la.foodblogging

The Holiday catalog offensive has begun. My mailbox isn’t begging for mercy yet, but I’m betting that this year, the unrelenting siege of glossy spam will drive it to collapse. Until then, I’ll take the automatic infusion-stopping Danish Tea Brewer, one Bon Vivant , oh, and what the hell, I’ll take a Paradigm, large.

Meantime, a secret Santa Claus from Trader Joe’s gifted me with an early copy of the West Coast ‘05 Holiday Fearless Flyer. I was told it will be given out as soon as more of the Holiday items are delivered. Here are a couple of quickies:

Sofia Blanc de Blancs: Daddy’s little girl in a can… with a straw. So, the darling princess soda for sophisticates got a distribution deal with TJ’s? Good for the Coppola family, I toast you all. Will it ease the collective girl pain when the new line of cheap Stella duds rolls into H&M stores in cities luckier than ours on Nov. 10th? Un-bubbly-likely. $9.99 for a 4-pack.

Sour Cherry Juice: A couple of la.foodbloggers are known to be big sour drink fans. We’ll have to put 32 oz. of this “vivid, tart” organic sour cherry juice to the test. $3.99. Who’s in?

Marcona Almonds with Rosemary: TJ’s is taking the light, crunchy texture of Marcona almonds (roasted in sunflower oil) and dusting them with dried rosemary. Perverted? Lipstick on an Adriatic fig? If you can pony up the $7.99 for a 12 oz. bag, please report back on the flavor profile. I suppose the US$ to Euro conversions won’t be in our favor this Holiday season.

Should be downloadable soon.