Since the beginning of the Jewish New Year last weekend, when I made light, chewy fig and pistachio nougat, I haven’t stopped dipping apples in honey and even made a second batch of nougat.  The tradition is, we wish each other a sweet new year.  I think I’ve got that covered.  I put that extra batch of nougat in the freezer, as it was a bit soft, and eating it straight from there, I was quickly reminded of frozen Charleston Chew bars we used to have as kids.  Remember that candy bar, yellow wrapper and all? Takes me right back to my summer camp canteen.  Just wait until I dip those nougat squares into chocolate and put them back in the freezer, now that will be good! Furthermore, the official opening date for Ladurée in Zürich has been released – October 14th, in less than 3 weeks!  This coming year is sure to be sweet!  I have my usual line-up of adventures ahead, each one with a whole new set of pastry shops, chocolate shops and markets to visit, always fascinating people to meet and local customs to learn about.

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Friday night at sundown, September 18th, is the start to a new year on the Jewish (lunar) calendar.  It marks the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, meaning “Head of the Year.” It also means I’ll be dipping apples in honey, wishing my friends and family a sweet new year.  As I have shared here before, I am definitely one for traditions and simply love all holidays – annual get-togethers, celebratory atmosphere and tables filled with recipes that show up year after year.

But for the year 5770, I wanted to bake something a bit different, stray from the typical (even if delicious) honey cake and babka.  Yet I still wanted to keep the message the same.  A sweet new year.  I pictured our beautiful holiday table set year after year with a round challah, piles of sliced apples and honey and new seasonal fruits – pomegranates, persimmons and fresh figs.  And that’s when it clicked – I knew what I would make… a recipe I told my readers they would see here on the blog one day.  And this was the perfect occasion… nougat (or torrone)!  I would make a honey-based nougat and add dried figs as a second nod to the new year.  After all, is there anything sweeter than nougat?!

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When I first learned that my husband and I were moving to Zürich, I quickly ran to the bookstore and bought a handful of travel guides on Switzerland.  I began spending hours on the internet, reading articles, checking out expat blogs, as well as searching for Swiss cookbooks.  For our first visit here, I figured we would just roam the streets and get a feel for the city, without paying close attention to my lists of sweet addresses… yet.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but notice that Schober, the one pastry shop I had underlined and bolded and put big stars all around it, was [gasp] closed.  For good? For renovations?  Once settled in in Zürich, I passed by every now and then to see if progress was being made.  I peeked through the windows and saw the beautiful moldings, ceiling and chandelier, and just waited for this old-fashioned confectionery to be open again.  Finally, in March of this year, after 4 months of renovations, it was back in business.  Worth the wait?  Absolutely.

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Summer is definitely changing to autumn here in Zürich.  There is a crispness to the air in the morning, yet still a bright blue sky and people hanging out by the lake, trying to take in every last ray of sun.  With this beautiful fall weather on its way, it seems like a perfect time to go for a hike in the mountains.

I had heard about Rigi, “the Queen of the Mountains,” known for its breathtaking panoramic views over the Alps.  So Olivier and I set off, hiking boots on and picnic packed, of course.  Only what was supposed to be a beautiful day with moderately cool weather, turned out to be a real scorcher!  As we made our way past farms with grazing cows, fields of wild flowers, up and around winding dirt paths, jumping over mini streams and rocks, I slowly peeled off layer by layer of clothing.  We made it to the summit in record time, whizzing past those yellow signs with arrows to follow.  But that was probably because I was sprinting towards every patch of shade we saw!  We passed plenty of fellow hikers on the way up, of all ages, some with hiking poles but all with bottles of water.

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Since the last Chocolate Roundup turned out to be such a big success, you can rest assured – it will definitely be a regular feature on MyKugelhopf.  Considering that my chocolate drawer is always full of a new variety of bars, this shouldn’t be a problem.  It changes every few days, as bars get eaten and new ones make a temporary little home in their place.  Now that I have admitted to having not only a drawer devoted to chocolate bars, but also a chocolate bar wrapper collection, you’ll understand the frequency of the theme!

Last time there were bars from Switzerland, Austria, the United States and even Croatia.  If you missed that first roundup, you can check it out here.  This time Spain and Italy are featured, and I am thinking that there will always be a bar from Switzerland in the mix.  As a reminder, I am simply a (very) big fan of dark chocolate, and am always on the lookout for new brands and bars.  I loved all the comments from readers last time – chocolates you have tasted recently, all-time favorites, recommendations and other assorted ideas.  I’m looking forward to that again.  So without further ado, below is the next selection of bars I have tasted lately.  Enjoy!

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