Lappert's Rocky Road + Honey - Oct. 6, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Lappert's Ice Cream
Rocky Road ice cream
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 1 Pint container
Calories: 71 calories (estimate) for 1 oz. ice cream
Cost: $7.99 (estimate) for 1 pint container
Purchased from: Lappert's Ice Cream, Sausalito, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Honey Theme Week.

I loved taking a chocolate field trip to Hawaii earlier this year. I found some delicious items at local farmers markets there, thanks to friends who farm Kona coffee and fruit there.

One sweet discovery: Big Island Bees (Kealakekua, HI) and their three single source (single flower origin) honeys.

I've been making smaller portioned desserts in shotglasses this year. This afternoon I found a bee-themed sake cup that was just the right size for a micro-ice cream, Hawaiian-themed sundae.

I started with a 1 oz. (28 g.) scoop of Rocky Road ice cream from Lappert's Ice Cream (from the mainland, Sausalito, CA, store). I added a dab of Ohi'a Lehua Blossom (a spiky, reddish flower) organic, raw honey from Big Island Bees; and topped this tiny sundae with Hawaiian cocoa nibs.

Aloha.

Chocolate Macadamia ice cream - March 31, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

Lappert's Ice Cream
Chocolate Macadamia ice cream
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1/4 cup serving / 1 Pint container
Calories: 265 calories (estimate) in 1/4 cup serving
Cost: $7.99 (estimate) for 1 pint
Purchased from: Lappert's Ice Cream, Sausalito, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Hawaii Theme Week. It was also Easter Sunday, a holiday often celebrated with chocolate eggs, rabbits, and baby chickens.

However, instead of indulging in chocolate bunnies this year, my Easter egg (bowl) filled with Hawaiian chocolate ice cream. After a holiday meal with family and friends, I enjoyed a scoop of Chocolate Macadamia ice cream from Lappert's, a family owned business that started in Hawaii.

Like yesterday's Lappert's flavor (Kauai Pie), today's rich, creamy ice cream was chock full of good-sized macadamia nuts. Sometimes it's easy to forget, with so many exotic ice cream flavors available, just how good just plain chocolate ice cream can be. The soft crunch of the mac nuts complemented the chocolate nicely. No other additions were necessary.

Kauai Pie ice cream - March 30, 2013

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Lappert's Ice Cream
Kauai Pie ice cream
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1/4 cup in dish / 1 Pint container
Calories: 265 calories (estimate) in 1/4 cup
Cost: $7.99 (estimate)
Purchased from: Lappert's ice cream store, Sausalito, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Hawaii Theme Week, and time for some Kauai Pie ice cream from Lappert's (Sausalito, CA, location).

What is Kauai Pie ice cream you ask? At Lappert's ice cream shops, it is one of their most popular flavors, made with Kona coffee ice cream, macadamia nuts, shredded and lightly roasted coconut, and chocolate fudge. A winning combination.

I enjoyed pairing a small scoop of Kauai Pie ice cream with a small, sweet banana that had a light floral flavor note. (I saw more than a dozen different banana varieties being grown on the Big Island of Hawaii during a recent visit. I should have done more banana tastings while I was there, with chocolates. We're more limited in our choices of bananas here on the mainland.)

On a Mission: San Francisco
From Hawaii to San Francisco...All in a day's work.

This afternoon I took a field trip to the Mission district of San Francisco with a friend. In addition to gawking at murals and street art, we made numerous stops to shops, galleries and a park. But, let's talk chocolate.

Bi-Rite
After a stop to ogle Bi-Rite Market's impressive chocolate selection (not to mention cheeses, deli items, produce and other artisan items), we crossed the street to sample ice cream at Bi-Rite Creamery (Hazelnut with Dandelion Chocolate Cocoa Nibs; Salted Caramel; Lemon Lavender; Chocolate; other). The Bi-Rite stops alone justified the entire trip, even though we arrived too early for the high-end, soft-serve ice cream. (Creme Fraiche + Chocolate anyone?)

Dandelion Chocolate
After walking off some of the sugar rush, we visited Dandelion Chocolate's new digs on Valencia Street. We appreciated samples of single origin Dandelion dark chocolate bars, cacao beans, and homemade marshmallows there and seeing glimpses of bean-to-bar chocolate making. It was also wonderful to try a smoothie made with the white pulpy cacao fruit -- difficult to find in the U.S.

Chocolate Skull Hunt
Later we stopped for a raclette and potato plate at Mission Cheese (we had to balance out some of that sugar with a salty, savory item). And we located a potential source of chocolate skulls (used to commemorate The Day of the Dead) in one of the traditional Latin shops in the neighborhood. Sugar candy skulls were out on display in another shop, as were candy skull molds. Perhaps I'll make some chocolate skeletons this fall.

San Francisco loves the off-beat. We missed the "hunky Jesus" contest by one day, but we did spot a unicorn, a jackalope and many odd little animal skeletons at one shop (Paxton Gate); vintage luggage made into boom boxes in another shop; and creatively recycled items in thrift shop windows. No sign of wooden molinillos (used to make hot chocolate). That will have to wait until next trip.

For a unique and interesting take on neighborhood information in the Mission District, check out this atlas/set of maps (e.g., "Mission: Gangs and Cupcakes") at MissionPossibleSF.org.

Ali'i Kula Lavender - Lavender Chocolate Sauce - December 16, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ali'i Kula Lavender/The Lavender Farm, Inc.
Lavender Chocolate Sauce
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1 Tablespoon or .5 oz. (14.25 g.) / 9.5 oz. (266 g.) total jar
Calories: 80 calories in 1 Tb. serving
Cost: $ info no longer listed
Purchased from: Ali'i Kula Lavender (AKL Maui) site

Today we bid Aloha to Chocolate and Hawaii Theme Week, and continued with the second day of Chocolate and Lavender Week. The bridge between these two weeks was a lovely Lavender Chocolate Sauce from Ali'i Kula Lavender farm (Kula, Hawaii) on the island of Maui.

This sauce could be used to dress up almost any dessert, from poached pears to panna cotta, or to make a lavender ice cream sundae.

The lavender chocolate sauce was not overly thick, but it was a cold day. So, I warmed and stirred a small dish of sauce first, for easier spooning over ice cream. I used a healthy scoop or two of Three Twins Madagascar Vanilla ice cream for this sundae. Lappert's ice cream (Hawaii) would also be a great tropical island ice cream alternative.

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.