Victorian Chocolate

While enjoying the chocolate and flowers during holidays, do not forget about your pets. The delightful aroma from the treats and flowers are often tempting to our feline friends and that temptation can result in visits to the vet and worse.

Many people receive chocolate on Valentine’s Day, but chocolate is toxic to pets–dogs and cats. The darker the chocolate, the more toxic, but dark, milk, semi-sweet and baker’s chocolates all can cause adverse reactions. Darker chocolates contain caffeine-like stimulants that cause gastrointestinal, neurological, and cardiac functions that can cause vomiting/diarrhea, hyperactivity, seizures and elevated heart rate. High fat in lighter chocolates can cause life-threatening inflammation of the pancreas, so make sure to keep the chocolate where pets can’t reach it.

Cocktails also pose a threat to pets. Because of their smaller size, even a small amount of alcohol stolen from a low-sitting glass or lapped off the floor after a spill can cause dramatic problems like vomiting/diarrhea, lack of coordination, central nervous system depression, tremors, difficulty breathing, and even coma.

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Every spring I’m out with my small shovel digging up weeds and dandelions. I have read before that the dandelion flower is edible, however, I have never contemplated eating one. Until now. This article from latimes makes it sound really good.

I opened up the wrapper the other night and broke off one of the little squares. This stuff is incredible — intense and velvety, very dark and deep, with brilliant fruit overtones. One little square is like fireworks going off in your mouth. This one was labeled 70% Sambirano Madagascar. They won for their 70% Costa Rica; after tasting this one, I wonder what that’s like.

Says the package: “We roast, crack, sort, winnow, grind, conch and temper small batches of beans. Then we mold and package each of our bars by hand.”

All their single-origin bars are just cocoa beans and sugar. Nothing else. “No added cocoa butter, lecithin, or vanilla.” So what you taste is just the chocolate itself.

Good Food Awards winner: Dandelion Chocolate – latimes.com.

Sometimes you just can not resist the temptation, no matter what the consequences will be.

A naked burglar covered in chocolate and peanut butter was arrested early Tuesday after workers found him inside a Kentucky supermarket.

Andrew Toothman, 22, was collared by State Police troopers who responded to a 911 call from the Food World IGA market in the city of Neon (pop. 770). Pictured in the above mug shot, Toothman was charged with burglary, criminal mischief, and indecent exposure.

A court citation filed yesterday notes that Toothman–who was only wearing a pair of black boots–had “peanut butter and chocolate smeared all over person.” Troopers noted that the store’s front door was “busted out,” and that several fire extinguishers had been discharged. Peanut butter and chocolate were also spread on the market’s floor and in the manager’s office.

via Cops Bust Naked Burglar Covered In Chocolate, Peanut Butter | The Smoking Gun.

This site will have information on making chocolate at home.  By making your own chocolate you will have complete control on what goes in to this delightful treat.  You just might discover that the secret to excellent chocolate is not the name on the wrapper.  The secret to excellent chocolate will be the quality ingredients and love you put in to creating delicious chocolate.