ice cream

The Torture and Temptation of the Lust for Really Good Chocolate

I’m having a small problem with chocolate… I want it! I want it often and I want it served warm and tasting like real chocolate with cream to smooth it out. I want it every day, more than once.

But, I’m trying to ignore chocolate and cheesecake and ice cream and all those soft, warm or chilled, yummy things. I lost almost 20 pounds but last month I put back two of them.

I blame chocolate, whether the chocolate truly deserves the blame or not.

I Know it will be Warm, Rich and Creamy – Everything I Lust for in Chocolate

Did you know how nice and easy it is to order chocolate to be delivered to your door? I ordered a box of chocolates from a Canadian chocolate company out on the west coast, Vancouver, British Columbia. To get to my house that chocolate had to travel across thousands of kilometres, several provinces and it made the trip a day early. I opened the box, reverently. I tried to be mindful and enjoy every moment and each nuance of chocolate. But, I had eaten three of the milk chocolate bars before I could make myself put the box away.

So, ordering chocolate is not the best way to deal with a craving for chocolate.

I’m still looking for alternative ideas. Today I noticed this Bialetti hot chocolate pot, mostly for the photo. I can taste that chocolate. I know it will be warm and rich and creamy… Everything I lust for in chocolate. I haven’t decided whether or not to order the machine. It’s a risk. What if I like it too much?!

Then I started looking at other well known (to me) chocolate companies who will send packages of chocolate to your door, via Amazon. Oh, the torture, the temptation… I can taste it and it tastes GOOD!

The best I can do is give in to the craving for chocolate but moderate it. This means letting myself have the chocolate but only once a month and then making sure the chocolate I have at that time is the best possible chocolate on the planet at that particular place and time. No supermarket chocolate bars. No packaged hot chocolate mixes. Only the best, real chocolate and I want it smooth, rich and creamy. A chocolate pudding, but not something out of a cardboard box.

I’m adding the hot chocolate maker to my list of things to buy, along with a bathroom scale. Next month there will be chocolate! Better chocolate.

No Canada for Häagen Dazs

notincanada

Canada is not a small place. We may not have the world’s highest population but, I can assure you, we are here. Why then, do so many businesses, companies, corporations and etc. skip Canada? I can see Australia, Mexico, and assorted other countries in Europe, South America and Africa and so on. Not Canada.

This especially bugs me when it is a US business selling to Canadians. Or, any business which sells to Canadians and includes many other countries but just didn’t get around to adding Canada. As if we are some tiny, little place, hardly a dot on the map at all.

Is it because we are polite? Often polite, nice people finish last because no one bothers to actually count them. The polite people could actually win the entire race but go unnoticed until someone louder claims to be there first.

Today it’s Häagen Dazs . I bought the ice cream at the grocery store today. Thought I would look for the site and send a note about my favourite ice cream flavour. Well, I would have done that but, it seems Canada does not exist on any of their sites. It does say pick your country, right there at the top. My country just isn’t there. Not even on the US site (but Mexico is). I’m glad enough to see Mexico and other countries get noticed and included. However, Canada is bigger than they are. Maybe no one has noticed.

One funny thing I noticed… on the US site where you can search for locations from over 900 shops in more than 50 countries… you can only search using US postal codes. How does that work for you?

notincanada nocanada

Green Tomato Pie

Green Tomato Pie

Pastry for 9 inch pie with cover
3 cups of green tomatoes
2 tbsp. flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup water

Remove the stem end of the tomatoes, but don’t peel them. Slice the tomatoes in thin rings, cover them with boiling water, and let stand for about 10 minutes, then drain them. Arrange them in the unbaked pie shell. Combine the flour, sugar, spieces, molasses, and water. Pour the mixture over the tomato slices and cover with the top crust. Bake at 425F for 15 minutes and then at 350F for 30 more minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or sweetened sour cream. Serves 8.

This recipe was in the book: In a Country Garden – Life at Ravenhill Farm , by Noel Richardson.

Yucky

I’m itchy and yucky feeling. My throat is sore, even ice cream didn’t help beyond a slight freezing for a few seconds. I have a Christmas tree pulled upstairs to put up and I have people over-running the house who don’t fit into friends or family, not for me anyway. I’m sick of renovations that drag on for years. I’m fed up with worrying about money when the bills don’t reflect reality, at least not mine. And I’m cold too. We have already gotten a few feet of snow outside. I should write something more interesting but I just feel too yucky.

Friday Fun: Yummies Edition

Friday Fun

1. What is your favorite guilty pleasure yummy food?
2. It is snack time. What do you reach for? Chips? Ice cream? Something healthy?
3. What is your ideal breakfast?
4. What are you craving right now?

1. Hard to choose between cheesecake or ice cream.
2. Coffee if I’m trying to avoid the ice cream or don’t have any around.
3. Traditional bacon and eggs with toast.
4. Cold night so something hot. A real hot chocolate with real whipped cream.