ChocolateBet: March 6, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
3 pieces
Cadbury Roses - package of 10 different flavors
1.) Caramel Velvet (1 piece - green wrapper) Good - Good +
2.) Tangy Orange Creme (2 pieces - orange wrapper) Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1.1 oz. (30 g.) in 3 pieces/7.7 oz. (220 g.) total package
Calories: 150 calories in 3 pieces
Cost: $7.99 for total package
Purchased from: World Market/Cost Plus, in Mountain View, CA

More Cadbury Roses today. And in honor of Day #6 of Chocolate and Flower Week, I brewed some hibiscus flowers (El Bravo Te de Jamaica) into Pink Hibiscus Tea and enjoyed that with the Tangy Orange Cremes, with a few tangerine sections on the side. The hibiscus was a great addition, and added some fruit punch flavor to this nutty orange cream chocolate.

ChocolateBet: March 5, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1/3 bar + 4 saffron threads/stamens
Chocolove
Cherries and Almonds in Dark Chocolate (55% cacoa content) bar
Good +
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.)/ 3.2 oz. (90 g.) total bar (less than .25 gram for 4 saffron threads)
Calories: 149 calories for 1/3 bar (estimate)
Cost: $3.99 for total Chocolove bar
Purchased from: (lost purchase info)

Yes, it's true, I tainted this chocolate bar with flower stamens (saffron)*. I was inspired to heat these two ingredients together after I sampled another saffron-flavored chocolate awhile back (that hasn't appeared on this blog yet). Findings from this experiment: I am not an expert flavor mixer, but this combination has potential.

Chocolove bars come with love poems. This one (an excerpt from "Ask Me No More" by Thomas Carew) read, in part:
"...Ask me no more where Jove bestows,
When June is past, the fading rose; 
For in your beauty's orient deep
These flowers, as in their causes, sleep..."

Well, this week, I too have been putting flowers to sleep, with chocolate.

*Saffron, the spice, comes from crocus flowers. The orange threads are actually stamens. There are only three stamens per flower, which is one reason why saffron is so expensive.

Day #5 of Chocolate and Flower Week

ChocolateBet: March 4, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
2 scoops of ice cream, in a cup
Polly Ann Ice Cream
1.) Jasmine Tea ice cream - Very Good
2.) Bumpy Freeway ice cream - Very Good
Weight: 8 oz. (226.4 grams) (estimate)
Calories: 500 calories (estimate)
Cost: $4.25 total
Purchased from: Polly Ann Ice Cream, in San Francisco, CA

Polly Ann Ice Cream offers several exotic and interesting flavors of ice cream. And if you have trouble deciding, someone behind the counter can spin a wheel and choose a flavor for you. (Wouldn't a "wheel of indecision" be handy for other life decisions?) However, this evening I didn't need the wheel, as I knew just what I wanted. This week I've been combining chocolate with flowers in some form. It took a combination of two different flavors to make this happen. The Jasmine Tea ice cream was a very tasty and refreshing floral flavor. And the Bumpy Freeway (very similar to Rocky Road) ice cream was good was well.

I didn't see any dogs come in for their free ice cream cone while I was there; but the sign did say that that dogs needed to be accompanied by a human being to collect on this offer.

Extra bonus this evening: a free sunset over the Pacific Ocean (see image), visible from Polly Ann's.

ChocolateBet: March 3, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1 hot milkshake
Rose, Kulfi and Chocolate Hot Milkshake
Very Good
Weight: 11 oz. (311 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 500 calories (estimate)
Cost: $4.32
Purchased from: Rick's Rather Rich Ice Cream, in Palo Alto, CA

It was probably a cold, dismal, rainy day (like today) when someone at Rick's created a hot milkshake, by putting a freshly made milkshake into a microwave oven. And guess what, this idea works. Apparently some flavors (such as chocolate and cinnamon; or lemon and ginger were suggested) yield better results than others. I thought the Rose/Kulfi/Chocolate shake was pretty tasty.

Before going to Rick's, I consulted one of my inspiration sources for chocolate mixology -- holidayinsights.com -- and found that today was Happy Peach Blossom Day -- a good fit with the chocolate + flower theme for this week. However, I was unable to find a peach blossom item in time; so I went with a rose once again, in the form of this milkshake. The rose hot shake made more sense than trying to do something with "If Pets Had Thumbs Day," also celebrated on March 3. On the other hand, if our cat (Dizzy) had thumbs, not only would she be opening my bedroom door for an early wake-up call every morning, but she would also be trying to open the microwave oven door to sample hot milkshakes.

ChocolateBet: March 2, 2010

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

1.) Cadbury Roses - Strawberry Dream
Good - Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) (estimate)/7.7 oz. (220 g.) total package
Calories: 75 calories (estimate) for 1 piece
Cost: $7.99 for total package (10 different kinds of chocolates)
Purchased from: Cost Plus/World Market, in Mountain View, CA

2.) Mariebelle Chocolate Rose Tea
Good+
Weight: .25 oz. (7 g.)/2 oz. (56 g.) total container
Calories: 80 calories for 1 serving with milk
Cost: $12.00 for total container
Purchased from: Mariebelle shop, in New York City, New York

Continuing on the floral theme from yesterday, I found myself sipping chocolate and rose tea (with milk) and eating Cadbury Rose chocolates today. It felt very proper and British for a moment, until I almost spilled everything while trying to take a picture of these items.

ChocolateBet: March 1, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1.5 oz. (of larger bar)
Rococo Chocolates
Orange and Geranium dark bar
Very Good + - Yum
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42 g.)/2.47 oz. (70 g.) total bar (estimates)
Calories: 203 calories (estimate) in 1.5 oz.
Cost: $
Purchased from: The Candy Store, in San Francisco, CA

Happy March to all. The Indian Holi celebration of the colors of Spring has been going on this past week. Seeing all the revelers decorated with patches of powdered bright colors, inspired me to seek out some chocolate mixed with flowers this week. I love floral smells and tastes in most food items. So, I was very happy with this Rococo bar. If you're not so inclined, you still may enjoy it. There are small pieces of orange confit embedded in this smooth, dark chocolate bar. The label for these organic bars uses artwork/images from old chocolate mold catalogs.

Last, but not least, thank you to The Candy Store in San Francisco for introducing me to this Rococo bar. As mentioned in a previous post, they specialize in candy, but have a nice selection of chocolates as well in their small shop (pictured).

ChocolateBet: February 28, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
5 pieces
Recchiuti Confections
Key Lime Apples
Very Good +
Weight: 1.66 oz. (47 g.)/4 oz. (113 g.) in total box of 12 pieces
Calories: 198 calories for 5 pieces (estimate)
Cost: $23 total for box of 12 pieces
Purchased from: Recchiuti store, in Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA

These ultra thin, crispy slices of Granny Smith apples were covered in bittersweet chocolate. The texture and flavor mix was just right.

And, if you're in the San Francisco area and you enter the Ferry Building, I dare you to go in there and buy just one item -- of anything. Hang on to your wallet; it's a foodie paradise.