Chocolate Part 2...it's so Versatile

How can you compete with one tiny baby chocolate chihuahua? Rumor has it that his mother loves chocolate so much that she can't stop licking him. As for me I would just be non stop kissing and nuzzling him...

Guess I should have announced that this is a three part series on chocolate as I just found too much good stuff to share about it. There will be a slight interruption for tomorrow's final chocolate splurge as there is a new Meme that I will be doing, so Thursday will be the grand chocolate finale!

All this chocolate talk and writing and research has kind of put me over the edge...I had not one but TWO chocolate (dark chocolate so it's healthier) ice cream bars for breakfast already!!

The perfect start to a perfect breakfast...chocolate pudding in a lovely dish (sometimes it's ALL about how you present it) with a banana to go with it....

Here is the mother lode of chocolate in all its' various delightful tastes from light milk chocolate to dark rich chocolate...

Oh yes and it's VERY important to remember that chocolate can make you holy! Sometimes we forget that God is in all His Creation, so there are chocolate wrappers to remind us.....

Here's Part 2 on the chocolate facts....

Chocolate fun facts

"Christopher Columbus, in 1502, was thought to have brought cocoa beans to King Ferdinand, during his fourth trip from the New World. The cocoa beans went unnoticed due to the other amazing treasured discovered by Christopher Columbus. Upon Don Cortes’ travels, that led him to discover Mexico in 1517, he sought the riches and eminence of the “New World” within the realm of the Aztec civilization. Don Cortes’ interest in the Emperor Montezuma and the empire’s riches drove him to make his way to the Tenochititlan city from Veracruz, where he had first landed upon reaching the “New World.” This is where Don Cortes took his first drink of the treasured ‘chocolatl’ presented in a golden goblet.

Montezuma was known for always drinking his ‘chocolatl’ from a golden goblet and before retiring to his harem, drank his most valued drink. This is where the idea that chocolate holds the effect of an aphrodisiac came into the picture. In 1528, after the Spanish were driven from the city of Tenochtitlan, Cortes returned to Spain but not before loading his armadas with the valued cocoa beans and the equipment to produce the delicious ‘chocolatl’ drink. It was not long after that that ‘chocolatl’ grew to be the drink of choice among the rich.

Of course, new recipes were formulated to suite the Spanish taste. In that time the Monks of the monasteries were skilled in medicines and were given to task of processing the beans and creating the ideal tastes according to the Spanish. It was revealed that the drink was improved when served hot. Sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg were added and the chili removed from the recipe creating a light and delicious version that was kept a secret, due to the lack of supply of cocoa beans in that time. By 1606, chocolate was reputable in Italy, where Mr. Francesco Carletti broke the Spanish monopoly. Francesco Carletti discovered how the Indians made the ‘chocolatl’ drink when he visited Central America.

The Dutch also came upon the treasured cocoa bean when they detained Curacao during the 17th century. This allowed the wonderful properties of the cocoa beans to be recognized and spread through out Europe. It was acclaimed that the cocoa bean was a cure for many ailments at that time. The marriage of the daughter of King Philip II of Spain to King Louis XIII of France not only joined the two as allies but brought chocolate to the French, which ignited a passion for the exotic concoction. Not only did it prove to be nourishing but had medicinal properties as well. In 1684, the French conquered Haiti and Cuba and started their won production of cocoa crops. This created a good supply for the French market.

Germany was introduced to chocolate around 1646 when brought by visitors. Chocolate ultimately reached England in the 1650s, where King Charles II found it to be on of his most valued treasures.

In 1657, London opened one of the first known chocolate houses. The French also began producing and selling chocolate by 1657. A pound of chocolate was prized around 10 -15 shillings. Chocolate was a luxury product only afforded by the rich. The value of cocoa grew so great it surpassed money through out the countries. It was used for trade and worth the weight of gold.

The amazing chocolate drink was the center of gatherings. It was the favored drink among social, business, and even political events. "

Some chocolate smiles....

CHOCOLATE CANDY BARS

Chocolate is a vegetable.Chocolate is derived from cocoa beans.

Bean = vegetable

Sugar is derived from either sugar cane or sugar beets.

Both of them are plants, in the vegetable category.

Thus, chocolate is a vegetable. To go one step further, chocolate candy bars also contain milk, which is dairy.

So chocolate candy bars are a health food.

I know Darth Vader's REAL problem ...poor guy NEVER had any chocolate!!!

We no reeds it two weel and no rits it et all, but we kan spiks Inglish lik a turist!
Thoughts to ponder and smile about......

T-shirts & Bumper Stickers

Put the chocolate in the bag and nobody gets hurt.
EMERGENCY ALERT: If wearer of this shirt is found vacant, listless, or depressed, ADMINISTER CHOCOLATE IMMEDIATELY.
Intergalactic Peace Through Chocolate!
I take chocolate from strangers.
There's a thin person inside of me screaming to get out, but I keep her sedated with chocolate.
If they don't have chocolate in heaven, I ain't going.
Nobody knows the truffles I've seen.
So much chocolate, so little time!
Simply put... everyone has a price, mine is chocolate!
Will work for chocolate.
I'll eat anything! As long as it's chocolate.
There's more to life than chocolate, but not right now.

Nothing chocolate.... Nothing gained.
Eve left the Garden of Eden for chocolate!
I'm not overweight, just chocolate enriched.
Do not Disturb! Chocolate fantasy in progress.
If it ain't chocolate, it ain't breakfast!
Chocolate - The breakfast of champions!
I'm a Chocoholics Anonymous dropout.
The problem: How to get 2 pounds of chocolate home from the store in a hot car. The solution: Eat it in the parking lot.
I never met a chocolate I didn't like. - Counselor Deanna Troi, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Seven days without chocolate makes one weak.
Chocolate: Here today... Gone today!
Seduced by the chocolate side of the Force.
Given enough chocolate and coffee, I could rule the world.
Here, have some chocolate. Feel better now?
I only eat chocolate for you, so there will be more of me to love.
Some like it hot, some like it cold; I like it chocolate!

*****I would like to close by asking all who read this

today to also take some moments to hold in prayer a

friend of Angie's @ Can You All hear me at the Back.

Her friend John has been diagnosed with terminal

cancer and needs loving prayers...Thank you, dear

friends!!*****

~~Thank You Lord for the many blessings You surround us with be they chocolate or more chocolate, to cheer us up.