Tuesday, May 31, 2011

ChocolateBet: May 31, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1/2 bar (plain + in muffins)
Camille Bloch Kirsch bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) total bar (8 squares)
Calories: 263 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $5.99 total bar
Purchased from: Z. Cioccolato, in San Francisco, CA

I have to admire the Swiss for their wonderful, smooth milk chocolate. Camille Bloch - "Mon Chocolat Suisse" -- is no exception. Their milk chocolate bar with thick liquid Kirsch (cherry liqueur) filling was adult candy bar good.

I ate a few squares of this 8-square bar. Each square included a dome in the center where the Kirsch filling was housed. Half of the Kirsch bar was broken carefully in into bits and incorporated into a batch of gluten-free banana, cherry, chocolate chunk muffins. I used King Arthur Flour's Gluten Free Muffin Mix (scented with nutmeg) as the base mix, and added in chopped fresh cherries, banana, and some cinnamon and other spices.

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate, Banana and Cherry Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: May 30, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Napa Valley Fudge Company
Chocolate Fudge Truffle - SS Red Oak Victory Ship
Good+
Weight: .33 oz. (9.4 g.) / 4 oz. (113 g.) total bar/package
Calories: 50 calories (estimate)
Cost: $6.00 total package
Purchased from: SS Red Oak Victory ship gift shop, in Richmond, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate, Banana and Cherries Theme Week. And it was also Memorial Day in the U.S.; so today's chocolate comes in the form of a delicious thin slice of rich, sweet fudge - eaten with a banana and cherry heavy fruit salad and topped with a little vanilla yogurt. Good thoughts go out to all those remembering lost loved ones on this day.

Saved from the "mothball fleet" and towed to Richmond (across the Bay from San Francisco), the SS Red Oak Victory Ship (from World War II) is available for tours and is being restored. I had the privilege of taking a tour recently, and spied this Napa Valley Fudge in a SS Red Oak Victory box, in the ship's gift shop.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

ChocolateBet: May 29, 2011


Chocolate of the Day:

1/2 bar
Cacao Atlanta Chocolate Co.
Love Bar {Patanemo} Dried Cherries
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .75 oz. (25 g.) / 1.5 oz. (50 g.) total bar
Calories: 60 calories (per package label)
Cost: $10.00 (2 bars for $20.00)
Purchased from: Cacao Atlanta Chocolate Co. booth at Chocolate Salon event in San Francisco; the company is based in Atlanta, GA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate Banana and Cherry Theme Week. For today's chocolate items, I looked to the South for inspiration and was not disappointed.

Cacao Atlanta's Love Bar with Dried Cherries was very dark and rich; the cherries supplied a well balanced sweet and tart note above the 75% Cacao, single origin (Patanemo, Venezuela) dark bar base. (Patanemo is a name for the coastal region of Puerto Cabello in Venezuela, in South America.)

I also made a small banana ice cream sundae (with Safeway Select Super Premium Bananas Foster Ice Cream). This rich banana ice cream had a cinnamon honey swirl running through it. Bananas Foster is a dessert made famous at Brennan's Restaurant (in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana). And buying and enjoying this ice cream was faster than making the famous Brennan' dessert recipe -- with flaming rum and bananas. Both of these banana dishes pair well with a little chocolate.



Saturday, May 28, 2011

ChocolateBet: May 28, 2011

Chocolate(s) of the Day:


1.) Wow-Wee Maui's Candy Bar
Chocolate Macadamia Chewy Banana
Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (14 g.) / 1.75 oz. (50 g.) total bar
Calories: 75 calories (estimate)
Cost: $1.99 total bar
Purchased from: Longs Drug, in Kahului (Maui), in Hawaii


2.) Surfing Goat Dairy
Amaretto Cherry Almond Truffle
Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (14 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 74 calories (estimate)
Cost: $ (part of a larger box of truffles)
Purchased from: Surfing Goat Dairy, in Kula (Maui), Hawaii

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate, Banana and Cherry Theme Week. Last week, I was enjoying fresh tropical fruit and chocolates on the island of Maui. So, both today's Wow-Wee chocolate bar with macadamia nuts and chewy banana, and the Amaretto Cherry Almond truffle from the Surfing Goat Dairy, hail from this island in Hawaii.

Wow-Wee Maui's chocolate bar line is now fairly broad, but this bar with macadamia nut pieces, and bits of chewy banana was the original Wow-Wee chocolate bar.

The Amaretto Cherry truffle was made with goat milk/cheese, although I doubt most people would guess this, as the goat flavor is very difficult to detect.

I enjoyed these two chocolates with fresh cherry plums from a tree in my backyard, a fresh banana and an ice cold cherry juice drink. (Don't all cherries grow with googly eyes?)

Friday, May 27, 2011

Chocolate Stories: The Road to Hana

Maui Chocolate Stories, Part 2: Hana & Lahaina 


While in Hawaii last week, I hoped to locate and eat some cacao fruit, and try new chocolates with local Hawaiian flavors. Fortunately, both goals were realized.

Hana Weekend
We made the beautiful 3-4 hour drive (including stops for pictures and lunch) to Hana on a Friday afternoon; all was good. At our lunch roadstand stop, we found some handmade coconut candy, and a Wow-Wee Maui dark chocolate bar, with Hawaiian coconut. (See last week's (May 2011) Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week posts.)

We made the beautiful 3-4 hour drive (including stops for pictures and lunch) to Hana on a Friday afternoon; all was good. We stopped at one roadstand and found some handmade coconut candy, and another Wow-Wee Maui chocolate bar (written about a few days ago during Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week).

However, once in Hana, we found that many places we were hoping to tour were closed over the weekend. So, sadly, we missed going to Ono Farms, where I'd heard they have cacao trees, and I did speak to one of the owners who is making chocolate. Hope to connect next time we're in Hawaii.

Happily, we did stop in Kipahulu on our drive past Hana, and there were a few cacao trees near the Laulima Farm roadside stand. Even better, there was one cacao fruit left for sale inside. I took the fruit back to our hotel room; the next day I opened the pod with a plastic fork, and enjoyed the white pulpy fruit with a light citrus flavor surrounding the large almond-sized cacao seeds. There were 43 seeds packed in this one cacao fruit/pod -- more seeds than fruit. But, that's fine, because while the white fruit is used in the initial fermentation process, it is the cacao seeds that are processed into chocolate.

The fresh, unroasted seeds were a beige color on the outside; and, if you broke one apart you would see a deep purple inside.



Lahaina Day Trip

The last full day of our vacation in Maui, I drove to Lahaina, in search of chocolate covered Spam at the Banyan Tree Deli and Bakery. Sweet Paradise Chocolatier was closed. So, I poked around the Front Street area for other chocolates, and possibly some Shave Ice.

It was a very hot day, and on my way to the 600 block of Front Street, I first stopped at Paradise Found, a family owned shop offering crepes and gelato, to sample their chocolate and banana gelato flavors.


It was so warm outside, that a few blocks later, I felt compelled to drop into Scoop's to try single cups of Lappert's banana fudge and coconut ice creams. Phew, this was hard work.

At last I arrived at the Banyan Tree Deli and Bakery. Sadly, found myself gazing at the empty display case where the chocolate covered Spam had been. However, owner and chocolatier, Darren Hagobian, couldn't have been nicer. I was able to obtain two tasty strips of chocolate covered bacon and a very satisfying dessert made of three very large  marshmallows on a stick, rolled in peanut butter, chocolate and coconut (see Chocolate of the Day - May 24, '11 post).

After driving past fields of sugar cane this week, I made one final stop on the way back from Lahaina to Kahului -- the Alexander and Baldwin Sugar Museum. While inside the gift shop, a local woman told me about a family recipe for adding grated cacao into a sweet cake or batter-type bread. I would have loved to have taken home some cacao fruit to try this. But, not surprisingly, the agricultural inspection folks would frown on randomly taking fruits and plant seeds out of state on a plane back to California. 








ChocolateBet: May 27, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Sweet Paradise Chocolatier
Banana Rum Truffle
Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (14 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 74 calories (estimate)
Cost: $2.83 ($16.99 for a box of 6)
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, in Kahului (Maui), Hawaii

Chocolate is often mixed with fruit and alcohol. Today's chocolate truffle from Hawaii (from Sweet Paradise Chocolatier) combined local (Hawaiian) apple banana and Maui rum. The rum was not really detectable, but the filling tasted like authentic island banana.

Since today was Day #2 of Chocolate, Banana and Cherries Theme Week, I paired this banana and rum truffle with a tiny sip of homemade cherry syrup and kirsch (cherry liqueur) -- also good with chocolate and/or vanilla ice cream. A variant of this combination is likely to turn up later this week, in the form of an adult banana split.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

ChocolateBet: May 26, 2011



Chocolate(s) of the Day:
2 pieces
The Oakland Chocolate Co.
1.) Rosebud bonbon - Very Good
2.) Cherry in the Snow - Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 150 calories (estimate)
Cost: $4.00
Purchased from: The Oakland Chocolate Company, in Oakland, CA

Welcome to the first day of Chocolate, Banana and Cherry Theme Week. Unlikely theme? Not so. In addition to banana splits and chocolate banana shakes topped with a cherry, there are many interesting fine chocolate offerings that incorporate these flavors.

One example: Nancy Nadel's Oakland Chocolate Company bean-to-bar-to-bonbons, that are made with rich dark chocolate from Jamaica. Her Rosebud bonbon was filled with a banana and white chocolate ganache, and the Cherry in the Snow, sprinkled with a bit of white sugar on top, contained a dark chocolate ganache and a cherry.



Wednesday, May 25, 2011

ChocolateBet: May 25, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1 oz. serving
Freeland Foods
100% Organic go raw Chocolate Super Cookies
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) serving/ 3 oz. (85 g.) total package
Calories: 149 calories
Cost: $5.99 total package
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Kahului (Maui), Hawaii

I bought today's Organic Chocolate Super Cookies (coconut, sesame seeds, dates, agave nectar and cacao), to celebrate Day #12 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week, while I was in Hawaii this past week. I laughed when I flipped over the package to read the label and found that these tiny, round, slightly chewy, raw cookies came from Freeland Foods -- a company based less than five miles from my house. Thus is the worldwide spread of chocolate.


These bite-sized, healthy morsels were also gluten free and nut free.

ChocolateBet: May 24, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
2/3 piece
Banyan Tree Deli and Bakery
Marshmallows with peanut butter, chocolate, coconut
Good + - Very Good
Weight: unknown
Calories: 350 calories (estimate)
Cost: $
Purchased from: Banyan Tree Deli and Bakery, in Lahaina (Maui), Hawaii

Thank you to Darren Hagobian at Banyan Tree Deli and Bakery for packing this chocolate creation "to go" yesterday; we enjoyed it as a mid-morning snack at the airport this morning. It sure beat the heck out of most airport snacks.

The Banyan Tree Deli and Bakery was located on the busy Front Street in Lahaina. The bakery items with chocolate were wonderfully creative and unique, including chocolate covered Spam and chocolate covered bacon.

Sadly, the chocolate covered Spam was sold out; however, this generously sized marshmallow and chocolate item was available. It was composed of three large marshmallows on a stick, rolled/slathered in peanut butter, chocolate and coconut.  The marshmallows were fresh and deliciously spongey-light and over-sweet. The peanut butter under-layer was a nice surprise and helped balance out the sugar sweet marshmallows.

The chocolate coating on this item (and the chocolate covered bacon that I tried yesterday) had great chocolate frosting taste and texture -- made with just the right blend of bittersweet and sweeter chocolates.

Today was Day #11 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.


Tuesday, May 24, 2011

ChocolateBet: May 23, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1/2 serving
Coconut Grill
Creme Coconut Brulee (with haupia/coconut ice cream)
Very Good
Weight: unknown; 4 oz.  for 1/2 (estimate)/ 8 oz. total (estimate)
Calories: unknown
Cost: $7.95 total dessert
Purchased from: Coconut Grill, Maui Seaside Hotel, Kahului, Maui; in Hawaii

Today was Day #10 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week, and the last full day of our trip in Hawaii (Maui). Following a quick chocolate field trip out to Lahaina, and a spin around the Kahului area of Maui in a search for new chocolates (see upcoming Lahaina and Kahului Chocolate Stories), we retired to the Coconut Grill restaurant and enjoyed a great dinner and a nice rich coconut dessert (Creme Coconut Brulee with Haupia (Coconut) ice cream, and pineapple puree. I ordered a side of chocolate fudge sauce, because... well, I think that requires no explanation. It was chocolate. This dessert was very rich, but it was a great dish for coconut dessert lovers.




Monday, May 23, 2011

ChocolateBet: May 22, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1 cup
Ono Gelato Company
Loco Coco
Very Good
Weight: 3 oz. cup
Calories: unknown
Cost: $3.99 for 3 oz. cup
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, in Kahului, Maui; in Hawaii


In a warm tropical climate like Hawaii, gelato, ice cream and shave ice are all appealing. Even better: great locally made gelato flavors -- like the tasty Loco Coco (coconut with pieces of dark chocolate) from the Ono Gelato Company. The company's shop in Paia (Maui) was not open when we were there earlier.  Fortunately, the Whole Foods Market in Kahului, carried Ono Gelato and a few other local chocolate items.

Today was Day #9 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

Note: Posts and photos may be delayed this week due to travel.

ChocolateBet: May 21, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

1/2 bar
Wow Wee - Maui's Candy Bar
Dark Chocolate Hawaiian Coconut (bar)
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .875 oz. (25 g.) / 1.75 oz. (50 g.) total bar
Calories: 130 calories (estimate)
Cost: $2.00
Purchased from: Cafe at Nahiku Market Place - Maui, Hawaii

I decided to extend Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week a few days, until we leave Hawaii. There are too many great coconut-related chocolates, tropical fruits and other great items available at road stands and small markets.

Yesterday, we found one such road stand/market: the Nahiku Market Place, on the road to Hana, in Maui. The market was made up of a few informal vendor stands in the middle of a lush, green tropical jungle. A small cafe hut served beverages, and also carried Wow-Wee chocolate bars. This slightly soft, fudgy, Dark Chocolate Hawaiian Coconut bar paired nicely with some fresh oven-roasted coconut candy from another vendor, and a stir-fry fish, vegetable and steamed rice dish from a chef working out of a trailer.

Note: Posts and pictures may be delayed due to travel this week.

Friday, May 20, 2011

ChocolateBet: May 20, 2011

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

1.) Chuao Chocolatier 
1 small bar
Coco - dark chocolate
Very Good
Weight: .39 oz. (11 g.)
Calories: 69 calories (estimate)
Cost: $ lost receipt
Purchased from: lost receipt

2.) Joy's Place Live
1 container
Chocolate Mousse
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 6.7 oz.
Calories: unknown
Cost: $5.29
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Kahului, Maui; in Hawaii

Today was the last day (Day #7) of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week, which entailed eating a small Coco Choco Pod from Chuao Chocolatier -- a small dark chocolate with coconut, almond, cinnamon and coriander. Perfect size for a high-end, satisfying, bite-sized chocolate snack.

The second chocolate was a Chocolate Mousse, made with nut milk and coconut, and sweetened with local (Hawaiian) honey, from Joy's Place Live! (Maui, Hawaii), found in the local Whole Foods market in Kahului, Hawaii, near where we were staying.

Wow, all these great flavors, and it's not even lunch yet. Have to save room for what's to come.

Following the chocolate trail in Hawaii. Aloha.

Chocolate Story: May 19, 2011

Maui Chocolate Story:

As an extension of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week, today we explored other examples of the convergence of these two flavors.

Surfing Goats
Our first stop was the Surfing Goat Dairy in Kula. Yes, we learned, you can made chocolate truffles with goat cheese. But, no coconuts here, just surfboards.

Flowers and Coconuts, But no Cacao Trees
A trip to the Botanic garden in Kula, located on the lush, green slopes of Mount Haleakala in Maui, yielded views of beautiful flowers and coconuts, but no cacao trees (although we'd heard growing evidence of more trees being planted in nearby areas).

Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm
Our last Kula stop was at a lavender farm. More on that next week. Think lavender chocolate bars and brownies, lavender scones, and chocolate lavender gelato. No coconuts though.

Wow Wee Maui

This evening we visited the original home of the Wow Wee Maui chocolate bar line -- the Wow Wee Maui Grill and Kava Bar in Kahului, Maui, in Hawaii. The original owner sold the grill and bar, and is focusing on making chocolate bars; but the bars are still sold at the bar). After dinner, I enjoyed an icy Kava colada (served in a coconut shell with a straw), and a small bite of a Wow Wee Maui Coffee with Toffee chocolate bar.

Aloha.



Thursday, May 19, 2011

ChocolateBet: May 19, 2011

Chocolate(s) of the Day:
Sweet Paradise Chocolatier

1.) Coconut Truffle
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 75 calories (estimate)
Cost: $2.83
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Kahului, Maui; Hawaii

2.) Coconut Curry
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 75 calories (estimate)
Cost: $2.83

Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Kahului, Maui; Hawaii

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week. No better place to celebrate the fusion of these two flavors than a tropical island like Maui (Hawaii). Today's Coconut Truffle (with a sweet coconut ganache) and the Coconut Curry chocolate (with a nice savory sweet blend of coconut and curry spices) were from Hawaii-based Sweet Paradise Chocolatier. Aloha all -- pictures may be delayed this week due to travel and restricted Internet access.


Wednesday, May 18, 2011

ChocolateBet: May 18, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

2 oz.
Earthling Organics
Rawnola
Good +
Weight: 2 oz. (56 g.) / 8 oz. (227 g.) total package/bag
Calories: 300 calories
Cost: $11.59 total bag
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week and, so far this week, I've sampled beverages, bars and bonbons that contain blends of these two flavors. Today's chocolate falls into the cereal category. Earthling Organics Rawnola contained Arriba Criollo "heirloom cacao" beans (that were roasted in the sun), and coconut.

This raw version of granola cereal was dense with ingredients like soaked nuts and seeds, and figs, but retained a lighter weight than I expected. It was good as a snack or breakfast cereal, and with or without milk. Flavored with agave, it was sweet, but not overly so, which I liked. My only challenge: the large hunks of cereal in the bag were difficult to break apart with the side of my spoon, even after sitting in some milk for a minute. Attempts to chisel the larger chunks apart resulted in cereal bits taking flight in multiple directions, outside the bowl.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

ChocolateBet: May 17, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1 truffle
The Oakland Chocolate Company
Coconut Crunch
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 74 calories (estimate)
Cost: $ part of larger assortment box
Purchased from: The Oakland Chocolate Co., Oakland, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week. The Oakland Chocolate Co. (based, fittingly enough, in Oakland, CA), offers a variety of chocolates, using fresh flavors and ingredients, including at this hand-rolled Coconut Crunch truffle.

Nancy Nadel, the owner and chief chocolatier at this bean-to-bar-to-bonbon company, uses dark chocolate from a single region (St. Mary's Parish) in Jamaica, for truffles, filled and molded chocolates, drops, and chocolate dipped fruit pieces.


Monday, May 16, 2011

ChocolateBet: May 16, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1 bar
Stirs the Soul
coconut chocolate (bar)
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) bar
Calories: 155 calories (estimate - no information listed)
Cost: $3.59
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week. This past weekend I went on a chocolate with coconut hunt. This "Coconuts" restaurant (sign pictured at right) looked promising, but, alas, there were no chocolate items on their menu.

So, the search continued, until I stopped at Country Sun Natural Foods store a few miles away. Here I found today's coconut chocolate dark 74% cacao (and "100% raw") bar from Stirs the Soul (a company based in Portland, OR).

The texture of this stone ground, coconut chocolate was very smooth, and not overly sweet, with a faint hint of slightly waxy, coconut soap mouthfeel. The raw, agave-sweetened (low glycemic), fairly traded, vegan bar was also manufactured in a gluten-free facility.
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