(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday: A Match Made In Heaven

Chocolate meets coffee: What could be better?

Chocolate In The Rain

One of the great things about our new neighborhood is its proximity to the city's pedestrian zone and the Grand Place. While everyone who doesn't live in the neighborhood must drive and struggle to find parking, we have the luxury of walking two blocks then being in the center of the action. And this past weekend the action revolved around the chocolate festival. Somehow it is completely appropriate that the first festival we attended here in Belgium was Le Fete du Chocolat or the Chocolate Festival. And it was even more appropriate that it was raining. After all two of the first things I think of when I hear "Belgium" is chocolate and rain. But because it was Belgian chocolate it was good. Really good. So good that it was nothing a few (or more) raindrops could ruin. And we weren't the only ones who felt this way.

On an overcast and sometimes rainy Saturday afternoon the pedestrian zone was lined with booths and stalls touting Belgian chocolate in all forms. As we approached the street the air was filled with the distinctive aroma of chocolate. From bite sized gourmet truffles and chocolate filled waffles to chocolate bunnies (after all, Easter is rapidly approaching), fudge, and ice cream, it was all for the eating and buying. Some chocolatiers paired their chocolates with champagne while another sold chocolate infused coffees and teas. There were pastry shops selling both chocolate items as well as local fruit filled specialities which were welcome reprieves from the chocolate. (Yes, there really can be too much of a good thing). As an added incentive to lure people in, most vendors provided free samples.

Chocolate cookies

Chocolate samples anyone?

We had wandered about halfway through the festival when the sky opened up and it began to pour. My first inclination was to run for cover but in looking around I noticed that no one else was dashing towards the nearest vestibule. Instead, people were lifting their hoods or raising their umbrellas and continuing on their way. So we joined the locals and did the same. Sidney loved splashing in the puddles and the rain did little to detract from the festivities. Sure we got wet but it was just a part of the experience. (Prior to our arriving in Belgium Glenn had boldly declared that we wouldn't let the rain stop us from venturing out so we didn't). But as is the case most days the rain was short lived. By the time we headed home the rain had stopped and before we reached our doorstep the sky was bright blue and the sun was shining. We were almost tempted to turn around and go back. But instead we brewed ourselves some of our new mocha coffee and drank it with chocolate macaroons. Life in Belgium is turning out to be pretty darn sweet.

(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday: Chocolate In The Raw

Chocolate in the raw

Sidney & The Chocolate Factory

Sacks of cocoa beans

Who doesn't love chocolate? My family certainly does so when the opportunity to tour a chocolate museum came up, we jumped at the chance to literally go to the source. I discovered the Chocoversum in Hamburg, Germany through the Ciao Bambino! travel blog and am so glad I did. (Actually, this fabulous blog, which provides recommendations for family friendly activities in cities around the globe, was my go-to resource for our entire stay in Hamburg-every recommendation was spot on). So craving chocolate off we went to discover this museum (and escape the cold).

From the moment we stepped through the door, we knew we were entering a world of chocolate. The sweet fragrance permeated the entire building; initially the aroma was welcoming but by the end of our tour it became a bit too much even for this die hard chocolate fan. But chocolate was really everywhere.  The purchase of our tickets provided us with small samples of what was to come while the shelves of the gift shop sold everything from chocolate shampoo, body creams and chocolate scented candles to chocolate themed gifts, chocolate scented teas (which we later learned were made from discarded cocoa bean pods) and chocolate itself. And we encountered all of this before we even began to explore the museum.

A tour guide escorted our small group through the history of all things chocolate. Of course, the tour and displays were entirely in German so we relied on an English guidebook and the graphic displays to understand what we were seeing. But despite the language barrier, we got a lot out of the tour. A large world map displayed the geographic regions that produce cocoa beans--you guessed it, they do not grow in Europe! This naturally lead to a discussion of the history of chocolate and the import process of

Fancy chocolate making equipment

cocoa beans.  From there we segued into the most anticipated part of the tour--making our own chocolate bars. We were provided with a bar sized mold filled with molten milk chocolate and could add up to three tablespoons of add-ins of our choice as toppings. Naturally, Sidney added in more chocolate -- chips, sprinkles, and mini candy coated chocolate pieces.  He also dunked his entire hand into the melted chocolate as part of his taste testing of the product. I went "healthy" adding in sunflower seeds and sea salt. Glenn settled for a combination that was somewhere in between.

While our chocolate bars set in the chiller we returned to the museum floor where we learned about the roasting of cocoa beans, the proportion of cocoa beans to sugar and other ingredients that are necessary to make milk, bittersweet, semisweet, and white chocolates, and saw how the "butter" is extracted from the cocoa beans. As an added bonus, the entire museum was hands on with each exhibit providing us with opportunity to taste, smell, or touch the chocolate making process from raw cocoa beans to finished chocolate. Scent machines allowed us to smell the various ingredients that go into making a finished chocolate product. We tasted raw and then roasted cocoa beans, which were simultaneously bitter, nutty, and gritty in flavor then sampled cocoa butter and finally the full fledged melted chocolate in both milk and bittersweet flavors. The chocolate was very good, silky smooth and rich tasting but by this point I found myself craving a crisp salad. Sidney, of course, just wanted more chocolate and ate my share of the sample in addition to his own. Much to my surprise, he preferred the bittersweet chocolate to the milk.

After the tour wrapped up we put our handmade chocolate bars into cellophane bags then quickly escaped outside into the fresh air. Sidney was giddy with excitement at the prospect of getting to eat the chocolate he had made (he was probably hyped up on all of the samples as well). As Sidney said, first he toured a car factory to see how our new car was made and now he got to see a chocolate factory to see how chocolate is made. For a four year old, and his parents, it doesn't get much better than this.

Sampling was the best part