ChocolateBet: May 4, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving
Rub with Love (Spice Rubs & Sauces)
Cocoa Nib Barbeque Sauce (with ribs)
Very Good - nice blend
Wt: 33 grams (2 tbsp.)/16 oz. (456 g.) total jar
Calories: 50 calories/serving
Cost: $5.39 total jar (16 servings) (+ ~$6.00 for small rack of ribs for this dish)
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

Chocolate & Meat week is progressing. Today is Day #3. Today I enjoyed barbeque sauce (with ground cocoa nibs) on ribs.

ChocolateBet: May 3, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving/dinner
La Paloma (Restaurant)
Enchiladas de Mole
Very Good
Wt: ~10 oz.? for whole dinner/plate, including two enchiladas and sides of rice and beans.
Calories: ~ 900/dinner
Cost: $10.75 + tip = ~ $12.55 total for meal
Purchased from: La Paloma, in Santa Clara, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Meat Week. This evening I enjoyed some nice enchiladas stuffed with white meat chicken and mole poblano style sauce (which contains ground spices and cacao/chocolate). Dinner came complete with live music, and a festive atmosphere at the restaurant.

ChocolateBet: May 2, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 cookie + 1 strip
Arico Natural Foods Company & Brunckhorst's Boar's Head Brand
1 Chocolate Chunk Gluten Free Cookie + 1 strip Fully Cooked, Naturally Smoked, Gluten-free Bacon
Good - especially if you like sweet and salty flavors together; although it was a bit odd in spots - the flavors didn't quite mesh in every bite.
Wt: 1 cookie =~ 13 grams (4.76 oz. (135 g.) total bag) + 1 strip bacon =~4.6 grams (2.29 oz. (65 g.) total box)
Calories: 50 cals/cookie + ~23 calories for bacon strip
Cost: $3.39 (total bag of cookies) + $5.49 (total box of bacon)
Purchased from: Whole Foods, Cupertino, CA (cookies); and Piazza's Fine Foods, in Palo Alto, CA (bacon)

Welcome to the first day of Chocolate and Meat week on the blog. Yes, I readily admit this combination is just going to gross some people out. But, I'm determined to find a good match here if I can. There are more chocolate and meat items than you first might think. For example, chicken with mole sauce (which contains chocolate). I've been looking at different dishes with mole sauce. I've already tried a Vosges Mo's Bacon bar (which I liked), so it won't be on my list for this week. And there are cookies with meat...

OK, I haven't tried baking chocolate chip cookies with bacon from scratch (although you can see a link to a recipe on my links list), but I thought it might work just as well if I wrapped a strip of cooked bacon around a chocolate chip cookie. Did it work? Well, sort of. Now, I'll have to try some kind of similar home-baked version (with the bacon chopped up and baked up more completely with a cookie or cake batter or some sort) as a control group later this week, if I have time.

ChocolateBet: May 1, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar/serving
Sultans Turkish Delight
(Rose Flavour - Covered in Milk Chocolate)
Very Good - I like floral and chocolate flavors together, so I enjoyed this.
Wt: 1.75 oz. (50 grams)
Calories: 200 calories
Cost: $ 1.59
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

I'm happy to add Turkey to the list of countries of origin for the chocolates I've eaten. (This small bar is a "Product Of Turkey," and is distributed by British Wholesale Imports - a company based in Westlake Village, CA.)

Chocolate in the News
---------------------------
Pregnant women are told it might be healthy to eat dark chocolate.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,353399,00.html
Apparently the cardiovascular benefits of eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate extend to those women who are expecting as well; and a daily dose of the dark stuff appears to significantly cut risks of women developing preeclampsia. (This according to a Yale study published in the May 2008 issue of Epidemiology.)

Also, Happy May Day (May 1) all. One custom on this day (at least in some areas of the world) is to leave a May Day basket with fresh flowers and sweets for family members/friends/others. So, I applaud those people who include chocolate items in their baskets/gifts. I dimly remember my elementary school class walking/skipping around a Maypole out on an asphalt playground years ago, and making paper woven baskets in our classroom. However, I don't remember whether chocolates were involved or not. Enjoy.

ChocolateBet: April 30, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving
Orchard Valley Harvest
Gourmet Nuts and Caramels
Very Good
Wt: 1/4 cup (42 grams); 12 oz. (340 grams) total container
Calories: 210 calories/serving
Cost: $7.29 total
Purchased from: Safeway, in Palo Alto, CA

These chocolate covered pieces were fresh-tasting and fun. You had the opportunity to guess which kind of nut you might be biting into from the shape of the chocolate. Cashew? Almond? Pecan? Macadamia? Walnut? Or... Caramel?

OK, I'm dragging my feet here - I'm still eating chocolate and nut items, and I'm supposed to be starting a Chocolate and Meat Theme Week this week. Maybe in another day or two...

ChocolateBet: April 29, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving
Gelato Classico
Chocolate Hazelnut ice cream
Very Good - tasted like Nutella ice cream
Wt: 1/2 cup (123 grams) serving; 1 pint total (473 ml.)
Calories: 290
Cost: $4.79 total container
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Cupertino, CA

Well, technically, my Chocolate and Nut-themed week ended yesterday; but I had bought a few more items with chocolate and nuts in them, as part of an advanced planning and buying nut-frenzy last week. So, I'm extending my week by a day or two. So, this would be Day #8...of Chocolate and Nut week.

ChocolateBet: April 28, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving/biscotti
Pamela's Products
Chocolate Walnut Biscotti
Very Good (especially for a gluten-free version of biscotti)
Weight: 28 grams
Calories: 120
Cost: $3.29/pkg.
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, in Cupertino, CA

This is, technically, the last day (Day #7) of Chocolate and Nut Week. However, I may have to extend the current theme week at least one more day, to include a chocolate and nut-related item that involves ice cream. Then I think I will have hit all the major chocolate and nut food groups: chocolate candy, trail mix, bars, cookies, brownies, and ice cream.