365 Days, Day 209

Forget love - I'd rather fall in chocolate! (Sandra J. Dykes)

Make a list of important things to do today. At the top of your list, put "eat chocolate". Now, you'll get at least one thing done today (Gina Hayes)

Tom gave me a box of Elephant chocolates, so one a day, will keep me happy for the next 6 weeks or so. Annastasia gave me a little tin of chocolates, which I will snack on in between the elephants. And Mom gave me some tiramisu chocolates, which I am saving for special moments. So chocolate-wise, I am sorted for the next month or so… and then it’s my Birthday!

I have come up with a list of 10 things to do with chocolate:

Eat it:

Either as it is or

Chocolate fondue recipe

250 ml cream, 100 grams dark chocolate, 100 grams milk chocolate

Warm the cream in a saucepan over low heat. Chop up the chocolates and add to the cream. Stir over low heat until smooth. Place into fondue bowl and place over the tea light candle.

Serve with selection of fresh fruits including strawberries, raspberries, pear, banana and orange or mashmallows for something different.

Melt it over ice-cream – Bar-One sauce: Break a few Bar-Ones into chunks, add a touch of milk or cream. Heat in microwave meanwhile dish up the ice-cream. Give the sauce a stir, not too much (so there are still unmelted bits) and pour over the ice-cream.

Drink it:

Either buy a rich hot chocolate from Thornton’s or make your own chocolate drink with chocolate, cream and milk.

Travel to see it:

There are chocolate tours in London - the Mayfair Chocolate tour or the Chelsea Chocolate tour, which I believe are decadently wonderful.

Or one could visit Cadbury World in Birmingham.

Watch it:

You could watch a choccy movie, like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Chocolat, whilst munching on a box of maltesers…

Read it:

Both of the movies above are books that capture and delight me. You could read about the history of chocolate, or you could read a chocolate recipe book and then make some chocolate cake…

Paint with it:

You could body paint each other (some shops like Ann Summers have little jars of it), or melt some chocolate and paint an artwork. Or let your children have a wall painting treat in the bath – make a bowl of chocolate instant pudding and give it to them to paint the bathroom wall, preferably the one next to the bath!

Have a massage with it:

I have not experienced this but have heard it is absolutely delightful. “The attraction of chocolate massage is that the chocolate aroma makes the whole experience more sensual, because of the way the chocolate relaxes most people.”

Listen to it:

Find a YouTube video of the 1970s group Hot Chocolate and listen to You Sexy Thing – this was one of the songs from the Full Monty.

Sculpt with it:

Melt a few blocks of (cooking) chocolate and then freeze it into a cylindrical form. Once hard, chisel away at and create a little chocolate man.

Have an Easter Egg hunt:

There must definitely be loads of clues and the ‘hunters’ must work out each clue in order to progress to the next clue. After about 10 clues they will perhaps find the stash?

I am going to bathe now and then have my nightly elephant chocolate.