NEED A CHOCOLATE HIT?

UPDATE, Sunday June 7th, 2010: I have a confession to make: when I read the instructions on the can I wasn't wearing my new reading glasses [haven't gotten in the habit of reaching for them yet!] and I got the measurements wrong! I won't go into the details! But I wasn't too far off the mark, in the end, as far as how to make it. I did get the calories wrong-- in a good way! I said that 1/4 cup serving was 180 calories-- the good news is that it's only 77 calories (made with soymilk)! If I had used the proper directions on the can, a 1/3 cup serving would be 113 calories (with soymilk), so the proportions weren't totally off. I have changed the text below to reflect this. Sorry about that!!
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When I went shopping the other day, I noticed a Cocoa Camino (Canadian organic, fair trade) product I had never seen before-- Cocoa Camino Drinking Chocolate (here's a Canadian vendor)-- "the chocolate bar you can drink any time of the day". It is a blend of cocoa, ground dark chocolate and cane sugar-- no milk products and all ingredients fair trade and organic! (See USA brand below.)

Cocoa Camino products DO NOT contain GMO ingredients, or any of the following:
Corn syrup solids
Vegetable oils
Chemicals such as sodium caseinate, dipotassium phosphate, sodium silicoalaluminate, mono- and diglycerides
Artificial flavors

In addition, you can enjoy a luxury product knowing that the people who produce it are receiving fair wages for their labor. Please read about their fair trade partnerships here.



I've used their unsweetened cocoa powder and bittersweet vegan chocolate chips for years (now they have bittersweet chocolate chips, too), and they now have their own brand of organic golden cane sugar, organic brown sugar, and baking chocolate (unsweetened, bittersweet, and semi-sweet as well. (And, of course, they have a range of delicious chocolate bars!) They also have a line of professional products that have to be purchased in bulk through a distributor. I have used the bittersweet chocolate couverture and they are wonderful (UPDATE: they don't seem to be available anymore). Find out where to buy here.

(BTW, they did not send me any free products, pay me, or ask me to write this!)

This drinking chocolate provides a rich, velvety chocolate hit-- about 77 calories for an espresso cupful (using 1/4 cup soymilk), which is small, but very satisfying. You mix 4 teaspoons of the mix with 1/4 cup hot non-dairy milk of your choice. (The instructions on the can work out to 2 tablespoons mix with 1/3 cup milk). Heat up the milk (I heat it in a small coffee cup in the microwave for about 30 seconds), whisk in the chocolate until it's frothy and smooth, and then pour into an espresso cup. Sip slowly and enjoy!

In the USA, try Dagoba Authentic Drinking Chocolate, which is organic and fair trade, and available from amazon.com.

Update: I have needed a little indulgence this week. We had a great visit with my brother and sister-in-law from California, but my daughter-in-law is still in hospital in Vancouver and they are still trying to discover the source of her malady. My son and the 3 girls went off today to visit with her for a few days. (I am truly thankful right now for our Canadian medical system-- my brother told me that south of the border we would be in the 10's of thousands of $ by now, with a week in hospital, a helicopter ride, and the many, many tests she has had in the last few days! My sister-in-law, forgetting where she was, asked me if anyone in our families had money to spare, and I answered, "That isn't necessary here!")



Cheers!