Thursday, March 2, 2017

Moo Free Chocolates - Rosie Rabbit Bunnycomb Bar with Rice - Mar. 2, 2017

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Moo Free Chocolates
Rosie Rabbit - Bunnycomb Bar
Good
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 143 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $5.50 for 1 box of 4 different bars
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to the last day (Day #7) of Chocolate and LMNOPQR Theme Week.

Today I focused on the letter "R" as in rice, rabbits, rum and raisins—in the form of two different chocolate items.

Rosie Rabbit and Rice Milk
The Rosie Rabbit Bunnycomb (Crunch) Bar from Moo Free Chocolates (Reading, UK) was a dairy free, gluten free and vegan chocolate bar, that was part of a holiday "Merry Moos" assortment box that contained four different bars, all made with rice powder.

Today's bar also had crunchy bits (honeycomb toffee) crunchy bits on on side. The chocolate was sweet and smooth; and the "Bunnycomb" toffee bits provided a bit of crunchy texture and contrast. The packaging was festive and fun with cartoon animal characters that may appeal to kids of all ages.

Rum Raisin Rice Pudding with Chocolate Earl Grey Tea

The second chocolate-related item I tried today was an invented concoction of rum raisin rice pudding, infused with Chocolate Earl Grey Tea from Numi Organic Tea/Numi, Inc. (Oakland, CA).

A handful of raisins were soaked in Meyer's Dark Rum first, then combined with cooked rice and milk. Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and a tiny splash of orange flower water added some pleasant flavor. (I did not add any sugar or sweetener.)

I'll continue to work on this rice pudding blend latter, as it lacked a little something. Perhaps some cocoa butter, orange, and/or honey. Or, maybe I just have to admit that I'm not used to rice pudding without all the sugar.

Another interesting flavor I infused into the milk for the rice pudding: gluten-free Chocolate Earl Grey tea, described by Numi as an aged Assam black tea having "rich cacao with citrus highlights."

The first Chocolate Earl Grey tea bag ingredient listed was organic cocoa powder, although the flavor was almost all black tea. The bergamot and orange flavors were very subtle compared with other Earl Grey teas. (Adding milk softened the harsher black tea and unsweetened cacao flavors a bit, but some may need a bit of sweetener as well.)

The packaging was attractive and eco-friendly. The individually-wrapped tea bags was slightly oversized, and were Non GMO and biodegradable.





Trader Joe's - Quasar bar - Mar. 1, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Trader Joe's
Quasar bar
Good
Weight: 1.8 oz. (51 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 220 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $0.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Trader Joe's store in Bay Area, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of LMNOPQR Theme Week. "Q" is for Quasar (more about that below). It also is the name of a candy bar from Trader Joe's (Monrovia, CA).

Quasars are, according to definitions I found: "massive celestial objects emitting exceptionally large amounts of energy, and typically having a star-like image in a telescope" and "it has been suggested that quasars contain massive black holes and may represent a stage in the evolution of some galaxies."

Yes, quasars are associated with enormous amounts of energy. On a smaller scale, today's Quasar candy bar supplied me with sugar, chocolate and energy in the form of calories. This bar contained approximately 220 calories, and a cosmically impressive 44 g. of Carbohydrates.

The Trader Joe's Quasar Bar contained "whipped chocolate nougat and rich caramel enrobed in dark chocolate." It was quite sweet, as one might expect. The caramel was satisfying without it being so gooey as to make a mess.

The milk chocolate and nougat were primarily about the sugar; so any chocolate flavor nuances were lost, in space. And speaking of space, the Quasar bar reminded me of another candy bar inspired by a heavenly body: The Milky Way.

Note: The Quasar bar is not gluten free. While it does not contain wheat (or may contain only trace amounts), malted barley is listed as an ingredient.


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