Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Hobnobs and simplicity

After eating an entire package of hobnobs in two sittings (actually, two drives), I started wondering if I could make them at home. I read the ingredients and other than "glucose-fructose syrup" I think I can get them.

I know it isn't easier to make them myself, but it would mean that they weren't shipped from England (and god knows some of the ingredients were probably grown in the US or elsewhere and shipped to England for assembly in the first place), weren't packaged in that unrecyclable plastic crap, and didn't have weird "glucose-fructose syrup" in them.

I'm also going back to making my own scones after two VERY disappointing experiences in the local coffee shops. The most disappointing was the local, 2 blocks away, organic coffee shop. It's new and the ingredients for the baked goods are supposed to be local. I tried the coffee at the drive-through once and it was crappy AND they forgot I'd handed them my reusable cup so they'd made the americano in a plastic cup, then poured it in my cup and thrown out the plastic one. Sigh.

The next time I went inside and tried again. This time the americano lacked the hazelnut I'd asked for AND the "scone" was some sort of overly moist concoction that had been wrapped IN PLASTIC! while still warm so had steamed itself to a soggy mass. It was like a muffin top, but without the crusty goodness. No way to dunk it.

The other bad scone incident was this morning at a better coffee shop. You know it's a good shop because they always admire my Simpsons car seat covers which I rescued from my environmental disaster of a sister who was throwing them out when they were still good. Anyway, the coffee was good and the scone itself was fine. But what the f--- was up with the super sicky sweet blaze orange frosting??? There is no frosting on a scone!

They said they'd changed the recipe because people complained that the scones were DRY! duh. (Reminded me of when my ex who was a chef at the local yuppie restaurant got complaints that the caesar salad tasted fishy...NO SHIT. Perhaps that's the anchovies in the dressing as is not only traditional but noted on the menu in red.)

Anyway, I make a mean vegan cranberry almond scone so I'm no longer putting up with substandard sconage.

We'll see how the homemade hobnobage goes.


No 'Poo update: Did my second baking soda scalp scrub this afternoon and I must say my scalp feels all tingly and clean. My hair was a tad harder to comb perhaps because I washed it bent over so I could clean the back of my scalp which I think got sort of missed last time. I also did the cold water rinse. I managed to do that a lot when I was a teen because I heard it sealed the cuticle on each hair shaft and would therefore give me shiny bouncy hair like Valerie Bertinelli (Oh you editors of Seventeen Magazine with your empty promises...the photos of my fried, frayed, frazeled hair in the '80s gives lie to your recommendations). A cold water rinse when you are 41 is worse than when you are 14 and still have the metabolism to re-heat your head in a reasonable amount of time. I may have scalpular frostbite.

3 comments:

Pamela said...

is 'scalpular' a word?

Jill said...

yes.

Fly Right said...

I want a copy of the HobNob recipe as soon as you complete it!!!! And I think you still owe me the breakfast bar recipe, as I have been very nice lately. . .