Holy Mole

We had dinner last night at our favorite burrito place, Cactus Taqueria in Rockridge.  What does a burrito have to do with chocolate?  Mole rojo - chicken in a red sauce of tomatoes, roasted chilies, ground nuts & a hint of Mexican CHOCOLATE.  The chicken is cooked to tender perfection.  It follows my motto:  everything is better with chocolate.  I washed it down with a mango agua fresca. My husband always has a chicken burrito regular, no beans, no salsa on a spinach tortilla.  He feels the spinach tortilla counts as a vegetable.  Holy mole.

Powell's Sweet Shoppe Lafayette

Always on the prowl for my next chocolate encounter, I walked by Powell's Sweet Shoppe in Lafayette.  The Gelato sign caught my eye and drew me in.  With 15 locations in California, the store is like stepping back into your childhood candy dreams.  A wide assortment of all your favorites, past and present.  The Gelato selection ranges from strawberry to my favorite dark chocolate. They carry a line of chocolates from Le Grand Confectionary, a Sacramento company.  The owner, Zeina, is extremely helpful in finding the right sweet fix for you.

La Boulange Bakery - Starbucks

A favorite frequent stop during a walk through my Cole Valley neighborhood, is La Boulange Bakery.  I dream of their perfect chocolate kouign amann pastry to fuel me for my walk home through the Haight.  When visiting, my Mom needs a La Boulange almond croissant to start her day. Starbucks recently acquired it for $100 million.  Someone is walking away rich.  Will the perfect texture of my kouign amann walk away too? 
"Hopefully, we won't get too corporate," one employee said as she wrinkled her nose when I recently stopped in for my favorite pastry and a hot chocolate. Hopefully so. Time will tell. I contemplated the mega corporate possibilities as I sipped my hot chocolate, that and the French paradox.  How do they do it?  How can I eat like this daily and not gain weight?  The chocolate croissant called to me to take it home for a late night snack.  I bought this apple tart for my husband instead.

Ghirardelli - San Francisco Classic

The Golden Gate Bridge, Cable Cars and Ghirardelli chocolate are things people outside of the Bay Area often associate with San Francisco. Visitors sometimes want a taste of the classic chocolate.  I recently discovered the Ghirardelli Outlet Store in San Leandro at the corporate headquarters.  Walking up to the store, the chocolate aroma from the factory surrounds you like a kiss from chocolate heaven.  The product is about half price of regular retail.  It is a great place to stock up on the classic San Francisco chocolate.  One of the many reasons to leave your heart in San Francisco.

Rolling Dunes Hot Chocolate

Great crepes and other surprising delights are found at Rolling Dunes on Lakeshore in Oakland.  One of my favorite discoveries is the rich hot chocolate. Try it by itself or with another favorite the Eggs Blackstone, eggs Benedict with grilled tomato and bacon. All the crepes I have tried are great, but the Italian style Milano and apple Mirage for desert keep finding their way back to me.  We also stop in to satisfy our desert cravings with the apple pie for my husband and, of course, the chocolate cake for me. 

Martha Stewart 4th of July S'mores

Happy 4th of July!  Check out this s'more recipe from Martha Stewart.  In pure Martha fashion, she makes her own graham crackers with star centers.

Black Bottom Cupcakes with Valrhona Chocolate

A friend brought these cupcakes to a party and they were the best I had ever tasted.  She recommended using Valrhona Unsweetened Baking Powder which I found at Berkeley Bowl.

The combination of the chocolate cupcakes with the creamy cream cheese mixture is a delectable example of ebony and ivory in sweet harmony.

 Combine in bowl:
1 cup (8 oz pkg) cream cheese with
1 unbeaten egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt....beat well
Stir in 1 6 oz. pkg. chocolate morsels

Sift together:
3 cups sifted all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa (recommended Valrhona Unsweetened Baking Cocoa Powder 100%)
2 tsp. soda
2 tsp. salt

Add:
2 cups water
2 tsp. vinegar
2/3 cup cooking oil
2 tsp. vanilla

Beat all ingredients together.  Fill muffin cups with 1/3 batter and top each with a teaspoon of cream cheese mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees.  Check with a toothpick.  Makes about 3 dozen.

Enjoy!