Boca Java Light Up Las Olas.

I picked this up along with 3 others as an introductory offer from Boca Java. Not having had a fresh dark roast in quite awhile, this was quite good. It just goes to show the importance of not only fresh brewing (e.g., coffee shop mid-afternoon) but fresh roasting. I ordered this ground rather than whole bean since my grinder lacks finesse and generally only produces espresso grind or pebbles. If anything deteriorated between Boca Java's grind and my brew, I can't even imagine what a fresh grind would taste like.

Profoundly robust but easy drinking, this is the kind of coffee you should wake up to or enjoy slowly after dinner.

Boca Java seems like a pretty decent company with excellent products and I would have stayed in had I more money to spare at the moment. Perhaps at a later date.

JanKris Syrah.

I liked it. Most syrahs don't hold a candle to PS in terms of body since they are different grapes, but this one was bold but still light and fruity. I don't run across many syrahs that I'm impressed with since I'd rather just go find a PS, but this one was good. Lately, I've also had a craving for zin.

Roasted Red Pepper, Cauliflower and Crab Chowder.

A conglomeration of recipes, I used shallots instead of onions because I had them. Roasted red pepper, boiled cauliflower, simmer, puree, milk, meh. I like the combination of red pepper and crab generally, but it didn't mesh as well for me here.

It was a little grainier than I would have liked and lacked the chowder-y consistency. I had skipped the heavy creme, since I didn't have any and it wasn't universal across recipes, but I think it would have helped.

Potato Pancakes and Zucchini.

I used a leftover boiled potato to make these potato pancakes which turned out better than the latkes I had tried before. For the batter, I just used milk, flour, an egg, and some salt and pepper. Turned out awesome.

The sausage is from Butcher Wagon, which I bought because it was cheaper than the Jimmy Dean one. What's nice about it is that it only uses pork, corn syrup, water, "flavorings", and dextrose. It said specifically "flavorings" and not spices, but I hope that just means spices. I don't recall what Jimmy Dean has in it, but I'm willing to bet it's more than those five ingredients. (Looked it up. Basically the same stuff with the addition of MSG. Which I don't think you can roll into the heading of "flavorings".) In any case, Butcher Wagon tastes better.

The giant zucchini slices are from this guy, an 8-ball zucchini:

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

Sourced from Deb's Smitten Kitchen (contributor [as well as Elise] to Good Bite's launch). The recipe is almost identical to Elise's, but I opted for this one because it was written up as a half batch and had the interesting twist of refrigerating before baking.

I actually didn't refrigerate this initial pan, but I packed away a bit in the freezer on Deb's suggestion.

And it turns out they rose up just fine without the refrigeration though a bit light. I checked at 10 minutes but decided to leave them in for another 2. Crispy around the edges, chewy but oddly fluffy in the middle.

Addendum: I tried some of the ones I had frozen. They certainly rose more, but didn't spread out as much. If I wanted normal-sized cookies, I would have had to double the dough for each ball. I think the unrefrigerated ones were better actually.

Falafels.

There were some various methods for preparing chickpeas ranging from scratch to boiling canned ones and then chilling. I just used canned ones without boiling and without chilling the batter. In retrospect, doing both probably would have helped the balls hold together in the fryer. Falafel is pretty quick and simple, though not as quick when you're using a wok to shallow fry. An electric wok with temperature control would be handy. Or a deep fryer.

Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale.

I had heard good things about Samuel Smith, in general. The nut brown is good, probably better than most, but no Blackstone.

Refried Red Beans.

Maybe it's just been a while since I've had full-fat refried beans. But they were good. Kinda felt like I was eating poo.

Talerine Casserole.

Crazy casserole from Elise. Based on ground beef and tomato, mixed with egg noodles, cheese, mushrooms, and olives. The comments said the olives provide a necessary flavor, but I didn't really like the way they baked. It might have been different if I had taken the time to slice the olives so they incorporated into the sauce, but meh. It also gave me a lot of gas.