Pbenjay's Blog

A Tasty Morsel For Sure

October 28, 2014 is
National Chocolate Day
Today is National Chocolate Day! Just what you’ve been waiting for – a reason to eat more chocolate! Americans consume an average of 12 pounds per person per year. Do you help contribute to this staggering stat?

Valentine’s Day and Easter are two of the top holidays for buying chocolate, but you can’t forget about Christmas or Halloween! However, many will argue that chocolate is best enjoyed year-round.

To celebrate National Chocolate Day, enjoy some chocolate with each meal today! Try hot chocolate or chocolate donuts for breakfast. A fun lunch idea is to pair your favorite dish with a tall glass of chocolate milk. For dinner, try a traditional mole sauce, made with cocoa powder. Top it all off with a decadent chocolate dessert!

Give a friend a box of chocolates, try a new recipe using chocolate, or treat yourself to some! The above excerpt is courtesy of PUNCH BOWL.

Oh Take Me Awayyyyy

You notice I opted for dark chocolate because seriously is there any other kind?  LOL LOL, that ought to provoke some responses!  Milk Chocolate – Mmmm more like a pretender, solidified hot cocoa (American style not French).  White chocolate?  Don’t even go there;  In case you didn’t know IT’S NOT EVEN CHOCOLATE!!!

I can see if I don’t stop writing this blog this morning, I’m going to be in trouble because right now some of the best brands of dark chocolate and the picture of their labels are swirling around in my head!  Thinking of the sources too!   Swiss, Belgian, French, not to mention the fabulous rebirth of small-batch hand-crafted chocolate (and other wonderful foods and drinks like coffee, bread and beer) that have sprung to life over the past decade or so.  Some credit this resurgence to that horrible period of job lay-offs and downsizing and some think our salvation lies with a younger generation (X or Y?) who don’t want to don that corporate garb.  Hallelujah to them I say!

After watching the news last night where the benefits of dark chocolate were extolled for regaining one’s memory, I may have to rethink my current attempt to diet and indulge is some very, very dark chocolate today.  Thinking 70-75% cacao, oh yeah!  You can hold a square in your mouth, let it rest on your tongue and it will melt oh so slowly…..  You have to resist the urge to chew it, which is hard I know but so rewarding if you don’t !

Did I ever tell you about my experience at The Chocoholic’s ate Bar at the Hyatt Regency in Hawaii?  OMG it will have to be for another time.  The whole experience was mind-blowing for a chocoholic like me! 

What’s your favorite kind of chocolate?  What brand(s) do you prefer?  Are you a milk chocolate lover?  It’s okay to admit it even if the rest of us dark chocolate lovers think you’re misguided lol lol.