The Cocoa Saga *Part VI* Into the Jungle

On our way to the village, Sam and I began evaluating the possibility of a murder motive behind the mutated new species. I began jotting down notes into my notebook to organize my mind.

“Do you think this new species was made to target someone?” Samuel asked as he looked out the window.

“I am not sure,” I replied jotting more thoughts crossing my mind.

“Well, it’s the first time I would have ever seen anyone go through all the trouble,” Samuel said tapping the window with his index finger.

“And you have seen someone go through the trouble to murder someone before?” I asked not looking up from my notebook.

“Well, no,” he said sheepishly.

“I am thinking the idea over and…,” I started.

“And what?”

“And I just do not see how or why someone would go through all the trouble of successfully crossing two different species to commit murder,” I ended. I looked up from my notebook finally and turned to Samuel. “The chances are pretty slim that there is an evil genius out there who would want to murder and blackmail through the use of plant life.”

“Using Mother Nature to work for you and against others,” Samuel stated. “Well it isn’t unheard of.”

“Perhaps not, but I am still skeptical.” The care abruptly stopped. We had already arrived to the outskirts of the jungle. We piled out of the parade of cars and walked into the hut where we had originally met with Padma.

“Oh please put these on as soon as possible and follow me,” Padma declared. There was no time for pleasantries as we all quickly got into the bodysuits. With about a line of ten people following Padma, the policemen, Samuel and I, and a few others, we ventured deep into the jungle.

We followed Padma to the exact location we had gone before. As we neared the location I had taken original samples before, she made an abrupt right turn and walked for another ten yards.

We were so deep in the jungle, there were noises I had never heard before in my ears. She motioned us to continue following her under a giant tree into what looked like a clearing. As I approached the clearing behind Samuel, I heard him say in a muffled voice, “Oh my God.” I stepped the left of Samuel to take a better look and what I saw both flabbergasted and baffled me.

In front of me lay acres of crops of the mutated new species.

To be continued….

Homemade Crunch Candy Bars

One of my absolute favorite candy bars is Crunch by Nestle. There is something just downright wholesome when I bite into one and munch away.

After much consideration, I wondered if I too could make my own version of the rice crispie chocolate treat. I set out to work.

First, I bought myself a box of Keyfood brand Crisp Rice Cereal. It was a ton cheaper than the real Rice Crispies and tastes exactly the same! Then I grabbed my couverture chocolate I purchased from Whole Foods and starting chopping up the block.

I went ahead and began tempering the chopped chocolate over my stove. I set up the cereal to be ready to be poured into the bowl once I hit the correct cooled temperature of the chocolate. I then took my plastic spatula and just mixed the cereal which I just poured into the chocolate until it was completely incorporated.

If you like more crunch that cocoa, go ahead and add as much cereal as you want. Be sure not to add too much though otherwise the cereal will over power the chocolate.

Once you have completely mixed the two, pour it onto a parchment paper on a flat cookie board. Be sure to spread it out so it is thin. Immediately stick it in your fridge (especially if it is a humid day), and pull it out just a few minutes later. If you leave it in the fridge too long it can get chocolate bloom.

After it has cooled properly and you take it out, break the chocolate crisp into pieces and enjoy!

Callebaut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Snack attack! A craving was taking hold of me and I was searching my kitchen for the perfect snack. All I could find was a package of Chips Ahoy cookies and some jelly beans. Seeing that I have been watching my weight for some time now, I wasn't about to lose precious calories on anything less than luxurious treats. So, I ventured to find the perfect cookie recipe.


I interviewed my fellow blogger Cucina Bella on what she could recall as the best tasting recipe, and she lead me on a hunt to find the The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. I loved the recipe but realized I ran out of flour and the bittersweet chocolate chips. All I had was Bisquick mix and a giant hunk of Callebaut Semisweet Chocolate.

I decided to modify the recipe to include my ingriedients and the results were spectacular! After breaking the hunk into chunks fit for cookies, I mixed my recipe ingriedients to form one of the tastiest cookies I have had in years! The pecans gave it an extra edge. Try it yourself and you'll know exactly what I am talking about.


Callebaut Chocolate Chunk Cookie Recipe

2 2/3 cups Bisquick mix
12 oz Callebaut Semisweet Chocolate Chunks
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup sugar
2 sticks butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup pecans

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix liquid ingredients first. Gradually add Bisquick mix in 1 cup at a time until fully blended. Add nuts and chocolate. Scoop 1 tablespoon at a time onto cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Spice it up!

Last week, I decided I was in the mood for cupcakes. I found a Duncan Hines devil’s food cake mix box sitting at the back of my cupboard and got to work swiftly. I would have made it from scratch, but my husband just loves boxed cake mix. He’s not very adventurous.

Usually when he requests something, I try not to fiddle with it too much since I know how picky he can be. However, I felt like doing something crazy. I knew it was a gamble to mess with the perfectly blended cake mix, but I had just gotten an extremely fresh spice all the way from India.

Fresh cinnamon ground up into fine powder, so pure and aromatic, setting it in my spice rack made the entire cupboard smell of delicious cinnamon. Yummm!

So what did I do? You guessed it. I added ½ a teaspoon to the cake mix and mixed it well. Then I baked them and waited until they cooled to added some delectable vanilla frosting with a little bit of rainbow sprinkles and a starburst jelly bean.

I kept my lips sealed when my husband came home and gave him his first cupcake. Salivating, he devoured it and demanded two more! He said, "This is soo much better than I remember it!" Did I tell him I added cinnamon? No, not yet. When I do, I am sure he will be upset for tricking him, but I know just what to say.

Don't you know cinnamon is good for you? That's right folks, the delicious spice you add to tea, and apple cider, and cookies and cakes can ward off cholesterol! (But only in very small amounts!) Check out this interesting article I bumped into for more details:
Cinnamon in moderation is key!

The Cocoa Saga *Part V* The Police Station

“Cacao trees crossed with dumb cane…” Samuel was thinking out loud as we waited outside the police chief’s office. We had been requested to give details on our findings to local government law enforcement.

“Yes, it is certainly strange.” I said this as I digged through my purse to see if I could find cream for my dry hands.

“I’ll be a quick minute,” Samuel said as he headed to the restroom. I nodded just after I gave up searching my purse. Just then a blond haired man wearing a black Armani suit carrying a giant shoulder bag with the word “Pearl Co.” embossed on the outside walked down the hallway to my right. I wondered why one of the representatives of Pearl Company,the biggest comestics company in Europe, was doing in Sri Lanka.

As he passed by me, he accidentally tripped over my purse sitting on the floor and fell to the ground. The giant shoulder bag he was carrying, emptied miniature tubes of hand creams that was strewn all around.

“I am so sorry,” I exclaimed as I jumped to my feet and began helping the blond haired man pick up his belongings. “I had not realized my purse was in your way, otherwise I would have moved it.”

“No worries at all,” he said is a thick British accent. He gave me an effortless smile letting me know he was not upset. “Thank you so much for helping me. Here, have one.” He was offering me one of his sample hand creams.

“Oh thank you,” I said delightfully as I thought about my good fortune on the free sample. I took the cream and waved the man goodbye as I quickly used it on my dry hands.

“The Chief is ready to see you now.” I turned and saw an officer standing in the doorway across from me. As I got to my feet, I saw Samuel heading my way from the restroom.

* * * * * * *

After a brief explanation of our findings, there was a slight pause as the Chief took in all of the information. Samuel and I were sitting across Chief Shivan in two uncomfortable folding chairs. On either side of Chief Shivan stood two officers looking very suspiciously at the both of us.

“What do you believe is the reason why someone crossed these two?” Chief Shivan asked as he rubbed his chin in deep thought. Samuel and I looked at each other. Neither of us had come to a conclusion yet.

“Actually, we are not really sure why someone would do it,” Samuel finally answered.

We think we have an idea but are not certain,” Chief Shivan said as he leaned back in his chair, still rubbing his chin. “We think that this could have been done to target someone in the village.”

“Who?” I asked curiously. A target was not something I had considered.

“Can we trust to tell them?” asked the officer to the left of Chief Shivan. He eyed me suspiciously.

“Yes, I think they should know,” Chief Shivan replied to his officer. He turned to me and said, “There was some extended family of the Mayor of Kandy living in that village.”

“So you believe it was an attempt to threaten the Mayor of Kandy?” Samuel asked.

“We are not sure, but the extended family of the Mayor of Kandy lived closest to the location of the fatal plants. It is a possibility whoever planted those there had done this intentionally.” Chief Shivan was about to say something more when suddenly the telephone rang. “Chief Shivan here… yes… I am here with both Dr. Jeevan and Samuel Mink…. Alright we are on our way.” He stood up suddenly. “We all have to get to the village outskirts right away. There has been a critical discovery.”

I looked at Samuel and read his mind. What more could they have discovered out there in the jungle?

To be continued……

Tabliering, Seeding and other fun stuff

When I temper chocolate, 95% of the time I used the seeding method. In a previous post, I had explained this particular method. For those who would like to have a couple of different options I thought I would go over both methods.

In both methods you always start out which a giant block of chocolate you have to hack into bits and pieces.

I usually take about 3/5 of the chocolate chunks and starting melting away, while I hold off on the other 2/5 for the tempering portion.

With the Seeding method, as I explained in a previous post, once you have hit just about 115 degrees F, I turn the heat source off and just add little chunks of chocolate. The chocolate chunks melt into the heated chocolate mixture and in the process brings the temperature down to the desired temperature level.

The only thing you need to pay attention to is the temperature. This method is extremely cleaning efficient and simple. When I think of the seeding method, I think of the modern chefs at the Chocolate Competitions in Las Vegas using this technique.

I think of the tabliering method as a very classic style. It for those chocolate lovers that want to just dive in and get their hands dirty. Literally!

With this method, after you have heated you chocolate, you pour about half onto a marble stone slab. The marble is naturally cool and allows the mixture to cool slowly and gradually (much like the seeding method). However, you use an offset spatula to contantly work the chocolate around the slab until it lowers in temperature. You could use your hands to work the chocolate, but I wouldn't advise it because it will become an even bigger mess then.

If the chocolate gets too cool and starts to harden, you can go back to your still heated reserve and add it to the marble. The point is the manipulate the chocolate to stay in the temper zone without cooling down too much or being too warm.

The decision on what temperature you want your chocolate to come down to depends on whether you have white, milk or dark chocolate to work with in your recipe. The properties are not the same because of the percentage of cocoa butter in each type of chocolate.

Final thoughts: Stick the to seeding method, and then move on to the tabliering method once you've master seeding. When you know what you are looking for in terms of tempering, it will be easier to handle the extra hassles of a messy kitchen!

The Cocoa Saga *Part IV* The Discovery

My eyes were shut and my fists were clenched to the sides of the car so tightly I felt myself going numb. As I waited to hear a crash, suddenly all I could hear was laughter. As I opened my eyes, Samuel had clutched his stomach laughing so hard and Kris was giggling oddly in the front.

“I take it you are not familiar with the way Sri Lankan countrymen drive?” Kris asked through a strange giggle. I looked outside the window to find we were back on the correct lane and found myself heated with anger.

“I really did not find that funny,” I said as I leaned back, relieved the ordeal was over. As we continued driving I notice this Russian roulette way of jumping into the opposite lane was just the way they pass slow moving vehicles in front of them. There are only two lanes going in opposite directions, so if you want to pass a car, you have to risk oncoming traffic or just be driving 15 km an hour or less the whole way. I was relieved when we finally arrived at our destination.

“This is a small village not far from Ampara, where the plant was found and the catastrophe had happened,” Samuel said as he led me into the doorway of a small hut. Kris sat waiting in the car as we walked off.

A woman wearing a traditional sari walked towards us as we entered. The lean woman’s hair was wound loosely in a bun, and she smiled broadly as we entered.

“Mr. Mink, so glad to see your safe arrival,” she said as she shook his hand. “I am Padma, and will be leading you into the jungle. You must be Dr. Jeevan.” She looked at me and smiled broadly as I shook her hand.

“Yes, very nice to meet you Padma.” She seemed unusually happy under the grim circumstances.

“Please, follow me.” We walked behind Padma into the next room where three body suits lay on a table. “Please, put these on.”

Once the three of us were fully covered in the suit we put on beekeeper’s helmet to cover us all the way. We followed her outside into the hot sun into the deep jungle.

About thirty feet into the jungle, Padma stopped in front of a giant banana tree. I saw her point at something under the tree. As I approached the tree, I saw the roots of something pulled out on the ground.

“That is the culprit,” I heard a muffled Samuel say as I crouched down to take a better look. I picked up the root and put a few pieces into two vials. I added a few stems as well to my collection.

“Ok, let’s get to the lab,” I said as I stood up.

* * * * * *

“Well, what can you see?” Samuel asked curiously over my shoulder. We were in the Sri Lankan government Bio Lab in the city of Kandy. Although I was exhausted from the trip to Sri Lanka from the United States, I could not stop myself from taking a look at this new organism. It was as though I was reading a thrilling book that I could not put down.

“Give me a minute, ok?” I shifted in my chair as I adjusting the sterilized sample on the stage of the microscope. I adjusted the eyepiece and fine focus to get the best clarity. However, what I was seeing just did not make any sense. “This cannot be right.”

“What?” Samuel said, looking up from the table where the contents of our expedition lay.

“This sample looks like it has been crossed between two already known types of plant life.” I took the sample and moved it into my scanning device. I ran it twice to be sure it would be able to identify which two species it was, since my hunch just did not seem logical. After getting the results back, it verified what I thought all along.

“Which two are they?” Samuel asked now standing.

“Ok, the first one is one I know can be toxic but not necessarily fatal. It’s called Dieffenbachia seguine, also known as Dumb Cane. If you consume any part of it your tongue can feel burning, irritations, as well as severe swelling. It’s fatal only if your tongue ends up swelling to the point where you cannot have access to air.”

“Dumb cane, that’s an interesting nickname,” Samuel remarked with a grin.

“Well, it’s also commonly called the mother-in-law plant,” I replied as I reviewed the scanning results. “I can say with conviction that Dumb Cane is not usually found in Southeast Asia.”

“It isn’t? That’s strange,” Samuel said.

“But that isn’t the strange part. It’s the other one that it has been crossed with that concerns me.”

“And what’s that?” Samuel walked towards me where I was leaning on the counter looking at the results.

“The other crossed plant is Theobroma Cacao, also known as a Cacao Tree,” I said looking at Samuel. “This fatal plant that killed the people of the village was made from Dumb Cane, a toxic plant and the Cacao Tree, the tree that produces cocoa beans and the world’s chocolate supply.”

“Why would anyone cross those two?” Samuel eyes were wide now. He knew this cross was not a natural occurrence now.

“I don’t know, but we have to find out.”

To be continued…

To control your temper…

(A late edition of Scholarship Sundays)

Okay, you want to mold some decadent dark chocolate into little chocolate stars for your picnic.

So you buy a hunk from your local gourmet food store and it sits on your counter, staring you down. What next? You go straight to melting it and immediately pouring it into molds.

But after a sticky mess, all you’ll be left with is a dull looking whimper of the original chocolate.

Why me!?? You ask this as you lean against the counter, your hands a complete brown mess.

I’ll tell you why, because you did not temper it, naughty girl or boy!

Temper? What’s that, you ask.

Tempering, my dear friend, is the way you control your melting chocolate so that it can crystallize into the crisp, crunchy, shiny delicious chocolate you want.

Oh wise one, you ask, how do I do this?

Quite simply, be sure that as you begin melting your chocolate over a double boiler you check that the temperature of your chocolate does not exceed 110-115 degrees F. (Beyond that you will have burned chocolate.) Afterwards, you turn the heat source off and begin to put chunks of chocolate into the melted bowl and continue mixing. When the temperature of the chocolate is no warmer than you lower lip, then it is time to start pouring it into your mold.

My lower lip! Why?

Well, because that temperature (about 88-90 F) is in around the best for the crystallization to form where it will end up firming into a shiny, crunchy delicious looking chocolate. That’s what you want right?

The Cocoa Saga *Part III* Journey to Sri Lanka

“Dr. Jeevan, can I have the flight attendant get you anything?”

“No, thank you, I am fine.” I was leaning back reviewing my reports in first class. Samuel seemed so desperate to make sure I was alright after I agreed on joining him for the expedition to Sri Lanka. He had already offered me his pillow and blanket, and tried to order me a second cup of coffee before I even finished the first one.

“Okay.” Samuel looked forward to the cabin as he ruffled his already disheveled chesnut hair. I took the opportunity to ask him a few unanswered questions on my mind.

“Dr. Smith mentioned he preferred me because I wasn’t close to members of the NBO. Why doesn’t Dr. Smith want the NBO to be involved in this new find?” Samuel shifted in his seat uncomfortably and turned to her.

“I’m not exactly sure why, but I recall him mentioning a few members who he thought could not be trusted,” Samuel whispered. He looked around worried as though someone on the plane was listening into the conversation. “He said Dr. Leat would probably alert the NBO's government contacts and it would be on the mainstream media overnight. He also name Dr. Gold, Dr. Clamps, and Dr. Spring as people who would follow suit as Dr. Leat would.”

“Why would he think that?” I asked curiously.

“I’m not really sure,” Samuel shrugged. With that, the conversation ended and soon we were both fast asleep on our red-eye flight to Sri Lanka.

* * * * * *

“Ladies and gentleman, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to Sri Lanka, exporter of tastiest cinnamon and tea in the world!” I awoke with a jump. Samuel was already rubbing his eyes and sitting up.

After the plane finally came to a stop, I followed Samuel through with our baggage out of the plane. The moment my foot stepped offboard, I felt a rush of warm tropical heat surround me. Beads of perspiration accumulated instantly on my forehead as the humidity took over. As I inhaled, I smelled a combination of incese and leaves of a coconut tree. With an approximate 70% majority of Sri Lankans Buddhist, I suspected a temple not far away from the airport.

“Follow me,” Samuel said as he walked toward the exit. “We have a car waiting.”

I followed him outside into the beating sun and struggled to keep up with him as he zigzagged through a large crowd of people waiting. Finally he stopped at a tiny white Toyota, as a black haired middle aged man stepped out of the car. They shook hands and turned to me.

“This will be our driver during our stay,” Samuel said as he waved his arm in the man’s direction. “This is Krishna, but he like to be called Kris.”

“A pleasure, Kris, I’m Sonia Jeevan,” I said while shaking his hand.

“The pleasure is mine,” he said in a Sri Lankan accent. “Please, sit down as I take you to our destination.” His English was intact perfectly. I should not have been surprised with it since Sri Lankan’s have an extremely high literacy rate. I took a seat while he put our bags in the back and we started on our way.

My head starting nodding off as I struggled to stay awake. The flight to Sri Lanka had been quite exhausting since I had to change plans in Europe once and then again in the Middle East before finally arriving. I had forgotten what a long trip it would be from New York.

Just as I started falling asleep I heard a loud horn blasting outside. I looked ahead from the backseat and saw a giant truck heading directly towards our car. Kris was driving on the wrong side of the road!

“MOVE THE CAR!” I screamed as the truck blasted its horn again. We only had moments to move, but Kris showed no sign of moving.

“PLEASE!” I cried as I held on to the sides of the car bracingly myself. Why was he doing this!? I shut my eyes as I knew it was going to be my last moment of my life.

To be continued…