Zagnabbit!

Since I've started working a regular old 9 to 5, the posts here have, ahem, slowed down. OK, slowed to a crawl. Anyway, I've been thinking of ways to reinvent the Fork & Spoon blog. Here's one approach:

Consider this the first in a series on vending machine snacks. I'm at work, you're at work (hopefully not), there's vending machines around. Let's talk about them. Every so often (probably weekly), I'll discuss one snack machine item. Basically, work food reviews for working stiffs.

I should say that the vending machine in my office is a non-traditional one, in that it's not a machine. It's a cardboard display with a rotating stock and an honor system coin boxes.

While I appreciate the trust (I think my company pays the difference between what's paid and owed), I also like being able to read the ingredients. It keeps me from eating too many snacks.

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The Zagnut bar, launched in 1930, is a real throwback. As you can see on the right, the bar's no-frills red and yellow wrapper communicates its vintage. Bought by Hershey's in the '90s, the bar remains more cult classic than blockbuster. It may have appeared in more movies than store shelves.

After its design got my attention, the Zagnut wrapper promised: "crunchy peanut butter, toasted coconut." It was a combination I couldn't resist.

So what does a Zagnut taste like? Kind of like a Butterfinger, minus the chocolate and with a toasted coconut aftertaste. There are very few candy bars not coated in chocolate. And while cocoa is listed as an ingredient in the "contains 2% or less" category, I didn't see or taste it.

As seen in the photo to the left (and yes, that's a manila folder background), the Zagnut has two distinct layers. There's the toasted coconut shell, which features coconut sprinkled onto a sugary coating (corn syrup?). And then there's the peanut butter interior which has an almost pop-rockish texture (minus the crackling).

Personally, I'd prefer more coconut, as the peanut butter dominates. Still, it's not a bad candy bar. In fact, I'd take it over a Butterfinger any day.

Then again, my vending machine doesn't usually have Butterfingers. Every week, though, the vending guy collects the money and changes the stock. What'll next week bring??

Note: No paper cuts were suffered in the writing of this post.

Birthday Bites

As some of you may know, yesterday was my birthday. Kind soul that she is, the Spoonstress made sure it was filled with fun, food and fun food.

I awoke to the spoils of a Foster's Market run. Our special birthday plate held a chocolate chip scone, a slice of apple bread and a slice of pumpkin gingerbread, which the Spoonstress admitted she couldn't resist after my the pumpkin rant in my last column. Served on our special birthday plate, it looked something like the picture above.

To wash it all down, there was a steaming cuppa joe and a yummy blueberry banana juice thingy. Topping it all off, a new discsang from the CD player (remember those, you iPodders?).

Throughout the day, the Spoonstress kept e-mailing me with the location of hidden treats. My favorite store-bought cookie, Foster's Chocolate Whoppers, was in a cupboard. A serial saver, I promptly ate half, leaving the rest for today. Sigh.

Then, the Spoonstress alerted me that my favorite candies--raspberry and blackberry gumdrops--were inches away in a desk drawer. Sneaky.

I've always liked these berries, perhaps because they remind me of past checkers glory. Yet, I've never been clear on what to call them. Some ignore the blackberry factor altogether.

That may make sense because there doesn't seem to be much attention given to the blackberry flavor. The only taste distinction is that the black ones aren't as sweet as the red.

Smoke before fire. Works in both checkers and candy.

In the Mix

It's not a bad one, this first day of spring. The daffodils are booming and the robins are everywhere.

In thinking about writing a spring column, my first thought was to write about barbecuing, or grilling out for you 'barbecue is a noun' folks. I was thinking it was time to dust off the grill and get ready for barbecue season. But all I could come up with was Cook Out Calisthenics. You know, the barbecue workout.

This was a strange idea, even for an offbeat food column. I decided it'd be best for all parties if I just wipe down my grill without fanfare.

It was on to another warm weather topic: ice cream. Specifically, I've decided to write about mix-ins. Not toppings, but things one mixes into a bowl of ice cream.

The inspiration came from my friend Jon's rant about how much he despised Cold Stone Creamery. This well-named amigo hated how Cold Stone latched onto the mix-in idea that ice cream expert Steve Herrell created in the 1970s and began running smaller stores out of business.

As for me, I think their ice cream is too creamy and too sweet. Plus, despite not being a wrestling fan, I always seem to call it Stone Cold by mistake. To be fair, Stone Cold, er...Cold Stone does have some interesting mix-in options. But I'm hoping that with your help, I can come up with more intriguing mix-in ideas than this bland chain.

Send in any suggestions for ice cream mix-ins you imagine would be tasty. All ideas, which you can submit as comments below, are welcome. The only rule is that you have to be able to mix-in the items, not just pour it on top.

Two quick promises:
1. I won't write about anything as vanilla as mixing Oreos into ice cream.
2. The mix-ins will be better mixed in than the ones pictured here. (I was going more for art than realism in the photo.)