chocolate

Pretty chocolates

I spotted these lovely, tasty looking bits of chocolatey goodness on the interwebz last week, and felt that it was compulsory to share: Chocolates That Represent Japanese Onomatopoeic Words To Describe Texture. I mean. Just look at them.

'There are many factors that determine our experience with chocolate: the type of cocoa, the percentage used, and the flavors. But when Maison et Objet, the pre-eminent design show in France, told Oki Sato that they were naming him Designer Of The Year and asked him to design a set of chocolates, he had to pause. The head of the Tokyo and Milan-based design studio Nendo needed to rethink the concept of chocolate.

Nendo has created “Chocolatexture,” a series of 9 chocolates, all the same size, but each representing a Japanese onomatopoeic word that describes texture.
“The 9 different types of chocolate are made within the same size, 26x26x26mm, featuring pointed tips, hollow interiors, smooth or rough surface textures,” says Sato. “And while the raw materials are identical, the distinctive textures create different tastes.”'

Pretty chocolates on http://hellopretty.co.zaI spo

Delicious as well as beautiful? I am definitely in favour of that idea!

Source.

How to be a Pretty Insomniac

Pretties, I have a confession. I am a raaaaaaging insomniac. Some nights it can just all become too much, and I have to abandon my attempts at nailing down some shut eye, flying out of bed in frustration to try fill the time in some other manner.

Recently, on one such night, I was casting about for ideas of what to keep myself busy with - my eye caught a reflection off a packet in the kitchen, and I remembered the Lindt powered hot chocolate that I was gifted with from Italy in December. Molten chocolate in a cup at 3am? Absa-freaking-lutely.

And naturally, since you're all part of the family, it had to be documented for you, so you can see what it is that greases our engines and keeps us going!

How to be a Pretty Insomniac - how to make hot chocolate

I'll admit, I felt pretty fancy making hot chocolate in a saucepan.

After furiously translating the instructions on the Google machine, I started stirring away at the powder and hot milk. If you find yourself in this situation, I have only one tip: DON'T STOP STIRRING. No one wants lumpy hot chocolate.

And voilà! There you have it!

It was delicious, and made me considerably less cranky. (Also, please spare a moment to imagine me stirring and pouring like a one handed fiend, awkardly snapping away with the camera with the other hand - the awkardness, the pretzelness of it all. Just because I love you guys and had to share this goodness with you.)

On that chocolatey note, have you SEEN these nut butters from SOMA on the site? Hazelnut Chilli, Cashew Almond Chai, Peanut Butter Vanilla and Pecan Pie flavours - camaaaaaan! Nutella's got nothing on this stuff. Omnom.