Hot Choco, Comforting Fun Food

It is that time again in Vancouver where Hot Chocolate is celebrated and it starts today. For 2024 there is celebrating at 105 locations across the Lower Mainland! My fave food writer has outlined the impressive offerings in her Festival article.

The Greater Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival starts on January 13th and has over 160 versions of this Liquid Fun Food. First started in 2011, this 14th Festival is the biggest yet as the festival has grown in both locations and versions that make this perfect Liquid Fun Food more perfect and comforting!

And an update on MY very favourite Hot Chocolate (liquid chocolate pudding!) – you can find it at Eataly as well as in Budapest!

2024 – Is Here!

The new year is here – 2024!

And to welcome in 2024, NY’s Eve is a good time to raise a toast with your beverage of choice.

This Purewow article on Champagne Cocktails seems to include a range of drink ideas that could work with or without Champagne! 50 ideas for making cocktails, punches, margaritas, spritzers, sangria, and my favourite Kir Royale.

And if you are going to start Dry January before or AT midnight, here are 25 Mocktail recipes from a fun article from Brit&Co.

Happy 2024!

New Year, Same Me – a Capricorn Cocktail for 2022

Let’s start off 2022 by promoting & reminding everyone of the key fact that Fun Food can be a liquid!

Please give this great article from Thrillist a read and discover how to celebrate the start of 2022 with a healthy & tasty cocktail – New Year, Same Me! And it uses celery, citrus & tequila – maybe use your new bottle of Reposado tequila bought for Cadillac Margaritas (previous post).

Fun twist is how Winter Solstice ( December 21st ) is the Start of Capricorn Season which brings energy, insight & perspective – this Fun Food cocktail is the perfect drink for right now, the start of 2022.

And if you would like to add lucky foods to your start to 2022, this Thrillist article lays out what you can eat to bring on 2022 Luck! Some of your choices are Fun Food – cake & noodles – and many seem to be good for you – fruit & proteins…!

Enjoy 2022!

Oat M*lk Update

Back in April I made the case for Oat Milk’s status as a Fun Food. Well lots of people agree and there is currently a shortage of the best selling brand Oatly.

So far my fave So Fresh Earth’s Own is still everywhere BUT I’m worried as it seems to have been voted best tasting Oat M*lk in Canada since I last looked at their website… And milk is now spelled m*lk!

This fact filled article from LiveKindly not only shares the details on the Oatly shortage but also provides a doable oat m*lk recipe if all your grocery store sources dry up. If I get desperate, I WILL be trying it and I actually already have a nut milk bag!

Not “goat milk”, OAT milk…

If I got a free coffee every time I have had to clarify my OAT milk request… Oat milk is Fun Food.

We Canadians are lucky with So Fresh Earth’s Own – what I believe to be the best tasting & easy to find brand of oat milk! The price is right and it is made in Canada, no surprise given all the oats we grow. So Fresh is soooo plant based it has a Plantifesto. Fun Foods could all aim to get Plantifestos!!

One of the earliest brands – maybe the first – is Oatly from Sweden. This LIVEKINDLY article reviews the recent history and huge success of the brand – the company is about to proceed with an IPO (Initial Public Offering).

The world is discovering oat milk and this handy PureWow article ranks 6, unfortunately they are mostly available in the US. While I prefer So Fresh, I want to try the Oatly Chocolate Oat Milk!

This #earthdayweek, I highly suggest having your morning coffee AND oatmeal with oat milk as your April 22 Earth Day celebration! And if you are not sold on giving oat milk a try, give this One Green Planet article a read and see if there is another non-dairy milk/mylk that convinces you to help our planet.

All things lemon

Lemons have Vitamin C which is a noteworthy & helpful quality but most importantly their taste goes in MANY Fun Foods – lemon cheesecake, lemon loaf, lemon meringue pie as well as various liquid lemon concoctions.

Who knew there was a wrong way to make lemon water – there is. This great PureWow article not only lays out the 3 steps to correctly make it, it also outlines the 5 health benefits of lemon water which I plan to try out now.

AND I love lemonade but I have never had Lynchburg Lemonade and intend to order one! This handy Thrillist article includes the history of the drink & recipe variations so I can make it myself and expand my fruity cocktail repertoire.

Cadillac Margaritas – who knew?!

As an occasional cocktail drinker, fruity margaritas are high on the liquid Fun Food list! Prickly Pear Margaritas at the Arizona Inn with guacamole & chips is a killer combo of tastes & location.

Thrillist shared a fun recipe for a Cadillac Margarita that has been around since at least the late 80’s…!!

And, did you know that tequila can be briefly aged to become a light golden colour called Reposado which is a subgroup of the premium tequilas – here is Thrillist’s handy Tequila 101. Sign up for their daily email for equally informative ideas & info!!

I’ll be giving this new margarita a try and just maybe it will be my Post Covid-19 Summer Celebration drink with my Book Club. That and also a Baja Gold since I will now own a bottle of Reposado and love pineapple! And both recipes call for shaken not stirred for the win!