Tuesday, August 4, 2009

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......




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.

13 comments:

  1. Good Morning Marcy,
    So sorry to hear about Angie's friend. Will say prayers for them both.
    I am loving your chocolate series very much Marcy but I hope you don't mind that I don't tell Katie that chocolate is a vegtable. I'm afraid that she would really take advandage of this information and I will never hear the end of it!

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  2. Oh, I'm very sorry to hear about Angie's friend, I will be praying for both John and Angie during this trying time.

    All this talk of chocolate lately, I can't stop eating it now!
    I guess this week I'll be putting back on the five pounds I lost last week! Oh well.
    Life's too short to worry about things like that, especially when there is so much chocolate to be enjoyed! And do know, it really is a mood enhancer for me. It truly is my 'comfort food'!
    Love you,
    Eileen

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  3. ***Diana, hopefully your family doctor will not get wind of this and think you are depriving your child of valuable information as well as one of the vital food groups!
    Thx for the prayers for Angie and her friend!

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  4. ***Eileen, how did your comment sneak in on me? You must have been posting as I was posing and you won!
    When men are in 'trouble', someone should tell them to come into a room with their arm outstretched and a BIG bar of chocolate in it!
    So see, chocolate is not only a comfort food, it is a peace making food?? Ya hoo...do the benefits never cease??
    Thx for your prayers, too, my friend.

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  5. Bring on the chocolate....and the chocolate history, trivia, and jokes.
    I like "Nobody knows the Truffles I've Seen"...
    :)) Yep.....that's the truth regarding moi!
    I will pray for Angie and her friend. Thank you for sharing the prayer request.
    Love,
    Jackie

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  6. These chocolate jokes and trivia are some of your best work Marcy...just joking...but they really are funny and True! I haven't had any yet but I will, I ate the last brownie Alivia and I made last night while watching Tom Cruise's movie Valkyrie, which was actually a very good movie!

    Prayers for John~
    Wanda

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  7. Chocolate is a little heaven for me. In fact, I think I must indulge a bit this week in particular (ahem) and I have just the thing: Hershey's Macadamia Nut Kisses (only sold in HI). They little paper at the top says "Aloha" instead of "Hershey's". :)

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  8. Good afternoon Marcy, Your series on chocolate has been wonderful! I have learned many new things. I for one just love it and I could have it anytime during the day too. I just keep a little bit in the house for the ultimate chocolate emergency but now you have me thinking about my stash. I'm off to sneak a little bit. Shh.. Don't tell anybody though.

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  9. You are always so informative, as well as entertaining!

    Will keep Angie's friend in prayer.

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  10. Re. "Nobody knows the truffles I've seen"...A friend made many, many truffles for serving at our Christmas Open House. She delivered them the night before. When she came the next day to help arrange the tables with me, she was surprised to see the number of truffles GREATLY diminished. I was so embarrassed to say I got started on them and couldn't STOP! Since then, I've shown a little more restraint. But OH MY were they good!

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  11. Hi Marcy, I am so behind with my comments today but I have left the best for the last. I love these post on chocolate....something so dear to my heart and nearer to my stomach...my mouth is watering right now.I Want Some Chocolate....glad its later and I'm done eating for the day so will try and get through the day tomorrow without it....your making it hard my friend. I have already said prayers for John and Angie and will continue to do so, they now carry a special place on my prayer list which I am devouted to each day.
    Take care my friend.....:-) Hugs

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  12. You're on a roll here, Marcy... And I LOVE it! BUt, boy, are you making my dieting hard! &:o) (I could sure go for a Snickers right now...)

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