McCafe shakes from McDonald's and zucchini muffins

I'm making these today. Having made similar versions in the
past, I am sure these will be good breakfast munching,
or just tasty snacks.

The "new" McCafe shake from you know who.
Is it really new or just pretty packaging?

This morning I was reading an Bill Maher interview in Rolling Stone magazine. Wow, he's such a genius. He makes me want to pay for cable, then on top of that, pay for HBO.

You can see his appearance on the David Letterman show here:
http://www.cbs.com/late_night/late_show/video/?pid=zXsd07OIZeNpFys3yw6VjD9ZQdXZqQh9

The kitchen wench has a new gig that starts on 5/9, so I may actually be able to afford HBO...soon! In the meantime, I'll be watching it on Jason's Samsung fancy dancy big screen tv. I have never seen a better picture on a tv. My 46" off brand tv is jealous.

There is an ad in the same issue of Rolling Stone magazine that boasts about the new McCafe shakes from McDonald's having a "new look and taste." Really? Is it a new shake recipe or is it repackaged in a smaller, cooler looking cup with some whipped cream on top? I'm thinking this is the case but I might not have the cojones to go and buy one myself to prove them wrong. I mean, I'd rather spend my soon to be hard earned $$ on a gelato shake from Gelato Spot or a chamoyada from Oasis Raspados. Just saying.

I guess reading Bill Maher got me going this morning. Feeling a little more snarky than usual.

:)

Today I'll be making zucchini muffins for a potential mainsqueeze who mentioned he likes them a lot. In the meantime, the picture is borrowed from http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/zucchini_muffins/

• 3 cups grated fresh zucchini
• 2/3 cup melted unsalted butter
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• Pinch salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup walnuts (optional)
• 1 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large bowl combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the grated zucchini and then the melted butter. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the zucchini mixture and mix in. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir these dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture. Stir in walnuts, raisins or cranberries if using.

2 Coat each muffin cup in your muffin pan with a little butter or vegetable oil spray. Use a spoon to distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups, filling the cups up completely. Bake on the middle rack until muffins are golden brown, and the top of the muffins bounce back when you press on them, about 25 to 30 minutes. Test with a long toothpick or a thin bamboo skewer to make sure the center of the muffins are done. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin let cool another 20 minutes.

Note, if you are including walnuts and dried fruit, you will likely have more batter than is needed for 12 muffins. I got about 14 muffins from this batch, and that included filling the muffin cups up as far as they could possibly go (above the surface of the muffin tin).

Krispy Kreme

I like the cow images at Krispy Kreme in downtown Phoenix -
for me it's the "cute" factor.

Breakfast today at Krispy Kreme.

This morning I was trying to remember where Lola Coffee was when I stumbled upon Krispy Kreme. It was fortuitous since my friend from the Arizona Hispanic Chamber was driving behind me and we were looking for a place to have a quick cup of coffee and chat.

As a rule I always choose an independent business, but in today's case I just could not remember which side of Central Avenue Lola's was on and I ended up doubling back, unable to find it. In the spirit of getting us off the road and to a place where we could actually talk to each other, we settled on Krispy Kreme.

And maybe I shouldn't say settled - we both enjoyed the .25 cent cup of coffee and a donut, and the grand total was less than three bucks, which is in the kitchen wench's budget.

So, when in downtown and you need a quick coffee, Krispy Kreme is not a bad place to be.

http://krispykremeaz.com/archives/category/locations/downtown

http://www.lolacoffeebar.com/

Urban Beans and Salon Embellish

Urban Beans has a very friendly patio that makes
you feel right at home.

Yummy pastries and tabbouleh/hummus plates await you
at Urban Beans. Coffee too!

It was nice to sit for awhile with a cool beverage
and enjoy my book.

Sometimes you are in between meetings (or errands) and you just need a place to crash for an hour and check your email (or catch up on reading)...you know what I mean. Today I found the perfect place to "hang my hat" - at Urban Beans just north of Osborn on 7th St. (west side).

They have yummy pastries, chocolate dipped strawberries and a hummus/tabbouleh plate. I also noticed their special today was a Caprese salad for $8. Sounds like a pretty good deal.

The inside is very urban feeling (hence the name of the place!) - the floors are concrete, which I really like. Outside there is a patio where you can hang (and there is wi-fi too) if you're not an a/c person (I'm not).

Urban Beans is hosting an event soon for the Greater Phoenix Chamber (on May 24 - 7:15 am) so if you are looking for new clients and want to check them out, this event might be your ticket.

Today I opted for an Arnold Palmer, they made me one with green/mint tea and lemonade. It was very refreshing. Urban Beans could become my go-to spot for a cup of java/pastry when I'm in the hood. It's dangerously close to my Mom's, and now that we have been "introduced," I have the perfect excuse to drop in, being nearby and all.

They are right around the corner from Salon Embellish, which I need to visit soon for some pampering (and get a hair cut, or two). Salon Embellish hosted our mixer tonight with the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. I was very impressed with their facility; they do massage, hair, aesthetics (waxing/facials) and also sell jewelry. They have Aveda products which I like very much. And... they give a generous discount to AZHCC members (become a member now, the AZHCC can help you meet your bottom line)!

http://azhcc.com/

http://phoenixazcoc.weblinkconnect.com/cwt/External/WCPages/WCEvents/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=2289

http://salonembellishllc.com/

http://www.urbanbeans.com/

See's - the mecca for Easter goodies, and Orange Table

The remains of the day - my yogurt parfait, that is...
and a very spicy bloody mary.

Get your Easter "on" at See's!

It is easy to get distracted by all of the offerings here at See's.

See's is the place to fill your Easter basket. There are chocolate bunnies, chocolate filled eggs, jelly beans, dark chocolate California Brittle in little bags and all other kinds of yummies you didn't know you needed (but you do).

I was in Tempe this morning to have my car looked at. Jack determined my compressor has seen better days (RIP) so we are looking for a solution to replace it so my little beetle will have cold air this summer. He understands the solution we want is a "mexicanada" - or a Mexican way of saying, we're going to fix this thing with bailing wire for cheap but it's going to be a good fix so what we do will hopefully last a long time.

Anyways, his shop is just down the way from See's in downtown Scottsdale, so I was able to do some Easter shopping. Got a Mayfair egg for my Mum, bro and not to forget my auntie (she's having us for dinner tomorrow so I needed a hostess gift). The Mayfair eggs have a cherry and pecan filling covered in dark chocolate - not a bad thing!

Afterwards I met my little sis and her bf Dominic for a light breakfast at Orange Table, also in Scottsdale. Great food here, I can't wait to try their hummus. Dominic enjoyed a grilled cheese sammy on olive bread. (I know!) I'm not a fan of cheese but on this bread I have to tell you it looked so good. And there were tomatoes on it, which looked very pretty peeking out. We all had iced tea which tasted like apricots and I dined on a yogurt parfait with bananas and granola with the best darn bloody mary I have ever tried. You have got to get one of their bloody marys at Orange Table. They make their own bloody mary mix. Yes! That means lots (Lots) of horseradish. I like! Fran munched on a very yummy looking sammie on toasted whole wheat that had all kinds of veggies poking out. The bread slices are very thick and I am wondering where they get their bread. Do they make it? Or, where does it come from - I must find out.

Happy Easter!

http://www.sees.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Orange-Table/57555296443

The Cider Mill Root Beer, Dark 'n' Spicy and Emergen-C

The Cider Mill root beer and Emergen-C (the pink stuff).

I was inspired to write today's post after reading another blog, The Bitten Word, which I have been following for about a year and a half now. They have some great recipes, among which recently include ideas for making a yummy brunch. But, the inspiring post was not mimosas or blueberry muffins, but rather a drink called Dark 'n' Spicy which you can find here http://thebittenword.typepad.com/thebittenword/2009/07/dark-and-stormy.html
The drink includes black rum and ginger beer. And ice. How good does that sound?

Speaking of drinks, yesterday I was at AJ's Fine Foods and a nice man from The Cider Mill was there giving samples of their artisan root beer and cream soda. Both are great! I brought home a large bottle of root beer and I plan to serve it to my little brother next week on top of vanilla ice cream a la root beer float. I'm still working on the entree. Or, maybe we will make extra large ones and that will be the entree.

The Cider Mill also makes sandwiches and isn't far from one of my favorite places, Iruña. So, I'll need to go check it out, soon! http://www.cidermillmarket.com/

Recently my Dad was visiting and gifted me a box of Emergen-C, it's a powder (supplement) that you put in a glass of water. I'm not sure it's giving me more energy (yet) but it is helping me stay hydrated, I can tell you that. And it doesn't taste too bad :)

http://www.emergenc.com/

Cookies in Bloom has caramel apples

I was at Cookies in Bloom today quite unexpectedly. With the best of intentions, I went to Fresh & Easy to take advantage of their sale on canned veg and I also needed some earl grey tea. Well, Cookies and Bloom enticed me with a sign that said they had freshly made caramel apples. That was all I needed to know!

I picked up a "double chocolate" caramel apple for $7.50. It was among the many varieties they have right now including some apples with chocolate/nuts, with butterfinger/chocolate and just plain caramel. They are all wrapped pretty with a bow and would make a nice Easter basket stuffer.

Word has it that the Cookies in Bloom folks are moving closer to the kitchen wench. The new location is 3931 E. Indian School Road, but until then you can find them at 40th St./Camelback.

Between these guys and the new location of Bosa Donuts, I'm going to need to spend more time on the treadmill.

http://cookiesinbloom.com/

Italian butterhorns, plantain chips, cinnamon almond granola and ginger snapdragons

The great bounty from this month's Foodzie tasting box.

Italian butterhorns! I've got to make these.

My Foodzie tasting box arrived a few days ago and I haven't really given it proper attention.

Today I dove into the Italian butterhorns, these are a very light rolled cookie with cinnamon. It's one of the best cookies I have ever tasted, so I'm determined to make them one of these days. Here's a recipe I just found on the internet http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1198757/homemade_christmas_cookies_butter_horns.html.

Or, you might just want to order them from the Foodzie folks at http://cicisbutterhorns.foodzie.com/, I'm thinking this would be convenient for gift giving, especially to my bro and sis-in-law who live in California.

Other items in my Foodzie box this month are ginger snapdragons - get them here http://www.lizlovely.com/, cinnamon almond granola from http://www.fionasgranola.com/good.html and finally plantain chips from these guys http://estrellitassnacks.com/. I haven't tried the snapdragons or the granola yet but if appearances mean anything, they will be delicious. I have munched a bit on the plantain chips (with a nut brown ale) and they are not too sweet, crispy and lightly salted. I would buy them or give them as a gift.

Foodzie is cool. You can look on their website and see where stuff is made near you so you don't have to order too far from home (if you don't want to). The tasting box is $19.99 each month and includes postage. It is a fun way to try stuff you might not buy for yourself, but you might start buying it after trying it.

http://foodzie.com/