ChocolateBet: September 16, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving
Fudge is my Life
Dark Chocolate Sauce - used to make...
A Chocolate & Vanilla Soda (homemade)
Very Good
Weight: 8 fl. oz. + ice
Calories: ~175 calories in one serving
Cost: $?
Purchased from: (Piazzas, in Palo Alto, CA?)

I decided to make my own chocolate soda, with Fudge is My Life's Dark Chocolate Sauce, Monin's Vanilla syrup, seltzer water, and ice. It wasn't bad. The chocolate sauce was definitely tasty. So, this (Day #7) entry concludes Chocolate Beverage Theme Week 2009. (The next chocolate beverage theme week will be (or probably should be) chocolate diet or reduced calorie drinks.)

ChocolateBet: September 15, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving - 1/2 bottle
Yoo-hoo (distributed by Motts)
Yoo-hoo Chocolate Drink
Good +
Weight: ~ 7.7 fl. oz. (229 mL)/15.5 fl. oz. (458 mL) in total bottle
Calories: 130 calories in 1/2 bottle
Purchased from: Walgreens, in Palo Alto, CA

Yoo-hoo was my choice for Day #6 of Chocolate Beverage Theme Week 2009. I may have tried a Yoo-hoo many, many years ago; however, I couldn't remember what it was exactly. Carbonated chocolate milk perhaps? It was better than I expected it to be.

The label advised me to "Shake It!" and so I did. I mean, who would resist such instructions? The Yoo-hoo name evokes great nostalgia* for many baby boomers. Yoo-hoo Chocolate Drink debuted in the 1920s, and the fun name has helped keep the product afloat since then. Technology company names, like Yahoo!, and even Google (with its catchy mathematical origin), probably owe this company an indirect debt of gratitude. The Yoo-hoo brand may have undergone changes over many years, but the name has stayed.

*Yoo-hoo is definitely on my chocolostalgia list.

ChocolateBet: September 14, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 milkshake
Rick's Rather Rich Ice Cream and Fudge
Fudge Marble Ice Cream => Milkshake
Very Good
Weight: ~ 16 oz. (regular size)
Calories: ~800 calories (estimate)
Cost: $5.50
Purchased from: Rick's Rather Rich Ice Cream & Fudge, in Palo Alto, CA

Thanks Alfredo for your help in reviewing chocolate ice cream flavors that might make good milkshakes this week. I've been working my way through the list of Rick's ice creams (with chocolate in them). I justified having a milkshake for two reasons: 1.) I walked to Rick's from my house, 2.) it's Day #5 of Chocolate Beverage Theme Week 2009.

ChocolateBet: September 13, 2009

Chocolate of the Week:
1 small cup
Boomerang (Australian Vodka) & Ghirardelli Chocolate Syrup
Chocolate Martini
Very Good
Weight: ~ 2 oz.
Calories: ~ 150 calories (estimate)
Cost: ~$1.33 for this sample (1/15 of $20 sample package)
Purchased from: Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival organization

This was Day #4 of Chocolate Beverage Theme Week 2009. Today's chocolate (syrup) was shaken, in a cocktail shaker with ice and Australian vodka. (The image above is scanned from a Boomerang Australian Vodka hand-out.)

With apologies to those old Master Card ads, I'll sum up our chocolate adventures today with the following:
Tasting Package for Chocolate Festival at Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco: $20.00.
Price of gasoline to drive to San Francisco: ~$10.00.
Parking in high-traffic tourist area of San Francisco: $14.00.
Eating 20 different chocolates in one hour and getting a sugar, chocolate and tiny-martini buzz: priceless.

ChocolateBet: September 12, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1.) 1 milkshake + 2.) 1/5 milkshake
Rick's Rather Rich Ice Cream and Fudge
1.) Banana Nut milkshake (16 oz.) - Very Good
2.) Sideways milkshake (~ 3 oz.) Very Good
Calories: ~ 800 calories (estimate)
Cost: ~$16.00 for three milkshake orders (shared w/ others)
Purchased from: Rick's Rather Rich Ice Cream & Fudge

Rick's Banana Nut ice cream had a little chocolate in it; however, I wanted to be sure. So, I had part of a second milkshake made from Sideways ice cream (vanilla ice cream, chocolate chips, red wine -- so named, I'm guessing, for the 2004 movie "Sideways"). All this milkshake sipping was in honor of National Chocolate Milkshake Day. (And, on a smaller scale, this was Day #3 of Chocolate Beverage Theme Week 2009 on my blog here.)

ChocolateBet: September 11, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 milkshake
Peninsula Creamery
Milkshake (with Mocha Almond Fudge ice cream, peanut butter, and banana)
Very Good
Weight: ~ 20 oz.?
Calories: ~ 800 calories
Cost: $5.95 + .75 + .95 + tax and tip
Purchased from: Peninsula Creamery, in Palo Alto, CA

Chocolate Milkshake Day isn't until tomorrow (Sept. 12). However, the local Peninsula Creamery restaurant/diner is famous for their milkshakes. (Many years ago they even made and sold their own ice cream.) I probably mixed too many flavors together in this shake. But, it was still good, after a long walk.

As many of you know, I sometimes group related chocolate items into theme weeks on this blog. Today was Day #2 of Chocolate Beverage Theme Week 2009.

Today I Celebrate Three Years of Chocolate

Today, I celebrate my birthday, and three years of eating chocolate. On September 11, 2006, I started eating a different kind of chocolate every day. I thought I would run out of different chocolates after six or seven months. Not so. There are at least 2,000 chocolates out there today, and I should be able to eat my body weight in chocolate by mid-2012. This is a testament to all those who are creating wonderful new chocolates every day in the U.S. and elsewhere.

This weekend is a busy weekend for celebrating chocolate. Apparently, Chocolate Day is Sunday, Sept. 13, and Chocolate Milkshake Day is tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 12). I can find online references to this 'shake-related holiday going back to 1996; but I'm not sure how it actually got started. (FYI, Milton Hershey was born on Sept. 13, 1857.) I may research the intersection of Chocolate Milkshake Day with other holidays or events to help choose a flavor to mix into a chocolate milkshake. (Chocolate monkey (banana) milkshake day perhaps? -- Sept. 12, 1966, the singing group, the Monkees made their television debut. Chocolate + banana is a better fit than combining it with National Pet Memorial Day, which apparently also falls on Sept. 12. Who knew? I hope you're up there watching Big Purr. (Big Purr, my childhood cat, only liked the occasional plain cake doughnut, and not chocolate.)

Chocolate Covered, a shop in the Noe Valley area of San Francisco, carries a great selection of chocolates from around the world. I'm hoping to drive there to buy some chocolate from the middle east (made with camel's milk). And, on the same trip, I'm planning to attend a chocolate festival at Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco. After that, a long walk -- or any activity that doesn't involve sitting behind a computer and letting all those chocolate calories settle in undesirable places -- would be good.