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.

ChocolateBet: September 10, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

1 cup
O (Organics)
Reduced Fat Chocolate Milk
Very Good
Weight: 1 cup (240 mL)/1/2 gallon (1.89 L)
Calories: 170 calories in 1 cup
Cost: $?
Purchased from: Safeway

A chilled glass of this chocolate milk was very refreshing after a long walk on a warm day. Reducing the fat a few percentage points seemed like a good idea. It was like drinking a low-fat liquid chocolate milkshake. I considered this a practice run for National Chocolate Milkshake Day (really), which is the day after tomorrow (Sept. 12, '09).

Given the focus on shakes this week, I felt it was appropriate to launch Day #1 of Chocolate Beverage Theme Week for 2009.

ChocolateBet: September 9, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

1/3 bar
Gnosis Chocolate
Cool Peppermint bar
Good +
Weight: .66 oz. (18.66 g.)/2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: 99 calories (estimate)
Cost: $?
Purchased from: Gnosis Chocolate, New York City, NY

Smell is such an important part of taste. This morning, before I tried this raw, organic chocolate "Cool Peppermint" bar from Gnosis (NYC, NY), I enjoyed sticking my nose into a bunch of fresh cut lavender from my front yard. I like strong herbs like fresh peppermint and lavender that can stand up to dark chocolate.

On a related note, I am planning to unearth some recipes for home spa treatments that involve chocolate in some way. These may be featured in a(nother) chocolate theme week soon.

ChocolateBet: September 8, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Gnosis Chocolate
Slow Food Fast Children bar
("Special Cause Bar" to help school nutrition programs)
Very Good
Weight: 2 oz. (56 grams)
Calories: 300 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $?
Purchased from: Gnosis Chocolate, New York City, NY

Yesterday I watched Morgan Spurlock's 2004 documentary, Super Size Me, in which he ate nothing but fast food from McDonald's restaurants in New York City (and other U.S. cities) for one month. The decline in his own health helped to underscore the points he was making. Among them, don't eat fast food too often, and adults and children in the U.S. are not eating well, and not getting enough exercise.

Today's raw, vegan, and gluten-, dairy-, and soy-free chocolate bar was designed to help address one of these issues, with 35% of the proceeds going to "schools across the country who are implementing child nutrition programs," according to the label.

The title of today's (raw) chocolate bar was the inverse of fast food and slow children. The Slow Food Fast Children bar was handmade (in New York City), vegan, and free of gluten, dairy, soy and refined sugar. I've noticed that I can eat a whole 2-oz. Gnosis bar and still feel pretty good. There are other chocolates where I wouldn't even attempt to eat this much. OK, I'm sold on healthier/raw chocolates, based on trying several different bars over time.