SuperEggplant

I was looking at photos of actresses at the Emmy Awards and noticed they all do the hand-on-hip pose, and I was thinking it was kind of obnoxious then realized I DO THAT IN MY PHOTOS, yet without the flair or fancy jewels (and yes, I know I’m not doing the pose in this photo)
Some of you know of my Japanese craft book “problem.” I just can’t seem to collect enough of them. Well, thanks go to Sally and Melissa for momentarily distracting me with KOREAN craft books.
This book, Joy of Making Korean blah blah Korean DIY, has patterns for both women and men (tiny Korean men, not Peter-size men). There are lots of super cute patterns to tackle. I’d been searching for a pattern for a cute little collared T-shirt for a while, and this one is nearly perfect. I couldn’t figure out what the sizing numbers meant, so I just compared the pattern lines with an existing pattern and decided to make a size medium (the shoulders in the small looked super tiny). I’d like the neckline to be a little smaller, perhaps, but the medium fits perfectly in the shoulders and underarms. I will definitely use this pattern again, and I’m already thinking about a long-sleeve version!
So, how does one acquire said Korean craft book? Well, I went a little crazy tracking this baby down. I ended up ordering it through Gmarket, a storefront for a bunch of individual vendors. I tracked down the book, not by the ISBN (978-89-7090-540-2. You can find the book via the ISBN for domestic Korean vendors but NOT for international shippers) but by typing in “DIY” then selecting “books, CDs & DVDs.”
Now, not all of these vendors will ship to the United States. I went with vendor Bandi & Luni’s but only because it seemed to be the only one that would ship. The book itself was a great bargain: $10.50 or something. The shipping, however, was nearly $30. I decided to take the plunge because I was very curious about how the order was going to work. Also, it ends up being worth it for me because I know I will use at least 5 patterns from this book. Way to rationalize, yes.
Okay, so here’s where it got a little weird. I tried to create an account but did not succeed with Firefox. So, I went to IE and managed to create an account. When I tried to place the order, though, I had to switch back to Firefox, because I got errors with IE. I had two browsers open and just went back and forth to see which one worked! I paid with PayPal, and I wasn’t sure if the money disappeared into some black hole of cyberspace, but a mere week later, the book arrived!

So I’m on twitter, and there’s Splatgirl Lara talking about Special K Bars and how she’s craving them. I just assume she’s referring to the bars sold in the granola bar section at the grocery, but then she continues tweeting about “making” these bars, so then I get more curious. WHAT GIVES, I ask, and she tells me. Part of me wishes she hadn’t.
These bars, well, they are just sugar and more sugar and peanut butter and chocolate and, of course, Special K cereal. NOTHING in these bars is particularly good for you, but holy smokes the combo is wicked. Evil, evil bars! I think the key is they are chewy, so if you like chewy, and you are a fan of chocolate and peanut butter and sugar, then you are screwed, because there is no going back.
I had to give away a bunch of these because I knew I would just eat them all. Even if I am super full they call to me from the kitchen, and I can’t help but sneak in a bite or two. Help me, Obi Wan.
SPLATGIRL’S EVIL SPECIAL K BARS: 1 cup sugar / 1 cup corn syrup / 1.5 cups peanut butter / 6 cups Special K cereal / a bag & a half or so of chocolate chips (make that 1/2 semisweet and 1/2 butterscotch or you can go 1/2 semisweet and 1/2 milk chocolate-peanut butter chips)
Combine the sugar and the corn syrup in a heavy pot and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat or just turn it off and stir in the peanut butter. Let it get all melty and smooth. Dump in the cereal and mix it all together. Turn the mixture out onto a sheet pan and press into a thin layer. Top with melted chocolate chips. Let cool and the chocolate layer harden. Cut into small pieces or just pick up the entire slab and start chewing.
Peter thinks these would benefit from some sort of crushed graham cracker layer, but I’m not sure.

A few years back I got a little obsessed with the Kinder Surprise Eggs. Well, I got over it, but then I was at the German deli (Edelweiss) the other day and saw these Kinder Joy eggs! Was ist das? The only explanation I managed to get was that the casing is plastic (uh, hello) and the toy is separated from the candy. Very curious!
As you can see, half of the egg is filled with a white chocolate/hazelnut chocolate goo (well, it’s not really goo, but it’s not exactly hard, either) with two cocoa-dusted, malted milk ball-ish orbs. They aren’t malted milk, because I don’t like malted milk, and I like these. You use the teeny plastic paddle to scoop out the chocolate stuff.
I think the Kinder Joy is delicious, but I suspect many would find it a bit too sweet and disgusting (please note that I LIKE marshmallow Peeps as well as Cadbury Creme Eggs). The novelty factor is off the charts as well, which means two thumbs up from me.