Cooking
I always have good intentions, when it comes to blog events. I truly want to join in, but I rarely seem to find the time. Or, Alex gets sick, so I get sick, which means...I live off ready-made food, and don't touch the stove for a week.
But not this time.
See, I had my heart set on joining the Stop the Traffik Chocolate Competition, hosted by R khooks.
We don't like to think about the people who harvested the cocoa beans for that decadent truffle we're eating, or the conditions of their work & home environment as we find solace in the familiar snap of a chocolate bar. We simply enjoy the product.
Unfortunately, a large chunk of the world's chocolate gets it's start under conditions we here in the free world would find deplorable, outrageous even, and make us stand up and protest! Boycott!
Thing is, we never hear about it. Maybe we don't want to...but thanks to R khooks, bloggers are getting the message out that we will not support chocolate companies who purchase their beans from these places.
Today, it's easier than ever to find chocolate that's made without the use of slave labor...we've seen Green & Black's in our local Kroger. And more and more companies are labeling their chocolate 'fair trade'.
Like the Green & Black's Cocoa Powder I used in the base of these Chocolate Caramel Tarts.
I know, from experience, I'm almost ashamed to admit (hey...I was a little kid. what did I know?), that baking cocoa is not fit to eat; you must add sugar to make it palatable.
And yet, while scooping out 1/4 cup of this dark & seductive powder, I was tempted to bring the tin to my mouth, give it a tip up, and let the delicate soil-like granules fall. The smell was intoxicating. The color...rich.
These wonderful little chocolate cups were then filled with a gorgeous amber-colored caramel, seen here.
That, in turn, was delightfully camouflaged by a thick ganache, which got it's chocolate-y goodness from a bar of Supreme Dark Chocolate from Endangered Species Chocolate Company.
These guys have become one of my favorite chocolate companies of all; the products are amazing, the labels almost painfully cute, and in addition to supporting fair trade, they give a percentage of their products to pretty much save the planet.
I love all of their bars, but these people know how to do dark chocolate. And again, you can find most of their products at your local grocery store.
The tarts, meanwhile, finished off with a touch of Fleur de Sel, are amazing. The dark chocolate cookie base is crunchy, and almost savory. The caramel is rich and honeyed, yet not too sweet. And the ganache is...well, dark chocolate and cream. Topped with a few grains of sea salt, it's easy to forget how many of these little darlings you've already eaten!
Time to start thinking about this month's Blog Party theme...and for October, it's all about Halloween!
Do something frightful with your favorite appetizers and cocktails, and get your entries to me no later than Thursday, 25 October...hope to see you there!
Tagged with: Food and Drink + Baking + Caramel + Fair Trade + Chocolate + Stop the Traffl
- Favorites From The Chocolate Salon
Did you make it to the Chocolate Salon this past weekend? It just gets better and better every year. There are salons held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle and Las Vegas annually. In addition to trying tons of chocolate, one of the best...
- Pastry School Secrets Revealed
Every profession has some form of continuing education. But even for the non-professional, what could be better than sitting in on a master class for pastry chefs put on by Valrhona, one of the most highly regarded chocolate companies in the world? Started...
- Caramel Hazelnut Bars
These beauties are so easy to make, not doing so should demand immediate forfeiture of baking rights. An unbelievably easy base, flour and butter and salt and vanilla, topped with dulce de leche (the recipe card I used called for 'caramel ice cream...
- Shf: Surprise!
Surprise! Alanna of Veggie Venture is hosting this month's Sugar High Friday, one of my favorite foodie events. Don't think a veg-heavy blogger can do lots of sugary goodness? Think again. This month's theme, Surprise Inside, just happened...
- Shf#13: The Dark Side - Dark Chocolate Caramel
Shhh. Don't tell anyone. I'm gonna let you in on a secret. You know when I bake something with chocolate in it, I usually excuse myself with something like: "I substituted the dark chocolate for milk chocolate, because that's how Martin wants...
Cooking
These Tarts are Fair Game Trade
I always have good intentions, when it comes to blog events. I truly want to join in, but I rarely seem to find the time. Or, Alex gets sick, so I get sick, which means...I live off ready-made food, and don't touch the stove for a week.
But not this time.
See, I had my heart set on joining the Stop the Traffik Chocolate Competition, hosted by R khooks.
We don't like to think about the people who harvested the cocoa beans for that decadent truffle we're eating, or the conditions of their work & home environment as we find solace in the familiar snap of a chocolate bar. We simply enjoy the product.
Unfortunately, a large chunk of the world's chocolate gets it's start under conditions we here in the free world would find deplorable, outrageous even, and make us stand up and protest! Boycott!
Thing is, we never hear about it. Maybe we don't want to...but thanks to R khooks, bloggers are getting the message out that we will not support chocolate companies who purchase their beans from these places.
Today, it's easier than ever to find chocolate that's made without the use of slave labor...we've seen Green & Black's in our local Kroger. And more and more companies are labeling their chocolate 'fair trade'.
I know, from experience, I'm almost ashamed to admit (hey...I was a little kid. what did I know?), that baking cocoa is not fit to eat; you must add sugar to make it palatable.
And yet, while scooping out 1/4 cup of this dark & seductive powder, I was tempted to bring the tin to my mouth, give it a tip up, and let the delicate soil-like granules fall. The smell was intoxicating. The color...rich.
These wonderful little chocolate cups were then filled with a gorgeous amber-colored caramel, seen here.
That, in turn, was delightfully camouflaged by a thick ganache, which got it's chocolate-y goodness from a bar of Supreme Dark Chocolate from Endangered Species Chocolate Company.
These guys have become one of my favorite chocolate companies of all; the products are amazing, the labels almost painfully cute, and in addition to supporting fair trade, they give a percentage of their products to pretty much save the planet.
I love all of their bars, but these people know how to do dark chocolate. And again, you can find most of their products at your local grocery store.
The tarts, meanwhile, finished off with a touch of Fleur de Sel, are amazing. The dark chocolate cookie base is crunchy, and almost savory. The caramel is rich and honeyed, yet not too sweet. And the ganache is...well, dark chocolate and cream. Topped with a few grains of sea salt, it's easy to forget how many of these little darlings you've already eaten!
Time to start thinking about this month's Blog Party theme...and for October, it's all about Halloween!
Do something frightful with your favorite appetizers and cocktails, and get your entries to me no later than Thursday, 25 October...hope to see you there!
Tagged with: Food and Drink + Baking + Caramel + Fair Trade + Chocolate + Stop the Traffl
- Favorites From The Chocolate Salon
Did you make it to the Chocolate Salon this past weekend? It just gets better and better every year. There are salons held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle and Las Vegas annually. In addition to trying tons of chocolate, one of the best...
- Pastry School Secrets Revealed
Every profession has some form of continuing education. But even for the non-professional, what could be better than sitting in on a master class for pastry chefs put on by Valrhona, one of the most highly regarded chocolate companies in the world? Started...
- Caramel Hazelnut Bars
These beauties are so easy to make, not doing so should demand immediate forfeiture of baking rights. An unbelievably easy base, flour and butter and salt and vanilla, topped with dulce de leche (the recipe card I used called for 'caramel ice cream...
- Shf: Surprise!
Surprise! Alanna of Veggie Venture is hosting this month's Sugar High Friday, one of my favorite foodie events. Don't think a veg-heavy blogger can do lots of sugary goodness? Think again. This month's theme, Surprise Inside, just happened...
- Shf#13: The Dark Side - Dark Chocolate Caramel
Shhh. Don't tell anyone. I'm gonna let you in on a secret. You know when I bake something with chocolate in it, I usually excuse myself with something like: "I substituted the dark chocolate for milk chocolate, because that's how Martin wants...