ChocolateBet: July 1, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Dolfin
Dark Lavender from Haute Provence
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: 1.058 oz. (30 grams)
Calories: 153 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $3.00
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, in San Francisco, CA

Thank you to the folks at Chocolate Covered in San Francisco, for helping me find several items during my chocolate bar shopping spree last weekend. As I told them, I've now eaten chocolates from more countries than I've actually visited in person. Seeing the world through chocolate is one way to go if you've run out of time/money to travel.

Fortunately, I live in an area where lavender grows wildly well in my own yard. So, I don't necessarily need to travel to France to stick my nose in a big lavender bush. However, I wouldn't mind traveling to Haute Provence, to visit the source of lovely floral flavor in this bar. No, I would not mind at all.

ChocolateBet: June 30, 2009

Chocolate(s) of the Day:
6 cookies + 1 wedge of cake
Natasha's Sweet Temptations

1.) Vanilla-Chocolate Chip Cookies
Weight: ~ 6 oz. (170 grams) in 6 cookies
Calories: ~840 calories in 6 cookies
Cost: $?
Purchased from: Natasha's/Sweet Temptations booth, at Mountain View (CA) Farmer's Market

2.) Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate! Torte
Weight: ~ 4.6 oz. (120 grams) in one wedge/piece
Calories: ~552 calories (estimate)
Cost: $5.00
Purchased from: Natasha's/Sweet Temptations booth, Mountain View (CA) Farmer's Market

It's fun to find locally made chocolate items at the Farmer's Market. I enjoyed these gluten-free "health nut" cookies a lot. They are made with almond meal, and they don't have much sugar in them; yet they are very satisfying. The chocolate torte was dense, rich and tasty - just like you'd expect a flourless chocolate hunk of love to be.

ChocolateBet: June 29, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 cookie
Edna's
Chocolate Chip Macaroon
Good +
Weight: ~ 2.5 oz. (70.75 grams)
Calories: ~250 calories (estimate)
Cost: $1.33
Purchased from: Edna's booth at Mountain View (CA) Farmer's Market

I like finding baked goods, with chocolate, that are gluten-free. Since macaroons are one of the few cookies that often have little or no flour in them, it's no surprise that you'll see several macaroon and chocolate variations on this blog. I would have liked a few more chocolate chips in this macaroon, but it is otherwise good.

ChocolateBet: June 28, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 cookie
Edna's
Chocolate Macaroon (gluten-free)
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 2.5 oz. (70.75 grams)
Calories: ~ 250 calories (estimate)
Cost: $1.33
Purchased from: Edna's booth, at Mountain View, CA)

Last year I enjoyed tasting an Edna's gluten-free peanut butter chocolate chip cookie. So, I bought one of those and two different Edna's macaroons with chocolate in them: an all-chocolate macaroon (today's choice) and a chocolate chip macaroon.

Oh, did I mention that I am on on a "modified" South Beach Diet this week? Bottom line: I eat more vegetables and protein; I stopped eating potato chips; and I still get to eat chocolate every day. Sounds reasonable to me.

ChocolateBet: June 27, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

2 pieces
Mars - fling chocolate
Hazelnut
Good + - Very Good
Weight: ~1.1 oz. (31.2 grams)/5.5 oz. (156 g.) in total 10-piece package
Calories: 160 calories for 2 pieces
Cost: $?
Purchased from: ?

Nice combination of textures with the light crunchy layer inside.

ChocolateBet: June 26, 2009

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

3 pieces + 1 bunny

ethel's chocolate
1.) curvy shape, blue flowers on top (dark ganache) Good +
2.) curvy shape, white flowers on top (jasmine?) Very Good
3.) curvy shape, yellow flower on top (lemonish filling?) Very Good
Weight: ~ 1.2 oz. (31 g.)/2.93 oz. (83 g.) total 8-piece box
Calories: 150 calories for 3 pieces
Cost: $?
Purchased from: ethel's chocolate, Las Vegas, NV

Lake Champlain Chocolates
Placesetting Bunny - Dark
Very Good +
Weight: .6 oz. (17 grams)
Calories: ~90 calories (estimate)
Cost: $?
Purchased from: Whole Foods?

Today I cleared out some chocolates that had been hiding in my chocolate stash pile for awhile, including some spring "shapes" from ethel's chocolate (Henderson, NV), and a chocolate bunny from Lake Champlain Chocolates (Vermont).

I thought I had lost the bunny last month; it reappeared this evening as I was about to drive over to a nice park with a redwood grove -- where frequently there are bunnies that come out to nibble grass in the twilight. Nice coincidence.

ChocolateBet: June 25, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

3 oz.
Robicheaux's Specialty Candy, Inc.
Pecan Turtle Bites
Very Good
Weight: 3 oz. (85 grams) in total package
Calories: 450 calories (estimate) in 1 package
Cost: Approx. $4.50 (+ shipping for online orders)
Purchased from: The Mississippi Gift Shop Company, (Poplarville/Greenwood), Mississippi

Nice little bite-sized pecan turtles; oops, whole package is gone.