Just stopping by

Oh, hello there.

How are you? oh good. I trust you had a nice weekend? Great.

I've just stopped by quickly to share two things with you:

1. You have to get some za'atar.

I read this post by The Leftoverist (you should check her out - I love her attitude) about a delicious looking Mediterranean platter she whipped up in no time at all, and it sent me off in search of za'atar - the delicious spice mix you often find sprinkled on everything at Turkish restaurants.

Turns out it wasn't that hard to find - the fancy new Kroger had some so I snatched it up. And I came home tonight and whipped up my own easy dinner.

The package lists roasted thyme, ground sumac, sesame seeds and salt as the only ingredients . 

I sprinkled it on grilled chicken, pita, cucumber, feta and yogurt. 

It was quite delicious and I can't recommend highly enough that you go find some for yourself. Or, if you live nearby, I'll share with you.

2. Haagen Dazs tricked me.

I work in advertising so I'm pretty savvy when it comes to sneaky marketing tricks. I can usually tell you that a product won't make you thinner, help you clean faster or re-grow hair. So imagine my surprise when I fell for Haagen Dazs' new advertising campaign!

Have you seen it? They have a new line of ice cream called 'five' that's only made with five "natural" ingredients. It also has less fat than regular ice cream and comes in flavors like mint & ginger - I was sold. I picked up the mint flavor, looked at the pretty picture of a mint leaf on the front, read the ingredients listed next to the picture - milk, cream, sugar, eggs, mint - and got ready for an all-natural, delicately minted, semi-healthy ice cream experience. Ok, I was pushing it with the health thing...

So I popped the top, grabbed a spoon, dug in for a big bite and... yuck. Really yuck. Turns out when they say "mint" what they really mean is "fakey-tasting mint extract that closely resembles the flavor of toothpaste". And, in fact, if you turn the carton around, put on your glasses, and read the very small print on the back... they do list mint extract as one of their five ingredients. 

They got me - I hate that.