I felt like Augustus Gloop and really had to restrain myself no to dive over the counter and smash as many cakes as I could into my mouth before store security arrived.

It's just before 12am in the evening, and posting this photo has compelled me to prepare for a midnight snack - I do believe I have fig preserve and camembert cheese in the fridge. :)

The scene below shows the main character entering the home of an alien who's been suspected of criminal activity. I have the idea that one has to have grown up in South Africa to appreciate the humour, but I'd be interested to know if folk who have not grown up here find the scene amusing.

I guess it's no surprise that we no longer call these black sweets N****r Balls.

As a kid I was oblivious to the fact that the name given to these could be derogatory - I'd never linked the name to the obvious connotation, and I suspect that the same was true for most people (or kids at least) back then. Today they're simply called Black Balls, which I guess is a less objectionable name.

The word "n****r" has never been a commonly-used term in South Africa. We have our own set of offensive terms that have for many years now been considered unacceptable.

This got me thinking about the times that we've been to Australia, the US or Europe and how even, though we have an adequate array of sweet goodies, folk in those countries have dozens more options when it comes to satisfying their taste buds. It's just not fair! :)

Seeing this photo reminds me of the Mentos and Coke experiments... aren't they just awesome?

I learned that Coca-Cola in Australia doesn't produce Fanta Grape, so I did a little research on the subject. I was surprise to hear that worldwide Coca-Cola produces several flavours of Fanta... so I wonder why we only get two.

What flavours do you get in your country?

I believe Creme Soda tastes fairly different in other countries and is more often a clear, light brown, pink, red, or even blue drink. For us, drinking a glass of differently-coloured Creme Soda would be much like trying to drink a mug of red coffee or blue tea. Perfectly distasteful!

When visiting South Africa, you absolutely have to try Creme Soda.
It's green, but you'll love it. :)

If trifle is indeed from the Devil then it's quite ironic that its a dessert that my mom saves to make once a year, for Christmas day. If you're not sure why I'm of the opinion that the dessert is born from pure evil - just click here for a Google image search (beware, not for sensitive viewers). ;)

From what I"ve read the earliest reports of a trifle-like dish stem from England in the 1590s - except that back then the ingredients were possibly simpler: thick flavoured cream, sugar, ginger and rosewater.

Trifles are quire different today - they contain sponge cake that's been soaked in alcohol (sherry, for example), pieces of fruit (often berries), custard, jelly (which I think our American friends call jello), and a whole lot of thickly-whipped cream. These ingredients are (as you can see from the pics) layered to form the multi-layered decadent pudding that's perfectly yummy.

Don't get too excited - I'm sure the chocolate brownies were made from carob. I mean, read the notes below the Date Crunchies - I think the only thing that they left off the list is fun-free. :) This and the spelling violation aside, doesn't the menu look awfully healthy?

Don't expect eating a Gatsby to be easy - it's large, very messy, yet surprisingly and delightfully tasty. :)

About a week ago I suddenly had a craving for one of *those* ice creams, and eventually in a moment of desperation I drove to the local Spar convenience shop and bought one of those divine Magnum ice creams (the one dipped in white chocolate and with crushed almonds). In short, it was delicious. Occasional indulgences really are awesome. :)