Chocolate Workshop - Fleur de Sel Bonbons

Some days I wake up looking for trouble. That was the case on a rainy Tuesday morning. While looking for new gadgets in one of my favorite stores, Sur la Table, I envisioned chocolate bonbons shaped like alphabet letters, some fleur du sel over them, and a chance of having fun with the kids -- and chocolate all over the place.

But sometimes trouble is good for the creative mind.  The kids, during our chocolate workshop, couldn't agree more: They were totally fascinated by the idea of having the chance to mix up and prepare their own bonbons.

Brothers H.Stewart were arty and created all sorts of marbled chocolate goodies with their mold. They were happy to use all the ingredients on the table, from coconut sprinkles to mini-marshmallows and the ingredient of the day, the beautiful fleur de sel. They were also happy to use dried rosemary as a way to finish their art.

My boys were too enticed by the alphabet shape, were splashing chocolate all over the place, but finally succeeded to fill each mold with both white and dark chocolate. It took about 15 minutes in the fridge to get all ready. Taking the photos of the bonbons, for Darienne, was a task of a master-mom -- they didn't give us enough time to gaze at their creations and ate it all in few minutes. But then, that's probably what we all would do, isn't it?

Fleur de Sel Chocolate Bonbons

You can use any good chocolate to melt. My recommendation is to go with quality brand discs or chips, like Ghirardelli,  Guittard, or  Trader Joe's.

fleur de sel (a very special salt, from France)
dried rosemary
2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
2 ounces white chocolate
2 ounces milk chocolate
dehydrated unsweetened coconut flakes
mini marshmallows

You will also need:
chocolate or candy molds
3 heatproof bowls

Melt chocolate in the microwave. Depending on the amount of cocoa, the chocolate will react differently to heat, but as a guide, melt 1 ounce of chocolate for 3 minutes at 40 percent (or 6 minutes for 2 ounces) power. If the chocolate is not yet melted, go for more time. An alternative is to improvise a double boiler with hot water in a plate, setting a bowl over it filled with chocolate. That worked fine to melt the white chocolate chips.

Work at a table, giving different candy molds for each kid to work with. They fill the shapes pouring chocolate from the bowls with the help of small spoons or spatulas and can create their own mix. When finished, they may sprinkle some fleur de sel over it.

Leave in the refrigerator for 15 minutes and that might be enough time for the chocolate to harden and retract from the sides of the mold, making it easy to remove them -- they should just pop out. If they don't -- as happened here with the alphabet letters -- return them to the fridge for a little longer.

Enjoy them before they vanish from the tray! And don't worry about the mess -- you will have plenty of energy to clean it after one bonbon!

Whole Wheat Ginger Scones

I keep hoping for a perfect guilt-free baked good, but there's always a price to pay -- in taste, in buttery softness, in the quality of ingredients.

That said, I'm pretty happy with this healthier scone recipe. It uses two types of wheat flour to get most of the benefits of wheat with relatively little cost in terms of texture. They're quick to prepare, making them a great after-school snack, and they hold up well in a lunchbox.

Kids have had mixed reactions to the zip of candied ginger in these scones. My older son suggested they would be better with icing on top, then proceeded to eat three small scones -- no icing -- one day and two more the next. Then a girl with a crush on him told him they were too spicy, and now he doesn't like them any more. I'll try dried currants or cranberries next time.

Whole Wheat Ginger Scones

I like these with uncrystallized candied ginger (I found some at Trader Joe’s). You can easily substitute other dried fruits: currants, blueberries, raisins, apricots, dates.

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, chilled and cut into chunks
1/2 cup candied ginger, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)
1/2 cup milk, plus more to brush on top of scones (can substitute half-and-half, cream, or buttermilk)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and sugar in the work bowl of a food processor and pulse briefly to combine. Add butter chunks and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (Alternatively, combine dry ingredients in a bowl and cut in butter using two knives or a pastry blender.) Sprinkle in ginger, being sure to separate any clumps, and stir in lemon zest.

In a small bowl, whisk together egg and milk. Pour blended eggs and milk into flour mixture and stir just until moist. Don’t overmix!

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead, briefly and gently, just until mixture comes together. Put dough in floured bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Again, turn dough onto lightly floured surface and gently pat into a circle about 1 inch high. Cut into 8 or 12 wedges, and set wedges onto prepared baking sheet. Lightly brush tops with milk.

Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire rack to cool.

Tips & Gadgets: Fresh Starts

I don't go in much for New Year's resolutions, but this is one of a few times each year when I recalibrate: recommitment to routines and ideas that have proved successful, an openness to new approaches, the desire and will to shake things up a bit.

When it comes to food and my family, I want to keep it simple. Some of my goals for the next few months:

• Plan lunches. Menu planning has worked well for our dinners; I'm going to try to sketch out lunches so I'm not scrounging for scraps so frequently. If you haven't tried meal planning, or think of it as a control-freak approach to eating, check out this post on simplifying meal planning by making it basic, balanced, and brainless.

• Push vegetables to the center of the plate. I usually plan a protein entree and then choose the vegetables. It's time for a role reversal: Veggies first, then protein.

• Let the kids help with meals. Aside from pizza night, I don't invite the kids to help much. I love baking with them, but I'm too impatient at dinner time. Yet they're usually eager to be involved with even simple tasks, like getting the rice cooker started, dumping food in a pot, or stirring something on the stove. They're happy to pitch in, and I should be happy for the help. The long-term payoff, I suspect, may be huge.

• Be a more thoughtful gardener. I'm no natural green thumb, but I've crammed our tiny yard with useful plants. The accidental successes have been gratifying, and I'm sure a little more attention to weeding, cultivating, and harvesting will yield even greater rewards for our table. I let too much go to waste.

• Give myself a break. Specifically, utilize convenience food more often. Blasphemy, perhaps, on a cooking blog, but I mean it. I wear myself out (and wear down the patience of my family) planning, procuring, and preparing from-scratch meals most nights. I am not Martha Stewart, and even Martha only does what she does with a cohort of minions. On the rare occasions when I pull out a bag of frozen peas, I have a repeating epiphany: This is easy! My kids love this! This is good for us! We eat well enough, usually, that I can and should embrace some shortcuts. Definitely need more frozen peas. And taco shells.

How about you?