lunch at Jeni’s

We’re on the way home from Carmel and we stopped, of course, at Jeni’s in Dublin. Having some first-timers with us this time made it even more fun.

After pointing them out to the handlebar-mustached young guy behind the counter, they were handed samples of Salty Caramel, the most popular flavor.

We all sampled various flavored and made our selections.

I’ve always wanted the ‘One Night in Bangkok” sundae, but have never been able to stand the heat from the cayenne pepper in the peanut ice cream. I gave it another try today and didn’t think it was too bad, probably due to my increased intake of Buffalo wings of late…

The added peanuts, caramel sauce, banana and whipped cream help to tone it down. You even get a fortune cookie! My only regrets: not ‘trying’ Salty Caramel’ and ‘Wildberry Lavender.’ I know what they taste like, but no trip to Jeni’s seems complete without them.

I CORRECTLY predicted that the newbies would be boring and stick to ‘plain’ favors. Indeed, Abigail got a vanilla and chocolate cone, and Carolyn and Ben shared a ‘Mock Turtle’ sundae, which features vanilla with pecans and caramel and chocolate sauces. At least they liked them.

Andrew got a favorite, Whiskey and Pecans, in a fresh-made cone.

On the way out, we spied a leg lamp in a shop window…

I (heart) wegmans’ vegetarian bar

Studying for my anatomy lab final!

what i’m loving right now

(Or WAS, when I wrote this post.)

“Biscoff” spread!

The below photo is of Trader Joe’s version, what they call “Speculoos Cookie Butter.” Not sure where the ‘speculoos’ comes from, but whatever.

Anyway, I’d been hearing a lot lately about Biscoff spread on Kath’s blog and Emily’s blog, and I’d seen it at Wegmans before, so I figured I’d pick up a jar next time I was there.

Well, when we swung into Ohio to stay with friends on the way home from Thanksgiving in Carmel, IN, Andrew and I met up with my dear friend, Susy, at Trader Joe’s and did some serious damage. One of the things she threw into my cart was this spread. (I didn’t even try to stop her.)

It tastes like crushed gingersnaps and is completely delightful mixed with cranberry sauce on a bowl of oatmeal. Very ‘fall.’

The only bad thing is that unlike peanut butter or almond butter, it doesn’t have any protein (less than 1 gram), so it’s not really a nutritional powerhouse or anything. It’s basically just dessert to spread on breakfast foods. Or any food, for that matter.

Like this morning, I spread a tablespoon on toast with the last of the Thanksgiving cranberry sauce (I’m almost embarrassed I’ve had it this long… They’re pretty acidic–how bad can they be?).

On a side note, doesn’t the above meal (toast, half an orange and egg whites with cheese) remind you of a ‘balanced breakfast?’ I never got those sugar-cereal commercials that touted their product as part of a ‘balanced breakfast’ when they’d pan and have a shot of a bowl with orange juice an a muffin. HA!

Anyway, if you think you’d like this kind of thing, be sure to pick up a jar of either TJ’s version or Biscoff at your local grocery store!