pastry, but it is certainly unique and half of the experience. The fruit fillings are admittedly not that special and are recognizble as the APS (American Processed Standard) apple or cherry pie filling from the can. The lemon filling is quite another beast, however and better than any other processed lemon filling, IMHO. I love 'em. The fruit pies beat the twinkies and hoho’s anyday of the week …They are the Queen of the Hostess line.
Never made my own, but the jambalaya you can get at any eatery in New Orleans is delicious, if a little dry.
This is great 
All this extra data to add to my Hostess Fruit Pie fetishizing!
Beer. It looks so ravishingly, heavenly good and satisfying and wonderful in the commercials, but when you taste it–heck, when you just bring it near your nose–it taste bleeeeccchhh.
Wine was another thing. In all of my fantasy novels, people used to swig it like grape juice. They might down an entire pitcher at once. I imagined it being sweet and tangy and delicious. In reality, I like very few wines, and they’re all very wet and fruity. Not a huge regret, just disappointment.
I will give you that about the crust; it’s pretty darned tasty. If I could take out the filling and put something else inside the crust, I’d be a happy woman. I never had the lemon filling, though… damn you. Now I have to find a lemon one!
We lived near a Hostess Bakery Outlet when I was a kid, and we’d go there to get deals on various baked goodies. My mom used to put the Hostess snacks in the freezer with the idea that we wouldn’t gobble them all up right away, and kept a few in the fridge for us to snack on. I will note that I thought the Hostess Cupcakes were actually better frozen. Something about the firmer chocolate cake, I think.
I fell victim to this, and a coffee-flavored drink that I ended up pouring down the drain.
I hate to break this to you but Zingers are now made by Hostess.
Sugar cane juice fresh is pretty damn tasty, as is green coconut juice sipped straight out of the coconut with a straw. Although all the bottled green coconut milk I’ve ever had has been pretty vile.
I too am constantly falling prey to interesting drinks in the Asian store. Among the worst experiences I’ve had include Chrysanthemum drink and some truly horrific concoction dubbing itself Grass Jelly Drink.
A minority opinion, I assure you!
Depends on the beer. There’s some swill out there, but there’s ambrosia too.
A few months ago I bought some Pollo Rice A Roni from a clearance type grocery story. I figured it was just Chicken Rice A Roni made for the Mexican market. Properly made, chicken Rice A Roni is food of the Gods. While cooking the Pollo version, I noticed it didn’t smell the same. I definitely didn’t taste the same. Something like cardboard with a dash of tabasco for heat. My dog wouldn’t even eat it.
Jambalaya is food of the gods. It’s actaully very simple to make from scratch. Hardest part is all the chopping of onion, celery, pepper and sausage. I also use fresh peeled shrimp (add at the end and don’t overcook) The consistancy should come out on the dry side instead of slimey.
Oh, I don’t doubt it. I’d definitely be willing to try it again. BTW, is it based on Spanish paella? (That was another disppointment that a friend’s mother raved about, then she made it once, and while it was good, it wasn’t the OH MY GOD THIS IS SOOOO YUMMY that I was promised.)
While there may seem to be similarities with both being rice dishes, I don’t think so. Jambalaya is simmered while covered and may be stirred occasionally to test the consistancy or to prevent sticking while paella is stirred constantly creating a much different finished product.
Here’s a link to a good jambalaya recipe. If you don’t have access to crawfish, shrimp can be substituted. I usually don’t quite add all the stock at once so I can manually adjust at the end instead of it ending up too wet (or dry). If using shrimp, I also make the stock using the shimp shells (just simmer the shells in water while chopping the remaining ingrediants).
Crawfish & Sausage Jambalaya
JSGoddess
I’ve found that some of the prepackaged brands of halvah are truly horrendous. I’m still not sure whether I bought an expired tub, or whether (Avah? Akava? an Israeli brand) always tastes and smells like a combination of halva and a pile of dirty socks. I recommend Joyva. Look for their logo, a smiling face in a large turban. Be warned, most of the people I’ve shared it with compare it to dogfood and/or chalk.
Re Turkish Delight
When we read the book in elementary school, our teacher managed to find Turkish Delight. IIRC Not a single kid liked it.