When life gives you bitter chocolate make hot chocolate

When I was working at HP, one of the partners I worked with gave me a white shirt. Unfortunately, one day my pen leaked and stained the pocket beyond redemption. At that time I also had T-shirt that had a very nice motif but the color of the T-shirt really did not go well with my skin color. So, when I was in Mexico, I found a tailor and with my limited Spanish was able to tell her to stitch the two together such that it ended up with a unique combination that one will not find anywhere. I did not let either the stained shirt or T-shirt go to waste. Before leaving for Ecuador, I donated it to the Goodwill store.

Back in California, I have tried 99% dark chocolate. I had searched high and low for 100% chocolate but have not been successful till now – here in Vilcabamba. Organic 100% Raw Chocolate is bitter. I was wondering how I was going to finish it. Yesterday, at the Farmer’s market I bought the ginger soda, which Adrienne had made for me at my request. It was however a bit too sweet for me. Hmm! What should I do? Well, I boiled some water and poured it over some of my raw chocolate. As it was melting under the heat, I poured the refrigerated ginger soda. The result: Heaven in a cup! To drink it alone will have been selfish. So, I shared some with my neighbors – Jane & Peter. They both loved it & were inspired to try making some themselves. Perhaps you will be inspired to make yourself a cup too.

Side note: Adrienne who made the ginger soda for me mentioned that the ginger here is very potent compared to back in California. She said her eyes were burning as she prepared the ginger for the ginger soda.  I also noticed that the egg yolk here is bright orange just like the ones I had in Australia. Makes you wonder why the yolks in either US or Singapore are not that way…