Lynda's Little Passions: March 2012

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! And no, I’m not talking about Christmas. I’m talking about Easter, and the arrival of one of the best Easter candies of all time – Cadbury Mini Eggs. Now, don’t get these confused with Cadbury Cream Eggs. It’s a whole different ballgame people. My love of Cadbury probably started with the Cream Eggs when I was little, but over time the palette has matured, and it’s Mini Eggs all the way.

It’s gotten so obsessive that I’ve developed some type of weird psychosis I think. For the longest time they were only available once a year (twice now if you count the Christmas version, but I don’t), so I would stockpile as many bags as people would give me and hoard them, so I could have them any time of year. There was a problem with this scheme however. I never ate them. I had some subconscious fear that if I ate them, I would run out. So better not to eat and save, then eat and have none. Therein lies the problem.

So I have happily stashed about three to five huge bags of Cadbury Mini Eggs that go uneaten the majority of the year. Good thing candy stays good so long. People have stopped gifting them to me, and I never buy them for myself either. One of these days I really will run out, but I vow to happily open a bag to enjoy during this Easter season. It’s a must!

And for all my fans out there – a Saucy Challenge Update. I am happy to report that I didn’t just make up this Saucy Challenge and never commit. I actually made two out of the ten sauces so far. Go me!

First up I tried the Balsamic Cream Sauce over chicken and pasta. I cut and caramelized onions for the first (or maybe second) time in my life, so I consider that an accomplishment. I used balsamic vinegar, heavy cream (yum) and a chicken bullion cube…I mean, I didn’t even know that kind of thing still existed, and I have no idea what it did. Verdict - delicious.

Onions are'a caramelizing.

Caramalized!

Adding the heavy cream and balsamic vinegar.

Chicken & Pasta with Balsamic Cream Sauce (sorry for all the yellow)

Second I tried the Cheddar Cheese Sauce. Tasted delicious, but it never quite thickened up the way I think it was supposed to. No matter, I ate it anyway with some Alexia’s Seasoned Waffle Fries. When I reheat the rest, I’ll try mixing in some flour to get it a bit thicker. Verdict - delicious but needs some fine-tuning.