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| Re: And the winners are…. & A SUNSHINE tangent suitable to the occasion [message #32171 is a reply to message #32158 ] |
Sun, 01 August 2010 23:45   |
EMoon
Messages: 664
Registered: March 2009 |
Senior Member |
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Want...dark chocolate macaroons....really, REALLY want dark chocolate macaroons. (My husband doesn't like coconut either. Sigh.) Not sure I can sleep tonight, now...I may have to eat far too much Green & Black's to compensate...whimper...
E
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| Re: And the winners are…. & A SUNSHINE tangent suitable to the occasion [message #32177 is a reply to message #32158 ] |
Mon, 02 August 2010 06:07 |
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Late to the party bat post - I have been away on holiday with no Interwebs and found this in my updating - an amusing bat story with added cats (no bats harmed in the making of the story)
http://heresluck.livejournal.com/320699.html
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| Re: And the winners are…. & A SUNSHINE tangent suitable to the occasion [message #32180 is a reply to message #32158 ] |
Mon, 02 August 2010 14:57 |
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Hmmm. The world does seem divided into those who adore coconut and those who can't abide it. I have to weigh in with Peter on this one. But slivered almonds, *ponders* -- I wonder if pecans would work? You just sent me to the chocolate bits jar to nom a handful, you know. No Green & Blacks, but the Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chips are pretty good. (And lots more affordable when bought at World Market in the big bags.)
Congratulations to the winners of Sunshine! I think recipes should definitely be sent in for all to drool over.
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| Re: And the winners are…. & A SUNSHINE tangent suitable to the occasion [message #32185 is a reply to message #32180 ] |
Mon, 02 August 2010 21:30 |
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equus_peduus
Messages: 437
Registered: September 2009
Location: France |
Senior Member |
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| abigailmm wrote on Mon, 02 August 2010 11:57 |
Hmmm. The world does seem divided into those who adore coconut and those who can't abide it. I have to weigh in with Peter on this one. But slivered almonds, *ponders* -- I wonder if pecans would work? You just sent me to the chocolate bits jar to nom a handful, you know. No Green & Blacks, but the Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chips are pretty good. (And lots more affordable when bought at World Market in the big bags.)
Congratulations to the winners of Sunshine! I think recipes should definitely be sent in for all to drool over.
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If you have a Trader Joe's nearby, the Trader Joe's Pound Plus chocolate bars are relatively not-too-expensive and have pretty good quality chocolate (I use it for my chocolate mousse, for example) - comes in milk, and various percentages of dark up to ~72% as the darkest, I think. Scharffenberger chocolate, while more expensive, is often a good option (and I will no longer use any other cocoa powder... ). But the Ghiradelli is adequate for many applications (it's my go-to for chocolate chip cookies and brownies). No, I haven't experimented far too much... >.> And it's not like I've figured out the best proportions of which kind of chocolate to put into different types of desserts since I like more milk-chocolate-ish and my boyfriend prefers dark-chocolate-ish so I need to come up with something perfectly in the middle so we both like it... no, no chocolate experiments around here <looks around shiftily>...
I don't like coconut unless it's involved in my mother's Lazy Dazy cake (which she hasn't made in years, so maybe I don't like that any more either, who knows?). But the almonds idea might work... or it sounds good without almonds too...
Oh, and congratulations to the winners! I'm jealous 
[Updated on: Mon, 02 August 2010 21:30]
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| Re: And the winners are…. & A SUNSHINE tangent suitable to the occasion [message #32188 is a reply to message #32180 ] |
Mon, 02 August 2010 22:59 |
EMoon
Messages: 664
Registered: March 2009 |
Senior Member |
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Ghirardelli chocolate bits come in BIG BAGS?
Doomed. Totally doomed.
E
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| Re: And the winners are…. & A SUNSHINE tangent suitable to the occasion [message #32217 is a reply to message #32185 ] |
Tue, 03 August 2010 18:52 |
 Aaron
Messages: 319
Registered: June 2009
Location: California |
Senior Member |
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| equus_peduus wrote on Mon, 02 August 2010 18:30 |
| abigailmm wrote on Mon, 02 August 2010 11:57 |
. . . You just sent me to the chocolate bits jar to nom a handful, you know. No Green & Blacks, but the Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chips are pretty good. (And lots more affordable when bought at World Market in the big bags.)
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If you have a Trader Joe's nearby, the Trader Joe's Pound Plus chocolate bars are relatively not-too-expensive and have pretty good quality chocolate (I use it for my chocolate mousse, for example) - comes in milk, and various percentages of dark up to ~72% as the darkest, I think. Scharffenberger chocolate, while more expensive, is often a good option (and I will no longer use any other cocoa powder... ). But the Ghiradelli is adequate for many applications (it's my go-to for chocolate chip cookies and brownies). No, I haven't experimented far too much... >.>
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I worry about Trader Joe's since they are sourcing what they can get at a good price (yea) and next week it may be something entirely different. I haven't gotten badly burned but these days I stick to buying from someone that actually produces their own chocolate. For most purposes my favourite over many years worth of comparisons is Valrhona's Guanaja, available in three kilo bags of wafers (although there is something nice about the heft of a one kilo bar). This is a blended chocolate so it is aiming at a consistent flavour year to year (like a non-vintage Champagne from Cliquot or Roderer). I do use some Michel Cluizel "Hacienda Concepcion" for things like hot chocolate (as distinct from hot cocoa) where the details of the flavour stand out. I admit that five kilo bags of this are a bit of a shock to the wallet. Even if I didn't care about the price I think I would still go with the blended over the single origin chocolate for most things. Part of what I like about the Concepcion is that it is different but it has to be different from the standard for this to be meaningful and I keep coming back to the Guanaja as my standard.
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| Re: And the winners are…. & A SUNSHINE tangent suitable to the occasion [message #32228 is a reply to message #32220 ] |
Tue, 03 August 2010 22:07 |
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Black Bear, I like Nestle's too. never knew anything else until recently. But the Ghirardelli 60% are better, to me, more chocolate and less sugar. A couple of years ago I discovered the trick of putting them in Malt-o-Meal hot cereal, just as i put it in the bowl to eat, so they don't get melted and stirred in. It's preposterously good. Hmmm, I haven't had supper yet and I already ate 6 vegetables today ...
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| Re: And the winners are…. & A SUNSHINE tangent suitable to the occasion [message #32250 is a reply to message #32226 ] |
Wed, 04 August 2010 14:19 |
Aaron
Messages: 319
Registered: June 2009
Location: California |
Senior Member |
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| equus_peduus wrote on Tue, 03 August 2010 18:39 |
| Aaron wrote on Tue, 03 August 2010 15:52 |
I worry about Trader Joe's since they are sourcing what they can get at a good price (yea) and next week it may be something entirely different.
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FWIW, I've been buying their pound plus bars of various strengths for at least 3-4 years now, and it seems pretty consistent.
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That is a testimonial and I am glad to hear it.
| equus_peduus wrote on Tue, 03 August 2010 18:39 |
For some reason, I thought that your profile says (or used to say) Berkeley... which means you're semi-local to me, and if you are buying this in a semi-local manner, I was hoping you might share where it is to be found so I can try it?
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I have reduced the amount of information I publish on-line but your recollection is correct.
The Guanaja is routinely available from Spun Sugar (1611 University Ave @ California Street in, yes, Berkeley). They are materially more expensive than ordering from www.chocosphere.com on-line but warm weather shipping might make up most of the difference.
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| Re: And the winners are…. & A SUNSHINE tangent suitable to the occasion [message #32278 is a reply to message #32250 ] |
Thu, 05 August 2010 02:41 |
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equus_peduus
Messages: 437
Registered: September 2009
Location: France |
Senior Member |
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| Aaron wrote on Wed, 04 August 2010 11:19 |
The Guanaja is routinely available from Spun Sugar (1611 University Ave @ California Street in, yes, Berkeley).
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And my viola lessons are about two blocks away from that intersection. And my next lesson is on Friday. I am probably doomed.
And good chocolate (and other ingredients) makes a significant difference in quality of end product, even if it's "just" chocolate chip cookies. Nestle Tollhouse and Hershey's anything are not allowed in my kitchen.
[Updated on: Thu, 05 August 2010 02:43]
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