Tag: chocolate

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Endangered Species Cranberry Almond Chocolate

These wolves with the almost chocolate-brown-colored eyes posed beautifully.

Endanged Species Cranberry Almond Chocolate

However, there were still some hiccups when it came to getting this photo taken.

First, the cranberries kept disappearing.  It must have been the wolves’ fault.  Nobody else was around, yet I guarantee you the bowl of cranberries was noticeably less full at the end of the photoshoot than it was at the beginning.

Second, let it be known that glitter and fans do.not.play.nice.together.  (I certainly remembered in a hurry after turning the fan on!)

On the plus side, everything was sparkly by the end of the day and there was an abundance of Endangered Species Cranberry Almond Chocolate to savor.

And in my opinion, you can’t go wrong with sparkly and plenty of chocolate!

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Alter Eco Quinoa Dark Chocolate

Alter Eco Quinoa Dark Chocolate

What’s gluten free, fair trade, organic, and very tasty? Alter Eco Quinoa Dark Chocolate.

Am I the only one that has pronounced quinoa wrong all their life?  I grew up thinking it was “quinn-NO-ah”.  Then recently I started hearing about this new gluten-free super-seed food called “keen-wah” and, lo and behold, it turns out they’re the same thing.

Most people associate quinoa with “health foods” and therefore may automatically assume it doesn’t taste very good, but there’s good news.    Quinoa is not one of those “pinch-your-nose-and-swallow-fast” foods.   I find it easily adaptable to many dishes, and toasted quinoa adds a perfect crunch to this 60% dark chocolate.

I absconded with a few spoonfuls of quinoa from the fridge for the purpose of taking this photograph.  A month later, I was still finding quinoa in my room.  (My sister would say that that would tell you how well I do…or do not…clean my room, but I am telling you, a few pieces of that quinoa had terrific hiding skills.  Because I DID sweep.  I’m almost positive every time I swept I could hear the quinoa running behind the furniture giggling at their skill at avoiding me.)

Me? Have a vivid imagination?  What gives you that idea?

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Nontraditional Thanksgiving Foods

I was getting ready to tell you about Thanksgiving.   (All the way back in November.  Although it’s the middle of December.  Apparently it’s taken me that long to recover.)

But first, in honor of Chocolate Covered Anything Day, I made this little collage of, well, chocolate covered everything:

Nontraditional Thanksgiving Foods & Chocolate Covered Everything

All pictures are my own.  All opinions are also my own:

Chocolate Covered Bacon:  Fun for something different.
Chocolate Covered Oreos:  Yes.  Oh yes.  Just don’t try this at home.  You might eat too many oreos.  (I didn’t, but I can see how it could happen quite easily!)
Chocolate Covered Potato Chips:  This tasted about the same as the bacon, just not as chewy.
Chocolate Covered Coconut:  Delicious.
Chocolate Covered Celery:  Nope.  Don’t do it.  (I knew it wouldn’t like it.  I did it for the picture, not because I thought it would be incredibly tasty or the next big craze.)
Chocolate Covered Apples:  Also Delicious
Chocolate Covered Pineapple: Very Delicious

Now back to Thanksgiving….

…which usually brings to mind foods like turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, and that stuff that some people cook in the turkey (and some people don’t) that some people call stuffing and some people call dressing.  My family was confusing the issue by calling it both.  Next year we should combine the two and call it “stressing”.  🙂

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My Birthday is on National Cookie Day

…but I am celebrating with CAKE.  <grin>   (Chocolate cake, OF COURSE.)

Call me a rebel, call me what you will,
say I’m old fashioned, say I’m over the hill…
(#oldiesmusiclover)

(Yes.  Apparently I am one of those people who mishear lyrics.  All of this time I thought that line from Old Time Rock ‘n’ Roll was “call me a rebel”, until I just went & looked it up to make sure I was quoting it correctly.  I was not.  It is really supposed to be “call me a relic”.  I left it as “rebel” because I’ve been singing that way for years, because it fit my purpose better, and because I’m not the only one who thought it was “rebel”. 🙂

my-birthday-is-on-nationa-cookie-day-triple-chocolate-cookies-from-delectably-different-kitchen
These cookies?  Triple Chocolate Cookies from Delectably Different Kitchen.  (They were GOOD.)  Don’t miss the cute recipe video on Youtube!

Cookies and I go way, way back.  Chocolate chocolate chip cookies, cookies that (you might want to close your eyes during this part) don’t actually contain chocolate (lemon cookies or raspberry jam thumbprint sugar cookies are two of my favorites), and of course, regular chocolate chip cookies.  (Strange fact: I don’t make chocolate chip cookies. I EAT chocolate chip cookies, but gave up making them a long time ago.  This stems from the fact they always used to turn out crispy when they were supposed to be chewy.)

There’s just something about cookies.  They’re small enough to have several (unless you live in Seattle – I’ve heard tell of cookies the size of plates in Seattle), great for sharing, can by made in a myriad of flavors…

Someday if I ever have enough craft chocolate I’d like to make special chocolate chunk cookies.  Think: A sugar cookie base liberally studded with Ritual Novo Coffee or Taza Toffee, Almond, & Sea Salt, or any of dozens of other mouthwatering options.   Sounds amazing to me!

Are you celebrating (Inter)National Cookie Day properly (a.k.a. with actual cookies)?  If so, what kind?

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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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