Fewer foods compliment each other better than chocolate and mint. And in my family, m&m’s are the candy of choice. So, it’s natural for me that every year around this time, I start keeping my eyes peeled for the elusive Mint m&m’s.

Mint m&m’s are the harbingers of the holiday season. Though they’re just candies, they make me feel like I’m a little kid again. The excitement of the holidays flows freely from the green bag. No matter how much I love these things and want to horde the chocolatey mint love, sharing them with others is even better. It’s one of those “spreading the joy” things. In college, I brought three packages to my Portuguese class one day. Though nobody in the class had tasted them before, I left class empty-handed. I don’t think there was a soul in the room that didn’t become a fan.

Living in Seattle, Mint m&m’s were difficult to come by. The Safeway near my apartment had holiday-themed m&m’s, but for some reason didn’t stock the mint-flavored ones. None of the other grocery stores and drug stores, not even Bartell’s, carried the mint beauties. The only place in the city where I found them, and only once, was the Walgreens on Greenwood and 95th. My second year in Seattle, I was about to give up and rely on trips to Wenatchee to stock up when I discovered that the Target in Issaquah carried them through the holidays. Every time I was within five, maybe 10, minutes of Issaquah, I’d stop in and buy a few packages.

I love Mint m&m’s so much, that I stock up throughout the season and hide them, hoping keep the joy around just a bit longer. Last year I set a record; my rations lasted until February.

Since discovering the rarity of Mint m&m’s I become giddy when I find them. On the Mint m&m’s front, Wenatchee never disappoints. In short, they’re here. The Mint m&m’s, and the holidays, are here again.

Is there a candy (like, the kind that you buy) that makes you think of the holidays?

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The holiday season is officially here.

At 12:30 p.m. today, mint M&Ms were found at an aisle end at Target in Wenatchee.

With great restraint, I only bought two packages.

More details to come.

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So, a couple of weeks ago, my fiance, Brian, mentioned that he saw one of the chefs on Iron Chef America make a grilled cheese sandwich with green tomatoes in it. His mention was a clear hint that he wanted to try it himself.

I was shocked to learn he wanted to change up his perfect grilled cheese sandwich. I have to admit, he has the grilled cheese thing down. I grew up on mild cheddar cheese on white bread. He grew up on American cheese (from the deli case, not Kraft singles) on rye. I like his version a lot. However, I think I might be happiest with mild cheddar on rye — a compromise of sorts.

Anyway, we made the grilled cheese with green tomato sandwich last weekend. I have no idea if it was anything close to the Iron Chef version. Our grilled cheese sandwiches probably aren’t. However, the sandwich was good enough, but the green tomato was, in my opinion, to crunchy. Plus it made the cheese take longer to melt.

A couple of days ago, I tried to perfect the grilled cheese with green tomato concept. First, I quickly softened the green tomatoes in my frying pan for a couple of minutes on each side. This also made them hot, thus eliminating the cheese-melt problem. I also made sure to use a bit of cheese on both sides of the tomato, thus ensuring the bread didn’t slide off. And, because I like mayo on my hamburgers with American cheese, I added a bit of mayonnaise to each slice in the beginning.

Overall, I was pleased. The tang of the green tomato really does make a nice compliment to melted cheese. It’s not an original concept, but it is a good one.

What kind of bread, cheese, etc., do you use in grilled cheese sandwiches?

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I have a call out to World readers asking them to share their favorite stuffing (or dressing) recipes. As much as I like the idea of tasting different kinds of stuffing, I’m sure I’d be pretty unhappy to find my mom’s Thanksgiving turkey dressed with anything other than our traditional white bread cube, veggie and butter-heavy stuffing.

I’ve never understood the concept of a corn bread stuffing. All I can imagine is crumbly, sweet stuffing … ugh. And putting oysters in it — where did that come from? As much as I like that bivalve, I don’t want it next to my slice of Thanksgiving turkey.

So, I have some questions for you:

What kind of stuffing (or dressing) did you grow up with?

Is there any kind of stuffing (or dressing) you don’t think you’d like? Why?

And, do you call it stuffing, dressing or something else entirely?

NCWers: Want to submit your stuffing recipe for our upcoming page on local stuffing recipes? Click here to submit by Nov. 10.

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A couple of weeks ago, I stopped by Solstice, my old college coffee shop standby, and there, in the pastry case were “crack” cookies. Officially, they’re called Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, Pecan, Coconut Cookies. But, as one of the baristas there used to say, “they might as well be crack, they’re so addictive.”

Because it would be really hard to get to Solstice whenever I want one of these cookies, I decided then and there, that I’d have to create a recipe for them. I figured that election night would be a good time to experiment, knowing I’d be at home watching the results. I paid close attention to the flavor and look of the cookie I bought from Solstice a couple of weeks ago and noticed something I don’t think I had before, they contain cinnamon. Also, they’re always crunchy, not chewy, and kind of flat. Clearly, the recipe doesn’t skimp on the butter.

So, as election results were streaming in, I began with the great “crack” cookie re-creation. The results were fantastic. Even the batches that were left in the oven for a bit too long (thanks to me being glued to the set) tasted great: nice and crunchy, almost caramelized.

Recipe

Crack Cookies

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 cups oats

1 cup pecans

1 cup packed sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup chocolate chips

Cream together sugars and butter. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well. Meanwhile, mix together flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Add to sugar and butter mixture, mix until fully combined. Add oats, pecans, coconut and chocolate chips. Refrigerate cookie dough. While dough is cooling, preheat oven to 375 degrees. After cookie dough has cooled for about 15 to 30 minutes, remove from refrigerator and drop by spoonfulls, about 3 inches apart, onto parchment-covered cookie sheets. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes, until edges begin to turn brown. Enjoy with a glass of milk, or an iced mocha.

Yield: about 3 dozen cookies.

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Happy Election Day!

It’s dark, drizzly and wet outside, so, after you cast (rather, mail) your ballot skedaddle back to your warm, dry home and decide what you’re going to eat to celebrate the freedom to vote. Here’s a list of suggested election night menus from newspapers and other food Web sites. Whether you make this stuff or just order a pizza, these sites are worth perusing, for entertainment value at least.

Election night party food from Seriouseats.com

A culinary proposal for election night parties from washingtonpost.com

Planning an election night party? from Epicurious.com

Election party from foodandwine.com

All American election night dinner from Shine.com

Election day party from SouthernLiving.com

Political food for thought from latimes.com

Vote yes! from tasteofhome.com

A red and blue dinner for election night from The Daily Camera (Boulder, Colo.)

Election food from myfoxdetroit.com

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During the last farmers market day on Wednesday, I couldn’t resist buying three bags full of mixed peppers. They were begging to be bought, so many colorful, fragrant beauties. Staring at the piles of jalapeños, I decided on the spot to pickle them.

Pickling peppers isn’t very hard and only mildly time-consuming. I think I set a personal record, having pickled 10 pints of peppers by 6:50 p.m. Friday. Only two days after I bought them! Even better, all but one jar sealed nicely. Plus, now I have lots of leftover vinegar for some earth-friendly house cleaning.

The next step is to decide what to do with the pretty little jars of pickled peppers. I’m thinking they might turn into gifts for friends and family.

What’s your favorite pickled vegetable?

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Happy Halloween!

So, last night I finally got around to carving a jack-o-lantern. I used leftover pepper parts from last night’s (and today’s) pepper pickling project and used my melon-baller to carve out eyes, ears and a mouth. The little tool worked better than anything I’ve tried to carve pumpkins with. Plus, I think it made my little guy look kind of cute.

Usually, I save the pumpkin seeds and roast them, but only add salt, if anything. I’ve heard of spicing them or honey roasting them, but I’ve never really done that.

I like pumpkin seeds plain. Plus, if you keep them plain, they can be used to make killer pipian, mole poblano or Yucatecan papadzules. I’ll let you know later what I do with mine. I’m leaning toward the papadzules route.

Today’s questions:

What do you do with pumpkin seeds?

What’s your favorite Halloween candy?

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Last year I discovered something that, to use the words of our Web editor, Brianne Pruitt, “blows my mind.” Are you ready?

Maple bars aren’t known in many areas of the country. In fact, as far as I can tell, maple bars are really only found on the West Coast. The good news is that, as ubiquitous as they are here, I doubt they could be classified as an endangered doughnut species. Heck, they take up almost half of the Wenatchee Safeway doughnut case.

I made the horrifying discovery about maple bar ignorance last summer as I made an offhand remark to Brian — remember, he’s from New Jersey — about needing to buy a maple bar at the Cle Elum Bakery for my sister the next time I head to Seattle. He didn’t know what I was talking about. I couldn’t understand it. I kept saying, “You know, a maple bar,” trying my best to enunciate clearly. I resorted to describing a rectangular raised doughnut with maple icing on top. He still didn’t know what I meant. I was flabbergasted.

I figured his ignorance of maple bars was a personal issue, not a regional one until I was relating the story to an old family friend. Jeanelle told me that her husband, originally from Texas, didn’t know what a maple bar was until he made his way to the Northwest. She’s told me that the maple bar phenomenon is exclusive to the Northwest. Today, after a little informal polling here at the office, and some Googling, I think it’s safe to say that she’s pretty much right. Although people from California, Arizona and parts of Texas know them, too.

How about you? Are you familiar with maple bars? Do you call them something else where you’re from?

Want more doughnut fun? Check out this video post with Alton Brown on seriouseats.com.

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There’s something about practicing yoga on Tuesdays that makes me want healthy food. It’s not a bad thing, but it seems like all I can think about while going through the stretchy moves is food. Some of my most relaxing yoga sessions have included imagining chiffonading basil and chopping scallions. For some reason, my imagination goes wild with food thoughts.

It was only a few minutes into class yesterday when I decided to make a modified tabbouleh instead of my previous plan: grilled cheese sandwiches with green tomatoes. As I mentally went through the contents of my fridge and pantry I was thrilled to realized I had every ingredient necessary, plus feta cheese. The ingredients started piling up, and soon I was imagining chopping parsley really finely. I think it might be a rhythm thing.

Once home, I started soaking my bulgur. After an hour, my salad was ready to be constructed. I was hungry enough at that point, that I didn’t care too much if it was any good. However, it was very good. The small amount of feta, not quite enough for a chunk in every bite, gave it a yummy tang. Overall it was garlicky, but fresh and wholesome-tasting, perfect for a light, post-yoga dinner.

Recipe

Tabbouleh With Feta

1 cup bulgur

1 cup warm water

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup finely chopped parsley

1/2 pound cherry tomatoes, halved

2 sprigs scallions, chopped

1 ounce crumbled feta cheese

Soak bulgur in warm water for about 1 hour and soak up remaining liquid. Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, cumin, coriander and salt. Toss remaining ingredients with bulgur and fold in olive oil dressing.

Serves 4 as a side or 2 as a main dish.

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