What do you like more than chocolate? 

My first response would be coffee, but that wouldn’t really give you the whole picture. I’m a dark chocolate fanatic who cannot go without coffee. Chocolate has always been a part of my life, but I came to coffee late in life, sometime in my 30s. I always loved the smell of brewing coffee, but didn’t develop a taste for it until I gave up Mountain Dew.

Of course, perhaps the best of both worlds here would be a mocha made with dark chocolate. And skim milk.

But seriously, there are many things that I like: grilled zucchini, salmon, sweet grapes, juicy ripe peaches, ice-cream, RC Cola, spinach, balsamic vinaigrette, Zots (but who doesn’t!), squash, bison burgers, popcorn, roasted carrots, caramelized onions, sourdough pancakes, Trevor’s smoked anything, and I could go on and on. I mean, I don’t think there is any dessert I don’t like, well, except pecan pie-gross.

And then I come back to the simple pleasure found in little piece of dark chocolate melting in my mouth, next to a steaming mug of coffee.