Who was Betsy?

There are certain phrases I find myself saying lately that make me sound like I’m 100 years old.  Or living on a farm in the 1940’s.  I don’t know how I suddenly aged 70 years but it’s kinda odd.  They aren’t even phrases that my parents said, so I have no excuse.

Anyone know where the phrase “Heavens to Betsy!” comes from?  It’s pretty random when you think about it.

I digress…

The oats-in-a-jar trend never really caught on in the HHH household.  But I’m frugal by nature and would never dream of letting these last drops of peanut butter go to waste [full disclosure: Kyle threw this away and I rescued it from the trash and tried to explain to him how much was actually left]

You guys, my husband thinks I’m crazy.

In any event, I added stove top oats to the jar, along with raisins, cinnamon, and stevia, and then ate it while trying not to get my hand covered in peanut butter from the top of the jar.  It’s not a perfect system, which is why I’m not in love with OIAJ, but despite the annoying and impractical aspects, it’s at least a way of enjoying every last bit of precious nut butter.

Remember back when I tried Silk’s soy nog and nearly died of GI pain (don’t forget I still found a use for it).  Well, I finally got my hands on the So Delicious coconut milk nog and heavens to Betsy is it good.

First of all, it’s ridiculously thick.  Thicker than any beverage, dairy or not, that I’ve ever had.  Also, it left me with ZERO discomfort.  None.  I had a huge cup and didn’t feel the least bit different.  Score!

Oh, and it’s really yummy, too.  Coconut milk for the win.

Now it’s time for me to head back to the grind…

If you’re wondering why this packed lunch (salad, oats, banana, odwalla bar) looks so minimal, it’s because I didn’t photograph the alfajores that I brought too.

I fell in LOVE with alfajores while in Argentina and Uruguay.  They are traditional Latin American cookies, most popular in Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Peru, and they are fantastic.

I could do an entire post on the alfajor cookie.  I still might.  I tried about 10 kinds while on vacation and brought dozens more home with me.

The cookies vary by region, each with a special twist on the treat.

In Argentina, its basic form consists of two round, sweet biscuits with mousse, dulce de leche, or jam in between them.  They are then coated with chocolate (dark, milk, or white) or powdered sugar.  They are often referred to as simply “black” or “white” based on the coating.  The Argentine company Havanna is known to have the best alfajores in all of South America.

There is one variation, called alfajor de nieve that has a “snow” coating consisting of a mixture of egg whites and sugar.  Other varieties include different elements in the preparation of the biscuits (like adding peanuts), or variations in the filling and coating, or even the addition of a third biscuit (see the alfajor triple below).

As you can see, I’m pretty much an alfajor lover now.

Uruguay is actually the home of the biggest South American alfajor (with a Guinness World Record made on December 11, 2010 in which more than 25 people participated in the preparation of the record-breaking confection).

Heavens to Betsy, now that is something I would have loved to see.