[1] Ready, set, brew (all photos © Starbucks)!

[2] Vanilla Lavender, a first new “favorite” of ours. Sweet comfort: floral notes from the lavender, sweetness from the vanilla (there’s no sugar), along with more floral notes.

[3] A second new favorite, Starbucks Mountain Blend, a hearty, rich dark roast with nuances of orange zest and cacao nibs (which leave a hint of cocoa on the finish). We’ll be stocking up on this limited edition. And, we grated more orange zest into the cup.

[4] A returning favorite of ours, Starbucks Coconut Mocha Coffee.

[5] A new trio of oatmilk creamers: Cafe Mocha, Lavender Latte, and Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso.

[6] Get your coffee, get your creamers, and get ready to wake up on March 10th (photo © Flux 1.1 Ultra | The Nibble).

[7] The flavors are available in ground coffee or K-cups (photo © Caio | Pexels).

On the second Sunday in March, clocks are set ahead one hour at 2:00 a.m. and begins a half-year of Daylight Saving Time (DST). So when you go to sleep on Saturday, March 9th, you’ll wake up on Sunday with one hour less sleep.

But then, you get more light at the beginning and end of each day. Daylight Saving time lasts for a total of 34 weeks (238 days) every year, about 65% of the entire year.

How about a cup of a special new coffee to wake up with on the first day of DST 2025?

Starbucks® Coffee At Home knows that the hour of lost sleep leads to the sleepiest Sunday of the year. Few things make a sleepy Sunday better than cozying up in bed with a fresh cup of coffee.

Why not make it a special cup? Starbucks’ Spring At Home’s grocery items are ready to join you as you ease into DST.

While we have our favorites from the year-round line, we’ve grown so fond of some seasonal specialties that we buy large quantities so we don’t run out (it should be noted that we personally consume up to 6 K-Cups a day).

Starbucks’ spring line offers a variety of delicious flavors, blends and coffee formats that include the debut of five new products including:

 
 
NEW THIS SEASON FROM STARBUCKS AT HOME

Coffees

 
Coffee Creamers

 
Starbucks spring coffees are available on grocery shelves and online while supplies last at retailers (including Target, Walmart and Amazon and food stores near you).
 
 
WAKING UP ON SUNDAY, MARCH 10th

How important is your morning coffee? A survey conducted by an outside research firm for Starbucks showed just how important it is.

The 2025 Wake Up Survey found that:

 
What if they had to trade off their morning coffee for something else?

 
 
THE HISTORY OF DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME

Daylight Saving Time (DST) was first proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1784, although as a satirical suggestion to save on candle usage by awaking earlier.

The modern concept of DST was introduced by George Hudson* of New Zealand in 1895 and later popularized by William Willett† of the U.K. in 1907.

The first official implementation took place in Port Arthur, Canada, in 1908. Germany adopted DST nationwide in 1916 to conserve energy during World War I.

In the U.S., DST was first implemented during World War I in 1918, as part of the Standard Time Act. It was repealed in 1919 but reintroduced during World War II as “War Time.”

After the war, DST became optional, leading to inconsistent observance across the states. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 standardized DST nationwide, allowing states to opt out entirely.

Since then, DST has been adjusted several times, including extensions in 1986 and 2007 to its current schedule: starting on the second Sunday in March and ending on the first Sunday in November.

Today, most U.S. states observe DST, except for Arizona (excluding the Navajo Nation), Hawaii, and U.S. territories like Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. Globally, about 34% of countries use DST, primarily in Europe and North America.

The practice remains controversial. Proponents argue that it saves energy, reduces crime, and promotes outdoor activities, while critics highlight its minimal energy savings, health risks (e.g., disrupted sleep), and inconvenience.

As of 2025, DST continues to be observed in the U.S. under its current schedule, with ongoing debates about its future.

Is the U.S. going to permanently end daylight saving time? In 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a measure, the Sunshine Protection Act, that would have made daylight saving time permanent across the U.S., however, the legislation was never brought to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.
 
 
> The history of coffee.

> The different types of coffee: a photo glossary.

> The history of K-Cups follows.

> The year’s 25 coffee holidays.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF K-CUPS

K-cups were invented in the early 1990s by John Sylvan and Peter Dragone, founders of Keurig (now Keurig Green Mountain. Sylvan had previously developed the concept while working at a company that went bankrupt in 1988.

His initial idea was to solve the problem of office coffee, which was often stale or wasted when made in large pots. The two marketed the first Keurig brewing system using K-Cups 1998, targeting office use rather than homes.

These early machines were bulky and expensive, designed for workplace environments where coffee consumption was high. A home version was needed, and it was released in 2004. The convenience of brewing a single cup quickly with minimal cleanup strongly appealed to consumers.

In 2006, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, a seller of better coffee, acquired Keurig. Green Mountain leveraged its existing relationships with retailers and coffee producers to promote Keurig, and by the 2010s, Keurig single-serve brewers and K-cups had become ubiquitous in American households.

The company partnering with major brands like Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Newman’s Own to offer their coffee in K-cup format. The fly in the ointment of impressive growth was that the plastic was a significant environmental polluter.

In response to environmental concerns, Keurig introduced recyclable K-cups in 2016, though the process is cumbersome. It requires the users to peel off the top of the K-Cup and toss (or compost) the wet grounds. The plastic cup must be rinsed clean before recycling. While committed environmentalists may have taken the time to do this, most consumers did not.

The K-cup patent expired in 2012, leading to a proliferation of third-party pods that are compatible with Keurig machines. This greatly expanded consumer options while dumping even more K-cups into the landfill.

As of today, several third-party manufacturers have created fully compostable coffee pods that are compatible with Keurig machines.

These compostable alternatives typically use materials like plant-based polymers, paper, and other biodegradable substances that break down in industrial composting facilities.

The current challenge is to perfect the materials so they can withstand the high-pressure hot water brewing process while still breaking down completely in composting conditions.
 
 
________________

‡It’s officially Daylight Saving Time, without the “s.” But Daylight Savings Time is also acceptable.

*George Vernon Hudson (1867–1946) was a British-born New Zealand entomologist and astronomer. Longer daylight hours maximized his entomological studies. In 1895, he presented a paper to the Wellington Philosophical Society proposing a two-hour daylight-saving shift. He followed this with another paper in 1898. Although his concept was not immediately implemented, it influenced later advocates of DST.

†William Willett (1856–1915) was a British builder and a prominent advocate for DST in the U.K. He independently conceived the idea in 1905 while horseback riding early one summer morning. Observing how many people slept through the early daylight hours, he proposed advancing clocks to make better use of daylight. In 1907, published a pamphlet titled “The Waste of Daylight,” in which he suggested advancing clocks by 80 minutes in four 20-minute increments during April and reversing the process in September. His proposal aimed to save energy, reduce lighting costs, and provide more daylight for recreation. Despite his vigorous campaigning and support from figures like Winston Churchill, Willett’s proposal faced resistance and was not implemented during his lifetime. But they were adopted the year after his death, in 1916, during World War I, as a measure to conserve coal.
 

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[1] A fun variation: King Cake donuts (photo © Tiny Pies).

[2] A King Cake Bundt. Here’s the recipe (photos #2 and #4 © King Arthur Baking).

[3] You can bake the cake in any shape you like…

[4] …including cupcakes!

Celebrate the festive spirit of Mardi Gras (which begins on Karch 4th this year) with these delightful King Cake donuts (photo #1).

Technically, Mardi Gras, “Fat Tuesday,” is just one day—the day before Ash Wednesday.

But you have a few days’ grace to treat yourself to some of these “mini King Cakes” (they are actually baked donuts with a hole in the center).

The Mardi Gras “season lasts from King’s Day on January 6th until the day before the Catholic Lenten season starts on Ash Wednesday.

The flaky pastry is braided, baked, and topped with a colorful glaze of festive purple, green, and gold sugars—the official colors of Mardi Gras.

Purple represents justice. Green represents faith. Gold represents power. Here’s a detailed discussion of the three colors.

> The history of King Cake.

> The history of Mardi Gras.
 
 
GET YOUR MINI KING CAKES

> Head here.

Or bake one of the recipes below.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!
 
 
KING CAKE RECIPES FOR MARDI GRAS

 
Plus: Fusion Food

 
 
RECIPES TO SERVE WITH KING CAKE

 

[5] A Mardi Gras challah. Here’s the recipe (photo © Hannah Kaminsky | Bittersweet Blog).

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March is National Sauce Month, so how about a new idea for pasta sauce? Here’s a crowd pleaser that doesn’t take more effort than boiling pasta and heating sauce. But this time, the sauce is made from a container of caramelized onion dip.

It’s a two-ingredient recipe (photos #1 and #2) that you can enhance with the different options we list below.

The “original” recipe—the exact originator of the recipe isn’t definitively known—used Trader Joe’s Caramelized Onion Dip (photo #3, but any brand will do).

A quick and flavorful main course, a pasta dish sauced with a diluted container of onion dip gained popularity through social media platforms.

The sour cream base of the dip, warmed and thinned, turns into a rich cream sauce with a light onion flavor. A bonus: a light crunch from the caramelized onion pieces.

Below:

> The recipe.

> What is chili crisp and the history of chili crisp.

> The history of onion dip.

> The year’s 19 sauce, dip, and dressing holidays.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The different types of pasta: a photo glossary.

> The history of pasta.

> The history of chile peppers.

> The different types of chiles: a photo glossary.

> The year’s 20 pasta holidays.

> The year’s 12 hot and spicy holidays.
 
 
RECIPE: TRADER JOE’S CARAMELIZED ONION DIP PASTA

You can use any shape of pasta (photo #4) and, while the original recipe was made with Trader Joe’s, you can use any brand of caramelized onion dip.

A tip for using grated cheese to garnish: Keep a wedge of Italian grating cheese in the fridge and grate it directly onto the pasta.
 
Ingredients

 
Optional Pasta Garnishes

Take your pick:

 
For A More Substantial Dish

 
Preparation

1. COOK the pasta until al dente, according to the package directions. Drain, first reserving a cup of the pasta water. Set the pasta aside.

2. ADD the onion dip to the empty pasta pot. Warm it over medium heat, stirring to smooth. Add the reserved pasta water a tablespoon at a time to thin the dip into a smooth, creamy sauce as it warms (2-3 tablespoons should do it). When the sauce is your desired consistency…

3. ADD the drained pasta back to the pot and toss to coat it with the sauce.

4. GARNISH and serve.
 
 
RECIPE #2: QUICK-TOASTED BREADCRUMBS

There’s no need to heat the oven. Toast these on the stove top in five minutes or less.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. MELT the butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Spread the panko in an even layer, sprinkle with the seasonings, and stir to coat the breadcrumbs.

2. WATCH the pan for 2 minutes as the crumbs toast, so you can lower the heat if it seems too hot. You don’t want to burn the breadcrumbs. As they toast and become fragrant…

3. STIR them and again spread in another even layer, continuing to stir frequently for a total of 3-4 minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.

4. REMOVE from the heat. You can use them immediately, or let them cool completely and store for up to four days in an airtight container at room temperature.
 
 
WHAT IS SPICY CHILI CRISP?

Spicy Chili Crisp (photo #6) is a hot, crunchy, oil-based condiment made with chili flakes; crispy bits of garlic, onion, shallots, or soybeans; and seasonings.

While chili-infused oil has been used for centuries in Chinese cuisine, this relatively new condiment adds a crunch (great mouthfeel!) and more layers of flavor.

This balance of heat, crunch, and umami makes the original Chili Crisp and its imitators a versatile drizzle for eggs, pasta, rice and other grains, as a condiment for mixing into deviled eggs and vinaigrettes, a dipping sauce for dumplings, and so much more.
 
 
The History Of Spicy Chili Crisp

Spicy Chili Crisp was created by Tao Huabi, a Chinese entrepreneur who founded Lao Gan Ma (LGM) in 1984, in Guizhou, China one of the poorest regions in China’s southwest.

A widowed mother of two sons who never finished school and couldn’t read, she ran a food truck and sold tofu cold noodles. She offered her homemade chili sauces for dipping.

Before long, she noticed that customers preferred her chili sauces over her tofu and noodles. In 1996, the Lao Gan Ma brand was born (the name means old godmother).

Her sauces helped raise her two boys, and built a world famous brand in just 20 years [source]. (At last count, Tao has a reported net worth of $1.9 billion, making her one of the richest women in China. Here’s more about it.)

The condiment became a shortcut to flavor and texture for simple stir-frys, grilled and pan-fried meats and seafood, noodles, and a go-to condiment for anything—including burgers, burritos, eggs, fries, grilled cheese, hot dogs, hummus, and pizza.

With more complex flavors than other spicy hot sauces, LGM Spicy Chili Sauce became a household staple in China, where some people call Godmother Sauce by other affectionate names, including Happy Lady Sauce.

Lao Gan Ma Special Flavor Foodstuffs Company was established in 1997. Today, 1.3 million bottles of the expanded line of sauces (Chili Oil with Black Bean, Fried Chili in Oil, Hot Chili Sauce, and Spicy Bean Paste, among others) are produced daily and sold in China, the U.S., and more than 30 other countries.

Spicy Chili Sauce subsequently found international popularity and engendered other brands including:

 
The first jar we purchased was Trader Joe’s private label brand, Crunchy Chili Onion (photo #11). We look forward to trying more varieties (check out this comparison of brands).

The sauce does contain peanuts and soybeans. You can see LGM’s ingredients list here.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF ONION DIP

The classic” onion dip, a beloved party staple, owes its creation to the rise of convenience foods in the mid-1950s and the desire of homemakers for quick, easy-to-make recipes. Enter Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix (photo #12).

The story of how Lipton came to feature the onion dip recipe on its packaging is not entirely clear, but it is believed that in 1954, a cook in Los Angeles whose name is lost to history created the dip by mixing Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix with sour cream.

Given its provenance, the dip was also known as “California Dip.” It is also called “French Onion Dip” from the use of Lipton’s dehydrated French onion soup mix in the original recipe. (The dip is not much-served outside of the U.S.‡‡).

The recipe spread by word-of-mouth. Lipton likely became aware of the it and recognized the marketing potential.

The company began printing the recipe on their packaging in 1958. It became an instant hit nationwide, served with potato chips for snacking and as party fare (photo #13, photo #14).

(We were personally happy to skip the carb-laden chips and eat the dip from a spoon.)

While the mix had been marketed as a versatile ingredient for making soups, seasoning roasts, casseroles, and other dishes, its use in the dip was a game-changer.

Over the decades, onion dip has evolved, with many variations emerging. Some recipes use caramelized onions for a richer, more complex flavor, while others incorporate cream cheese, mayonnaise, or a combination. Fresh herbs added a bright, sophisticated touch.

Classic Onion Dip continues to be a popular choice for casual gatherings, parties, and game days, achieving status as a comfort food [source Chat GPT-4o]. While we think that the fresh “homemade” version tastes the best, there are many ready-to-eat brands in food stores nationwide.
 

[14] Caramelized onion dip with chips and crudités (photo © Leticia Almeida | Taste Of Home).
 
 
THE YEAR’S 19 SAUCE, DIP & DRESSING HOLIDAYS

[1] Spaghetti with a creamy sauce made from Trader Joe’s caramelized onion dip, topped with toasted breadcrumbs (photo by Dall-E © The Nibble).

[2] You need just two basic ingredients (reserved pasta water is in the dish), plus any optional ingredients from our list (photo © Kristina Vanni | Taste Of Home).

[3] Trader Joe’s Caramelized Onion Dip (photo © Food Is Good).

[4] The original recipe was made with spaghetti, but you can use any shape of pasta you like (photo © Karolina Kolodziejczak | Unsplash).

[5] One of our favorite garnishes for this dish is toasted breadcrumbs, particularly panko, the crunchier Japanese breadcrumbs (these are waiting to be toasted). You can easily toast them in five minutes or less with these directions (photo © Good Eggs).

[6] The original Spicy Chili Crisp (photos #6, #7, #8 © Laognma USA).

[7] Spicy Chili Crisp garnishes poached eggs on toast.

[8] Spicy Chili Crisp in a stir-fry served in lettuce cups.

[9] Lao Gan Ma Noodles with Spicy Chili Crisp Here’s the recipe (photos #9 and #10 © The Woks Of Life).

[10] If you like heat, grab a bottle of Spicy Chili Crisp and enjoy this spicy, crunchy addition to your condiment family.

[11] Trader Joe’s Crunchy Chili Onion, their version of Spicy Chili Crisp (photo © Trader Joe).

[12] The soup mix that started it all (photos #12 and #13 © Unilever).

[13] The Lipton’s dip uses both sour cream and mayonnaise. Here’s the recipe.

†Chamoy is a sweet, salty, sour, and spicy condiment or sauce commonly used in Mexican cuisine. It’s made from pickled fruit, chilies, and lime juice and can range in consistency from a liquid to a paste. It is used on both savory and sweet fruits and drinks, for example: drizzled on nachos, mixed into cocktails, a dipping sauce for meat, a topping for fruit.

‡Italian herb seasoning recipe: Combine 1 tablespoon each dried basil, marjoram, parsley, rosemary, and thyme; plus 2 tablespoons dried oregano. Store in a tightly-capped container.

‡‡Beyond the U.S.: In Europe, particularly in France, the dip is not a traditional or common dish despite its name. French cuisine does not include a direct equivalent. In France, dips are less common, especially sour cream-based dips. Globally, onion dip is not widespread. Other regions have their own traditional dips and spreads, such as guacamole in Mexico, hummus in the Middle East, and tzatziki in Greece.
 

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