Yay! No exercise today. I am enjoying the pilates workouts, but it is very nice to know I don’t have to do it today, Sunday, my day of rest. So different from other days…:)
Yesterday we spent the afternoon at CHOX for a chocolate-making class. We learned all about the process from the owners Nina and Baris. We even got to make a half pound of chocolate creations to take home!
Nina and Baris are the current owners. They took over the business from Debra (“the chocolate lady”), who brought her business here from California. Nina is from West Africa. She tells the story of having a passion to learn the process so that she could make treats for Baris, her new husband, the chocolate lover from Turkey. What a lovely couple. They worked with Debra until they had perfected their skills and now are flourishing.
Baris then took over and showed us all the mechanical steps to producing the chocolate for the form ready for molding.
The dried pod from the tree and the beans from inside which have been roasted in an oven:
This video shows Jerry taking his turn at the grinder (a Champion juicer).
The above images show the nibs after grinding; the melanger with sugar and other ingredients added; and the cocoa butter, which is produced separately with a baking soda process.
The melanger runs for 36 hours to assure that the product is silky smooth. The cocoa butter is used to make white chocolate and also as a skin moisturizer. (edit on 1/14: I’ve been using it nightly and love it).
Next, we moved to the room next door where we melted, tempered, molded and decorated our chocolate. We were able to choose the chocolate strength we liked best: 80% 70% 60%, coffee or milk. Dan, Jerry and I chose 70%, Kathy went with the coffee, and Nancy chose the 80 (I think). We could choose from the following toppings: cashews, hazelnuts, pecans, coffee beans, dried coconut, dried orange, candied ginger and caramel.
Absolutely heavenly. I have NEVER tasted better chocolate. We paid $46 for this 3-hour class. Baris said that he would sell a single bar like this for $10 at his table at the Tuesday Market, so I think it was a great deal.
When I got home, since we are leaving for the beach on Monday, I had to take an inventory of my refrigerator and make a clean-out-the-refrigerator soup, which I will freeze. Garlic, onions, carrots, celery, cabbage, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, oregano, basil, mint and celery tops. Turned out to be very good – topped with basil pesto. I added the remainder of the jar to the pot. I don’t have to think about dinner next week.
Tomorrow we are off to Las Lajas!!