I live near a chocolate factory.

earth.

buttery.

a hint of plum.

notes of tobacco.

These are the descriptors the red-bearded Mast Brother's use to describe their hand-crafted organic, vegan chocolate that I had the privilege of tasting today at their very own chocolate factory on North 3rd street . No soy-emulsifiers allowed here! This 'food of the gods' melts in your mouth simply because of the quality of the raw materials used, and the vintage crafting process the brother's have re-discovered and are working to keep alive.

At 7 dollars a bar, this chocolate is not cheap, but you have to keep in mind you are not buying a candy bar, you are keeping alive a dying art, not unlike ballet, classical music or the study of Latin. The cocoa beans are handharvested, and the wrappers are hand-made by local artists and friends. The beans are roasted, cracked, winnowed, stone-ground and aged in Brooklyn according to the label . (I think they might even rely on sail boats to import their cocoa beans?).

Sounds pretenious? Maybe a tad. (It's Williamsburg what can I say.) Nevertheless, helping to cultivate a local economy based on the merit of creativity. But putting aside sailboats, vintage-process, vegan-whatever these guys have a great product! I found the customer service to be very friendly. The smell of cocoa beans roasting waffs down 3rd N Street. The flavor selection is incredibly creative! Serrano peppers in my chocolate! Give me the heavenly taste of chocolate and a neti-pot for my sinuses all in one. Yum! ...they have yet to discover the combination of fennel and chocolate though....

If you are dying for a chocolate-pick-me-up and need a serotonin boost just stop in, smell and taste for free. (I promise you will leave smelling like chocolate.) If you are not in the neighborhood you can order, and learn more about their product on their website at mastbrotherschocolate.com.

Love,

Marginally Mollie

Fennel and chocolate chips

These are just a couple of my cravings... (reference to a Rufus Wainright song- anybody?). These are foods I have been eating a lot of lately. I wish I could say separately, but that would be a lie. I'm not pregnant - don't worry. I have been sitting at my computer all day applying to jobs. If it is on craiglist, I have a cover letter for it. It is as if my computer is a vacuum (you know one of those brands that actually works)- it has completely sucked me in. Thus I find the only thing that takes me away is the astringent flavor of fennel combined with the bitter-acidic-sweet flavor of chocolate. together.

love,

marginally mollie (thanks renae)

Lady Pink Margarine

Personally, I think margarine is absolutely disgusting, a combination of highly processed oils that makes your body feel not great, to say the least. Apparently, long ago (to promote the dairy industry) it was LAW that margarine must be dyed pink to distinguish it from its real and more expensive cousin, butter (look it up. I am not kidding). The idea behind this was, law makers thought the public would find the color pink so unappetizing, that people would choose to buy butter instead of its' pink counterpart. Thus more cows would be milked, more butter would be made, and there would be more money for dairy farmers across America. I have no idea if this pink logic worked...as I have yet to find any accounts of dairy farmers getting rich from- pink margarine.

This botched history account, is all to say that I have recently taken a year off college, moved to NYC to do a yoga teacher certification and I FEEL LIKE PINK MARGARINE. I do not wear black. I do not know that the L train runs east to west instead of north to south (well that's a lie, I do now). And I am completely not used to NOT leaving my keys in the door. I do not feel like a new yorker.

This blog is about my adventures in NYC - probably mostly about what I am eating and cooking since I do a lot of that sorta-thing, and weird things I see on the subway (I spend a lot of time on the subway). I am dedicating this blog to my family who are constantly worrying if I am alive in my new concrete landscape. I hope by writing this blog I begin to feel more buttery and less margarine-y.

Love,

yours truly

soon-to-be-butter