chocolate

Giveaway: Artisanal chocolate from Alaska.

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Not everyone gets a Valentine’s Day treat from a loved one. In fact, some of us don’t particularly want them. Still, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to feel a little bit special, so I’m having another Chugach Chocolates giveaway. If you didn’t get a Valentine, then treat yourself (or someone else) to this one.

Chugach Chocolates is a “bear-to-bar” that creates delicious (and sometimes scary-sounding) items here in Anchorage. Right down the street from us, in fact, which is particularly dangerous since they’ve opened a nice little coffee shop/retail space.

Since DF’s doctor wants him to eat an ounce of dark chocolate per day, we decided to support the local economy and buy solely from Chugach Chocolates. Happily, they offer a volume discount so we’ve taken to buying a dozen bars at a clip. It’s a health issue, you see.

About the “scary-sounding” chocolates: We’ve found that you don’t need to be afraid of confections such as Alaskan Kelp and Cayenne or Mat-Su Valley Potato Chip chocolate bars. They’re all good. Well, except for the Espresso Beans bars – I’ve never been a coffee fan. DF loves them, though.

The winner of this giveaway gets to choose from among: 

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Holiday 2021 giveaway: Alaska chocolate.

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Here we are, a bit closer to Christmas and Kwanzaa, Hannukah in the rear-view mirror, and still supporting the local economy. This week’s holiday 2021 giveaway is pretty sweet. But not too sweet, even though it’s made up mostly of chocolate.

That’s because the Chugach Chocolate company specializes in dark chocolate. Headquartered in Anchorage, it’s been the subject of a couple of previous giveaways and it’s always been a big hit.

If you win, you could give free chocolate to someone you love this holiday season?

And yes, that someone could be…yourself. Charity begins at home. Sometimes chocolate does, too.

In addition to the four chocolate bars in the giveaway, the winner will also receive a fun (yet useful!) piece of Alaska kitsch: a face mask featuring the Alaska Tastee-Freez logo.

More on that in a minute. Right now, let’s talk about the chocolate.

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Giveaway: The tax season survival kit.

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thThe folks at H&R Block recently mailed out a couple of logo items for the 2014 tax season. Naturally I just had to turn mine into a giveaway – adding, of course, a few artistic touches of my own.

There’s a particularly high snafu potential this year due to the Affordable Care Act. Too, there was the customer service misstep by Intuit, which made major changes to the Deluxe version of its popular TurboTax software in a way some customers didn’t like. (H&R Block responded with an offer of a free replacement product; follow the link for details.)

So in advance of any issues you may or may not have, you should enter to win the 2014 Tax Season Survival Kit. It includes:

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Sucre shock: Sweet treats from New Orleans.

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choc_nola15_9Remember those gorgeous French macarons I gave away a few months ago? The sponsor of that offer, the Sucré Sweet Boutiques and Confection Studio of New Orleans, is at it again.

No, it’s not a king cake (even though that’s a specialty confection often associated with New Orleans). This time around the giveaway is in the universal language: chocolate.

Not just any chocolate, either: Sucré is giving away a 15-piece New Orleans Chocolate Collection.  

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Giveaway: Hand-made chocolates. (Now with more fish!)

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slide5The giveaway schedule is all bollixed up lately, due to circumstances (mostly) beyond my control. Hope to get back on track soon.

Not this week, though. I’m choosing to put it up on a Monday and to draw on a Friday afternoon in honor of Valentine’s Day, in support of the local economy and with a tip of the hat to flavors of the Last Frontier.

Specifically: This batch of handmade sweets from Modern Dwellers Chocolate Lounge:

  • Would be a delightful treat for your loved one (or yourself!) on Feb. 14;
  • Are made by folks who live in Anchorage; and
  • Uses fish as an ingredient in two of the truffles.

Yes, fish. Get out of your comfort zone, already. Or offer the fishy ones to people you want to shock.

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Just in time for Valentine’s Day: Chocolate-scented toiletries.

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chocolate_0The every-Friday giveaway fell by the wayside for a few weeks. I missed it again last week because I was waiting for a couple of items to arrive from Good Earth Beauty.

They sat in the mailbox until my roommate got home late Friday evening and I must admit that the first glimpse caused me to make the girl-noise. Take a look at the accompanying photo and you’ll see why.

Couldn’t use them right away, because they were solidly frozen. But oh, how delicious they smelled on Saturday morning.

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What’s better than chocolate? Free, organic chocolate.

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Chocolate © by Chocolate Reviews

My friend Linda B.’s doctor has advised her to eat an ounce of dark chocolate daily. I wish I could get a prescription like that.

Whoever wins this week’s giveaway will be a healthier person because the prize is a trio of organic, fair-trade chocolate bars made right here in Seattle.

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Valentine’s Day 2012: Let me do your shopping.

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Yep, it’s early. I’m putting the Valentine’s Day giveaway up to allow plenty of time for the winner to receive the package and re-gift it.

That is, if the winner really wants to – the items range from the sublime to the ridiculous. All might be hard to turn loose once you see them.

Let’s start with the sublime: three new kinds of chocolate.

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Christmas 2011: Ho-ho-homemade sweets.

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Since getting my candy/jelly thermometer from Amazon.com recently I have learned a new and entirely dangerous skill: making caramels for Christmas gifts.

I know they are dangerous because:

  • Somebody had to scrape out all candy that stuck to the saucepan, right?
  • I couldn’t in good conscience give a gift without making sure it tasted OK.

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