ChocolateBet: April 26, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1.5 oz. serving
Coco Delice Fine Chocolates
Caramelized Chocolate Hazelnuts
Very Good +
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42 g.)/ 6 oz. (169 g.) in total package/bag
Calories: 217 calories (estimate)
Cost: $(no receipt)
Purchased from: Coco Delice at Chocolate Salon event in San Francisco, CA, last month

Whole hazelnuts (lightly toasted, if I'm not mistaken), a thin layer of dark chocolate, and cocoa powder. I found myself so happy to bite into a chocolate and taste something other than sugar. These well-executed caramelized chocolate hazelnuts from Coco Delice had just the right amount of sweetness for my taste.

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

ChocolateBet: April 25, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Vosges
Balsamico
Very Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 72 calories in 1 piece
Cost: $
Purchased from: Vosges, Forum Shops in Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, CA

This Vosges chocolate truffle, made with 12-year old balsamic vinegar, was topped with hazelnut pieces. The hazelnut topping qualified it for Day #2 of Chocolate and Hazelnut Theme Week.

I didn't have quite enough pieces for a Chocolate and Oil and Vinegar Theme Week....Perhaps in the future. (Note: Vosges does make a truffle with olive oil, as part of their Italian Collection.)

ChocolateBet: April 24, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece/cup
Ococoa
Hazelnut Chocolate (cup)
Good +
Weight: .31 oz. (8.75 g.) in 1/2 cup /.62 oz. (17.5 g.) in one piece/cup (estimates)
Calories: 44 calories in 1/2 cup (estimate)
Cost: $ N/A

Purchased from: N/A

This deep chocolate cup, filled with hazelnut butter and chocolate ganache, was one of the last Ococoa chocolate cups, in a 9-piece box, from the Chocolate Salon that was held in San Francisco last month. I enjoyed a bite of this today with fresh strawberries as a send-off to (Day #7) of Chocolate and Seed/Nut Butter and Fruit Theme Week, and also the beginning (Day #1) of Chocolate and Hazelnut Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: April 23, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
2 servings
Safeway Select
Classic Trail Mix with Peanut Butter Chips with Sea Salt
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 2 oz. (56 g.) / 13 oz. (386 g.) in total container
Calories: 280 calories in 2 servings (6 Tablespoons)
Cost: $4.99
Purchased from: Safeway, in Palo Alto, CA

Many centuries ago, we made our own trail mix to take with us on camping trips. One evening, when spending the night in a shelter on the Appalachian trail, with a few other individuals, I had a tiny mouse run across my face while prone in my sleeping bag. I'm sure he or she was looking for -- trail mix. What on earth does this have to do with chocolate you ask? Well, today, I'm going hiking on the San Francisco Bay Trail, and I'm bringing a modern version of trail mix with me -- with "candy coated chocolate pieces" and, wait for it, Sea Salt as well. Oh, in addition to the more traditional elements: almonds, peanuts and raisins, it also has peanut butter chips in it -- qualifying this mix for Day #6 of Chocolate and Seed/Nut Butter and Fruit Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: April 22, 2010

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

To celebrate Earth Day today (April 22), I created a special Chocolate Banquet brunch menu, with 8 chocolates, to honor the eight planets (used to be nine, sorry Pluto).

Seven of these chocolates forming this imaginary chocolate solar system were from Vosges, based in Chicago, Illinois. Vosges not only has a global feel to the company and chocolates, but also has adopted earth-friendly practices, such as using recycled materials, and donating to good causes in this vein. Fortunately, I happened to be in Las Vegas last week, where there is a Vosges satellite shop in the Western U.S.

Deluxe Chocolate Brunch "Menu"

The first course on today's brunch menu is bacon and eggs - a la Vosges...

1.) Vosges - Bacon and Eggs - 1 egg
(A dark chocolate egg with caramel and bacon inside)
Very Good

After this first course, and some fresh orange slices and mint tea,  I tried most of the chocolates in a 9-piece box I had picked up at Vosges. (This box, with the addition of the earth chocolate in the center that was not from Vosges, is pictured at right.)

2.) Vosges - Buddha's Leaf - 1 truffle (top row, center)
(Dark chocolate truffle flavored with Malaysian Pandan leaf - from Vosges Green Collection)
Very Good + - Yum

3.) Vosges - Ambrosia - 1 truffle (bottom row, center)
(Cointreau, white chocolate, macadamia nut pieces)
Very Good

4.) Vosges - Black Pearl  - 1 truffle (not pictured)
(Black sesame seeds, ginger, wasabi)
Very Good - Very Good +

5.) Vosges - Naga - 1 truffle (bottom row, right)
(Milk chocolate truffle with sweet Indian curry powder)
Very Good

6.) Vosges - Woolloomooloo - 1 truffle (bottom row, left)
(Milk chocolate, macadamia nuts, coconut)
Good + - Very Good

7.) Vosges - Rose - 1 truffle (top row, right)
(Dark chocolate, topped with a rose petal)
Very Good - Very Good +

8.) (Vendor unknown) - 1 piece (pictured above, right, beginning of today's post)
A foil-wrapped chocsimile of planet Earth (from Country Sun Natural Foods)
Good +

For those interested, below is more information on today's Earth Day Chocolate Brunch Banquet.
Total Weight (chocolates only): 4.1 oz. (121 g.)
Total Calories: 750 calories in total brunch (chocolates, fresh fruit, dab of peanut butter, tea)
Total Cost: $35.00 (thank you very much to Vosges, for the additional free samples to try)
Purchases from: Vosges, Forum Shops in Caesar's Palace, in Las Vegas, NV; and Country Sun Natural Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

Today was also Day #5 of Chocolate and Seed/Nut Butter and Fruit Theme Week, and I believe I've included chocolate combined with seeds, nuts, nut butter, and fruit in today's brunch.

ChocolateBet: April 21, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1 cup/piece
Ococoa
Cashew Apricot (cup)
Very Good
Weight: .62 oz. (17.5 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 89 calories (estimate)
Cost: N/A
Purchased from: N/A

This chocolate cup filled with cashew butter and apricot was one of my favorite Ococoa creations I've tried to date; and it was today's choice for Day #4 of Chocolate and Seed/Nut Butter and Fruit Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: April 20, 2010

Chocolate(s) of the Day:


1.) ProBar LLC
Koka Moka (bar) - 5/6 of 1 bar
Good +
Weight: 2.5 oz. (71 g.)/ 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 300 calories in 5/6 bar
Cost: $3.59
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

This ProBar was a great fit for Day #3 of Seed/Nut Butter and Fruit Theme Week (as well as Earth Day Week). In addition to a nut butter (organic peanut butter), the Koka Moka bar was chock full of other nuts (raw cashews, almonds and brazil nuts); seeds (organic raw sunflower, brown flax, and brown sesame seeds, and raw pumpkin seed, hemp seed, and organic cardamom, fennel and fenugreek seeds); and fruits (organic raisins and dates, pineapple, papaya and apples). My apologies to many more ingredients that I'm leaving out.

2.) Ococoa
Macadamia Guava (cup) - 1 cup
Good +
Weight: .62 oz. (17.5 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 89 calories (estimate)
Cost: $N/A
Purchased from: N/A

Also a fantastic fit for Seed/Nut Butter and Fruit Theme Week are Ococoa cups -- small chocolate parfait cups layered with nut, seed and fruit flavors. I like macadamia nuts; however, I don't recall having tried macadamia nut butter. It's probably one of the hardest nut butters to work with (other than brazil nut butter perhaps?). I enjoyed it most as the guava, chocolate and nut flavors all blended together.