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FOOLED YA! NO CHOCOLATE HERE!
My top candy find of the year is Big Island Coffee Roasters’ Classic Espresso Bites, mainly because this luxurious bar is delicious, but also because I like the art of deception that it represents.
It looks like dark chocolate and seems full of chocolate richness, but contains not a whit of chocolate.
Husband-wife company owners Brandon Damitz and Kelleigh Stewart have had the Espresso Bites bars on the market only about a month. They’re made of 100 percent Kau coffee, with organic cocoa butter and cane sugar. Break off bits and savor them as is, or dissolve some in hot water or milk to make coffee. Each bar contains the caffeine equivalent of three espressos. Find them at Coffee Shop 831 in Waikiki, Dean & DeLuca (two stores in Waikiki) and Magnolia Boutique & Gallery in Kahala Mall.
Damitz says they’ll soon be available at Whole Foods Market. Or order through bigislandcoffeeroasters.com, which also sells the Mountain View company’s coffees. Espresso Bites sell for $9 for a 1.5-ounce bar, or in packs of three for $25, six for $48 or (if you want some for gift giving and have a lot of deserving friends) a case of 18 for $135.
— Betty Shimabukuro, Star-Advertiser
YOUR CHRISTMAS MEAL CAN HELP FEED OTHERS
Talk about multitasking: You can take a break from cooking, help the community and treat your family to a fancy Christmas dinner, all with the purchase of Lanakila Kitchen’s prime rib holiday meal.
The menu features a prime rib roast accompanied by garlic smashed potatoes, steamed green beans, Hawaiian sweet rolls with butter and an apple pie. The meal costs $140 and serves eight to 10.
Proceeds from the to-go meals will fund job training and employment opportunities for the disabled and Lanakila’s Meals on Wheels for Oahu seniors.
Deadline to order is Dec. 15. Pickup is on Christmas Day. Place an order at 808ne.ws/ lanakilameal and select a pickup time.
KNOW YOUR GINGERBREAD
Now that the season of gingerbread is upon us, it’s time to learn all the pertinent facts, not just how to make a cookie. You never know when someone might quiz you.
The folks at McCormick & Co. have provided this guide to the spice and its creations:
>> Now trending: More than 3 million ounces of ground ginger are sold during the holidays. That’s enough to make 450 million gingerbread men (average height: 5 inches). That’s far more than enough to circle the Earth.
>> Origin story: Ginger was introduced to Europe in the 11th century, and shortly afterward monks began using it in cakes pressed into molds for holidays and festivals.
>> Hearth and home: Gingerbread houses were inspired by the Brothers Grimm story “Hansel and Gretel” and originated in Germany. The recipe for gingerbread came to the U.S. with German immigrants. The largest gingerbread house, as recognized in by Guinness World Records was built in Bryan, Texas — 60 feet long, 42 feet wide and over 10 feet tall at its peak. The Gingerbread Man dates to the 1800s.
>> A queenly gift: In the late 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I gave all of her guests their portraits made in gingerbread.
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