Chocolate dreams

The last two days have seen me in more than my usual share of supermarkets, delis and food purveyor stores. Tonight I was at another large supermarket, pushing my cart up and down the aisles, picking up fresh vegetables, pantry staples, and some necessities to keep the cat happy. Usually, I'll spend a few seconds checking if the Haagen-Dazs freezer has coffee or hoping against hope they'll bring back vanilla fudge. Tonight what really made me stop and lust was the well stocked Lindt display. Not just the typical bars of milk chocolate and white chocolate, but they had several of the dark chocolates (Madagasgar, 60%cacao for example), and orange infused chocolates, plus one bar on the bottom shelf infused with almonds. My mind raced thinking how I'd use the different flavors, my hand hovering over one choice over another. Truffles using the dark chocolate and maybe the white chocolate bar, or maybe add chips from the orange chocolate bar to some cookie dough, or maybe some of the small bars so I can nibble when I'm feeling blue...

On NPR, Kitchen Windows has an article about the Spanish obsession with chocolate. One of the brands given page time is Valor, a good spanish chocolate label, easily found locally at Terry's. But I don't think I've seen the bonbons sold locally, I wonder what the vinegar and chocolate flavor would taste like? It's unlikely they'd use something as harsh as a sinumak! The cream of chocolate recipe sounds easy and wonderfully rich, I know what to serve some friends this February for brunch. Or maybe I can make the whipped chocolate spread to go with some hearty toasted bread, just as they do in an Argentinian hotel I read about. Life's not always like a box of chocolates, I prefer making it a part of my life.