Chocolate: Chocolate Visions Hearts Delight Bar

Chocolate Visions Hearts Delight Bar is a bittersweet bar with almonds, but the wrapper says "Blenheim Apricots, Applewood Smoked Almonds." I add that because I can't actually taste apricots, it's just that the bar tastes a little fruity and a little bit sweeter without making the chocolate taste sweeter. I don't know how they do that.

The almonds and the bittersweet are enough to make me really like this bar. I've already put one of their bars on my "love" list due to the wonderful nuts. And I'm really glad that there aren't any little apricot bits as I'm not that fond of fruit in my chocolate. I like the flavoring (remind me to talk about orange and chocolate) but not the actual fruit pieces.

I'm rambling now.

I like the bar. I am a little disappointed that I can't easily find their chocolate bars on their website though. Here's a little info about them.

Books: Wicked Games

I picked up a free Kindle read, Wicked Games, by Jill Myles. I did not look at this book for its content - you did see the word FREE, but I was wonderfully surprised. The story about Abby having to go on a survival show called Endurance Island, where she meets someone she wants to hate, had me laughing out loud several times. I will be looking for more of her humor in other books. I have found that Myles has a series revolving around the supernatural, but I've never been that fond of the particular supernatural she writes about. At the very least, if you are looking for a quick, cute read that doesn't hide the sex scenes, you might like this one.

TV: Eureka Cancelled...

...someone pass the smelling salts! I'm so bummed about this. I want to be angry because we're being given a real ending (which happens because they know so far in advance that they can try to appease us), but they're taking it away. Wah!

In other news, Laurence Fishburne is leaving CSI. Apparently he never intended to stay as long as he had. The CSI score in my mind did drop when Grissom left, but Fishburne didn't do too bad of a job keeping up the show. The show and cast is getting fairly skimpy.

Miscellaneous: Bullet Proof Skin

Sometimes it's really great to have interesting friends on Facebook. While I'm not so fond of all the links posted to various things, every once in a while the "pretty cool" pops up. Now I know there are several directions that we could go with this information, but the first thing I think of is super heroes! LOL! Seriously though, where do you see us going with Bullet Proof Skin?

Men: Guess Whose Eyes?

These eyes belong to an actor who plays a lot of small parts in TV and movies. Overall, he really isn't my kind of eye candy, but many find him to be theirs ;) Whose eyes?

Chocolate: Zotter Butter Caramel

Zotter Butter Caramel

Austrian, organic and fair, hand-scooped dark mountain milk chocolate filled with butter-caramel-cream (31%) cocoa (50%)

First, not what I expected at all. I was thinking of the traditional caramel filled chocolate. Instead there was a thin layer of caramel and a nutty center (sort of chewy and crunchy at the same time - but that might have to do with where I was keeping the bar before consumption).

Second, it's good. I would get it again. It is more like candy than solid chocolate, but I like it anyway.

There's a better description out there of the insides along with some other Zotter bar reviews.

Books: How to Knit a Love Song

B, yes B, picked up and read this book for a solid 5 minutes. Granted it involves a "he knows this person who's the relative of the author" kind of thing and it was the steamy part, but he read it! I know, now you're thinking I'm not going to give this book an honest review.

How to Knit a Love Song by Rachael Herron (<--her blog).
The story background involves knitting - a knitting movement around a late knitting guru named Eliza. Eliza is also a crafty matchmaker even in death. She wills the main character to a cottage and a bit of land located on the property she wills to her nephew. He is none too happy about the arrangement. There's even a real pattern at the end of the book (I'm a crocheter though :()

I will make three comments and leave it at that:
1. Just like any other little romance, this one delivers.
2. One major event foreshadowing wasn't subtle - I could see it coming early. I don't know if that was intentional.
3. This author doesn't sugar coat. This was no Harlequin. There were a couple of scenes that were very nicely described and felt real. Which doesn't always happen in these kinds of books.

Oops, one more thing, I'm going to read her next one :)

TV: That Time Again...

Fall schedule time.

Links...

TV Guide

ABC's pdf or this

NBC

CBS

Fox (with midseason link as well)

Got nothin' for Syfy, but they're putting out the shows now so we'll see. USA also shows its shows off season.

Check it out.

Miscellaneous: Restaurant Food

We went to a comedy club recently and saw Greg Proops. While the three comedians were pretty funny, something Proops said had me recalling something else I had said an hour before about some restaurant food.

He described a food item that was over the top. Something like (and these are my words because I couldn't repeat anything close to what he said) Lemon grilled salmon on rosemary ciabatta bread with sundried tomatoes, arugula, mango chutney, and lobster mayo; Romaine caesar salad with onion grilled sardines, asiago cheese, and dusted with black truffle; basil potato fries (marscapone sauce for dipping).

O.o

Basically I want to go to a restaurant with food I can recognize. I think some of these chefs don't even know what they're cooking anymore. It just sounds cool.

At least the words were something I was familiar with even if the combination of them was insane. I really hate it when I can't read foreign language foods and the restaurant is too posh to put a description for us mortals.

I didn't take French in high school, so what the heck is this: quiche aux legumes- pâte feuilletée, crème fraiche, frisée salad

or tian
or haricot vert
or nicoise

Nor did I take Italian....pappardelle, mignonette, cioppino, or carpaccio.

Suffice to say I am not a foodie. Give me a pepperoni pizza please.

Men: Luke Macfarlane

Name: Thomas Luke Macfarlane Jr.
Best Known For: TV, Brothers and Sisters
Year of Birth: 1980
Status: Single
Height: 6'2"
Fun Fact: Sang in a boys choir

Can't tell you how I spotted this Canadian, because I never watched the show. Somehow I bookmarked a link to him and had forgotten :/ Good news: He's got such a cute wholesome look. He's also a musician, being the lead singer and songwriter for a band he started in middle school. He also plays the cello and trumpet. Sad news: All that said, he bats for the other team.

Chocolate: Soda

I've been wanting this since I watched some show about favorite drinks on Food Network. I've finally gotten the ingredients together. No, it isn't like they were really difficult, but I haven't been motivated to leave the house for the last month. This relaxing stuff feels good.:D


The first recipe I have is from A Taste of Home and makes two servings.
6 tablespoons chocolate syrup
2 tablespoons whipped cream in a can
2-1/2 cups cold carbonated water
4 scoops ice cream of your choice
Additional whipped cream, optional
For each serving, place 3 tablespoons chocolate syrup in a 16-oz. glass. Stir in 1 tablespoon of whipped cream and 1-1/4 cups water until foamy. Add two scoops of ice cream. Top with additional whipped cream if desired.

This one is from Food.com and also makes two servings.
1/3 cup chocolate syrup
2 scoops vanilla ice cream
6 ounces cola or 6 ounces seltzer water
maraschino cherry
Pour chocolate syrup in the bottom of an 8-ounce milk shake glass. Smoosh in one scoop of ice cream. Slowly pour in soda water almost to top of glass. Perch another scoop of ice cream on top. Add a cherry and a colorful straw or two.

Lastly, there was a link to old fashioned shakes which wasn't formatted friendly so you'll have to go take a look.

In the end I put about 1/4 cup of Ghirardelli chocolate syrup into the bottom of a cup. Added a little seltzer water and mixed to make a more liquidy syrup. Put two scoops of Dreyer's vanilla ice cream on top. Poured the seltzer water on and then "chop mixed" the ice cream until nearly dissolved. It was very good!

The only caution I have was that the seltzer water is massively bubbly and I had to make small sodas to keep my tummy from feeling too full. :)