ChocolateBet: November 3, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Trader Joe's
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 4 oz. (113 g.) / 16 oz. (454 g.) in 1 cake
Calories: 450 calories in 1/4 cake
Cost: $8.25 (estimate)
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, Menlo Park, CA

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and All Things Orange.

And, nothing says orange like a basket full of ripe, organic persimmons: 1.) big, juicy, bright orange Hachiya; and 2.) small, slightly crisper, Fuyu persimmons.* Pop a ripe Hachiya persimmon in the freezer, and the frozen fruit pulp can be eaten like sorbet. Just scoop out the insides with a spoon. Fresh fruit is a good complement to chocolate, or chocolate cake.

Drum roll please, as we move on to the cacao-based star of the day: a Flourless Chocolate Cake from Trader Joe's (Monrovia, CA). This dense, moist, chocolatey cake was the perfect, gluten-free fuel for a pre-hike lunch.

*Note: My only regret: not being able to find some "chocolate" persimmons (with brown flesh inside), in time for today's entry. 

ChocolateBet: November 2, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Vosges Haut Chocolat
Crispy Carrot Bar
Good +
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) in 1/2 bar/ 3 oz. (85 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 220 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.50 (plus any applicable taxes, shipping)
Purchased from: www.vosgeschocolate.com

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and All Things Orange. There are so many potential chocolate "inclusions" that are the color orange -- and not just the citrus fruit.

Today's chocolate, the Crispy Carrot Bar from Vosges (Chicago, IL) featured a subtly crunchy carrot confit, Valencia oranges in deep milk chocolate (45% cacao), with hints of carrot puree and carrot cake. Brava to Katrina and her team for continuing to experiment with original and lively sweet and savory combinations. Extra points for a successful bar with carrots -- I'm sure this wasn't the easiest blend.

Vosges also was celebrating the Day of the Dead (El Dia de Los Muertos) this week with flavored Skull Lollipops.

ChocolateBet: November 1, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Sunflower Food and Spice Company
Sunny Seeds - chocolate covered sunflower seeds
Good - Good +
Weight: 2 oz. (57 g.) total container
Calories: 260 calories in 1 container
Cost: $4.29 for 1 container
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Happy Day(s) of the Dead all! This holiday, celebrated in the Americas, spanning today and tomorrow, is an opportunity to remember those who have departed our world, and to enjoy good food and drink in their honor. I did not make or buy the traditional sugar skulls, but I did buy a festive, skull shaped container filled with chocolate covered sunflower seeds from the Sunflower Food and Spice Company (Riverside, MO), and ate these with orange-colored "Tangerine Tickle" candy-coated sunflower seeds -- a previous purchase from the same company.

Because of so many great "orange" related themes this past month, we're extending the love affair beyond chocolate and pumpkins (last week's theme week) to all things Orange -- including orange fruits, vegetables and other items.

Today was Day #1 of Chocolate and All Things Orange Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: October 31, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Unreal Brands, Inc.
Unreal 54 - Candy Coated Chocolates with Peanuts
Good +
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42 g.) total package
Calories: 200 calories in 1 package/bag
Cost: $1.00
Purchased from: CVS Pharmacy, Mountain View, CA

Trick or Treat. This week has been filled with treats. If you're going to eat Halloween candy, may I suggest "unjunked" chocolate candy choices from Unreal Brands (Boston, MA).

Today I enjoyed Unreal's Candy Coated Chocolates with Peanuts, No. 54 in their candy series. What does unjunked mean? Answer: Among other things, it means: "no artificials, no hydrogenateds, no corn syrups, no preservatives, no GMOs." Unreal, and much appreciated.

I also enjoyed a pumpkin sundae with Double Rainbow Pumpkin and Dulce de Leche ice creams, topped with a chopped Unreal caramel bar, that I'll write about later.

This week was brought to you by the color Orange. This was the last day of Chocolate and Pumpkin week (lots of orange and brown, and piles of pumpkins from everywhere in town).

San Francisco buildings have been lit up orange; and today the city held a welcome home parade for the San Francisco Giants baseball team (orange and black) to celebrate their World Series Championship win -- on Halloween day (more orange and black), no less.

I've added a skeleton, and a few flowers and candles today to celebrate this great Orange day. Happy Halloween to all who celebrate pumpkin day, and a great day for chocolates as well.

Lake Champlain - Caramel Pumpkins, Pumpkin Pop - Oct. 30, 2012

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Lake Champlain Chocolates

1.) Dark Chocolate Caramel Pumpkins
Very Good
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 5 oz. (141 g.) total package/bag
Calories: 118.8 calories in 2 caramel pumpkins
Cost: $8.99 for 1 bag
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

2.) Pumpkin Pop
Good +
Weight: 1.4 oz. (39 g.) in 1 pop
Calories: 220 calories in 1 pop
Cost: $5.99 for 1 pop
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA


I found two different pumpkin-shaped offerings from Lake Champlain Chocolates at my local grocery store. What's scarier than a dark chocolate pumpkin oozing with caramel? Maybe a milk chocolate pumpkin with a few bites out of its jack-o-lantern face?

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Pumpkin Theme Week. Happy day before Halloween to you all.

ChocolateBet: October 29, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Trader Joe's
Milk Chocolate (filled with) Caramel bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1.5 oz. (41 g.) in 1 bar
Cost: $0.99 in 1 bar
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, Menlo Park, CA

Today was a chocolate-for-breakfast day -- with four products from Trader Joe's (Monrovia, CA). Fortunately, Trader Joe's offers a variety of interesting chocolates and gluten-free foods. I started with a small container of Pumpkin, 0% fat, Greek yogurt, a seasonal speciality item, and loaded it up with pumpkin seeds, diced almonds, and pieces of roughly chopped Milk Chocolate (filled with) Caramel bar.

This bar, made with Belgian chocolate, was smooth, sweet and very satisfying, with caramel that had just the right texture and taste. The milk chocolate and the sweet caramel blended well with the yogurt.

I later finished the remaining bar during a hike on Mt. Diablo -- literally Devil Mountain, located east of, and across the Bay from, San Francisco -- a fitting location for a week that includes Halloween and Day of the Dead celebrations.

Day #6 of Chocolate and Pumpkin Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: October 28, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Trader Joe's
Ultra Chocolate Ice Cream
Good - Good +
Weight: 1/4 cup (52.5 g.)/ 1 Quart (946 mL) total container
Calories: 125 calories in 1/4 cup; (210 cals. total with 1/6 cup Pumpkin ice cream)
Cost: $
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, Menlo Park, CA

A mixture of two "Super Premium" ice creams from Trader Joe's (Monrovia, CA) -- Ultra Chocolate and Pumpkin -- tasted slightly better than the two flavors did separately. The Pumpkin ice cream by itself was a bit sweet and unremarkable, but when used in moderation with a larger scoop of Ultra Chocolate ice cream, the resulting spicy chocolate flavor was quite nice.

The Ultra Chocolate might be a good mix with cherry ice cream and other flavors as well.

Top this ice cream with some caramelized nibs and chopped almonds, and you have yourself a tasty fall-themed ice cream treat.

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