Let's talk Chocolate

                                            Chocolate covered caramels...big ones!

My drug of choice is 70% chocolate.

I was just going to do a spiel about the delights of european chocolate over the American varieties when my friend, KAREN VICTORIA started sending me mouthwatering pictures of her first efforts towards a NYC based chocolate business.

 And as I am all for hands-on creative endeavors of all kinds, I want to keep you posted on her progress.

Her base chocolate is FRench from the Ardeche.

 If you google their site ... http://www.Valrhona.com you will get an eye full of one of the best companies in France.   Karen V. orders her Valrhona through an Oregon company called http://www.chocosphere.com She says that they import chocolate from all over the world and have an excellent site as well.  

In the future I will be telling you about her plain caramels and more ....

  But for now, these pics are of her chocolate covered caramels.  She uses Lyle's golden syrup from the UK...not corn syrup.  She also uses Irish salted cultured butter which somehow just sounds better than anything, doesn't it?


but before I go into ecstasy and start rolling in the grass like a hound....

I just wanted to say that in FRance, chocolate, especially organically grown (bio), is thought of as a health food and is  always found in health food stores.  Of course cacao content of 70 % or more does have magnesium and general mood lifting qualities.   Even in my french diet book for losing weight they allow the dieter 2 squares a day.

 Now that is my kind of diet.

On an ordinary day I go for Lindt.... their new" fleur de sel" chocolate noir.  With that little bit of salt in there, the 70 % chocolate  takes on a carmel quality.

So I just can't wait to try Karen Victoria's caramel chocolates.

 Karen's pics. (except the Lindt one) .  

Remember, you read about KAREN VICTORIA CHOCOLATES here first.