April 2024 Journal + Kaffre talks Candy #83

Welcome kind journal readers!

So what happened in April? Well, my mother's memorial was kind of a mixed-bag as we were late getting to the appointed location and missed the other guests, but still has a nice enough time reminiscing with my siblings, eating, and listening to music. I haven't had the opportunity yet to chat with the other party that went before us, but it sound like they enjoyed themselves too despite missing us.

As for next month? Well, there's a rock and mineral show organized by the lapidary society - it's not as big as Gem Storm and is more geared towards jewellery than the sorts of items I usually go for, but it is free and coincides with a pottery show and art show occurring in the same facility at the same time so I'll probably make an effort to attend. My brotherès birthday is also coming up, but I'm not really sure what we'll do for that. Also, having kind of messed up Mom's posthumous birthday celebration, I'll probably want to do something special for Mother's Day, but again I haven't really decided upon any specifics as yet...

Well, anyway, I guess that's about it for this month's journal. Thanks for reading and be sure to come back next month! *hugs*

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Kaffre talks Candy #83:

Name: Kurkure (Chilli Chatka)
Manufacturer: Frito-Lay
Size: 115 gram bag
Where Purchased: Food Basics
Description: Consists of extruded chickpea/corn/rice meal pieces formed in irregular, but vaguely cylindrical pieces and dusted with brownish seasoning,
Opinion: An Indian snack produced under license in Canada which I grabbed on a whim. While superficially similar to Cheetos, Kurkure are denser and crunchier. Ostensibly flavoured with garlic, chilli, and paprika, the only thing I really picked up on was 'heat'. They're not unpleasantly spicy or anything, but the flavour was definitely less complex than the other flavours. Overall, I liked this item and would buy it again, but I do think I preferred 'Masala Munch'

Name: McVitie's Gold Billions Wafer
Manufacturer: United Biscuit
Size: 39 gram bar
Where Purchased: British Isles Shoppe
Description: Consists of a cream-filled wafer cookie covered with a layer of caramel-flavoured white chocolate and with a milk chocolate base.
Opinion: A British product I've never seen before and decided to sample. While this product sounds rather 'busy' in terms of different flavours and textures, that proved not to be the case as the different aspects of this product complimented each other brilliantly. The dominant flavour is definitely caramel with chocolate adding a nice counterpoint. I'm not sure I tasted the vanilla creme, but it may have kept the wafer from being too dry. Overall, I enjoyed this product and would consider purchasing it again in future.

Name: McVitie's Salted Caramel Club
Manufacturer: United Biscuit
Size: Seven 22 gram bars.
Where Purchased: British Isles Shoppe
Description: Consists of crunchy biscuit (cookie) bars topped with a thin layer of caramel-flavoured stuff and then enrobed in chocolate.
Opinion: A new item I nearly missed during my most recent trip to the importer. Longtime readers will know I don't really like the texture of caramel, but fortunately this bar doesn't seem to have much or any, but does have a moderately intense, and surprisingly (but not overly) salty which goes quite nicely with both the chocolate and the caramel. Overall, I enjoyed this item and will consider purchasing it again next year.

Name: Penguin Biscuits (Mint)
Manufacturer: McVitie's
Size: Pack of seven 24.6 gram cookies
Where Purchased: British Isles Shoppe
Description: Consists of two chocolate biscuits with mint-flavoured chocolate creme sandwiched between them and enrobed in milk chocolate. Comes individually wrapped in packages of seven.
Opinion: A British product I grabbed due to a lack of Club bars. Despite the rather chocolate-heavy description, these cookies actually have a light and refreshing mint flavour in a nice crispy sandwich cookie. The mint flavour registers a happy medium that seems just right for a product of this sort. Overall, I liked this product and would definitely purchase it again, but there are plenty of other mint flavoured cookies that I also enjoy.

Name: Terra Sea Salt & Vinegar Vegetable Chips
Manufacturer: Hain-Celestial
Size: 141 gram bag
Where Purchased: Dollar Tree
Description: Consists of chips of taro, sweet potato, batata, and parsnip. Some reddened by beet juice.
Opinion: Another item I grabbed on a whim. As with the other varieties of Terra chips I've sampled, the flavouring was pretty uneven and not very intense, but the diversity of flavours and textures provided by the different vegetables went a long way towards compensating for that lack and was my favourite part of the experience. Overall, I did like this product and would purchase them again in the future, but I think I preferred the 'Screamin' Hot' flavour to these.