Annnd... We're Back!

Whew! Hello Chocolate Emergency! Where have you been for the last year and a half? Oh yeah! LIFE! Here's the quick top 10 list of the past year and a half in no particular order.

10. I am now a teacher! This is my dream job. I teach 7th grade English Language Arts. And I never thought I would say this, but I love middle schoolers! Huh! Who knew? This is also the perfect job because even though I am busier than I can imagine during the school year, I can blog during the summer.

9. I bought a new car! I bought a Honda CR-V, and her name is Charlotte. 

8. I am fostering kittens again. I've had 3 litters in the past year. My current litter is the smallest batch I've ever had. They are 3 weeks old. Meet Vinny:

7. As evidenced above, I am still an orange cat lover. Ben is now 4 years old! 

6. My good friend Yasmina and I just finished a 3 day fruit and veggie cleanse. I have not have chocolate for 3 days! Yoi! 

5. Anthony and I are taking our long-awaited honeymoon next month! Palm trees, here we come! 

4. Anthony took me to the Melting Pot for my birthday this year! Does he know me or what?! 

3. I made these:

2. Besides one small pipe bursting in the basement, our home is perfect. Anthony and I still love our little house in Brentwood.

1. Anthony and I got married!

More to come! 

Local Chocolate

Anthony and I recently bought our dream home near Pittsburgh. I was at a local grocery shop a few weeks ago and in the checkout lane they had candy made from a local chocolatier. Never one to pass up a new chocolate, I picked up a chocolate dipped Oreo from Esther's Homemade Candy.

It is America's favorite cookie dipped in a healthy amount of delicious milk chocolate. The chocolate is very smooth and melts in your mouth. This is definitely a chocolate I think could stand on its own in a bar. It doesn't need the oreo to be tasty.  Satisfies my chocolate emergency for sure.  And I'm proud to live in a community that makes delicious chocolate!

Le Whif Part 2

In an earlier post (way earlier) I blogged about a company called Le Whif who makes a breathable chocolate. It was still in the works and would be released soon. Well, in her best roommate fashion, a few months ago Brittany announced to me that she had ordered some Le Whif for us and it would be arriving shortly.

Chocolate that you can take with you anywhere, and it won't melt in your pocket! Perfect for a chocolate emergency. Brittany and I got to try Chocolate, Raspberry Chocolate, and Mint Chocolate flavors.

A quick inhalation and a ring of powder lands on your tongue. Perfectly delightful. Rasperry Chocolate wins first place in my heart.

So does it satisfy the chocolate emergency? Yes and no. It does not satisfy the smooth and creamy texture I desire so much about chocolate but it is nice to have the flavor any time and anywhere I want it. 

Sweet 'n Salty

Gotta love this time of year. Fall is a beautiful season in the 'burgh. Also, now is the time that the stores are selling boatloads of Halloween candy. That's right, you knew it was going back to chocolate. I'm even clipping coupons for snack-sized Snickers. Hooray.

Of course I couldn't pass up a half off bag of pretzel M&Ms at the store. No, this isn't the first time I've had them; however they are so delicious that I find them worthy of a blog post.

Mars nailed the cravings for salty and sweet on this one. The only thing I would change? Add more chocolate. Shocking, I know. But I feel like just one more coating would do the trick. I find myself eating just a few more each time to satisfy the chocolate craving. Perhaps that's exactly what M&Ms wanted... Tricky...  I would love a dark chocolate version!



Bonus: Don't you just love the new Orange character?!

Stop. Drop. and Enjoy.

Have you tried the new Hershey's Drops? They are along the same choco vein as M&Ms only without the candy shell and are twice as large!

So far I've tried two varieties. First I tried the York Peppermint Patties drops... only without the peppermint patty. I'd have to say they are a little disappointing. This is probably because my favorite part of the peppermint patty is the white peppermint - which is lacking in the drops. The drops are nothing more than candy coated dark chocolate infused with peppermint. These do not taste like the "sensational" York peppermint patties.

However, the Cookies 'n Creme drops get the Chocolate Emergency big thumbs up! These taste just like the candy bar in a pop-able little morsel. I nearly got in a fight with my fiancee over these because I thought he ate them all! 

Yet to try are the mini - mini Reese's cups. Yum! Because they are so mini, I won't have to feel bad after eating 10 20 of them. 

Trader Joe's

This time it's my BPAF (Best Pennsylvania Friend) Brittany to supply me with the goods to enjoy and post about.

I've tasted the Dark Chocolate Bar with caramel and black sea salt. I've seen this combination before. Most deliciously at the Milkshake Factory dahn in the Sahside (South Side - for you non-burghers.) While theirs is a piece of candy, this is a bar.

Made by Trader Joe's, thin 70% cacao squares surround runny caramel. The caramel is a dark milk caramel that tastes very sweet and buttery. The sweet caramel nicely offsets the bitter chocolate. The sea salt is a very nice and welcome spurt of flavor. It's a great complement. The salt comes from the seawater that surrounds the Hawaiian Islands.

The only problem with the bar? After breaking apart the squares, the caramel runs out and coats the packaging and outside of the chocolate. - Not that I'm complaining about licking it off my fingers, but it gets a little messy.

Bonus - I love creative copywriting. The last sentence on the back of the package says, "... pairs well with a lei, Hawaiian shirt and a grass skirt." Good one. This choco treat comes highly recommended from moi.

Cake Tasting!

Anthony and I have our cake tasting today for the wedding! We I have requested to taste the chocolate batter and chocolate fudge filling. Very exciting. Stay tuned!