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I really wanted to like this caramel popcorn shaped like an ear of corn instead of a ball. (You thought I was playing with my food? Shame on you!) I couldn't help but pick up three of these for $1.79 apiece when I saw them at the Hill Top Farmer's Market in Oakland, Md. (The Farmer's Market is not a place where vendors set up once a week. It's a store that keeps regular hours and has fresh local produce as well as bulk baking items and Amish products and the famed Candyland -- hundreds of varieties that you pick and mix and pay for by the pound.) Anyway, these were on the produce side late this summer. I'd like to say I didn't have the popcorn balls to post this until now but really I was just lazy. There are two varieties of the Caramel Cob -- classic and peanut. The flavor is not bad. It's the texture that makes this cutie disgusting. It, ahem, stands up to its claim of "soft n' chewy." In your mouth it becomes taffy with popcorn hulls. Blech...

Conde Nast closes Gourmet magazine

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/dining/30unit.html

This spring I discovered Kraft Jet-Puffed SwirlMallows in Caramel & Vanilla. Eaten by hand from the bag, they have a slight burnt-sugar quality. I like them. When you toast them over a stove burner or a bonfire's flames, they seem to burn faster than regular marshmallows. I didn't mind. But a "gourmet" marshmallow needed a little better treatment. So I got a dark chocolate bar and elevated the outdoors experience. I used graham crackers but I wonder if shortbread would be fitting or too over-the-top. The only place I have found these new marshmallows at Foodland Fresh in Kingwood. Last time I looked, they didn't have them, though. If you can find them, enjoy them -- Happy Fourth of July!

You'll feel naughty eating these decadent brownies. A plain brownie is pretty scrumptious but I prefer dressing them up with toppings. I've done a coconut frosting, raspberry jam swirled with white chocolate chips and a turtle variation. For the past year I have made a lot of the rocky road brownies from a recipe I got from a former co-worker. This spring I started thinking about recreating a Hershey's Take 5 candy bar by topping the chocolate brownie base with pretzels, caramel and peanut butter. I didn't add Hershey's fifth ingredient, chopped peanuts, so my creation is more of a "Take 4." Good -- they won't get me for trademark infringement. I also had the urge to make a Fluffernutter topping for a brownie, but instead of pairing peanut butter with marshmallow fluff, I used marshmallow ice cream sundae topping. The result was yummy. Brownies are the perfect portable thing to tote to a potluck, picnic or reunion. They hold up well for transport, they...

I love the independent artisan bakery in Morgantown, New Day Bakery, but sometimes I end up in town on Mondays, when it's closed. Those times, I admit, I go to Panera for the Mediterranean Veggie sandwich: Peppadew™ peppers, feta cheese, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and cilantro hummus on tomato basil bread. Last time, I bought a loaf of the bread, which is a hefty hunk for $3.99. I made a couple of muffulettas with it but its flavor was overpowered. I toasted and buttered it and sprinkled it with garlic powder -- not the right combo of flavors. I spread it with regular hummus ... good, but still not hitting the spot. Tonight I realized I have to use it up or it's going to go bad. I cubed it and made croutons for a spinach salad. Voila! The flavors of egg, bacon, spinach and cheddar matched nicely with the crisp tomato basil croutons. I almost didn't need the Catalina dressing. I can't wait to have it again. To make croutons: Toss 1 cup bread cubes with 1 tables...

West Virginia legislators scarf Tudor's biscuits and Krispy Kreme doughnuts and crumple the menu calorie bill with the wrapper. Urp! Calorie Bill Killed by House Committee