Saturday, November 29, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!!!!!!
Soooooo. The chocolate tasting last Thursday...it was one of the best experiences of my life!! I am so thankful to my darling Lee for this amazing birthday gift.
The chocolatier, Gail Ambrosius, uses only single source chocolate for her truffles. This means that the chocolate is all grown in the same region. We learned alot about how Cacao trees grow, and the farming practices involved. It was actually very fascinating. For instance, the Cacao beans are surrounded by a sweet, white pulp when they first come out of the pods, which enables a fermentation process to occur. Apparently this fermentation is critical to the way the chocolate turns out, and "lesser" chocolates (ie: Hershey's) are generally made from beans that did not ferment correctly. Wow! We owe soooo much to yeast! Bread, Cheese, Beer and Wine, Bio-Diesel and Chocolate!
Anyway, we tasted 6 different chocolates, and it was great to taste the difference between them all. One tasted like bannannas, one like raisins and dried cherrys. There where earhty flavors, nutty, toasty, roasty, spicy woody, even floral (one was like having a maw full of orange blossom, yum!). My favorite smelled like wild flowers and herbs, and tasted like a chocolate hazelnut tort witha smooth thick cakey texture.
mmmmm, chocolate. Lee and I want to ask Gail if she will sell us some of her chocolate
in bulk to use for baking.
The chocolatier, Gail Ambrosius, uses only single source chocolate for her truffles. This means that the chocolate is all grown in the same region. We learned alot about how Cacao trees grow, and the farming practices involved. It was actually very fascinating. For instance, the Cacao beans are surrounded by a sweet, white pulp when they first come out of the pods, which enables a fermentation process to occur. Apparently this fermentation is critical to the way the chocolate turns out, and "lesser" chocolates (ie: Hershey's) are generally made from beans that did not ferment correctly. Wow! We owe soooo much to yeast! Bread, Cheese, Beer and Wine, Bio-Diesel and Chocolate!
Anyway, we tasted 6 different chocolates, and it was great to taste the difference between them all. One tasted like bannannas, one like raisins and dried cherrys. There where earhty flavors, nutty, toasty, roasty, spicy woody, even floral (one was like having a maw full of orange blossom, yum!). My favorite smelled like wild flowers and herbs, and tasted like a chocolate hazelnut tort witha smooth thick cakey texture.
mmmmm, chocolate. Lee and I want to ask Gail if she will sell us some of her chocolate
in bulk to use for baking.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Has it really been so long...
since we managed to post something to the blog!!! Wow, Halloween was the last entry, we are now a week out from Thanksgiving!
Hmmmm. Well, what has happened since Halloween? Not much, except, oh yeah, ELECTION DAY!!!!!! Hallelujah, Hallelujah!!!!!!! President Elect Barack Obama. Man, it just makes me feel good to say that. I recently got an email from a co-worker that relayed a story, the story is set some time in January of 2009. An old man walks up to a Marine posted on guard duty at the White House, and asks to meet President Bush. The marine politely explains that Bush is no longer the president and doesn't live at 1600 Pennsylvania anymore. The same thing, next day, and the next day, by the fourth time the marine loses his patience with the old gentleman, accusing him of wasting his time. The old man apologizes, and replies that he just really likes to hear "George Bush is no longer the president." Only 64 days now!!!!!
Election day was great. I took the day off work, and worked for Obama instead. I did a canvasing for the get out the vote effort, and stopped by our polling location to help out a bit. Wisconsin came through big time, and I am proud to have played a small part in that.
A few days later it was my Birthday. 32 years old. Lee fixed a scrumptious dinner (Moqui Mac and Black Pepper Chocolate Bread Pudding), Patty and Peter joined us, and Olivia gave me Socks and Underwear. Tomorrow (Thursday the 20th) I get my big present from Lee, a chocolate tasting at Ambrosius Chocolate shop, here in the neighborhood. Gail Ambrosius is the chocolateer (yes, that is her real name), and the woman is an artist! I am so excited!
Olivia is well on her way to walking. I believe the record is still somewhere around 8 steps on her own. Wow, what happens around here during the day!!? Lee just informed me that the record is around 25!! Crap, I totally missed that one! It is so adorable to watch her toddle along, and PLOP! down onto her well padded bum (another great reason to use cloth diapers!). It is so amazing to think that she will be a year old in under two months.
Work is going well, I will be moving into my new position as Estimator for Print Products starting December 1st. I am excited to learn new skills, and challenge myself in this way, and I continue to feel so grateful and blessed by this job. We are well taken care of!
Love to all the family and friends in Utah and elsewhere. We miss you all, and hope some of you will get to meet Olivia soon.
Hmmmm. Well, what has happened since Halloween? Not much, except, oh yeah, ELECTION DAY!!!!!! Hallelujah, Hallelujah!!!!!!! President Elect Barack Obama. Man, it just makes me feel good to say that. I recently got an email from a co-worker that relayed a story, the story is set some time in January of 2009. An old man walks up to a Marine posted on guard duty at the White House, and asks to meet President Bush. The marine politely explains that Bush is no longer the president and doesn't live at 1600 Pennsylvania anymore. The same thing, next day, and the next day, by the fourth time the marine loses his patience with the old gentleman, accusing him of wasting his time. The old man apologizes, and replies that he just really likes to hear "George Bush is no longer the president." Only 64 days now!!!!!
Election day was great. I took the day off work, and worked for Obama instead. I did a canvasing for the get out the vote effort, and stopped by our polling location to help out a bit. Wisconsin came through big time, and I am proud to have played a small part in that.
A few days later it was my Birthday. 32 years old. Lee fixed a scrumptious dinner (Moqui Mac and Black Pepper Chocolate Bread Pudding), Patty and Peter joined us, and Olivia gave me Socks and Underwear. Tomorrow (Thursday the 20th) I get my big present from Lee, a chocolate tasting at Ambrosius Chocolate shop, here in the neighborhood. Gail Ambrosius is the chocolateer (yes, that is her real name), and the woman is an artist! I am so excited!
Olivia is well on her way to walking. I believe the record is still somewhere around 8 steps on her own. Wow, what happens around here during the day!!? Lee just informed me that the record is around 25!! Crap, I totally missed that one! It is so adorable to watch her toddle along, and PLOP! down onto her well padded bum (another great reason to use cloth diapers!). It is so amazing to think that she will be a year old in under two months.
Work is going well, I will be moving into my new position as Estimator for Print Products starting December 1st. I am excited to learn new skills, and challenge myself in this way, and I continue to feel so grateful and blessed by this job. We are well taken care of!
Love to all the family and friends in Utah and elsewhere. We miss you all, and hope some of you will get to meet Olivia soon.
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