Palmer - "Bee Mine" - Milk Chocolate bee - Mar. 29, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

R.M. Palmer Company
"Bee Mine" Milk Chocolate
OK+
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total package
Calories: 170 calories for 1/3 package
Cost: $2.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Walgreens, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to the last day of a short, 4-day Spring Celebration Series, featuring different chocolate critters.

Today's "Bee Mine" hollow milk chocolate item was distributed by R.M. Palmer Company (Reading, PA). Originally created for Valentines Day, this holiday novelty item had been squirreled away in my chocolate vault just for such an occasion.

Loved the concept of having little honey-flavored bees inside a bigger chocolate bee. Very clever design. OK chocolate.

I hope that the abundance of rain, green grass and wildflowers we're receiving in California this year will be good for our (real, non-chocolate) honeybees, which seem to be having a rough go of it.

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Palmer - "You Mooove Me" (Cow) - Mar. 28, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Distributed by R.M. Palmer Company
You Mooove Me - Milk Chocolate Cow
OK+
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33 g.) / 3.5 oz. (99 g.) in total package
Calories: 170 calories for 1/3 cow
Cost: $2.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Walgreens, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to a spring celebration of chocolate animals this week.

The last few days featured chocolate Easter bunnies, in part inspired by real rabbits seen enjoying green grass* in the area. And, today, I'm moving on to other chocolate critters.

Today's "You Mooove Me" Hollow Milk Chocolate cow was distributed** by R.M. Palmer Company (Reading, PA). This item came from the chocolate vault, where chocolate animals from holidays past were hiding.


This well-rounded, slightly goofy-looking, foil-wrapped cow was not one you'd typically see in a pasture. And the chocolate is not super top quality. But the design was great. The cow was a traditional milk chocolate novelty candy item that included dextrose candy, and both natural and artificial chocolate flavors.

But wait, there's more. Inside this hollow milk chocolate cow, there was a whole herd of tiny "Chocolate Milk Flavored Candy Cows" that had a faint, hot cocoa confection flavor.

*I was inspired by the beautiful green grass we've been experiencing following actual rain...something we haven't seen for 4-5 years, due to a serious drought. And I get a kick out of chocsimiles (chocolate facsimiles) of animals and other nouns.

**"Dextrose candy made in Malaysia" -- I'm guessing this refers to the tiny candy cows in the middle.

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Ghirardelli Chocolate - Milk Chocolate Bunny - Mar. 27, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ghirardelli Chocolate Company
Milk Chocolate Bunny
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in 1 bunny
Calories: 152 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. (28.3 g.) of bunny
Cost: $3.50 for 1 bunny
Purchased from: Safeway, Palo Alto, CA

Happy Easter to all who celebrate this Spring (and big chocolate) holiday.

Today I'm featuring Ghirardelli Chocolate Company's blue-ribbon-wearing, milk chocolate bunny named Noe—who was holding what appeared to be a gold Easter egg.

Poor Noe. I've always felt a little guilty biting into any chocolate animal, especially when it has a cute little smile.

To compound my crime, I ate some small, individually-wrapped caramel versions of Noe yesterday (pictured at right). And today we conducted a science experiment by leaving one bun in the sun to see if it would melt into fondue. (It did.)

This classic, hollow milk chocolate rabbit was shared with family and friends.

Thanks to Megan and Jeff for the mini milk chocolate versions of this bunny.

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Ghirardelli - Milk Chocolate Caramel Bunny - Mar. 26, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ghirardelli Chocolate
Milk Chocolate Caramel Bunny
Good
Weight: 2 pieces (20 g.) / 4.14 oz. (117.6 g.) in total package/bag
Calories: 80 calories in 2 pieces
Cost: $4.99 (estimate) for 1 package
Purchased from: Safeway, Palo Alto, CA

Happy Spring to all. And Happy Easter Weekend to those who celebrate this holiday.

Rain has brought green back to the San Francisco Bay Area. Green grassy hills as far as one can see (over all the buildings that is). Cows and horses are grazing on the green grass in pastures, and bees are buzzing around flowers in bloom.

Spring is a great time to celebrate life and being outdoors. And, as always, here at Chocolate Banquet, we celebrate with chocolate.

First, let's start with the quintessential Easter bunny. Recently, my mother spotted a rare bunny on her lawn. The mystery bunny returned several times and was finally captured on my brother's cell phone.

Rabbits are often considered yard pests in more rural settings. However, we live in such a developed area, it's highly unusual to have a visit from a real Easter bunny. (Easter squirrels maybe, but not bunnies.)

Today's Milk Chocolate Caramel Bunny is for you mom. The individually wrapped, Milk Chocolate Caramel Bunnies (package of 12) were from Ghirardelli Chocolate (San Leandro, CA).

Each diminutive Ghirardelli milk chocolate bunny (named Noe*) was filled with a soft caramel filling.

Tomorrow I'll be featuring Noe's bigger, 100% chocolate (caramel-less) sibling.

*Noe the bunny also has a back-story. See Ghirardelli website for more. 

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Nada Moo! - Lotta Mint Chip Frozen Dessert - Mar. 25, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Nada Moo (aka Nada Moo!)
Lotta Mint Chip Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert
Good - Good +
Weight: 1/4 cup (37.5 g.) / 1 Pint (473 mL) in total container
Calories: 70 calories in 1/4 cup serving
Cost: $1.99 (estimate) for 1 container
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

Today's Lotta Mint Chip non-dairy frozen dessert was from Nada Moo (Austin, TX). The company's name roughly translates into nothing from a cow.

This organic, creamy, minty rendition of an ice cream classic was made with coconut milk. And the results were quite good. Cold flecks of chocolate balanced the creaminess with a slightly sharper, darker, and chewier accent flavor.

The contribution of coconut milk also contributed to this dessert's rich mouth feel and taste, making up for any lack of butter fat. At only 140 calories per 1/2 cup single serving, the coconut milk helped this frozen dessert taste a lot richer than I expected.

If you want to amp up the chocolate, I found it was good with homemade chocolate mint sauce too.

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Hawaiian Host - Tropical Fruit Bites - Coconut - Mar. 24, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Hawaiian Host, Inc.
Tropical Fruit Bites - Milk Chocolate Covered Coconut
Good+
Weight: 1/4 cup or 1.48 oz. (42 g.) / 6 oz. (170 g.) for total package
Calories: 190 calories in 1 serving, approx. 1/4 package
Cost: $2.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

Hawaiian Host, Inc. (Honolulu, HI) was started by candy maker, Mamoru Takitani. His chocolate-covered macadamia nuts were a hit in Hawaii (Maui); and eventually the family moved their business to Oahu, where the company is based today.

Today's "Creamy Milk Chocolate Covered Coconut" offering was part of the company's line of Tropical Fruit Bites.* These sweet orbs had a genuine coconut flavor and texture. Good choice if you like coconut and you're in the mood for milk chocolate.

*Tropical Fruit Bites are also available in pineapple and banana flavors.

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Lonohana - Coconut Milk 65% Dark bar - Mar. 23, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Lonohana Estate Chocolate
Coconut Milk 65% Dark bar
Good++
Weight: .766 oz. (21.6 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 120 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $12.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Aloha, and welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

Lonohana Estate Chocolate is based in Hawai'i (Oahu), where chocolate maker Seneca Klassen produces unique batches of limited edition bars from Hawaiian-grown ingredients, like those found in today's Coconut Milk 65% Dark chocolate bar.

Today's Coconut Milk small batch bar was created from 100% Hawaiian cacao (Big Island Cacao, from the Hawaiian Crown farm in Hilo, HI); Maui cane sugar; roasted coconut; and organic cocoa butter.

The bar had a rich chocolate and coconut aroma. Added cocoa butter and the presence of coconut oil/fat gave this bar a creamy mouth feel and melt. And what a difference fresh, authentic coconut made. A lilting fresh three-dimensional coconut flavor unfolded with each bite.

This Batch #1 August 2015 bar was unique and won't be repeated. Although you can visit the Lonohana website for news of other upcoming bars. (Most bars are available to members of the company's club, that is similar to a CSA.*) The Chocolate Garage (Palo Alto, CA), where I purchased this bar, carries a small number of Lonohana bars.

Hats off to Seneca Klassen, who is a "vertically integrated" chocolate maker—growing cacao and making chocolate himself (from tree-to-bar).

However, having control of more of the process doesn't always equate with certainty or ease of success. Klassen also sources ingredients from other farms, and has to work with the ups and downs of seasonal weather and the business cycles of others.

For example, in early 2016, Alexander and Baldwin Inc.'s Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Co. announced they were winding down operations, marking the end of the last sugar plantation in the state of Hawaii. Having met Seneca Klassen, he's probably already working with other quality suppliers, but this kind of local news has to be a little disappointing.

*CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, a model that allows customers to buy produce/locally grown products directly from farmers.

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.