God made these chocolates

I am from the Philippines but I haven't gone here. As a child in school, I believed that these were real chocolates and dreamed of going there someday. If in the picture I find the chocolate hills so enthralling, I might get down on my knees and kiss the ground when I get there.

If my country got this for a treasure, then I must say that we as people should be much prouder than ever. I was thinking that we could be more competitive economically if we preserve and present this treasure to the whole world.

During rainy days, the chocolate hills turn verdant green. Lovely and amazing as God's touch! I do not know how to measure monetary pleasure from something like this, but I hope all Filipinos work our way in harmony and balance to what is called economic miracle and environment-friendly matters.

Maybe with that kind of formula, we could survive our crisis.

Cheers to the Chocolate Hills! A landscape that has withstand the angst of nature since its creation but stays splendidly heavenward!

sensual choco moments

Don't wreck a sublime chocolate experience by feeling guilty. It isn't like premarital sex: you can't get pregnant and it always feels good.

from Dark Chocolate


I suppose everyone is matured enough to understand. Kids if you got some issues, ask me or some sensible adults around.

every chocolate drink counts

The strong aroma of chocolate is a permanent fixture in the house. When I smell it, it reminds me instantly of the good things there is in life.

And every time I hear my son, Karlsen say "Mom, this is the best chocolate drink ever", I know I must be doing something right tool.

My son says that every time he gets his chocolate drink!

And I get that confirmation many times in a day!

charmed by chocolate cosmos

I just finished forming my chocolate molds and I got a real dose of chocolate aroma! Visiting my blog is another passion and when I was looking around for some materials about chocolates, this lone chocolate cosmos charmed me.

For some facts about this charming flower, I copied from Paghat's Garden his article about it.

Great! I can't believe I joined an event this morning. It is something that I did not have a chance to do when I was younger. Well since I have always wanted to try something different and new every now and then, then this must be something for me to do. I will tell you about this later. And I am excited about it.

chocolate cosmos

Cosmos atrosanguineus, or Chocolate Cosmos, has such dark maroon flowers that they do occasionally approach the color of a Hershey's bar, though more the color of dried blood. It is occasionally called Black Cosmos, a flower suited to the Gothic Gardener.

Even more remarkable, they have a faint scent of chocolate. The chocolatiness is most evident as evening approaches, toward the end of a hot summery day.

The bulk of the foliage clump is about three feet tall, a tangle that seems to be fighting against an urge to become prostrate, leaning into the sun. The wiry stems that uphold each bloom rise from three to four feet high which is well above the foliage, with other blooms lower within the embrace of the foliage.

Even apart from the novelty of its Hershey bar perfume, the flower is one of the prettiest. It offers excellent cuttings for bouquets. It begins blooming in May, picks up speed in June, & in July the clump is chock full of bobbling blooms that easily catch a breeze. It will continue to produce blooms through mild early frosts -- for us, the flowers appear in great numbers up to October with a few remaining in November, even without much deadheading. This rivals the Gaura in persistence of gorgeous blooms. In winter the clump dies to the ground.

We took out part of the clump this year, while it was still blooming, because we needed a good gift for a friend. It didn't interfer with the flowering one bit. If there is any drawback to this variety of cosmos, it is the fact that its foliage gets messier looking as the summer progresses, but it is difficult to prune because still in continuous flower. At the moment I have a plan to build a small circular ornamental fence for it next year, perhaps a foot & a half tall, encircling the entire two-foot-wide clump. This should trellis upward the half-prostrate clump so it doesn't crowd into neighboring flowers, & ought to improve the looks of the foliage so that it does justice to the marvelous flowers. Of course, the other way to freshen up a big tangled clump is to dig it up entirely & divide it into three or four plants, which eventually will have to be done.

As a native of Mexico, Cosmos likes a lot of sun. Ours is in an all-afternoon-sunny location in moist well-draining soil next to a bushing Nishiki Willow. The chocolaty flowers are a lovely contrast to the pink summer leaves of the Nishiki. Though an established clump is supposed to be moderately drought tolerant, for the sake of the willow ours has never experienced much dryness, & has thrived in moist acidic soil. Possibly the clump would remain tidier if it did experience occasional dryness.

Some gardeners recommend the tuberous root of the cosmos be dug up in autumn & stored like a treasured dahlia, & others recommend it for container-gardening so that it will be easier to bring to shelter in winter. Perhaps such measures would be required in some zones, but I'm surprised when I hear about any of my fellow Northwest gardeners going to such effort. Ours has been left in the ground three years & each spring has come back a larger & more spectacular bloomer. So on temperate Puget Sound it seems unnecessary to store the tuber.

The tuber can be divided in spring. We've never yet dug ours up to divide, as it's my understanding it develops slowly, especially in temperate climates, nor does it seed easily, which is why it is not one of the most common garden offerings, with demand outstripping availability.

Copied from Paghat's Garden Article

love and chocolates

Chocolates like love can be as colorful as one wishes to. I thought love could be as steady as the brown color of the chocolate. And I am wrong. One changes. Love like chocolates should be refined as you go along. Chocolates like love if not explored gets drab at one point or another.

I do not feel good about love at this time. I think it happens with life. It happens to chocolates too.

casting that spell

Chocolates have always been associated with love. And full moon is also associated with love spells. Both gives pleasure to me and that is the reason why I roast my cacao beans during full moon. Does that makes sense?

Of course in this modern world who would ever believe spells? But everyone seems to be gaga over "unexplained matters" right?

I have observed my full moon often rises where the golden sun in the morning also does. I have to research about its significance because that is the case from my vantage point. Interesting really.

Roasting the cacao on a full moon gives me that exultant feeling. I feel romantic, so the beans get that energy. I feel high-spirited, so the beans get that too. I also feel lucky and so on and so forth so I guess, every positive thought and energy I have I transfer to the beans.

Isn't it enough to produce the best chocolate mold in the whole world? It has to be.