ChocolateBet: April 11, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 brownie
Arrowhead Mills brownie mix + Lucerne Cream Cheese + other
= home-baked cream cheese brownies
Very Good
Wt: ~4 oz.
Calories: Probably a lot (300?)
Cost: Total estim. cost for ingreds. = ~$10.00
Purchased from: Piazzas, in Palo Alto + Safeway in Palo Alto, CA

This is Day #8 of eating items that have both chocolate and cheese in them, and this concludes Chocolate and Cheese Week on the blog.

It's on to thinking about the next "theme." I am contemplating - chocolate cats and dogs, chocolate mice, chocolate items of the old West, chocolate and meat (not as bad as it sounds - I think), chocolate cars and trucks, and many more.

ChocolateBet: April 10, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

5 pieces
Meiji Seika Food Industry Co. Ltd.
Meltyblend - Green Tea
Very Good
Weight: 20 grams / (total box = 2.2 oz.)
Calories: 120 calories for 5 pieces
Cost: $2.39 (estimate) for 1 package
Purchased from: (small shop in Chinatown, in San Francisco, CA)

This is Day #7 of eating items with both chocolate and cheese. Chocolate and cheese week continues, for at least one more day (tomorrow), and after that I may run out of items. We'll see. I'll have to move on to a new chocolate-related theme.

These chocolate/cocoa powder covered Meltyblend Green Tea confections from Meiji Seiki Food Industry (Shanghai; Product of China) contained whole milk powder, and cream cheese powder. I like tea flavors, so this flavor combination worked for me.

ChocolateBet: April 9, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving
Kraft Philadelphia
Ready-to-eat Cheesecake Filling (Chocolate Dream)
OK+ - Good; very convenient - just spoon into a crust and eat; however, it doesn't quite have the flavor of a home-baked from scratch version. Trade-offs.
Wt: 86 grams in 1 srvg; 24.3 oz. (1 lb. 8.3 oz. (688 g) total container
Calories: 270 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $5.49 for a whole container
Purchased from: Safeway, in Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate Cheese week on my blog. Today, I had a few spoonfuls of chocolate cheesecake - the filling and not the crust (as I can't have wheat).

ChocolateBet: April 8, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Velveeta Cheese Fudge (homemade w/ Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder)
Very Good - This was surprisingly good
Wt: ~ 1 oz.
Calories: ~ 130 cals?
Cost: $? (cost of ingreds was approx. $8.00 to make a whole batch)
Purchased from: Safeway, other

Day #5 of Chocolate Cheese week. This cheese fudge is surprisingly good.
A similar version of what I made was featured on the "Ellen" show. See below for youtube video clip. Paula Deen makes fudge with Ellen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNUYgi9jv54&NR=1

Below were the ingredients that I used:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
8 oz. Velveeta or processed cheese, cubed (I used slices)
~ 5 cups confectioners suger
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
vanilla flavoring (I used vanilla powder; most would probably use 1-2 tsp vanilla extract)
Melt the first two ingredients and stir while heating - in saucepan (I used microwave). Add the rest and chill in fridge until firm. (You can also stir in chopped nuts before chilling.)

ChocolateBet: April 7, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 bite
Royal Family Food Co., Ltd.
Mochi-Choco - Cheese
OK - Good; a bit strange, but what I bit into looked exactly like the illustration on the box. You have your orange cheese center, with a white starch/mallow-like layer surrounding the cheese, and then the chocolate coating. I would have eaten more, but I thought the "starch" listed in the ingredients might be wheat starch. (I don't do wheat.)
Wt.: ~.2 oz. bite; total box = 7.4 oz. (210 g.)
Calories: ~20 cals.
Cost: $1.59/box
Purchased from: ? , a little Chinese grocery store in Chinatown, in San Francisco, CA (shame on me for not getting the name; it's not listed on the receipt. I'll try to update this info. later.

Today is Day #4 of Chocolate & Cheese week on my blog here. I went hunting for chocolate cheese in Chinatown in San Francisco yesterday after hearing about (Chesdale?) chocolate cheese slices that are sold in Taiwan. While none of the shop keepers that I asked knew what the heck I was talking about, I did find these Mochi Choco and & Cheese treats. (These are also from Taiwan.)

ChocolateBet: April 6, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 small taste
Z. Cioccolatos
Chocolate Cheesecake Fudge
Very Good
Wt: ~ .2 oz.
Calories: ~ 25 cals.
Cost: $0 - free sample
Purchased from: Z. Cioccolatos, in San Francisco, CA

Day #3 of Chocolate & Cheese week; I'm not sure how much cream cheese this fudge really has in it (the girl who was working behind the counter wasn't sure); but it's not bad.

ChocolateBet:: April 5, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 oz. serving
Carr Valley Cheese
Cocoa Cardona Cheese
Very Good
Wt: 1 oz.
Calories: ~110? cals.
Cost: ~$14.00 (for a fairly large order)
Purchased from: Carr Valley Cheese (online order)

This is Day #2 of Chocolate & Cheese week on the blog here. This semi-firm (goat) cheese has a cocoa "crust" and is very tasty.