Delicious sweet potato casserole recipe.

Ingredients:

4 cups sweet potato, cubed
1/2 cup brown sugar (use brown sugar from Wellman's)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Put sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan with water to cover. Cook over medium high heat until tender; drain and mash.
In a large bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, brown sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish.
In medium bowl, mix the sugar and flour. Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse. Stir in the pecans. Sprinkle the mixture over the sweet potato mixture.
Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until the topping is lightly brown.

New fitness products and vitamins at Costco

Bodybuilders and health nuts will be glad to find whey protein and muscle milk back in Costco. Also, I was geeked to find Krill oil. I've been having my mom send me krill oil for a couple of years now, and it's nice to finally find it in Taiwan. If you don't know much about krill oil, google it. It's proven to be much more potent than regular fish oil. I'm a firm believer that it's incredibly healthy for the brain and body.

Thanksgiving food---where to find it?

So you want to make a Thanksgiving dinner? Well, there's no such thing as "one-stop shopping" here. You need to visit several stores to get everything you need. Here's the official "Food for Foreigners" guide to Thanksgiving shopping.


TURKEYS
Costco (best deal, I think)
Wellman's
TAS (you need to know a TAS parent)
American Club (not a good deal...waaaay too expensive)

STUFFING
Jason's Marketplace
(as of 11/17, Wellman's didn't have any stuffing)

FROZEN GREEN BEANS
Carrefour

FRENCH FRIED ONIONS
can't find them anywhere. But you can try the Chinese version of fried onions...I think City Super carries them

MUSHROOM SOUP
you can find this anywhere...even at Wellcome

PUMPKIN PIE
Costco sells them for about NT$300 each and they're big.
If you want to make your own, you can get frozen pie crusts and pumpkin pie mix at Wellman's.

PECAN PIE
you can get big bags of pecans at Costco.
The dark or light corn syrup can be purchased at Jason's Marketplace or Wellman's.
Also, the best brown sugar can be bought at Wellman's. Don't bake with the Chinese brown sugar. It's not the same.

MASHED POTATOES AND SWEET POTATOES
visit your local vegetable vendors. Marshmallows for sweet potato casserole can be found at Wellman's. Sometimes Carrefour carries marshmallows, but they're not the Jet-Puffed ones, and they don't melt as well.

JELLO
Jason's Marketplace, Carrefour

Am I missing anything? Of course, this list isn't comprehensive...but hopefully it will give you a good start with your holiday cooking!

Green beans at Carrefour...just in time for Thanksgiving

What's a Thanksgiving meal without green bean casserole? I found these large bags of green beans at Carrefour at a really good price. They are also carrying other frozen veggies now---like broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, etc.

Chewy oatmeal chocolate chip bars---TRY THIS RECIPE!

I finally stumbled on a recipe for oatmeal bars that's a winner...and I tweaked it a bit to make it even better. I think the key to these bars is the oatmeal, though...the Quaker oats are just too big and tough for me. I like to use the "First Choice" oats from Wellcome.

They're a smaller-sized oat, and it makes the bars taste better for some reason.

Here's the recipe if you want to try it at home:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup oil

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

2 cups oatmeal

3/4 cup peanut butter

3/4 cup chocolate chips

cinnamon (add as much as you want)

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

honey (to drizzle on top of the bars)
pecans (optional)



Directions:

1. Mix the sugar, oil and eggs together.

2. Stir in the oats, flour, peanut butter, chocolate chips, baking soda, salt and cinnamon

3. Bake at 325 degrees for about 25 minutes.

4. Drizzle generous amounts of honey over the baked bars.

5. Enjoy!

How easy is that?

(*I forgot to add how much oatmeal you need in the original recipe...sorry about that! The recipe should be complete now.) :)

Orange-flavored M&Ms at (DaZhi) Carrefour

Just in time for Halloween!

Pretty yummy granola cereal at Carrefour

New cereal alert: Museli (tastes just like granola) at Carrefour. It's chock full of dried fruit, and although it gives your jaws a bit of a workout, the taste is really good (in my opinion).

Bacon Cheeseburger at Costco

Has anyone tried the "Bacon Cheese Hamburger" at Costco yet?

New things (for me, anyway) at RT Mart

This is the first time I've seen Diet V8 splash...it's only 10 calories/ serving. (NT$99/ bottle)


RT Mart is carrying at least two different brands of rice cakes now.


And you can also find "light" juices. Snapple is on sale, too...only NT$39/ jar.

More juices. I almost felt like I was in the U.S.

New goodies at Carrefour

This one is just for fun...Hi Wheal Creak Pie, anyone?


I'm sure "immunity blend" veggies are just a marketing ploy, but if frozen veggies are your thing...


And you can also find Sara Lee cheesecakes for (probably) a limited time only.

These look yummy...chocolate cheesecake bites. Nice.

Items on sale at Jason's Marketplace

Bulla ice cream is on sale right now at Jason's...I was surprised at the variety of flavors they're carrying at the moment. All of their ice cream bars and popsicles are also on sale.

And I found a lot of other great products that were quite a bit cheaper than usual...all of these products were under NT$70. (some of them are up to 75% off!) The sale should last until 9/24.

These Canterbusy Naturals products are usually very expensive...but they're dirt cheap right now. I bought the Chocolate Orange Pound Cake and Chocolate Raspberry Muffin Mix...these mixes are so easy because you only have to add one or two ingredients and you have a very quick and delicious dessert.

Minute Tapioca pudding is also at a very reduced price.

And I bought a box of Green's Lemon Cake...anytime I can find a cake mix for about NT$50, I buy it! You never know when you might need to whip up a cake, and I don't always have the ingredients on hand to make a cake from scratch.

While you're in the baking section, grab some white chocolate baking squares...I think the box was only NT$99. (it "expires" in a month or so)

Sometimes I find great sales at Jason's...today was one of those days. I only spent around NT$1000 and got one cake mix, three muffin mixes, two pound cake mixes, white chocolate squares, tapioca pudding, two boxes of granola bars, a box of cereal, and two packets of sauce mixes. That's far more groceries than I normally get for NT$1000. Everything I bought was on sale...big-time sale.

Guacamole dip and taco sauce at Carrefour

Lo and behold, I saw guacamole dip at Carrefour last night for the first time. I haven't tried it yet, but I bought a jar for around NT$100. It looks like there's some salsa in the dip, too.


And I also saw taco sauce! Happy day!

I was shopping at the DaZhi Carrefour, and they have several new "Mexican" products on their shelves. I also saw some tortellini for the first time.

Strawberried Peanut Butter M&Ms at Family Mart

The other day I was at a Family Mart and saw these new M&Ms. Since I'm a big fan of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I had to try them. They do taste a bit like a PB&J. I'm not sure if other convenience stores are selling them or not.

Also, Carrefour is having big sales on "American products" this month. I got a bunch of cake mixes at cheap prices. Most were NT$72 or less. I got one box of Duncan Hines chocolate cake mix for NT$20 because it's "expiring in a month." I can't pass up a cake mix for NT$20!

Coconut M&Ms and Snickers Nougabot Bar at 7-11

I've been pleasantly surprised at the variety of M&Ms that have made their way to 7-11 stores here. Now, for all of you coconut fans, you can try the new limited edition flavor.


And if you dare, pick up the new Snickers bar, insipired by the Transformers movie. It has yellow nougat inside. I'm not sure yet if the nougat tastes differently than the normal nougat, or if it was just created by yellow food coloring. I'll have to give it a try and find out.

...we all scream for ice cream...

And Costco has some yummy ice cream right now! Try the Chocotal Dominican flavors...


Or you can opt for the slightly healthier Sharon's Sorbet (which comes in Passion fruit and berry flavors).
Get 'em before they're gone for good.

Rocky Road ice cream is here!

It's labeled "Rocking Black Forest," but it's really Rocky Road. This ice cream comes with marshmallow bits and almonds and chocolate pieces, and it's pretty tasty! The Duroyal Super ice cream varieties are far better than the regular Duroyal flavors. I found this at Carrefour, and it's the first time I've seen this flavor.

And these are a few of my favorite things...

I don't have a lot of new products to share with you, but I am going to start posting some of my favorite imported goods and where you can find them at the best price. (to my knowledge). Enjoy!

I highly recommend Veggie Wash, which is around NT$250 at Jason's Marketplace. I use this daily!

O Organics Roasted Garlic Pasta sauce is one of the best I've tried. You can find it at Carrefour for around NT$150/ jar.

If you want some REAL high-fiber, whole-wheat bread, you need to go to the Adventist Hospital on BaDe Road, not to far from the Taipei Sports Arena. They have a little bakery on the first floor where you can buy the bread. It's very tasty and makes great sandwiches.

The cheapest refried beans I've found are at Florida Bakery for NT$63/ can. And you can buy great homemade salsa, tortilla chips and pita chips at this bakery, too. Florida Bakery is located on Jhongshan N. Road, near the Filipino grocery stores.

Cheap garbanzo beans at the EEC Filipino Store on Jhongshan N. Road! Only NT$50/ can.

Cherry and Blueberry pie filling at Tianmu Carrefour

The Tianmu Carrefour has expanded their "imported foods" section recently. You can find all sorts of great products there...including Lucky Leaf pie filling for around NT$130/ can. I've been quite impressed by the other products offered, from blueberry muffin mix to delicious canned mushrooms to a variety of salad dressings.

Salmon burgers are once again at Costco

What a wonderful surprise to see that Costco is stocking salmon burgers again! If you've never tried these burgers, you're missing out...and there are few foods healthier for you than salmon. I like mine with fresh salsa on top.

Salad spinners at Costco

I saw a salad spinner at Costco yesterday. I didn't catch the brand of the spinner, but it was around NT$500. I bought a Tupperware salad spinner a few years ago and I don't know how I'd live without it. You can toss your washed lettuce in the spinner and it will completely dry the lettuce in just a few "spins." I've also thrown in things like washed mushrooms, spinach, etc., and it "dries them out" quickly.

Special Dark chocolate syrup at the EEC Filipino Store.

the EEC Filipino store (on Jhongshan N. Road) is the place to go for ice cream sundae toppings. Not only do they have caramel syrup, they also have Special Dark syrup. (for NT$79...a great deal!)

New chocolate-covered pretzels and three-cheese potato chips at Costco

I'm not sure if this is the exact brand of chocolate-covered pretzels that you can now find at Costco, but I do remember that the pretzels were coated in Special Dark chocolate. You can find big bags of these in the chip aisle.


And from personal experience, I highly recommend the Kettle Tuscan Three Cheese Chips, unless you're prone to eating an entire bag in one sitting, in which case you should stay away. These chips have a lot of pizzaz...as the bag reads, it's a "Mediterranean vacation in a bag."

Also, while you're there, pick up a German chocolate cake, which is likely a "limited-time only" dessert.

Market Cafe buffet in Tianmu---newly opened, and very tasty

It's been a long time since I've blogged, and there's a reason for that...I found out I was pregnant and couldn't stand to think or talk about food for a couple of months. But I'm doing much better now and am back to blogging. This past weekend, I tried the new Market Cafe buffet on Jhongshan N. Road in Tianmu, not too far from Wendel's. As you can see from the picture, they have both indoor and outdoor seating.

There are several buffets to choose from---a huge salad bar, a noodle bar, a Chinese-style hot pot bar, an Indian bar, and a dessert bar. During the week, you can pay for individual bars if you don't want the entire buffet. On the weekends, you have to purchase the entire buffet, which is NT$880. For a splurge, this is a great place to go if you want both Western and Eastern food.

One of the best parts of the salad bar is that you get to put your salad in a big bowl. (not on a tiny plate) And the chef will "toss" your salad if you want him to. The salad bar alone is worth the trip to Market Cafe. (I think the salad bar alone costs around NT$400 on weekdays)

Also, they have an ice cream and dessert bar, and they do the "Coldstone Creamery" thing with the ice cream. You can get your ice cream all mixed up on a cold slab and you can mix in things like nuts, chocolate sprinkles, cranberries (?), raisins (??), fudge, caramel syrup, whipped cream, etc. The ice cream was fantastic.

So next time you're in Tianmu, stop at Market Cafe. But bring your appetite.