chocolate Archives - Page 3 of 8 -

August 15, 2016

Cocoa Hazelnut Overnight Oats with Sweet Cherries

Just over two weeks ago, I received word of my grandmother’s passing and not long after that, we were off on a plane to Hong Kong. Having lived to reach 101 years old, my grandmother had a long and full life, and her memorial service was a celebration of that. We spent ten days in Hong Kong, connecting with family I seldom see, and soaking in the culture of the bustling city. After indulging ourselves with all the dim sum, noodles, roasted meats, and delectable pastries you could possibly imagine, we were ready again for simplicity and the comforts of home.

June 9, 2016

Chocolate Beet Bread

With the brief drop in temperatures and an extra large batch of beets from my csa share, it felt right to turn on the oven once again to bake up this chocolate loaf. After some deliberating I settled on calling this a bread rather than a cake. While it feels slightly indulgent for breakfast, it’s a bit less sweet than most cakes and those beets make it extra redeeming. The beets also keep the bread moist and soft and add a subtle earthiness to deepen the chocolate. I like it simple and unadorned especially for breakfast, but if you’d like to serve it as a dessert, a drizzle of chocolate ganache would help dress it up and add a touch of richness or a quick dusting of confectioners sugar would also do nicely. Serve warm and along with a dollop of whipped coconut cream. [Read more…] about Chocolate Beet Bread

March 3, 2016

Chocolate Granola Bark

Earlier this week a small group of ladies from our iZōsh group met together to watch and discuss a portion of the Half the Sky documentary. I’d already seen most of the documentary, but I learn so much from being with these other women, and watching parts of it again reminded me of a world that’s so far away from my own. It makes my heart heavy, but I also find it keeps me grounded and helps me shape a better perspective on life. “Chocolate and Chat” was the title of our evening and each of us brought a fair-trade chocolate bar to share. Our collection was impressive. I do try to buy fair-trade whenever I can because it empowers small farmers and artisans to improve their own livelihoods by building sustainable businesses; it also connects us with other cultures and gives us the opportunity to directly support their economies. And goodness, there are so many great varieties of high-quality fair-trade chocolate out there.