The votes are in!

…and, winning in a landslide, this year’s holiday card photo will be:

(It wasn’t even close: something like 90% of people, here and on Facebook, voted for this one!)

For those who were wondering, by the way, yes, the bow, ribbon, and box are all made of white chocolate – Valrhona Ivoire, to be exact. The red and green are colored cocoa butter, as is the yellow lettering. Photography and photo edits were done by my very talented friend and critique partner, Lieven Leroy.

Meanwhile, chocolate season proceeds apace. Earlier this week I trialed a matcha (powdered green tea) white chocolate fudge and a jasmine tea-dark chocolate fudge – both with and without walnuts. Today I started a citron-honey caramel and a passionfruit-ginger-honey-lime caramel:

Tomorrow I’ll cut up the caramels and dip them into tempered chocolate. I will probably try both flavors with both white and dark chocolate, just to see what works better. Normally I use dark chocolate with caramel because caramels are mostly sugar – but the passion fruit caramel is intensely tart, so I think it may do better with white chocolate. Only one way to find out!

The citron-honey caramels, by the way, are made with fresh citron zest, not the tasteless candied citron you find in the grocery store. I came across some Etrog citrons at the farmer’s market yesterday and am happily making a batch of candied citron peel for this year’s chocolate covered citrus peels. I love citrons – the Etrog type look charmingly like yellow footballs, and the Buddha’s Hands are delightfully weird – like a grapefruit crossed with a squid! I neglected to take photos of this batch, but here are some citron photos from the archives:

Tomorrow, after dipping the caramels, I plan to try a green tea/honey fudge with chopped candied ginger bits. I am still toying with the possible flavor combinations. Do I add some white chocolate to the fudge? And if I do, should I add something with a bit of tartness to cut the sweetness? Lemon juice, perhaps, or a touch of lime? Lots of delectable decisions ahead!

Finally, I’ve started working on weaving stuff again, though more in the lines of prep work than actual weaving. I’ve just finished removing a ton of little fuzzy lint balls from my warp, and am re-sleying it so I can troubleshoot a few threads that are not lifting properly. After I’ve finished that, I’ll be able to weave my scarf commission! Hoping to finish it by chocolate season, but definitely by the end of November.

My goal for this week is to trial two or three more flavors, and also to scrub down the kitchen and dining room, which are cluttered and dirty. That’s all I’m likely to accomplish, as I’m flying out on Thursday to go to SOFA Chicago! You can find more details about my talk here; I’ll be speaking on Saturday, November 5, 4:30-5:30 in Room B of Festival Hall, Navy Pier, Chicago, followed by a book signing from 5:30-6:30 at the Schiffer booth. If you’re in the Chicago area, come by and say hi!