Nothing like the presents

Send-Off Gift from Sonja L. Ocampo, Chef and Owner, Cupcakes by Sonja, The Serendra Piazza

WE CAN think of countless good reasons under the sky for giving.  But the sweetest one may be for no reason at all.

Or when it is meant to send someone off well.

A message from Sonja. She wasn't in the store when I stopped by (it was already very late). But she had left instructions to her girls about my box of presents. Sweet =)

——-

“Are you bringing that with you to Singapore?”

My youngest brother asked, nonchalantly, in between taking up spoonfuls of the scrumptious dinner that I made, his eyes set in a fixed glassy stare at the object in question.  I lifted my first-edition Nokia XpressMusic – its original casing cracked near the power-on button and its screen broken on the right side – and brandished it with the response, “But of course!”

A couple of days later, I got a text from him asking me to meet him up at Greenbelt 3 where he was hosting dinner for about twenty architects, engineers and interior designers who worked with him on his latest (successful) project.  I didn’t want to intrude so I asked to be met outside the restaurant.  He got out and handed me a brand new Blackberry Bold 9780.  “Thoughtful,” I immediately said to myself.  Not so much because of the gesture of giving me a gift, but more so because he knew I wouldn’t like the Blackberry Torch.  I’ve never been into sliding phones.

Actually, I’ve never been into gadgets.  With cell phones, as long as I could text and handle calls, I’m perfectly fine.  And I’ve never received one as a gift.  So I was really surprised.

Why am I thinking of this anecdote?  Yesterday marked my third month here in Singapore.  And I couldn’t help but look back to all of the presents I did receive days before I got on that Singapore Airlines flight.

Sometimes it’s nice to reminisce.  Here are some of them.

Brand new Blackberry Bold 9780 from my youngest brother. The other one, the "Curve", was for my other brother.

 

I love that the Blackberry came with a free holster.

 

Sonja makes the best cookies!

 

...And of course, cupcakes! They're the very reason she put up her pioneering store in the Philippines!

 

From Thea, an Onitsuka Tiger bag, "handmade to the highest standards!"

 

And from Batman himself... another Batman!

 

 

Copyright © 2011 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

Through pastel-colored macarons

Five pretty little macarons all in a row – hazelnut cream, green tea, coffee, pistachio, and caramel.

ONE OF the songs I vividly remember being sung to me as a kid was “La Vie En Rose.”  My now 89-year-old grandmother would sing the first few lines, or hum the melody, then would tell me, “It’s seeing the world through rose-colored glass.”  I don’t remember if it was glass or windows.

When I grew up and became the foodie wannabe that I am, I would get reminded of this song every time I would see macarons.  But it’s beyond seeing the world through rose-colored glass.  It’s seeing the world through pastel-colored windows.

Macarons are the love.  They’re those precious little biscuits made from ground almonds, baked to a crisp outside, with the center kept rather soft and pleasantly chewy.  Two pieces are put together to make a sandwich with a creamy filling put between them.  Macarons take up the color of the flavor they are infused with.  So you can say that a spread of these confections make for a rainbow of yummy colors.

Carousel, Royal Plaza on Scotts’s international buffet restaurant, always has a wide selection of freshly made macarons on display at their pastry section, situated right at their entrance.  So imagine the kind of good mood seeing these macarons would put me in, every single day – for fourteen days.

On one morning after breakfast, I thought about getting a box of five – one each of hazelnut cream, green tea, coffee, pistachio, and caramel.  I brought it to work as a present for Green Lantern.  He’s a photography enthusiast so it’s like saying I’d want him to see the world through pastel-colored lens.

Gotta snap this shot of the macaron box and Carousel's elegant paper bag before I hit the door to go to work!

 

A closer shot of the box. It does say "five macarons." I'm lovin' the color!

 

Five happens to be my favorite number!

 

Once more with feelings – hazelnut cream, green tea, coffee, pistachio, and caramel.

 

Copyright © 2011 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

Traditional dinner at an ultra-modern home

Le Façade

FRIENDSHIP CAME back home for the holidays.  Just really a few days, to be able to spend Christmas eve with her family.  By the time this gets posted, she will have been about 30,000 feet up in the air, on a flight back to be with the Merlion.  She’ll be welcoming the new year there.

In between those days, she managed to invite me and Brother to dinner at their brand new ultra-modern home.  The invitation was actually first extended over lunch at Cibo, on the eve of this year’s presidential elections.  Knowing Friendship and her family, I wasn’t the least surprised that seven months later, the invitation still stood.

Brooklyn Pizza at Town delivered the night’s dinner – pizza, pasta, and lots of chicken wings.  Home-cooked goodness was courtesy of Friendship’s dad’s crispy pata (crispy trotter) that came with a special dipping sauce.  And of course, steamed rice that I myself asked for.

I couldn’t devote my concentration on the food as I was in awe of the house – from the all-white façade, the floor-to-ceiling glass panels that surround the house on both levels, the staircase, and the all-white interiors contrasted only with accents of dark wood and touches of chrome.  But for me, the best part that demanded my attention – quite a feat as it meant pulling me away from pasta – was the kitchen!  I swear, theirs is a kitchen FoodNetwork TV show dreams are made of.

The only other things somewhat successful at distracting me from my fascination with the kitchen were the array of desserts Friendship and her family spread out.  There were cookies from Ju.D’s by Ju.D La’O of Greenmeadows, a frozen tiramisu cake, a buko pandan ice cream from Pampanga, and a really moist chocolate cake from Cielin’s.

The simple yet elegant place setting

 

My plate. This was just my first helping!

 

Chocolate Cake from Cielin's

 

As traditions would have it, I got my own box of Ju.D's scrumptious chewy chewkies. I could finish this whole box. And I almost did!

 

Hands down, one of the best cookies I have ever tasted!

 

One of the many drink options made available to us by Friendship.

 

The Starbucks tea was actually full loose leaf tea that came elegantly packaged in a mesh pouch like this.

 

One thing that Friendship, her sister and I share is a passion for wristwatches!

 

Friendship's new Technomarine Cruise!

 

So lovin' the ceramic feel and look of this ToyWatch wristwatch!

 

One thing I like about Friendship's sister's new ToyWatch is that it is the exact same one used by Sandra Bullock's character in her Oscar-winning role in "The Blind Side".

 

Copyright © 2010 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

Like unintentionally deconstructing dessert

Organic chocolate tablets

eNTeNG KNEW that it could’ve been a lot easier if he had just gotten a pack of fig newtons.  But he also knew that after a long while, he had found himself unencumbered with time.  A quick glance at the vintage mechanical wristwatch he had on revealed that it was already 2:00 AM – yes, he wears wristwatches all the time – but instead of shutting his eyelids, he got up from bed and went to the kitchen to make something for his eleven zzz’s.  The delicious read he had in his hands had to be parked at page 43.

On top of the dining table, on one side, was a seeming disarray of deliciousness attempting to leap from under a pile of multicolored biodegradables.  His hands burrowed through the pile as he felt the need to concretize the scent that had arrested his olfactory nerve the very moment his feet hit the stairs landing.  “Ripe sweet guavas,” he exclaimed in his head.  One more thrust of the hand confirmed the suspicion.

He picked the three that appeared to be the ripest, and under running cold water vigorously scrubbed their green exterior.  He reached for his favorite knife – easily a seven-year-old blade – and sliced open the first.  The green yielded to a yellowish flesh that ensconced a delicate pink pulp.  As its juices flowed freely on to the board, the essence of its sweetness rose to perfume the air.

eNTeNG opened his eyes slowly, as if from a trance.  It occurred to him that the guavas, though not macerated in some natural acidulent and sugar, would taste great packed firmly inside folds of buttery, crumbly crust.  While he did claim early on that time was not of the essence, eNTeNG knew that he wouldn’t want to knead dough when there was still page 43 to go back to.

So what was a hungry bookworm to do?  Certainly not hunker down and pray for a miracle of very rich thick butter cookie!  He turned to the cupboard and hoped to find the closest alternative.  And he did even better – a pack of Marks & Spencer Organic Scottish all butter shortbread fingers!  “Ah, the words of Paulo Coelho always ring true,” eNTeNG told himself, as if a pat on the back.

With the munchies taken care of, eNTeNG turned to the fridge to find something to wash everything down.  The ice-cold 1.5-liter bottle of Coca-Cola beckoned to him, temptingly so.  He feigned resitance, shaking his head from side to side, but with his hands almost reaching out to grab the bottle by the neck.  That was when his fingers accidentally nudged a jar of whole milk.  “Milk?!”

Faster than he could muster a mono-syllabic response to the query that had formed in his head, he absent-mindedly slammed the refrigerator door to dash back to the helter-skelter of a pile on the dining table.  Instinct told him that something he had chanced upon earlier – the rolls of white paper wrapped around something cylindrical – could be conceling tablets of ground organic chocolate made from the roasted beans of locally grown cocoa.  He guessed right, as the nondescript white paper packaging exposed the chocolate tablets.  Actually, the blotches of cocoa butter on the paper were the first giveaway.

He turned the fire on underneath a heavy-bottomed saucepan to bring 320-mL of water to a roaring boil.  To this he dunked three of the four chocolate tablets available in one roll, the provenance of which he learned the following morning to be the province of Guimaras.  He whisked the simmering concoction like crazy until all the solids melted away into the liquid.  He did so while snacking on the fourth tablet.

He poured himself a big mug, leaving enough room for the cold milk from the jar.  He decided to add just a little brown sugar.  And in keeping with his propensity of late to lace everything with his current “tipple” of choice, he sprinkled a teaspoon of Zino Davidoff Grande Cuvee Café to top off his drink.  Who knew Mr. Cool Water also made coffee?!

By 2:32 AM, eNTeNG was back at page 43 – the book in his right hand, the guava, shortbread, and the chocolate taking turns in his left.

A wedge of the sweetest ripe guava

 

Marks & Spencer Organic Scottish all butter shortbread fingers

 

Each roll has four tablets.

 

A tight shot of a chocolate tablet, bitten into.

 

Swirls of yummy goodness

 

Davidoff Grande Cuvee Cafe

 

"Having a taste for quality is having a taste for life." - Zino Davidoff

 

Copyright © 2010 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

36 Things

36.  AFTER THREE unsuccessful attempts, I’ve finally completed the Starbucks® Coffee Company’s Christmas Traditions Promo Card.  I redeemed my 2010 planner at their Las Piñas store on New Year’s morn, just hours after I was treated at the hospital for firecracker-related injury – also a first.

Starbucks Christmas Traditions Promo Cards

My Starbucks 2010 Planner, plus three bags of New Year's gifts.

 

35.  I’ve been in the same job for the past 14 years and two months.

34.  My beverage of choice be it at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf or at Starbucks® is Hot Chai Tea Latte served over ice.  Strong on the freshly steeped tea, easy on the steamed milk.  Unfortunately, neither has perfected it, just the way the Sodexho Coffee Bar at Intel Corporation in Folsom makes it.

The very kind staff at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf didn't mind me taking a shot of their fragrant chai tea loose leaf blend. It was a bouquet of cardamom, cinnamon, star anise and fennel, with hints of ginger and black peppercorn.

My chai tea latte over ice is finally served! Notice that it's quite milky white, unlike in the States where they put more of the steeped tea. Chai tea latte should be a mug of spicy black tea with milk and sugar, profuse with notes of cardamom, cinnamon, star anise, fennel, ginger, and black peppercorns.

I've kept these beverage rewards cards all these years.

 

33.  I’ve been meaning to prop up my Americana Wooden Birdhouse at the terrace.  But I haven’t gotten around to actually doing it.

32.  The first time I’ve ever seen a movie on 3D here at home was when I saw Toy Story 3.  I thought the Dolby 3D glasses over my Emporio Armani prescription spectacles were putting too much strain on my eyes.  I didn’t know the lump that was forming in my throat had managed to escape through my eyes.

Toy Story 3 movie tickets

31.  The best motion picture I’ve seen in the past six months is Up In The Air.

Movie ticket for Up In The Air

30.  During flights, I take photos of the airplane’s wings at 30,000 feet.

Took this photo of an airplane wing on a flight from Penang in Malaysia to Singapore.

29.  I’ve never seen an episode of Glee.  But I never miss watching Royal Pains weekly – on its original time slot and on both its encore screenings on Saturdays.

28.  While I prefer tempura batter to be light and fluffy, I don’t mind the heavy batter Healthy Shabu-Shabu uses on their mixed tempura.  My favorite in their platter is the shiitake mushroom caps.

A small portion of Healthy Shabu-Shabu's Mixed Tempura

27.  Gourmet’s Farm grows the sweetest, most fragrant basil leaves.  I bought one packet, stuck it in the fridge, and forgot about it.  Three days later, when on a whim I made my angel hair pomodoro, I got arrested by the unusually heady, invigorating scent that tearing Gourmet’s Farm’s basil leaves emanated.  Basil had never smelled that good to me!

Gourmet's Farm's Sweet Basil

Really fragrant Gourmet's Farm sweet basil leaves ready to perfume my pomodoro sauce.

The actual Angel Hair Pomodoro I first used Gourmet's Farm's Sweet Basil on. Sumptuous!

26.  Mapúa Institute of Technology, where I studied in high school, was near Baker’s Fair where I used to get my favorite hopia monggo.  Nineteen years later, I serendipitously discovered their ube ensaymada.  Simply scrumptious!

Baker's Fair's Ube Ensaymada

Purple yam swirls through the brioche.

25.  I eat noodles using chopsticks from Shanghai that my friend Tenz gifted me with.

Chopsticks from Shanghai, courtesy of Tenz.

My favorite chopsticks piercing through a pile of Beef Tendon Noodles from Kim Hiong!

 

24.  The big Zara S-A-L-E is going on.  There is one item I didn’t get before – because it was still full-priced.  Hahaha!  I wonder if it’s still available.

Zara S-A-L-E, 2009.

23.  One of my principles in life is:  “Never pay full price!”

22.  The only vegetable entrée I consistently ask for everywhere is Ampalaya Con Carne (bitter gourd with beef in a fermented soybean sauce).  At Max’s, I’d rather have that than the all-you-can-eat fried chicken they are currently offering at a very reasonable – almost a steal – Php 165.00.

Max's Ampalaya Con Carne

 

At Maxim's Tea House, Ampalaya Con Carne with Rice can be had to go.

21.  I prefer fried chicken to be doused by nothing more than a good Worcestershire sauce.

Max's fried chicken

 

Worcestershire sauce does wonders to fried chicken!

20.  My tea of the moment is TAZO Mint Blend, courtesy of my Ninong Allan Paz.  It’s a caffeine-free herbal infusion described as a bracing blend of mint with a pinch of tarragon.  Doesn’t that sound lovely?!

A pile of this wonderful tea from Ninong Allan Paz!

 

The description of this tea blend alone is half the fun already!

19.  I adore Cibo’s Farfalle Genovese.  This dish of farfalle (bowtie pasta) in a wild mushroom cream sauce with fresh basil pesto is both heaven on a plate and a party in your mouth.

The family size serving of Cibo's Farfalle Genovese

 

Farfalle Genovese on my plate

18.  Still at Cibo…  I always ask for extra slices of fennel bulb and fronds whenever I have a plate of their Spaghettini Alla Romana (spaghettini with sardines in oil, fennel, and red pepper pesto).

Cibo's Spaghettini Alla Romana

17.  My favorite Chicken Tinola (chicken in a gingery broth with chili leaves) is not my own, but my friend Stave Michael’s.

Stave Michael's Chicken Tinola

 

This has got to be the best homecooked Chicken Tinola I've ever had.

16.  My favorite commercially available cookies are Mama’s Kitchen’s Mango Chewies from Iloilo City.

A box of Mama's Kitchen's Mango Chewies from Iloilo City

 

These are the best cookies!

15.  Buon Giorno! at the Cliffhouse in Tagaytay makes amazing Bruschetta and Insalata Caprese (Caprese Salad – tomatoes, basil, buffalo mozzarella).

Buon Giorno!'s Bruschetta

 

Buon Giorno!'s Insalata Caprese

14.  Of the many malls, The Podium gets decked in the best Christmas decorations.

The Podium, Christmas 2008.

 

The Podium, Christmas 2009.

 

In Christmas 2009, Victorinox Swiss Army held an exhibit at The Podium.

 

I loved the golden Christmas trees that hung from the ceiling.

13.  Whenever it’s on the menu, I ask for fresh Chrysanthemum Juice.  Here, I get it only at Banana Leaf and at North Park.

Fresh Chrysanthemum Juice at The Banana Leaf

12.  Long before Up and Toy Story 3 wrung my lachrymal glands dry, Finding Nemo had done so seven years earlier.

I found Nemo!

11.  I waited for the results of the voting in the 121^st IOC Session, and I was quite saddened when Chicago lost in their bid to host the Games of the XXXI Olympiad (the 2016 Summer Olympics).

One of the placards in downtown Chicago as the city awaited the announcement of the winning host for the 2016 Olympics.

10.  The Highlander Steakhouse at Tagaytay Highlands makes an excellent Salad of Hearts of Romaine and Smoked Salmon.

Tagaytay Highlands' The Highlander Steakhouse's Salad of Hearts of Romaine and Smoked Salmon

 

I served myself with a lot of the smoked salmon! Greeedyyy!!!

  9.  I’ve had the best Chicken Curry dishes at over 30,000 feet up in the sky, on board Air India and Jet Airways flights.  The New Bombay Authentic Indian Cuisine at The Columns on Ayala Avenue and at The Podium is a nice place to go to here at home.  Besides the curry, I super love their Saffron Basmati Rice.

Chicken Tikka Masala Curry at The New Bombay Authentic Indian Cuisine

 

Saffron Basmati Rice

  8.  I have three notebooks in current (simultaneous) usage status – the Superman notebook I made, the Cardinal Notes from Mikko, and the Daily Notes by kikki.K from Friendship.  They’re for my essays, work, and all other notes of personal importance, respectively.

MIT Cardinal Notes from Mikko

 

kikki.K Daily Notes from Friendship

 

The cover of the Superman notebook I made.

  7.  More than ever, I have become really grateful for friends far and wide.  Not a single day passes by without me having conversations with Friendship, Batman, and Superman – no matter how busy each of us may be.

Friendship!

 

Batman!

 

Superman!

  6.  I’ve developed a deeper appreciation of Anderson Cooper, anchor of CNN’s AC 360^O, after reading his memoir Dispatches from the Edge:  A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival.

My book of the moment!

  5.  I woke up with Maroon 5’s Sunday Morning playing incessantly in my head.  Sang it a number of times in the shower.  So it turned out to be a looong shower.

  4.  For three years in a row, Batman has always been the first one to greet me on my birthday.  And there has always been a gift.  I sure hope he does keep that tradition this year.  Hahaha!

  3.  I’m craving for the U.S. Beef Ribcap Tapa & Garlic Overload at Mr. Jones in Greenbelt 5.  TheCorporateTeener highly recommends it.  “Tapa” in this context loosely translates to strips of beef that had been cured.

  2.  I believe in this: “There comes a point in your life when you realize who matters, who never did, who won’t anymore…and who always will.  So, don’t worry about people from your past. There’s a reason why they didn’t make it to your future.”

Adidas Samba shoes... my favorite!

  1.  My favorite shoes are still the Samba by Adidas.  They’re the best!

Copyright © 2010 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

Cookie monster is I

WHILE WAITING for the 9:10 PM last full feature screening of Toy Story 3, I holed up in one of my favorite places at Town – Powerbooks.  With the doorstopper that is The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook:  The New Classics on my lap, I devoured Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, slumped on the black square couch with the worlds of classical and art deco architecture closing in on me from either side.

I know I’m falling in love with a book when I come across one passage that makes me pause, lift my head up, look somewhere distant and see a scene from my past that breathes life into the passage.  I get goosebumps and the hair on my arms and on my nape stand on ends.

I haven’t gone past the preface when I came across a succinct description of how wonderful cooking for someone is – something that I have attempted to describe in length here.  I paraphrase, “cooking (for someone) is the purest and most unselfish expression of love.”  As to what Anthony Bourdain calls the close second to that, I shall leave it on the pages of his book.

Having read this brought to mind the most wonderful batch – and I mean huge batch – of cookies that one of my most generous friends, Mama Hen, gifted me with last week.  The cookies’ arrival on Wednesday was actually heralded by a text message that came a day before, something that was quite successful in sending my heart off in frenzied palpitations: “I will be there Wednesday.  I will bring cookies for you,” followed by, “I will bring what I baked this morning:  peanut butter, oatmeal (two kinds), molasses, choco chip.  All cookies.”

Wednesday came.  And as the wax paper linings were being unfolded, I immediately caught whiffs that couldn’t belie the fact that only the highest quality ingredients would do for Mama Hen’s cookies – a fitting homage to the cookbook author whose masterpiece was on my lap as I recalled the experience.  I later learned that Mama Hen not only has been baking since as far back as she could remember, but also, and more importantly, that she has been doing this for some time now for her children’s lunch box.

I shared these cookies with some of my and Mama Hen’s other friends.  But while it was tempting to ration these out in portions – doling out for dramatic effect – I surprised even myself for finishing mine in one sitting.  I guess something so good just couldn’t be helped but enjoyed.  By the time I licked off the last tasty and buttery good crumb off my fingers, I realized that the peanut butter, oatmeal and choco chip had found a special place in my heart.

I checked my wristwatch and realized that I still had to hit The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to get drinks and cheesecake before the movie had to start.  I hesitantly put Kitchen Confidential back on the shelves – having gone halfway through.

Just like Mama Hen’s cookies, I wanted just one more bite.

Chocolate Chip

 

Oatmeal

 

Molasses Spice

 

Oatmeal (again!)

 

Peanut Butter

 

Copyright © 2010 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

When you love you don’t count the cost

YOU SIMPLY don’t.  Especially when you are giving away something in a box that seems to cost an arm and a leg more than what the contents are worth.

An assortment of Isabelle® cookies in the "Amour" purple-and-pink gift box with a pink ribbon.

 

“Quand on aime, on ne compte pas.”

ISABELLE® cookies are simply some of the best I have ever tasted.  And this one right here comes in the special “Amour” gift box, on which is stamped, “Quand on aime, on ne compte pas.”  The box itself alone is so pretty that it took time before I could get past it to take a peek at what was inside.

And inside was a collection of some of Isabelle’s most popular and most delicious cookies, all individually wrapped.  Included in the mix were cookies infused with the luscious essences of coffee, chocolate, and vanilla.  Espresso Crunch was all coffee and crumbs.  Mischievous Chocolate was devilish as it was sinful.  And Heavenly Vanilla seemed to have come straight from up above, packed in a gossamer pouch as light as a cloud.

Something like this shouldn’t be finished in one sitting.  In fact, one has to make a personal injunction to ration it out.  But if it can’t be helped, one can argue that it was done to free up and re-purpose a box as beautiful as this one.

Ain't it pretty?

 

A sneak peak at what's inside!

 

The cookies and biscuits are individually wrapped. The vanilla discs even comes in their own gossamer pouch!

 

Some of the individual plastic wrapper says, "Un bon biscuit"!

 

One more look at the very yummy contents!

 

Copyright © 2010 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

Caramel chocolate chip cookies

Ricci's Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

PERFECTION CAN be tiring.  There’s just no other way to go from that state.  But courtesy of a tub of sweet treats, I conceded that perfection could pull a surprise too.  And in this case, it came by way of a sinful addition right smack at the center – a cute dollop of caramel.

A tub of six of the very best caramel chocolate chip cookies

I first wrote about my friend Ricci’s chocolate chip cookies here.  A few other treats have come and gone between then and now – punctuated by the likes of my death-by-chocolate favorite that is the S&R muffin – but this tub of her “Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies” deserves mention in this space.

A cute dollop of creamy caramel brought perfection to a whole new high!

Just how good were these cookies?  I had to flick off my selfishness switch and opted to share.  Even my diabetic Mother couldn’t resist a bite – okay, she had a whole one to herself.  But that meant working her meds and her Omni blood sugar monitor on overtime.

 

 

Copyright © 2010 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

After Otis

Starbucks® Coffee Company's Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Cookie (natural light is piercing through two layers of paper – the brown paper bag, and the while parchment paper lining.)

I THOUGHT there wasn’t any life after Otis Spunkmeyer.  I’ve had it so good with Otis that I just became so jaded towards just about every other oatmeal cookie out there.

But on one very late night at one of my favorite Starbucks Coffee Company outlets, I realized I had been giving Starbucks’ Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Cookie a longing, wondering stare when the bubbly twangy barista had to stoop from the display counter to meet me at eye level and emphatically say, “May I get your order, Sir?”

This cookie was worth the longing, wondering stare.

The order just rolled out from my tongue – sugar-free Vanilla Frap with very little whipped cream, venti; hot Caramel Machiatto, grande; searing hot Drip Coffee with room for milk, short; Dark Mocha Frap, no whipped cream, grande; and, Hungarian Sausage with Egg and Cheese in ciabatta, warmed, cut in half and bagged separately.  Just when the comely barista finished repeating my order, I politely raised the volume of my voice just enough to quip, “And I think I’ll try one of your oatmeal cookies.”

I has to stop from breaking off pieces from this luxuriously good cookie to be able to snap this shot. That cookie sure is thick!

Back in the car, I excitedly tore off a piece from the cookie and proceeded to carefully chew – I wanted to savor if it was as good or as “old-fashioned” as it claimed to be.  By the time I was breaking the third chunk, we had already turned around because I decided to go back to get the other three that remained on display!

Simply one of the best oatmeal cookies ever!

Starbucks’ oatmeal cookie is exactly what old-fashioned goodness is.  It’s slightly tart and yet sweet.  It’s huge, thick, while at the same time soft and chewy.  And the best part?  It’s the texture the rolled oats give the cookie, perfect with all the raisins that generously dot each piece.  Nowadays, I could easily finish five of these while I read a book.  I haven’t sworn off Otis entirely.  But in its place, Starbucks does a fine job satiating me.

They say life is what happens when you’re busy making plans.  I will say life is what happens – life made sweet by oatmeal cookies – while you wait in line at Starbucks.

Copyright © 2010 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MuchTime™©.  All rights reserved.