Missing

[rejectomorph]

I haven't seen any Stella D'oro cookies in the markets for a long time. This is the time of year when I used to buy a package of two of their seasonal pfeffernüsse cookies. Stella D-oro was the only brand of pfeffernüsse that ever appeared in local markets. Ever since they shut down their Bronx bakery a couple of years ago, their products have vanished from local stores. I miss their anisette toast, too.

It turns out you can still order some varieties of Stella D'oro cookies on the Internets, but the pfeffernüsse are not among them. They do have anisette toast available, but the best price I can find (and this before shipping costs are added) is $33.98 for a bit over two pounds. I like the cookies, but when they're more expensive than prime rib I'm just saying no thanks. Cookies shouldn't cost more per pound than top sirloin, or maybe a New York strip steak if they're really good cookies.

In lieu of cookies, I've got brownies. I put walnuts and chocolate chips in them, so they are extra fancy this time. Had I thought of it, I could have put some chopped dates in them as well. I've always hated raisins and most other dried fruits in baked goods, but chopped dates don't offend me. The texture of cooked dates doesn't fight with the surrounding product the way raisins do. Still even with dates the brownies just wouldn't be the same as pfeffernüsse cookies. It never seems quite like Solstice without them.

Comments

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

When I was a kid, a guy who lived in our neighborhood either worked for the bakery that made Stella D'oro stuff or was a distributor, because every halloween that's what they'd be handing out. I didn't care for them then, but once I started drinking coffee, I took a liking to them.

[rejectomorph]

Except for the pfeffernüsse, which were coated in powdered sugar, Stella D'oro's products tended to be much less sweet than most cookies. I wasn't too fond of them myself when I was a kid, but once I realized that sweet was not the only flavor in the world they began to grow on me.

Hello again!

[(Anonymous)]

This is your old LJ pal Cataract.. not the new Cataract which stole my name but not my spirit.
Just wanted to check in on you again.. seems to be my 10 year ritual habit..
It is good to see that you are still writing, and that the computers/cats haven't eaten you yet.
Take care!

Re: Hello again!

[rejectomorph]

Greetings! I guess it must be true that there is a life after LiveJournal! I was always a bit of a skeptic, thinking that once one left here, one simply ceased to exist (I've never counted such things as Facebook or Dreamwidth to be true afterlives, but only the empty promises of fakers and charlatans.) Now I'll have to rethink my whole theology!

But what is it like in the afterlife? Are there memes? Are there LOLcats? Is there a special Hell for trolls and spammers? Have you run into Brad? It's apt to take me a long time to get there myself, but one never knows. I'm still not entirely convinced that the Internets won't simply explode and vanish all of a sudden, at any moment.