Chocolate Happens

I haven't had much to write about on this blog for a while because chocolate is what inspires me, and I haven't eaten much of it lately. However, yesterday I went into the lunchroom at work and, lo and behold, there were three boxes of donuts. And milk. So I ate half of a chocolate donut with frosting and drank a glass of milk.

When I went back to my desk Juliana had left me a whole donut with chocolate frosting and cream filling, and a glass of milk. It wasn't very long before it was all gone....

.... nope, I'm not even embarrassed to admit it, and I really don't like donuts all that much!

Oh, Crumb

For the past 3 months I have been diligent about exercising and eating well, to the point that I have hardly eaten any sweets, including, believe it or not, chocolate. I haven't binged once! This weekend I was feeling pretty proud of myself because we have had two events where really, really good food was served and I managed to be quite reasonable about it. Friday night the chocolate cake looked divine. Keven gave me one bite of his and I was completely satisfied. (When he offered me a second bite I only ate it because I didn't want to be rude.) Tonight at an open house there was another marvelous array of food and desserts, including LOTS of chocolate goodies. I was pretty proud of myself because all I had there was a glass of ICE WATER!!!! I was literally giving myself pats on the back and congratulating myself on being so dang good.

While we were gone a friend returned a casserole dish, which she had thoughtfully filled with heart-shaped brownies. I ate two (Keven only knows about the first one). They sure were good. I had to go brush my teeth to keep from eating more, but I'm already thinking I'll have one in the morning before I go running...

Oh, Fudge

Can you believe that I'm not really a big fan of fudge? Too often it is just too sugary and the chocolate flavor is overwhelmed by the competition. However, some of the best fudge ever was made by my oh-so-sweet mother-in-law, and I would guard a gift of her fudge like a mother bear. Spending years perfecting the art, she told me she learned that the best thing to do with a batch of fudge that didn't measure up was to spread it on graham crackers and let the boys have at it. I think they will always be thankful for her generosity! One of my favorite gifts from her was a sauté pan with a batch of her homemade fudge in it. YUM! Is it weird that I still think I can smell the chocolate all these years later when I make an omelet in that pan?

Chocolate Genes

My mother, obviously, has been a great influence in my life. But I think my passion for chocolate is more than influence; I'm quite sure it's genetic. However, I do know that I was greatly impressed about the importance of chocolate when I came home from 1st grade one day to find my mother relaxing on the living room sofa with a magazine and a WHOLE BOX OF CHOCOLATES!!! She was savoring one - I can actually remember seeing the ooey-gooey insides - and she even offered the box to me to choose whichever one I wanted! I was giddy. I was exhilerated. I was conflicted. Do I pick the one that obviously had a nut filling? Or the one with a pink rose on top? Or the dark chocolate with the white chocolate squiggly design? Maybe I could be absolutely careless and pick something randomly. I don't remember what my actual choice was but I do remember biting into it.....and being even more surprised. It was a rubber chocolate, as were all the rest in the box. April Fool's!

This sweet little plate will be sitting on my counter on April Fool's Day just inviting trouble - can you tell which two are edible and which two are not? I also have yummy looking hard candies that are supposed to taste like fish - can't say for sure because I'm not going to try one myself. Oh, and some fake dog mess that will be strategically placed for Keven & Kris' benefit. (Thanks for the inspirations, mom!)

Plane Truth

IF I am given enough notice and IF I am not overwhelmed with essential "stuff to be done now" I make sure my pilot son takes bags of cookies to his crew when he flies through El Paso. OK, it's only happened twice now, but I like to think it's the beginning of a tradition! And IF I get the special bags that are in every front seat pocket of every plane, that is what I use to send the cookies along.
ps - Kelly, you know I'll do the same for you!

This is the basic Nestle's chocolate chip cookie recipe, I just use the chunky chocolate chips and double the quantity of nuts (Keven's requirement), and I only chop the nuts slightly. They are really chunky cookies. I also use the guidelines for higher elevations because even though we have lots of sandy beaches around here we are not at sea level!

The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

2 ¼ cups unsifted flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup margarine (2 sticks, softened)
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups chopped pecans
2 cups chocolate chips

1. Heat oven to 375.
2. Stir flour with baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl cream together butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla. Gradually blend dry mixture into creamed ingredients. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.
4. Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly before removing to cooling racks.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

For higher altitudes: Increase flour to 2 ½ cups; decrease sugars to 2/3 cup; add 2 teaspoons water with eggs and vanilla.

It's Almost Heaven in the Avenues

If nobody has brought you a box of premium chocolates lately and you live in the SLC area you have my permission to treat yourself! Get on over to 390 E. 4th Avenue where you will find Hatch Family Chocolates, run by Steve Hatch (a second cousin) and Katie Masterson. It's good stuff, I promise!
Deseret News ran a great story about the couple on February 10th - no doubt they had a few more customers for Valentine's Day orders this year! And "Little Chocolatiers" premiered as a special on TLC in December, with more episodes scheduled for March.

(Oh, and they also sell fabulous ice cream!)

If you need to pull a good prank on someone you can do what another family member I know did (I won't mention names, but he was the cookie monster mentioned in an earlier blog): he bought a nice box of Hatch Family chocolates, took a bite out of each one and put it back in the box. He then did a new shrink-wrap on it, added a nice bow and gave it as a gift. The receiver was more than excited to receive a box of these "Famous all over Utah" chocolates but I'm not sure the giftee is still on speaking terms with the giftor.

Brownie Points

A belated award to Bobbi who gave me this wonderful plate as a gift:



And to Ron and Linda who brought us this gift from their most recent cruise through the Panama Canal:



And look how perfectly they go together!



(You didn't notice how many truffles are missing, did you??!)