With all due respect to other quality products, these are the best ice cream bars we’ve had.

The company doesn’t use the term “bar,” but calls Magnum “handheld ice cream”—ice cream or ice on a stick, cones, etc.

Novelties are single-serving frozen treats that include ice cream bars, ice pops and ice cream sandwiches, among other products (remember push-up pops?). Novelties originated in the 1920s, with the creation of Eskimo Pies, Dixie Cups.

See the different types of ice cream products in our Ice Cream Glossary, as well as the history of ice cream.

The super-premium ice cream in chocolate or vanilla is excellent, and the thick coat of Belgian chocolate can’t be beat.

 
Each of the flavors is delicious, and we are equal-opportunity consumers of all six. However, three deserve a shout out for their extra layers of flavor.

 
Magnum is a brand of Unilever, which has an portfolio that includes Ben & Jerry’s, Breyers, Good Humor, Popsicle and noteworthy non-ice cream brands such as Bertolli, Hellmann’s, Knorr and Skippy. There’s also Slim-Fast, in case you can’t stop eating the Magnum bars.

Magnum ice cream is available in grocery retailers nationwide, including Kroger, Safeway, Target and Walmart. Three-count multipacks have a suggested retail price of $3.99; individual bars, a suggested retail price of $2.59.

Go for the boxes! There’s a store locator on the website. Head to the nearest store and indulge!

FOOD TRIVIA: The ice cream bar was invented in 1920 by Harry Burt of Youngstown, Ohio, who went on to found Good Humor.
  

Lovely leeks. Photo by Marlon Paul Bruin |
SXC.

On this past Sunday’s episode of Desperate Housewives, Susan Mayer had no idea what the long white vegetable that looked like a ginormous scallion was.

While it seems improbable that anyone who has ever strolled through a produce aisle can’t recognize a leek, it gave us this Tip Of The Day idea.

Leeks—a member of the onion species, allium—are in season now, and anyone who likes onions should cook some up.

To those Latin students who know that allium is garlic: garlic is also a member of the onion species, as are chives, shallots and ramps (wild leeks).

The edible portions of the leek are the white onion base and light green stalk. The bittersweet dark green portion at the end of the stalk is usually discarded.

Some recipes use only the white base. Save the light green portion for salads, stocks, quiche, burgers, general garnishes and so forth. Or batter and fry them as fried onion stalks, instead of onion rings.

Julia Child first introduced us to leeks in Mastering The Art Of French Cooking: leeks braised in butter (served with hot entrées, or served cold with cold meats and seafood), leeks browned with cheese and leeks in a ham quiche.

We later learned to love leeks as a soup ingredient. Scotland’s cock-a-leekie soup (chicken and leeks), leek and potato soup and vichyssoise—that delightful cold summer soup made of potatoes and leeks—are the most famous leek soups. Leeks are also the main ingredient in three-onion soup, along with onions and shallots.

Here’s a variation on that soup—a recipe for two-onion soup, made with leeks and sweet onions, also in season. Turn it into three-onion soup by adding a couple of minced shallots or garnishing it with chopped chives.

For everyone who enjoys cupcakes at a party, there’s now an official cupcake drink: Cupcake Vodka.

The vodkas are made by Cupcake Vineyards of Monterey County, California, which produces 14 affordable wine varietals in addition to four premium vodka flavors.

The vodka flavors are Original (vanilla cupcake), Chiffon (lemon cupcake), Devil’s Food and Frosting. The 750 ml bottles retail for $17.99.

The vodkas are just rolling out to retailers. There are no online sales yet so we haven’t tasted them yet, but we’re working on it! Stay tuned for a full review.

If you want to keep abreast of retail availability, sign up at CupcakeVodka.com.

THE NIBBLE’s favorite toffee is a
great Mother’s Day gift. Photo courtesy
Enstrom’s.

We’ve enjoyed lots of good toffee, but Enstrom’s is number one on our list.

The company makes conventional toffee, broken from the slab into rectangular pieces, as well as these individual pieces, called Almond Toffee Petites.

Sugar-free toffee is also available—and just as delicious as the regular toffee. The products are certified kosher by Scroll K, The Vaad Hakashrus Of Denver.

Mom will love it!

That’s a $10/day habit in bottled tea, $70 per week. Or, a mere fraction of that if we brew our own.

Given our combined desire to spend sensibly and consume sustainably, we focus on home brewing.

You don’t need any fancy equipment, but there are some specialty ice tea brewers that make sense for those who drink a lot of iced tea. Check out the options from Hamilton Beach and West Bend.

We personally use the Breville One-Touch Tea Maker, one of our favorite kitchen appliances. We let the hot tea cool, then pour it into recycled 16-ounce drink bottles and place them in the fridge. You can just as easily pour it into a pitcher if you prefer to serve it that way, or store the tea in recycled quart bottles.

Before we had the Breville tea brewer, we simply put loose tea in a large mesh tea ball/spice ball, or tea bags, and then placed it in a large mixing bowl and poured in an entire kettle of boiling water. (For green tea, don’t bring the water to boiling. The ideal brewing temperature is 180°F.)

For the best iced tea, buy loose tea from a specialty tea store. The flavors are so intense, no sugar or lemon is needed. And you’ll need less tea: Loose tea can be infused two or three times, while most tea bags are made to produce one cup of tea.