September Degustabox and working on my own custom web site!!

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I feel like I haven’t posted in forever! Life has been busy to say the least, but for the most part I can’t complain. For the first time in 9 years I have alone time during the day, Ari is acclimating to kindergarten, and Ava is owning the fourth grade. I’ve gone back to working a few extra days during the week, which almost makes me feel like a functioning member of society….almost.Looks like sooner than later, I will no longer be a slave to wordpress and Jarom has been working on my own dedicated site! After three years I suppose it is overdue, but as with all things “custom” we aren’t quite to the point of release yet…but I am super excited to personalize my content on my own platform. The one thorn in my side currently are the two dying (due to improper trimming by the power company) locust trees in front of my house, in the last two years they have dropped large branches on the street and on our yard. Now here in PDX, these trees are called “street trees” and technically belong to the city, but as the homeowner I have to pay to have them removed (ain’t cheap $$$), making sure to get permitted by urban forestry, grind the stumps, and replant in 90 days….blergh! So the tree company we hired to remove them keeps putting us off (cue the sad violin music), and I am hoping to have these shenanigans off my list of annoyances by the end of the week so I can focus on my own blissful, alone time and stop worrying about the statistic of 100 people a year in the U.S. being killed by trees falling on them… yikes!
Anyhoo, September degusta did not disappoint. Several gluten-free products that I found to be quite impressive, I personally am not gluten-free, but I know that many folks are and I think options are good so I was excited to try Sam Mills fusilli pasta and I would totally serve this again as I am a pasta fanatic and this hit all right notes that I love in full gluten pasta. The Toosum oatmeal bars were a great quick snack, and being only 100 calories, gluten-free, and non-gmo, I think these would be a great snack or quick energy for myself or the kids. The popCORNers are GF, vegan, non-gmo, and totally delicious, imagine kettle corn in chip form! We got a variety of zollipops and these were really neat, because they are a treat for kids after they eat, they actually contain ingredients that help reduce tooth decay and are sugar-free, GF, vegan and kosher, I throw one in the lunches I pack for the kids. There of course were some other treats I didn’t get to taste the Entemanns muffins, the kids devoured those in a few seconds, so I must say a thumbs up for those. The Michele et Augustin shortbread cookies were a favorite with the English Provender lemon curd, I can’t wait to try the savory chutneys as well, I loved the little jars they came in and the lemon curd was some of the best I tasted! Another home run for me this month was the Sparkling bitters water I loved the bottle I tried, and I think it has major potential as a zero calorie mixer for cocktails, I drank mine right out of the bottle and I really enjoyed it, a great alternative to plain sparkling water, which I am obsessed with. Highly recommended.Hak’s one pot sauce was really good, I used it to make pilaf with brown rice, and I was really impressed by the freshness and good flavors, I usually don’t buy simmer sauces, but this is one that I would buy, and I would be interested in trying other varieties, great ingredients, and convenience are always appreciated for busy weeknight meal prep. The BustaNUTs were fun flavored peanuts…I never thought bourbon and peanuts would work together, it was good and the name alone made them hilarious….good for gift giving to your “bros”….we all know a few. I haven’t gotten a chance to try the Nando’s Peri-peri but I am excited to experiment with this tasty, spicy, gluten-free sauce. Again if you want to join the fun check out Degustabox for yourself and try some new things!