Welcome to Tuesday Terrific, where we celebrate getting over the Monday bump and picking up speed for the rest of the week.
Valentine’s Day – a week from today! The occasion means different things to different folks. For the kiddos, it could mean Batman/Hello Kitty classroom valentines, or those “sweetheart” chalky candies with the goofy messages: “Be Mine,” “U Rock,” or the more-relevant “Tweet Me.” For the adults, it could mean grab-a-date-for-the-occasion to avoid the dreaded “Alone on Valentine’s Day” (singles); red silk teddies by candelight (dating, or married-no-kids); a rare dinner out (parents), or burn-everything-he-ever-gave-me (exes).
No matter what category we belong, there’s one universal:
The Chocolate
In our chocolate-glutted culture, it takes some pretty wild things done with chocolate to get our attention, such as chocolate bacon, spas where you can be painted with chocolate (why?), and a 6-ft tall chocolate Jesus (titled “My Sweet Lord”) made from 200 pounds of milk chocolate. I kid you not.
Apparently, chocolate has a lot to say.
The makers of Dove chocolates are a bit more conservative by comparison, in terms of what their chocolate has to say. These little squares offer “inspirational” messages printed on the foil wrappers, sort of like Chinese fortune cookies (without the lottery numbers on the back). Here are three I’ve saved (no pics, though, because I horribly mangled my wrappers in my desperation to get to the chocolate):
“Happiness is in the heart, not in the circumstances.”
“Go out there and make your dreams happen.”
“You are exactly where you are supposed to be.”
Of course, taken collectively, these sayings are rather contradictory. If I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be, then I don’t need to go “out there” and make things happen; conversely, if I’m going out there to “make (my) dreams happen,” then that belies the idea that happiness dwells “in the heart, not in the circumstances.”
But maybe I’m being nit-picky.
But the wrappers can be fun, especially when one plays the Chinese fortune cookie “in bed” game. It certainly gives additional Je ne sais quoi to two of my wrappers:
“Happiness is in the heart, not in the circumstances in bed.” Well, that’s certainly a consolation to those feeling, shall we say, inadequate?
“You are exactly where you are supposed to be in bed.” Yeah, baby, you were meant to be there, looking gorgeous in that peek-a-boo nightie. Let me grab my camera.
In the interest of spreading the Valentine’s love a little further, I’m including one of my favorite fudge recipes. Hope you get a chance to try it out!
Creamy Mocha Fudge
Ingredients:
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 cup Milk Chocolate Chips
2 tablespoons milk
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
4 teaspoons powdered instant coffee dissolved in 1 tablespoon warm water OR 1 tablespoon coffee-flavored liqueur
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped nuts (optional; I leave this out)
Directions:
1. Line 8- or 9-inch square pan with foil.2. Combine semi-sweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, milk, sweetened condensed milk, coffee mixture and vanilla in heavy saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until chips are melted. Remove from heat; stir in nuts.3. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm. Remove from pan; place on cutting board. Peel off foil; cut into squares. Store covered in refrigerator. About 5 dozen pieces or 2 pounds.
Want more chocolate? Check back here Friday, when I’ll be doing “Flashback Friday: Chocolate and Human Civilization” – some history, and at least one more chocolate recipe.
In the meantime, here are some chocolate blogs you can try (some great recipes here, too):
The Chocolate Life – La Vida Cocoa
Dying for Chocolate – by Janet Rudolph, who also writes a mystery lover’s blog (can’t you tell?)
Has chocolate ever “spoken” to you? Do you have a favorite kind or brand? I’d love to hear from you!
Until next time,
Kathy
Mmm Chocolate *drool* That is indeed a universal sweet goodness.
We love the fudge too, will definitely be trying out your recipe. Sounds super yummy, Kathy 🙂
If you do get a chance to try it, let me know how you like it! Thanks for stopping by, Gene.
YUMMY! I love chocolate, and I totally love adding the “in bed” to the end of the messages too. LOL
Yep, that “in bed” just cracks me up, LOL. Thanks, Tiffany, for stopping by!
OMG you are killing me here. I am trying to stay away from all things chocolate for awhile and that fudge sounds to DIE for not to mention all the goodies. LOL!
I love the little sayings and adding “in bed” is priceless and perfect. Hubby will love it. LOL!!!
Oh Lord, you just found my biggest weakness: chocolate! Like Natalie, I’m trying to be good (and failing miserably the last few days), but I may have to cheat with these babies. And lol at “in bed!”
Natalie and Stacy, I know what you mean! A little chocolate can’t hurt, right? 😉
I love Dove chocolates! We also enjoy seeing the wrapper messages – even those we roll our eyes at. Some of them are pretty cool!
By the way, I did a post just today on the messages on those candy hearts, which includes Be Mine, You Rock, and Tweet Me.
Loved your post, Julie! So glad you stopped by!
Chocolate speaks to me non-stop! It says, “Come to me…feel the silkiness on your tongue and the rich dark flavor in your soul.” And I do, daily. I get my dark chocolate fix every evening. 🙂
Love the Valentine’s for whatever stage of life you happen to be in!
Chocolate fudge is one of my faves, esp with peanut butter, but THIS with coffee sounds even more amazing! I will try it! Thanks, Kathy!
You bet, Marcia! Your “silky” description makes me want to go grab some right now! 🙂
I’ll have to try the fudge recipe! (in bed) Looks yummy! Wonder if I can make it in vanilla…
Hmm…might be messy, but why not? Thanks, Karen!
I love chocolate. In fact, today I have munched my way through an extra large box of Maltesers and now feel sick 🙁
I will give this receipe to my daughter!
Thanks, Donna! Sometimes chocolate is so tasty, it’s easy to get carried away, isn’t it? Hope your daughter likes the recipe!
Snort-worthy “in bed” wordplay, Kathy. And, I LOVED the counter-intuitive wisdom on those DOVE candies.
They had to think of something, tho’ right? They couldn’t very well say “Taste me and I will become one with your thighs.”
Doesn’t help that I have the ingredients for fudge in my house. In my pantry. Riiiiiight over there. Grrr.
Ooh! Well, that means you should make the fudge, right, Gloria? LOL about the thighs, and SO true. I agree that the sayings keep things interesting! Thanks for the visit!
Thanks for sharing the fudge recipe! I will try it. I have wanted to make fudge for a while, but I have been too chicken. You know how recipes sometimes end up being a dud no matter how closely you follow directions. I had a feeling fudge could be that way. Since you’ve tested this recipe, I have a little more faith in it. 😀
No “chicken” fudge here, Catie, LOL! There are two kinds of fudge preparation methods, and you might be thinking of the complicated type, which uses a candy thermometer and can be tricky. This is the super-easy method, where you are just melting/blending all the ingredients together in a saucepan, and pouring it out into a pyrex dish. Easy-peasy! Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Omigosh, that fudge recipe looks amazing. I’ll have to try it once I’m off my diet! (Yes, I’m on a diet because chocolate called to me once too often!)
I know what you mean, Nancy! My strategy: make it for a give-away occasion, and keep a FEW pieces! Good luck with your diet!