Truffle in Paradise
Guilt Free Truffles made by Wendy Talaro -
featuring Fair Trade Organic Chocolate

If you haven't had a Truffle in Paradise truffle since Wendy Talaro began making them, a few things have changed. For one, she upgraded from Belgian bittersweet chocolate, which was a good quality chocolate at that, to fair trade organic chocolate. Most everyone can appreciate organic. Who wants the extra unidentified fungicides and pesticides that aren't on the ingredient list as an unexpected "bonus"? Did you know that chocolate is one of the most heavily sprayed crops in the world? It all comes down to the common practice of growing cacao trees in full sunlight to boost pod and bean production to meet demand. It's not how the trees tend to grow naturally, so the market-driven practice stresses the plants and makes them more susceptible to disease in addition to degrading wildlife habitat and poisoning the environment.

As for fair trade, it's nice to enjoy chocolate guilt free. Most of the world's chocolate is grown in Côte d'Ivoire and much of the labor is provided by child slavery. I'll refrain from going into details about the abuse and neglect inflicted in some scenarios. These truffles also ship really well due to the use of chocolate transfer decals as decoration, without which you wouldn't be able to tell most of the flavors apart from looking at them!

Some things haven't changed. The truffles are still made with real fruit purees and nut butters - for whatever reasons, women tend to favor the former and men the latter. Most of the flavors continue to be vegan and you really can't tell from tasting them. Each flavor is still imbued with its associated secret blessing. The truffles are not yet commercially available in stores, although that will change soon.

These are the flavors currently being offered for sale.
Please note there is an eight (8) truffle minimum purchase.

• Bittersweet chocolate (vegan) – bittersweet chocolate ganache encased in more of the same for the chocoholic and connoisseur

• Milk chocolate – milk chocolate ganache enrobed in milk chocolate couverture

• Blueberry (vegan) – bittersweet chocolate ganache blended with organic blueberry puree

• Blackberry (vegan) – the tang of seedless blackberry puree is complemented by a bittersweet chocolate ganache. Blackberry season starts in July and winds down in September.

• Raspberry (vegan) – organic red raspberry puree and bittersweet ganache. Early through late red raspberry season on average lasts from late May until September.

• Tropical (vegan) – bittersweet chocolate ganache dotted with shredded dried coconut and chopped dried Hawaiian mango. Mango season in Hawaii is generally between June and September.

• Green Tea (vegan) – green tea is infused throughout the smooth bittersweet chocolate ganache. You might be surprised by how good this combination really is.

• Mocha Amaretto – a blended organic Belgian milk and bittersweet chocolate ganache with coffee and almond liqueurs

• Peanut Butter (vegan and standard butterfat versions) – an adult version of a certain very famous peanut butter and chocolate confection, only this version is made bittersweet chocolate ganache with chopped organic peanuts

• Cinnamon Hazelnut (vegan) – bittersweet chocolate ganache blended with lightly toasted chopped hazelnuts

• Blood Orange (vegan) – bittersweet chocolate ganache with blood orange juice and zest. Generally only in season from December to March if the blood oranges are grown in Texas and from November to May if the fruits were grown in California.

• *special limited edition – small batch* Yuzu (vegan) – bittersweet chocolate ganache with yuzu encased in bittersweet chocolate

• *seasonal special edition* White chocolate caramel apple – organic white chocolate with fleur de sel caramel and Gravenstein apple fondant on a foundation of Fuji apple bittersweet ganache strongly infused with vanilla bean. Price per truffle is $3.00

• *seasonal special edition* Eggnog (in person delivery only, must be refrigerated until served) – ganache made with the famous fresh eggnog from Broguiere’s Farm Fresh Dairy, recently featured on public TV by Huell Howser, encased in bittersweet chocolate. Price per truffle is $3.00

The price per truffle is $2.50 unless otherwise noted on the current flavor list. All orders must be prepaid in full, including shipping and/or local delivery and the actual shipping charges vary by package weight. Once we know your total order, we can issue the shipping or delivery quote. Place your order at www.TruffleinParadise.com
The deadline for Christmas orders is December 18th, 2009.

Special Offer for Big Blend Readers only
Big Blend readers will get one free truffle for every ten ordered! Simply use the code "blend1209" when ordering. The deadline for this special offer and for Christmas orders is December 18th, 2009

Payment forms accepted:

• checks (order will be shipped after payment clears)

• USPS money orders

• PayPal + 3.5% of the total order to cover the transaction fee. The registered e-mail address is basil_gardens (at) hotmail (dot) com. basil_gardens@hotmail.com

Just in case, complementary holiday gift packaging is available. Each 2″ x 2″ reusable clear plastic box showcases a single truffle nested on compostable paper. Up to 12 boxed truffles will snugly fit into a reusable see-through fabric mesh bag in three layers of four truffles each. Even numbers of truffles are best for presentation purposes. Some thoughtful flavor selection and assembly on your part is required.

Wendy Talaro on Big Blend Radio
Discussing her truffles, and the why she makes them using organic, fair trade chocolate, Wendy Talaro was a featured guest on Big Blend Radio's 'Eat, Drink & Be Merry' radio show, which aired live on Dec. 9, 2009. To meet the rest of the guests and listen to the entire show, please click here. To listen to  Wendy's interview, please double-click the play button below.


Learn More at www.TruffleinParadise.com