Gentle readers, I am proud to announce that my pride and joy, my beloved Ani the rabbit, has launched her own line of quality organic foods and put all her bunny friends to work. At the moment, her name is misspelled on the packaging, but that’s my fault because I dictated the package artwork over the phone. We’ll sort that out in time for the next round of commercials.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVOBxq21tJc&rel=0
By the way, those aren’t raisins in the produce section, Brouhaha
Will Ani give a portion of her earnings to this site? Or will she spend it all on a 5000 carrots necklace?
hee hee! 5000 carrots necklace…
I usually avoid commercials but I’ll watch that one anytime. Plus I’d love working for Ani, (Annie’s) if that means I also get to play with the bunnehs.
I love Annie’s and Bernie, the Rabbit of Approval! Except they stopped making Mexican Macaroni and Cheese which was the BEST. That always happens with products I love: they get discontinued. Danish-Go-Rounds in the 1970s, Kraft Complete Spaghetti Dinner (with the packet of parmesan cheese and the can – later pouch – of sauce), Classico Tomato Alfredo (not the sundried tomato alfredo, but the kind that tasted like tomato basil soup which is probably why it got discontinued as a sauce and sold for a higher price as soup) Ben & Jerry’s Purple Passionfruit Sorbet (long a part of the flavor graveyard), Liz Claiborne Realities perfume (in the gold and teal bottle), and the list goes on and on… sorry for the rant but it’s my birthday and I’m feeling self-indulgent!
Happy Birthday! I’m wondering if it would be possible to improvise the Mexican Mac & Cheese with some regular Mac and chili powder and cumin.
Thanks Mike! Yes, I think one could fiddle with recipes to come up with a good substitute. A couple of weeks ago I had leftover cheese spread with hot chilis that was way too spicy for me to eat on bread. So I made some pasta and added the spread and a lot of heavy cream and it was pretty much the right amount of spice and cheesy consistency as Annie’s. I just wish I’d written down how I managed to reproduce Stouffer’s Noodles Romanoff a couple of years ago… I know it had goat cheese in it!
Happy Birthday! You deserve to have all of those items back.
While we’re at it – I’d like Trader Joe’s to bring back their Apricot Sauce. (Like apple sauce only apricots and it was a little tart and so yummy – especially with a tiny bit of peanut butter).
sigh.
Thanks, Tara! The apricot sauce sounds yummy! My boyfriend has two apricot trees and usually makes apricot preserves (the consistency is a little like applesauce but it unfortunately has tons of sugar in it)
Oh! I am SO envious! The neighbors had a tree growing up and our playhouse was right next too it. Us kids would hang out in there and pick that side of the tree clean. Their tortoise, Snoopy, would feast on the over-ripe fruit that had fallen to the ground. I can still see him slowly munching with a lot of orange mash around his mouth.
As for jams with too much sugar – have you tried using Pomona Pectin? It jells with very low sugar. It’s the only one I use anymore. It leaves the flavor of the fruit better as well.
Ooh, that sounds yummy (well, except for the peanut butter). I love fresh apricots. I often eat them with plain Greek yogurt mixed with vanilla and a little raw sugar, and Cascadian Farms honey oat granola.
Happy birthday N. Fritz!
Thank you, Allein! Austria has a very healthy apricot production, especially in the area around Krems. They make everything with apricots, and I mean everything! A friend of mine makes an awesome cake with fresh apricots, almond extract and pepitas (green pumpkin seeds). Yum!
That cake sounds delish! Happy late birthday!?
Thanks 6Rabbits! It is delectable! – and only available when fresh apricots are in season 🙁
I loved that apricot sauce. As I recall, it was French. Maybe it became too expensive. Trader Joe’s is always discontinuing things I like. They had this Lady Grey tea a while ago… Well, don’t get me started. I’m afraid to get too attached to TJ’s stuff now. Anyhow, Happy Birthday!
Thank you, Warrior Rabbit! I picked up a mixture of Earl Grey/Lapsang Souchong the last time I went through Heathrow. Heaven in a cup!
Warrior Rabbit, are you looking for Lady Grey tea? I’m sure I’ve seen it here in Abbotsford recently.
I’m currently stuck on Earl Grey Vanilla, and when it goes on sale, I stock up!
It was actually called Duchess Grey and was the TJ’s version of Twining’s Lady Grey, but better. At the time, I even joined a Facebook group petitioning for its return to shelves. No dice. I guess I could settle for Twining’s.
I’d also add that the apricot sauce — I don’t know what you were supposed to do with it (probably some fancy cooking), but I ate it straight out of the jar. (Now I wish I’d tried it with peanut butter.) And I kept the jars, too, because they were pretty. I use them as glasses.
Happy Birthday, N. Fritz. I empathize with you having had various favorite treats disappear from the shelves of stores.
Has anyone ever tried Annie’s Gummy Bunnies?? They’re really good, way better than your average gummy candies. (I hope THEY haven’t been discontinues!
If you like Annie’s Gummy Bunnies, try Trader Joe’s either their Swedish Swimmers, any of their gummies or jelly beans. They are sooooooo good and have no artificial crap in them. Because of my food allergies, they’re the only ones I can have and usually will sneak them into movies when we go.
Thanks, Murray C.! We have lots and lots of gummi candies here. My current favorites are apple flavored gummi vitamins. Yum!
It’s your birthday Mr Fritz and as the song says, you can rant if you want to. Well it doesn’t say exactly that but I think it’s better to rant than to cry.
Happy birthday!
Thanks Gigi! It’s been a weird kind of birthday. Usually I celebrate by giving a big party for my friends (in Austria it’s traditional that the birthday girl – or boy – throws their own party which can get quite pricey). But this year I attended my school’s “prom” last night, my boyfriend had to go back to Vienna this afternoon, and I just had a dinner with casual friends at the local Greek restaurant. So it’s nice to be able to celebrate a little here!
Happy Birthday N. Fritz and many more! I agree we you about favorite items that have disappeared into commercial graveyards or my other bugaboo, they change the formulation!
Thanks, AJ! Oh, the reformulation burns me too! The only cottage cheese that isn’t (er… wasn’t) as sticky as wallpaper paste just changed their formula so it’s like all the others. Growl… snarl… grr…
Happy Birthday N.Fritz! I hear you re missing discontinued products– I had a thing for Lipton’s Turkey Tetrazzini and that stuff is long gone.
Thanks FKAWaldenpond! Ooh, turkey tetrazzini sounds good! One of my favorite recipes is for turkey ham tetrazzini from an ancient Betty Crocker entertaining cookbook. I just found the recipe online if you’re interested!
Yes, please pass on the link. I always love reading recipes and looking through old cookbooks. I inherited a few cookbooks from my Mum which were from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s and I find them fascinating.
I’m going to try to link to a page in Google Books with this tiny URL: http://tinyurl.com/zcv4rbg Let’s see if that works, FKAWaldenPond!
Happy Birthday, N. Fritz!
I love old cookbooks too – they’re such a window into their time. I have a ‘Budget Cooking for Two’ book from the ’50s with marvelous line drawings. Also love church/community cookbooks with recipes for things like “Strike Pie,” a sort of casserole – I guess to stretch a dollar when your menfolk are on strike?
Huh, sounds logical. What are the ingredients?
One of my favourites from my Mum’s old collection is ‘Italian Cooking for the American Kitchen’– meals from my childhood are all there and more importantly, special is her handwritten notes. Whenever I see someone’s handwriting who have since passed away, boom! they are back in the room. 🙂
‘Strike Pie’ = mainly two hot dogs and a lot of potatoes – definitely a budget stretcher. 😀
Yes, I love the ones w/personalized notes & anecdotes.
Thanks, Smartypants! I also love old cookbooks, especially the church/community ones! A friend of mine just found one from my home state and before I respond to her, I want to guess what recipes are in it. Things like hash browns cheesy casserole and banana split dessert with canned cherries and cream cheese. I also have my Grandmother’s collection of recipes that I’ve been trying to digitize since 1993…
I have one from my elementary school, circa probably 1986-1987 (the editors are all kids that were in my class, so I’m guessing we were in 6th grade, but I can’t find a date on it anywhere). The cover is laminated blue construction paper with a greenish marbled pattern, with the title printed on white paper and each word cut out separately and pasted somewhat crookedly and off-center to the construction paper. The pages were printed on a dot-matrix printer, then bound with one of those plastic bindings (kinda like a spiral but not…)
The cover says Applegate News Team’s Cookbook and the cover page inside says Applegate News Team and Computer Club’s Book for Cooks.
And each section has a rhyming couplet to describe it.
That’s something else I’m getting rid of, old cookbooks. I’m keeping the really old ones – I have what I think is an original Fannie Farmer. I’m sure I’d never make something from it but it’s so interesting to see how food prep has changed. Even the ones from 40 years ago seem so antiquated compared to how we cook now.
Happy day!!!
Thanks, DebG!
Happy Birthday, N. Fritz! May all your favorite products be returned to the shelves!
Thanks, Ricky’s Mom!
I am speechless over the bunnies! (Probably because I gasped at the cuteness and inhaled a mouthful of tea.)
Happy birthday, N. Fritz
Thanks, Duckie!
Happy Birthday, N. Fritz. For gummies, I’m really partial to the Whole Foods Super Stars. When I was a child, there was a product called Oven Melts here in Canada that I’ve always missed. Came in different flavours. It was like a super-thick cheese slice with ham and other things already mixed in and you put an oven melt on a slice of bread into the toaster oven or under the broiler for a snack. I know that you can mimick it with a regular cheese slice and your own add-ins but it’s never been the same.
Thanks, Birdcage! Oven Melts sounds familiar somehow! My family makes a grilled sandwich that is made from diced Spam, diced cheese, sandwich spread with pickles already mixed in, onions, You mix up all the ingredients, spread the mixture between two pieces of bread and then grill it like a grilled cheese. Sounds like Oven Melts cut out the middle man!
Such adorable buns!
Personally, I think anyone who’d confuse raisins with bunny poop, hasn’t seen bunny poop!?
HEY! A new phrase – “You don’t know bunny poop!”
I’ll admit, there’s a lotta poop I don’t know.
(Though I do know goose poop after the minefield that was my workplace’s parking lot this morning…)
Ah, yes, I remember being on one of the docks in Boathouse Row in Philly – goose poop has been an issue especially when one is carrying a boat.
Little green logs and piles everywhere, in the rain. Always look down while walking.
Our fake dog silhouettes don’t seem to be working today.
Yay! I keep getting this ad in my instagram feed, and knew this was the place for it.
Happy Birthday, N. Fritz!
Thanks, Brouhaha! And thanks for the submish – it made my day!