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Music from the Chocolate Lands

Unforgettable songs from countries where chocolate originates

Reviewed by Madelyn Miller, the TravelLady

To me, chocolate is an all consuming passion. It is something to savor with all the senses. So when I heard there was a chocolate CD, I was not sure if I should lick it or play it. Imagine finding the perfect CD to eat chocolate by. Or fantasize about chocolate if you happen to be happen to be dieting and resisting eating it.

Chocolate has been enjoyed for thousands of years. Used for medicinal and religious purposes, as well as for pleasure, traces of this “food of the gods” have been found in early Mayan pots dating back to 600 B.C.E. Europeans added sugar to the exotic concoction, and the chocolate craze gradually spread throughout the world. Now the cacao plant, which provides the raw cocoa beans for chocolate, is farmed in tropical locations around the globe, often far away from its Central and South American origins.

Music from the Chocolate Lands offers a rich selection of songs from the world’s chocolate producing countries.

Music from the Chocolate Lands features a selection of songs as distinctive as chocolate’s history. This release includes music from the tropical countries that grow cocoa beans as well as collaborations with musicians from the European regions where chocolate-makers produce some of the world’s most appetizing chocolate products.

Africa, the world’s leading producer of cocoa beans, is represented by Dobet Gnahoré from the Ivory Coast and Toto Bona Lokua, a trio featuring artists from Congo, Cameroon and the French Caribbean island of Martinique. Also from the Caribbean are Haiti’s Beethova Obas, with “Rasanblé,” and the masterful Cuban trumpet player Chocolate Armenteros, whose song “Chocolate Sabroso” (Tasty Chocolate) is a perfect fit. Adrian Martínez and Andy Palacio, from the Central American country of Belize, provide a previously unreleased track.

The collection also features songs by Ozomatli (USA/Mexico), Susana Baca (Peru), Marcantonio (Brazil), Susheela Raman (India) and Teresa Bright (Hawaii). The Belgian group Think of One teams up with Brazilian musicians to create a track that unites two important chocolate producing countries. Taffetas provides another truly unique collaboration, bringing together musicians from the West African country of Guinea Bissau and Switzerland, the land where milk chocolate was invented.

Music from the Chocolate Lands liner notes are presented in English, French and Spanish and  include a recipe for a flourless chocolate torte and information on the history of chocolate around the world.

Read. Listen. Eat. Enjoy.

I just wonder if there will be a diet or sugar-free version.

1. Toto Bona Lokua • Lisanga (Congo/Cameroon/Martinique) 2. Susheela Raman • Sarasa (India)  3. Marcantonio • Sabiá (Brazil) 4. Beethova Obas • Rasanblé (Haiti) 5. Ozomatli • Aquí No Será (Mexico/USA) 6. Think of One • Paletó (Belgium/Brazil) 7. Dobet Gnahoré • Kakou (Ivory Coast) 8. Taffetas • Yay Balma (Switzerland/Guinea-Bissau) 9. Teresa Bright • Tihore Mai Te Rangi (Hawaii) 10. Adrian Martínez with Andy Palacio • Baba (Belize) 11. Susana Baca • Valentín (Peru) 12. Chocolate Armenteros • Chocolate Sabroso (Cuba)

For more info www.putumayo.com

More chocolate goodies to eat or read while listening to MUSIC FROM THE CHOCOLATE LANDS.

Chocolatier Magazine
Great way to get your monthly chocolate fix

125 BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP RECIPES
From cookies to cakes, muffins & more
By Jullie Hasson
www.juliehasson.com

125 BEST CHOCOLATE RECIPES
Recipes designed for maximum impression with minimum fuss
By Julie Hasson
www.juliehasson.com

101 PERFECT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
By Gwen Steege
Storey Books
www.storey.com

BITTERSWEET
Recipes and Tales from a life in Chocolate
By Alice Medrich
Artisan Books
www.artisanbooks.com

THE EVERYTHING CHOCOLATE BOOK
By Laura Tyler Samuels
A chocolate lover’s dream collection of cookies, cakes, brownies, candies and confections. Over 300 recipes
Adams Media Corporation
www.everything.com

BAKE AND FREEZE CHOCOLATE DESSERTS
By Elinor Klivans
120 recipes to make now and enjoy later
www.bdd.com

ALL ABOUT CHCOCOLATE
The ultimate resource for the World’s Favorite Food
By Carole Bloom
McMillan USA
www.mgr.com

CHOCOLATE CRAZY
By Slvia Balser Hirsch
The celebrated Miss Grimble presents more inspired Desserts—all chocolate
MacMillan Publishing Company

Mr. Food Simply Chocolate
Think chocolate goodies are hard to make? Not when you make them Mr. Food’s way
William Morrow and Company, Inc.

The Chocolate Lover’s Guide
To the Pacific Northwest
By Bobbie Hasselbring
Wordsworth Publishing

CHOCOLATE from the CAKE MIX DOCTOR
By Anne Byrn
Workman PUBLISHING
WWW.workman.com

365 Great Chocolate Desserts
by Natalie Haughton
Harper Collins Publisher 

THE TOTALLY CHOCOLATE COOKBOOK
By Helen Siegel and Karen Gillingham
Celestial Arts

CHOCOLATE
THE CONSUMING PASSION
By Sandra Boynton
Workman Publishing
www.workman.com

THE LITTLE BOOK OF CHOCOLATE
By Katherine Khodorowsky and Herve Robert
Published by Flammarion
Distributed by Rizzoli through St. Martin’s Press

CINNAMON MORNINGS AND CHOCOLATE DREAMS
By Pamela Lanier
Lanier Publishing
www.travelguides.com

GOOD DEEDS WITH CHOCOLATE
Chef Hilly Blondheim has put his culinary skills to good use and turned a simple boyhood treat into a life-saving instrument in the fight against breast cancer. Whether its sprinkled on top of fruit or ice cream, to enhance the flavor of coffee or a smoothie, blended into waffle or pancake batter, used in a chocolate martini, sampled as fondue, or simply to make the best cup of hot chocolate you have ever tasted, the possibilities for this gourmet chocolate mix are endless.
www.chefhillyskitchen.com

CHOCOLATE TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES
"The Chocolate Society café and shop at 36 Elizabeth Street, SW1 London. A mecca for the chocoholic. Celebrating chocolate as a gourmet delicacy, there are handmade truffles, biscuits and all sorts of other chocolate-based goodies. The shop is open from Monday to Saturday - for more information call 020 7259 9222."

GREAT CHCOLATE MOUSSE FESTIVAL
New Brunswick, Canada

Sutton Place Hotel weekend chocolate buffet
Toronto, Canada

Hershey, Pennsylvania 

Norwegian Caribbean Lines
afternoon chocolate buffet

Chocolate tea buffet
Mark Hotel, New York

Chocolate Festival
Poconos Manor Inn and Golf Resort
Pennsylvania

The Lofts Hotel in downtown Columbus, Ohio is now offering chocolate lovers the opportunity to enjoy the ultimate chocolate experience, while indulging in the luxury of The Lofts.  Featuring everything from a chocolate body massage and a lesson in how to make luxurious hand-dipped chocolates to a souvenir DVD copy of the movie “Chocolat”, the Pure Imagination Chocolat Lovers Package is a sweet escape.

The Pure Imagination Chocolat Lovers Package starts at just $349 per couple and includes:
--Deluxe overnight accommodations at the incredible Lofts Hotel
--Two consecutive 30-minute chocolate massages
--The Pure Imagination Chocolat Experience: private chocolate making lesson with
renowned chocolatier, Daniel Cooper, teaching the couple how to make hand-dipped chocolates.  Guests will take home four hand-dipped chocolate-covered strawberries and a gift package of European hot chocolate
--Dinner for two (a $50 value)
--Nightcap of a bottle of champagne and fresh, hand-dipped truffles
--Breakfast for two in bed
--Souvenir DVD copy of the movie “Chocolat”

To top off this romantic getaway, couples can have a photo and a sweet message placed on the jumbo 18’x 32’ ADTV (Arena District Television) screen, located just a block west of The Lofts in the Arena District.  Guests can even have a proposal or “I love you” message strategically timed for unveiling to a loved one.  The cost of ADTV is $35

MADELYN’S FAVORITE CHOCOLATE TREATS
Doubletree Hotel chocolate chip cookies
THE VERY BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES IN THE WORLD
http://www.travellady.com/Issues/February04/WheretoGettheVeryBest.htm

Fairytale Chocolate Brownies  800-fairytale www.brownies.com

Chocolate Cowboy Crunch from Bumblee Bee’s Baja Grill. 505-820-2862, Santa Fe, New Mexico. You can buzz through and buy them for $2.50 per package. Other irresistible treats are the Cowgirl kisses made of white chocolate and Espresso Brownies.

Norman Love’s truffles www.normanloveconfections.com 239-561-7215

MADELYN’S FAVORITE CHOCOLATE DESSERTS
Frozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity in New York

Lollipop Tree at DavidBurke and Donatella in New York (okay, it is not ALL chocolate but it is so wonderful I am making an exception)

CHOCOLATE HOTEL
The Hyatt Regency in Dallas, Texas offers a chocolate replica of  its  signature location at Reunion Tower. The Landmark Tower is a decadent dessert filled with Berry-chocolate ganache and Champagne Mouse on a sea of mango sauce and berries. At $13 it is a lot better deal than downtown real estate. This stellar sweet is more than enough for two serious chocoholics and worth every penny for the WOW factor

Chocolate Sushi at Steel Restaurant in Dallas, Texas

Chocolate Tamale at Riata Restaurant in downtown Fort Worth, Texas.

TOTAL BODY CHOCOLATE EXPERIENCES
The Golden Door Spa in Carefree, Arizona offers the Chocolate Champagne Body Wrap.  This Valentine's Day-inspired treatment teases the senses with tantalizing aromas while rejuvenating the skin.  The treatment begins with a double exfoliation using chocolate, Ayurvedic herbs and natural fruit acids.  An anti-oxidant mask of vitamins, green tea, chocolate and fruit of choice is then applied to the body and spritzed with champagne or healing vanilla water.  The guest is wrapped like a delectable morsel while the active elements begin to renew and restore the body.  Following a light shower, the body is caressed with an intensive hydrating cream.  This unforgettable sensory adventure concludes with the guest's choice of custom-made chocolate in the same taste as the body treatment. 

At New Orleans Belladona Day spa you can almost OD on chocolate
But then I believe you can never have too much chocolate.

be a chocoholic: the choco-palooza body deluxe
3 hours - $225.00
This was designed for those who have that never-ending fascination with anything chocolate. The Choco-palooza begins with a serenely romantic still bath, laced with chocolate and raspberry sprinkles, nourishing almond oil, exquisite salts, and healing extracts. Romantic music sets the mood. Scrumptious chocolate truffles are there for the nibbling. Following the bath, a massage therapist begins a light exfoliation using a raspberry scrub, rich in vitamin B and aloe vera.  This gentle scrub enhances the appearance of the skin and is preparation for the Chocolate Surrender Body Treatment, a chocolate body mask rich, soothingly smooth and great for any skin type, especially after a harsh winter.  While the face is cocooned in the mask, the therapist massages the face, neck and scalp. After a shower, the therapist applies "raspberry syrup" to eradicate stress. Belladonna’s special Relief Gel gets at those difficult spots in the back, and a decadent chocolate paraffin melts away the last resistance. A 50-minute massage utilizing Belladonna’s chocolate syrup massage oil completes the Choco-palooza.

mini choco-palooza
90 minutes - $125.00
For those who don’t have time for the deluxe treatment, the abbreviated Choco-palooza is an option. This mini-version of the previous service entails a scrumptious exfoliation using a raspberry scrub to enhance and prepare the skin for the Chocolate Surrender Body Treatment. This chocolate body mask is rich and lusciously hydrating to winter-ravaged skin. After a shower the next step is the Chocolate Stress Relief utilizing a chocolate whip crème, a silky moisturizer rich in willow and aloe vera followed by an application of Relief Gel and chocolate paraffin. A massage with chocolate whip crème follows.  And it’s all calorie-free.

manicure au chocolat
1 hour - $40.00
This delicious manicure completely pampers with chocolate and raspberry products designed to treat and repair the hands.  Belladonna’s chocolate nutty scrub is a luxurious way to smooth away dry flaking skin and allow the rich avocado oil, vitamins and nutritious meadow foam seed oil to do their thing. After a massage using "raspberry syrup," rich in anti-oxidizing vitamins and extracts, the hands are submerged in the utmost of decadence -- chocolate/raspberry paraffin -- known for its hydrating benefits. This manicure’s finishing touches are an application of Chocolate Whip Crème and polish. All are calorie-free except the delicious truffles on hand for nibbling.

pedicure au chocolat
1 hour - $55.00
This sweet treat for the feet utilizes the utmost in decadent chocolate products.  The feet are gently soaked in chocolate sprinkles, which will raise anyone's spirits and relax the mind.  Rough, dry skin is then exfoliated with Chocolate Blizzard, a natural sea salt scrub infused with rich oils and extracts to assist in revitalizing dull skin. A delicious cocoa aroma enhances the whole experience. Raspberry syrup caresses the feet and legs to release all remaining stress. The Chocolate Surrender Mask soothes the feet. Chocolate truffles are served and a Chocolate Whip Crème application provides the finishing touch.

CHOCOLATE DRINKS
The Chocolate Jacuzzi Martini
Balcony Club 1825 Abrams Rd @ La Vista Dr. Dallas, TX 75214-
6617 214-826-8104

MOST EROTIC CHOCOLATE OPPORTUNITY
Todos Santos in Santa Fe, New Mexico offers a chocolate kama sutra set. Since I visited right after Valentine’s Day, they were sold out. Not surprisingly, they cost $69.  They can ship them anywhere with a weeks notice. I am sorry I could not photograph them to give my readers a titillating preview.

Another interesting offering is “after dinner saints”.  You could also use them after any sin. Saint boxes cost $28 for a box of four, $56 for a box of eight and $84 for twelve saints. I wonder what sins you commit would need a dozen saints for redemption?

Todos Santos Chocolates and Confections, 125 East Palace Avenue #31, Santa Fe, New Mexico (505) 982-3855

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