About

Welcome to My Morning Chocolate!

I look at recipes for fun, even when I don’t intend to make them, and I watch food TV shows when the chefs are cooking with foods I don’t like. Food memoirs are my favorite books to read. It’s easy for me to wake up in the morning because I have chocolate in my cabinets.

My Morning Chocolate starts from that love of food that gets me out of bed in the morning, an interest I started embracing several years ago.

Back then, I interviewed for an editorial assistant position at a food website, where I was asked about my favorite restaurants, the food publications I read, the cooking classes I had taken. I liked Mesa Grill, occasionally read Saveur, participated in a low-fat baking class once. Although my interest in food was real, I wasn’t showing it.

I started this blog to learn about food through cooking, reading, and traveling. I hope you’ll be able to learn something too.

Please contact me at jenniferwalker319@gmail.com with questions or thoughts.

Thank you for reading!

23 Comments »

23 Responses

on August 19, 2009 at 4:42 pm | Reply Irnise

I love your blog. Your Mother told me about it and I am at work scanning all the various parts and recipes and different comments you have written. So I am going to go home and really read and maybe even try some of these out and let you know. Thanks!
- on August 20, 2009 at 1:17 pm | Reply Jen W.
  
  Hi Irnise,
  Thanks for reading! If you try some of the recipes, I’d love to hear how they turn out. Please keep me posted!
  Jen
on August 23, 2009 at 5:33 pm | Reply Kim

Jen, I think the blog is great. That doesn’t read like it should because what I mean is that I think your blog is really great. And I enjoyed following your link and finally seeing some of Kenny’s paintings. You and Kenny are such an inspiring couple. Your determination to ‘show what you love’ is something I don’t wrestle with enough, but you make me want to.

On a food note, I made some blackberry muffins with freshly picked berries from our garden. The muffin tops fell a few minutes after I took them out of the oven. We ate them and they were still delish, but what do you think happened? Too moist? Wrong flour?

Miss you.
on August 24, 2009 at 4:47 pm | Reply Jen W.

Hi Kim,

Thanks for reading the blog! I’m glad you got to take a look at Kenny’s paintings too. He keeps changing his website so it could look very different next time you log on.

Blackberries in your garden – that’s great! I would love to have fresh berries just outside. You’re right, they may have collapsed because your mixture was too moist…maybe because of too many blackberries? I’ve also read that too much baking powder can cause muffins/cakes to collapse. I found this quote on too much baking powder from Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of The Cake Bible:

“It gives it more volume by expanding and opening the cell space. Too much and the cake will collapse as the foam structure might not be able to support it.”

If you try making the muffins again, let me know if either of these ideas keep your muffin tops intact.

Miss you too!
Jen
on October 13, 2009 at 3:10 pm | Reply msbutterton

Just saw you featured on WP Home Page – Congrats – I love your site and subscribed! I’ll be back.

Cheers, Sandy
- on October 14, 2009 at 12:01 pm | Reply Jen W.
  
  Thanks for reading, Sandy! I’m going to check out your blog too.
  
  Jen
on October 14, 2009 at 12:10 am | Reply Erin McCool

Dear Jen,

I just saw your blog featured on the homepage and I love it. you have a great voice and writing style. I’m a foodie too and we share the same interests. Lately, I’ve been toying with the idea of starting my own food blog and I think you have inspired me to take the leap! you seem like you have a great time with your blog and that you have a wonderful, loyal audience. Congratulations. And when I start my blog, I hope you’ll check it out.

Take Care, Erin
- on October 14, 2009 at 12:04 pm | Reply Jen W.
  
  Hi Erin,
  
  Thanks for the nice comments! I think blogging is fun; it’s helped me learn more about food just in the short time I’ve been doing it. When you start your blog, I hope you’ll come back here and post a link. I’d love to read it.
  
  Good luck!
  Jen
on February 11, 2010 at 4:08 pm | Reply Lucas

Hi Jen

I came across your blog this morning and really enjoyed some of your articles. I love the way you embrace your love for food and willingness to share your experiences. Its great!

My partner Richele and I offer healthy cooking classes in Baltimore. We are inviting you and other Bmore food bloggers to come out as our guest in exchange for a little review in your blog. Would you be up for reviewing our class list to see if any of them interest you? Let me know what you think!

http://www.baltimorehealthcoach.com/cookingclasses

Blessings,

Luke
- on February 11, 2010 at 10:54 pm | Reply Jen W.
  
  @Luke: Thanks so much for reading, and for the offer to attend one of your cooking classes. They sound like a lot of fun! I’ll get in touch through your website. (P.S. – I’m an IIN grad too!)
on July 23, 2010 at 2:57 pm | Reply Cate

Love the combination of your blog chocolate, food, writing and travel!
- on July 23, 2010 at 4:32 pm | Reply Jen W.
  
  @Cate: Thanks for the compliment, and for visiting!
on July 23, 2010 at 7:06 pm | Reply xehra

What a blog , lady (: just skimmed through and already loving it . . thumbs up!!!!!!!!
- on July 24, 2010 at 7:25 pm | Reply Jen W.
  
  @Xehra: Thank you! Hope to see you around here again.
on July 23, 2010 at 10:38 pm | Reply Paige Morgan

I just stumbled across your blog – you had me at Morning Chocolate! You might appreciate my dilemma I blogged about yesterday – giving up sweets! http://jbelltime.wordpress.com/2010/07/22/the-vice-exchange/

I’ll definitely be trying out some of the dishes you’ve written about – yum!
- on July 24, 2010 at 7:25 pm | Reply Jen W.
  
  @Paige: Sounds like an interesting post! Giving up sweets would be very hard for me, even though I admit it would probably be better for my health. I’ll check it out. And good luck with your no sweets project!
on July 24, 2010 at 12:02 pm | Reply cynthia margaret

I like your blog and wanted to invite you to check out my dessert blog at: http://www.dessertexotics.blogspot.com.
on July 25, 2010 at 7:53 am | Reply faithsuzzette

Hi. I am just learning how to blog and decided to check out the posts being featured by WP. I got caught by the “chocolate” in your title. I love chocolate and I like your site. I will surely be coming back… =D
on May 30, 2011 at 1:47 pm | Reply “That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.” | Sheila Callahan

[...] become a fan of My Morning Chocolate. I like the topics, the writing, the community and the photos. Jennifer Walker is my blog role model. What about [...]
on November 16, 2011 at 2:55 pm | Reply marlzipan

I love this blog…because…I thought I was the only one who wanted to eat dark chocolate first thing in the morning, every morning. Thank you!
- on December 11, 2011 at 5:12 pm | Reply Jennifer Walker
  
  @marizipan: There’s at least two of us! Thanks for the kind words and for visiting.
on May 3, 2012 at 1:22 pm | Reply The Well Designed Blog | Help! I'm Blogging

[...] Morning Chocolate. Aside from one heck of blog title, Jennifer Walker has a nice graphic for her blog theme and she always includes wonderful food photos on her, you [...]
on May 23, 2012 at 1:37 am | Reply Vicky Leung

Hi Jennifer! I nominated your site for the Food Stories Award for Excellence in Storytelling. I posted the details here: http://menubyvicky.com/2012/05/22/food-stories-nominee-for-excellence-in-storytelling/