Day 292 : morsel

Sandy: I am bringing cookies for my snack contribution to tomorrow’s tennis match because I brought savory appetizers to the last two matches. I modified my standard chocolate chip cookies by using Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate Morsels which are made with 53% cacao instead of the original Toll House semisweet chocolate which has 47% cacao. The dark chocolate makes the cookie a little less sweet but I’m not fond of the larger size chip. I also added macadamia nuts. I can’t limit myself to just one cookie because I have to taste every batch that comes out of the oven. Quality control.

When we owned a muffin bakery, during the development of the chocolate muffin we tasted many different chocolates. We narrowed our choice to a few variations made by Guittard. It was very interesting, not having trained palates, that we could tell the difference between the chocolates enough to pick one over another. We chose a slightly sweeter one to mix into the dough and a less sweet one for the chips. They were the best chocolate muffins because they were just sweet enough and very chocolatey.

Sandy’s year long journey – going from being a right-hander to left-hander, and Kelly’s parallel trip as a left-hander doing things as a right-hander.

Day 241 : cacao

Sandy: I probably said this before, I love dark chocolate. I make a few premium desserts that my family loves including a chocolate souffle from a recipe by Alice Medrich.

Cacao is the bean from which chocolate is made. The amount of solid cacao beans versus the amount of sugar in a chocolate bar is written in percentages on the label. Semi-sweet chocolate is 50% sugar and 50% cacao solids. In the United States, only 10% cacao is required to be considered milk chocolate.

Dark chocolate with high percentages of cacao has many health benefits. Flavenoids, antioxidant compounds, is an anti-inflammatory and improves heart health. Antioxidants help free your body of free radicals, which cause oxidative damage to cells. Free radicals are implicated in the aging process and may be a cause of cancer, so eating antioxidant rich foods like dark chocolate can protect you from many types of cancer, it is great for your skin and slows signs of aging. Because dark chocolate has a low glycemic index, it won’t cause huge spikes in blood sugar levels.

Phenylethylamine (PEA), the chemical that encourages your brain to release endorphins, can improve mood and is a catalyst for falling in love.

Cacao contains Magnesium, Potassium, and Iron which are all good for your heart, and Copper – copper and potassium help prevent against stroke and cardiovascular ailments. The iron in chocolate protects against iron deficiency anemia, and the magnesium helps prevent type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Some studies have also shown that chocolate is good for your brain, circulation, and blood sugar. Dark chocolate also contains caffeine, though less than coffee.

Sandy’s year long journey – going from being a right-hander to left-hander, and Kelly’s parallel trip as a left-hander doing things as a right-hander.