ChocolateBet: January 7, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
6 pieces
Heilemann Confiserie
Katzenzungen Zartbitter
Very Good
Weight: .95 oz. (27 g.)/ 2.65 oz. (75 g.) in total package
Calories: 138 calories (estimate)
Cost: $?
Purchased from: Miette Bakery, Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA

Who could resist kittens? How about kitten tongues? These dark chocolates were, in fact, quite good. I am afraid to ask what might come after chocolate cats tongues. Chocolate pig ears? Chocolate turkey beaks? Chocolate dog tails anyone? Something tells me that at least one of these might already exist somewhere in the world. And if I continue on my search for different chocolates, I will find one of these other items in the future. Until then, I recommend these katzenzungen. So, if someone asks you "Has the cat got your tongue?" you'll have an opportunity to give them an interesting reply.

Day #1 of chocolate animal theme week.

ChocolateBet: January 6, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
3 pieces
Cadbury
Snow Bites
Good +
Weight: .35 oz. (10 g.)/3.5 oz. (100 g.) total package
Calories: 50 calories in 3 pieces
Cost: N/A - gift - Thank you to Megan
Purchased from: N/A - gift

Continuing this month's winter theme, today's edibles could have been found in a candy snowdrift (perhaps in Minnesota). Cadbury's Snow Bites (chocolate balls "in a crispy white dusted shell") were combined with (black licorice) snowman "buttons." I'd wanted to combine chocolate with licorice for awhile. These licorice buttons were made with soy instead of wheat (which I can't eat); so I jumped at the chance to buy these last month.

Hats off to those shoveling cars out of real snow drifts somewhere east of here, and best wishes to Cadbury in the U.K. The company continues to make news this month as the subject of a bidding war/takeover battle -- with Kraft, Ferrera, and Hershey as suitors.

ChocolateBet: January 5, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
3/4 bar
Klondike
Ice Cream Bar Made with Heath English Toffee
Good +
Weight: 3 fl. oz. (88.5 mL, 55.5 g.) for 3/4 bar/ (total package of six 4-fl oz. bars)
Calories: 173 calories in 3/4 bar
Cost: $3.99 (estimate) for package of 6 bars
Purchased from: Safeway, in Palo Alto, CA

I like chocolate, ice cream, and Heath bars....However, I wasn't quite in the mood for an ice cream bar for breakfast, in January. It's a "hardship" I endured as part of this silly chocolate bet I made more than three years ago. And then I bundled up to go out into the California winter. I won't be running into any polar bears (see Klondike logo) where I'm hiking today, but I look almost as ridiculous as one with all the layers I'm wearing. I'm more likely to see palm trees than snow and ice.

ChocolateBet: Janury 4, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving
Blue Frog Chocolates
Monday's Fare - NOLA Red Beans & Rice
Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.)/ 6 oz. (170 g.) (estim.) in total package
Calories: 145 calories (estimate)
Cost: $6.00 (plus any shipping, handling)
Purchased from: Blue Frog Chocolates, in New Orleans, LA

Lunch today started with a healthy portion of these chocolate legumes (Milkies - "lentils") and rice (chocolate-covered sunflower seeds). According to Wikipedia, eating red beans and rice on Mondays "is an old custom from the time when ham was a Sunday meal and Monday was washday. A pot of beans" (maybe with a little leftover ham from the previous day) "could sit on the stove and simmer while the women were busy scrubbing clothes." 

ChocolateBet: January 3, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1 bar
Eclipse Chocolat
Orange Peel Anise (bar)
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: 3 oz. (84 g.) in total bar
Calories: 450 calories (estimate)
Cost: $5.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bi-Rite Market, in San Francisco, CA

This orange peel infused dark chocolate (61% cacao) bar was "spiced with star anise."
Yes, 3 ounces of chocolate is a lot. My justification: this bar helped fortify my walk across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco today.

ChocolateBet: January 2, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1 cup
TCHO
Hot Chocolate
Very Good +
Weight: 10-oz. cup
Calories: ~ 250 calories (guesstimate)
Cost: $3.50 for 1 cup
Purchased from: TCHO, Pier 17, in San Francisco, CA

Time to rejoice. TCHO makes a hot chocolate with high-quality chocolate, that is not overly sweet. It's worth making a trip to the source, TCHO's shop on the waterfront. There were no TCHO tours, but some of their chocolates were available for tasting. The chocolate sign along the Embarcadero helped point the way. I stopped at here today as part of my walk-around-San Francisco-Bay I'm doing. (See also http://walkingthebay.blogspot.com.) Walking is a great way to discover new places and get some exercise. That, and I can justify eating a few more chocolates.

ChocolateBet: January 1, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:

1/8 bar
Patisserie Chocolaterie Pralus s.a.s.
Le 100% Criollo
Very Good
Weight: .437 oz. (12.5 g.)/3.5 oz. (100 g.) total bar
Calories: 63 calories (estimate)
Cost: $8.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bi-Rite Market, in San Francisco, CA

Why not start 2010 with a full commitment to cacao? This 100% cacao bar, known simply and factually as "Le 100%," does not waste space on any added sugar or other sweeteners, milk products or fancy flavorings or fillers. Here you simply get to taste what Criollo cacao beans are all about. A little bit of olive and earth, and a slightly acidic taste. Or, as my sister said about a preview taste during Christmas dinner last week: "It tastes like dirt." Yes, but in a good way.