A Hard Candy Christmas: Advent 2023 DAY 4

Today's candy goes by a couple of different names. But no matter how you eat it, these treats are big deals if I'm ever going to eat anything from Hickory Farms.

Until about 1990, there were permanent Hickory Farms locations in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina. Until I was 12 or 13, if someone on my dad's side of the family had a birthday or other special occasion, we had Hickory Farms. With the beef sticks, cheeses, and mustards, after you had your fill of savory, you finished things up with a handful of these sweet treats. I'm talking about Meltaway Mints.

I'm not really sure if the mints were made of white chocolate. But they were these creamy, colorful little pieces of candy that packed a punch of mint. Originally, Meltaway Mints looked like an oversized Hershey's kiss. But instead of being colored for Christmas, these guys looked like they were more suited for Easter as they came in pastels of green, pink and yellow. Yet, I can't recall a single Christmas Eve party at my Grandmama's house where these guys weren't a part of her massive spread. On the underside of each mint were these white sprinkles that always reminded me of the Asthma medication I used to take as a kid. But unlike Theo-Dur, these sprinkles were sweet instead of nasty ol' bits of bitterness.

For a brief time Hickory Farms discontinued the Meltaway Mints. Fans got vocal and they've returned to shelves- for a ridiculous price of $27.99 for 3 30oz bags. So, if you're okay with generic Melty Mints, which still retain the kiss shape whereas the revival name brand now looks like buttons, you'll actually save some money without losing any of the nostalgic taste. Some might say accept no substitute. I say if it brings back memories of happy times, I'm willing to buy off-brand!

The Maze Agency #11

A pair of New York City detectives are drawn into a looming mob war on Christmas Eve in this bargain bin rescue. When a mob boss gets wind of an informer in his midst, he goes after the guy who knocked up his little girl. On the run, the daughter and her lover must dodge hitmen and other hired goons from other crime families who want to get their hands on the rat, in order to make it safely out of the Big Apple. Only, that task has gotten a lot more harder as the mom-to-be's water has just broke and her father is heading to the hospital where she's about to deliver her Christmas day babe. 

There were about a dozen issues of The Maze Agency at the thrift store where I found this issue. One of those issues had a team-up with the famed Ellery Queen. I almost got that issue, as I love a good mystery until I found this holiday issue. Not able to let a good holiday issue pass me by, I should have also bought the Ellery Queen issue as this was a very good read. 

Written by Mike W. Barr, this story was complex, gritty and above all, an honest-to-goodness holiday story. The back cover likens this tale to O.Henry's The Gift of the Magi. But the story really parallels the Nativity Story of Luke and Matthew, what with the expecting parents not being able to find a place to hide out as well as them both being targeted by a powerful corrupt leader.

Maybe if I am lucky, the rest of these issues might still be at that thrift store. If I'm not on Santa's naughty list, I might even be able to find issue #19 which is the other Christmas set issue of the series. If not, thankfully, these issues are very expensive to find online. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

A Hard Candy Christmas: Advent 2023 DAY 3

11 months out of the year, I hate mint. Then right around Thanksgiving, something inside my brain clicks into overdrive and I crave peppermint! One of my favorite ways to consume the mellower, sweeter cousin of spearmint are the Christmas Nougats from Brachs. 

The coolest thing about them is the picture of a Christmas tree that resides in the direct middle of each cellophane wrapped piece of sticky goodness.

There are 2 types of Christmas Nougats available for sale. There is the regular all white variety and the mix. The mix is my favorite. Along with white, the mix contains red and green hued nougats. I know that the white, red and greens all taste the same. However, I will fight you to the death in defense of my belief that the red and green ones are softer and have a creamier texture. I mean an occasional white nougat is fine. But after a while, your jaw starts hurting from all that chewing whereas the colored varieties melt in your mouth. 

Quantum Leap #3

Thanks to printing delays beyond the publisher's control, fans of the original Quantum Leap TV series got a Christmas comic book. Well, they got half of one. 

Sam leaps into the body of a department store Santa during Christmas of 1963. The nation is reeling from the assassination of JFK and the families of this small town USA in which Sam Beckett has arrived at, could use a little holiday magic in their lives. According to Ziggy, the Project Quantum Leap super computer which calculates the probabilities of why Dr. Beckett has leapt where he did, believes that Sam must restore the relationship between a workaholic father and his teenaged daughter who lost her faith in Christmas after the tragic death of her mother. However, Sam's mission has gotten a little bit tougher as the dad has just been arrested for embezzling from the department store. 

The second story isn't set during the holidays. It's the early 1970s at MIT, Sam's old Alma Mater. He leapt into the body of the boyfriend of the scientist whose doctoral thesis will inspire Sam to create Project Quantum Leap. Unfortunately, Sam's recent actions have led to the couple breaking up. Al, the holographic observer for the project, informs Sam that he must thread lightly at his next steps. For if Sam can't get the two lovebirds to reunite, their rift threatens to create a paradox in which the research that inspired Quantum Leap never takes place; leaving Sam trapped in the past forever!

Not 100% Christmas. But there was a huge amount of holiday cheer in that first story to make up for that. Plus an amazing painted cover of poor Santa Sam having to deal with some unhappy tykes waiting to visit him. Also, the whole idea that the man whom Sam leaps into might actually be Santa was so adorable. The story ends before we find out for sure if he really is St. Nick. However, it's probably best that that plot point is left ambiguous lest the magical element of this story be ruined.

For a Quantum Leap fan wanting a holiday comic book, this 1992 offering shouldn't disappoint. I just wish that the second story was also set at Christmas. The creators should have kept the story as it was. Just set it during the month of December in order to make this a complete Christmas comic. Well, it's too late to change anything now.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

A Hard Candy Christmas: Advent 2023 DAY 2

The candy featured in today's Advent is why I am so hooked on Advent calendars and do them annually. It's the Advent Calendar from Lindt Chocolates. My mom got me one of these every year to help the month-long anticipation of the holiday pass just a little bit smoother. Started in the 1950s, the confectioner started producing these beautiful little boxes with holiday scenes on them. Each day, you find the right number on the box, pull the flap on the scene and there would be a tiny morsel of chocolate. Usually the chocolates were of holiday shapes like stockings, gifts and candy canes. If I recall correctly, I think the chocolate on the 25th was a slightly bigger piece in the shape of Santa.

I remember getting one of these every year until I was about 16. By then, my much younger sister would be the one getting the Advent calendar and the chocolates to eat as I felt like I was too old for such a thing. But little did I know that my love for Advent calendars would live on. It's a fondness for those happy childhood memories that continues in my dedication in producing an advent on this blog every year. While I know that my posts are nowhere near as sweet or addictive as that rich piece of Lindt chocolate, hopefully, they've brought my readers joy over the years. But it's the thought that counts. Right?

Grumpy Cat: The Grumpus and Other Horrible Holiday Tales (Family Comic Friday)

Although the world was only graced with 7 years of life of Grumpy Cat (real name: Tarder Sauce), the spirit of the prickly puss lives on. In a brand new collection of holiday stories, Grumpy Cat and her ever so positive brother Pokey, celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah and Three Kings Day in ways only feisty feline could. The title story of the Grumpus is Grumpy Cat's Christmas time warning to her brother that the holidays is not a season of glee but doom! Later we learn that cinnamon is Grumpy's greatest foe. Witness as aliens make first contact with Grumpy and Pokey in order to learn about Christmas. A malevolent spectre warns Grumpy of potential Christmas future troubles before this collection wraps up with Grumpy filling in for Old Saint Nick.

There have been Grumpy Cat (And Pokey!) comics before. But from what I can tell none of them were holiday specials. That means that the complete Grumpus and Other Horrible Holiday Tales is 100% all-new material! And I had a humongous amount of fun with this book!

There are a number of tales involved in this book including Steve Orlando, Derek Fridolfs and Silvia Bancora. Each story has differing art as well as differing ways of story framing. One tale is done in rhyme. Another is told partially. I'm thankful for that variety as I think if all the stories were told in a similar fashion, it would have gotten a tad stale. The main thing is that throughout 9 different tales, the snarky catatude of Grumpy and the wide-eyed wonder of Pokey never wavers!

Recommended by Amazon for readers aged 12-14 I think that there's something for everyone. Think the Grumpus, which is a Grumpy Cat version of Krampus or the Ghost of Christmas Future is too intense for the young readers in your life? Just skip those tales for the all-ages fun of the 'Grumpy Cat Vs. Merry Martians' or the hilarious chaos of the Hanukkah entry. Then in later years when those readers get old enough to read those slightly more intense Christmas Carols, it'll be brand new material for them!

A new holiday classic from a beloved feline icon. I miss Grumpy Cat.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

A Hard Candy Christmas: Advent 2023 DAY 1

This year I am looking at 25 candies that symbolize the holidays to me. Up first is the candy that inspired this year's Advent: Hard Candy!

Sometimes called pillow candy (the name I grew up with) or hard tack, this stuff is affordable to buy, not very expensive to make, hard as a rock, and god-awful. A cross between horehound and licorice with hints of Scope mouthwash, I always fall for its shimmering mix of colors. And yet, every time I eat a piece or two, I feel like I just took a dose of medicine afterwards. Or had a routine cleaning at the dentist.

Not to be confused with Ribbon Candy, Hard Candy does come in a variety of colors and air is added to the liquid sugar as it hardens to add that sheen. However Ribbon Candy comes in a variety of more fruity flavors like cherry or orange as well as peppermint. Plus, Ribbon looks like a piece of flowy ribbon found on a Christmas gift, whereas each tiny piece of Hard Candy kinda puffs in the middle like a pillow.

When it comes to Hard Candy, there's a couple of rules:

1. Any grandparent older than the age of 65 must carry a dish of the stuff on a coffee table in their living room at all times from November 1st until just after the new year.

AND

2. Once the candy is poured out into a candy dish, the entire mass must form together into a single solid mass. Thus ensuring that whatever remains after the holidays is saved over for the next year as nobody eats this stuff anymore.