Sad Saturday Lunch ~ Shoot First, Eat Later

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Sad Saturday Lunch

It's 1:00 pm and I just finished a long conversation. I was thinking about what to have for lunch when I came across a blog entry featuring hot chocolate. Oprah said Mariebelle hot chocolate was one of her favorite things. If Oprah said it's good then it must be true. Unfortunately I don't have Oprah's millions to splurge on a 20 oz can that costs $25. That's almost P61 per ounce. Not nearly the price of gold but pretty hefty for hot chocolate.

Mariebelle Hot Chocolate

Then I remembered I bought this Kablon Farms Pure Tablea at Market Market. Tablea is basically blocks of cocoa powder used in making thick hot chocolate Filipino/Spanish style. It is also used in making Champorado, a sweet chocolate rice porridge.

Here's the recipe at the back of the package. Since my measuring cup says 1 cup is 250 ml I added 2 tablets of chocolate. I added 1/2 cup or more of low fat milk and muscovado sugar to taste. I also strained the liquid because there was lots of solid, gritty chocolate left. If it's still too bitter add more milk.

After all that stirring and simmering I pour the hot chocolate into a glass and get this?!? I look back in the saucepan - where did it all go?

Since I haven't tried Mariebelle I can't compare the taste. I can only say this is so heavenly. It tastes like chocolate liqueur. It's not too strong or bitter and you can taste the nuances of the chocolate. All the liquids have evaporated and you're left with a thick, creamy, smooth chocolate concentrate. I bet this can give ol' Mariebelle a run for her money.

Ok I have the dessert and beverage part of lunch ready. What's for the main course? I decided to forage the freezer. Tada! I found Jimini frozen pizza. The packaging is pretty impressive for a local product.

It's not bad but how on earth did they think of calling this a Chicago style pizza. Having a thick crust does not make one a Chicago style pizza. This thick crust is very light and airy. If you close your eyes really tight and block all thoughts of France you can compare it to French bread.

So here it is SSL.