Organic virgin coconut oil at RT MART!

Finally! You can find coconut oil somewhere other than an organic store. (The price is the same, though)

If you're skeptical about adding coconut oil to your diet, I challenge you to read up on it...it's one of the best oils (if not THE best) out there...and it has many, many curative properties. (Plus, it tastes good)

Something old, something new at RT Mart (Neihu)

This cheese is really a great deal. (NT$150, I think) I use when I make Mexican food---it works well in enchiladas. And it's a good dip if you pair it with some salsa and sour cream.

RT Mart also sells all kinds of condiments---from malt vinegar to barbecue sauce to mayonnaise.

And now they sell soups---at a very cheap price. Tomato soup is hard to find in Taiwan!! And 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup? Yes, please!

Chicken noodle soup..."spaghetti" in a can...

And this stuff looks a bit healthier---or maybe it's just the "homestyle" on the label. :)

Remember---RT Mart is a great place for other goodies like refried beans...nuts...canned veggies...sauces. I always find good deals there.

NEW---Pomegranate Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing at Costco

Looks yummy to me!

Soft and delicious chocolate chip bars---only a few ingredients!

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (Wellman's)

1/2 cup (1 stick)cold butter (Costco)

2 cups (chocolate chips) (Costco)

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk) (EEC Elite Mart)

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. 2.

Stir together flour and brown sugar in medium bowl; cut in cold butter until crumbly. Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips; press mixture on bottom of ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake 15 minutes.

3. Combine sweetened condensed milk, egg and vanilla in large bowl.

Stir in 1 cup chips and nuts. Spread evenly over hot baked crust. Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown.

*Melt the remaining 1/2 cup chips on top of the bars...just leave the bars in the hot oven for about 2 minutes and the chips will melt...then you can spread them on top of the bars.

Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Ken's Dressings---now at Carrefour.

I remember the days when I brought back big containers of Ranch dressing from the States. Well, now I can buy Ken's dressings (Ranch included) at Carrefour, certain Wellcome stores (try the ones in Tianmu) and Jason's Marketplace. The dressings are reasonably priced at NT$99/ jar. Of course, Wellman's has dressing, too, but I've just never bought it there.

Yummy Ritter Sport mini bars at Carrefour

Ah, I love Ritter Sport candy. But I never buy the big ones because I'll eat the whole bar---and feel crummy afterwards from a sugar-high. So I was pleased to see the mini bars at the DaZhi Carrefour today...they're being advertised as a "new product" and they're on sale. I like giving away candy with gifts, too, so these are the perfect size to slip into a birthday card. Plus, they're just the right size to satisfy the sweet tooth.

Whole-milk sugar-free yogurt (what to look for...where to buy it)

Have you noticed that 99% of the yogurt here is chock-full of sugar? Well, there ARE a few places where you can find all-natural plain yogurt. It's more expensive, but healthier alternatives are usually pricier, right? I've seen the Ticino yogurts in several stores---I bought this one at a Wellcome on DeXing in Tianmu. It's about NT$50/ container. I think it's also sold at Jason's Marketplace.

The same Wellcome also sells Bianco yogurt, which was recommended to me by a friend. It tastes like plain yogurt...not sugary sweet like other "plain" yogurts.

The American Club also sells homemade yogurt---NT$60 for a small container. Have you seen it anywhere else? Leave me a comment on where to find it...and how much it costs.

One of these days I'll just break down and make my own (if I ever get a yogurt maker). But I'm too lazy to do it right now, and I don't even eat yogurt---my sons do.

SUPER ZERO (diet soda) Sarsparilla at 7-11

Hey Song has jumped on the "zero calorie soda" bandwagon. Introducting "Super Zero" (better than Coke Zero?), an artificially sweetened soda you can find at 7-11. (that's the only place I've seen it so far)

I bought one to try it, and it's not bad. It's worth a try if you drink diet soda.

Blueberry Buckle recipe

When I lived in the States, I had a friend named Lori who made the best Blueberry Buckle you've ever tasted. Recently, I picked up a big bag of frozen organic blueberries at Costco (NT$399), and I have finally found a great recipe that (almost) rival's Lori's. Thank you, Martha Stewart. Blueberry Buckle is easy to make if you have the frozen blueberries. And you can actually buy "Crumble topping" at Jason's if you're too lazy to make your own topping. I added pecans to mine and drizzled honey over the top.

Check out the recipe here:

New---Macadamia Nut Ice cream at Carrefour

Endulge. It's delish. The Duroyal "Super" ice creams are much better than the regular Duroyal flavors.

Nanaimo Bars- recipe

-The final product.

Recipe can be found here:

You can easily make these yummy bars with ingredients in Taiwan.
Use Digestive crackers instead of graham crackers. (they are easily crushed) Pudding powder can be found in Tianmu. Chocolate chips are at Costco. Cocoa powder is everywhere. The best butter comes from Costco. I also added raisins to my "middle layer" and pecans to the top.

The crust.

The middle layer.

The top layer.

Easiest ever strawberry cream cheese brownies

Once in awhile, I like to post a recipe. I'm a bit of a brownie fiend, so I like to experiment with the Ghirardelli brownie mixes from Costco. These are a good deal...you get 6 mixes for about NT$350. And you really can't screw these up too badly---all you need to add is an egg, some water, and some oil.

Now that Costco is selling strawberry-flavored cream cheese, I decided to combine the brownie mix with the cream cheese spread to create a chocolate-strawberry concoction.

I threw a few chocolate chips on top, and voila!

And then I gave one to my husband...still warm out of the oven...with a little vanilla ice cream on top. He called it "pure perfection."

Want the recipe? Here you go!

Ingredients:

One brownie mix

About 1 1/2 cups of cream cheese (I prefer the flavored kinds from Costco...in this recipe, you'll use 1/2 of the carton)

2 eggs

1/3 cup oil

1/3 cup sugar

red food coloring (optional)

Directions:

1. Grease and flour a 9 x 13" pan. Preheat your oven, of course.

2. Make the brownies first. Follow the directions on the box. If you use the Ghirardelli mixes, you'll add 1 egg, 1/3 cup water and 1/3 cup oil. Spread the brownie mix in the pan.

3. Mix the cream cheese (1 block, 1 tub or 1/2 carton of the Costco kind) with 1 egg and 1/3 cup sugar. Add red food coloring if you want a prettier look. I mix this with a mixer so it's all nice and smooth. Just mixing by hand won't work as well.

4. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the brownie mixture. Swirl with a knife to make it look pretty.

5. Bake for about 35-45 minutes. Baking time all depends on your oven. Bake at 320 degrees...or 160 degrees if you're using a Taiwan oven. I'm not very scientific on the baking times or temperatures. I just know how my little convection oven works, so I apologize that I'm a little vague on this part.

Don't overbake, though...nobody likes rock-hard brownies.

ENJOY! Let me know if you try my recipe!

Strawberry cream cheese spread at Costco.

Have you tried the cream cheese spreads at Costco yet? I usually buy the caramel nut one, but this time we tried the strawberry cream cheese spread, their newest flavor. I also use these spreads as emergency frostings for cake. Cream cheese spread is quite versatile...you can also put it on sweet crackers or bagels.

Honey Dijon Kettle Chips at Costco...and cheap sour cream

We found these chips at the Shihjr Costco, and they're very tasty and very flavorful. I don't even like mustard, and I dig these chips.

And now the price of sour cream is half what it used to be (only NT$160!), so I highly recommend a bag of these chips and a tub of sour cream if you need something yummy to bring to a party.

"Power Buns," Mrs. Field's Cookies, and yummy ice cream sandwiches at Costco

New item alert: "Power Buns." Not sure what makes them so powerful...maybe a few flaxseeds or something?


I know the guy who brought Mrs. Field's cookies to Taiwan. I wonder how long they'll last here...

And these ice cream sandwiches aren't a new item, but I splurged and bought a box of them for the first time last night. They're gooood. As in, "worth every penny" good.