chocolate – the food poet

Mint Basil Chip Popsicles

So much can change in a year. If I looked back on my life, I always knew where I was going or at least tried to play a good game. From high school to journalism school. From j-school to grad school. And then things completely went off the rails. What looked like a future in… Continue reading Mint Basil Chip Popsicles

Pink Peppercorn Fudge Popsicles

Growing up, popsicles always seemed like the sad substitute for ice cream. The one exception to that rule were the creamy paletas we would pick up at the bodega when visiting our family in Mexico. Back home in Texas though, purple, red, and neon orange frozen confections resembled rockets that required licking and furtive patience… Continue reading Pink Peppercorn Fudge Popsicles

Chocolate Hazelnut Earl Grey Granola

This is where you write something pithy. This is where you tell a funny joke. Or where you share a photo to awaken an urge inside for just one bite. Life comes to us, a whole pie, lattice intact. We share one slice. We take one for ourselves. We feast in quiet corners on the crumbs or… Continue reading Chocolate Hazelnut Earl Grey Granola

Matcha Dusted Maple Chocolate Cupcakes

First of all, it feels so good to be back blogging again. For the first time in two months, my kitchen has come out of lockdown. I’m back in Oakland and planning some delicious things for coming weeks. Cookbooks make good traveling companions, don’t you think? With a pencil in hand, hours of entertainment are yours… Continue reading Matcha Dusted Maple Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Mint Trifle

If I could wish anything for you, it’s that you might know joy. In early 2014, back when I contemplated if I should make resolutions or whether I should balk at the idea of making the same resolutions for the umpteenth year, I began thinking differently about the promise of what a new year gives… Continue reading Chocolate Mint Trifle

Chocolate Mint Pudding

You know how some people became enraptured with cupcakes and dolloped, smeared or piped their weight in cupcakes during the time that that particular trend peaked? Do you remember the blocks long line to obtain the famed cronut and the intense scrutiny of bakers to try and match that masterpiece of Dominique Ansel’s? If you… Continue reading Chocolate Mint Pudding

Creamy Coconut Joys

If you’re reading this you might have noshed on an elegant slice of flourless chocolate cake last week. Perhaps you whisked together a last minute dark chocolate pudding and dusted it with chopped pistachios. Maybe, you received two bars of chocolate in the guise of Blueberry Lavender or Dark Chocolate Almond Sea Salt that you… Continue reading Creamy Coconut Joys

Peppermint Chocolate Rochers

Looking for reasons to bake in December is not difficult. Do you find yourself any other time of year looking for reasons to break out the eggs, sugar, butter and flour with the gusto that the holidays inspires? I didn’t think so. We hosted our second annual Cookie Swap this past weekend with local food… Continue reading Peppermint Chocolate Rochers

Buddhettes- Buddha’s Hand Orangettes

I spied the Buddha’s Hand sitting on my friend Andrew’s counter. Amid the happy cacophony of food bloggers sprawled out in his house and front patio, I caught the words, “take one.” He didn’t have to say it twice. Off I went to survey the boxes of buddha’s hands brought by Melissa’s. Eschewing those with… Continue reading Buddhettes- Buddha’s Hand Orangettes

Fig & Goat’s Milk Yogurt Parfait

When traveling internationally, your pick of companions is key: do you like the same activities? Are you both regimented in scheduling activities or flexible to let the wind take you where it may? Is your companion someone who prefers historical artifacts and art or shopping? Does your companion have a discriminating palate or not? There’s… Continue reading Fig & Goat’s Milk Yogurt Parfait

Homemade Almond Joys

Mom likes to remind me that I was a bit of a precocious child. Sewn into my fabric at a young age I possessed a flair for the dramatic. Just last week, we noticed a young girl with her mother outside of a brunch eatery. She carried a princess book that matched her outfit… Continue reading Homemade Almond Joys

Chocolate Almond Cake with Cherry Cream Cheese Frosting

The very thought of Valentine’s Day makes some of you want to gag. I know the stores are bedecked with red and pink streamers and brightly colored foil wrapped chocolates faster than you can say John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. After Christmas, it’s fair game for a game that does not feel all that fair sometimes.… Continue reading Chocolate Almond Cake with Cherry Cream Cheese Frosting