Chocolate World on Fire

Working late at the shop tonight and a friend of mine brought by a new single origin chocolate from Amano made with Dominican Republic beans (see why it pays to work late if you happen to own a chocolate shop). I'm not sure I'm at liberty to say anything about it since it's not on the market yet....you'll have to check back once I get permission to reveal the Level 5 secret. Of course, you could just visit Amano's website and beg for info--most likely they'll comply and then you'd have it. Think Grand Mariner meets Tawny Port nested deep in the throws of a dark chocolate bar...but no infusions...just pure chocolate. Apparently there is, in fact, a heaven on earth and Amano has discovered it. Fortunately we can all go there once this bar is out.

Chocolate is Gluten Free!

My son Blake had to quit eating gluten for health reasons and I decided to jump in with the project just to see what would happen. That was almost 2 years ago. After close evaluation, I'm never going back to wheat. My focus is better, the excess pudge melted away and I can eat chocolate every day without gaining weight. That's all well and good for me, but Blake went from a ADHD-type with C's & D's to a straight-A kid in the same 2-year time span. Every now and then he breaks down (as one could expect--he's only 12), and when he eats gluten, he can barely carry a sentence from start to finish. Fortunately this has come to his attention as well as mine, which makes choosing Mexican (corn-based) over Italian (wheat-based) so much easier!

I cried almost every parent/teacher conference from 1st-5th grade because my kid was the disrupter...in 6th grade I cried because the teachers said he was so good. Any parent who has dreaded the parent/teacher conference can relate. If this is your kids, give gluten-free a try. It's not hard once you get going and good news--chocolate is gluten-free!