Happy Holidays!  Hope you have some bubbly this month, and more to bring in the New Year right!  

Here is a quick video on some of my current sparkling wine recommendations for New Year's Eve.  

Enjoy, and let me know what you're drinking!

Victoria Cooksey

https://www.instagram.com/victoria.cooksey/
https://www.facebook.com/victoriacookseysrandomdish/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

Coffee Shops on the Peninsula by Victoria Cooksey

One of my favorite things with living in Washington State is the amazing amount of locally owned coffee shops that exist here.  

First up are my favorite places to get coffee in Port Townsend, WA ( the town I live in on the Olympic Peninsula).  

Better Living Through Coffee has hands down the best mochas around.  Often mochas are super sweet and block out the espresso taste, however BLTC mochas have dark chocolate in them, and aren't sweet.  Love them!  Plus, this place has an amazing water view too!  They are also just a short walk away from the ferry dock.  http://www.bltcoffee.com/

Another of my favs is Sunrise Coffee.  This is definitely where the locals go, and with just a few visits the gals here learn what your usual drink is.  Sunrise also has some of the best prices in town on coffee and lattes.  They also roast and sell their own coffee.  http://www.sunrisecoffee.net/

I often get my coffees to go and walk out on one of the many piers here.  The views of town, or of the water, are lovely!

In a hurry?  No problem!  Mean Bean is a drive through coffee spot (up the hill near QFC grocery store).  They have some of the best coffee and lattes in town, and very reasonable prices.  I love that they give you two chocolate covered coffee beans with your drinks.  They also have a buy ten get a free drink punch card available as well. In the summer I often get my latte blended because it's like a Frapp, but you control the sugar level.

On Saturdays April - December check out Gypsy Coffeehouse at the Port Townsend farmer's market. Thier lattes are dark, and rich.  Love them!  The owners are very sweet, and they are a valuable source of info on what's going on locally for entertainment/festivals.  https://www.facebook.com/Java-Gypsies-269635213075854/

Not pictured is a coffee shop called Velocity.  Thier lattes have the perfect foam. https://www.facebook.com/velocityporttownsend/

Moving on to Poulsbo, WA.  I always have to stop into Hot Shots Java.  This is another place that sometimes gives a chocolate stick, or chocolate covered coffee beans with drinks.   (Grab a doughnut from Sluys Bakery, a coffee here, and then walk over to the water view).  https://www.facebook.com/Hot-Shots-Java-138706162838054/

When you are driving in the other direction on the peninsula to Sequim, WA visit the Rainshadow Coffee Roasting Company.  Love their lattes! http://www.rainshadowcoffee.com/

Next time you are in Port Townsend, WA grab a coffee and head out to the water.  You never know, I might see you there!

Find me at:

https://www.facebook.com/victoriacookseysrandomdish/?fref=ts

https://www.instagram.com/victoria.cooksey/

Note:  I've also tried decaf lattes at every single shop mention, and they are fantastic too!

Lion's Mane Mushrooms

I just wanted to say a huge Thank You to everyone for watching my lion's mane mushroom video.
1,000+ views as of today!! Woo-hoo!!!

One day I was cooking with these, and on a whim decided to make this video that day.  I had no idea it would become my most watched video so far.  Be sure to keep an eye out for these in your grocery store, farmer's market, or local Co-op.  (I buy mine at the Co-op in Port Townsend, WA).

Thanks again for watching!  Be sure to check out both of my youTube channels for even more cooking videos.  Be sure to watch, like, share, and subscribe! Enjoy!!!

My YouTube channels:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm-lp-lF_wB2oX_592jK9UQ

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvGYozoGjCmRQXZmxFiGFpg

Victoria Cooksey

Want awesome, approachable wine and beer knowledge?  Then check out my husband's new blog:

http://grapejuiceandbarleysauce.blogspot.com/

Thanks!!

Victoria

Northwest Chocolate Festival in Seattle, WA Part 3:  My picks for the best bars (and a truffle) at the show, and a survival guide for tasting that many chocolates. 

This final post on the Northwest Chocolate Festival may just be my favorite because it's time to talk about my picks for best chocolates at the show.  

And the winners are:

Well, first off, I have to say that I always find Valrhona to make amazing chocolates, however, I really wanted to focus on what I found to be the best chocolates there that I either barely knew, or I had never tried.

My vote for the #1 truffle goes to the Rosemary Olive Oil Truffle by Smitten Artisan Truffles. Fantastic balance with the rosemary in this truffle.   Rosemary has the potential to overpower everything else, but it shines just right in this truffle. This is a lovely example of the rosemary trend being done right. http://www.smitten-truffles.com/c 

My pick for #1 dark chocolate bar goes to Very Dark 71% by Equal Exchange.  This gave me exactly what I'm looking for in a dark chocolate bar, and each time I eat this bar I get more flavor notes out of it including cinnamon (and it doesn't have any cinnamon in it).  Since the show I've tried some of their other bars, and hot chocolate mixes, and they are all fantastic, and at a good price too.
http://equalexchange.coop/products/chocolate

Next up (in no particular order now) is Videri Chocolate Factory's 70% bar.  You actually get two bars in one package.  What I liked about this item was the herbaceous notes in the aftertaste.   I don't often get a vegetal finish in a bar, so I found this one interesting.   https://viderichocolatefactory.com/

This Brown Butter Milk Chocolate bar by Fruition is so yummy with flavor notes of caramel, and nuttiness.  I've been noticing some bakeries are making brown butter chocolate chip cookies too. 

http://www.tastefruition.com/

This 60% bar by Escazu Artisan Chocolates is made with goat's milk.  You can definitely taste the goat's milk which lends an earthiness to this bar, along with this chocolate having that milk/dark taste. http://www.escazuchocolates.com/

I haven't forgotten about you white chocolate lovers out there!  This Balsamic Vinegar in White Chocolate by Gusto Chocolates gives subtle hints of the vinegar as you eat it, along with a bit in the finish. What it does is add pleasant acidic notes which white chocolate doesn't normally have.
https://www.facebook.com/Gusto-Chocolates-179853495487053/

I love, love, love this Milk Chocolate with Blue Bottle Coffee by TCHO.  They accomplish what few bars with coffee do by making a truly coffee taste without actual grounds in the bar, so the finished product is velvety smooth.  https://www.tcho.com/

Bonus Pick:  My #1 caramel pick (not pictured) is Jonboy Caramels Absinthe Black Salt Caramel. Unusual done well!!  http://jonboycaramels.com/

Now we all need to take a moment to go eat some chocolate...pause...breathe in the chocolatey aroma...ok...now we may continue.  

Chocolate Festival Survival Guide: 

The upside is that there are so many chocolate samples at this event.  The downside is that there are so many chocolate samples at this event.  This means you can't try them all.  Sorry, but your tastebuds will blow out before your desire to eat all the chocolate will.  Here are a few tips to allow you to try as many as possible.

1.  Drink water between each sample to help cleanse the palate between bites.

2.  Don't try to taste every sample at each both (many booths had around 10 samples).  Pick 1 or 2            that interest you the most.  

3.  Attend a couple of lectures/demos throughout the day to give your tastebuds a break.

4.  Bring savory protein snacks to eat a few times in between sampling. 

5.  If at all possible get a 2 day pass ticket, so you can really keep those taste buds going!

One more thing, in case you hadn't guessed, all the booths sell the bars they have out to sample, so be prepared to shop! (Discounts were often given when purchasing 4, or more, bars).  

Chocoholics unite!!!

Victoria :)

Northwest Chocolate Festival:

http://nwchocolate.com/

https://www.facebook.com/nwchocolate?fref=ts&ref=br_tf

Victoria Cooksey:

https://www.facebook.com/victoriacookseysrandomdish?fref=ts

https://instagram.com/victoria.cooksey/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm-lp-lF_wB2oX_592jK9UQ

Northwest Chocolate Festival in Seattle Part 2:  The show itself, and chocolate trends

To resume the topic of the Northwest Chocolate Festival in Seattle, WA I felt it was perfectly natural to start with a pic of yours truly standing at the start of it!  :)  The first area of the show consisted of 20 artisan chocolate makers, and then the next level had 70 more.  There were several chocolate talks/demos going on both days.

While the majority of the booths offered samples of their various chocolate bars, there were some truffle offerings as well.

Chocolate making has several steps to get that fresh cacao bean to taste like the chocolatey goodness and texture we are familiar with.  Some of the steps from bean to bar include fermenting, and then roasting the cacao beans to bring out the chocolate taste, refining is all about particle size (so we don't taste things like sugar granules on our tongue when we eat the chocolate), along with conching which may take several hours, and smoothes out the viscosity of the chocolate.  Conching also helps remove various acids in the chocolate that would leave a sour smell and flavor if left in.

One of the trends I noticed going on with several of the chocolate makers at this event was the skipping, or minimizing of the conching step.  Some of them made reference that less conching made the product less processed thus making the product more healthy.   There is processing, and then there is processing.  For example there is the process of running chocolate between rollers to smooth out the consistency, coat the chocolate with particles of the naturally occurring cocoa butter, and improving the taste.  To me, that's not an unhealthy process.  While something with tons of artificial or low quality additives/ingredients might be considered less healthy of a process.  I will leave it to you to decided what you consider to be healthy or not. What I found was that when tasting a non-conched, or a minimally conched chocolate they had  more sour, bitter notes, and often a less pleasing mouth feel.

I think it is very educational for the palate though to take the opportunities of this event to try the fresh cacao bean, a roasted bean (many booths had roasted whole beans.  Remove the shell and then eat the nib), un-conched, light-conched, medium-conched, and then fully conched products to learn about chocolate as well as make the decision of what you as an individual prefer.  Just like with wine, we all have different likes, and pick up different tastes.  The fun comes in that if you dislike it, or like it you are right either way.

Pictured below is the Valrhona booth. A very classically made chocolate.

I also believe that with all food items we can actually train our plates to appreciate and begin to like new styles. This less processed trend will be interesting to watch over the years to come to see if people will eventually find that to be the norm in chocolate taste, and if there will still be room and enjoyment for a classically made product.   I love choices, so I'm all for both styles to continue, as long the classics don't disappear completely. I'd also love to hear your opinions on styles and brands of chocolate that you prefer.  

The next two pictures is part of the larger area of artisan chocolate makers at the show. 

I thought this was a cool way to display chocolate by letting you really know the flavors to look for in the taste.

How could I resist a "V" on a shiny wrapper.  :)

So many products to sample!  Each booth often had around 10 products to try.  No way I could indulge in them all.  I so wish I could have.  Sometimes you could help yourself, and occasionally you needed to ask, and then be given a sample.

These were huge blocks of real chocolate.  Imagine having some of those at home!!!

Besides pictures, I also made a quick video of the event.  Check it out!

While the trend to add salt as a major component to bars and truffles is clearly still in full swing,  I noticed makers are really getting the taste much more correctly balanced.  Herbs and spices are also still major trends with rosemary starting to show up more.  It seems like the chocolate cheese trend has subsided a bit since I didn't really see much of that going on here.  However, I do love milk chocolate with fresh goat cheese and sometimes a little drizzle of honey too.  Yum!

While many places were selling their packed hot chocolate, very few were giving out samples. I'd love to see more samples of that, along with some more savory products as well at next year's event.

Next time I will conclude with part 3 on this festival where I will post pics of my personal favorite chocolates that I tried there along with my tastebuds survival guide to tasting this many chocolates.

Thanks for reading.  Now go eat some chocolate!

Victoria

Northwest Chocolate Festival:

https://www.facebook.com/nwchocolate?fref=ts
http://nwchocolate.com/

Victoria Cooksey:

https://www.facebook.com/victoriacookseysrandomdish
https://instagram.com/victoria.cooksey/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm-lp-lF_wB2oX_592jK9UQ

Northwest Chocolate Festival Seattle, WA 2015 Part 1:  Fresh Cacao Tasting 

Last weekend I attended the Northwest Chocolate Festival in Seattle, WA.  Around 90 artisan chocolate makers were present, and all of them had several samples.  Let us just say there was no way I couldn't sample them all, but I tried!  

I have a certificate in chocolate achievement from Ecole Chocolat, so I do know some things about chocolate, however, I found this event to be very informative.  Trying several makers of chocolate side by side is a fantastic way to learn about the product, and which styles you personally prefer.

Over the next few blogs I will be covering this event starting with the fresh cacao tasting I attended. The tasting and chocolate lecture was lead by Bill Fredericks who is owner of Chocolate Man. Find out more about Bill at:  https://www.chocolateman.com/

Here is a picture of one of the fresh cacao pods being passed around during the talk.  To me, the outside of the pod smelled a bit like a squash.  The pods at this tasting were from Trinidad.

Here I am holding a cacao pod, which I refer to as "My Precious", of course.

Each person attending the lecture was able to sample a fresh bean from the cacao pod.  (You could actually take the seed home and plant it, but if the temperature goes down past 50 degrees the plant dies per the info in the talk).

Keep in mind that a fresh cacao bean actually doesn't taste like chocolate at all.  The bean has to be fermented, and then roasted to bring out the true chocolate flavor.  While chewing this bean it started off perfumy, and floral, and then switched to the taste of citrus pith.  The finish was very astringent, which actually helped cleanse my palate for more chocolate tastings.  (I had visited 20 of the around 90 booths prior to the talk).

Here is a picture of the machete used to open the fresh cacao pods, along with a good view of how they look inside.

There were several talks/demos going on both days of the event.  Definitely something for everyone.

Next time I will dive into info and pics of the event,  more pictures and my votes for the best chocolate there, along with what trends in chocolate making I noticed.  Until then bust out your stash of emergency chocolate.  (I know you have one).

For more information on the Northwest Chocolate Festival check out:

http://nwchocolate.com/
https://www.facebook.com/nwchocolate?fref=ts

Ecole Chocolat:

http://www.ecolechocolat.com/

Be sure to follow yours truly, Victoria Cooksey, at:

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High Tea, Cream Tea, and Scones I've had around the world. 

By: Victoria L. Cooksey

Greetings and welcome to the Fall season!  Cooler weather begs for hot cups of tea and scones. I've been fortunate enough to have sampled scones in both Ireland and England, so I always end up comparing the taste of those to the ones I find in the U.S.  (Far too often our versions of scones are very sweet, and covered in icing, where the ones overseas are more biscuit like).  Thank goodness there is a fantastic place to get authentic tasting scones with homemade clotted cream in the town I live in.  

These first three pics are from Pippas's Real Tea here in Port Townsend, WA.  I've gotten scones there before, but last Saturday was my birthday, so I went all out and had their high tea.  

High teas typically include crustless sandwiches, scones, tempting little pastries, and your choice of tea.  I must confess, Pippa's sandwiches tasted better than any I've ever had with high tea in England. (They even gave King Louis, my puppy, his own little dish of clotted cream, and some dog treats.  He loved it!). 

Pippa's Real Tea is also the place that turned me into a lover of Earl Grey Tea when I first moved here, and they even give you a timer, so your tea steeps the correct amount.  I love that attention to detail! It's also a great place to pop into for a cookie, or other treat.  I had a lovely cookie there a couple weeks ago that was an unusual combo of pistachio, lemon and rosemary. Amazing!  Chicken Pot Pie lovers must check out their version available Fridays in the winter only.  Place your orders in advance! Whether you want tea only, or to celebrate any day by going for the high tea (Saturday's only), be sure to check out Pippa's!

Pippa's Real Tea:

http://www.pippasrealtea.com/

https://www.facebook.com/PippasRealTea?fref=ts

The next two pictures are from the high tea served in the Pump Room in Bath, England.  I had this on my first trip to Bath.  The Pump Room is also where you can taste the so called curative waters that people used to come here for.

The Pump Room:
http://www.romanbaths.co.uk/pump-room-restaurant

The fanciest high tea I've ever attended was when my husband, and I spent a few nights at Thornbury Castle (not to far from Bristol, England). For some reason I didn't take a picture of the food itself, but I did capture the room we had it in.  Gorgeous!!   I also recommend the restaurant there too, so even if you don't get a chance to stay at this castle (and everyone should at least once!) it would be so worth it to have high tea, or a dinner there.

Thornbury Castle:
http://www.thornburycastle.co.uk/

Each time I stay in Bath, England I have to go to the Jane Austen Centre for cream tea.  Cream tea is basically tea with scones served with clotted cream and jam.  (In England if you see "scone with fruit" on the menu that is usually a scone with raisins in it.  Or, when I bought a scone at Stonehenge it was a "rock cake", a scone with chocolate chips in it).   This is the perfect place to step back in time and pretend you are having tea with Mr. Darcy.  :) This is also the place I tried smoky teas for the first time which included Russian caravan tea, and lapsang suchong tea, and I loved them!

Jane Austen Centre:
http://www.janeausten.co.uk/the-jane-austen-centre/exhibition/

It's not a high tea, or a cream tea, but I had to include a picture of one of the many scones I've had in Ireland.  Sometimes you just want a scone with butter to go with tea or coffee.   The scone in this pic was one I had for lunch.  That's how I roll! (or, how I scone).

In this pic I'm in Northern Ireland at Dunluce Castle.  

My puppy, King Louis, enjoying his own clotted cream at Pippa's Real Tea.

Here is a video of my recipe for scones (sort of a scones meets muffin version), followed by a video of my recipe for orange curd.  (Typically, you will see lemon curd, but I wanted to be a bit different, and it is yummy!). Victoria Cooksey's Random Dish is my comedy cooking show on YouTube.  (I also have non-comedy one on Youtube under Victoria Cooksey).

I hope this has inspired you to seek out tea and scones around the world, or maybe make some yourself.  Go out there and try some new teas too.  You never know which one may become your new favorite.

Cheers!!

Victoria

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Wooden Boat Festival

Last night I strolled down to Local's Night which is on the Thursday before the true start of the Wooden Boat Festival here in Port Townsend, WA.  This event takes place for one weekend each September.  In fact, this is the 39th one to take place!  (If you are in the area this festival runs Sept. 11-13, 2015.).

I don't own a boat, but I certainly enjoy looking at them.  So many styles, and lovely ones at this event!

Parking;  I usually park up on Washington Street and walk down to events here in town.  Another option is the park and ride.  Look for signs for this on your way into town ( park and ride bus area is near Safeway). 

For more information visit; 

http://nwmaritime.org/events/wooden-boat-festival/ 

Be sure to check out one of my coffee favs, Gypsy Coffee, at "the point".  Gypsy Coffee is normally the Farmer's Market on Saturdays, except the one for this event. https://www.facebook.com/Java-Gypsies-269635213075854/timeline/ 

Enjoy these pictures, and be sure to check out my video on the event at the end of this post.  Enjoy!

Victoria Cooksey

I could so become a pirate if I had this cute little boat!

Besides boats there are plenty of food and other vendors to keep you busy too.