chocolate Archives – Page 4 of 9 – The Chocolate Website

Jun27 0

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.

Jun20 0

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.

Jun16 0

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.

Jun13 0

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)

Jun06 Comments Off

Originally, the plan for today was either to tell you about what I put everyone through when sharing my chocolate
(bring a notebook!) or a bright and cheerful chocolate photo I can’t wait to share ’cause it makes me HAPPY. But we interrupt our regularly scheduled broadcast: There was a brazen chocolate thief at my house Saturday. Or should I say a brazen chocolate chomper?

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Broadcast - Mantuano Granola Chocolate (Mantuano Granola – Artisanal Chocolate made in Venezuela)

It is not very hard to leave chocolate unattended on Saturdays. (Any other day of the week chocolate is safely secured in MY chocolate drawer, which doesn’t even need a KEEP OUT sign because everybody is already well trained to leave it alone.) (Right now I’m hoarding things like Alter Eco Dark Twist (chocolate with crystallized orange peel) in there.) On Saturdays, chocolate is strewn on multiple fridge shelves, on the table, and all across the house as I ferry it back and forth to my studio*, either snapping photos or dictating which shots should be snapped if Sam happens to be available. (Sam is my brother, my sometimes-photographer, and, when chocolate disappears, he is generally considered the primary suspect. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten chocolate out, turned my back for two seconds, and find he has somehow managed to carry it off already. On the plus side, he usually brings it back intact.)

Chocolate was everywhere and the photo-shoot was well underway, resulting in photos like the one above. I unwrapped this bar, temporarily set it aside for additional photos, and…all of the sudden there was a bite out of it. A big bite out of it. A somebody-was-not-messing-around, definitely-wanted-me-to-notice-there-was-a-bite-out-of-it, bite out of it. (For the record, I probably would have noticed if someone had even touched it.)

Jun02 0

How’s THAT for a title? It’s not likely you read about peeling an appealing Pacari bar every day. It’s not every day I get to do it. It may be a once-in-a-life-time-experience. Who knows.

The first step in the entire process was to actually obtain a Pacari bar, which is no small feat. They’re not available locally; budgeting and shipping are involved. That, and deciding exactly *which* Pacari bar. Finally, I decided on Andean Lemon Verbena.

Pacari Andean Lemon Verbena Chocolate Still Life Photo

Upon arrival, I was a little alarmed to find a big round sticker smack dab on the front of the chocolate wrapper (stuck there by the third party seller, not by Amazon or Pacari), announcing some sort of discount. It was effectively ruining most photoshoot opportunities (aside from ones involving cover-ups or bizarre camera angles). And it wasn’t one of those stickers that would just peel off with a little coaxing. AND it was blocking the pretty little stamp announcing this bar to be an International Chocolate Awards 2014 World Gold Winner.

May30 0

My favorite sister’s name is Gwen. Before you go and get all huffy about me picking favorites, please note she’s also my only sister. (It’s a joke we have.) We’re twins. We certainly don’t look identical and we were born in different years, but we’re twins. We say the exact same things at the exact same time, we know exactly what the other is thinking (most of the time), and our own parents can’t tell our voices apart when they’re speaking to one of us on the phone.

Gwen hates coffee. (This is a phenomenon that does occur in a very small percentage of the world’s population. It is also a revelation that rather bewilders coffee lovers. “How could anyone not like coffee?”) I, on the other hand, can take or leave coffee. After reading the laughter-inducing “It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity,” (quote by Dave Barry) it has come to my attention that my coffee drinking habits are, well…recreational. I’m not quite sure I would go so far as to say they’re inhumane.

No Coffee Allowed - Kakao Coffee Chocolate Still Life Photo (See what she’s missing out on?)

This aversion to coffee does not just apply to the liquid form. There are also issues with the smell (which further astounds the coffee lovers) and extends to coffee being added to absolutely anything. This, of course, brings me to chocolate with coffee in it. I can remember at least two occasions when I very innocently ended up feeding her coffee by way of chocolate.

May26 0

Last Friday (May 20th) was Endangered Species Day. To some, it meant a welcome spotlight on the efforts of organizations and individuals who work tirelessly to save endangered animals. To others, Endangered Species Day was a reminder to eat more chocolate. You see, there’s one chocolate company so passionate about
helping out that it is reflected in the name of their company, Endangered Species Chocolate. 10% of their net profits are donated to non-profit partners that protect and preserve wildlife.

(Eating a chocolate bar is definitely more my cup of tea than standing outside out on a street corner waving a sign “Save The Whales!” I’m actually shy. Believe it or not.)

I’ve tasted quite a few flavors of Endangered Species chocolate over the years; the latest was Lemon Poppyseed.

Endangered Species Chocolate - Lemon Poppyseed

May23 0

I’m not shy about the fact that one of my favorite chocolate quotes is “Nuts take up space where chocolate ought to be”. As a general rule, I say “nay” to nuts in chocolate. When a brownie recipe calls for walnuts, my policy is to omit them. When I have the opportunity to have a chocolate containing peanuts that haven’t been ground to paste (otherwise known as peanut butter), I pass. (Notable exception: Coco-nuts. Coconut and chocolate were made for each other. Examples range from Mounds bars to Dick Taylor Maple Coconut to Lake Champlain Creamy Coconut.)

Many people say “anything is good when covered in chocolate”. I dispute this. (After having tasted chocolate containing cilantro, chocolate studded with ants, and chocolate festooned with mushrooms…to name a few…I am definitely of the opinion that not everything is good with chocolate.) Covering nuts (or covering anything, for that matter) with chocolate doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re instantly turned into a tasty treat.

Then, just a week or so ago, a gift arrived in the form of milk chocolate covered almonds.
Nuts in Chocolate - La Marcona Chocolate Covered Almonds

May19 0

It’s one of those days. I can’t seem to get interested in a specific chocolate to tell you about (although I’m sure I’ll snap out of it…there were some milk chocolate covered almonds recently that were so good they made me forget I don’t like nuts in my chocolate). Nor is there any great chocolate baking or making or purchasing to recount. So, the blank screen keeps starting at me, and it’s all I can do to resist the temptation to publish something ridiculously short and leave it at that. “Something Witty Goes Here” – The End

On a normal week, I would be writing about pictures like these (or at least taking pictures like these).

Something Witty Goes Here Photo - Taza Chocolate with Crocheted Doily & Candle

Why is this not a normal week?

May16 0

Where has TCHO chocolate been all my life? (Or, rather, since I’ve been around much longer than TCHO, let me rephrase: Where have I been all of TCHO’s life?)

Seriously, one bite of TCHO’s lush, creamy SeriousMilk Milk Chocolate “Cacao” was enough to make me realize that TCHO has done their homework on how to pair the few standard ingredients that make up milk chocolate, in order to come up with such an extraordinary bar. I have been eating milk chocolate wrong all my life; THIS is how it’s done. Seriously TCHO Milk Chocolate Still Life Gallery Photo

Curiosity aroused, I discovered:

May09 1

I love lilies (the flowers). I’m also pretty fond of Lily, the family dog. Now I’ve just added another type of Lily to the collection of Lilys I like: Lily’s Crispy Rice Stevia Chocolate

gallery_photo_lilys_crispy_rice_stevia_chocolate

Stevia and I are old acquaintances . If my memory serves me correctly, we first met in the 90’s. While we don’t hang out every day, we get along fine when we do have a chance to spend time together.

On the other hand, Lily’s Chocolate and I just met for the first time.

Tag: chocolate

My Lizards are Very Respectful

A Neat Thing About Iceland

Today Involves Fudge

A Bright and Cheerful Chocolate Photo

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Broadcast

Peeling an Appealing Pacari Bar

No Coffee Allowed

Endangered Species Chocolate

Nuts in Chocolate – Yay or Nay?

Something Witty Goes Here

Seriously (TCHO Milk Chocolate)

Lily’s Crispy Rice Stevia Chocolate