"dagoba chocolate" news and stories

Dagoba's Rosemary Mint bar was one of Marisa's standout picks for our Fancy Food Show Favorites, and I've since become slavishly devoted to their Seeds bar. It's 68% cacao, studded throughout with pumpkin, hemp and sunflower seeds, and now I've got even greater impetus to dig it, because the company is giving away free seeds via their website Seed the Day.

"Whether it's a pot on the windowsill, a patch in the backyard or a big community effort, everyone can garden. We'll get you ready for spring and help keep your garden blooming by sending you the very herbs and flowers found in our chocolate bars. Everyone who signs up will get at least one packet of lavender, mint, rosemary, pumpkin or sunflower seeds."

So far as I can tell, there's not a single hitch or string -- just free seeds and an extra excuse to think of chocolate. The site also notes that should your planting group be planning a late night planting romp, they just might send along some delicious provisions. And - if you live in Boston, Chicago or San Francisco, you can come on out and nab a handful for yourself. Dates are listed here.


Seed the Day

Do you care what food is for sale at your hotel?

That's the question being asked over at USA Today's Hotel Hotsheet. Writer Kitty Bean Yancey (what a great name!) visited the prototype for Westin's new Element hotels. These longer-stay hotels are going to be a bit more upscale than your usual hotel, with fancy sheets, nice dinnerware, and great food.

Spirited Cooking Day is upon us, carefully worked up to coincide with the Winter Solstice. We're still undergoing some site maintenance, but we have been slaving over several hot stoves to bring you the most tipsy collection of recipes and articles possible.

We'll have comments working soon, and until they come up, if you've prepared a post for our contest, follow this link to leave us "tips" with your url. You can also upload photos to our flickr photo pool (even if you don't have a blog where you've described your creation), tagged with "spiritedcooking". We'll select winners in three drunken categories to receive an assortment of Dagoba organic chocolate bars, including two bars which were named best in category by the San Francisco Chronicle, plus the Conacado (73%) Single origin Dominican; the New Moon (74%) pure bittersweet bar; and the Eclipse (87%) darkest bar in the collection.