I’ve had an opportunity to try some new snacks, thanks to my friends at Posh Mama. I was a bit skeptical at first, because although I do enjoy fruit and nuts… Well, I must be honest and say I’d rather have them dipped in chocolate than simply cut and dried, “organic, nothing added.”

But I have to report that I was pleasantly surprised by the Peeled Snacks I tried. My favorite was the “go-Mango-man-go,” which is dried strips of mango, no sugar (or anything else) added. They tasted just like mango should taste, but a bit more intense: sweet, tropical, and a little bit tart. Delicious!! Hubby loves pineapple, and he declared the “pine-4-Pineapple” to be the best. The first-grader even liked the pineapple! The nuts were also tasty, even though they didn’t have any chocolate on them.

I could get used to these natural treats, and I think I could even get my kids to eat them. I’m definitely going to get some more of those dried mangoes for myself! If you’re interested in some organic snack ideas for your family, check these out.

I gobbled up some free samples of Peeled Snacks fruit and nuts, in order to write this informed review.

Here’s a quick geek goodie in honor of US Independence Day. This pretty “pi” pie plate would be perfect for any kind of pie. It has several dozen of the digits of pi around the rim, with a big pi in the center!

You might remember the “pi” pie I featured on my Sugar & Sweets blog, back on Pi Day (3/14 — get it?). That pie in this plate would be geeky pie perfection! I found this pi plate at Signals. I think I want it!

I love this wedding cake! This beautiful cake features elements of the Super Mario Brothers and Mario Kart video games, and it is absolutely fabulous! The decorations are all edible, and the actual cake on the inside is “black chocolate cake filled with bittersweet chocolate ganache, chocolate buttercream and chocolate mousse.” Sounds like heaven. Check out the whole photostream to see close-ups of the details.

Photos belong to M.A.L.; found via thegamergene.

Perhaps I get an abnormal amount of satisfaction from a well-done geek project. I also get an unusual amount of satisfaction from a great chocolate chip cookie. This project made me extremely happy, appealing to both my scientific side, and my… well, chocolate side.

I do not have the privilege of knowing Meg Hourihan personally, but I can tell that we would get along! She writes a food blog at megnut.com, and during a recent recipe search, this post caught my eye: A Mean Chocolate Chip Cookie.

Intrigued, I decided to give the recipe a glance. What I found was a wonderful fusion of geekery and bakery.

Meg, a self-described “Food Enthusiast,” had embarked upon a quest to find THE best chocolate chip cookie. She solicited suggestions, and received more recipes than she could use. To simplify her work, she narrowed the list of recipes down to a dozen contenders.

Then, like any good geek, she made a spreadsheet of the recipes. She converted all of the measurements to base 10, averaged the preparation techniques, chilling times, oven temperatures, baking times, etc. She came up with a formula for a “mean” (averaged, get it?) chocolate chip cookie. You can see the complete recipe on her blog. It is quite brilliant.

So, how did the cookies taste? After doing all of the mathematical calculations, measuring, mixing, chilling, and baking (13.04 minutes at 354.17°F), Meg sampled her creation, and declared…

The first bite revealed a cookie crispy around the rim, warm and chewy on the inside. A few hours later, they were firmer, but still tasty. The best chocolate chip cookies ever? I’m not sure, but I baked A Mean Chocolate Chip Cookie. And that’s enough for me.

A happy ending to a unique kitchen adventure! I say, “thank you!” to Meg for her contribution to the canon of kitchen geekery.

These are simply amazing. Click the thumbnail to take a closer look at these perfectly crafted Super Mario cupcakes! I would love to bite into that cute little 1UP mushroom, or give that piranha plant a taste of his own medicine! Chomp!

These are crafted by Australian artisan Naomi, who must be a fondant coloring and sculpting genius, to render these Super Mario characters so well. From the perfect shade of sky blue in the background, to the placement of the buttons on Mario’s overalls, these are just wonderful! I don’t know what I crave more after looking at these — eating cupcakes, or playing Super Paper Mario!

According to her profile, Naomi works with robots by day, and is a “cupcake ninja” by night. Sounds like the perfect combination! See more of her amazing creations, including robot, Lego, and Pacman cupcakes, as well as lots of beautiful non-geek designs, too.

Thanks for sharing, Naomi!

I would not call myself an adventurous eater. On the contrary, I am rather timid when it comes to food. I’ve been known to throw away food that is probably still safe to eat, just because it was past its expiration date. I don’t like meat cooked rare. I don’t like moldy cheese. I don’t like to take risks. I hate being sick. That’s just the way I am.

But Andrew Zimmern is a bonafide bizarre food aficionado. Not only does he love to eat, but he really seems to enjoy trying stuff that looks foreign, undercooked, even dirty and disgusting! And, I happen to enjoy watching him do that.

The best thing about the way Zimmern approaches this gastronomic thrill ride is that he is not doing it just for the gross-out factor. Yes, I’m sure it has occurred to him and/or his television producers that a certain part of the population does find it entertaining to watch a mild-mannered, chubby, bald, white man eat things that make most normal people gag. However, he does make an honest effort to explore the culture behind the cuisine. He’s not just eating weird things to shock people. He’s eating whatever people eat, wherever they live. It’s amazing, entertaining, and educational.

If you’ve never seen the show, the new season of Bizarre Foods starts tonight. If you have a sensitive gag reflex, this may not be the program for you. But if you’re curious about world food traditions, and you can handle some strange stuff, you should definitely check it out. It’s on the Travel Channel on US cable television.

Once a year, the Girl Scouts set up shop in the foyer of our local grocery store. They stack up boxes and boxes of cookies, put on their sashes, smiles, and best manners. I try to resist, but I just can’t!

I must have the cookies!

Last year, my husband mistakenly brought home some peanut butter sandwich cookies. I wanted Peanut Butter Patties. They are soooo not the same. Peanut Butter Patties are covered in chocolate. The sandwiches are not. The Patties are my favorites!

Coming in a close second are the Thin Mints. When I was a Girl Scout, I think there were lots more Thin Mints per box. Also, each box was much cheaper back then. Yes, the cookies are expensive. Yes, they are not good for me. But I just can’t help it!

This is embarrassing, but I just did a line of Thin Mints. I tried to stop, but I couldn’t, and before I knew it, the whole tube was empty. Darn those Girl Scouts and their tiny, delicious, overpriced cookies!

Hubby got me a mini box of chocolates. I ate them all! I did not share.