All Sweets and Snacks

So today the non-baker and the foreign correspondent attended the All Sweets and Snacks Exposition, hosted by the National Confectioner's Association.

Though the non-baker had been before, she found it again, both amazing and overwhelming. The foreign correspondent assessed it as being sort of similar to being a kid in a candy store, except that all of the candy was up for grabs (and was free.) It is truly a magical atmosphere, unlike almost any and every other convention (and not just because around half the attendees go around grabbing candy while they talk to representatives from different companies.)

They both enjoyed it greatly and plan on writing more about it in the coming days. Also, though she was not able to make the convention, the non-baker is planning on making sure that the Baker gets some of the treats that were there so that she can come up with some truly creative recipes incorporating new items from the show.

World's best black bean burger and sweet potato fries

Despite the fact that neither of them is a vegetarian, the Baker and the non-baker are both exceedingly fond of black bean burgers. And while there are a lot of restaurants that sell them, and whose are quite delicious, none of them stands up to the black bean burger with mango salsa that is made at Fox & Obel. It's a seasonal item, served only in the late spring and summer, which has, on more than one occasion, been a problem for the non-baker, who would prefer to have it available all year round.

They also make the best sweet potato fries. Crispy and delectable and not too oily.
Anyway, this is mostly to say that if you're in Chicago, and looking for delicious food, the place is worth a visit. The non-baker tends to wax poetic about the place for hours, specifically about the very nice people at the cheese counter who will gladly give you samples of everything and the wall of olive oils and vinegars.

The All Sweets and Snacks Exposition

Recently the non-baker decided that she wanted to do something fun for the Baker, something food related, and something that the Baker had never done before. Last year, the non-baker attended the All Sweets and Snacks Exposition (formerly the All Candy Expo) hosted by the National Confectioner's Association. And the non-baker figured that the Baker would enjoy the opportunity to see all the new sweets and snacks and come up with recipes that incorporated them. And, of course the non-baker loves learning about the new fads in the candy and snack industries. So......in around two weeks, the Baker and the non-baker will be attending the All Sweets and Snacks Expo.

We'll be posting updates at the end of each day of the Expo, with either news about candy and snacks or with recipes that use the items that we find there. Joining us will be our Foreign Cooking/Baking Correspondent, whose familiarity with Russian candies and snacks will allow her to write about the foreign candies and snacks.