Chocolate is not only for Valentines Day

If you live in or near the California Bay Area here are some local chocolateer to try.

• Woodhouse Chocolate:  Located in St. Helena, 1367 Main Street.  Yet another reason to visit wine country.
• Charles Chocolates:  Located in SF, 845 Market Street
• CocoaBella:  Located in SF, 2102 Union Street.
• XOX Truffles:  North Beach, SF, read my earlier post.
• Enstrom Almond Toffee:  This is my favorite toffee.  I worked with a company in CO who hands it out every year for Christmas.  I miss getting my own box so it is time to purchase my own.  It is a thick yet soft toffee.  It is not the toffee that breaks your teeth and the way it looks reminds me of the Almond Roca I sold as a kid.  Give it a try, it will not disappoint.

• G.L. Alfieri Premium Nuts and Fruit:  I purchased the Almond Brittle with Dark chocolate.  It was the second best brittle I have ever had.  The best is Enstrom.  This toffee is thinner than Enstrom but still tasty and soft.  I purchased mine at the SF Ferry Building's farmers market so local products are always nice.  You can also get them on line.
• On a larger scale there is also Ghirardelli.  It has gone through many changes, owners and quality of chocolate but I believe it is now owned by a Swiss company and their quality has gone back up to what it was before one owner decided it was better to cut costs vs have a quality chocolate.  Needless to say he was wrong.

What about customizing your chocolate, try Chocomize.  You can add various ingredients like marshmallows, nuts, M&M or what ever you choose.

What about a chocolate souffle you bake in a cup, ready to eat in 3 minutes, try A Sprinkle and a Dash.

Awhile back I blogged about different food gifts and in it there are some truffle makers I discovered.  To read about those, click here.

Since Valentines day just passed here is something to remember for next year.  Have you ever seen these rainbow roses?  They are expensive ($129/dozen) but beautifully different.  I love getting flowers but I don't like when my husband spends a fortune on them especially since they don't always last very long.  I've had red roses that barely lasted two days, never opened and their head drooped.  Not worth it.  I also started getting quite the collection of vases and a lot of the vases unless you specifically order a nicer one are more disposable which seemed like a waste to me since I had a few nice one's and I also didn't need the clutter.  My husband knowing these things now buys me flowers at Whole Foods and puts them in my prettiest vase.  I usually get pink roses because they last longer than red and the bonus is they are organic.  Boy does he know me well.