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Check It Out: Valentine’s Day a great excuse to celebrate with chocolate

By Jan Johnston

Published: February 5, 2017, 6:02am

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I will admit that in past columns I have been fairly cynical about Valentine’s Day. Too much pressure is placed on both the givers and the recipients of valentine favors in my opinion. However, there is one thing about this February celebration that definitely makes my heart skip a beat — chocolate! Whether or not you receive a valentine on Feb. 14, you can always gift yourself with a chocolate delight.

Personally, I don’t need an excuse to eat chocolate — any ol’ day will do — but Valentine’s Day provides the ultimate reason for indulging in one of my favorite foods. And it only makes sense to get your chocolate game on by sampling a variety of chocolate treats in the days leading up to Feb. 14. In case you were wondering, it is perfectly acceptable to include chocolate in your Super Bowl festivities. Touchdown!

• “Chocolate: 90 Sinful and Sumptuous Indulgences,” by Elisabeth Johansson — Make mouth-watering chocolate treats. Eat mouth-watering chocolate treats. Repeat.

• “Chocolate: Basic Truffles,” DVD by Bill Fredericks — Watching a chocolatier in action is deliciously satisfying. Set aside a couple of hours to watch Bill Fredericks, a.k.a. “The Chocolate Man,” perform some chocolatey magic. Resistance is futile.

• “The Chocolate Therapist: A User’s Guide to the Extraordinary Health Benefits of Chocolate,” by Julie Pech — Of course chocolate is good for you. But if you still need convincing, check out this book posthaste.

• “Eat Chocolate, Lose Weight: New Science Proves You Should Eat Chocolate Every Day,” by Will Clower — Ha! I knew it, I just knew it. Chocolate, my friends, has superpowers.

• “Great Moments in Chocolate History,” by Howard-Yana Shapiro — After you read this rich tribute to all things chocolate, you’ll wonder why we don’t get a week off every year in order to honor and celebrate this incredible edible. The world would be a happier place if we all just ate more chocolate.

• “Inspiralize Everything: An Apples-to-Zucchini Encyclopedia of Spiralizing,” by Ali Maffucci — As much as it pains me to say this, I know that there are people who don’t like chocolate. Sigh. But there’s no reason chocolate-avoiders shouldn’t have fun with the food they do like. Now, go grab that eggplant and a spiralizer and have a party. Warning: spiraling out of control is frowned upon.

• “Vegan Chocolate: Unapologetically Luscious and Decadent Dairy-Free Desserts,” by Fran Costigan — Maybe you really like chocolate but your dairy-free lifestyle prevents you from eating it. Well, Fran Costigan’s “Vegan Chocolate” might be the answer to your dilemma. Described as “dairy-free, organic, fair-trade and sublime,” this unique cookbook offers tasty options for dairy-free yet chocolate-intense desserts.

Jan Johnston is the collection development coordinator for the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District. Email her at readingforfun@fvrl.org.

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