Who doesn't love chocolate? Many of my happiest memories involve chocolates: twine-wrapped parcels bursting with chocolate sent to us from Oma in Germany; Advent calendars which built anticipation of Christmas with chocolate behind every door; the chocolate peanut butter scent of a Halloween haul; the baby-sitter who gave my sister and me 3 Musketeer bars (till then, I never knew people kept chocolate bars in the house!).
Somewhere around high school I decided that I wasn't going to like chocolate anymore. It was my thing. I held on to that thing all through college and beyond.
And then I married into a family of chocolate makers. Seeing danger ahead, I tenaciously held onto my mantra "I don't like chocolate." I weakened to "I only like chocolate from Germany." And then the horse blew out of the barn.
Well, Ladies & Gentlemen, I am here to report that I have recently discovered the chocolate vaccine, a cure to chocolate addiction.
Work with chocolate at home on a regular basis.
Similar to exercise, working with chocolate takes patience, concentration, persistance, and education. But whereas exercise enlivens me and helps me blow off steam, working with chocolate makes me anxious enough that I can hardly wait to go for a walk. After exercise a good shower is in order; during the chocolate process I find myself washing my hands dozens of times.
Working with chocolate is rewarding in that it takes some effort and offers the reward of people pleasing. It's fun to create things, to experiment with recipes, and have relatively quick feedback. It can't hold a candle to the endorphins of exercises and just the scent of it increases my desire to exercise.
So bring on Halloween and Christmas, and you can keep the chocolate. I'll make it.
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