Hot Dark Chocolate

Now, you may be wondering, "what is so special about that?"

Well let me tell you! First, this is no ordinary hot chocolate. For starters, it's hot dark chocolate. And it's not just hot dark chocolate, it's really good hot dark chocoalte. It is made from:

2.00 tbsp - Askinosie single origin cacao powder from Davao, Philippines

1.25 tsp - Gunter's buckwheat honey

4.00 oz - 2% (organic) milk

3.00 oz - boiling water

No rules here, you should know how to make hot chocolate...but I'd feel bad if I didn't offer my suggestion: Pour a scotch of hot water (like 2 tbsp) over the cacao powder to make a thick syrupy-like texture...not too much, but enough that it's like honey...OH! How convenient...then add the honey, steamed milk (it doesn't have to be, you could add it straight from the jug, so as long as you have that water boiling still on the stove), and the rest of the water.

Voila! Perfection, in 6 minutes.

**this isn't very sweet at all, esp. compared to hot cocoa powder mixes you've probably had in the past. But give it a try, it's pure, chocolate goodness

A little bit on Cacao

...and yes, "cacao". Prioritizing my studies has led me to a two-and-a-half-hour informal research session on chocolate... I consider it time well spent :]

Preface to The Top 10 Facts You Want to Know About Chocolate:

The chocolate as you know it comes from a bean; the bean is the seed of a fruit; and this fruit comes from a tree!

The Top 10 Facts You Want to Know About Chocolate

1. Tree is species = theobroma cacao L.
2. Native to South America (though more than half of the cacao supply today comes from E. Africa now)
3. THREE (3) main varieties = criollo, forrestero, trinitario (see Note 1)
4. Grown at low elevations, usually in riparian zones, where climate is consistent at 70-90F = aka tropical
5. theobroma cacao aka "cocoa butter" is (essentially) an unsaturated fat (like olive oil)
6. cocoa is really just an error in translation. But now, it is often associated with a powder product to make chocolate milk :) For real, it's cacao
7. White chocolate is not chocolate, per-se. Instead, it is mainly cocoa butter, sugar and milk.
8. Please know where your chocolate is from. (see Note 2)
9. Chocolate is incredible with coffee. (see Note 3)
10. It is good for the heart--literally.

Note 1

Criollo is likened to the Arabica coffee varietal; the finer grade. It is usually pleasantly bittersweet, delicate, yet complex. (1-5% of production)

Forestero is similar to the Robusta coffee varietal. It is by far the highest yielding varietal for the reason that it is most resilient to diseases. Very bitter--sometimes overwhelmingly so, characteristically tannic/astringent, with a powerful aroma. (80-90%)

Trinitario is a natural hybrid of the former two. (10-15%)

(?) Arriba (and/or) Nacional. I'll try to write about the dispute over this one later.

Note 2

A large majority of cacao occurs in West Africa. Human trafficking, particularly in the Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) is a major problem, with most of the labor exploitation victimizing children. See this entry for more details (FT certification is a whole other topic)

Note 3

Okay, this might be more of an opinion than fact, however! It is very true. As a side note, chocolate and coffee share a lot of issues in terms of the economy, culture, and production process...but are also very unique and distinct produce.

Kpeya Agricultural Enterprise, Sierra Leone (C.2010 transfairusa.org)

Spring Hatchings

in the most literal sense...

Sustaining the Cacao Farmers and Families

The following is but a short (and hopefully growing) list of organizations, co-operatives, and companies that either pay fairly for the cost of cacao, or have direct relationships with the farmers:

(not to mention they are very, very delicious and in my opinions, quality)

Favorites

• Alter-Eco* (inter/national)
• Askinosie Chocolate (MO)
• Fine & Raw (NY)
• Kallari Association* (national)
• Divine Chocolate (U.S.)

Also good

• Dagoba Chocolate*
• Equal Exchange
• Green & Black's*just went fair trade! (C.N.)
• Global Exchange
• Theo Chocolate (WA)

This list is also safe for organically grown cacao. Double check, but I've *star the ones I am sure offer organic. Some specify that only certain products are organic.

Listed companies/cooperatives have a direct relationship (meaning, they've been down to the farm where the cacao is harvested) or pay a fair price.

Arenal

SO as I plated my untraditional breakfast of eggs and rice (yes, rice w/ some chopped chives), I chuckled to myself as steam arose from the pile of rice. It reminded me of breakfast, or the tipicos, you can order at any of the many sodas in Costa Rica. Needless to say, I shaped my rice into a mini volcano after that:

You don't quite see the steam as you would from the volcano in La Fortuna,

but it came kind of close :)

Compare:

Arenal gives off some steam, midday - August 2009

Impromptu Soup

I was really just wanting to take a break from Bloustein (which is a finger-numbing icebox in the spring/summer, and a stuffy hot waiting room during the cold months—HVAC FAIL), but what ended up happening took much longer than I had expected, and much tastier than I had anticipated:

Cream of Tomato Basil Soup with Rice

I’ll take credit for this recipe, as I failed to really follow any one :) but I did follow the guidelines from a RecipeZaar recipe. Here’s the recipe as I ended up making it.

• 2 cups - cooked rice*

• 2 tsp - oil
• 2 stems - leeks; washed thoroughly, sliced in half long ways, 1/4" up to a bit of the green
• 3 large cloves - garlic; minced

• 22 oz - vegetable broth*
• 1 1/2 - large tomatoes*
• 1 tsp - fresh basil; chiffonade

• I cup - light cream*
• 1 tsp - butter*

*Rice – long grain is better, wild rice would be even better

*Broth & Tomatoes – If you use plum tomatoes, I have a feeling you’ll get a sweeter, heartier soup. They are juicer and thicker, but then you may need more like 30-32oz of broth

*Cream and Butter - Heavy cream, no butter may thicken it up more…

*Between the regular tomatoes, and light cream, I actually liked the consistency—it was creamy, but not too thick. If you choose to use regular short grain rice, this will thicken it up. If you use wild rice, I would go a little thicker on the soup (ie, heavy cream, plum tomatoes)

Sauteé the garlic in (~2tsp) vegetable or olive oil (not virgin or extra virgin though) and add leeks. Cook until leeks get a little transparent and a touch browned.

Add tomatoes, broth and basil. Bring to a simmer for about 20 minutes.

With 5 minutes left, heat up the cream on the stove over low heat.

Puree the soup in portions in a blender (or however you’d like to mix things up).

Bring back to stove and slowly add heated cream over low/med heat (not too high! Because the soup is now thicker, heat will have a little more difficult time coming though. It’ll make your soup pop a bit!), stirring often.

When soup is all incorporated, pour over rice (as much or little as you want; ~3/4 c. per serving works for me).

Garnish with basil leaf…bon appetito! :]

Musings of Spring

Rutgers Gardens, April 2010

Bicycles

It's getting to be that season...and I'm thinking a bicycle would be a pretty good idea sometime soon...before the 18th! ...Since I not only have a 20% off member discount @ REI, but also dividends from the past year :P

Considering and open to others:

Marin Redwood Women's Bike at REI.com

GT Traffic 3.0 Step-Through Women's Bike - 2010 at REI.com

Raleigh Detour 4.5 Step-Through Women's Bike - 2010 at REI.com (apparently a review says it's somewhat heavy, otherwise gives it a great review)