It’s here! It’s here!

After lunch at Wasabi today (more on that later), we wandered down the street to see if Chocolatepaper‘s second location had indeed opened today, and lo and behold, it had! Now those of us who live across town from Southwest County or work downtown have easy access to one of the coolest shops in Roanoke.

As I have mentioned before, Chocolatepaper is owned by some of the same folks who own Mongrel, a fun, kitschy gift and card shop in Careytown in Richmond. The downtown Roanoke version features a wide range of cards and three display cases filled with beautiful chocolates, which range from 33 cents up to about $3 apiece.

They also have a lot of Roanoke and Virginia-centric gifts, like solid chocolate Mill Mountain stars and Virginia state-shaped cookie cutters. It would be a great place to make a basket for someone who is new to the ‘noke.

Image source: Chocolatepaperroanoke.com

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Hello again. Its Nona again, the food lover-gone-WeightWatcher on a mission to find healthy yet tasty dishes.

One of the best parts of WeightWatchers is that, on the flex plan, no food is really off limits. You just have to account for what you eat, and you quickly learn to get the most food for your daily points ration, it’s best to find lower calorie foods that are higher in fiber and lower in fat.

For a dessert lover like me, that means a small portion of something sinful, or a heartier portion of something less decadent.

With that in mind, I am thinking a nice melon salad would be a great dessert this weekend. Satisfies the sweet tooth and I get a lot of food for relatively few points.

It’s still a little early for most melons in this region, but I did pick up a nice mini-watermelon and a very sweet cantaloupe last week at Kroger. Have you ever observed people as they shop for melons? Some are thumpers, some are bouncers, some are smellers. Seems like everyone has a different idea on how to select the best melon.

I usually go by the “does it feel heavy for its size” guide. That means I pick it up and handle it for a few seconds, kind of bouncing it in my hands. This usually works for me but you do have to pick up several melons until you find one that feels right.

Other ways to judge the worthiness of a melon include looking at the field spot, the point in which the melon rested in the field as it grew. This spot should be yellow on a green-skinned melon. I have observed people sniffing this spot. Their noses must be more sensitive than mine, because I get nothing from that experiment.

I am venturing out at lunch to the Farmer’s Market. If anyone there is selling melons, I will see what they recommend for choosing the freshest and ripest in the bunch.

What tips do you use for spotting the best melons or other fresh produce?

As a little kid in Leadville, Colorado, we had the perfect spot for a lemonade stand.
Right at the end of our street, on a visible corner, there was a huge, gray, perfectly rectangular rock. I always thought it looked kind of like an elephant at rest. The back of that elephant rock was the best place to set up plastic cups and a pitcher of Kool-Aid lemonade.
That was so long ago that I don’t even remember if we actually sold any lemonade. I’m pretty sure, however, that I never did anything as admirable with my earnings as Alexandra “Alex” Scott did with hers.
I learned about the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation this week after receiving a box of candy from Mike and Ike. The company that makes Mike and Ike, JustBorn, have introduced a new flavor called “Lemonade Blends.” A portion of the proceeds will go to ALSF.
According to the ALSF Web site, Alex’s parents founded the non-profit organization after their daughter died of neuroblastoma at the age of 8. But by then, she had already helped raise almost $1 million to help fight juvenile cancer.

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Yesterday, I received a press package from Choclatique gourmet chocolates. Included was a box of four chocolates, but when I lifted the lid, there remained only one.
I don’t know who broke into the box and left three brown, crinkly papers where three lovely chocolates should have been. But that someone certainly satisfied a sweet tooth.
I finished off the last chocolate, which was stuffed with peanut butter and jelly, then looked through the informational pamphlet. Inside was an image of each of their 75 signature chocolates, and I was struck by their beauty.
Every flavor, from All-American Apple Pie to Grand Marnier Truffle to Minty Julep Heart, is unique in appearance. The Hot Fudge Sundae looks like a little white truffle topped with chocolate and a cherry and the Colombian Coffee Caramel is shaped like a coffee bean.
According to the Choclatique Web site, you can order a pre-chosen assortment, such as the Love Assortment (which includes all of their heart-chaped chocolates) or you can custom-design your own box. Prices range from $16 for a box of 8 to $45 for a box of 30. Not cheap, I know, but not like any other Valentine’s Day gift you can find for your sweetie around these parts, either.
I would like to say that I know all the Choclatique flavors are exquisite, but thanks to some unknown person, I can only vouch for the peanut butter and jelly flavor.
To see all of the lovely designs for yourself and to play around with the custom ordering tool, check out the Choclatique site by clicking the link above.
Do you have a favorite brand of chocolates?

Photo: http://www.choclatique.com/