ChocolateBet: March 10, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Tropical Chocolate Company
Meyer Lemon Basil
Good+ - Very Good
Weight: .4 oz. (11.3 g.)
Calories: 58 calories
Cost: N/A - gift
Purchased from: N/A - gift (thank you Alec, Ardis)

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week.  So, you may be wondering about today's Meyer Lemon Basil chocolate choice. Here's where "Actually Man"* jumps in...

Actually, Basil is a member of the very large mint family. (Also part of the mint family: sage, marjoram, oregano, and many other plants that might also be considered cooking herbs.)

Regardless of basil's place in mint botanical correctness, I really liked this chocolate made from Meyer lemon(s) from Arroyo Grande, Organic basil from Paso Robles, and dark chocolate (65%) ganache. The Meyer Lemon and basil flavors were both distinct and nicely balanced. My only crime here: I waited too long to eat this. I'm sure this chocolate would have been even better fresh off the tray. I look forward to the next time I'm in San Luis Obispo (Central Coast area of California); I will drop by Tropical Chocolate's shop to re-sample this chocolate and others.

*Actually Man is a little character we made up at a family dinner recently. Sometimes we're so stuffed with knowledge on a given topic, we just have to share. All of us have the potential to transform into Actually Man (or Woman). I imagine this character being about two-feet tall, having a little asterisk on it's blue and yellow superhero costume, and maybe wearing glasses.

ChocolateBet: March 9, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1 Tall beverage
Starbucks
Iced Peppermint Mocha
Very Good
Weight: 12 oz.
Calories: 200 calories
Cost: $3.65
Purchased from: Starbucks, in Hercules, CA

Starbucks offers a wide variety of flavored beverages that incorporate mocha or chocolate in some form. Today, after a walk, I stopped at a Starbucks in Hercules, CA, for an Iced Peppermint Mocha -- which was refreshing and chocolatey-rich tasting. I liked the fact that the ice helped tone down the sweetness, and that the woman who served up this mocha offered to adjust the peppermint level, and fat level and type of milk. In the end, I stuck with the default options. Sometimes having these little choices gives me an odd sense of comfort. I'll admit it; I may not be able to control what's going on around me much of the time, but I can choose 1% or 2% fat milk in my iced beverage.

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: March 8, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1 truffle
Sacred Chocolate
"Arctic Chi" truffle
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 71 calories (estimate)
Cost: $ (part of a 9-piece truffle assortment)
Purchased from: Sacred Chocolate, via Chocolate.com

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week. This raw, vegan Arctic Chi truffle from Sacred Chocolate received its mint flavor from oils of peppermint, spearmint and wintergreen; and I believe the top was dusted with tiny cocoa butter shavings.

ChocolateBet: March 7, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

1 cookie
The Inspired Cookie
Peppermint Chocolate Chunk Cookie
Very Good
Weight: 2.2 oz. (62 g.)
Calories: 260 calories
Cost: $2.99
Purchased from: Draegers, in San Mateo, CA

This gluten-free (dairy-free, nut-free and vegan) "clarity" cookie from The Inspired Cookie was studded with refreshing, peppermint flavored chocolate pieces. Can I say I enjoyed brushing my teeth with a cookie? (The peppermint toothpaste analogy is meant as a compliment.) The overall cookie texture and taste were quite good.

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Gluten-Free Cookie Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week. 

ChocolateBet: March 6, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
2 cookies
Lemon Poppy Seed Chocolate Chip Cookies (gluten free, homemade)
Very Good
Calories: 300 calories (estimate) in 2 cookies

1.) General Mills - Betty Crocker Yellow Gluten-Free Cake Mix
Very Good
Weight: 15 oz. (425 g.) total package
Cost: $4.79 total box of Cake Mix
Purchased from: Draeger's in San Mateo, CA

2.) Safeway - Real Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Very Good
Weight: 12 oz. (340 g.) total package
Cost: $2.99 in total package (sale price)
Purchased from: Safeway The Market, in downtown San Jose, CA

Today (Sunday, and also Day #6 of Chocolate and Gluten Free Cookie Theme Week), I improvised a recipe for some gluten-free Lemon/Limoncello Poppy Seed Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I started with General Mills Betty Crocker Yellow Gluten Free Cake Mix. Instead of eggs*, I added lemon curd, Limoncello, poppy seeds, Safeway semi-sweet chocolate chips, and lemon infused olive oil. After experimenting with four different batches, I found a thin, crisp, browned version that worked. Not too dark, and not too light. (I'm no fool; I'm not showing you the quasi-burned ones.) It was hard to take a close-up shot of a fresh, hot cookie on a spatula without fogging up the camera lens; my best cookie cam shot is pictured at right.

I like lemon mixed with dark chocolate. So, I added three lemon-y ingredients to these cookies. However, much of the lemon flavor dissipated in the cooking process. I'll try adding finely ground lemon peel next time.

*General Mills also makes a Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie mix. No egg improv necessary.

ChocolateBet: March 5, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
several cookie sandwiches made with...
Cherrybrook Kitchen
Chocolate Frosting Mix
Very Good
Weight: 4 oz. (guess) cookies /10.5 oz. (298 g.) total box of dry mix
Calories: no idea (400 maybe?)
Cost: $5.00 (estimate)
Purchased from: Safeway (The Market), downtown San Jose, CA

Today's new chocolate came in the form of a chocolate frosting mix. I added lots of butter to this gluten-free (and peanut free, dairy free, egg-free and nut free) mix, and voila! chocolate filling for cookie sandwiches.

Several minutes later, I looked down at the thundering herd of chocolate filled Midel gluten free animal cookie sandwiches that I had made; and it was good. I decided to eat one of each animal. Lion, bear, goat, buffalo, elephant, camel, fox, hippo. One by one, they were culled from the herd.

There was plenty of frosting left over from this evening's animal cookie assemblage, plenty to enjoy with other cookie items. Do chocolate rice cake sandwiches with chocolate filling count as cookies?

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Gluten-Free Cookie Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: March 4, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

3 cookies
Andean Dream, LLC
Quinoa Cookies - Chocolate Chip
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: 1.59 oz. (45 g.) / 7 oz. (198 g.) total package of cookies
Calories: 210 calories in 3 cookies
Cost: $ (lost info)
Purchased from: (lost info)

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Gluten-free Cookie Theme Week. I loved these relatively small, individually-wrapped Quinoa Cookies. Nice packaging for snacks on the go. These gluten-free, vegan cookies weren't overly sweet, and they were pleasantly crunchy and healthy-tasting.