Grasshoppers and piña coladas! Taking me back to my childhood with those. If you are going to have a sweet creamy drink, yes, good god, make it with cream, not some premixed horror like Bailey's. I rather preferred brandy Alexanders back when I was too young to have any business drinking (different times, different times those were...). I don't think I've had a piña colada since about 1983. Back then, instead of the presweetened coconut cream, I used to get dried powdered coconut milk (it was, if I remember right, a Thai product) and blend that with the other ingredients. The pineapple component added plenty enough sugar. Those were excellent piña coladas and folks always wanted the recipe.

You want a real guilty pleasure, put tequila in an avocado shake. Mmmmmm.

@mermei

I do blame the culture. I don't know how anyone can look at the data, the horrifying spike in diabetes and other dietary diseases and do otherwise. I don't hold Starbucks to blame for this, but if corporations can profit off encouraging people to overindulge, they do so. And baby oh baby, has it ever snowballed. I think it's the fallout of a we're-all-such-precious-snowflakes culture. Greed is fine. How dare anyone criticize our gluttony? Well, if we don't all collectively start criticizing gluttony, even our own, the culture will not change. Cultural changes can be catalyzed by public conversations and this is one. Starbucks does offer healthier choices. And if their eggwhite & turkey bacon on a whole wheat hockey puck (for god's sake, hold the cheez) is not the most swooningly delicious thing in the world, when I'm on the road and need something, at least it doesn't leave me queasy like every other option at the interstate. I look for independents, but I can't always find them.

We need to talk about the culture. We need to blame it. We need to change it. A small university near me had a space on campus for a coffee shop. Students were allowed to vote. They were given a choice between Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and a fabulous locally-owned outfit that serves the Ethiopian Yrgacheffe of the gods, among other things. Care to guess what "coffee" shop now operates on campus? Yeah. Blame the culture, blame the schools, blame the parents, somebody! Every time I saw a kid carrying a bucket-size my-little-pony pastel "coffee" beverage under a plastic dome, I wanted to projectile vomit. We need to talk. We need to shame, if need be. Not only because of the physiological damage kids rack up faster than student debt, but because if all you eat is syntho slop, your taste buds are so wrecked you can't even sense the joy of a really good cup of coffee (YES BLACK) when it is put in front of you. There's a spiritual tragedy when a generation prefers Skittles-infused vodka to good whisky.

In the words of the dying punk in (the original) RepoMan, "I blame society!"

What no Fellini? You kids are too young. Watch "Roma"!

@kdroste the trick to making safe eggnog is to load it with lots of booze and then let it sit in the fridge for two or three weeks. Given enough time, the alcohol kills the pathogens. But don't stint on the booze.

Everything on your list looks fantastic!

THIS JUST IN: Applebee's responds with their Gollum-themed menu of strange, malformed, mildewy and undercooked quasi foods. No, wait, that's just their usual selection.

This Connecticut Yankee loves everything See's. Mmmmm. One trip to Cali back in the 80's was all it took. We can get them at Bradley Airport now.

It's not just Trader Joe's, though they certainly win the pumpkin-overkill prize. I'd be less grumpy about it if I liked pumpkin. Well I do like pumpkin, as eye candy. But I do not care for the taste.

The chart is handy. I thank you for it. I figure if I stick to items on the right side, I'm safe. If I go for the upper right corner, I might enjoy them.

Doesn't Trader Joe's have pumpkin coffee, pumpkin ale/beer or pumpkin cider? You need something to wash all that pumpkin down or are you pumpkin-ed out?

What is it with Portland? All those fancy doughnuts! Is it because of all the coffee they drink? Or am I confusing them with Seattle? Alas, alas, I have never been to the Pacific Northwest.

In any event, can't we get some of this fine sugary pyrotechical stuff here back east?

This was a fantastic article. Thank you! I've been out collecting wild mushrooms for days and eating so much I can barely look at food articles, or so I thought. This article was delicious. Mmm, I may have to make some mushroom dumplings of some sort.

I think tamales might count as dumplings, and there are an awful lot of different kinds of tamales. Give corn its due! :)

Yes I tip when there's a car hop involve. Cherry is good, but I prefer the straight lime. The FritoPie is like a salt lick, like eating the Dead Sea. Redemption is their fried pickles, which made me die and go to heaven.

But thumbs down on the styrofoam. Seeing that crap pile up on the beach, knowing the oceans are full of it, that there are island of plastic trash, horrifies me. Not just Sonic, but all fast food. I wish there was something like Vancouver's Tiffin Project happening around here. I would surely participate.

http://thetiffinproject.com/

Oh, and thanks for the suggestion to decant "leftovers" into smaller bottles. I was looking for an excuse to hang on those handsome small size bottles from St. George's Spirits.

Purple kohlrabi, celery root, arugula, heirloom tomatoes (the pineapple variety are a special favorite as are the sweet 100 type cherries), skinny baby eggplant, plump white and purple striped eggplant, cucumbers, parsley, basil, cilantro, nasturtium blossoms, squash blossoms, blueberries and raspberries, peaches gold and white, plums and pears, apples (romes & winesaps), cider, kale, string beans, wax beans, fava beans, eggs (blue from americaunas or chocolate brown from marans), cheese (Why hello there Cato Corners Hooligan!), sweet corn, tomatillos and husk cherries, sweet peppers, banana peppers, hot peppers, spaghetti squash, scallions, onions, chives and garlic (and OMG garlic scapes as sweet as candy) bok choy, brussel sprouts, honey and homemade jam, radishes, golden beets, carrots, parsnips, spinach, escarole and pumpkins.