Spring is here- Citrus and pink pepper :)

Hello folks!

Well, the sun is shining, the trees are blooming, the stores are selling chocolate eggs. I think it's safe to say that it's officially SPRING!!

And mine has started great! With a wonderful boyfriend (who buys me lots of chocolate ;) ), with amazing friends, a busy, but fun workload, and making plans for my trip to Europe.

But  the best part of all was a fine chocolate tasting class I went to last night with a friend. I learned about where the common cacao tree varieties grow (sound smart by saying, "forastero!" when you read "ivory coast") and I learned even more about very high quality brands. It was a blast!! Plus I got to try some AMAZING chocolate. I'm not going to go into that here, because there would be way too much to cover, but I will be talking about this bar I bought afterwards:

There it is, laying on a philosophy book and study notes: Medecasse Citrus and Pink Pepper. 

Madecasse has a company story as charming as its chocolate bars: 2 peace corps alumni who served on the island of Madagascar, wanted to make a bigger impact, and so started this fair trade project. Its one of only around 250 bean-to-bar companies in the whole world and its chocolate is GOOD. 

It's a thick bar, light brown. The chocolate itself tastes earthy. You can smell the pepper before you bite into it, but the taste is not as strong. I have no idea what the combava fruit is, that it says it contains, but it tastes unique, intriguing...the fruit taste is so light that is requires concentration to catch it. 

Subtle, evolving, unique.

Big fan.

My boyfriend loved it too, saying it interested  him much more for its subtlety than the other bars we tried.

Also, this company has FOUR TIMES the amount of fair trade impact as a regular fair trade brand. 

So feast on, my chocolate-loving friends! It's for a good cause :)

Love,

Sondra

p.s. I looked up "combava fruit." Apparently it is closely related to lime. 

Potato chips?!? Chocolate?!? Together?! hmmm.....

Well today is an overcast Utah-winter Monday, Martin Luther King Day, and what am I doing to celebrate???

Studying of course! And thinking about what a cool guy Martin Luther King is, cause let’s be honest, he was a stud.

Here’s some food for thought, a quote from Martin Luther: “True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.”

THINK ABOUT IT.

Anyways, in honor of the civil rights movement, I will be eating this interesting bar:

Smell:

dark and salty, nothing too unique

Taste: 

crunchy, not an immediate taste of potato chips. Then zing! Here comes the pepper kicking in, then the potato, the potato subsides, and the pepper lingers...

Last stage of flavor development: it tastes like these:

which you know, I think are delicious, buuut not in chocolate. As you may have realized, I'm all about experimentation, and am a huge fan of the bacon chocolate combo, chili chocolate combo, and a ton of others, but this one left me feeling kinda nauseous....you can definitely taste the potato chip flavor, and although there is no greasy texture, I almost feel I can taste the potato grease itself. 

Moral of the story: If you are pregnant and having a strange hankering for potato chips covered in chocolate, it seems you are not the only one, because you will have a handful of options. Like these, which I have not yet tried: 

So don't rule out the idea! Maybe there is a time and a place for the marriage of fried potato chips and chocolate. 

But for this chocolate lover, it's not here, and not today.

But hey! It's Martin Luther King Day!! Let's party!! 

Love, Sondra

Ginger! Almonds! Chocolate!

There is nothing like some good dark chocolate on a cold January morning-

Running out the door for another full day at the university, and then, BAM! I remember there is a little treasure in my bag:

This little lady:

Well, I have great parents and this year for Christmas my mom bought me a giant one of these:

and this:

Since I believe in really savoring my chocolate, these should last for a long time.

Back to that cold winter morning….

It’s cold, I'm tired, thinking about all the homework I still have left to do, and there it is, this smooth dark chocolate wonder, to put a little gleam of joy in my eyes and sweetness in my belly.

This particular gem is quite lovely for a few reasons.

1. It’s very dark.

2. The ginger. Though its not like whoop yo butt strong, it is the first flavor you’ll taste. I’ll have to admit my very first reaction was: it tastes like chinese food. If that doesn’t sound appealing, wait for the next wave of flavors

3. It quickly mellows out to a smooth dark flavor, and since it's a pretty good chocolate composition, it makes for a fine backdrop to the almond ginger taste.

4. The almond is honestly almost imperceptible but you do get a crunch every now and then which will at least convince you its there.

It's honestly not my favorite, but it does have a refreshing uniqueness and warmth about it.

When to eat this bar:

* when you are cold (ginger warms the body- just ask the natural healing art of ayurveda!)

*when you are going through a breakup (thats me! another “good” excuse for not blogging for awhile...I was too busy with having a boyfriend!)

*when you are feeling a lil asian.

*when you are awake. because chocolate is best enjoyed in a fully conscious state.

Well, on to my wonderful scholastic life of philosophy, the Middle East, women’s issues, and so many other interesting topics.

Happy eating, living, loving!!

(and yes, that is silly string and chocolate)

<3 Sondra