One huge perk at Snuffy’s job is that a lot of gift-bearing Asian
vendors come to visit his company. This time around the import snack
of choice is an assortment of arare, rice crackers. I can imagine
that these aren’t very popular and expect some of the crass
individuals turning their noses up at this ” ass-fish tastin’ ” snack.

There are four flavors in this package prawn, seaweed, wasabi, and
sesame. True to form in Asian snack foods, there’s a large sachet of
“do not eat”, “do not open”, “do not make wet” silica desiccant that
easily doubling the mass of the package.

Oh sweet Jesus do I love living in Detroit. The Arabic population
here thrives, and if it’s one thing that I adore about a culture it’s
their way of making food. When no other cakey or fruit filled dessert
will do, I become peckish for a Byzantine nibble. Though they may
look and taste complex, the makers of these sweets will tell you that
the process is quite simple despite their years of training and their
desire to please without seeming put out.

I bought this tray of baklava and couldn’t wait for the car to
leave the parking lot. Sweet orange blossom honey syrup permeating
every leaf of phyllo and strand of kataifi…. bliss

The cool weather is coming in and as we move towards Mabon (Autumnal
Equinox) it is time to make trips up to the cider mill. I am a city
kid and I am willing to feign love for nature to go out to the country
for cider and donuts. I don a hoodie and strap on some shoes that
will withstand mud, all to wait 20 minutes in line for hot donuts.

One may think that 20 minutes for a donut? Though I’m a fan of
yeast-risen glazed donuts, there’s something so charming about cider
mill donuts. In that queue, one is able to see the automated machine
that spits out donut forms, fries them on one side, flips the donut to
fry on the other side, then sends the donut careening down a slide.

Crisp on the outside (plain, powdered, or cinnamon sugar) warm and
soft on the inside…