ChocolateBet: Sept. 4, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

3/5 bar
Mink Chocolates
The Girls' Favourite (bar)
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.056 oz. (30 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) total bar
Calories: 180 calories
Cost: $7.00
Purchased from: Mink Chocolates, in Vancouver, B.C., Canada

From my Mink Chocolates vault comes: "The Girls' Favourite" -- a great, original name for a chocolate bar. What is it exactly? A milk chocolate (38% cacao) bar that contains French Hazelnut and Almond Praline filling inside each segment.

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Almonds Theme Week, and Day #2 of Chocolate and Hazelnut Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: September 3, 2011

 
Chocolate of the Day:

1/2 bar
Quaranta Sofficione
Nougat Passion - Dark Chocolate Soft Nougat
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) total bar/package
Calories: 236 calories
Cost: $3.59
Purchased from: Crossroads Market, in Palo Alto, CA

The Italians do wonderful things with chocolate, almonds and hazelnuts. Today's Nougat Passion from Quaranta Sofficione (made in Caravaggio, Italy) contained a soft, sugar-sweet nougat embedded with chopped almonds and hazelnuts, and topped with a layer of small, dark chocolate pieces. The nougat was a bit sweet for me, but the chopped nuts and the chocolate pieces were heavenly.

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Almonds Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Hazelnut Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: September 2, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Mink Chocolates
A.B. & J. Bar
Very Good
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) total bar
Calories: 250 calories
Cost: $7.00
Purchased from: Mink Chocolates, Vancouver, B.C., Canada

This Almond Butter and Organic Grape Jelly (A.B. and J.) milk chocolate (38% cacao) bar from Mink Chocolates (Vancouver, B.C.) took me directly back to my elementary school lunchroom -- where I was eating a nut butter and jam sandwich that had been carefully wrapped and tucked into my lunch, by my mom. Such is the power of food to transport.

Each rectangular section of this bar was filled with layers of almond butter and grape jelly.

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Almonds Theme Week.

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Coracao Confections
Rawmond Butter Bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 2.5 oz. (71 g.) total bar
Calories: 360 calories (estimate)
Cost: $11.99 (estimate)
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Almonds Theme Week; and instead of a bar embedded with almonds or almond pieces, I had this dairy and gluten free Rawmond Butter Bar from Coracao Confections. This "81% raw cacao" dark chocolate "Mama" Size bar was filled with almond butter.

ChocolateBet: August 31, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

1/4 bar
Kim's Chocolates
Cachet - Orange and Almonds (bar)
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .875 oz. (25 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) total bar
Calories: 126 calories
Cost: $2.99 total bar
Purchased from: Crossroads Market, in Palo Alto, CA

What do you eat when you're too tired to cook dinner?  This evening's meal included part of a dark chocolate (57% cocoa solids) "Cachet" bar (made in Belgium by Kim's Chocolates) with orange and almonds.

The dark, smooth chocolate base was flecked with bits of almonds and candied orange zest -- although I'm not sure I would have recognized the latter bits as "orange" unless I'd read this on the label. I did detect a bit of a malt/grain flavor -- which is common with candied orange peel in chocolate.

I've experimented in the past with making/baking items with chocolate and citrus fruits, and I was surprised to find that citrus flavors dissipate more rapidly than I expected. I found including multiple sources of citrus flavor worked best to maintain some flavor: juice, rind, lemon or orange curd, liqueur, etc. In this case, the flavor dissipation culprit could also have been age. However, this bar was a bargain at $2.99, and was in excellent shape for being a few months old (and having been carted around in a bag for a few days).

Today was Day #8 of Chocolate and Orange Theme Week, and Day #2 of Chocolate and Almonds Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: August 30, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:


1 cup
Laughing Giraffe Organics
Cranberry Orange Granola
Good +
Weight: 1 cup (100 g.)/ 6 oz. (169 g.) total package
Calories: 520 calories (yikes)
Cost: $11.59 total package
Purchased from: Country Sun, in Palo Alto, CA

What does a giraffe know about cacao? Quite a bit it turns out.

Today's dose of chocolate came from a small bowl of Cranberry Orange Granola with Cacao, Cinnamon and Raisins from Laughing Giraffe (Benicia, CA).

I added a little almond "milk" and I was ready to enjoy some chocolate breakfast cereal -- although this was a far cry from most sugary crisps and flakes.

Grain free, raw, vegan and gluten free, this Organic* granola was lightly sweetened with agave (and dried cranberries and a barely detectable hint of orange); and it was studded with pumpkin seeds, walnuts, pecans and almonds. This was a hefty, satisfying cereal; and at 520 calories per cup, it was dense indeed. (*All ingredients in this USDA Certified granola were Organic, except possibly the Himalayan Pink Salt.)

Packaging for the company's granolas and "snakaroons" were adorned with a slender silhouette of a dark-chocolate-colored giraffe.  And if this giraffe could talk, it might recite the company's tagline: Eat Well. Be Well. Live Better.

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Orange Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Almonds Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: August 29, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

2 small pieces
Mink Chocolates Inc.
Peelers
Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) 4.5 oz. (128 g.) total package
Calories: 65 calories
Cost: $13.25
Purchased from: Mink Chocolates, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Orange Theme Week. Technically these dark chocolate coated, lovely long citrus peels were from oranges, lemons and grapefruits, but that was fine by me.  Dark chocolate combined with lemon can be heavenly if bitter flavors are balanced properly. (Think lemon curd in a small dark chocolate "cup", or espresso with a lemon peel.)

However, in this case, the the peels seemed a bit too bitter, at least for a breakfast chocolate this morning. These are labor-intensive chocolates, and chocolate is expensive. So, be prepared to spend some money for this type of chocolate and dried fruit treat as well. Ounce for ounce, they are about the same price as a very large high-end chocolate bar ($13.25). These might make an elegant garnish for an elaborate cake or dessert.