Moonstruck Chocolate - Tumbled Marcona Almonds - December 25, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Moonstruck Chocolate Co.
Dark Chocolate Tumbled Marcona Almonds
Good +
Weight: 5 oz. (142 g.) total bag/package
Calories: 725 calories (estimate) in 1 bag
Cost: $8.99 for 1 bag/package
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate this bright red and green holiday. Lights and colors help buoy us up during the gray days of winter.

In the living room, next to a bright red poinsettia plant (shown), were red and white stockings and mittens, and some Dark Chocolate Tumbled Marcona Almonds from Moonstruck Chocolatier (Portland, OR).

Marcona almonds are round, pudgy versions of more conventional almonds, frequently sauteed in oil and salted. They're buttery and delicate in flavor; and while the dark chocolate masked some of the subtle flavors in these almonds, they were quite tasty nonetheless. In fact, I managed to eat the whole bag without much trouble over the course of the day. Oh well, it was Christmas; and I felt very grateful for the abundance of good things and people in my life, including you dear readers.

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Almond Theme Week.

Jade Chocolates - Dark Chocolate Rice Paddies - December 24, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Jade Chocolates
Dark Chocolate Rice Paddies
Good +
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.) (estimate) for 3 pieces/ 4 oz. (113 g.) total bag
Calories: 120 calories (estimate) for 3 pieces
Cost: $ N/A
Purchased from: Jade Chocolates, San Francisco, CA (online)

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Almond Theme Week. The history of the almond began in the Middle East and South Asia, and spread to temperate climates worldwide. California (where I live) produces tons of the popular nut each year in the U.S. Cacao beans used to make chocolate come from tropical climates. So, as with many flavored chocolates, several interesting and internationally inspired flavor blends were possible today that incorporated these two ingredients.

Mindy Fong, at Jade Chocolates (San Francisco, CA), produces chocolates with interesting fusions of flavors from east and west, often artfully incorporating favorite specialty ingredients, such as tea,  rice or mangoes. Today's Dark Chocolate Rice Paddies, contained crisp rice (note to those watching gluten intake, these contained malt flavoring), roasted almonds and pieces of bright, tangy dried mango. Dark chocolate helped bind these ingredients into small mounded patty shapes.

If you're looking for a healthy, exotic take on crispy rice treats with dark chocolate, these Dark Chocolate Rice Paddies are a great bet.

Merry Christmas Eve to all who celebrate, and to those who await the coming of Santa Claus.

Trader Joe's - Chocolate Almond Horns - December 23, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Trader Joe's
Chocolate Almond Horns
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 3 oz. (95 g.) / 9 oz. (255 g.) total container of 6 cookies
Calories: 380 calories in 2 cookies
Cost: $4.49 total container
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, in Palo Alto, CA

Nothing pleases me more than finding delicious new chocolate items that are also gluten-free.

Many traditional recipes for sweet, almond flour cookies, macaroons and marzipan omit (wheat) flour. So, I was hopeful that I could find chocolate and almond cookies with no gluten ingredients. And so it was with these Chocolate Almond Horns from Trader Joe's (Monrovia, CA).

Sugary sweet, chewy-soft, golden brown, covered in sliced almonds, and partially dipped in bittersweet chocolate, these cookies channeled the ghost of marzipan cookies from childhood. I stopped eating gluten/wheat in 2002, so it's been many years since I nibbled on almond croissant or bearclaws. These two crescent-shaped horns were just as satisfying as any breakfast pastry or bittersweet almond cookie that I can remember.

Couple two Chocolate Almond Horns with a hot beverage of your choice, sit by a fire, listen to (or play) some music -- and you have a great prescription for holiday contentment.

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Almond Theme Week. 

Noman Love and Laderach chocolates - December 22, 2012

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

1.) Norman Love Confections
Roasted Almond
Good
Weight: .4 oz. (11.32 g.) (estimate) for 1 piece
Calories: 60 calories (estimate) for 1 piece
Cost: $ 2.00 (estimate) for 1 piece
Purchased from: Dolce Amore, San Francisco, CA

2.) Laderach Chocolatier Suisse (I was told)
Almond
Good+
Weight: .8 oz. (22.6 g.) (estimate) for 2 pieces
Calories: 120 calories (estimate) in 2 pieces
Cost: $4.00 (estimate)
Purchased from: Dolce Amore, San Francisco, CA

I sampled four different chocolate + almond combinations today.

The first two were almond chocolate truffles that I purchased recently at a coffee and chocolate shop called Dolce Amore (San Francisco).

There were no visible almonds in the Roasted Almond Truffle. I'm assuming there was almond butter incorporated into the creamy center. The second chocolate was quick good, but may not have been gluten-free. It may have contained a wafer layer.

The compact establishment carried chocolates from Norman Love (Ft. Myers, FL), Laderach Chocolatier Suisse (Switzerland) in an attractive glass display case, as well as Illy coffee.

Scattered throughout the Dolce Amore shop were tiny people figures. It was fun to look around carefully and to find them perched in different locales.


The last two chocolates were almond toffees from a woman I'll call "Madame S." Both almond toffees, the second batch was infused with espresso flavoring, and both were very good. The maker is not ready to sell these publicly yet, but I enjoyed these all the same.

"Madame S"
3.) Almond Toffee
4.) Espresso Almond Toffee
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. for both toffees
Calories: 150 calories (estimate for 1 oz. serving
Cost: N/A - gift
Purchased from: N/A - gift

Rogue Chocolatier - Piura 75% bar - December 21, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Rogue Chocolatier
Piura 75% bar
Very Good
Weight: 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 307 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $13.00 total bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Today I experienced pure, unadulterated chocolate. And then I mixed it with pure lavender. I love short ingredient lists.

The Piura 75% cacao dark chocolate bar from Rogue Chocolatier (Three Rivers, MA) had just two simple ingredients: cacao beans (from Peru) and cane sugar. This bar, an exclusive I obtained by being a future chocolate holder at The Chocolate Garage (Palo Alto, CA), was smooth and uniformly great, with enough of an acidic bite to keep it interesting.

This simple, unmarked bar was just the right thickness to access flavor notes. Tasting notes listed on the packaging for Piura: "molasses, tea, dried apricot." I agree with the dried apricot and the molasses. Not sure about the tea, which I sometimes associate with heavier tannic acid.

First, I broke off a few small pieces -- that yielded with just the right amount of snap. I ate these plain. Next, I took the bar outside into the yard, where it was raining, to try it with some lavender flowers I'd picked earlier. Again, just some dried lavender flower buds; nothing else.

Then I melted a half dozen small pieces of the Piura bar with a tablespoon or two of water in an espresso cup in the microwave, to make some drinking chocolate. Don't try this with just any dark chocolate bar; you may end up with a lumpy mess, in part due to the fact that most bars contain a long list of additives.

Last, but not least, I enjoyed this micro-serving of smooth, rich and delicious hot chocolate with gluten-free toast, goat cheese, and rose-colored Lavender Jelly from Tumalo Lavender (Tumalo, OR). Best snack plate I've had since chocolate and fig week.

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Lavender Theme Week.

The Inspired Cookie, Bliss Brownie Mix - December 20, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

The Inspired Cookie
bliss Brownie Mix
Good - Good +
Weight: 1/12 of mix;
Calories: 340 calories (estimate)
Cost: $10.00 (estimate)
Purchased from: info not available

Today I chose a "local" chocolate and lavender combination, by preparing a gluten-free bliss Brownie Mix from The Inspired Cookie (mix was made in S. San Francisco, CA), and plucking some lavender from my own yard to make lavender brownies. I made both lavender brownie cupcakes and pan brownies. Both were good, and were even better topped with lavender buds.

This brownie mix was gluten-free, vegan, egg-free, and dairy-free; and I prepared it with vegetable oil and applesauce, as directed. Homemade applesauce seemed to work just fine. The brownies were a bit on the oily side; I might try adding a bit less oil next time, but were nice and moist. (I also added some Lavender Jelly from Tumalo Farms (Tumalo, OR), which I will feature again tomorrow.)

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Lavender Theme Week. 

Tumalo Lavender - Lavender Milk Chocolate bar - December 19, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Tumalo Lavender
Lavender Milk Chocolate bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .83 oz. (23.1 g.) / 1.25 oz. (35 g.) total bar
Calories: 125 calories (estimate) for 2/3 bar
Cost: $N/A
Purchased from: Tumalo Lavender, Tumalo, OR

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

Lavandula (more commonly known as lavender) -- a group flowering plants, made up of 39 species, and part of the very large mint family -- has been cultivated for many centuries, for gardens, cooking and scented oils. Lavender blooms in summer, but I also enjoy its soothing, floral smell in the winter. (Try a pot of water with lavender buds on the stove, on a low heat setting for an hour or two, being careful to add more water if it evaporates too quickly. Much better than artificial air fresheners.)

I once associated lavender with Provence in Southern France -- fields bursting with purple rows of French lavender; and I thought lavender was limited to areas with a Mediterranean climate, such as California. In fact, there are species grown around the world. (Given my love for lavender, it's hard to believe that this plant with the fragrant purple flowers is considered a weed in parts of Spain and Australia.)

I later learned of other varieties being grown in cooler areas. This purple flower can grow in the U.K. (Lavanda angustifolia, or English Lavender), and in the United States in cool mountainous areas of the Northwest. Tumalo Farms (Tumalo, OR) near the town of Bend, Oregon, has cultivated (and sells) lavender that can grow near the slopes of the Cascade Mountains (Zone 5), where it snows in the winter.

Tumalo Farms organic lavender oil is incorporated into many of the company's offerings. Today's Tumalo Farms Lavender Milk Chocolate bar (a seasonal item) was very pleasantly scented with this oil. In fact, I think my favorite part of this 33% cocoa milk chocolate bar was the lavender. Thank you to Gordon, at Tumalo, for sending one of the few bars left from this past year's summer harvest. I'll have to wait try the dark chocolate version of this bar until next year; but I look forward to featuring Tumalo lavender jelly (in combination with chocolate) tomorrow.