ChocolateBet: January 16, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Scream Sorbet
Chocolate Peanut Butter sorbet
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: 3 oz. serving/ 12 oz. container
Calories: 160 calories (estimate)
Cost: $8.00 (estimate)
Purchased from: Scream Sorbet, in Oakland, CA

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Nut Butter Theme Week.  It was freezing cold outside this morning; had to de-ice my car before heading off to work. Perfect day for something frozen, like Scream Sorbet's Chocolate Peanut Butter Sorbet. This local (Oakland, CA) company makes some of the finest sorbet I've ever tasted; you'll swear you're eating high end gelato or ice cream. I skipped over the Peanut Brittle and Peanut Vanilla to go right for the chocolate flavors. (All the flavors I tasted were exceptional.)

The store's shop on Telegraph Ave. in Oakland was decorated with a curtain in the window made from tiny white plastic spoons. Very creative.

ChocolateBet: January 15, 2012

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Milkshake Werks
1.) Coconut ice cream gluten-free cupcake
Good
Weight: 1/2 ice cream cupcake
Calories: 290 calories (guesstimate)
Cost: $3.49 for 1 cupcake
Purchased from: Milkshake Werks, Redwood City, CA

2.) Nutella ice cream
Very Good
Weight: 3 oz. /1 Pint container
Calories: 200 calories (estimate)
Cost: $5.99 for 1 hand-packed pint
Purchased from Milkshake Werks, Redwood City, CA

Today was Day #8 of Chocolate and Licorice Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Nut Theme Week -- with a focus on frozen desserts.

It's January, and I'm fighting fire with fire -- or, more accurately, ice with ice cream. Or, if life gives you ice, make ice cream. But, why waste time with bad puns and analogies when we could be talking about chocolate...

Milkshake Werks makes their own ice cream. And I stopped by their shop (in a shopping center off Redwood Shores Parkway, in Redwood City, CA) after a walk; and picked up two items to go.

The first item I tried was their Coconut ice cream cupcake. There wasn't actually any cake in this cupcake. Their gluten-free version, packed in a plastic cup to go, was made with a chocolate cup was filled with coconut ice cream and topped with vanilla and coconut flavored icing -- which looked to me like a blank canvas for other additions. I topped mine with a Gimbal's (San Francisco) gluten-free licorice scottie dog (shown), made with licorice and anise; and some almonds (not shown).

The second item I sampled today: a tiny cup of Milkshake Werks's Nutella ice cream. Nutella (a chocolate and hazelnut spread) is finally getting its due here in California, after years of peanut butter hogging the chocolate and nut butter spotlight. This shop also listed an ice cream called Peanut Butter Explosion that I would've happily tried as well; but, they were out of this flavor when I was there. The Nutella was sweet (a little too sweet for me), but this very creamy, frozen treat really nailed Nutella's essence.

ChocolateBet: January 14, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Absinthe Originale Cocktail w/ Chocolates

1.) Bensons Fine Candies 
(Distributed by Heritage Candy Company)
Absinthe Cordials
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .4 oz. (11.32 g.) (estimate)/ 5.0 oz. (141.7 g.) total container
Calories: 55 calories (estimate)
Cost: $ not available 
Purchased from: BevMo, in Mountain View, CA

2.) The Cholive Company
Cholive Cocktail Chocolates
Good - Good+
Weight: .32 oz. (9 g.) / 2.54 oz. (72 g.)
    total package of 8 dark chocolate truffles + cocktail skewers
Calories: 45 calories
Cost: $ not available
Purchased from: BevMo, in Mountain View, CA

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Licorice Theme Week. Absinthe is an herbal concoction made infamous (and illegal) for a time by alleged ill effects, largely caused by bad batches of wormwood (one of many ingredients in this largely French recipe). Other ingredients commonly used to make absinthe include: star anise, licorice, fennel seed, anise seed, hyssop, angelica, mint.

I tempered this little green cocktail with two chocolates: 1.) a Benson Fine Candies Absinthe Cordial* (an absinthe/anise flavored chocolate covered in a round, green candy shell); and one Cholive (a 55% dark chocolate truffle in the shape of a cocktail olive** -- that came packaged with its own black plastic cocktail pick). Sadly The Cholive Company (Milwaukee, WI) was no longer in business when I checked last.

Despite the chocolates, one tiny sip of this 138 proof liquor was all I needed. Too strong for me.

*Note: For those who can't have wheat -- The Bensons Absinthe Cordials contain some wheat starch.
**This was a perfect example of a chocsimile, a chocolate facsimile of an object or living thing -- in this case a cocktail olive.

ChocolateBet: January 13, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Orgran Natural Foods

1.) itsy bitsy bears biscuits (cookies) 
Good +
Weight: 3.0 oz. (84.9 g.)/ 6.2 oz. (175 g.) total box
Calories: 345 calories
Cost: $4.19 for 1 box
Purchased from: drugstore.com

2.) Molasses Licorice
Good+
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.)/ 7 oz. (200 g.) total bag
Calories: 80 calories
Cost: $5.39 for 1 bag
Purchased from: drugstore.com

This 5th day of Chocolate and Licorice Theme Week featured a snack plate of items from Orgran Natural Foods (Australia). Both the company's "itsy bitsy bears" and the Molasses Licorice pieces shown here were gluten, wheat, dairy, egg and yeast free -- and were also vegan.

The crunchy, oven-baked, miniature bear-shaped vanilla biscuits (cookies) were flecked with "choc flavoured bits." And, since I rarely have cookies (due to a wheat-free diet), I enjoyed munching on these sweet ursine bits, interspersed with a few chews of Orgran's dark, robust licorice that contained both licorice powder and aniseseed oil, and had a strong molasses taste (great, if you like molasses).

I can't help but remember that one possible side effect (from eating too much licorice) was a potential drop in one's potassium levels; and molasses is chock-full of potassium. I'm all for a well balanced meal -- even if that meal is just dessert.

ChocolateBet: January 12, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Perugina
Bittersweet Chocolate bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.)/ 3.5 oz. (99.2 g.) total bar
Calories: 73 calories
Cost: $ lost info
Purchased from: lost info (store/deli), San Francisco, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Licorice Theme Week.

I took a nibble of this Perugina (Nestle) Bittersweet Chocolate bar; and I melted the rest to make Perugina chocolate fondue -- flavored with Metaxa Ouzo, a bit of tangerine rind, and a tiny pinch of salt caramel. The hint of salt helped cut/balance this 60% cocoa bittersweet bar that seemed to be more sweet than bitter.

The warm, velvety smooth fondue was an easy to make (microwave and stir) dip for fresh fruit, and a good cold weather treat. I believe this Metaxa Ouzo (a licorice-flavored Greek apertif) was made from anise, licorice and fennel -- in addition to grapes, herbs, berries, mint, wintergreen and hazelnut.

Chocolate of the Day:

Enzymatic Therapy, Inc.
DGL Ultra - German Chocolate
Good - Good +
Weight: 2 tablets (approx. 2 grams)
Calories: N/A
Cost: $13.95 for bottle of 90 tablets
Purchased from: Country Sun, in Palo Alto, CA

It's nice to know that there is a "German Chocolate" chewable supplement (with licorice) that's available to provide "soothing, digestive relief" if we need it. And, it was appropriate that I tried this product this week, as today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Licorice Theme Week.

Chocolate is not the only substance with proven health benefits. From what I've read, licorice possesses some anti-inflammatory, stomach soothing properties and other benefits. However, too much of anything is bound to create problems. Possible side effects from eating more than a few ounces of licorice: a chance of elevated blood pressure for those and a possible change/drop in potassium levels. (Note: not all licorice candy is made from real licorice root; some is flavored with anise seed.)

Fortunately, this product from Enzymatic Therapy contained licorice without the sweet component that causes blood pressure issues -- that is, these chewable tablets contained deglycyrrhizinated licorice (with barely a hint of licorice flavor, I might add). And, the German Chocolate flavor (with a hint of coconut and cocoa) was very pleasant. A tasty way to help subdue heartburn.

ChocolateBet: January 10, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Miette (Koppers)
Licorice Lentils
Good+
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.)/ 3 oz. (85 g.) (estimate) total bag/package
Calories: 75 calories
Cost: $3.00 for 1 bag
Purchased from: Miette Bakery, in San Francisco, CA

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

What are licorice lentils you ask?

For those living in the U.S., think little round discs of faintly licorice-flavored dark chocolate, coated with black candy shells -- similar to (Mars) MandM's.

These lentils were good by themselves, and/or...as part of a miniature bowl of hot, steaming licorice lentil soup, made with a Tablespoon of chocolate soy milk.* (Don't laugh, it was better than it looked.)

I'm fairly certain these lentils were made by Koppers (Greenwich Village, New York) and then re-sold by Miette Bakery -- a great little San Francisco establishment that carries unique chocolates as well as their own macarons and baked goods.


*Note: Use caution if you melt these in the microwave. Those little candy shells melt at a much higher temperature than the chocolate inside; so you could end up with faint notes of burnt, toasted marshmallow in your "soup" if you're not careful.