Skip to main content

Like Writing For Chocolate

Captain's Log, Stardate 05.12.2009

I admit, I eat copious amounts of chocolate when I’m writing. It helps me to write better.

And lately (to Captain Caffeine’s dismay) I’ve become a bit snobbish about my chocolate. My favorite is Vosges Haut Chocolate, which is massively expensive but really really good. I like them because their chocolate is not only high quality, it’s not too sweet and the flavors are very exotic.

For the last book, I ordered truffles from Vosges: Les Fleurs du Chocolat Truffle Collection and a Green Tea Truffle Collection (no longer on the website).

Here’s the Les Fleurs collection:





From the insert:
Out of the bloom
Les Fleurs du chocolate
Botanics in a chocolate hue
Enveloped in the scent of roses, orchids, marigolds and nasturtiums, these blooms are even sweeter than they look. Flowers have long been praised for their medicinal properties—so we decided to pair them with spices, herbs and liqueurs to explore the body-beautiful attributes of Mother Nature’s colorful gifts. Reap the health benefits of the garden.

Camy here: Not so sure about “health benefits of the garden,” but they were darn good!



Siam Citron: jasmine tea + lemongrass + fresh coconut + white chocolate + organic marigold petal
LOVED this truffle! It was really refreshing to bite into it.

Mirabelle Orange: Mirabelle plums + orange flower water + 65% dark chocolate + organic nasturtium petal
Very delicate orange flavor. I’m not astute enough to be able to tell it was a Mirabelle plum, though.

Rose Vert: tarragon + rose water + 65% dark chocolate + organic red rose petal
Very exotic, original flavor. Pleasant, glad I tried it, but I wouldn’t order a whole box of this.

Platanos y Orchidus: orchid vanilla + caramelized bananas + Jamaican rum + 41% deep milk chocolate + organic purple orchid flower
This is my second favorite in the box. The bananas, rum, and vanilla combine for a fantastic flavor on the tongue.

Here’s the Green Collection:




These are all Asian inspired truffles.



Kayoko: Japanese macha tea + white chocolate + cherry blossom
This was good although a bit sweet for my taste. I loved the combination of tea and white chocolate.

Kaffir: Thai kaffir lime + fresh coconut + dark chocolate
Very unusual lime flavor—not typical lime—a really nice citrus sparkle in dark chocolate.

Ellateria: Indian green cardamom + dark chocolate + white poppy seeds
Gingery tasting—apparently cardamom seed is part of the ginger family—which goes well with dark chocolate.

Buddha’s Leaf: Malaysian pandan leaves + dark chocolate + cocoa powder
Easily my favorite in the box, and also the most exotic. I’d never tasted pandan leaves before, and the flavor is unique, a little nutty, a bit vanilla-y. Really pleasing, original flavor to this truffle.

Price: Okay, don’t have a heart attack. These truffles are VERY EXPENSIVE. You can see the prices on the website.

Were they worth it? I think so. The flavors are fantastic and they’re the kind of truffles where you just spend a few minutes only tasting and eating—not watching anything, not reading anything, just experiencing the chocolate.

I think it inspired me in my writing. You can read my dog book (May 2010 from Zondervan) and tell me if it did. :)

Comments

That's not fair unless you share!
I am on a break at work, and my mouth is breaking out over those pics!

If your writing is any indication of what those chocolates will do for the muse, sign me up! Hey, maybe you could distribute them to us wannabe writers and make some extra money on the side...
Anonymous said…
Okay, I just scrounged around my cabinet to see what chocolate I can find.... Do you think I could get the same experience with chocolate chips and smelling a wildflower candle? :)
Camy Tang said…
LOL sorry for the temptation! Not my intention!

I guess the bottom line is, whatever inspires you to write better is good, right????

Camy
Edna said…
I made me some sugar free jello chocolate pudding, I am dibetic so I had to have chocolate. enter me into your next contest please



mamat2730(at)charter(dot)net
Reihaisha said…
Camy,

I feel I need to make some truffles to satisfy the sweet tooth you gave me.

The asian box of truffles would get me to pick my pen to write short stories again
Edwina Cowgill said…
Yumm-o! I just gained 5 lbs. reading the descriptions!

It's like you said Camy, whatever motivates one to write!

Edwina
Cecelia Dowdy said…
Mmmm! This post is making me hungry!! I might have to try some of that chocolate! When we want a chocolate rush, we buy Godiva! I get the candy, and we also get the Godiva chocolate covered pretzels! They're yummy! We also buy those Lindt (sp?) chocolate truffle candies!
Linda W. said…
NOTHING says it better than truffles!
Camy Tang said…
All my chocolates are gone now. :( They're really good but really expensive, so I won't get to splurge until I eat all the other chocolate in my house first.
Camy

Popular Posts

Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And...

I sold to Steeple Hill!

Captain's Log, Supplemental Remember that romantic suspense proposal I blogged about earlier? Well, it just sold to Steeple Hill’s Love Inspired Suspense line! I am so jazzed! I am beyond jazzed! The story’s working title is Sinister Spa The story's title is Deadly Intent and here’s a blurb (but it’s probably not what will appear on the back of the book): Massage therapist Naomi Grant could use a massage herself. With her father at home recovering from a stroke, Naomi is put in charge of the family’s elite day spa in Sonoma county. The new responsibilities sit awkwardly on her shoulders, and things only get worse when handsome Dr. Devon Knightley breezes into the spa, demanding to see one of the female clients. And the woman is found dead in Naomi’s massage room. Suddenly, Naomi is a suspect and her family’s spa is shut down. How could God let this awful thing happen? Devon only needed to see his ex-wife about a family necklace she still hadn’t returned, but when she dies and...

I got my cover!

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Blog book giveaway: To enter, go to the blog links below and post a comment there. Eyes of Elisha by Brandilyn Collins Tangerine by Marilynn Griffith I GOT MY COVER!!!! What do you guys think?

Cover Reveal + New Logo for Year of the Dog, a Mahina Security Novel

A New Look for Year of the Dog (and a Behind-the-Scenes Oops!) What do a dog trainer, a security expert, and a nearly-naked book cover have in common? Let me explain. 😅 Year of the Dog is the first book in my Christian romantic suspense series, Mahina Security, set in beautiful (and sometimes dangerous) Hawaii. It features quirky humor, family tensions, sweet romance, and a mystery involving a missing person—and it’s now available to read in the Christian suspense anthology, Danger in the Shadows , on Kindle Unlimited ! But before that happened, I had a bit of a cover mishap… While creating the ebook cover, I realized that the original stock photo made my heroine look, well, completely nekkid. 😳 She’s actually wearing a tube top in the image, but when I cropped it for the ebook, the top disappeared—leaving her looking very PG-13. To fix it, I did some Canva magic on a strappy top from another image and stuck it onto the model (so she’s decent now). But when I resize...

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures...