h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It is indeed. They also do a Fruits of the forest variety, now that definitely sounds like it should go with

Odd, I've been trying to rack my brains to remember the names of sweets and I used to get from the vending machine when I stayed in France

Kind of puzzled - I didn't think smilies counted as words...

No me either ...new rules, I s'pose!*shrugs*

How've you been? Anything of interest going on? or otherwise?

New rules? How dare they!

Oh you know, we had this teensy bit a snow which brought the country to a standstill I was stuck indoors baking and entertaining my daughter and

Have you been busy?

Yes relatively busy, but not hectic busy! I'd seen the news about the snow there.

I had received a very nice box of the filled s from a Russian(yes another eastern European making here)chocolatier http://www.chocolateexquisite.com/home.asp last summer. But I am Very curious about his various solid ...& possibly attending a tasting/sampling(he pairs the with , so a pleasant evening to be sure!)

Did you attend the tasting? I must find out if such a thing happens around here

No not yet...creature of habit that I am, I was just at The Cocoa Room again( http://www.kerstinschocolates.com ). I Will get there though, the lure of is just too hard to resist-it'll wear me down in time! Among other things I bought two unique & interesting Austrian bars - in front of me right now is the 70% dark with White Poppy, Cinnamon & Apricot Spirit(brandy?). The other one is with sour cherry(including 12.12% cherry brandy) & sesame. Oh & the company, http://www.zotter.at ...so, some interesting indulging of the sweet tooth ahead of me.

Hmm, that White Poppy/Cinnamon/Apricot Spirit is ...uh, different. Quite nice, a bit unusual & not really the kind of thing I'd eat with any regularity. But a discovery I suppose & it Was - in other words!

I am going to try to attend the March 25th tasting at Chocolate Exquisite, which will feature a Port & 4 dessert wines to accompany the selection of s(a total of 18!).

But I just had a piece of the German Coppeneur ( actually)with 4.4% walnut paste & 4% cognac...& I also noticed coriander listed in the ingredients. A very nice 36% min. cocoa mass/solids with a subtle nuttiness that combines nicely with the hint of cognac.

I've just had a look at Coppeneur's website. Their looks although many of the bars are sold out at the moment. The peppercorn ones look interesting... but I rather fancy the lavender and cranberry

Has spring arrived where jaz'd is yet?

Have rediscovered an old favourite - Bournville Old Jamaica which has been revived by Cadbury There's also an orange variety which I'm not so desparate to try!

Spring...well yes the early stages of it have arrived. March, which is known for either coming in or going out like a fierce lion/gentle lamb, did exit in meekest lamb fashion. So that's a good sign! And I take tremendous solace in the fact that sunlight now lasts well into the evening!

I believe I had tried the Bournville bar(although I doubt it was the Old Jamaica). That tasting was quite the evening, very relaxed & informative-althogh for the most part refreshing my memories of history, trivia, etc. We started with a 33%% from Java, then progressed through a 37, 47 & 50% before moving on to the dark(& finishing the night with a 99% special blend). The owner certainly cares about his craft & even makes his own gelato - I tried a very flavourful pomegranate. As the weather warms up I anticipate sampling the variety of flavours.

The tasting evening sounds

Forgot that I have a second bar of Old Jamaica stashed away

Spring is definitely here, children have finished school for Easter - they get 2 weeks off. My daughter has mostly eaten the her teacher gave her. We should be getting a real soon too!

I certainly hope you had a Happy Easter! Do you have the yet?

We thought(it certainly looked as though) Spring was almost here & we woke up to SnowMon. morning! Some of these pictures are quite recent-others are a bit older though -

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Gallery+Edmonton+Spring+snowfall/1461566/story.html

I should add that there are few traces of that snow left now, except small accumulations in rare primarily shaded areas.

Oh & on the topic of , I'm munching a Green & Black's Hazelnut & Currant bar.

We do indeed have a called Charlie!

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb269/loonycat/2009_04140141.jpg

That is pretty amazing the late snow! The weather is certainly changeable looking at those photos.

We were able to sit on the beach for a while here on Monday!

Very nice rabbit there. Charlie suits him I think.

Yes we're quite accepting of the inevitably changing weather. I was actually sitting outside reading for a 20 minutes or so just before noon.

Actually the name was inspired by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which we watched on TV over the weekend. There had to be a connection

It makes such a difference to get outside for a while.

Aha, the connection!

If forecast are correct, I should be spending a bit more time outdoors.