Jennifer Jeffrey, Writer & Editor

Chocolate love on tuttiefoodie

If you arrived at my blog via the tuttiefoodie hot sheet, welcome!

If you haven't yet subscribed to tuttiefoodie, you might want to take a minute to check it out.  I always look forward to seeing it pop up in my Inbox; these twice-weekly e-mails always contain something delicious, from recipes to food-themed events to information about culinary destinations around the globe.

As if you needed further motivation, today's edition contains my recipe for Chocolate-Dipped Brownies Rolled in Chili-Cocoa Nib Crumbs! This is my go-to chocolate recipe for occasions of all kinds; I made them again a couple of weeks ago in preparation for the article, and suddenly had a surplus of these sumptuous treats on my kitchen counter, so I had to play chocolate fairy. To everyone who said: "I can't; I'm on a diet" - you missed out. Seriously. These are capital-A-mazing.

Tuttiefoodie is currently sponsoring a Chocolate Adventure Contest together with Scharffen Berger... what better excuse than to pull out your favorite chocolate and play?

P.S. I know it looks funny to have a fresh juice post next to a decadent chocolate post, but hey:  it's all about balance, people.

Divine: My Newest Favorite Chocolate Bar

I'm not much of a breakfast girl. I wake up full of ideas and ambition, and making a mess with eggs or crunching through a bowl of cold cereal sounds like a terrible chore. Instead, I brew myself a pot of tea and sit down at my desk to write for a few hours. I always do my best writing before noon, and I've learned not to put it off.

Mid-way through the morning, I want just one thing: a piece of chocolate.

I keep a variety of chocolate bars around the house for just this reason; sometimes I want something experimental, like one of the Vosges Haut-Chocolate bars (Woolloomooloo is a favorite); other times, I want something sticky-sweet, like the Kalouga bar from Bernachon, a dark chocolate bar that oozes thick, glorious caramel. I'm all out of that one at the moment. Sob.

A couple of weeks ago, I discovered a new favorite: Divine Chocolate, made with cocoa from a farmer's cooperative in Kuapa Kokoo in West Africa. Not only are their chocolate bars wrapped inside a gorgeous label decorated with indigenous African symbols, but they also taste, well... divine. My current favorite is the 70% dark chocolate bar, but I'm also a fan of the Dark Chocolate Mint, which has crunchy bits of mint inside, and is ever-so-yum.

Divine Chocolate is sold at Bittersweet on Fillmore, a shop so full of wonderful things that I might as well hand over my wallet as soon I walk through the door. Have you tried their spicy hot chocolate? It has a high sigh factor.

Bittersweet: the chocolate cafe
2123 Fillmore Street
San Francisco, CA 94115

We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospection. ~ Anais Nin

Fairfax Scoop: Where to Go When You're Melting

Last week’s heat wave nearly did me in. If you’d dropped by on Wednesday or Thursday in the mid-afternoon, you would have found me face-up, gasping for air, like a fish out of water.

Extreme heat is my nemesis. Not only does it turn my face into an oil slick, it also zaps my will to do constructive work or think creative thoughts. It destroys my ability to be social or write blog posts. It renders me unable to sauté or steam or poach.

The menu last week at Chez Moi? Ice cream with a side of ice cream. For dessert, we’ll be serving…ice cream!

By Friday, I had devoured my whole stash of the frozen stuff and so, on tip from someone in the know, I drove out to Fairfax to find a little ice cream shop called Scoop. She said it was worth the drive; I was just happy for an excuse to sit inside an air-conditioned car.

Something About Cherries

Before I left for the farmer's market this morning, I was enviously reading Jen Maiser's account of snacking on cherries over Mother's Day weekend. Two weeks ago, when I last made it to the market, there wasn't a cherry in sight.

This morning? Cherries everywhere.

I bought from several stands, just to spread the wealth, and sang "She's My Cherry Pie" all the way home.

They're almost halfway gone already! I hope the Moroccan doesn't read this, or he'll be mighty disappointed when he comes home to find nothing but a bag full of pits.

Oh, and apricots are out, too. I'm a happy girl.