spaghetti night, aka. mexican candy night

last saturday rcg and i went over to a friend's house

to have some spaghetti and meatballs -- 

which was absolutely delicious --

but what we really got out of the night 

was an education in mexican candy.

our friends have two kids

so they know candy.

so we learned about candy.

 

duvalín:

almond, strawberry, and vanilla icing

you can just buy little packets of icing

with tiny spoons.

like dunkaroos, 

but without the added benefit of cookies

to dip in it. 

it was a little intense.

and totally sweet.

cajeta quemada:

caramel icing

 

same deal as the duvalín,

it's icing, 

but caramel flavored.

pelon mini:

tamarind and chamoy gel

i never would have tried this one on my own,

it is just too ridiculous. 

it's like a push up

(one of my faves)

 but filled with a spicy tamarind gel.

freaking awesome. 

tueni:

chewy lime square

basically a mexican version 

of the now and later.

only chewier.

animal's candy:

flavored hard candies

these are pretty boring,

but i can see their benefit --

you need candy, 

but you don't want too much

so you just eat one or two.

you can suck on it or bite it,

depending on your mood.

bubu lubu:

chocolate covered marshmallow 

and strawberry flavored jelly.

the jelly is fashioned after a turkish delight--

it's hard, not gooey. 

and the marshmallow is also hard

rather than gooey. 

so not the best candy ever,

but it'll do in a pinch.

mini mamut:

chocolate covered graham cracker cookies

with a marshmallow center.

it's basically a pre-made s'more.

seriously awesome.

gudu:

caramel lollipop with chili

it's a lollipop

but not a traditional one.

it is chewy,

sweet,

and spicy,

and delicious.

it was a very informative night.

and a very tasty one.

everywhere i look i see skwinkles.

i went to the candy shop. 

they were having a huge sale.

i couldn't resist.

so i spent approximately 30 pesos

and got all of this:

 

score.

basically skwinkles are tubes of candy

filled with different flavors 

and covered in a chili and chamoy seasoning. 

they are pretty rockstar.

the skwinklote was a huge pineapple flavored tube

filled with a tamarind flavor paste. 

delicious.

 

the classic skwinkles

and the pocket size skwinkles 

are the same flavor:

chamoy. 

good but boring.

another mildly boring flavor

was the black skwinkles rellenos --

strawberry tubes filled with strawberry goo. 

boooooring.

(and, because it is still made of strawberries

delicious.)

the pink package of skwinkles rellenos

was especially confusing.

on the outside it says

"red berries flavor hot candy strips

with mango-apricot flavor filling"

but the strips are mango-apricot colored

and the filling is red berry colored. 

huh?

and the taste didn't help either. 

i mean it was good,

but it didn't taste especially like red berries

or mango-apricot.

whatevez. 

it was still delicious.

tamarindo, three ways

a couple of weekends ago, 

rcg and i were walking through liverpool

and we were bombarded with tons of candy.

we split up and looked around

and we each bought some goodies

to take home and try. 

he bought chocolate, 

(duh)

something akin to rice krispy treats

but made from cheerios,

and baklava.

i got some fancy tamarind treats.

the first treat was a tamarind bean

covered in a hardened honey-like substance.

the second was a tamarind bean

covered in chili. 

and the third wasn't even tamarind -- 

it was a mango squishy candy

covered in tamarind flavoring.

weird.

but worth it.

ps. i may have a slight tamarind obessesion.

a paleta extravaganza.

 

i am a huge lollipop fan.

obviously.

so when the local candy store

was having a gigantic sale

i had to partake.

i bought a bag of assorted paletas 

for 15 pesos.

and there were definitely some weirdly shaped ones

but, not surprisingly, they are almost identical in taste.

there was one shaped like 

a mango

an ear of corn

 a dog bone

a roast chicken

and a mug of beer.

but they are all the same -- 

some typical flavor 

(tamarind, mango, strawberry)

covered in chili.

 

 

so delicious.

ricaleta

i found this lollipop in brooklyn

courtesy of kk --

we walked across the street to the mexican bodega

and she insisted that i try one

and i'm so glad that i did.

they are delicious.

but afterwards the store rarely had them in stock.

(does this sound like a running theme in my life?

i think so.)

but there is an amazing candy store that rcg took me to a while back

and they had them.

awesome.

the only problem is

i can't quite figure out what it is that i'm eating.

it is covered in a honey like substance, but it's hard.

and then the inside is kind of spicy.

maybe it is tamarind flavor?

maybe it is chamoy?

who knows.

whatever it is,

i want some more.

paletas con chile

this summer i bought this amazing tamarind lollipop in oaxaca city.

and then i could never find it again. 

and i looked. 

everywhere. 

i even took a picture of it

so that in every candy shop that i passed 

i could look more effectively.

no luck.

until rcg took me to buy candy for my birthday.

and we found tons of flavors.

i had one the other day. 

and it was just like i remembered. 

the lollipop is covered,

like, seriously covered,

in chile. 

 it takes tons

and tons

and tons 

of licks to get all of the chile off.

and then you get delicious fruity goodness. 

and for the whole rest of the lollipop

you have the added bonus of being able 

to continue to dip your lollipop in the chile.

so the whole lollipop experience is 

one nose sniffing,

sinus clearing, 

seriously delicious 

good time.

thanks rcg for finding me my lollipop.

:)

skwinkles salsagheti

since i've moved to mexico I have discovered

that they have amazing candy.

like crazy amazing.

everything has chile on it.

or is tamarind flavor.

spectacular.

so I have been buying and trying candy

like it's my job.

(I really wish it was my job.)

and since some of the things are so ridiculous

I have decided to share them with you.

like these skwinkles.

first of all it is like pull n' peal licorice

but covered in sweet and sour sugar crystals

like sour patch kids.

but it's all tamarind flavor.

(ps. tamarind may be my new favorite flavor.)

and

AND

it has a sauce on top.

a sauce labelled "gusano"

which means worm.

um, ok.

i'll give a shot

even though i am pretty flippin' skeptical.

and the sauce is awful.

like crazy bad.

it's super salty

and does not taste at all like the tamarind I had been promised.

in fact it totally ruins the spaghetti part of the candy.

so I ate it without.

and it was great.

skwinkles--

i will try you again friend.

(they have approximately 17,000 different kinds of candy.

obviously I want to try them all.)