Whew! Taking a breath now. Midterms are over. I have 4 weeks until finals (I hate quarters, I’m a semester kind of gal). Ah, that’s better.
Two of the button packages were sent back to me because they were “too thick” and required more postage, so I will be resending those tomorrow. I can’t imagine that the time it took to label it, the cost of the label itself and the work to get it back to me was less expensive than the .20 they are asking, but whatever. Who knows with the post office.
Last week I stopped at Whole Foods and decided that I needed some chocolate. It’s February and I’m at least sticking to one resolution! 😉 I noticed these Whole Foods Dark Chocolate bars, one with mint and the other with coconut, and knew they would soon be consumed.
Organic, responsibly harvested and delicious- just the way I like it. The mint one has little bits of crunchy mint candy in it and the coconut one had thin, shredded coconut in it. The texture of the coconut bar reminded me of a childhood favorite called Mallo Cups, minus the liquid marshmallow filling. They have this chocolate cup that has a similar coconuty texture.
Both of these bars were delicious and had a different level of eatability than the other artisan chocolates we’ve been eating. Those are delcious, of course, but are to be eaten in smaller pieces and savored. These bars are high quality chocolate, but they are in the 54% range for cacao, so they are a little sweeter and more candy bar-like when you just want to nosh on some chocolate. I highly suggest them, both because they are delicious and a very good bargain for organic chocolate bars of this size.
I will admit that there are some things I can be snobby about and chocolate is quickly rising to the top of that list. Jim is a big lover of coffee. Straight up, black coffee. His perspective is that if you have to put stuff in it, such as sugar or creamer, you don’t really like coffee. He’s a purist in that way. I used to think he was a little over the top about it, but then today a co-worker mentioned that she loves Hershey’s Kisses, I couldn’t help but think that anyone who enjoys something like that and considers it chocolate can’t possibly like actual chocolate. I mean, it’s waxy chocolate full of sugar and milk, there’s barely any actual chocolate in there! This, my friends, is chocolate:
So, what happens when you forget you have bread on its second rise in the kitchen? Monster bread. And I thought it was big while I was rising- look at this thing after baking!
Yeah, it was a tall loaf. Jim kept calling it “double-decker” bread. Thankfully, rising too long doesn’t affect the taste. This is “Goin’ Up North” bread, my homage to Minnesota loaf. Spotted with fragrant, chewy grains of wild rice, this bread was perfect with some Earth Balance and soup.
The only downside to double-decker bread is that the air pockets get bigger, so by the time we got to the middle of the loaf some of the pieces weren’t holding together as well, but it was still worth chowing down!
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I’m sorry but your bread made me laugh! Mostly because it reminded me of my pizza dough I made the other week. I forgot it was super hot weather, I forgot I left it in a bowl on the bench to rise. I was only popping down to the local shops for a few minutes but got distracted and was quite a while (and also went other places). By the time I came home my pizza dough had taken over half my kitchen!
Mmmm that mint chocolate is calling my name! Yum!
Great looking monster bread! And I don’t have to say anything about that chocolate!!!
That bread looks really tasty! My craving for carbs just shot thru the roof.
Thanks for the pins- I put them on my bag for all the world to see!
Hey!! Thanks for your comment on my blog about Andrew Bird. I can imagine it was very awkward, but also am jealous you got that close — ha!
I’m with you on the chocolate — the darker the better. I like Whole Foods brand but consume it too quick. They have a darker chocolate bar, too. The darker of any brand makes me more conscious about how quickly I consume, probably also due to the price…
I could consume that bread in 5 minutes, and of course not feel great after.
Thanks again for visiting my blog, Kris!!
That bread is freakin’ AWESOME! And the chocolate…indeed, I’m a total snob-ola (also an over- consumer) :-). Love me a good black coffee, too!
AWESOME bread! I love the little speckles in it!
Mmm chocolate =)
I am a Minnesotan who is so happy to find that you are blogging again! The bread looks delicious – perfect with soup on a cold MN evening as you remember . . .
I got my buttons today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOOOOVVEEE them! I’ll be blogging them soon, but wanted to say merci!
I hear you on the chocolate, and I agree with your sweetie on the coffee – if you can’t drink it straight, well, something’s wrong with it!
Send me some of that double-decker bread, too, K?
One thanksgiving I made dough in the bread maker and was planning to turn them into rolls. I completely forgot about them until the meal was over. Meanwhile the dough had risen up over the pan inside the machine and over, covering the insides of it. It looked a bit like your monster bread there! I hope this is a new recipe coming our way soon!
And I got the buttons yesterday! Thanks so much!!
i too have forgotten about a loaf or two at times! ahahahaaa! double decker – i love it! it looks delicious though!
i’m quite picky about my chocolate, too – totally going to have to check those out! they look great & sound awesome! especially the coconut one.
i’d also like to add that i’m a coffee purist as well. i have to agree that if you don’t drink it black ya shouldn’t be drinking it at all. (i do the same with tea – just straight up!)
glad you get a bit of a breather! and thanks for the buttons! i got them yesterday – they’re so awesome! made me most happyfaced, indeed!
Congrats on being done with the midterms! I am sure you did great :o)
Yay for MN wild rice bread! It looks wonderful!
Courtney
That big ol’ bread loaf looks delicious and fun to eat.
I think true chocolate lovers can’t help but be snobs about it. I’m guilty. I’m just glad the good stuff is available in small quantities. That makes it affordable and a reasonable quantity. I love cocoa nibs and roasted beans!
That bread looks awesome! delish!! Hope you are feeling better.
I love how tall the bread is! Double decker is a great name for it.
I got my buttons on Monday, and they were a bright spot on an otherwise very frustrating day! But then to open up the envelope and be greeted by those adorable little nom nom kitties….well, it was nice to be reminded about all the nice, awesome people in this world. Thank you!!
Hi!
I couldn’t find a way to e-mail you, but I had a question about the Boston Cream Pie recipe you used to have in the recipes section!
Hey Amanda- I tried emailing you last week- did you get it?
This bread looks so awesomely deliscious! There wouldn’t happen to be a recipe of it somewhere, would there?
Hi Boris!
The recipe for this bread is in my cookbook- The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes.