tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58212974463037696252024-02-19T06:44:36.608-08:00Zimt Artisan Chocolateszimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-36131856595074616922013-06-17T22:03:00.001-07:002013-06-28T08:42:54.173-07:00prioritize. <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hi There,<br />
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<br />
Again, it isn't like I don't think about updating the Zimt blog on a respectable basis. But little things, like life, have been on the front burner.<br />
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I just typed "burger" instead of burner. And then I fixed it.<br />
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So, this is what is going on with Zimt! (What I can tell you about for now… more to come soon. That's the other thing, I can't really communicate what is going on because not enough has been completely finalized and things change from moment to moment- too quickly for even me to type.).<br />
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Vague, but… basically, the chocolate will taste quite different within the next couple of months! But don't worry- I have had the samples and they are <i>incredible</i>. I want some right now but we ate all the samples/I have a few precious spares in my office 20 minutes away. The difference is- we will start to use coconut sugar instead of coconut nectar to sweeten. This gives the chocolate a deeper, more caramel like taste and a good snap- even if you leave it in a drawer for months and months and months. I couldn't do this before because we didn't have the equipment to grind the coconut sugar finely enough- this is why so many raw chocolate businesses go for agave/coconut nectar/ some other liquid sweetener initially. You see, a good deal of non-raw, organic or not, chocolate companies use blocks or chips of ready-made chocolate. These are made by big manufacturing companies, such as Valrohna or Callebaut or some such company, who can afford the equipment to grind sugar finely enough to make it very smooth in the chocolate- and also further refine the chocolate to make it even smoother. And chocolate companies will melt these down and "temper" the chocolate (changing the temperature and basically stirring the chocolate around) to give it a nice snap when it is broken and to make it shiny. This is because solid sugar needs to be ground and ground and ground to make sure it is not crunchy in the chocolate, but smooth. A very capital intensive process.<br />
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But there are no raw chocolate companies that do this using raw coconut sugar so we make our chocolate "from scratch" and also use coconut nectar- a great option! But not the greatest, so I am moving on to the greatest that I can get for you- tasty raw coconut sugar. Num.<br />
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Also, Zimt will be found in many different locations, and I will not necessarily be the one delivering Zimt in my Smart car, or driving to the post to mail out boxes of chocolate and trying to keep it as cold as possible en route, battling the ever increasing outside temperatures.<br />
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Also, you may need to pose the question, "What does Zimt mean?", to someone doing a demo who is not me or my little cousin or my mom or one of my friends.<br />
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But they will have the answer for you.<br />
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Things are going well. The big picture is- that things are going well with Zimt. Very well. That isn't to say that there haven't been a <i>ton </i>of challenges along the way- even very recently, but I am trying to just keep the bigger picture in mind. The bigger picture of Zimt doing well and that there are options and opportunities to keep things going and progressing. And the difficulties will make success all the better in the end.<br />
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I think about where Zimt was at this time last year. Not the greatest. Not terrible, but not even close to where I want. And now we are much closer!<br />
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It would have been great if two years ago some business professional had miraculously entered my life and said to me, "You're a good kid with a good idea, but you are doing it all wrong. And it will be painful if you keep going this route, and you will burn out and/or go nowhere, so stop being so stubborn and uninformed and try this instead…." I think the business professional has now miraculously entered my life through experience- great things happen when you listen. Because some folks had suggested a few things that would have gotten me here faster, but nothing really can be accomplished without an open mind.<br />
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Back to the bigger picture. The real bigger picture is always this: loved ones. <br />
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So while Zimt has been on its own little roller coaster, I can sincerely say that it is not even anywhere close to roller coaster in my personal life. <br />
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And that is a little tricky when one is trying to run/grow one's company which will hopefully provide a great deal of security for one's loved ones. So think about that before you decide to go and live out your dreams, not even considering the lack of extended medical benefits, dedicated vacation time, and sacrificing the luxury of being able to blame the guy in the next cubicle for printer malfunctions.<br />
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But really- at the end of the day- our friends and family are all that matter. They dictate basically everything in our lives- this is truer for some than it is for others. For myself, though, I know that the only reason I am sticking around Vancouver is because of my loved ones. That's it. If they weren't here, or if they didn't exist, I would definitely not be here. Not that I am not thankful to live in such a beautiful city (just look at those mountains!), but… I have found what I feel to be far preferable in many aspects. Those aspects I can live without, but I don't think I could live without my crew. Again, I am <i>very thankful </i>to live here. Mostly because of my loves.<br />
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"Geez, Emma- you could be starving in Africa."<br />
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And I would definitely do that, if that were the only option of us being together.<br />
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Go give somebody you love a hug! And eat some chocolate!<br />
<br />
xo emma<br />
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PS- also, <a href="http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/ars/home" target="_blank">click to save an innocent animal</a>!<br />
PPS- oooooor… go vegan and save a million innocent animals! Start with this tasty recipe: <a href="http://leafandgrain.com/scrape-the-bowl-nacho-dip/" target="_blank">Amazing Nacho-esque Sauce</a> - thank you, <a href="http://leafandgrain.com/">leafandgrain.com</a> for the yummy recipe!<br />
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zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-29982761233496458712013-03-29T01:51:00.000-07:002013-03-29T01:51:10.829-07:00years of distress<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello!<br />
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Disclaimer: I am actually in a good mood. And how couldn't I be? I got home the next day for the past two days from the kitchen. (As in, I arrived early in the day and then stayed until the morning of the next day.)<br />
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Anyway- I think the key here is in the "epiphany". You know when you get to that point where you just need something, <i>something </i>to make it better, a little "a ha" moment to keep you from totally losing it?<br />
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I think I had one of those yesterday. It was great. It was like I was underwater, drowning and panicking because I knew I was drowning and hadn't passed out yet and then suddenly got oxygen.<br />
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I cannot tell you the whole story, because there are still about eight billion hours of details I need to sort out, but I will tell you this: this week is the two year anniversary of me attempting to make a living through Zimt. <br />
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And quite frankly, the progress, or lack there of, is getting a little embarrassing.<br />
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Maybe you haven't recognized it yet, because you aren't "in it" like I am, but let me tell you, at this rate, pathetically unfortunate is what comes to mind. And it is a classic case of the entrepreneur: you get so busy working in the business, that you don't work <i>on </i>the business. I got so busy making chocolate, trying to keep up with orders, that I haven't gotten things to grow as they should.<br />
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In my defence, though, I have done quite a bit, and I think you would agree, but still- no where <i>near </i>as advanced as it should be by this point. Not even close. Also in my defence, and also as a fault- I really had no idea what I was doing for about the first seven months of Zimt and was just trying to figure something out that may work. Let's take a look back at my three options:<br />
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1. Stock trading: I made a pitiful attempt at making this my means of earning a living. Really did not give too much effort to this, because I a) had Zimt going on, and was trying to be busy with that (and chocolate wins every time. Every time.) b) couldn't figure out how to trade ethically (though it can be done I'm sure. I realistically looked at the situation and realized it would be a lot of hard work with very little room for creativity. And for an ADD head like myself, this would simply not do.) <br />
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2. Modelling: Cannot even believe I gave this a go. Even less of an effort than the trading, and rightly so. As a dear friend put it: "Emma- you modelling at any "professional" level is ridiculous. You're short. You're 23. You're done. And the industry is crap- you know that." Indeed I did! But I am a glutton for punishment and having lots of photos of me posing, so I gave it a bit of a go. All the while knowing that it was… ridiculous. Met some nice people in the process, so I will give myself that. (P.S.- totally let myself go since I gave up on this dream.)<br />
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3. Working for an established company: Oh wait- I never actually did this. At least not beyond part time jobs throughout school. I had no self confidence that I would actually be able to get a decent job, let alone keep it. Plus, I didn't want to work for anybody else- now was the time of life to go for something a little different, while I had few responsibilities.<br />
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4. I forgot there was a 3. Anyway, the 4th option was to start my own business. Did it.<br />
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And here I am- two years into having Zimt. Two years of Emma making happy vegan organic fair trade raw chocolate and trying to get it out there and make the world a better place. Pretty cute!<br />
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But not at all. Not cute anymore- not even close. At this rate, I will be 35 and still scraping crud off of somebody else's kitchen floor and driving home in my smart car that is crammed full of boxes and garbage and who knows what at 2am and my brain won't be working anymore because I am exhausted mentally and emotionally and physically. And I will think "I remember when I was 23, and thought this could go places. And how it would get me out of a kitchen so I would never have to cook another thing again, and not have to scrape crud off the floor, and how I could build this up and be free to travel and spend time with my loved ones and do nice things for them and for myself. But somewhere along this little journey, I screwed things up big time. And that is why I am thirteen years into this and still am the one washing dishes and packaging."<br />
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I really don't want that. And I don't think anyone would want that for me, unless they hate me and want me to suffer and feel horrible for a long time.<br />
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So, this epiphany- it isn't cute. It probably isn't the route that everyone who thinks I am cute and Zimt is cute and progressing and amazing would imagine, but I don't think that this is very important. I think that what is important is for me to actually get this company going- beyond cute, which is quickly turning into jaded and depressing- in a manner that is efficient. Working smart vs working hard. I think that what is actually important is to build properly and to ditch being cute for a bit. Because cute is going to fade fast at this rate!<br />
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Zimt is still going to be organic, vegan, fair-trade, and raw (except for the beans in the new cookie doughs- those are cooked. Please remember that there is a ton of nutritional value in many cooked foods and that just because something is "raw", this does not make it better than something that is cooked.) and as ethical as possible.<br />
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Only now, it is going to be making a life that is better for me and for those I love and, ultimately, for everybody affected by my company.<br />
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This is really what I want- to just focus on things and to get them going because I've seen the future, I am in it! It is <i>not cute at all. </i><br />
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Stay tuned, please!<br />
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<br />
emma<br />
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zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-62179098669188418792013-02-14T17:10:00.002-08:002013-02-14T17:10:38.856-08:00mom was right.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hi Everyone,<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So, the more I chat with people, the more I hear that people actually read this blog! And with that, I have a small confession to make- while I am very well aware that I should blog more, I don't, and it is for this main reason:</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">99% of the time, I cannot for the life of me come up with a decent post title. </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i>This is the truth- I just can't. I look at song lyrics for inspiration or try to convince myself that the title is really no big deal, but it just won’t do. I think I should probably just write something anyway and then hopefully come up with a decent title. And even if I don't, I am pretty sure we will all be ok.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I should also mention that I started this post on... Saturday?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">What's been going on since the last post on <i>December 17th, </i><b><i>2012</i></b><i>? </i>Lots. Some of it I can mention here, most of it is top secret. (I'm really just looking out for you- having that kind of knowledge is not safe for everyone.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I believe a little thing called 'Christmas' happened. It was nice- I had most of the 24th, 25th, (unexpectedly) 26th, and January 1st off. Unfortunately not a whole lot to report for Zimt with respect to Christmas, except that sales were slightly better than steady and I was really sleep deprived.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">To touch on the top secret information, let's just say that Zimt has been getting a lot more attention by some more prominent and influential figures. Hopefully they are people who can help me take this up a few notches. And here is where the title ties in! (It <i>is </i>important!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">For the first year and a bit of my working on Zimt, I was a little bitter. And you may hate me for the reason, because it will make me sound like the spoiled, whiney princess I am (P.S. buy me shiny stuff and drive me places). I was a little bitter because, for that first while, anyone I encountered seemed to not care less about my having gotten my undergrad in business. My university education was totally irrelevant and I felt like I worked really, really (and I mean <i>really</i>) hard for not much. A piece of paper. In fact, the other day, I was in my old house and I was looking for two things in our jam-packed storage room- bags I had purchased for packaging cacao butter to sell wholesale and my degree. My mum came by to take care of our cat who still lives there, and she was helping me to look, being the wonderful human being that she is. After a while, I just said "I don't even care about the degree, let's just focus on finding the cacao bags." The purpose for finding the degree was not Zimt related. Finding six pouch bags to hold cacao butter was. University honours degree from a highly acclaimed business school vs plastic bags- clearly, we have a winner.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I can't say that my brain has retained much of what I slaved away to learn, but I saw that one coming anyway- it happened in high school (I know I learned about the digestive system of different worm species in grade 11 bio, and that alone took a lot out of me. I remember sitting in my room for days, just before final exams, with the sun shining outside, making up acronyms for worm stuff, walking around my room repeating them, colour coding everything, highlighting all over the place, typing out notes, writing out notes, making posters, you name it. Despite this, I have unfortunately not managed to retain that information, nor much else from high school. ... maybe a good thing?).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So, you see- all of this academic turmoil seemed to be for naught. I was definitely not one of those kids who could read a page a couple of times, or do a few math problems, and then be set. It was a bit of torture and I can honestly say that I hated it. I wanted to be smart, book smart, but my brain and attention span had other intentions. It was sort of a battle- it was trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. And being around all the natural academics I was around, I felt pretty out of place.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And for what? Now I was actually doing something I loved- working towards a goal I knew I could achieve (building a successful and creative company seemed infinitely more possible than being hired for a desk job), and nobody cared about my credentials.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Until now. Two of the contacts I am currently working with have asked me about my academic background and not only knew what I was talking about when I told them, but were actually impressed. These are some seemingly vital individuals, and all I can say about that is... go mom.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She is the one who put me through all this schooling because she always wanted me to have an education to fall back on- she knew the importance of being self-sufficient, and that getting some education was a good way to do so. If worst came to worst, I could plunk those credentials on a resume. For now, though, it is a good "in" for making that initial connection with well(formally)-educated people. And for now, she is still helping me. <i>A lot. </i>I deeply question whether or not I could survive more than three hours without her in my life. I'm definitely not saying I have to (nor would necessarily <i>want </i>to) see her every three hours, but she is just a really kind and thoughtful and helpful person and I would probably be at the bottom of a river if I didn't have her.</span></div>
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Mom was right.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMncnbX9HcOFI82bA3FrwJHM1Yf1osWQeQCA88cNeTDNY5NGtT3xlVcheTirhFJLHPHxvtSUodz4B4dzHRIjifEWa_gYDwKp6t9IF89GqQmulD5LBoPz3HTZdpTbF82qInMT59dS-zOwY/s1600/IMG_2788.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMncnbX9HcOFI82bA3FrwJHM1Yf1osWQeQCA88cNeTDNY5NGtT3xlVcheTirhFJLHPHxvtSUodz4B4dzHRIjifEWa_gYDwKp6t9IF89GqQmulD5LBoPz3HTZdpTbF82qInMT59dS-zOwY/s320/IMG_2788.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thank you for not only driving me to pick up ingredients from the US but <i>also </i>taking me out for lunch. Really, she does not have the greatest kids and I am shocked that she has not yet disowned either of us. Saint!</td></tr>
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<i>However</i>, and that is a big however, having a piece of paper is not a shoe-in for professional success. But, who doesn't find it more impressive when someone works their way up, with absolutely no experience, no formal training at all, and maybe from a really rough place in life? Sometimes, when people find out I went to this school, I try to downplay it a bit, saying (truthfully), that I really don't remember much of what I was taught there. Because when it comes down to it, you got it or you don't, I think. Which is why the majority of my classmates now have stable jobs, working for others, and get off at 5 or 6 everyday.<br />
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And she just asked me this afternoon, whether or not I actually thought I could make a decent living selling chocolate bars. <i>Chocolate bars</i>. The market is beyond competitive, and, yeah, I see a huge need for product diversification. Hence the new products. But I am also a little risk adverse, in that I would like to not have to invest hugely in packaging before getting the go-ahead from my biggest accounts. What if I came up with a whole line of products, asked Jordan to design the packaging, paid for the packaging <i>and </i>the graphic design, and then got a negative from my favourite American conglomerate? So bad.<br />
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That being addressed, I also am fairly confident that the market for <i>chocolate bars </i>is here to stay. At least until we all start nourishing ourselves exclusively via pills that taste like the real deal or through some sort of light therapy. So the bars are here to stay. It is purely a matter of letting people know that Zimt bars are the only kind they want to be eating. Or at least 90% of the time, usually.<br />
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Thank you for making it this far- I appreciate your reading my ramblings and feel more than welcome to leave a comment below, telling us all about how things are going for you.<br />
<br />
emma<br />
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PS: click <a href="http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3" target="_blank">here</a> to feed animals who need it<br />
PPS: click <a href="http://www.theveganchickpea.com/2013/02/chocolate-chip-belgian-waffles-with.html" target="_blank">here</a> to get a tasty recipe, sans animals. You could even make these for your gluten-sensitive sweetie on V-day! <3<br />
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PPPS: Just this afternoon, I was driving to my office after making a couple of deliveries and I thought to myself- I should be really, really... good-feeling about having finished my degree because I worked really, really hard for it. And it, obviously, isn't useless. A somewhat painful experience, yes, but no pain no improvement.<br />
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zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-46124326055564545942012-12-17T21:34:00.002-08:002012-12-17T21:35:39.156-08:00tunnel vision<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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When I started writing this post... day before yesterday, I was just in the kitchen, throwing out some compost, and I felt quite at peace. (I guess composting has that effect on some people.). I was thinking about Zimt, with my one track mind, and how orders have been picking up (maybe because of Christmas and the Holidays, but it has been like that for a little bit anyway), and it was kind of like exhaling after holding your breath going through a tunnel. I am not entirely sure what the official breath-holding-through-tunnel-rules are, but I think that when you get close to the outside, to the light, it goes that you exhale and start to breath as nature intended again. If you follow that sort of thing. I, personally, try to breathe mindfully when driving through tunnels.<br />
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Aaaanway.<br />
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The point is, things are going well. I am a little stunned. Starting a business is like needing to comply with the tunnel breathing rules, but not knowing how long the tunnel is. You don't know when you can start to breathe again. But I think I can start pretty soon, and that is a <b><u><i>huge</i></u></b> deal. I get it. At this point, I do not even have enough to keep up with demand. D>S. A steep, and harsh, learning curve. I know that this sort of thing is not customary for almost any start-up, no matter how brilliant the idea may be. Steep and harsh and I feel very blessed.<br />
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Not to say that I can exhale quite yet, but there are some signs that that will be a possibility in the foreseeable future. Not to say that I have not gotten things to where I want them to be- definitely not, but you have to keep driving to get there. That is really the only way at this point, as far as I can tell. Getting S > D, just slightly, as the impossible condition of supply perfectly equally demand at all points is... well, impossible. Gosh darn.<br />
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So am I still working in the kitchen? Yes indeed. But thank God, Jesus, Buddha, Your Inner Child, The Universe, that I have more help. And one day... I won't be kitchen-ing anymore. Creating lovely Zimt products will be up to kitchen angels, such as Michelle, and the newest kitchen angel, Kelly. But I always want to do R&D, because that is the fun bit and everyone loves a tasty, new product- right? Both to eat, and to create. I don't want whoever is kitchen-ing to be doing the same thing over and over again all the time because that gets really quite boring. Bye-bye positive employee morale. New products, as well as easier production methods, should help with that. I just visited a friend and fellow chocolatier, who told me of a huge factory out in Richmond that makes confections for Superstore and such places- basically all at the touch of a button. There is hardly anyone actually working in the factory- everything is mechanized and manufactured in enormous equipment and the chocolate is brought in, in liquid form, from the US, in trucks that look like the ones with gasoline drums. Balance is, for Zimt at least, the key- it shouldn't be sweatshop labour (which, it definitely has been for the past couple of weeks, before Michelle and Kelly. Think 16 hour days in the kitchen without breaks. Unfortunate.), but it also shouldn't be chocolate gasoline trucks, because that is definitely not artisan and does not provide enough employment in Zimt, which is what I am going for- good people deserve good jobs where they get to enjoy chocolate.<br />
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But does it look like the founder of Zimt is still working in the kitchen?<br />
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No way! Thanks to beautiful branding and packaging- people are shocked to learn that I do dishes for hours after hours of chocolate making. Sneaky. But the look I see on people's faces when I tell them this is still enjoyable enough to keep going as such, for just a little while longer.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_QAZNvRWugQMQpQ4GkSXq_yovErGtBr24PvxT5dMVxzKei1Hmuo-jep7kc4h0np9bXNGdZ8MLzBFbH_P56dg7z79qH2-nyveGTaTbHUI-g_mZewTPEVq0ITKEOeJmXvQXnGD7kSlp55c/s1600/406952_493600954013780_2108288903_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_QAZNvRWugQMQpQ4GkSXq_yovErGtBr24PvxT5dMVxzKei1Hmuo-jep7kc4h0np9bXNGdZ8MLzBFbH_P56dg7z79qH2-nyveGTaTbHUI-g_mZewTPEVq0ITKEOeJmXvQXnGD7kSlp55c/s320/406952_493600954013780_2108288903_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cute chocolates made by students in a <a href="http://zimt.ca/classes.html" target="_blank">Zimt class</a>! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggf7QXMcIBt2oD8aTNy1YpoD6f_f-xXZx-y_hRnX1NoVYd9DGAy8-Mjhdqq61x693Qmy9REJxM177zCaBtOL9vu_U1zpbhyO-aaLIN4RrIaEq73CO-BQYYIKwpLZH_crAIIgxWMysbcJs/s1600/579880_432873830077914_1591243045_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggf7QXMcIBt2oD8aTNy1YpoD6f_f-xXZx-y_hRnX1NoVYd9DGAy8-Mjhdqq61x693Qmy9REJxM177zCaBtOL9vu_U1zpbhyO-aaLIN4RrIaEq73CO-BQYYIKwpLZH_crAIIgxWMysbcJs/s320/579880_432873830077914_1591243045_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cute perfection.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Enjoy the Season! Enjoy some chocolate! And thank you for reading. I will let you know when I see the light- Hallelujah!<br />
<br />
emma<br />
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<br />
<br />
P.S. Click <a href="http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3" target="_blank">here</a> to feed hungry animals for free!<br />
<br />
P.S.2. Click <a href="http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2012/09/vegan-gluten-free-pumpkin-mousse-squares/" target="_blank">here</a> to go back in time for the latest PS2 news*.<br />
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*(Just kidding. It is to a tasty, healthy, cruelty-free recipe that you should bring to your next holiday party!)<br />
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zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-15543404819765314882012-11-27T21:30:00.001-08:002012-11-27T21:30:42.677-08:00It's getting better all the time<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello!<br />
<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading my inconsistently updated blog- I know we are all busy.<br />
<br />
Here is a brief overview of what has been going on for Zimt and a bit of a look at what it is like to have a little chocolate company.<br />
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So, I am very happy to report that Zimt manufacturing has moved to its beautiful new home- in North Vancouver! The facility is really quite perfect- very big, very clean, bright, professional- just beautiful. But very cold. We cannot have it all, though- and the chocolate likes the cold so I guess that is what counts. I can't believe I didn't think about this before, but this is the first facility Zimt has operated out of which seems like a proper step up. Like I wrote, it is professional and clean, which shouldn't be a luxury in manufacturing, but in the day-to-day running of things, when one is working "in" one's business as opposed to "on" one's business (an E-Myth no-no), it is easy to lose site of the bigger picture. Not a good idea, but it is tricky to find balance, trust me.<br />
<br />
The new location is one of the main things- such a relief! One that I did not realize was going to make such a huge difference. There is a ton of storage space and things can be kept better organized (re: packaging is no longer living in my office...). Here- a beautiful photo for you to enjoy!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTSKqTaiR4J9UJYI7WgdvFyddRJKSToeyK_4cs-eZGz43Ht5rO1QGiTRp6A9zlI7m8BgGAFkMsHau5WJSybON3PNuSB3Av9cHvyNm3JLCfrRdvkA9aUU-z3ZY-KJziVBsQCdsACdI6eg/s1600/DSC_0710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTSKqTaiR4J9UJYI7WgdvFyddRJKSToeyK_4cs-eZGz43Ht5rO1QGiTRp6A9zlI7m8BgGAFkMsHau5WJSybON3PNuSB3Av9cHvyNm3JLCfrRdvkA9aUU-z3ZY-KJziVBsQCdsACdI6eg/s320/DSC_0710.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kind folks at Crave Conscious even built on an extra shelving unit to the work station. Look at how beautiful and organized. And clean. (!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
Macaroon boxes are IN. And filled with Double Chocolate Macaroons on the shelves at Whole Foods Cambie. Here is a photo I took of them:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz21VBHQoub6yxM2qUi8Oa79BKX3jrFJMljYUXKs7bmZLFXiAhOBU3lu_uNzYIeFFSeJZRpx7L6VqGTzzEdnvxpXeUaVt8HSROHNnhkkVNbLbwDGzaIDpoqfe58tm8gqhNYR56PRsrmhY/s1600/photo-11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz21VBHQoub6yxM2qUi8Oa79BKX3jrFJMljYUXKs7bmZLFXiAhOBU3lu_uNzYIeFFSeJZRpx7L6VqGTzzEdnvxpXeUaVt8HSROHNnhkkVNbLbwDGzaIDpoqfe58tm8gqhNYR56PRsrmhY/s320/photo-11.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Double Chocolate Macaroons in packaging</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I think they are doing pretty well because they have already been ordered twice now.<br />
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And some more exciting news- this is such a big deal I don't think I fully comprehend it yet, as is the case with most big deals.<br />
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<i>Two </i>different shelving spaces at Whole Foods Cambie! Isn't that awesome? Now you can get Zimt chocolate by your kale chips!<br />
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Here is a photo of the space:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsnzHgBV5zTOUq6M0e0E7Hj0Q0Ee4zXosqao-zkMBna1NpHjDUHC52ox6wdgHtldhwABTBqihsKuN4WuWGRa9Q44sfVN5giQFSrkG7mPSZfSpg_-vL0Ny-cwTg_TWf1zmsjnTbGfFchc/s1600/61649_495101897197019_1923581618_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsnzHgBV5zTOUq6M0e0E7Hj0Q0Ee4zXosqao-zkMBna1NpHjDUHC52ox6wdgHtldhwABTBqihsKuN4WuWGRa9Q44sfVN5giQFSrkG7mPSZfSpg_-vL0Ny-cwTg_TWf1zmsjnTbGfFchc/s320/61649_495101897197019_1923581618_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Superfood Sandwich! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Other exciting news if you love fudgy chocolate cakes. Zimt is now offering fudgy chocolate cake in the form of the Chocolate Ganache Torte. I will be bringing a sample to the Regional Manager at Whole Foods once he is back from vacation, which should be at the end of the month.<br />
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Here is a photo of the Chocolate Ganache Torte, which Karmavore had in their dessert case display:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj56q9tTAYyphca7Ps90I1sudlwzYqJ-W0hlOXriHwkwoI7E83UOUkQSIH3ARyU9tAXu_hg_3iyz2Hn981zg-uhcWDjTUJHkfB3xsRE7WsvCMNxPon5Z_RSxzgf6A8nhHEz5he22Kh1I5Q/s1600/IMG_3305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj56q9tTAYyphca7Ps90I1sudlwzYqJ-W0hlOXriHwkwoI7E83UOUkQSIH3ARyU9tAXu_hg_3iyz2Hn981zg-uhcWDjTUJHkfB3xsRE7WsvCMNxPon5Z_RSxzgf6A8nhHEz5he22Kh1I5Q/s320/IMG_3305.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fudgy Chocolate Ganache Torte<br />
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Hoping to get it into Urban Fare, too. (Mention it to them for me?)<br />
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And classes are up and running- really fun. You can take a look at the schedules by clicking on the links that are found in this link here: <a href="http://www.zimt.ca/classes.html">http://www.zimt.ca/classes.html</a> Try to come if you can- we make pretty things like this:<br />
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Other than that... things have just been busy. Always dealing with lots of little components and at least one loooooooooong day in the kitchen each week. It seems to work most economically that way but wow it is really tiring. I kind of feel like I need to sleep for three days straight afterward. Things will hopefully get a bit easier again soon because I got an automatic tempering machine- will have to see how that goes, as Zimt chocolate is not like most chocolate (apparently, most chocolatiers get ready made chocolate and then put this chocolate into the tempering equipment, which heats and cools the chocolate until it is at the correct consistency to work with). But we have done this by hand, thus far. And it takes a very, very long time. I know a few good people in the chocolate biz, though, and they are kind enough to help me figure it out.<br />
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That's all for now, folks!<br />
<br />
Emma<br />
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zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-15023665359082947492012-10-05T20:38:00.000-07:002012-10-05T20:40:15.964-07:00Haven't you heard the rumours?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
No?<br />
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Time to pick up the latest copy of Hello!, then. =)<br />
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Zimt is moving yet again! This time should be the last time, for some time, I really, really hope.<br />
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The new place is beautiful! So spacious and clean and... just really nice. Space! 24 hour access! It is really exciting combo- time and space. But it comes at a price, a price for which I have never spent on one single purchase ever, which makes me really thankful. Happy Thanksgiving!<br />
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One must sell much chocolate to make one's rent at such a fancy new facility. But I think of it as an investment and honestly, we can't go hopping from one random place to the next forever and still expect to provide product consistently. Unless the space is dedicated as yours, time agreements may not uphold.<br />
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And I don't like letting chocolate lovers down.<br />
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Well, I fully intended on writing a decent post, since I have been so absent from the world of blogging, but I have to go make three deliveries and wonder how I am going to replenish inventory given the current conditions.<br />
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Please enjoy this photo of Michelle and me at the Northwest Chocolate Conference- we attended on Sunday and it was lots of fun and very worthwhile.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlgmVkvVvG2Y67XAAgNKHf1gjN_6aMwkdhcJv4J38Q-Tlk1xyJssjlOfn9QhqHTsgz0iBsyuMV965FkTe3WadUgHJTfotJKltHegxCNt7jU62pWDO2VKzQlAkDW-Sr6OU24BZuGCYzrI/s1600/IMG_3108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlgmVkvVvG2Y67XAAgNKHf1gjN_6aMwkdhcJv4J38Q-Tlk1xyJssjlOfn9QhqHTsgz0iBsyuMV965FkTe3WadUgHJTfotJKltHegxCNt7jU62pWDO2VKzQlAkDW-Sr6OU24BZuGCYzrI/s320/IMG_3108.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizoO_AnVKDijBW9XmskR3k4RxFUJz0vObIPirKJl893LsR0l7Vq0zJls9UXsCOHR869KD6HfGZ8GGUO1sjFkvXMf4UOOXhJtv55biKnqBHarQZn_ar79GiI898USHdX9yDtxhaQKflWy8/s1600/IMG_3105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizoO_AnVKDijBW9XmskR3k4RxFUJz0vObIPirKJl893LsR0l7Vq0zJls9UXsCOHR869KD6HfGZ8GGUO1sjFkvXMf4UOOXhJtv55biKnqBHarQZn_ar79GiI898USHdX9yDtxhaQKflWy8/s320/IMG_3105.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFMYBzCGN1_Iq40ADivdsMWljlujfZuN33njJ7LdWGORYnMnoXYTn6KOS-3H_lApzrJYp28jj9UvuFQ5Q2Gd4UiOaZl65CoDz7qxVy6D3AMdWF7KHFbDybGHvUa0nn0FIJZhsZz5A088g/s1600/IMG_3106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFMYBzCGN1_Iq40ADivdsMWljlujfZuN33njJ7LdWGORYnMnoXYTn6KOS-3H_lApzrJYp28jj9UvuFQ5Q2Gd4UiOaZl65CoDz7qxVy6D3AMdWF7KHFbDybGHvUa0nn0FIJZhsZz5A088g/s320/IMG_3106.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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A cocoa bean.</div>
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I started this post at about 8 am. It is now 8:37 pm and I just got back from deliveries in North Van, Surrey, and White Rock. </div>
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This is why I do not post very often. But that is about to change because minimum order quantities for free deliveries is effective immediately.</div>
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Happy Thanksgiving!</div>
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=)</div>
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emma</div>
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PS- Toronto was great, thank you! </div>
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zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-53053273430767388322012-08-26T22:13:00.001-07:002012-08-26T22:13:41.556-07:00It's called "Building An Empire"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
No easy task, let me tell ya!<br />
<br />
Hello!<br />
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<br />
Thank you for stopping in. As I signed into the account, the last post came up- dated <i>over a month ago. </i>Bad blogger.<br />
<br />
Bad blogger is okay- just so long as I am a good empire builder.<br />
<br />
I have to send out the e-newsletter. On the list.<br />
<br />
Anyway, here are a couple of things going on with Zimt:<br />
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1)<br />
New packaging: it is here, it is in my possession, it looks fabulous, I need to get new bags for the actual bars themselves, but other than that, fabulous. Next!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1uwwN0pXNsuSX_4lHlF6Z8xqQe0bXcb49-6IBqX_jQp0JwVaCLNbpQzt0ogTqYYPRX7L4Z0LOYvzivA_fXIQ6_w2hrmV-103Q4FbYJHrLifF83qC1Xj8c2g8saGPEW0xZHjLMtSJl40k/s1600/IMG_2843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1uwwN0pXNsuSX_4lHlF6Z8xqQe0bXcb49-6IBqX_jQp0JwVaCLNbpQzt0ogTqYYPRX7L4Z0LOYvzivA_fXIQ6_w2hrmV-103Q4FbYJHrLifF83qC1Xj8c2g8saGPEW0xZHjLMtSJl40k/s320/IMG_2843.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful new packaging. Many thanks to Jordan Petryk and Dana Lu.</td></tr>
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2)</div>
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More new packaging: need to get on that for the Smackaroons- the most recent addition to Familie Zimt, ja! Have you tried one yet? No?! Oh you must! They are really beyond phenomenal, to say the least. That is, if you like fudgy, coconut-y, chocolate-y bits of heaven. Look!</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicZQXLvSRXiyPrmZOkS7MKF1Qsp4trKPij_mRRqqYh7uEVeBP0fyV5I85J6OP8KlO8zWe9i22PAUwezvgOZdXILihC89hMlsam_4I4qF4m794ocjYWPPMHeE2_gPQPf5Eqhja-dHC9ouU/s1600/IMG_2809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicZQXLvSRXiyPrmZOkS7MKF1Qsp4trKPij_mRRqqYh7uEVeBP0fyV5I85J6OP8KlO8zWe9i22PAUwezvgOZdXILihC89hMlsam_4I4qF4m794ocjYWPPMHeE2_gPQPf5Eqhja-dHC9ouU/s320/IMG_2809.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smackaroons: Double Chocolate Macaroons- <i>double. </i></td></tr>
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3)<br />
<div>
Toronto. I will be introducing Toronto to Zimt on September 5th, when I will be flying over there to participate in the <a href="http://festival.veg.ca/" target="_blank">28th annual Vegetarian Food Festival</a>. I will also be bringing lots of bars over for different retail locations. Will I be packing clothing? Maybe. Chocolate is first priority, though.</div>
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4) </div>
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Zimt School: I offered a Zimt class! It was held on Friday and was loads of fun. Just take a look at these photos!</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiqxV5NHf6Nay1SOEln64BBhxdG8AhxDCOmbZoIosDA5WzL_eseH1IRdLHkmcuhDDl8t0uJfzFQ7su3uLJQvmvH8YEKheJ-LHvyMUOY_f7o92CIuLxgBL82fkdCIpTQgAWtJGiMCGsB8w/s1600/IMG_2848.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiqxV5NHf6Nay1SOEln64BBhxdG8AhxDCOmbZoIosDA5WzL_eseH1IRdLHkmcuhDDl8t0uJfzFQ7su3uLJQvmvH8YEKheJ-LHvyMUOY_f7o92CIuLxgBL82fkdCIpTQgAWtJGiMCGsB8w/s320/IMG_2848.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sabrina and Candace- having fun making their unique Zimt creations!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEie1K3JYKiMgegHThFhAsY4ZkrJFsofounouFMDI-nnyKfy8AdUit_SPEmbzMUzXlenDW7-jbk97A9DBIkYMe5RQ7pHWdHU7Y_vFvv7rpmPd-u3id3v0MpHozOzylhkpKw9iMSTrku0E/s1600/IMG_2849.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEie1K3JYKiMgegHThFhAsY4ZkrJFsofounouFMDI-nnyKfy8AdUit_SPEmbzMUzXlenDW7-jbk97A9DBIkYMe5RQ7pHWdHU7Y_vFvv7rpmPd-u3id3v0MpHozOzylhkpKw9iMSTrku0E/s320/IMG_2849.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wow! We are making raw chocolate bars!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftE7HsxpVTEdLjFBtUZHtoMnwDiubPogw2lwDdtoEF6xZT9oeerCauUR_KU1jWve4gNRfDFm0ObHqanG_P5H0e5-_1_mrDFXLj3wAW2v9iVPFv7S2Wi7rkaVeox7h6t6hsULgmK0zu2w/s1600/IMG_2851.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftE7HsxpVTEdLjFBtUZHtoMnwDiubPogw2lwDdtoEF6xZT9oeerCauUR_KU1jWve4gNRfDFm0ObHqanG_P5H0e5-_1_mrDFXLj3wAW2v9iVPFv7S2Wi7rkaVeox7h6t6hsULgmK0zu2w/s320/IMG_2851.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sprinkle a variety of neat toppings on! Coconut, rose petals, fig slices, cinnamon, salt... </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZKv40PltPrwu7xdnFCcrO8Om84gzQ4DnMRWXaZUCdCkdtC6Ru3fxrYQotHg_pwACxW773aFUgpmGq3rWNgb6R0-kg4Iu8jkCOU9HIxzHoCy84ZHdn4MboBgrT2Img1ICXNs1-lYf108/s1600/IMG_2852.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZKv40PltPrwu7xdnFCcrO8Om84gzQ4DnMRWXaZUCdCkdtC6Ru3fxrYQotHg_pwACxW773aFUgpmGq3rWNgb6R0-kg4Iu8jkCOU9HIxzHoCy84ZHdn4MboBgrT2Img1ICXNs1-lYf108/s320/IMG_2852.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What lovely treats- made with great care! </td></tr>
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Really enjoyed getting to catch up with those two! Zimt will be offering more classes soon, perhaps even on Friday, depending upon sign up, which will now be available online at <a href="http://zimt.ca/classes.html">http://zimt.ca/classes.html</a>. P.S.- it is a great idea for a date night!<br />
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5) </div>
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Neighbourly Love: have been getting a couple of inquiries from our neighbours to the south about Zimt! Will keep you posted on how that is going =)</div>
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6) </div>
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ethical shopping: Are you signed up for ethicalDeal? ... if not, you should be! (*hint hint*)</div>
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7)</div>
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Oma and I have reached full capacity: We can't do this ourselves anymore. Not alone, anyway. Oma and I need some help getting all that chocolate made and... ta da, Michelle (not my cousin, but one of my best friend's little sister) is here for the rescue! I've known Michelle since she was about, oh, six? Five? Upon hearing that this avid baker, enthusiastic vegan, and recent high school graduate without solid plans for what to do next in life, was looking for some solid plans for what to do next in life, I just had to offer her a job. Various keen individuals have been asking for employment from Zimt these past few months (ah, okay, almost a year. yikes.), but most wanted to do some sort of PR or marketing or whatever. I need kitchen angels! PR and marketing should be my domain, for now at least. Anyway, Michelle has already saved my veggie bacon more than once- she offered to come help out in the kitchen for training and man have I counted my lucky stars to have her around! Priceless!!!!!!!!!!!! </div>
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On a personal note- thank you to all of my incredibly kind and patient friends for being, well, very nice to me, despite my often finding I need to cancel or cut short our hang-outs, because I need to work. I hope to one day, soon, have much more time to take them out for lunch, to show my appreciation for them and that I value their wonderful ways immensely. That's the goal, anyway- more time for those I love. Via a chocolate empire.</div>
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Time to write the newsletter and update the site. </div>
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Thank you for stopping by! Have a great week! </div>
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=)</div>
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emma</div>
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PS- have you lots of zucchini? I wouldn't be surprised- it is that time of the year! Why not make a very delicious zucchini soup? Recipe can be found here: <a href="http://vegandad.blogspot.ca/2007/11/creamy-zucchini-soup.html" target="_blank">Fantastic Zucchini Soup</a> (I made this, but didn't have any veggie broth, so water with a bit more dried oregano worked great, and I also added some celery. Did not blend with all of the cooking water, so the soup I made was quite thick- great as a double for pasta sauce! My boyfriend with very, um, refined, tastebuds even liked it!)</div>
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PPS- don't forget to click! Help an animal out: <a href="http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3&link=ctg_ars_home_from_ars_freewaystohelp_leftnav_logo" target="_blank">Click to save puppies.</a><br />
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zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-65616269892837057152012-07-23T20:31:00.001-07:002012-07-23T20:31:27.279-07:00Tonight is a GREAT night for... what?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
Hello Hello and Happy Monday!<br />
<br />
<br />
Not sure what the weather is like where you are, but here in Vancouver, it is grey, drizzly, cold (well, compared to what it has been lately!), and... I love it!<br />
<br />
Reminds me of Edinburgh or London- I had the pleasure of exploring both places in the pouring rain. Sometimes while wearing a backpack as big as me.<br />
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Anyway, extreme CouchSurfing days are behind me, as far as I can tell, and I am taking much pleasure in a bit of comfort here and then, in familiar surroundings.<br />
<br />
Such as...<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZJvGnKMfqOGsSc-jfRxjcPiVuz9PZ-EU3vTp98EZK_6yZQnSTqNplXL5_7N89mrU-fk9o-kjf4WD4OILX2FF5kCmg65tzF8u-0dP6Z0UhtqncQ2Ektev4VPUMKU9TK6Ilc8bo3ncX-o/s1600/IMG_2635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZJvGnKMfqOGsSc-jfRxjcPiVuz9PZ-EU3vTp98EZK_6yZQnSTqNplXL5_7N89mrU-fk9o-kjf4WD4OILX2FF5kCmg65tzF8u-0dP6Z0UhtqncQ2Ektev4VPUMKU9TK6Ilc8bo3ncX-o/s1600/IMG_2635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZJvGnKMfqOGsSc-jfRxjcPiVuz9PZ-EU3vTp98EZK_6yZQnSTqNplXL5_7N89mrU-fk9o-kjf4WD4OILX2FF5kCmg65tzF8u-0dP6Z0UhtqncQ2Ektev4VPUMKU9TK6Ilc8bo3ncX-o/s1600/IMG_2635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZJvGnKMfqOGsSc-jfRxjcPiVuz9PZ-EU3vTp98EZK_6yZQnSTqNplXL5_7N89mrU-fk9o-kjf4WD4OILX2FF5kCmg65tzF8u-0dP6Z0UhtqncQ2Ektev4VPUMKU9TK6Ilc8bo3ncX-o/s1600/IMG_2635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>hot chocolate. Sugar & Spice Hot Chocolate, to be exact.<br />
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Let's face it- the night can always get better, and here is the perfect recipe!<br />
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<b>Zimt Sugar & Spice Hot Chocolate</b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<i>serves 2</i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
2 C hemp or almond mylk (I made hemp mylk by blending about 2 cups of purified water with 1/4 <br />
cup hemp seeds- tastes a bit peanut-buttery to be honest. Try it with coconut milk!)<br />
2 T maple syrup<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1 - 2 Sugar & Spice bar(s) - if you use 2, it will be a seriously rich treat. Yum!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinctmcfZ-KQC18771sMMyezAAqZdvdV9Y-0pNU_lT-w7ZOgbdKw4Q0Kf0tp7eu_ECJgrvcZr8J49GojJ7Pxf2u6UIv_TDLHYpZpS9GCnvtVhWV6UTPD334UaDwcciWlLLIqLdR5oxGPMY/s1600/IMG_2634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinctmcfZ-KQC18771sMMyezAAqZdvdV9Y-0pNU_lT-w7ZOgbdKw4Q0Kf0tp7eu_ECJgrvcZr8J49GojJ7Pxf2u6UIv_TDLHYpZpS9GCnvtVhWV6UTPD334UaDwcciWlLLIqLdR5oxGPMY/s1600/IMG_2634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_msfyR20ZwuZjEX9C62WTWg9ksV3Vi4826sR28r7MaTJHvzKmT_8fV9K0xqVpRmaI8v3-UoWI2clQCtVdmXA6kzNOJn2dITavAWaRQB5DZowmMVejC07qmsE0IgHjLv0zgUwYfHTSoc/s1600/IMG_2632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_msfyR20ZwuZjEX9C62WTWg9ksV3Vi4826sR28r7MaTJHvzKmT_8fV9K0xqVpRmaI8v3-UoWI2clQCtVdmXA6kzNOJn2dITavAWaRQB5DZowmMVejC07qmsE0IgHjLv0zgUwYfHTSoc/s200/IMG_2632.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">....hemp seeds</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZJvGnKMfqOGsSc-jfRxjcPiVuz9PZ-EU3vTp98EZK_6yZQnSTqNplXL5_7N89mrU-fk9o-kjf4WD4OILX2FF5kCmg65tzF8u-0dP6Z0UhtqncQ2Ektev4VPUMKU9TK6Ilc8bo3ncX-o/s1600/IMG_2635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZJvGnKMfqOGsSc-jfRxjcPiVuz9PZ-EU3vTp98EZK_6yZQnSTqNplXL5_7N89mrU-fk9o-kjf4WD4OILX2FF5kCmg65tzF8u-0dP6Z0UhtqncQ2Ektev4VPUMKU9TK6Ilc8bo3ncX-o/s200/IMG_2635.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In your Vitamix... <br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinctmcfZ-KQC18771sMMyezAAqZdvdV9Y-0pNU_lT-w7ZOgbdKw4Q0Kf0tp7eu_ECJgrvcZr8J49GojJ7Pxf2u6UIv_TDLHYpZpS9GCnvtVhWV6UTPD334UaDwcciWlLLIqLdR5oxGPMY/s1600/IMG_2634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinctmcfZ-KQC18771sMMyezAAqZdvdV9Y-0pNU_lT-w7ZOgbdKw4Q0Kf0tp7eu_ECJgrvcZr8J49GojJ7Pxf2u6UIv_TDLHYpZpS9GCnvtVhWV6UTPD334UaDwcciWlLLIqLdR5oxGPMY/s200/IMG_2634.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">combine water...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNRBozyaODvQyyNulddrLeLVKVWE-YOpsA4cgc6H7H5RdozSH5y6ac1cVGuqXATEWziKl_8sFx5PyJN_oih4YEzSDDLTrQXaGnaUoCvvFjLhJhyphenhyphenCcdIpmX789IoCWdyqOJ0XBpanlgGIY/s1600/IMG_2631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNRBozyaODvQyyNulddrLeLVKVWE-YOpsA4cgc6H7H5RdozSH5y6ac1cVGuqXATEWziKl_8sFx5PyJN_oih4YEzSDDLTrQXaGnaUoCvvFjLhJhyphenhyphenCcdIpmX789IoCWdyqOJ0XBpanlgGIY/s200/IMG_2631.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1-2 bars of Sugar & Spice</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRdz_qs5LCNPiISoNCqQLNdxALr6N4XkEw9JRnB1czj3XnnOWhXcZheTQXVtsUe0CjeNjBAWa0xqSRAv9f8-QTYuPLibS6OijoRkeKION3hLcOo53SN84RFOJb3TecfyA1ghs7DMOXQFY/s1600/IMG_2639.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRdz_qs5LCNPiISoNCqQLNdxALr6N4XkEw9JRnB1czj3XnnOWhXcZheTQXVtsUe0CjeNjBAWa0xqSRAv9f8-QTYuPLibS6OijoRkeKION3hLcOo53SN84RFOJb3TecfyA1ghs7DMOXQFY/s200/IMG_2639.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Canadian Liquid Gold....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhASCI4mxYlsF1s9Gpic8dQCPPsDT1wPcQMzWqJI_OoZvm2gFVbCtNcr1EacnRS-Bks_oo9WUkTw8QXdwr5xrqYGTS5zpxV6tiwP13q1ImIxTyGqtSbIK_AtwlYkPSTpx_lIIQ7fDp5l_M/s1600/IMG_2630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhASCI4mxYlsF1s9Gpic8dQCPPsDT1wPcQMzWqJI_OoZvm2gFVbCtNcr1EacnRS-Bks_oo9WUkTw8QXdwr5xrqYGTS5zpxV6tiwP13q1ImIxTyGqtSbIK_AtwlYkPSTpx_lIIQ7fDp5l_M/s200/IMG_2630.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ta da!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU0LCEuZTm8R8V8XrH5iOH8u1mhRh6oymaqRV7wl3ZCVNYrHapvQ9rT1YE5F4v4Q6fQ3uzpkxfAUHE_RTQnQdBopQj63szGmCns34tsh9xiviaf20H0248eAwrOHVn87dLcRVOXJOVV-I/s1600/IMG_2637.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU0LCEuZTm8R8V8XrH5iOH8u1mhRh6oymaqRV7wl3ZCVNYrHapvQ9rT1YE5F4v4Q6fQ3uzpkxfAUHE_RTQnQdBopQj63szGmCns34tsh9xiviaf20H0248eAwrOHVn87dLcRVOXJOVV-I/s320/IMG_2637.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Somebody is tired- but that's ok!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwYsJH_tMmXomNRVqe_dtbzEVMbK3NFuPAROj6eyBgtK2LBW_9N9wSZ6IInUQj5W-mveTS7tEmggyno5JUo7RytCyAAUhOO1BGZrKWWjya3zyRQtLSEZEbDLYOl_utMoYN6nPCGreSx5c/s1600/IMG_2625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwYsJH_tMmXomNRVqe_dtbzEVMbK3NFuPAROj6eyBgtK2LBW_9N9wSZ6IInUQj5W-mveTS7tEmggyno5JUo7RytCyAAUhOO1BGZrKWWjya3zyRQtLSEZEbDLYOl_utMoYN6nPCGreSx5c/s320/IMG_2625.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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For one...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz2tZ6omTghWes36vSmjpWRmSU88yHKqA6lQcQqrTx7c1it5n_0lqpSeTse7kpDzs4r7iQBOc6yPnrtNg70cmtKhekbYMc4C5MON0dToRY6emKxsbjPjWYyKQlXW1aBkhpYKXDAIojlgo/s1600/IMG_2624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz2tZ6omTghWes36vSmjpWRmSU88yHKqA6lQcQqrTx7c1it5n_0lqpSeTse7kpDzs4r7iQBOc6yPnrtNg70cmtKhekbYMc4C5MON0dToRY6emKxsbjPjWYyKQlXW1aBkhpYKXDAIojlgo/s320/IMG_2624.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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And two!</div>
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<b>Method A:</b><br />
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Have you got a high speed blender, like a Vitamix? No better time to use it than now! Combine all ingredients on high until they warm up- should take about 2 minutes.<br />
<br />
<b>Method B: </b><br />
<br />
I haven't tried this one, but here's an alternative for those who don't have current access to such culinary luxuries.<br />
Heat up hemp or almond mylk in a small pan, add your maple syrup, and whisk. Break up one Sugar & Spice bar and let it melt in! Whisk it up to emulsify.<br />
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<br />
Pour into two nice mugs and share with somebody special! (Somebody special can include you- you're special).<br />
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Enjoy!!!<br />
<br />
Here's a Zimt update:<br />
<br />
<br />
Expansion, I think... is going to go like this:<br />
<br />
Organic Certification (check!)<br />
New packaging.... soon! My designer sent me lots of beautiful proofs.<br />
Approach distributor with <b><i>finished product</i></b><br />
... bring Zimt to the world!!!!<br />
<br />
How does that all sound?<br />
<br />
Happy Tuesday Eve,<br />
<br />
<br />
emma<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-59468352097364238662012-07-21T14:43:00.002-07:002012-07-21T14:47:36.003-07:00Today is a GREAT day for... what?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello!<br />
<br />
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Can you guess? I will give you a hint: the sun is shining, I would imagine it to be pretty warm out (leaving the office soon!), and... you have taste buds.<br />
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Any ideas?<br />
<br />
Oh, another hint: apparently, we all scream for it.<br />
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Eis! ...<br />
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Whoops! Wrong continent!<br />
<br />
Ice Cream! Or, should I type, Ice Kream*<br />
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<i>*note: The term "kream" is used to denote the ethical, animal-friendly, vegan version of dairy "cream". </i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5KxgbZVn8-c7BhJQpm2RszYmxxEGC0Pt52KNrw_hk9m6BW314tCizbt-RKaO1bZwF8LakZ56qWJdokeLb6-jmSl5VC_NPjmbPXVLqUZDCpKDdtyKO1ZzsgVR8ErORAiY87vYRQFloEgI/s1600/IMG_2576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5KxgbZVn8-c7BhJQpm2RszYmxxEGC0Pt52KNrw_hk9m6BW314tCizbt-RKaO1bZwF8LakZ56qWJdokeLb6-jmSl5VC_NPjmbPXVLqUZDCpKDdtyKO1ZzsgVR8ErORAiY87vYRQFloEgI/s320/IMG_2576.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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But just because I am particular, I required some chocolate chip cookie dough ice kream. </div>
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Good thing I made these this morning: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt43vUAncsfUicEUhv8gdN-7DAyndMQV6lGlqYYsvYLdy_Zz1sQyL2ZoAE7OU9aeViVCXyr1gUl-O4OPLZwP9wQYOdmaiYXkNlzWE3At2bplv6kZSc0e34tk9g-O5fvUinizkBjaKS1W8/s1600/IMG_2568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt43vUAncsfUicEUhv8gdN-7DAyndMQV6lGlqYYsvYLdy_Zz1sQyL2ZoAE7OU9aeViVCXyr1gUl-O4OPLZwP9wQYOdmaiYXkNlzWE3At2bplv6kZSc0e34tk9g-O5fvUinizkBjaKS1W8/s320/IMG_2568.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Zimt Chip Cookies! </i></div>
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They are pretty phenomenal- especially for raw, <i>nut-free </i>cookies! </div>
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Here's the recipe I used:</div>
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<b>Zimt Chip Cookies </b>raw, vegan, nut-free cookies</div>
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Makes 12 </div>
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buckwheat groats 66 g (about 0.375 of a cup, you can also just use regular oats)</div>
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coconut flakes 86 g (about 0.875 of a cup)</div>
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vanilla bean or extract 1/2 tsp</div>
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dates 40 g (about 2, pitted, if you use the fatty medjools)</div>
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coconut oil 22 g (about 2 Tablespoons)</div>
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maple syrup 22 g (about 2 Tablespoons)</div>
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Zimt Chocolat 67% Bar 1</div>
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First things first- grind up the buckwheat groats in your food processor, or magical Vitamix. Then grind up the coconut flakes, with the buckwheat groats. They will make a coarse flour. Add your vanilla and pulse.</div>
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Add your pitted dates to that mixture and pulse until they are pretty pulverized. Then add your coconut oil and pulverize again.</div>
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Add that mix to a mixing bowl and chop up your Zimt 67% bar. Add that to the mix, and stir.... it should look something like this: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizdv6lCmpBfgTCIY3hpNY11xjtpm0FES6VfNF2LF0zGgCcHgfBDwbZrnHkYA3GaSI48G5jXOH-17_zEhiz6p25j1euAhxBN4OyZgrOiEJ854GREobyjn36yitY7gDOVWfRzp7nVdbZl_Y/s1600/IMG_2566.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizdv6lCmpBfgTCIY3hpNY11xjtpm0FES6VfNF2LF0zGgCcHgfBDwbZrnHkYA3GaSI48G5jXOH-17_zEhiz6p25j1euAhxBN4OyZgrOiEJ854GREobyjn36yitY7gDOVWfRzp7nVdbZl_Y/s320/IMG_2566.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now you are ready to form the cookies! Form any size you would like- try making an enormous one- I bet it will taste better than smaller versions. But regular cookie size wise, this recipe will make about 12.</div>
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If you would like, you can stop there- good job! You have healthy, diabetic friendly, tasty cookies, made with lovely Zimt chocolate. </div>
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If you want to take things to the next level...</div>
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<b>Zimt Chip Cookie Dough Ice Kream </b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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Makes 1 Serving</div>
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2 frozen bananas</div>
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1 splash of hemp milk <i>(did you notice the spelling?! Same idea as the "kream"!)</i></div>
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pinch vanilla bean powder (optional, but great)</div>
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2 Zimt Chip Cookies </div>
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Place in your Vitamix or food processor frozen bananas (broken into chunks about 1 inch long), hemp or other non-dairy milk, and vanilla bean. </div>
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Whip! </div>
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Until they look like this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVXjfeqjPM0n4JB2d4puVhrB_kQaLgttAlUO66Qi8HCcJMh4wmkM7mDSvfkvE2ZukBRA0hXg0zgpSl66J6bTeDik3hlJRTZxlaHSncVrkHOCXqznFFUJo4GJInRlJE3L-DODjpfGbnCBs/s1600/IMG_2571.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVXjfeqjPM0n4JB2d4puVhrB_kQaLgttAlUO66Qi8HCcJMh4wmkM7mDSvfkvE2ZukBRA0hXg0zgpSl66J6bTeDik3hlJRTZxlaHSncVrkHOCXqznFFUJo4GJInRlJE3L-DODjpfGbnCBs/s320/IMG_2571.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5qGY9_6yMED1WLCYimVy8lPVCniS518_yad_fZYlH_XZudi0ATc2VZ53aVHsu8db3aCamdH-J3-rMMRKjnEWR1hUkznRPiu73WwlUr17IP_69dzsohy7PzqQyioCRsUE753oyZRSnr14/s1600/IMG_2572.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5qGY9_6yMED1WLCYimVy8lPVCniS518_yad_fZYlH_XZudi0ATc2VZ53aVHsu8db3aCamdH-J3-rMMRKjnEWR1hUkznRPiu73WwlUr17IP_69dzsohy7PzqQyioCRsUE753oyZRSnr14/s320/IMG_2572.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i>View from the top- so kreamy!</i></div>
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Put that mixture into your favourite Frog Mascot green bowl, and break up your Zimt Chip Cookies to sprinkle on that. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsvtsZa9SGR225P6SWPVOGyn2UfgmTPFsb24sBGv7DL10y56NOhJvP3CtabzIlk45RvrbK2XE6tBzt-kjkzm-4Z7wv4UtS1EZ2snkASKs7x2U-quPM-E76el-HA1Zhnkdw7_HWy6FHyMQ/s1600/IMG_2573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsvtsZa9SGR225P6SWPVOGyn2UfgmTPFsb24sBGv7DL10y56NOhJvP3CtabzIlk45RvrbK2XE6tBzt-kjkzm-4Z7wv4UtS1EZ2snkASKs7x2U-quPM-E76el-HA1Zhnkdw7_HWy6FHyMQ/s320/IMG_2573.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Sprinkle and mix together the two... and you will get this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_Vsq4GMbIhAk7B5ZxznR84AtOtsCHTsepPu5WYQkTINmIcDXwD8rx_cNGNWLnh5KKUAT-WOd_acW8ePt1OS_DaW3Mb5X5F6noDvNqTes4dYPoPmbgnznIWOWPEMEecGkH9WE2UO720k/s1600/IMG_2577.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_Vsq4GMbIhAk7B5ZxznR84AtOtsCHTsepPu5WYQkTINmIcDXwD8rx_cNGNWLnh5KKUAT-WOd_acW8ePt1OS_DaW3Mb5X5F6noDvNqTes4dYPoPmbgnznIWOWPEMEecGkH9WE2UO720k/s320/IMG_2577.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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a spoon, laptop with pink keyboard protector, Frog Mascot, and Zimt Chip Cookie Dough Ice Kream. </div>
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Enjoy! </div>
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Other Zimt news- (you asked!)</div>
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Head on over to Fairy Cakes on 20th and Fraser for some extra special Zimt treats! Every week, there will be something new, such as cinnamon coconut chocolate disks, fig heart disks, and banana creme crunch bites. Yumyum! </div>
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New packaging will be happening within the next 3 weeks, too! Then it is time to approach a distributor to see how badly they want to make sure my product gets to everybody in the country. I am excited! I will really need to up production, but that should be fine- I have resources =) </div>
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Also, please be sure to check out www.zimt.ca - I have been working hard on the site to make it beautiful. You may notice some fancy new logos on the homepage... such as the <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">organic certification approved logos</u>. How satisfying. Okay, I can retire now.</div>
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Enjoy your Saturday! </div>
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Peace and blessings,</div>
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Emma</div>
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<i><br /></i></div>zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-59887294556890442532012-06-26T19:38:00.000-07:002012-06-26T19:42:38.786-07:00Hi, Anxiety!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
.... and hello lovely Zimt Enthusiasts!<br />
<br />
Thank you for stopping by to take a moment out of your day to read a bit about the life of Zimt.<br />
<br />
Here's some fairly big news that has been on the brain for a while- if you read back to the last post, you will see I began to hint at it in what I believe was the third point- kitchen availability. The kitchen Zimt has been operating out of has been amazing- it is in a church and in addition to be totally food safe and Vancouver Coastal Health Authority certified, it is frequented by some very friendly staff, parishioners, and volunteers while I am in there, chocolate-ing away. It is a beautiful space- just gorgeous. Stainless steel everything, commercial dishwasher, even a heated oven-type surface to safely dry the chocolate forms off after washing them. I could not have asked for better. Couldn't even imagine better, and I am almost overwhelmed with gratitude and peace every time I walk in there. After spending so much time there (sometimes for almost 24 hours in one go...), it has really started to feel like home. No matter how hectic and stressful the morning is, whenever I would get to the kitchen, I would just breathe a huge sigh of relief. The hours can be long, for sure, but being there is like going to a spa for the soul.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ42JJGEYZwmphRf6n6WZRmHTBOVcP86MxeeGC-An8FFUc8t8ospVQHp1DGqeJhaMUE5siJyvG9ytJtz9LByNdpQpeSkf4PxvFXCKsd3EE-fhQJs4WldO8f9GePtUSlsW5IdzSSBO48xA/s1600/IMG_2274.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ42JJGEYZwmphRf6n6WZRmHTBOVcP86MxeeGC-An8FFUc8t8ospVQHp1DGqeJhaMUE5siJyvG9ytJtz9LByNdpQpeSkf4PxvFXCKsd3EE-fhQJs4WldO8f9GePtUSlsW5IdzSSBO48xA/s320/IMG_2274.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mom and Oma in the kitchen- aka our hangout =) </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And I am going to miss it a lot. I already do. The church needs more space for community programs, so as of September 1st at the latest, Zimt will no longer be manufacturing in the present location. I am thankful they gave me so much notice, though, because finding commercial space is really tough. They absolutely helped get Zimt to where it is today, and to be quite honest, it would have been impossible to have done much of anything without this church's help. Ugh, I miss it so much even though I'm going to be there tomorrow! It is just unpleasant to think of there being an end. I know it is totally unrealistic, but I had always wanted to operate out of that kitchen. It was just really nice to have some stability- this past year has been incredibly chaotic. Many wonderful things, but lots of adjustments.<br />
<br />
So, now it is time to find a new home for Zimt. Not so easy, but God's got it under control. He's helped me out with way more challenging things in life (which He caused in the first place?! Oh boy.) and I have learned lots, grown lots, and now, I just have to grow a company with me. ... no big.<br />
<br />
Anyway, bawl fest. Actually.<br />
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I am not complaining- really- who could complain about memories of that place? I am just slightly devastated it is over.<br />
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Again, not complaining- I fully agree with this video, by Marie Forleo: <a href="http://marieforleo.com/2011/03/life-hands-sht-sandwich/" target="_blank">When Life Hands You A Sh*t Sandwich.</a> (Pretty sure I still have a roof over my head, am living in a rather peaceful country, and have some very incredible people in my life. No complaints what.so.ever.)<br />
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One fantastic option is to operate out of the Fairy Cakes kitchen- familiar and very close to the space I am renting! So that is great! (Can you tell I am trying to be really, really happy about this and end my pity party?! Are you convinced?). So, Zimt may get to work out of a lovely facility with a lovely cupcake master, Cera- Fairy Cakes owner and founder. Still need to see what my options are, but I am beyond grateful to have such a kind and generous friend.<br />
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Hey! Here is some other happy news! (Three cheers for distractions, am I right?!)- Organic Certification! It is happening on July 4th at 9 am! <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">FINALLY</u>!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited and nervous. A couple of days ago, I was thinking, "Emma- what did you accomplish for Zimt so far this year? What new clients did you acquire? How much have you expanded your chocolate company? Are you even doing a half-decent job? Should you get Zimt a new boss?" and then I thought- "Ah, right, the certification. The new packaging. This is a big deal and will allow my little pride and joy to get to the next level- distributors."<br />
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I think anyone I spend a decent amount of time with must be so beyond sick of hearing me blab on and on about the certification process and the packaging and I really can't stand to even speak those words much more myself to be perfectly honest, but hopefully I can put a lid on it after next Wednesday. A week tomorrow. Such a big enormous deal. The new packaging is stunning- thank you to the lovely people who provided their input, and especially to the designer, Dana Lau (let me know if you need your business cards or whatever designed- she can handle it!), and her infinite patience.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcjzhmOFDIJrBMkiVbWcQjm_lZ9KT0VtC1j4jgqAMjkJZI2G6JP0wffzowDerIyH9nJodDFCHbnLUOHPbR8YLNAfTql6FB82cAxKY-86mfuFR6Z2uAdqWZO5bGbLhNFfz3MPVtEcHrqAg/s1600/IMG_2375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcjzhmOFDIJrBMkiVbWcQjm_lZ9KT0VtC1j4jgqAMjkJZI2G6JP0wffzowDerIyH9nJodDFCHbnLUOHPbR8YLNAfTql6FB82cAxKY-86mfuFR6Z2uAdqWZO5bGbLhNFfz3MPVtEcHrqAg/s200/IMG_2375.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tiger is skeptical at best... </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj26_688v6CTre7tWyPGVwguIoewVsT1tKRjO3zncrka0dNx3OjCixOo3oOgcTC9pZ8ckk9LGjDBGKZ2QieeUDMdxIqi4W-3hvIhyw-TUNCU2LxW1NFwf0bXPXJxKm6UswqW7LybBCWXw0/s1600/IMG_2159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj26_688v6CTre7tWyPGVwguIoewVsT1tKRjO3zncrka0dNx3OjCixOo3oOgcTC9pZ8ckk9LGjDBGKZ2QieeUDMdxIqi4W-3hvIhyw-TUNCU2LxW1NFwf0bXPXJxKm6UswqW7LybBCWXw0/s200/IMG_2159.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Zimt Packaging: Walter Lande Approved!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdQW_UuoLXD0-_7icdp8LO4lxNXdzOugCm2eP3iYGsIquf4Ce-KiPluRegV9FtdUvF59ebnvpVw2fMJ30RyXmb3Jo1t_-uOSjWSiULz_LOmWJ8B3IO4L_LD0q6swMVwphoHfbXu-QBNo/s1600/IMG_2269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdQW_UuoLXD0-_7icdp8LO4lxNXdzOugCm2eP3iYGsIquf4Ce-KiPluRegV9FtdUvF59ebnvpVw2fMJ30RyXmb3Jo1t_-uOSjWSiULz_LOmWJ8B3IO4L_LD0q6swMVwphoHfbXu-QBNo/s320/IMG_2269.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look familiar? The times... they are a changing! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0VOPhaIzyh7FmmsDL48yoDIIhWY2txanUlEUqX27tQrrC8mKKnb07cHHSkc6Ipod4YM6-wabtiv2pPTxv9eJCu0t0VRLMZhOhcW1cfOU3QVhklzOk315lKnwtcdw9dZFyRL0ahK_K4qw/s1600/IMG_2386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0VOPhaIzyh7FmmsDL48yoDIIhWY2txanUlEUqX27tQrrC8mKKnb07cHHSkc6Ipod4YM6-wabtiv2pPTxv9eJCu0t0VRLMZhOhcW1cfOU3QVhklzOk315lKnwtcdw9dZFyRL0ahK_K4qw/s320/IMG_2386.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Onto bigger and better things (oh yes it is! What a stunner!)</td></tr>
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So, I guess that is about it. How have your past 24ish days been?<br />
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=)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-si3jxGOmCSjuCDLAERDzuRFpEogDCqmtaLLiGa5VL-o9Mu1_NKjNfaKUQcVRJJWpz-bvJ311Ez60dnffmVcLf1UCCXI749K2sadjT8-KWmsnwEyHuwepQa-r1BcD8_lgXBUMtzNeAmc/s1600/IMG_2272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-si3jxGOmCSjuCDLAERDzuRFpEogDCqmtaLLiGa5VL-o9Mu1_NKjNfaKUQcVRJJWpz-bvJ311Ez60dnffmVcLf1UCCXI749K2sadjT8-KWmsnwEyHuwepQa-r1BcD8_lgXBUMtzNeAmc/s320/IMG_2272.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I hope they were filled with love and enough chocolate to comfortably swim in. Not that one would want to do this!</td></tr>
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<br />
emma<br />
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P.S. You thought I almost forgot about the ethical recipe and link to "click-here-and-help-animals-out-for-free-whydoncha?!"... not forgotten!<br />
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<a href="http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3" target="_blank">Click this text and then the purple button! </a> ... and if you want to go a step further, consider donating 5 bucks a month (or whatever you can afford) to an excellent organization, such as <a href="http://www.farmsanctuary.org/" target="_blank">Farm Sanctuary</a>.<br />
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And a vegan recipe to round things off...<br />
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<a href="http://ohsheglows.com/2011/03/10/butternut-squash-mac-n-cheeze-two-ways/" target="_blank">Mac n Cheeze- what's not to love?!</a> (We're making this, Schatz.)<br />
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</div>zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-6681492719581744102012-06-02T00:06:00.001-07:002012-06-02T00:06:36.236-07:00Shhhhh! I am making chocolate...!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hi Everyone,<br />
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Happy June 1st! Also known as, my mom's birthday...!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi30Dvaz80U6lddAFvUgCc9_E9kfxrhik4ei1mHuWOS9NisHcZKJcs5Wp55whVSgJpXz6C1s598_aKebrbvEMG-nP9zbWEj2HhG6dxFH8RmKkTXxszte5m28EGqzqjH51LgYufI0dFIR4U/s1600/IMG_2176.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi30Dvaz80U6lddAFvUgCc9_E9kfxrhik4ei1mHuWOS9NisHcZKJcs5Wp55whVSgJpXz6C1s598_aKebrbvEMG-nP9zbWEj2HhG6dxFH8RmKkTXxszte5m28EGqzqjH51LgYufI0dFIR4U/s320/IMG_2176.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i>Can you believe she turned 53?!?!?! </i>I can't! This isn't the best picture of her- but honestly, she looked like she was <i>maybe </i>35 today. Maybe. Maybe 30, after a terrible night's sleep. I don't know how she does it- she doesn't eat a super clean diet or anything and she has tons of stress in her life (I mean, look at who she has for kids! Yikes!). </div>
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Anyway, happy birthday, Mom! I hope I age half as gracefully as you. Probably the radiant inner beauty that shines through- living proof. This woman is amazing!</div>
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Now that we have established my mother's excellence, let's talk a bit about Zimt.</div>
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First: I will try to get more bars to Whole Foods on Cambie on either Sunday or tomorrow or Monday- it depends on when the labels will be finished... betcha didn't think of that! Label making is different from chocolate making- not so obviously. It is tough to think of all the components that go into a finished product when it is precisely that- a finished product. Things don't grow on shelves in supermarkets.</div>
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Second: Major thanks go to my family for all of their incredible patience and support and joy- they never complain. Ever. They just are happy to help me out and enjoy us spending time together. That I get to spend that much time with people who are so unthinkably giving and kind is mind boggling. Physically, the work is pretty demanding. I mean, I do BodyRock, officially, but I also feel like I am getting in another work out during the work day. But really, if that is all I have to complain about- I am one lucky lady. I get to hang out with some wonderful, supportive people on a regular basis- thank you, Oma, Mum, Auntie, and Michelle! How unusual and great!</div>
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Third: I am getting a bit antsy about kitchen availability. Zimt is kind of at the bottom of the totem pole, only in the sense that if others need the kitchen, others get the kitchen. I am blessed, though, as I still often feel like I get to live there. </div>
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Anyway... I find that times are getting kind of restricted, however, and this is obviously a concern. I have to sort out a solution, other than me working past the time set out in the schedule, and being really quite while chocolate making, so that I don't get caught. Pretty sneaky!</div>
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Other than that... I wish I could tell you more. But everything is top secret until further notice! Until then, I invite you to check out the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/zimtartisanchocolates" target="_blank">Zimt Facebook page</a>, which I am working on updating. Part of the online marketing I am trying to get a hang of. </div>
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Have a lovely Saturday! </div>
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emma</div>
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<br /></div>zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-51077936330420911582012-05-19T19:12:00.002-07:002012-05-19T19:14:12.423-07:00CFIA, EPIC, and other acronyms<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hi There!<br />
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*blog was on my to-do list. And look at it get done- here's an update on the latest and greatest... in the land of Zimt!<br />
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<u>The CFIA Rears its Ugly Head... Again.</u><br />
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They found me! Or, Zimt, rather. Zimt got inspected by the CFIA on Tuesday this week. (Of the same day I made a delivery to <a href="http://unityyoga.ca/" target="_blank">Unity Yoga</a>- what a beautiful place! Check them out and try some lotus positions and warrior things.... and Zimt!) So, I met with a nice inspector, and we sat and chatted for quite some time, in the big gym adjacent to the kitchen. <br />
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I also had a friend I met at EP!C that weekend meet with us, who specializes in food safety for small food manufacturing businesses. <br />
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So, we sat there and went over all my papers and tracking systems and things. Inspector was impressed! Now, to give you a bit of a freak out...<br />
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<i>A lot of huge companies do not track their outgoing product. </i><br />
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That's right. If you get sick from eating something, Big Box Company may not know a thing about where that food poisoning actually came from. Maybe it was Batch #1k9834j or maybe it was Batch #897m3490w. We just don't know. So keep your fingers crossed when you open that next bag of whatever!<br />
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... paranoid yet? You will likely be ok. =)<br />
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Anyway, meeting went well. More with packaging. Organic Certification Tale continues... they are reviewing more now- Zimt has been unofficially, but officially somewhat, inducted into the Organic Hall of Fame. Need CFIA to do label reviews or at least pick up the phone when I call to ask about Nutrition Facts Table formatting.<br />
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Yes, so, EP!C happened- it was alright. Nice, because I saw some really wonderful people I know and met a whole bunch more- great contacts! Didn't sell too much, but who was expecting to buy chocolate bars in the wedding section? Oh well. EAT! Vancouver is coming up. May be a good idea... will have to think about it.<br />
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XOXOLAT!<br />
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Check them out- they are on the corner of West 8th and Burrard in Vancouver... they are considering Zimt! I took a class with them and brought my mum. She's so awesome. Anyway- they have lovely chocolate there. Hopefully Zimt will be a part of their crew, soon!<br />
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Oy vey I have a lot of work.... wish me luck! And I wish you a lovely Saturday evening.<br />
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=)<br />
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emma<br />
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P.S.- Don't forget to help out some animals! Click for free (it takes a second of your time. And I cannot think of a better way to spend a second of your time. No excuses.) <a href="http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3">http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3</a> (purple button- can't miss it!)<br />
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P.P.S.- Try this tasty recipe! It is vegan (of course) and is good for you, the planet, and does not hurt any animals. What a lovely concept =) <a href="http://cupcakesandkale.blogspot.ca/2012/05/cumin-chive-lentil-hummus.html">http://cupcakesandkale.blogspot.ca/2012/05/cumin-chive-lentil-hummus.html</a> Lentil Hummus- amazing!!! Move over chickpeas- you take so long to cook. But are still great for chana masala. Yummmm... </div>zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-85749873604866125632012-05-03T10:26:00.002-07:002012-05-03T11:58:43.368-07:00All that's old is new again.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
And by that title, I mean that I feel like I am having to re-construct a whole other company.<br />
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There's just a lot in the way of R&D that has to get done by me. Although raw chocolate is a fairly new phenomenononon to Vancouver, it is getting really competitive already! Not just raw, though- there is a lot in the way of competition out there- and Zimt must cover all of its bases.<br />
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Which means a lot of experimenting with processes for me! I feel very fortunate that I am able to do this- and grateful to myself for saving up all of my pennies all those years- who knew that my wage at Capers for making smoothies would go right back into making a product sold at their store!<br />
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Experimenting is expensive- but developments are underway and I will keep you posted, as always.<br />
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Peace and blessings,<br />
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Emma<br />
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P.S.- mentioning some trade shows featuring Zimt would probably be a good idea! Please stop by at EPIC! on the weekend of the 11th until the 13th of May and then at EAT on the first weekend in June!<br />
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P.P.S- nearly forgot to send you along with a healthy, non-dessert, compassionate recipe! Here is a very tasty vegan recipe <a href="http://sketch-freeveganeating.blogspot.ca/2011/01/chickpea-burgers-with-tahini-dill-sauce.html">http://sketch-freeveganeating.blogspot.ca/2011/01/chickpea-burgers-with-tahini-dill-sauce.html</a>- how yummy do those look?!?! Thank you, Jennifer and Jacyln of <a href="http://sketch-freeveganeating.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Sketch-Free Vegan Eating</a>!<br />
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P.P.P.S- <a href="http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3&link=ctg_ars_home_from_ars_thankyou_leftnav_logo" target="_blank">click here</a> to feed a puppy! Or kitty! For free!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8Nr1rP-Zau2QNFb6oR1h5oXqWFtqb3cCqcqSdn0iOmq6A6VyD3efGmUZypBwztjewsG71WsC0VHfLSbSP6JbU600Gh58wnU_BLzQT_qAazY-0keGMtVQrnxGJy-k0UutulcH6680dtw/s1600/IMG_0975.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8Nr1rP-Zau2QNFb6oR1h5oXqWFtqb3cCqcqSdn0iOmq6A6VyD3efGmUZypBwztjewsG71WsC0VHfLSbSP6JbU600Gh58wnU_BLzQT_qAazY-0keGMtVQrnxGJy-k0UutulcH6680dtw/s200/IMG_0975.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thank you!!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGawqdQ-gCY1AeRGkBp-MuzGV2Q1V-lYzCDLsvntxiQwkdVL9nHbUYZ4saLNx99SNlwCago_df2qtYuYPP81rqiuihfdoJMJ5DX-bzHYpqP_s2F432NOJI8bh2mrX4CFnwEhrRf3ybQs/s1600/IMG_1056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGawqdQ-gCY1AeRGkBp-MuzGV2Q1V-lYzCDLsvntxiQwkdVL9nHbUYZ4saLNx99SNlwCago_df2qtYuYPP81rqiuihfdoJMJ5DX-bzHYpqP_s2F432NOJI8bh2mrX4CFnwEhrRf3ybQs/s200/IMG_1056.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yay! Kibbles!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGLmQrWpyKUZk7yoZY4R_yzOm3UDqB7KMB5mJu-qW815-uY-E4oa1ZYZz_Vz6jr0BAQXvfnPt4dgqXXEBUegoLDG7SOy1tmUU6N_pDceSu1mDyN5ppqwy-hEjgCtnbGYQweOMQ3NEuf88/s1600/IMG_1107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGLmQrWpyKUZk7yoZY4R_yzOm3UDqB7KMB5mJu-qW815-uY-E4oa1ZYZz_Vz6jr0BAQXvfnPt4dgqXXEBUegoLDG7SOy1tmUU6N_pDceSu1mDyN5ppqwy-hEjgCtnbGYQweOMQ3NEuf88/s200/IMG_1107.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aaaaand cookies!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-90397681902506049432012-04-07T00:39:00.000-07:002012-04-07T00:39:27.683-07:00Back from Taipei and off to...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">resuming insanity?<br />
<br />
<br />
Hello!<br />
<br />
<br />
Karl and I got returned from Taiwan after a really lovely tour of the country. If you would like to read a bit about my travels, please visit <a href="http://gogemmer.wordpress.com/">http://gogemmer.wordpress.com/</a>.<br />
<br />
Travels are fun, but at this stage, I felt that 12 days in a row of really unfocused Zimt work was a bit much. After touring during the day, I would work on that never ending organic certification application. It won't stop.<br />
<br />
But I think I am almost done.<br />
<br />
Anyway, back at it! Big changes are in store for Zimt- I feel like I am starting the whole company again. So, I guess I shouldn't be allowed to leave the desk, nor the kitchen. But I have to leave the kitchen because... it has not been available all week! That's because it is Holy Week- the week leading up to Easter, and because the kitchen is in a church, and I suppose things are quite busy before Easter.<br />
<br />
So I have carted a whole lot of my equipment over to the <a href="http://www.fairycakescupcakes.ca/" target="_blank">Fairy Cakes</a> kitchen. Thanks a million to Cera for being so generous with the space!!!!<br />
<br />
Just because I feel like painting a more detailed picture of the situation, I invite you to visualize what this would entail- how much stuff I have to move, little bits and pieces I cannot forget, but have forgotten. All the different flavours and ingredients and bar molds which I forgot. Lots and lots. But I think I figured it out recently, as in a couple of hours ago, as to how I am ever going to fill the Whole Foods order I have due on Tuesday. .... right.<br />
<br />
Speaking of which, totally messed up on a meeting time I had with them! But not my fault for the extra zero after the one in one-thirty pm. It happens. They are gracious and have offered to grant me another meeting.<br />
<br />
Anyway, the timing has actually been supreme because I have....<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Paa0vp_-RYu6-X-7LoHvzXjNXRFoWCjkAl0KKi4DTGCZnKAWQhwIs_u7q3CcVrPC9Lf7E0nu91MFN0wdh9Z0DjYxNnO5c4oF1FIZCzo2glz2NFb6yZ5tneZDVdu0IBoXqgEEoIenDO0/s1600/IMG_1857.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Paa0vp_-RYu6-X-7LoHvzXjNXRFoWCjkAl0KKi4DTGCZnKAWQhwIs_u7q3CcVrPC9Lf7E0nu91MFN0wdh9Z0DjYxNnO5c4oF1FIZCzo2glz2NFb6yZ5tneZDVdu0IBoXqgEEoIenDO0/s320/IMG_1857.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karl and me in the Fairy Cakes Kitchen! </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div>KARL! Holy cow- I cannot even express how happy and thankful I am to have him here! I told him yesterday that he seems to have this common theme of fixing up all the bits of craziness in my life. This, all before piling into my smart car, which is almost always filled to the roof with... stuff. Groceries, chocolate stuff, probably a life-sized replica of the Eiffel Tower. Time to get an 18-wheeler... last month. Yeesh.</div><div><br />
</div><div>What else. Made Easter chocolate and tried out some new recipes... kind of top secret, but in time, you will find out!</div><div><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUfihNcMONuovWwU0SIVVDkzTlNrVdJc17pPz4BPD8I4mycOjBn8rvo-qRNOfU_OI4NJGHYEnFqOfXiNLLaxjnk24U4VEGZZ1K-Oe29Q1qTSLdqB8W4J6HCNCSzrN4yce0l1QVWiiNdI/s1600/IMG_1844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUfihNcMONuovWwU0SIVVDkzTlNrVdJc17pPz4BPD8I4mycOjBn8rvo-qRNOfU_OI4NJGHYEnFqOfXiNLLaxjnk24U4VEGZZ1K-Oe29Q1qTSLdqB8W4J6HCNCSzrN4yce0l1QVWiiNdI/s320/IMG_1844.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Point Roberts- picked up some packaging. Border guards don't know that. Kind of a favour- they really have more important things to worry about. Just need to be aware of it!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvMxfunhrCMC05W1epe50a-t-xfDQ7MkXABaQQU1DfOYzP2kRp22UWTYGcR1qBFrSauv5v-3wP6nY8CuZSxyizxDwu_N1srL4Zo27d0kmDJGW6L7xYR80x6m7ylsCThBrSk45KfsUNpU8/s1600/IMG_1860.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvMxfunhrCMC05W1epe50a-t-xfDQ7MkXABaQQU1DfOYzP2kRp22UWTYGcR1qBFrSauv5v-3wP6nY8CuZSxyizxDwu_N1srL4Zo27d0kmDJGW6L7xYR80x6m7ylsCThBrSk45KfsUNpU8/s320/IMG_1860.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Easter Bunny!<br />
<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><div>Easter chocolates are available at Indigo. </div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>Blogging of which... I wish you and your loved ones a very happy Easter!</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>Peace and blessings,</div><div><br />
</div><div>emma<br />
<div><br />
<br />
</div></div></div>zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-77094790581470692612012-03-23T17:15:00.000-07:002012-03-23T17:15:20.242-07:00Back from zimt.ca and off to Taipei<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hello!<br />
<br />
<br />
I tried posting on <a href="http://zimt.ca/blog.html" target="_blank">the Zimt website</a> for a while, but found the interface or whatever it is called to be really user-unfriendly for blogging. Plus, I am just finding a lot of comments that I did not know people had so kindly written!<br />
<br />
So we are back here.<br />
<br />
What has been happening with Zimt?<br />
<br />
Zimt's sole, legal employee has jetted to Taipei to visit one of her best friends, before he comes back to Canada to live there for at least a year.<br />
<br />
In Taipei now- it would be an understatement to say that I feel rather irresponsible for taking off like this for such a long time. But it isn't like work hasn't followed me. I wake up pretty early every morning to get at least a bit of work out of the way. Mostly, I have been working on the massive organic certification application. Stage one is almost done! It is <i>so </i>detailed! Which is good- in my opinion.<br />
<br />
Have also been getting some private orders and a request to do an interview and a few other things. The first couple of days after getting back will be really busy, and I am not sure how I will do with the time change. Should probably have some raw cacao to wake me up!<br />
<br />
Anyway, I have to keep working but I thank you for stopping by! xie xie =)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcyutNzPrvvqjAKzx70iXxOph2y4rPLW4WgqL18rgwiNXJhhr2ke1eqMDh1PKvMUwvRrCdvrSEKhcbDeAQ7RQRSIRmTw8IoS3effuhzFdiaAXuxLyfV-PdzVCZZPE9KUFOaevYyxCMMRA/s1600/IMG_0994.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcyutNzPrvvqjAKzx70iXxOph2y4rPLW4WgqL18rgwiNXJhhr2ke1eqMDh1PKvMUwvRrCdvrSEKhcbDeAQ7RQRSIRmTw8IoS3effuhzFdiaAXuxLyfV-PdzVCZZPE9KUFOaevYyxCMMRA/s320/IMG_0994.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In beautiful Jiufen!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">=)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">emma</div></div>zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-60245064067677409212011-12-27T00:21:00.000-08:002011-12-27T00:21:13.450-08:00Zimt puts the "i" in Integrity and the "m" and "t" in Christmas and the "z" in Kwanzaa.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hi Everyone!<br />
<br />
<br />
Hope you are all enjoying the season. I am. Being pretty lazy and not making chocolate since... nearly Friday. Starts again tomorrow.<br />
<br />
Look at what I got for Christmas from the lovely folks at <a href="http://www.hurrawbalm.com/hurraw/">Hurraw</a>:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFesBL1WB8IEAvnEu6aHPRK33lcI2XpWCc5_HJvvBQHgcPwYBLOnR6zKkTSn5YlP9Ho6RxUAGQtA2fINhg6cdbkC9koE_cDuz7sxt7SB70H2gV0tZYwwg1dQM3C3ofASwtm38e-7eQkdc/s1600/IMG_0263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFesBL1WB8IEAvnEu6aHPRK33lcI2XpWCc5_HJvvBQHgcPwYBLOnR6zKkTSn5YlP9Ho6RxUAGQtA2fINhg6cdbkC9koE_cDuz7sxt7SB70H2gV0tZYwwg1dQM3C3ofASwtm38e-7eQkdc/s320/IMG_0263.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
They didn't actually send them to me as a Christmas gift, but they did end up under my Christmas tree- thank you, Hurraw!!! (Available at Nice Shoes. FYI =) ).<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Here's what's happening in the world of Zimt:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Not much.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Kidding! Sort of. Maybe I will just make a to-do list as a preview:</li>
<ul><li>organic certification application</li>
<li>EE handbook</li>
<li>Fair trade certification application</li>
<li>vegan symbol</li>
<li>order melter</li>
<li>order chocolate syringes</li>
<li>make chocolate. oh yeah. </li>
<li>prep for new product line. packaging. </li>
<li>renew business license w city. </li>
<li>flip a coin- more UPCs? </li>
<li>maybe do an analysis on ROI for the above. </li>
<li>or just flip a coin.</li>
<li>fix up business plan </li>
<li>production schedule. maybe can wait. </li>
<li>get labels printed. <i>now</i>. <i>last week</i>. The only problem is, I have to fix them up, and am not quite sure how to do so properly, and don't want to bug Sabrina to do that, because her family is visiting for Christmas. I think I will learn.</li>
<li>test 2 recipes.</li>
<li>nutrition analysis for ... four recipes. New nutrition tables.</li>
<li>cave. ask Sabrina to design a new label for new bars. New bars! </li>
<li>wait for a myriad of people to get back to me about many things. In the meantime...</li>
</ul></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>feed addiction for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-yLGIH7W9Y&feature=relmfu">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-yLGIH7W9Y&feature=relmfu</a> - is that bad? Or accurate. ?. </li>
<li> Many last minute Christmas present orders- thank God for inventory =D </li>
<li>Zimt will soon be available at Whole Foods locations throughout the lower mainland. Hopefully at one near you. And also at other retail locations. </li>
<li>If you would like to order chocolate directly from me, please order through <a href="http://www.zimt.ca/bars.html">www.zimt.ca/bars.html</a> and if you have any special notes to add, please write these in the bit where you pay via PayPal. Thank you!!! </li>
</ul>What is with the "i" and Integrity bit?<br />
<br />
Coconut. The coconut that is in the Chocolate Coconut Crisp and the Chocolate Coconut Fudge may not be raw. Here is what happened:<br />
I order the coconut through a local distributor, who gets the coconut from their supplier. I asked the distributor to verify that this coconut is in fact raw. Really raw. The reply being, that a lot of raw foodies in Vancouver source from them. I knew that- this is one of the ways I was able to easily source from them- I was familiar with other companies using this brand. I had initially gone through another supplier, based in the USA, which specializes in raw products. But they sent me the wrong type of coconut flake, so I decided to look at other options. And found the local guys, who, to be honest, are really great. Anyway... long story short is, I wasn't satisfied with the answer of "everybody's doing it", so I kept bugging them about temperatures and processing and... the answer? Temperature for processing and storage could not be verified.<br />
<br />
Personally, I am fine with eating toasted coconut. I think it's pretty good.<br />
<br />
But it isn't raw, and my product is marketed as being raw. And I don't want to be deceiving people, just because I didn't put in enough effort to verify the <i>integrity </i>of my product.<br />
<br />
So... as of last week, where I was processing these really large coconut flakes, sent to me by my original supplier of coconut flakes, to be smaller and more appropriate for their fudge-y purposes, no more questionable coconut. I do have inventory with some of the perhaps (maybe? Maybe not? depends on how I'm feeling? Ugh!) non-raw coconut. But any bars dated after March 17th will be made with the coconut I processed myself in a Vita Mix blender. Enjoy the extra labour-love costs I am absorbing! I do this happily. I want you to have a good product that you can believe in. No short cuts.<br />
<br />
I remember this time last year, going for a walk with my mom, and we ran into some family friends. And the dad asked me what I was planning on doing with myself after graduating from business school. And I said I would start a chocolate company. And I had been thinking about how chocolate might be made, and how truffles might be filled, while on this walk.<br />
<br />
And now I am done this post.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7EQxWQW23E7_xc8CDooiCkcicBmK_p3qbu2AdXgxhfUGDYUvqT2jKHMdYPgrHEfWT-M_s0oZoH3T6NXocsVCQtPuwuVNgJXhrPmeKi7Wl57IFEb7BRcPbvHQ8N6zOUszW95ouv8I1ns/s1600/IMG_0241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7EQxWQW23E7_xc8CDooiCkcicBmK_p3qbu2AdXgxhfUGDYUvqT2jKHMdYPgrHEfWT-M_s0oZoH3T6NXocsVCQtPuwuVNgJXhrPmeKi7Wl57IFEb7BRcPbvHQ8N6zOUszW95ouv8I1ns/s320/IMG_0241.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Merry Christmas from Familie Zimt!<br />
L to R, B to F: Oma, Opa, Justin, Me, Michelle.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
Thank you for reading!<br />
<br />
Emma</div>zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-23994425138766128462011-12-14T12:29:00.000-08:002011-12-14T12:29:30.481-08:00It's official!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hi =)<br />
<br />
Here's the latest and greatest:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Whole Foods- it happened. Officially. If you go to the Whole Foods on Cambie and 8th, and head to the chocolate isle, and look on the second shelf from the bottom, with the "special" tags, you will see Zimt chocolate! Here is an image I took the first time I saw them there and thought "I wrapped so many chocolate bars.":</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9osrXZi-1VjVAm_zbgA7XbeAaNPGA3Qwub8BVNLVzztIG42PfG7KJzyIEZ2nCNAKdRaYtOPh92nNpuRk383Q9dUYoVRA9Qub_y5zB10_1ti4y7hQNT2HX48feuER3tWkdWC3CdsHSXZE/s1600/IMG_0170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9osrXZi-1VjVAm_zbgA7XbeAaNPGA3Qwub8BVNLVzztIG42PfG7KJzyIEZ2nCNAKdRaYtOPh92nNpuRk383Q9dUYoVRA9Qub_y5zB10_1ti4y7hQNT2HX48feuER3tWkdWC3CdsHSXZE/s320/IMG_0170.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zimt at Whole Foods- kind of a big deal.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0zUJF18tNjQICZH3OLi4V99n-wDpi9h3N3JCEJFHCWz6ySR-qYqdUWXjMRlnwj2EOnAhxd3Umw4WdOzMSo8Ar2R2GQGH52vamb9PhIiCYq4sttCDku7ToEq2G4NklZrem_Pw3DLEDPwg/s1600/IMG_0159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0zUJF18tNjQICZH3OLi4V99n-wDpi9h3N3JCEJFHCWz6ySR-qYqdUWXjMRlnwj2EOnAhxd3Umw4WdOzMSo8Ar2R2GQGH52vamb9PhIiCYq4sttCDku7ToEq2G4NklZrem_Pw3DLEDPwg/s320/IMG_0159.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First Whole Foods delivery- a big day for Theo!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
And here is a picture of me and the lovely Leeanne- the day I dropped off the bars:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhayqeq9w4uA1zmI6vEqmwbUdi0Xp2wcoKU4uF-ifISSQ1wnRJCITVtqZkxXiTlA_uODLMc1yvQSRW6GEbe2Quz0TfilxSbuCaki8Qe4uRqo2qxk39SyaJ520E4if5AnN9JFr-HifwWV3k/s1600/IMG_0160.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhayqeq9w4uA1zmI6vEqmwbUdi0Xp2wcoKU4uF-ifISSQ1wnRJCITVtqZkxXiTlA_uODLMc1yvQSRW6GEbe2Quz0TfilxSbuCaki8Qe4uRqo2qxk39SyaJ520E4if5AnN9JFr-HifwWV3k/s320/IMG_0160.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Lovely Leeanne and Elated Emma.<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>This is what happened that day- it was Thursday, December 8th. I had a demo at Greens in the morning, from 10 until 2pm, which was fun as per usual! Not a particularly high traffic time, but that's okay because I met some really enthusiastic and inquisitive people, and my friend from high school, Andrea, came to visit. =)</li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Then there was the Whole Foods demo from 5 until 8pm, and I was very thankful for the generous help of a student from the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition... because I couldn't have done it without her help. People were lining up like crazy! It was really encouraging to hear people's feedback and about how much they like Zimt chocolate. Fingers crossed.</li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I wrote a business plan! It was super intense and I didn't really sleep at all for maybe three days in a row, but that's quite my own fault for leaving it to the last minute. Though not really, because I was busy running a business. Which I should've had a plan for from the get go. But didn't because... its just... writing reports is school-y and I just am not great with that. No school ever, ever, ever, eeeeeeeever again. I am truly thankful for my education, but, I am just not cut out for school! Though I sure pretended to be for 18 years. Anyway. My business plan- other than the actual numbers, it is a thing of beauty. I hope to implement it beyond conservative estimates. Unless I want to live in poverty- that's how I imagined this all to play out. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I am meeting with some potential employees (Oompa Loompas!). Just so they can help out a bit- some part-time work. And prevent the poverty. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I'm badgering my web host's customer service. Speaking of which- check out the Zimt site! <a href="http://www.zimt.ca/">www.zimt.ca </a> It now has an online store, which I am trying to get rid of, but you can order product off of it until I do. </li>
<li>I started this post over 24 hours ago.</li>
<li>I went to the US to pick up a coconut nectar shipment. On the way, I had a conversation, kinda one-sided, that went like this:</li>
</ul><div>"Hey God- I don't want to have to fill out papers for the coconut nectar. And I don't want to pay duty fees or whatever. But I will be totally honest to the border guards this time, and maybe that means I will have to fill out papers and wait around at customs and immigration for a while. But maybe not... eh??? "</div><div><br />
</div><div>The lady border guard didn't care that I was carting a massive thing of coconut nectar into Canada. So nice =) ! I guess somebody wanted me to bring coconut nectar to Canada with ease? I personally think there are more pressing matters, but hey. Maybe there's some sort of chain reaction- I don't know. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Something else fun: </div><div>I was leaving my house to go get a signature from Ricky, my friend and business mentor, for my business plan, before dropping it off at school, and heard a knock at the door. Two kids were collecting food for those who cannot afford food. They asked me for food and I said, "Sorry. I don't have any food.", which, particularly in the sense of canned goods, is true to my knowledge. And then they left.</div><div><br />
</div><div>And then I thought about how unfun it can be to go from house to house in unpleasant weather conditions, asking for things from people who should be able to give, but who often don't for a variety of reasons. </div><div><br />
</div><div>And then I thought- "I have chocolate". And then I asked as they were walking away if they wanted some chocolate for energy. </div><div><br />
</div><div>What a question.</div><div><br />
</div><div>So we chatted a bit and it turns out that one of the boys' family has a cocoa plantation in Trinidad. Neat! I gave him my card. I would love to go to Trinidad. =) </div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>Have a great Wednesday!</div><div><br />
</div><div>Emma</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div></div>zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-51953249354399238482011-12-05T00:57:00.000-08:002011-12-05T00:57:22.714-08:00zing 640<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hi,<br />
<br />
This is just a quickie- but I wanted to mention some really important things wrt Zimt. They are:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Whole Foods- tomorrow, which technically is today, I will be filling an order for 640 chocolate bars for the Whole Foods on Cambie. Unbelievable! They ordered 33% more than I was anticipating, so it is good I made some extra. But how incredible- I feel super blessed to have my foot in that door. I hope they order lots, frequently, but only after I have officially hired people. </li>
<li>New Flavours- one is not so super new- the Chocolate 67%. I originally had made it for a friend who had ordered the Chocolate Nib'd bars in a fairly large quantity, but had said he would prefer a plain old chocolate bar. So I made him some and as I am a lot more confident about my plain chocolate making skills now, decided to offer it to the general public. It is really good, I think. But different, of course. Anyway, it has been at Greens since last Saturday. If you go to Whole Foods on Cambie tomorrow, you will find out about a brand new flavour, unless you were one of the rare taste-testers for the first batch- so good! </li>
<li>DemoDemo- I will be demoing for Zimt twice on Thursday. The first demo will be at Greens in the morning, and the second will be at Whole Foods on Cambie in the afternoon until eight, at which point I will pass out and probably leave a pretty bad impression for doing so in the middle of such a lovely super natural market. Come say "hello" if you get the chance!</li>
<li>There's more- but you'll need to wait because I really have to get some sleep so I can wake up early and get things ready for a new tenant, pack stuff for the day, and go to the mall with my Oma before delivering chocolate and seeing some nice people. And working on my business plan. I really must. </li>
<li>There are new labels. No waiting for that news! And there will be new photos- my friend, Chris Collier (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://christophercollie.com/" style="color: #1c51a8;" target="_blank">christophercollie.com</a>) wh</span>o I met while doing a photo shoot (guess modelling's good for something after all. Hahaha... kidding. It's great for lots!), took the photos, which show these new labels and the chocolate as well. Five and a half hour shoot- woah! But they're beautiful. </li>
</ol><div>Thank you for reading. Night! </div><div><br />
</div><div>emma</div></div>zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-16561836713598505592011-11-26T16:19:00.000-08:002011-11-26T16:19:18.463-08:00Sooooooooo muuuuuuuuuch chocolaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate...!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hi,<br />
<br />
I'm typing from bed, taking a super quick break from working on the financials for my business plan, feeling kind of overwhelmed with ideas and lack of UPC codes. We are meant to forecast sales and I just keep adding products because I keep thinking of neat products. There are three new ones which will be in stores soon.<br />
<br />
Financials again. Brb.<br />
<br />
I can't even fill in most of these numbers because I have no data- they're just concepts. I don't even have suppliers for some of the concepts. But the good thing is, that I can switch around UPC codes- for example, the Easter Bunny will not be sold at the same time of year as the Pumpkin, so the UPC code for the EB could become the UPC for the P.<br />
<br />
Ideally, I would be shopping right now, after having cleaned up my house. Or, even more ideal- house is magically not made messy, and I am shopping.<br />
<br />
But actually, this is great! I am not in the kitchen right now (though sometimes I think I should just move in there- bed and all. Hammock.) becauuuuuuse I was there til 2 this morning. Just getting Greens' order all done. I am going to deliver it today, not tomorrow, as I initially planned. I made over 240 chocolate bars yesterday! Some of them will be going to... Whole Foods.<br />
<br />
On that topic- financials.<br />
<br />
Oops- just kidding. Production Schedule (one exists now!).<br />
<br />
Oops- just kidding, again. I need a nap.<br />
<br />
But I'm the Greens order instead. And maybe will vacuum (?)<br />
<br />
Lots more to post but I have to go. Sorry it was so weird. =)<br />
<br />
<br />
emma</div>zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-71729587543354024732011-11-14T22:12:00.000-08:002011-11-14T22:26:37.089-08:00Zimt: feeling centred chocolate.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hi,<br />
<br />
Things to share-<br />
<br />
<b>Yoga Conference</b>- fun! Zimt shared booth with my mum and aunt's company (they sell Canadian made products- like spelt pillows and tea blends and... misters.... and I think something else. Massage oil- there ya go. ... their website is going to come soon. I said I could help them set something up next week... hopefully they take me up on it! They also run commercial properties- quite the combo!). Anyway, it went very, very well. People are corazy for Zimt! Almost sold out of everything and I had a lot available. I also made a lot of great contacts- both for Zimt and for me!<br />
<br />
Some things can only be explained visually, though:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd4wUm0oUwb1JlZptudKisCP7ErvUaYyowOLiEVYD0rroc2pB2VQzRW64Vy2SspuagBZuCMMrcYwDZNZR3tQ9bBg3Z3KLwBiGwUQObrwS3Sx3YgqKRcgGRLZj-SI60tC1nchNVDshoj8g/s1600/384008_10150459709457930_508622929_10620512_1001651515_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd4wUm0oUwb1JlZptudKisCP7ErvUaYyowOLiEVYD0rroc2pB2VQzRW64Vy2SspuagBZuCMMrcYwDZNZR3tQ9bBg3Z3KLwBiGwUQObrwS3Sx3YgqKRcgGRLZj-SI60tC1nchNVDshoj8g/s320/384008_10150459709457930_508622929_10620512_1001651515_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">Haha.???</div></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">Anyway, being at the Yoga Conference led me to one contact from <a href="http://orderit.ca/">orderit.ca</a>- soon you will be able to order fine chocolates with your pizza. =) </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">Also at the Yoga Conference- my competition! Not yoga competition- my Passing Out on the Floor cannot be beat. Chocolate competition! The company is called Giddy YoYo- they are based out of Ontario and have some pretty neat flavours! I tried them- quite something! Very different branding from Zimt as well. Anyway, they are a much bigger company than Zimt, because they have more than 1 employee, but that's okay- people love it when I say, "I made it myself!"- "Really?! You???" "Yes, I did. This is my company." "... How old are you?!" "Not fifteen- surprise!". It goes something like that. And I get taken very seriously. But my friend and mentor, Ricky, owner of <a href="http://ergogenicsnutrition.com/products/WholeGreens/">Ergogenics Nutrition</a>, believes that this is an unsustainable approach to selling chocolate. I believe he is correct. </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><b>Sarah's Place: </b>Zimt is going cross- woah. I get <i>sooooo </i>distracted. I was last blogging at "cross" and then went and worked on a pricing sheet and e-mailed retailers and moved to the basement of my house to sit with my cat because she gets lonely and depressed since confining herself to the basement, away from housemates. And now I am back to blogging (still in the basement, though)- full circle! This is how I do things.*</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><i>Anyway. </i>My apologies for the detour. <a href="http://govegan.net/">Sarah's Place</a>! It is a cute little boutique (cross- <i>water</i> on Vancouver Island) and is believed to be the smallest vegan curio on the planet. Maybe the smallest in our entire universe. Oh wow. So... when Karl came to visit, we went to Victoria and there, checked out Sarah's Place. We met <i>the </i>Sarah Kramer- cookbook author of well-loved works including <a href="http://store.govegan.net/categories/Cookbooks/"><u>How It All Vegan</u>, <u>The Garden of Vegan</u>, <u>La Dolce Vegan</u>, and <u>Vegan A Go Go</u></a>. She played an instrumental part in bringing veganism to the spotlight. And she wants Zimt at <a href="http://govegan.net/">Sarah's Place</a>! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"> We were just chatting while I was deciding on my purchases, and... bam. I sent off 60 chocolate bars today. Though I was supposed to send them off last Wednesday- this is what happened:</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"></div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">Quality control issues in the kitchen. I won't go into huge detail, but I had basically made everything using an ingredient I would personally eat, but in all honesty, did not feel 100% comfortable with using. So I re-made all that I had intended to make in the first place. Double the love. Don't worry- I'll eat the original stuff. What a sacrifice. Anyway, that pushed things back 1 day. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">Packaging- the bane of my existence! Guess who had only 5 Chocolate Coconut Fudge Labels but needed 10? Me! What is involved in getting 5 more printed. Its okay- I have a much better system to track label inventory now. Pfewf!</span></li>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><ol><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">Thursday: Ordering more labels for the next business day, ... Friday? No!</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">Friday: Remembrance Day- cannot order labels. Cannot get labels printed. That's okay- think about what the day is all about. I really cannot complain about my lack of organization manifesting itself in a shortage of labels. Took the opportunity to bother Sabrina (thank you!!!!) to fix up the labels a bit more. I want to go take a picture of them, but I cannot, as Tiger is sitting on me. Soon!</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">Saturday: ... helpless in the label department.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">Sunday: Proofs from Sabrina. Beautiful. Here is a picture of us</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"> </span></li>
</ol></ol><div style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-z5lM7MiK-PVQSub6KifzBhYpsWVDO1sWqsT2LexWo5iNq7bNmIrv4ldYE6Us8wYkbcjZsqeqGnje-99aSvYQWJSTMUMSlDigB1CfIrsf8srF4wJvgOcgCVQfMASv68DQAsqlAyGjdI/s1600/IMG_0078.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-z5lM7MiK-PVQSub6KifzBhYpsWVDO1sWqsT2LexWo5iNq7bNmIrv4ldYE6Us8wYkbcjZsqeqGnje-99aSvYQWJSTMUMSlDigB1CfIrsf8srF4wJvgOcgCVQfMASv68DQAsqlAyGjdI/s320/IMG_0078.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Emma & Sabrina.</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><br />
<ol style="text-align: left;"><ol><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-z5lM7MiK-PVQSub6KifzBhYpsWVDO1sWqsT2LexWo5iNq7bNmIrv4ldYE6Us8wYkbcjZsqeqGnje-99aSvYQWJSTMUMSlDigB1CfIrsf8srF4wJvgOcgCVQfMASv68DQAsqlAyGjdI/s1600/IMG_0078.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">Monday: Today! Was expecting a delivery of labels, so I could take them to the printer to be printed. I waited really patiently until 11:23 this morning when I called them to ask where my labels were, please. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">"You ordered them on Friday and the next business day... Tuesday..." "...mmmm... nooooo... Thursday and... Monday...?" "So you will get them tomorrow" "I need them today. May I go pick them up from the warehouse? I really, really need them, a lot." "We don't normally do that." "I really need them. Monday, today, is technically the next business day..." "One moment please" etc.... So, me and Oma took a field trip out to Richmond where the labels live at the warehouse. We got very lost, ending up on Mitchell Island (there's a garbage dump there and a Japanese auto repair shop, among other things) and she critiqued my efficient driving the whole way there. And back. =) Okay, then, to the printer... printed labels... realized I needed to make changes to the weights of the bars. This is getting fixed.... got labels. Wrapped chocolate for 2 seconds, finished packing box, print invoice- how much is shipping?- take parcel to post- fill in shipping- forgot handling- mail parcel. Yay accomplished. </span></li>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP_WIQhAvkSnacAimYsjZVqaLqwvvasHWhOS2sgfRYdfmjxCFVQtNJWuXYRUpiZfUuabssz0eph_UOEHFiBFcGlI7-U9YLrZSFH6imrRigLa02QKqZ3CNvj_7AxJiBfPY_-Gl4STGRG_c/s1600/IMG_0103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP_WIQhAvkSnacAimYsjZVqaLqwvvasHWhOS2sgfRYdfmjxCFVQtNJWuXYRUpiZfUuabssz0eph_UOEHFiBFcGlI7-U9YLrZSFH6imrRigLa02QKqZ3CNvj_7AxJiBfPY_-Gl4STGRG_c/s320/IMG_0103.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready to go to Sarah's Place in Victoria!<br />
<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table></ol></ol><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">Whenever I blog, I seem to forget a great many things I wish I had remembered. ("Aren't these long enough?"- kinda!)</span></span><br />
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">Other things:</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">Oma and Mom and I went for a Sunday drive out to White Rock- it was a business trip, because I needed to deliver chocolate bar samples to Choices. Fingers crossed that they like! </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">Business Plan: This is happening. Finally. I need to do this for my course and for my peace of mind. It is a big project and will take until December 5th when it is due. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://juicyjuicebar.wordpress.com/">Juicy Juice Bar </a></b>parties! My friend, Katie Kitson, owner and operator of Juicy Juice Bar personal chef services, hosts parties to showcase her incredible talent of making really yummy food for those who may be interested in her personal chef services. She is also an avid supporter of Zimt- known to eat multiple Zimt bars for breakfast. While at the Juicy Juice Bar party, I re-met Janice Skoreyko of the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RAWfoundation">Raw Foundation</a>. This wonderful person gave me my first taste of raw chocolate, nearly three years ago, at a raw potluck. Thank you, Janice! (A huge thank-you.)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">Kids love Zimt, too! Leeanne, who is basically my sister, in my opinion, though takes care of me like a mom, because we both know I need that, brought over the toddler she cares for- he loves Zimt! And kale chips! </span></li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz7ZOzxywDEhWHKCcn3zoKlwUHgIPQOGK1PvwwGSjtJqslbFl2luuP7o3p8A0QLPUs8pZpcpCNIP__SbPgKyQyiC2L362u6lhdsHbQB3ILaC1SpP6jwPCww4sdBfubeqSv6TvLafd3b5M/s1600/IMG_0034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz7ZOzxywDEhWHKCcn3zoKlwUHgIPQOGK1PvwwGSjtJqslbFl2luuP7o3p8A0QLPUs8pZpcpCNIP__SbPgKyQyiC2L362u6lhdsHbQB3ILaC1SpP6jwPCww4sdBfubeqSv6TvLafd3b5M/s320/IMG_0034.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Best nanny ever! </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSPYuSQit0onubJ5is-JLdz88bNSZD5TSMxshTnb1RmjIqp-_siQxlawhzOslN_zSYOHOvn3Ocn_SwSMeeywtVa1Uim2hF4SJcWuoEdX90fJ2okBTr04ZWcdzQasVoMyLXkEFOpLcaOi0/s1600/IMG_0048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSPYuSQit0onubJ5is-JLdz88bNSZD5TSMxshTnb1RmjIqp-_siQxlawhzOslN_zSYOHOvn3Ocn_SwSMeeywtVa1Uim2hF4SJcWuoEdX90fJ2okBTr04ZWcdzQasVoMyLXkEFOpLcaOi0/s320/IMG_0048.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Chocolate in tummy and on face (snack for later!)- life is good =) </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">Surprise in the Works: Can you guess what all of this fun math was for? </span></li>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzPrmeXFStlEKDBS-BsCrC8mMznsCnxhaVW3I9JBIS0kDsRD8qPt_tK5Aftrc2c-IuYHraIbGvqu7YLI-vzjXb6NyATimYD0WDCOim6G3k3MUhzdyANlcRS0LtqLiVaDUc9mljqHj4Fs/s1600/IMG_0090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzPrmeXFStlEKDBS-BsCrC8mMznsCnxhaVW3I9JBIS0kDsRD8qPt_tK5Aftrc2c-IuYHraIbGvqu7YLI-vzjXb6NyATimYD0WDCOim6G3k3MUhzdyANlcRS0LtqLiVaDUc9mljqHj4Fs/s320/IMG_0090.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">I <b>LOVE </b>maths!!!!! I was so happy to work on this. Hypoteneuses! Such a big deal!</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">I am going to use the unacceptable chocolate to test recipes. I have a million ideas, but only 3 remaining barcodes- so many possibilities! Including buying more barcodes. ROI? </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">I hope that your week is off to a good start!</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">Emma</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;">*This is what I mean- a glimpse of a bit of my morning: Feeding cat while brushing my own teeth while on hold on the phone with supplier/retailer/broker while doing laundry (I am doing laundry, I mean. Maybe they are too?). I don't know- none of my housemates multi-task like that. Maybe they've chosen smart paths. Maybe they were not born into: </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></div></div>zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-43847235166456903152011-11-01T16:30:00.000-07:002011-11-01T16:30:44.676-07:00irresponsible chocolatier.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hi!<br />
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Just to make things clear right off the bat for you speed-readers, "irresponsible chocolatier" is <i>not </i>meant to allude to the chocolate quality. I don't put anything weird in your chocolate.<br />
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Now that we have things cleared up, please allow me to update you on my life. On Zimt's life. =)<br />
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This has been a busy since I last posted, but I have been dedicating my time to some other stellar ventures some of which I will tell you about. For example- surprise visit from one of my best buddies on the planet earth- Karl! This is how it happened...<br />
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Two years ago, I went to study for a year in Germany. In the building I lived in, also lived Karl, with whom I have had the honour and pleasure of being friends. Many good memories with Karl- it started with him helping me with technology but eventually, I ended up having the best Valentine's Day ever with him and our friend, Alicia, watching Austin Powers 2 and eating an excessive amount of vegan baked goods, and I got on a sugar high and could not sleep. This was his second visit to Vancouver this year (I owe you a visit to Taipei, Karl!) and we had a blast! However, this was truly a surprise visit- we Skyped on Friday after not having Skyped for quite some time and, on Sunday morning before even getting out of bed, I looked at e-mails and text messages I had received while I was asleep. Anyway, I usually just look at the messages- smile or frown, depending, and then answer them at some point in the near future. But then I saw one from Karl that said "plane ticket to Vancouver". I thought this was for March, when he originally planned on visiting, but no! It was for <i>the very next day- Monday </i>(to be clear)<i>. </i><br />
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How does this relate to Zimt? Well- it relates in a number of ways:<br />
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1. I made very little chocolate that week.<br />
2. We did end up making some chocolate on Saturday- Karl was my Kitchen Angel and gave his input on how to make Zimt more efficient wrt the production process. Apparently, I need to hire people who work faster than me.<br />
3. I got away with a very flexible work schedule- just as any other <strike>un</strike>self-employed person would. It is a tricky thing, really. On the one hand, I don't want to be a slacker, at all. And I don't think that I am- I just have a different sort of project than most and work weird hours and things. But these weird hours allow for me to make time for friends (...especially if they travel 19 hours to see me! Or not- you're all valuable!) and then cram everything in when people don't want to see me. No stress. =) This is kind of tricky, because I am blessed to know a lot of nice people.<br />
On the other hand, I do believe, and I don't mean this to be braggy or pretentious or anything of the sort, I do believe I have worked really quite a lot for this flexibility. I will use the summer as a recent example- worked sooooo hard! And I was a bit jealous of my 9-5ers, bless them.<br />
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Also, there has been a recent wave of vegan entrepreneurship in Vancouver and that is great, of course! I also noticed that some of these vegan entrepreneurs have gone on vacay for a bit, which is also great. This also made me think that I could stand to take a vacation... and maybe one day I will, when my nerves look like my November prediction, as illustrated below:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPa3FCekqP47VW6toH0hcWTY6AOnfuN7CKQI36SbVwJ-0d7R_DZGnOzaGVvdxJqw692pWFFvIqGGwXxk4I5zH3LcHuh3Y8a3JtLKIlBj8g0BFT7brgR4PCZHGYNd8Xt0kxLlM489zDQYc/s1600/graph+copy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPa3FCekqP47VW6toH0hcWTY6AOnfuN7CKQI36SbVwJ-0d7R_DZGnOzaGVvdxJqw692pWFFvIqGGwXxk4I5zH3LcHuh3Y8a3JtLKIlBj8g0BFT7brgR4PCZHGYNd8Xt0kxLlM489zDQYc/s320/graph+copy.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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I think this is an inaccurate prediction, however, as the customized bags will be arriving shortly (I am down to 26!), as will the candy cup samples, cacao butter arrived today, and I... I filed my HST summary (!!!!). I am not sure if it is accurate, but it is filed.<br />
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All I need to do, in terms of packaging, is work on truffle boxes (get stoked!) and have my logo put on the bags I bought, either as stickers (less great), or as screen printing (preferable).<br />
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Anyway. This past week was kind of a vacation, even though I did make Karl run some Zimt errands with me (xiexie!). But a real-travelling-somewhere-perhaps-on-a-plane-or-train-or-cruise-ship vacation it was not. I was thinking about going to Germany and Austria and Switzerland and Scotland (why not?) to see some family and friends and drop off chocolate samples at a few veg places on that continent. I think the ROI on such a business venture would be above industry standard, as well. But I may just stay in Vancouver. It is just really strange not to be in Europe this year at all... yet. Who knows!<br />
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Other news: I got an iPhone 4S. So relevant! The picture quality of Zimt bars etc on my site will improve by 3 megapixels. But I feel completely <i>terrible </i>about getting it. I feel really, really badly. So baldy, in fact, that I have not started to use it, purely because I feel guilty about the resources used to make it, not because I don't really know how. That's mostly true. But here- please read this article and write to Apple, as I did yesterday:<br />
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<a href="http://www.letterstocongo.com/2010/11/is-apple-doing-something-about-conflict.html">Apple & Congo</a><br />
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Are things improving anyway??? <a href="http://earth911.com/news/2011/04/05/apple-and-intel-to-stop-using-conflict-minerals-in-products/">better days ahead?</a><br />
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Or perhaps you prefer video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ycih_jMObQ">Short Video</a><br />
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I am thinking, too- and maybe making excuses, in all honesty, that this iPhone may be a good idea for me for several reasons (not trying to justify anything, but am trying to make myself feel less horrible. This is an honest blog!).<br />
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1. My BB is a disgrace. I got it off Amazon.com, used, and... just- it was not worth $350. It is worth $130, though- my friend is buying it off of me! You will love it, Dan! .... =)<br />
2. Cost-Benefit Analysis. The ratio is >1, because, at least for me personally, I will be able to get a lot (a <i>lot</i>) more work done and will not be so frustrated with the electronics I purchase simply because I read the Social Responsibility section of HP's website and found it impressive. And then I won't get fed up and buy two sets of electronics, with only the latter set being useful. Two vs One.<br />
3. No need to avoid buying a camera (at least a point and shoot.), nor iPod, nor other electronics- fewer electronics I probably would not have purchased anyway.<br />
4. Angry Birds- just looks better on that screen.<br />
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I need to get going, but to close:<br />
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1. Zimt will be at <a href="http://www.theyogaconference.com/vancouver2011/">The Yoga Conference</a> in Vancouver. Yogis heart Chocolate.<br />
2. Whole Foods application is going well, apparently- it is quite literally out of my hands!<br />
3. Today is World Vegan Day! Please eat something vegan for a compassionate dinner. Make sure it tastes good, so you don't get discouraged and only eat vegan dinner once this year. See <a href="http://www.happycow.net/north_america/canada/british_columbia/vancouver/">happycow.net</a>.<br />
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Emma<br />
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</div>zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-55576582469375355842011-10-22T15:41:00.000-07:002011-10-22T15:41:15.022-07:00irresponsible blogger.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hi!<br />
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Remember when I used to post every couple of days? The times... they are a changin'. I have been dedicating some time towards other worthy activities, but here is a Zimt update:<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I just finished entering all of my receipts for year end. Wow- I spent a lot of money! ... its an investment. </li>
<li>Finished and handed in Whole Foods application! <i>Yes! </i> Apparently it will take a while before Zimt is on the shelves because *insert insider information here*. Well, they have a lot to sift through. ... I guess. But it should be in by the end of November? (I also don't know what trick-or-treators are going to do this year! =( ) </li>
<li>There's a deal going on: <a href="http://www.grooster.com/todays_deal.html?deal=564">Grooster</a>- I don't know how well this is going to do, but I do know that I made over 250 chocolate bars for it! </li>
<li>New labels! And they look so amazing I really wish I had taken a picture for you all with my inferior BlackBerry. There's a story behind them, of course: Sabrina, my friend who moved here from Germany and who I have heard say, not once, not twice, but maybe three or four times now: "Your chocolate is the best chocolate in the world. It just is." *slight German accent included*, designed them. They are now colour coded, have boring English names, and are very pretty. They are also now stickers, so I won't be using my eco-friendly glue anymore. (<i>YES.</i>) Based on a small experiment, the labels take approximately 30 seconds to apply, by hand. That's a big improvement from the eco glue ones, which, labour costs considered, should have shot the price of a bar up to about $15 a pop. =) </li>
<li>Labels are still eco-friendly! I made sure of that when I went to get them printed. The printing guy specialist was a little apprehensive about using the eco-toner machine, but I said it would be fine. I also met a dog at the printing company named Kila (like Kilobyte, but... not exactly.). I really like it when businesses allow employee's pets/children around. Reminds me of growing up, because my grandparents allowed my mom to bring her children to the office of our family business. </li>
<li>Big news. Sad news (?). But very important. 40% of the Zimt Artisan Chocolates 'Bar' line will be unavailable temporarily. These are the three types of Ganache (Mint, Orange, plain ol' Chocolate) and the Vanilla Caramel (I am so sorry!). I cannot guarantee a product of consistently high quality from these lines, so I will not be offering them for the time being. I am really, really sorry, because I know that these were some of the favourites. ... maybe buy them while they are still on shelves? I am working on sorting out the situation and bringing you these bars again, but I do not know how long that will take.</li>
<li>I love the peppermint nib bar. </li>
<li>The Zimt 1-877 number works! I switched carriers. Please don't call it, as it costs me money, and all the information is already available online. And if you really want to hear my voice, just call my cell or speak with me in real life.</li>
<li>My prof wants to work with me on my business plan! Amazing- I am very grateful.</li>
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</div><div><3,</div><div><br />
</div><div>emma</div></div>zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-76426735852170082052011-10-11T18:20:00.000-07:002011-10-22T14:52:40.860-07:00I will keep my day job.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hi,<br />
<br />
This is a bit of what the past 9 days have been like-<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I am contracting out to have some equipment built to make the filling-making-process less ridiculous. My goal is quite simple: make more in a shorter amount of time- very common for most businesses involved in production.... but... the twist! Everything must remain hand-made. =) So I won't just be pressing a button and- bam- fillings. Not quite, no. I will keep you posted on any developments. I think I will go pick up some preliminary equipment right now, to test things out tomorrow in the kitch.</li>
<li>Going to class- this is a business class specific to small scale food and beverage production (I think.). Anyway, I love the accounting and finance bits =) My favourites. Year end is coming up fast and I am looking forward to some pretty intense Excel Parties. I know I've already learned a lot of what is being taught (way back in the day. Maybe in second year accounting.), but I take it on a completely different level now, because everything I read, I ask myself if and how it applies to Zimt. Applicable! </li>
<li><a href="http://ecofashion-week.com/">Vancouver Eco Fashion Week</a>- it happened! And I was fortunate enough to be a model in two shows- one was for <a href="http://www.sofiaclothing.com/">Sofia</a> and the other was for <a href="http://www.annatalbot.ca/">Anna Talbot </a>- both very talented designers. And they both went so incredibly well- modelling is a lot easier than chocolate-company-owning sometimes. And I am sure I can incorporate Excel Parties into a modelling career, too. Anyway, this was really exciting: so, the make-up artist I was working with on the first night of the show and I got to talking and I said I would bring her a choco, as she was really interested in how Zimt is so different (...and maaaaybe just wanted chocolate?). Plus, she said she hadn't anything to eat all day, and that really made me feel badly since I had been eating chocolate all day (that is the norm, fyi- all models do that before shows.). So, I brought her a chocolate (a Peppermint Square, available at <a href="http://indigofood.org/">Indigo Food Cafe</a>) and she tried it asap and was <i>so </i>enthusiastic about it, that she didn't even finish it before telling me that it was the best chocolate that she ever had and do I have a business card and she wants to order some for her family for Christmas. =) . That's nice! So I really do need to get proper truffle boxes made now. And the candy cup saga continues... from last year, still, yikes! </li>
<li>1. Ask Jordan about truffle boxes. Again.</li>
<li>2. Find eco-friendly candy cups.</li>
<li>Also, I think I have nearly completed my Whole Foods application- hurraaaaaayfinally.</li>
<li>A store on Hastings... which sells organic products and many chocolate varieties... I have heard through the grapevine (aka- my mom mentioned Zimt to the owner- thanks, Mom =) ), really wants to get some Zimt in store. Could be great. So I will go meet him on Friday before the vegan bake sale hosted by <a href="http://gotniceshoes.com/">Nice Shoes</a> for <a href="http://farmsanctuary.org/">Farm Sanctuary's</a> annual <a href="http://walkforfarmanimals.org/">Walk for Farm Animals</a>, to drop off some Zimt Bites (... as the individual chocolates are now called. Copyrightcopyright.). Anyway, I suggest checking out the bake sale- it will be from 6pm until 8pm on Friday, October 14th and you can get delicious vegan baked goods there (at <a href="http://gotniceshoes.com/">Nice Shoes</a> on Fraser and 19th Avenue). Oh, and by the way.... I wore some Nice Shoes down the catwalk- <a href="https://gotniceshoes.com/content/neuaura-nashira-black">check</a>- really comfy and perfect for everyday use. Wear them as slippers around the house. =) </li>
<li>... I delivered more chocolate bars to <a href="http://greensmarket.ca/">Greens</a>- go get them, they are delicious and made with love.</li>
<li>I really must leave the library and go get some kitchen equipment. Thank you for reading!</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div><div>Emma<br />
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PS- Look! It is me- with fun make-up on from the first show- I realized at almost midnight that I needed to take pictures of me and the chocolate to send into the newspaper at Sauder. And then I found Photo Booth and got all distracted. I am sure they will be proud of this recent graduate- who wouldn't be?!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ0lM77gwkVkOuSZbYtfP2jQImAGKxgcA8Om3E6mqKJWF5cy8u27vGxqrlXFclXz6HJ9ypu9D00aytJK69lKo0Ud9ibL24ERVigCIsWGxbqeNHOl3LN78DoHJZ-rZhlhtVrogqWJypmqE/s1600/Photo+Booth+Pfun" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ0lM77gwkVkOuSZbYtfP2jQImAGKxgcA8Om3E6mqKJWF5cy8u27vGxqrlXFclXz6HJ9ypu9D00aytJK69lKo0Ud9ibL24ERVigCIsWGxbqeNHOl3LN78DoHJZ-rZhlhtVrogqWJypmqE/s320/Photo+Booth+Pfun" width="320" /></a></div><br />
</div></div>zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-42375116523640067082011-10-02T00:16:00.000-07:002011-10-02T00:16:59.551-07:00Superfast!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hi!<br />
<br />
Update:<br />
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1. Dreena Burton of <a href="http://vivelevegan.blogspot.com/">vivelevegan.blogspot.com</a> was so kind as to feature me on her blog for an interview! Thank you very much, Dreena! You should definitely purchase her cookbooks as well- every recipe she has compiled is amazing- special mention to the cookies- yummmm!<br />
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2. Earthsave Canada's Taste of Health, their annual veg lifestyle fest, is tomorrow! It is from 11:30 am until 6 pm- more info <a href="https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=160957193987154">here</a>! I have 173 chocolate bars ready for you all- including 24 Vanilla Caramel bars (apparently you love them!- thank you =) ).<br />
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3. I gave my former employer chocolate today. I walked in on their meeting and just... gave them chocolate, as is my custom. I had not told them about Zimt, but they used their spidey-senses and found out, somehow (... maybe because they saw it at <a href="http://greensmarket.ca/">Greens</a>, I don't know.). Anyway, they ate it right then and there, because all are powerless to the chocolate (it isn't a bad thing.) and approved of it. Thank you very much. So that's that- months and months of worrying about things are all done. I don't know why I did.<br />
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4. There are also 83 small chocolates available tomorrow: Sweet Orange Nib Hearts (I had one as part of breakfast dessert- very good!), Kaffee Kubes (klassy), Peppermint Nib Squares (they are the largest of the four), Coconut Domes (I like these as well).<br />
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=)<br />
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emma</div>zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5821297446303769625.post-47850278978410514172011-09-26T23:52:00.000-07:002011-09-27T00:05:14.728-07:00chocolate + china.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hi Everybody,<br />
<br />
Here is a quick update about Zimt, which may or may not actually end up being quick (... it is how it is.):<br />
<br />
1. Taste of Health is coming up on Sunday, October 2nd and Zimt will be there- exciting! I just realized when it was to be held... yesterday, though, and will need to do a whole lot of work this week to get things going. I need to get a banner made... it is of bamboo. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">^.^</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">2. Zimt chocolates were being made until about 10:30 last night and until about 10:15 tonight and administrative Zimt things were happening until the chocolates started to be made- like sorting out the banner, new labels (new designs coming up soon! And they look so phenomenal. Thank those lucky stars for talented friends who are gracious with their time.)</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">3. Whole Foods Market on W 8th and Cambie Street will be carrying Zimt chocolate bars very soon. I just need to fill out the application and send it in and get approved. That's all. The realistic goal is for the end of October. This seems perfect- just in time for Halloween! I'm sure lots of trick-or-treaters would be very happy to get a gourmet, raw chocolate bar instead of chemicals in colourful packaging. It will happen. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">4. I got 1.5/11 things done on my to-do list today. Wait- blog! 2.5/12. =)</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">I am very excited for everyone to see the new labels- they just look so amazing. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">Oh wait, I totally forgot- this is not necessarily Zimt related (not directly anyway), but please look at this video. I was volunteering for Media at my church on Sunday and <a href="http://www.allgirlsallowed.org/37seconds">this video</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> is what was played- it is very short, just over half a minute (scroll down a bit and you will see how to view it.). What a tragedy. China is undeniably powerful, but it is a hurting nation. There are just so many problems that the government needs to address responsibly- and neither claiming vast amounts of the world's natural resources nor taking over Africa will help fix these. I kind of see China as the class bully- beating up on everybody, and attempting to covering up a very troubled state of being. </span></span><br />
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... okay. Guess I won't be allowed to go to China anymore now! (Good thing my agent wants to send me to Thailand @.@<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">Lettuce keep the people of China and all those living in oppression in our thoughts and prayers.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">emma</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">PS- did you see that I changed the look of the Zimt blog? What do you think? You can PM me via FB, if you'd like. Or text me. Or... even post a reply on the blog. Double dare ya. =)</span></span><br />
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</span></span></div>zimthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15347559227252735578noreply@blogger.com0