Yep, it's time. When I married Love Chunks, my surname changed from READ ("Hey Chopper!") to Lockett ("Hey PLUGGER!") and now I actually have something to plug.
If you're vaguely interested in chocolate, then you might want to visit Gone Chocco, my brand new other site that discusses all things chocolate. If you sign up for a freebie newsletter via email you could also win a chocolate hamper that contains Lindt, Heritage, Baci, Baileys, M&Ms, Toblerone and a few other delicious bits and pieces.
I figured it was time to give running my own chocolate site a go after the Chocablog editor, Dom, who is based in the UK, said that I was submitting more chocolate reviews and articles than his UK, US and European contributors combined. As his site relies on UK advertising, it was becoming a bit too Aussie for their liking and my articles were getting held back and becoming older and older when they were posted. This was fine for me but not for chocolatiers who'd generously given me their goodies, had a chat or two about their seasonal line and found that my "Easter is going to be a real Bilby Brigade" story about their fine product wasn't going to appear until September.
Yes, I'm that committed: I hunt down and eat the naughty stuff so that you don't have to. Or you can do, especially if you're sitting there reading it at 11am and remembered that you didn't have breakfast and it's time for a coffee and wouldn't something sweet go down a treat with it. Or 3pm, when whatever horrendous wrap it was that you scoffed over your keyboard like a stressed out neanderthal has disappeared like the tissue paper it was wrapped in and you just KNOW that in the staff kitchen is a fundraiser box of large-sized caramello koalas and it's for a good cause after all; the kids need hockey uniforms.......
Cholesterol is still an issue, so my intake has reduced but the variety has greatly increased. Our poor fridge is becoming full of nude blocks of chocolate with one row snapped off, sliced up truffles and bars with one bite in them. Acceptable eating for Love Chunks and Sapphire yes; but not for sharing with friends or taking to dinner parties so eventually I'll have to work out just how I can smash and melt them all down into my version of Bertie Beetles - Kath's Cockroaches perhaps.
Never fear though, this blog will still get some love, just not this week because I'm taking Sapphire with me to surprise my Mum for her birthday. She's turning 69 tomorrow and isn't likely to expect a big hullabaloo. Next year yes, but this year all she'll be expecting is a bunch of interflora flowers and a phonecall, so hopefully her heart can handle the shock.
And I'm a chip off the old block, having learned from the best. Mum bought a block of Old Gold family-size because it was on special for $2. Dad found out and on his way home from golf he bought another five. Walking in brandishing his booty (and the chocolate, let's be clear here), he crowed, "Look Pauline, it's so cheap so why not have some more?"
Mum turned around and pointed to the pantry where she'd just been stacking another ten blocks. Need I say more?
9 comments:
This blog better keep updating. Don't make me come over there!
(Which we are planning to do anyway - fancy a Flemington Catch Up?)
Kath's Kockies! Melt 'em up and mail 'em out! Stamp 'Gone Chocco.com' on 'em!
Brilliant!
It almost makes me wish I ate chocolate with any regularity. I was discussing this with Mele the other night and I remarked that I've noticed a specific tendency among my female friends, since the age of about 25, to go absolutely bananas for chocolate. I'm talking crazy, scoff-entire block, eat dinner just to get to the chocolate, thinking about it, battling with it, loving it and talking about it and hating it all at once.
Why is this? None of my male friends give a a third of a stuff about chocolate. It never ever comes up. I leave this question in Gone Chocco's capable hands.
I give at least two thirds of a stuff about chocolate franzy. I just don't battle with it. Scoff a whole block? Why not? Before dinner? Sure! Hate it? Never!
Yeah, I'm the bloke who has been fighting off the desire to scoff chocolate for years. I've given in to the whim periodically - and now totally.
It's fun, and each day at work - about 3:30 pm, sees me utter the famous words: "Hmmm, it must be time for chocolate". Usually I don't take any with me because self-discipline is important - well, isn't it? Anyhow do have to confess to scoffing 2 small Toblerones from the vending machine yesterday.
Us males are just a bit more circumspect about The Habit.
We do actually now have the same problem (being part of the Aussie chocolate reviewing contingent for the rival chocablog) - which is to say, a heck of a lot of chocolatey stuff lying around the house and filling the fridge. Two teenage boys does help to remove some of it. We still seem to be buying 5 or 6 packs of Tim Tams a week to feed into them as well :(
But yes - keep posting here. It's only writing after all. As Jeremy Clarkson likes to say: "How hard can it be"? :)
I think you're right about the female 25+ chocolate dependency, Franzy. Although, some seem to succumb to the addiction years before - I think you know where I can find an example for this.
I have a strong suspicion that it's more of a chemical addiction in women than in men - and I suspect it's more about the sugar rather than the chocolate addiction. The chocolate component of the addiction is more pyschological. When a sugar craving occurs it might as well be *good* sugar.
Of course, us blokes have a similarly captive addiction that is both chemical and psychological... And there's plenty of blogs and sites devoted to that!
And if I can anticipate the answer to the question re catch up (and I know I can): Yes, definitely!
I like the idea of melt'n'mix, but please don't include any cream centres in this. What about separate melting and part mixing of milk and dark to get a marbled effect? You could serve it as a gourmet dessert?
I'm not finding Gone Chocco yet, should I be? Don't even think about hiding it from me, I WILL find it! Cos I didn't get enough of a choc fix with my choc cupacakes with choc ganache that I made this week...
Ah Kath, I was at a party once and found myself chatting with a couple of guys. Turned out they worked for Cadbury. Boy, did my handbag impress them. It's main content was a block of Old Gold. I carried it wherever I went. Sustaining stuff that.
Good luck with the blog! (not that I think you'll need it!)
I have friends - 25+ females - who would lap up your 'gone chocco' reviews. I will put them onto it. For years I've tried to understand their compulsion to try any new block or bar that hit the shelves, perhaps Gone Chocco will enlighten me? Will you be reviewing the hard stuff, you know, the 80% cocoa varieties? I'd be interested in that.
Franzy, it will, I promise. I've revealed far too much for far too long to give up now. And Melbourne - yes - tell us when and we'd love to have you over for a meal and to meet young Charlie!
DanielK - you ROCK my man! Visit me at www.gonechocco.com, give me your details and I'll feature you as a vox pop (River knows what they are).
Ashleigh, are you 'The Enemy' now?
River never fear, I'm only thinking about melting down the plain ones. Filled centres are either eaten, given away or turfed but the nuts, nougars and caramels can sometimes be wedged into slices, cheesecakes, muffins or icecream.
CatJB - please come - www.gonechocco.com
Eleanor, you need to flash that handbag of yours at our previous commenter, Mr DanielK - I'd be able to spot the pheromones from here.
Thanks Blakkat. I will review some of the more serious stuff. Pretty well anything I can get my hands on really.
Er, good thanks Kazts. And how are you keeping?
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