threesome?

M is for the many yums you gave me.
A is for the appetite you sate.
R is for the reason I go camping.
S is for the satisfying taste.
H is for the holidays that wouldn’t be the same.
M is for the merry times we share.
A is for the awesome mix of flavors.
L is for the lighting of the flame.
L is for the luscious, gooey texture.
O is for the om nom nom nom noms.
W is for the epic, epic WIN.
Marshmallow.

You probably couldn’t guess that I love marshmallows, could you?  I know.  I hide my obsession really well, right?  I try to keep these things on the down-low.  Maybe it’s because they remind me of my childhood, you know like, ice cream trucks and Fraggles, or maybe it’s that they’re an integral part of s’mores, those delicious, delectable, gooey treats, or maybe it’s because I like to huddle together with my friends and set things on fire.  I dunno.  It’s a mystery for the ages.

Am I the only person who refers to every brand of marshmallow you get in a regular grocery store as “Stay-Puft?”  I don’t think I am.  Am I the only person to try sorcery to bring to life a giant gollum made of fluffy white blocks of gelatin so that I can have a powerful primeval giant to do my bidding?  I really don’t think so.  Am I the first person to try the Heavenly Tahitian Vanilla Marshmallows from Have It Sweet Confections and absolutely love them?  Nay.  Nay, I say!  Neither the first nor the last.

everything is better on a stick

You’ve been to Etsy, right?  Of course you have.  You and Etsy are good friends.  BFFs.  You let Etsy brush your hair.  Once.  In return, you purchased $465 worth of crocheted food figurines.  Well, you should move beyond using Etsy to fund your fabric-fetish and explore the vast array of culinary delights awaiting you at specialty shops across the nation.  I was perusing said collection of delights when I stumbled upon Have It, a small family-owned store, and the listing for the vanilla marshmallows caught my eye.  I figured, well, I’m already spending $10 on heirloom herb seeds (I need my basil, okay)—why not?  Make it so, number two. So shall it be thought in my head, so shall it be done.

Well.

The marshmallows came today.  Wrapped in a cute little bag, safe in a mail package, dropped in my mailbox.  These cute little building blocks of taste.  Josh and I each sampled one right away—and they’re perfect.  Best marshmallows I’ve had so far—in fact, they blew the ones from Zingermans out of the water (sorry, Zing).  The exteriors were sprinkled with sugar and had a great crispy texture, while the insides were pillowy soft and tasted lightly of vanilla.  Perfect for snacking, just popping into my waiting mouth one after another until the sugar coma hits.  But I had bigger plans for them.  Better plans.  MAGNIFICENT PLANS!

Yeah ok I made s’mores, but hey—don’t take that lightly.  S’mores are the completion of a young marshmallow’s destiny.  The s’more will test you.  The s’more will break you.  The s’more will make you a man marshmallow.

Yeah I may have had too much sugar tonight.

But the s’mores were great.  I toasted the marshmallows over our gas stove—and don’t pretend like you’ve never done that.  They took a bit longer to brown than Stay Puft (hee hee) marshmallows, but once they did…oh man.  The difference was amazing.  These did not turn black and crunchy on the outside.  Instead, they sizzled and cracked and turned golden brown and filled the kitchen with the smell of crême brulée.  Squeal.  And then they got gooey.  Really gooey.  Ooey gooey.  Truly.

I paired them up with some semi-sweet Ghiradelli chocolate squares and graham crackers (store bought ones, I was too impatient to wait and try out Noelle’s (from Simmer Down) graham cracker recipe but soon I will.  Soon.  Oh soon.  I may soon try making my own marshmallows as well but…why mess with perfection?