Author: Alaina

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The Latest Chocolate Happenings

I bring you the latest chocolate happenings…or at least the latest chocolate happenings that amused me, made me slightly sad, made me go “hmmm”….

First, allow me to present my latest favorite chocolate-and-tea-photograph.The Latest Chocolate Happenings - Celestial Seasoings Tea & Chocolate Still Life Photo

Pictured: Orange peels covered in dark chocolate by St. Moritz & Celestial Seasonings fruit tea sampler.  (I love this sampler, though it is hard to choose between wild berry, true blueberry, country peach passion, raspberry zinger, and wild cherry berry.)

The latest chocolate news that made me go hmmmm….

MycoTechnology Uses Mushrooms to Create Sweeter Chocolate With Less Sugar

“By using gourmet mushrooms and their natural cleansing abilities, we are able to train them to consume only the bitter compounds in chocolate,” the company explains on its website. “The mushrooms symbiotically interact with their food source, giving back valuable nutrients otherwise unavailable in chocolate.”

In other words, we will be able to eat more chocolate.  Because there will be less sugar.  Because some mushrooms took special eating classes.  Ok then.  As long as the taste of the mushroom chocolate is in no wise compromised by the mushrooms themselves (and apparently it isn’t, as “they can make great tasting chocolate”) I’m game for trying it!

The latest chocolate news I got quite a chuckle out of:

The Toblerone debacle (as I call it). If you missed all the fuss, it boils down to the fact that Toblerone, when faced with rising production costs, decided to *gasp* widen the gap between each triangle “mountain” shape they are so famous for (therefore reducing the amount of chocolate per bar).

Twitter went crazy.  A search on #Toblerone provided several chuckles.

Apparently this switch means I may be the unexpected owner of two “limited edition” Toblerone bars that could be worth a lot of money if I hang on to them long enough.  (Which isn’t likely.)  (I say “may”, because I haven’t rustled through my chocolate drawer yet to see if the size I have was affected by the new design.  In all the uproar, not everyone realized that not nearly all Toblerone sizes were affected.)

The latest chocolate happening that made me a little sad:

The Northwest Chocolate Festival in Seattle, which wrapped this Sunday (if I have the story straight).  Judging by a slew of Instagram posts, it was one of THE, if not THE, chocolate events of the year (at least in the U.S.).  Quite a few people came away with quite impressive hauls of craft chocolate (Exhibit A and Exhibit B, to name a few) and it looks like great fun was had by all (meeting the people behind the brands, meeting the chocolate aficionados, tasting all that amazing chocolate)…  I am a little sorry to have missed it, but I most certainly enjoyed all the photos.  I saw SO many brands I have yet to try & so many brands that I have tried once and loved (TCHO, Dick Taylor, Amano, etc.)

(One of the) Latest chocolate(s) I tried for the first time:

Alter Eco Dark Chocolate with Quinoa. While I enjoyed the crunchy dark chocolate itself, I had a blast taking pictures of it.  (Let’s just say by the time I was finished, my mom wouldn’t have wanted the quinoa I “borrowed” back.)  Pictures are coming as soon as I finish sweeping up quinoa from the far corners of my room…

That’s all for now…

 

Alaina Cursive Signature

 

 

 

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Do You Know What Today Is?

If you’re reading this on Friday, October 28th: Today is NATIONAL* CHOCOLATE DAY!

If you’re reading this after Friday, October 28th: Today is the day to belatedly celebrate NATIONAL CHOCOLATE DAY!

checkmark-chocolates-the-chocolate-website-gallery-photo

Unfortunately, I will not be celebrating with these lovely chocolates (or praline or bonbons or bombones or whatever you call them!) They were rapidly devoured within minutes of this picture being taken.

My celebration is tomorrow, which may involve:

Nibmor Mint (It depends on if I have time to take pictures.  The rule around here is you can’t eat it ’til after I’ve got pictures of it.)  (Seriously.  When I gave somebody a new chocolate without photographing it first, there were several jaws I had to pick up off the floor.)

Endangered Species Dark Chocolate with Cranberries and Almonds (Same rule applies here.)

I’m starting to see an alarming trend.  All of my chocolates need photographed before I can eat them, and I may not have time.  Doesn’t that sound like I need to go out and get something I’ve already tried / photographed / enjoyed (ie.  BUY MORE CHOCOLATE)?  (Yes. I know.  You could see that suggestion coming from a mile away.)

Perhaps at the very least I will go online and admire chocolates like Rozsavolgyi Csokolade (Milk Chocolate with Carmalized Lavender Flowers) & Artisan du Chocolat Ginger and Lemongrass Chocolate from a distance.

Or perhaps there will be cookies.  With chocolate.  Lots and lots of chocolate.  Chocolate chocolate chip cookies, to be exact.  Of course cookies don’t exactly materialize out of thin air…

How are you celebrating?

Alaina Cursive Signature

 

 

(*In my book, national = whatever nation you happen to be in!)

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Chocolate Week 2016

It’s Chocolate Week! In the UK.  I’m not in the UK and have never been to the UK and maybe never will have a chance to visit the UK.  But that’s ok. I have assured myself it can still be Chocolate Week.  Not only that, but I’m sure it’s fine if you pretend it’s Chocolate Week too. Even if you’re not in the UK either.

Speaking of chocolate and weeks, there’s been a lot of chocolate happenings going on at my house in the past few weeks.

#1.  There was that Saturday I made Oreo Truffles, Mint Thins, AND Smores Bark… all in one day.

oreo-truffles-and-mint-thins-and-smores-bark
Yeah.  That was pretty epic.

#2. Ever heard of Funny-Faced Fudge?  I hadn’t either.  It started out as rather normal looking fudge that was placed in the fridge to set up. (Back story: The idea was that if some semi-waxy milk chocolate the boys weren’t eating (or at least they weren’t eating as fast as they normally eat milk chocolate) was melted together with a particularly strong brand of sweetened condensed milk that it might turn into a decent fudge.  Let’s just say it was edible and leave it at that.)  When the pan was retrieved hours later, we were amused to find somebody had scratched a funny face into the top. Sorry, no pictures.  It was evening and my no-natural-lighting picture-taking capabilities are shaky at best.

(I’m sure my brother just snorted when he read this.  Fine.  My no-natural-lighting picture taking capabilities are non-existent.)

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The Allure of Limited Editions

There are some chocolates (or candy with chocolate in them or on them; it depends on who you ask) that can be found just about anywhere on the planet. Like Hersheys.  Or Snickers.  (Disclaimer: Hopefully I’m not starting another passionate debate on what constitutes REAL chocolate. When it comes to  brands, I really don’t take sides.  I have absolutely no problem with talking about M&Ms and Dick Taylor in the same sentence, nor would I have any problem whatsoever with eating both of them in the same weekend.) I’m not a chocolate “snob”.  Nor do I have anything against chocolate “snobs”.  (From what I can tell, they call themselves that, and it’s all in good-natured fun.) (They’re missing out on the M&Ms, but apparently they’re not worried.)  (Yes.  I just entirely overused parentheses just now.)

The Allure of Limited Editions Chocolate - Mantuano Aji Dulce

In contrast with the-found-just-about-anywhere chocolate, there are the chocolates that are found just-about-nowhere. Just as there is a certain allure of limited editions in the wonderful world of literature, limited edition chocolates also exists.  Both are designed to make you feel special.  While I’ve never gotten swept into the limited edition book craze (despite being so much of an avid reader in my youth that my mother had to impose a limit of one book a day to save my eyesight), I seem to be dabbling in limited edition chocolate.

News reached my ears (via social media) that Mantuano debuted a special limited edition chocolate bar in honor of Maria Fernanda Di Giacobbe, the 2016 winner of the Basque Culinary World Prize.  Only 500 of these bars exist (if I have the story straight).  Out of those, only 200 were shipped to my neck of the woods.

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Making Chocolates Requires Caution Tape

Alternate Title: Decorating Homes with Genuine Chocolate Flakes is a Thing…Right?

My apologies for the long radio silence.  Apparently I’ve allowed taking pictures of chocolate and eating chocolate to interfere with writing about chocolate.  (In my defense, how am I going to have anything to write about if I don’t get to play with it?)  The pictures I’ve taken are available on Instagram or right here in the photo gallery.  Thanks to the recent rains, there were fresh flowers available to help decorate some shots.  I thought flowers looked lovely with the stunning (and very tasty) Marou Lam Dong 74% chocolate from Vietnam.

Marou Chocolate - Vietnam - Part of "Making Chocolate Requires Caution Tape"

Today, I’m mainly here to tell you about how much I got teased for the dedication to my art.
(Those are my words. If you would have asked the bystanders, they would have said I got teased because I made a mess.)

Scene: The Kitchen
Time: 10:00am – 12:00pm some weekends ago
Main Cast: Me (Because I was the only one making the mess doing all the work.)
Supporting Cast:  My mom and my siblings (Because they were doing all the wisecracking.)

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How to Strike Gold in 2016

Yes, this is still a site wholly dedicated to chocolate.  And no, I haven’t temporarily gone insane and donned wading boots and gotten myself a panning bowl and taken a leave of absence to visit California or the Yukon.  (And, yes, I know I have a very romantic and antiquated view of where actual gold comes from now and how to go about finding it.  I plead the 5th on how many novels I’ve read that were set in the 1800s.)  But if you’re curious about how to strike gold in 2016 when it comes to fine chocolate, look no further than this:

How To Strike Gold in 2016 - Amano Raspberry Rose Dark Chocolate Still Life Photo
This beauty is Amano Raspberry Rose Dark Chocolate.  But with a predominately pink-and-white wrapper and an ingredient list that doesn’t contain any edible gold leaf, you may be wondering, “Where does the gold come in?”

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World Chocolate Day

Today is World Chocolate Day.  Not to be confused with International Chocolate Day, which is September 13th.  (Actually, that is confusing, but I don’t make the rules.  If I did, every day would be World Chocolate Day or International Chocolate Day or whatever you want to call it.) And what better day than World Chocolate Day to tell you what chocolate-y things I’ve been up to?

White and Milk Chocolate Oreo Cookie Chocolate Bark
(It was a thought to wax poetic about chocolate today, which would have incorporated things such as chocolate having the ability to transform people’s days, inspire new businesses, and even ignite passionate debates on social media… but it’s easier (and a more fun!) to tell you about my latest chocolate exploits.)

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My Lizards are Very Respectful

Vaguely, in the back of my mind, I heard a familiar sound.  It was the door of the refrigerator, followed by a container being opened, followed by the unmistakable sound of a piece (or two) of hard chocolate being plunked on a plate.  (You may not keep yours in the fridge and therefore the sound of getting out chocolate may be a little foreign to you, but ’round here it is a familiar sound.)  Also somewhat vaguely, I saw the plate being trotted across the room.  The back door opened and closed.  Then opened and closed again.  I snapped to attention.

“Are you feeding your chocolate to the lizards again?!” My question was half in fun and half somewhat reproachful.  Chocolate ought not to be wasted on lizards.

“No!” My mom’s answer was half in fun and half somewhat sheepish at being caught.  “My lizards are very respectful.”

You see, her favorite way to melt chocolate is to set it out on the plate on a hot rock in the sun for a few minutes.  I’m still in awe of the fact the lizards (or the iguanas or other wildlife, for that matter) haven’t staked out the place every afternoon just waiting for her to bring them their snack. They do seem to know to leave her chocolate alone.  She must have trained them well.

Now that I think about it, our chocolate has to put up with a lot. Not only does it risk being discovered by lizards, it sometimes gets imposed upon to do silly things… like pose in a sea of pink.

my-lizards-are-very-respectful-the-chocolate-website-post-pretty-in-pink-still-life-photo
And that’s not all.

My Raaka Smoked Chai also got the hot rock treatment (albeit only for a couple of seconds).  In my defense, it WANTED to pose there because it thought it would be pretty.  It TOLD me so.  (Either I’m crazy or I’m kidding.  You pick.)

My Paria bar had to precariously balance itself in a flowering bush while braving ants and small spiders.  (Photos pending.)

And the Brasstown Peppermint that just arrived is a little indignant because somebody (it wasn’t me!) called it a candy bar.  More than once.

It’s not easy being chocolate at my house.

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A Neat Thing About Iceland

If you would have asked me in the past (pre-2016) what Iceland was known for, I would have said, “Ice, naturally. Oh, and volcanoes.” (Such a contrast!) “And chess masters. Also, beautiful landscapes. Unless I’m mixing it up with Ireland. No, I’m pretty sure they’re both known for stunning landscapes.” Ask me now, and I’ll tell you a neat thing about Iceland: Omnom Chocolate

A Neat Thing About Iceland - Omnom Dark Milk Burned Sugar Chocolate

Intrigued by a number of factors (the novelty of bean-to-bar chocolate being made in Iceland, the reports of Omnom’s creative packaging, and the flavor “Dark Milk”, Omnom ended up very high on my list of must-try craft chocolates.

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Today Involves Fudge

Happy (Inter)National Fudge Day! (It’s technically “National” Fudge Day but I’m not going to let Hawaii and Alaska and the “lower ’48” have all the fun.)  So, today involves fudge.

You’re welcome to get in on the fun.  The recipe is so easy it could probably fit into one tweet.  In fact, it *does* fit into one tweet: “Fav #chocolate #fudge #recipe: 1 can sw. condensed milk, 2c chocolate.  Heat milk, stir in choc, melt completely. Stir. Refrigerate.  Done.”

Today Involves Fudge - The Chocolate Website Photo

Well, sort of.  There wasn’t exactly room to clarify that 1 can = 14oz, or that you can use whatever chocolate you want.  (The fudge pictured used two types of chocolate because that’s what was on hand.  One type was El Rey Milk Chocolate and the other shall remain nameless because there are those who would not even consider it chocolate.  I consider it chocolate 99% of the time when I’m on a budget and the other 1% of the time I like to expand my horizons and refine my palate and….fudge recipe.  Right.  Sorry.  Moving on:

Unless you have a fancy double boiler, the process goes more or less like this: Condensed milk goes in the glass bowl. Glass bowl goes in a saucepan half full of water. It gets heated up but not boiled.  Add the chocolate and stir until it is completely melted and mixed. Be vigilant and make sure siblings (or offspring or whoever you happen to have around) don’t stick spoons in when you’re not looking, because they’ll inevitably show up once they start smelling it.  Pour the mixture into a 9×9 pan lined with wax paper and stick it in the fridge for a few hours. It’s amazing that just two ingredients can create such a creamy, rich, decadent treat.

(Did you know that there are some fudge recipes that don’t even call for chocolate?  Shocking.  Isn’t “fudge” short for “chocolate fudge”?!  Kidding.)

I realized on June 12th that (Inter) National Fudge Day was coming up and thought it really was a shame I didn’t have any new fudge pictures to share. Fast forward to June 15th at 6:00pm (as in, yesterday evening), I thought it REALLY was a shame there weren’t any new fudge pictures and it was pointed out to me that it was also REALLY a shame that there wasn’t any fudge around either.  Oh, and that it would likely be sunny enough to take a picture or two in the morning before leaving for work, if some fudge materialized by then.  Sold.

Today Involves Fudge - The Chocolate Website Photo 2

There was momentary disappointment last night when I put my foot down and said there would be no premature fudge tasting and that it had to stay intact until picture-taking time. Besides, I didn’t want to fudge the amount of time the recipe says to keep it in the refrigerator.  (C’mon, surely you didn’t think I’d be able to manage this entire story without a single fudge joke, did you?)

Enjoy today; I’m going to enjoy mine.  The fudge in the photo is NOT going to last long.

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A Bright and Cheerful Chocolate Photo

I have a picture I want to show you.  It’s a bright and cheerful chocolate photo and every time I look at it, it makes me happy. Not because I was the one who took this photo. And not just because the picture contains chocolate.  Oh, and certainly not because it contains a lot of orange.  (I’m not the biggest fan of the color orange.) But pair a bright orange with a bright pink and a cheerful chocolate wrapper and ooooooooo I just get HAPPY. Happy happy happy happy happy.  Ok. I’ll stop.

Just in case you’re either a fan of orange or pink or bright or cheerful or happy, I’d like to share it with you:

A Bright and Cheerful Chocolate - Chocolates Paria(Chocolates Paria, 60% Dark, Made in Venezuela)

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Comments Off on There Will Be a Test Afterwards

There Will Be a Test Afterwards

New chocolate bars fascinate me.  The anticipation of the taste is a big part of the fascination, but there’s more to it than that.  Many chocolate companies are outdoing themselves in the packaging department, so the wrappers are quite a treat to inspect. Part of the intrigue are the names that the different chocolate makers have chosen (both for their company and for their chocolate), and the stories behind those names.

The fascination does not end when the chocolate that comes home with me (or home to me) is carefully inspected from front to back, photographed from every angle (remind me to tell you about my 154 GIGS of chocolate photos sometime) and sampled. The packaging is never thrown away.  Instead, it goes into my collection of wrappers to reference later, to use for other photo-ops, or to be re-purposed.  (A plastic insert with shallow indentations that had originally held pralines in place makes a perfect mold for dark chocolate mint thins!  And I really ought to look into decoupage. Only I’d need something big in order to use up the quantity of wrappers that just had to be rehoused because they were outgrowing their drawer.  Anyone ever decoupaged an entire wall of their house with chocolate wrappers?) (Disclaimer: I don’t have enough wrappers for a whole wall…yet.)

There Will Be a Test Afterwards - Craft Chocolate Photo

Pictured: Andean Lemon Verbena by Pacari, Milk Chocolate by TCHO, Smoked Chai by Raaka, and Maple Coconut by Dick Taylor. (I’m making them sound like perfumes. Come to think of it, all of those would likely make nice scents!)

The taste, the wrappers, the packaging, re-purposing the packing…even after all of that, there’s at least one more thing that is fascinating, and that is: What will other people think of each chocolate?  There are usually a few squares leftover to share with this friend or that friend. I know, I know.  Leftover chocolate; is that even possible?  Trust me, it takes great restraint to keep my hands off the whole bar, box, or bag.  Sometimes it’s impossible; there is almost never any milk chocolate left to share (my apologies to my milk-chocolate loving friends)!

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