CHOCOLATE!!!

Immediately following our mid-term exam, we began the highly anticipated series on CHOCOLATE! There isn't anything in the pastry kitchen that excites me more. Chocolate is luxurious and oh so comforting. There is a certain degree of giddiness that occurs inside every time I eat chocolate that is really delicious.

I knew I met my soul mate when I discovered that my husband liked chocolate more than I did! He is the ultimate chocolate monster and has a dessert imagination that goes beyond what I could ever conjure up. I'm amazed at times how he can put the gooiest desserts together when I think that there is little left in the pantry.

I wanted to keep an open mind during the course of both culinary and pastry to discover if there is anything that I'm not aware of that would really interest me and ultimately direct me in sorting out where to go next with this career change. Even though I love cooking and have enjoyed baking pastries and breads, nothing has grabbed me the way chocolate does. It summons that exhilaration that I used to feel when I ran my on-the-side, home-based chocolate business years ago.

There is a portion in one of Steve Pavlina's blogs that talks about discovering and making the best contribution you can. "Once you do discover your purpose, the next step is to summon the courage to act on it.  For some people this is an easy transition, but for others it’s the most difficult step of all.  Don’t let the challenge discourage you.  If you have a big purpose, then your task is to grow into it.  If it takes years, it takes years. "

Sometimes I feel that it is taking me years to figure out what my best contribution can be and perhaps I will wind up creating and supplying beautiful chocolates once again. In the meantime, I need to grow into it, develop my skills, and take things one step at a time. I put a lot of pressure on myself to figure things out NOW and make things happen NOW. I have always been that way. As I become clearer on which direction that I want to go, I also need to be patient. The timing will happen as it is supposed to.

This picture was taken in Barcelona, Spain, at the Valor Chocolate Shop. I was sicker than a dog at the time but would not leave Spain without drowning myself in chocolate. They served a bowl of melted chocolate and the gooiest chocolate cake ever. Marcelo and I devored it and even though my stomach hated me, I was in heaven.

Tagged as: [ barcelona chocolate nwcav pastry spain travel valor ]