Monthly Flavors for June – Full of Pride, Full of Joy!

It’s June, which means Pride Month! Pride was born out of the Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village in New York City, 1969. Police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club, and the patrons resisted as the raid turned violent. One of the police officers hit butch lesbian Stormé DeLarverie as he tried to arrest her, and as she called for help, the patrons rushed to fight back against the police brutality. The first pride parades were a year later on June 28, 1970, in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The Stonewall Riots are considered to be one of the most important events in 20th century LGBTQIA+ rights activism and the gay rights liberation movement.

What is LGBTQIA+? It stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual or Ally. The plus is to acknowledge the other non-cisgender and non-heterosexual identities. Why not just LGBT? It is mostly a personal choice. I prefer to acknowledge the widest variety of people, to give their personal identities more visibility and support. That being said, I don’t think many people are offended by using LGBT instead of LGBTQIA+.

It is also Father’s Day this month! We celebrate it on June 20 this year. My father has been a wonderful ally and supporter throughout my life, always there with a hug, some words of advice, and a terrible dad joke. I am always impressed by his optimism, and his unerring ability to find the silver lining.

Ally
Caramel in Dark Chocolate

I picked this flavor to celebrate Father’s Day! This is based on one of my dad’s favorite candies, Michoko. It is a French candy that was has been in production since 1936. The chewy caramel is lightly bitter, accentuated by the dark chocolate. It is a very simple candy, but addictive!

This chocolate features the rainbow for the gay pride flag. The first gay pride flag included a pink line on top, with 8 colors: hot pink to represent sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sun, green for serenity with nature, turquoise for art, indigo for harmony, and violet for spirit. The flag we see most today has been around since about 1979, and became the true gay pride symbol in 1994 when the creator, Gilbert Baker, created a mile-long flag.

Lesbeans
Tiramisu Ganache with Caramelized Cocoa Nibs

I have never been a big fan of tiramisu. I don’t like the general lack of texture, with soft mascarpone and lady fingers soaked in Amaretto. I do really enjoy the flavors, though. This chocolate was a great opportunity for me to keep the flavors, and add the different textures I love!

This chocolate features the colors of the most popular lesbian flag. There is no “official” lesbian flag, and there are many different designs that people have used, and still do use. These chocolates are based on one created by Emily Gwen in 2018. The stripes, from top to bottom, represent ‘gender non-conformity’ (dark orange), ‘independence’ (orange), ‘community’ (light orange), ‘unique relationships to womanhood’ (white) , ‘serenity and peace’ (pink), ‘love and sex’ (dusty pink), and ‘femininity’ (dark rose).

Gr-Ace
Red Pepper Confit with Cheesecake White Chocolate Ganache

I can’t remember the first time I had cheesecake, but I do know I didn’t grow up eating them. Cream cheese is a very American product, and so my French mother really never used it or had it in the house. But my grandmother fell in love with cheesecake when she visited California, and used to look forward to it when she came back. This pairing with the red pepper confit is surprising, but delicious. The red peppers are roasted, skinned, and pureed to give a lovely sweet-savory paste that just pairs beautifully with the silkiness of the cheesecake ganache.

This chocolate is colored for the asexual (or ace) flag. The flag was created in 2010 by the Asexuality Visibility and Education Network. The black stripe represents asexuality, the grey stripe representing the grey-area between sexual and asexual, the white stripe sexuality, and the purple stripe community.

Un-Bi-Lievable
Red Wine Dark Chocolate Ganache with Soaked Raisins

This is a very simple flavor, with the raisins soaked in the same wine as the ganache. But the way that red wine interacts with chocolate is just gorgeous. It is a delightful night with friends in a bite. It is sitting down a delicious meal with loved ones. It is familiar flavors redone to be combined into something wonderful and new.

This chocolate is decorated with the colors of the bisexual flag. The flag was first unveiled in December 1998 by designer Michael Page. The pink color represents sexual attraction to the same sex only (gay and lesbian). The blue represents sexual attraction to the opposite sex only (straight) and the resultant overlap color purple represents sexual attraction to both sexes (bi). The idea is to see how bisexuals combine and blend into straight and gay/lesbian communities.

Pan-cakes
Maple Caramel with Berry Pate de Fruit

I am pansexual. I came out to my family in high school, and was greeted with love and support. As my brother told me, “there was no way you were ever straight, so duh.” And, Pancake is one of my many nicknames from my partner (though now it is Blueberry Pancake since I dyed my hair blue). So, I figured I should pay a little homage to that with these flavors! Who doesn’t love a plate of pancakes, smothered in maple syrup and berries?

This chocolate is the colors of the pansexual flag. There have been a few different designs, but this has been the accepted version since 2010. The pink band symbolizes women; the blue, men; and the yellow, those of a non-binary gender, such as agender, bigender or genderfluid.

Trans-cendental
Soy Sauce Reduction with Vanilla Caramel White Chocolate Ganache

Okay, yes, these flavors sound super weird together. But the way the saltiness of the soy sauce reduction cuts through the sweetness of the caramel and white chocolate is superb. The vanilla lingers on the end, leaving you a lovely aftertaste with the white chocolate. I used vanilla sugar in the caramel, as well as extract in the ganache to give a couple different vanilla notes throughout the taste development.

This chocolate features the trans flag. It was created by Monica Helms in 1999, and first flown at the Phoenix, Arizona pride parade in 2000. The three colors represent baby blue (boys) baby pink (girls) and white for those who are transitioning, intersex or consider themselves as having an unidentified gender.

Cookie Flavors:

Kitchen Sink Cookies

I have seen these cookies with a variety of names, but this is my favorite. These cookies are salty, sweet, buttery, crisp, and soft. They are addictive. It starts with a simple cookie base like a chocolate chip cookie, but you can add almost anything you want to the batter. I opted for caramel chunks, chocolate chips, potato chips, peanuts, cashews, and dried blueberries. You really just have to try these for yourself to discover how that all works together.

Rainbow Icebox Cookies

An “icebox cookie” is a cookie that you keep in the fridge (icebox) and can bake as you want them. This kind of cookie has been around since the 1930s, as women were entering the workforce and were trying to keep the work-life balance by continuing to cook and bake for their families. They were also increasingly popular with war-time rations in WW II when cookies were an indulgence and a good way to help boost family morale. These cookies are kept simple with vanilla and lemon zest, and are just perfect with a cup of coffee or tea!