Des Moines’ Downtown Farmers’ Market
Many people start thinking about Farmers Markets during the early days of summer but Iowans living in the central part of the state have been patronizing the Des Moines Downtown Farmers Market since early May. They haven’t forgotten about meat and potatoes (the market has plenty of these items) but instead celebrate the fresh local harvest of fruits and vegetables every Saturday from May thru October in the capital city on the west bank of the Des Moines River. Read more 
15 Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Makers
Whether you prefer chocolate bars with 56%, 70%, 80%, 82%, or even 90% cacao, there are real bean-to-bar chocolate makers who understand and strive to provide a pure chocolate experience for those of us who still love to rip open a chocolate bar when the craving hits.
A real chocolate maker produces chocolate from raw cacao beans and goes through eight (8) processes (along with many subprocesses) – selecting, roasting, winnowing, refining, milling, conching, tempering, and molding – to make a rich, earthy bar with very subtle flavors of nuts or fruits: Remember that. There’s a test at the end of this post. Read more
Andie’s Specialty Sweets
Andie’s Specialty Sweets makes some of the most picture-perfect beautiful candies including Vintage Candy Buttons, Sugar Butterflies, Hard Candy Sea Glass, Chocolate Antique Candy Keys, Chocolate Candy Winter Acorns, Chocolate Filled Candy Sea Shells, Nuts, and more. So exquisite as to take your breath away, each beautifully designed candy elicits wonder and joy in both appearance and taste. Chocolate, peppermint, vanilla, and fruit are just a few of the many flavors of these very special candies. Read more
Whole Grain Oatmeal Banana Bread
Finding healthy and delicious recipes for traditional favorites is a challenge but after I discovered Fran Costigan’s Vegan Chocolate cookbook, I realized that desserts we all grew up on – chocolate cake, brownies, and cookies – can be just as delicious without dairy, copious amounts of oil, or eggs. The trick is to search for recipes, use alternative ingredients and be fearless (you really do learn from mistakes in baking). Search, read, make, taste, adjust, and try again. Read more
Potomac Chocolate
The Washington, DC metropolitan area is a powerhouse of intrigue with politicians, lobbyists, judges, lawyers, and government offices but today the spotlight is on a chocolate maker in our nation’s capital. Ben Rasmussen owns and operates Potomac Chocolate: a real bean-to-bar chocolate maker who handcrafts truly incredible dark chocolate bars in a suburb (Woodbridge, Virginia) of Washington, D.C. Read more
The French Valentine’s Day Cookie
If cookies be the food of love…munch on. ~Dame Judi Dench
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching so if you need a gift for that special someone who loves exquisite butter cookies, Poilâne – the famous Parisian bakery known for their sourdough bread, apple tarts, and butter cookies – has the ultimate Valentine’s Day gift box containing 54-56 heart-shaped butter cookies weighing 270 grams (about 10 ounces) for 22.50€ ($25.67). So simple and yet so delicious, these French butter cookies are rich, crunchy and perfect as a snack with a cup of tea or coffee. Read more
Peppermint Bark by EH Chocolatier
Peppermint bark is one of the most coveted chocolate confections during the holiday season. Typically made with three ingredients: peppermint candy, white chocolate, and dark chocolate, peppermint bark is the rare treat that combines the crunchy texture of candy canes, the milky flavor of white chocolate, and the rich taste of dark chocolate. Read more
The Robert Lambert Fruitcake
It’s that time of year when we are all thinking about decadent desserts so before David Letterman delivers his top ten list of fruitcake uses or the NRA suggests using slices of Aunt Martha’s fruitcake in the next skeet shooting contest, consider for a moment that fruitcake isn’t as bad as the masses make it out to be.
Most people believe there are two truths to fruitcake: people either love it or hate it but nearly everyone would love this traditional holiday dessert if they tasted a fruitcake made by Robert Lambert of San Rafael, California, a man totally dedicated to the art of making decadent, delicious fruitcake that can make even the most vocal critic grin and beg for seconds. Read more
Better Brittle
Better Brittle is a West African style peanut brittle that resembles the peanut brittle that many baby boomers recall from our childhood only without the rock-hard corn syrup that has been known to crack a tooth now and then. Made with three simple natural ingredients – freshly roasted peanuts from Virginia and North Carolina, fair-trade organic evaporated cane juice, and sea salt, Better Brittle is really better than traditional brittle. Read more
Marco Paolo Chocolates
Mark Lewis is the founder and genius chocolatier behind Marco Paolo Chocolates – an artisan chocolate shop known for its distinctive double layered chocolate truffles that taste as decadent as they look. Instead of a single flavored truffle, Lewis combines two complementary ganache flavors using fruits, flowers, spices, herbs and seeds to create a tasting and sensory experience.
One of the most popular truffles is the Coconut Cilantro Dark Lime Truffle: white chocolate coconut ganache enlivened with cilantro teamed with tart lime dark chocolate ganache: two distinctive fruit flavors (the jury is still out on whether coconut is considered a fruit or nut) enhanced with spices and then enrobed in dark chocolate make for one scrumptious tropical truffle. Read more
Paddock Post 