FoCo Joe: A Homage to (Your) Honey
You would think that in honor of Valentine’s Day I would conjure up some decadent, chocolate-covered dessert. But let’s be honest, we all know there will be plenty of that this weekend. Instead, I offer an alternative treat that you can share with your “honey” in honor of Cupid and all his fine work. This week I pay tribute to my favorite cereal – Honey Bunches of Oats – with a unique blend of FoCo’s granola, chocolate chip cookies, Nutella, soft serve and of course, honey.
Let me start off by saying that my family is not much of a breakfast family — think breakfast-to-go style dining. However, back in the day we almost always had those giant boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats from Costco. Sometimes, I impulsively purchase a box from CVS and nibble on it as a snack while doing work. In my opinion, this dessert is a new-and-improved spin on the classic. I’ll let you be the judge!
To get this baby started, grab a cup and head over to the granola slots in the middle of the dessert section. About a quarter of the cup should be filled.
Next, add half of a warm cookie. Heck, even a full cookie if you’re feeling up to it — it’s Valentine’s Day! This is a special occasion and as such, I deliberately included Nutella in this dessert. What I love about Nutella is that you only really need a small spoonful to fall under its hypnotic spell.
I know it’s a trek over to the ice cream section, but it’s worth it! In this case, soft serve is the way to go – it’s much easier to mix with granola than regular ice cream is. Fill about an equal amount of soft serve to granola. Just eyeball it.
Last but certainly not least is the honey — perhaps the most important part of the whole dish! While your initial instinct is probably to check the do-it-yourself sandwich bar, but the honey is not actually kept with the other spreads! It is actually located by the coffee and tea station closest to the doors.
Honey is a wonderful thing, but it is best utilized to complement the dish rather than serve as a star component. It can be really easy to over-do it, especially since the other ingredients are not particularly thick. I would keep it conservative and add only two teaspoons of honey, give or take. You can always mix the dessert and do a taste-test if you are not sure if you have enough honey.
Put it all together with a few whips of the spoon and you’ve got yourself a tasty treat that is filling, but not coma-inducing. So if you are one of the millions out there without a significant other this weekend, don’t worry — there’s always this dessert! Honey aren’t you glad I told you so?!
Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!