A few years ago, my dear Auntie Mets sent my family a S'mores maker for Christmas. Have you seen one? It is basically a mini grill, that is powered by chafing dish fuel, with skewers to roast your marshmallows on. It's really cute, too. The little device actually looks like a ceramic toasted marshmallow and it sits on a dish that looks like Hershey's bars. Anyways, the point is, we got this gift for Christmas, probably 5 years ago, and I must admit, I never used it. It sat in my basement for a while, and then in my garage. It wasn't that I didn't want to use it. It was just one of those things that sort of got pushed to the side and I kept thinking, I will get it out as a treat for the kids one night, and, well... That night just never really came. You know how it is with kids. If you get something like that out, it is probably going to make more of a mess than it is worth, then your kids will be all hopped up on marshmallows and chocolate, you will have a burn mark on your ceiling from where the fire (inevitably) got out of control, and you will be scraping sticky marshmallow goo off your counters for weeks to come.
Fast forward to last Monday. As the den leader for Mario's Cub Scout den (you can stop laughing now, and yes, I wear the awesome khaki uniform), I had to think of one last fun activity to do for the school year. I settled on a requirement that has the scouts make trail mix and a snack for their meeting. The trail mix was easy. I bought a ton of trail mix-y stuff and each scout got to create their own mix. They loved it. But, what on earth was I going to have them make for snack? As I was walking in from the garage, a box with a big Hershey's kiss caught my eye. S'mores!!! Ok, how hard can this really be? The scouts will love it, I will have other adults there to help, and since it is at the school, there is a built in sprinkler system for any wayward s'more flames.
The scouts had a BLAST, and I have to say, that little S'mores maker is fan-freakin'-tastic! How could I not have gotten this little bit of marshmallow magic out of the box sooner? When I brought it home that night, I stood in the kitchen, with the little burner lit, and promptly roasted myself about 27 marshmallows. When I was done, the only mess left was the marshmallow goo on my fingers and all over my face from stuffing them in as fast as I could. I'm a roasted marshmallow FREAK. I love them. I love to set them on fire till they are black and crispy on the outside, and warm and runny on the inside. And this sweet little invention makes it so damn easy!
On Tuesday morning, I got out of bed, came downstairs and toasted myself a couple more marshmallows and made a s'more. About 30 minutes later, I made 2 more s'mores. For lunch, I had 2 s'mores and 8 toasted marshmallows. Whenever the craving hit, all I had to do was go into the kitchen, light the little burner, grab a 'mallow and toast away. By Tuesday evening, I was out of chocolate and marshmallows.
Wednesday morning, I promptly got the younger Goombas in the car and headed to the grocery store for Hershey bars and Jet-Puffed marshmallows. Oh sure, I got a few other "real food" items, but I'll give you one guess as to what items #1 and 2 were on my list. When I walked back into my house, I was greeted by the aroma of softly burnt sugar. Yum.
Basically, what I am trying to say here, is that pretty much the only thing I have eaten since Monday evening are s'mores and toasted marshmallows. Bowser finally put it away in the box last night. I think he was tired of me sneaking into the kitchen every 6 minutes to light the burner, toast a 'mallow, blow it out, and stuff my face while making yummy noises. So far today, I have been s'more-less. I am trying desperately not to allow myself any until at least S'more:30 this afternoon. (Which usually comes right around the same time as Beer:30. Dear Lord, could life get any better???)
So, Auntie Mets, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU (a little belated) for this incredibly awesome, tasty gift! My butt might not be so thankful, as I am sure an all s'mores diet isn't going to do much for it's size, but hey, who couldn't use a little junk in the trunk. I will be heading back to the grocery store shortly, to stock up on ingredients for the weekend. And maybe, just maybe, if the Goombas and Bowser are lucky, I will share some with them.
Cheers!
~Daisy
