In celebration of World Chocolate Day on July 7, Joshua Elie holds a bottle of wine and a plate of chocolate fudge brownies in his kitchen. Photo by Patricia Elie.

By Joshua Elie

I grew up in a world where if you wanted something, you had to work for it or build it yourself. Food, even chocolate, didn’t motivate me as much as other things did.

I got my first real job when I was 5 years old. There were these antique Tonka trucks about two miles away at the Wheeler Dealer, the local antique store, that I wanted for my sandbox. I asked my parents to buy them for me, and they said no. I think all they saw was rusted junk. What I saw was a front-end loader, a backhoe and a dump truck, and I had roads, jumps and cliffs to build for my Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. I walked back to the store and asked if there were any work I could do to earn those toys. Sonny Siciliano, the owner, put me to work stacking bricks “nice and neat” around his miniature golf course. I walked back and forth every day for weeks. I might have been good for an hour a day ⸺ I was 5, after all ⸺ but I earned those toys. More importantly, I learned if I wanted something, I had to earn it.

Advertisement for Stapleton Realty is a photo and description of a pole building on two acres with easy access to M-115. The headline reads: Outdoor Enthusiasts. The 30 foot by 40 foot pole building has a finished office area with a bathroom with sink, shower and toilet. There is a large workshop area that is 29 feet by 28 feet with exhaust fan and a new furnace. there is a washer and dryer hookup in the utility room with a utility sink. Well and septic are installed. There is a full camper hook up on the property too and its not far to snowmobile and A-T-V trails, Crystal Mountain Resort and the Betsie River. The asking price is $199,900. Call Christine Stapleton, 231-499-2698. Click on this ad to be taken to the website.North Channel Brewing advertisement shows a stack of onion rings, a pint of beer between two plates of food, one a sandwich and fries and the other of nachos or a Mexican looking dish and they are set beside the river. A third photo shows a section of the front of the brick brewery on 86 Washington Street in Manistee. The message is Craft Everything. Food, beer, wine and spirits. Click on this ad to be taken to their website.Image for the Gasoline Refind ad shows a photo of the front of the store looking at the red screened door on the porch with found objects. Ad reads Open Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. plus Fridays from Memorial Weekend through Labor Day 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Vintage Shopping. Shop in store or shop online. www.gasolinerefind.com. 231-238-3891. Google it. Picture of a retro looking pig's comic book face. Owners Lynn and Scott Brown written above it. Located at Erdman Road, Bear Lake, between Potter and 13 mile roads.
Image for 'World Chocolate Day is of cocoa beans, bars of cooking chocolate scored into small squares and cocoa powder dusted on the tabletop. Photo by Tetiana Bykovets from Unsplash dot com.
Photo by Tetiana Bykovets, Unsplash.com

I must not have been particularly good at doing dishes because they quickly moved me to the fountain and basically had me scooping ice cream. The smiles and the joy I saw in people getting the treat they had been looking forward to all day, or all week, was priceless. I also met my first love there, and we worked side-by-side every day. It was the greatest summer of my life.

What does this have to do with World Chocolate Day? (I’m getting to that.)

The “Duck” was originally a House of Flavors, very much like Ludington’s, though after Larry bought the place and the adjoining laundromat it became much more “earthy.”  It was open 24 hours, and I would often tell my parents I was spending the night at a friend’s, though I was hanging out at the Duck to watch the after-the-bar crowd and then the after-the-party, after-the-bar crowd. I realized how relaxing coffee and breakfast were while watching the sun rise before going to bed. I did a lot of this later in life: performing with my band until 2 a.m., loading the equipment in the truck until 3-4 a.m., then finding a 24-hour restaurant. Sometimes I would come across one with fresh pie or Danish, warm from the oven.

Even better is warm chocolate fudge on ice cream (tastes best after working) while watching the sun set on Lake Michigan, the most beautiful sunset in the world.

Happy July 7 … World Chocolate Day! (Brownie recipe below the photo.)

World Chocolate Day image is of orange clouds surrounding a sinking sun just above the Lake Michigan horizon with a boat in the foreground. Photo taken in Ludington by Joshua Elie.
Ludington sunset. Photo: Joshua Elie.

Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Prep time: 30 minutes
Bake time: 25 minutes

2⅔ cups flour
1½ cups baking cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
3 cups sugar
1½ cups (3 sticks) melted butter
4 tbs milk
4 eggs, beaten
10-12 oz jar caramel sauce, heated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, eggs, flour, cocoa and baking powder. Mix slowly. Add milk sparingly, until just moist enough to coat evenly in a baking pan. Line 17” x 11” baking pan with parchment paper and tuck corners. Spread mix evenly and trim loose paper from edges. Trimming is important because loose paper will burn. Top evenly with hot caramel. Bake for 25 minutes then remove. Cool, then put in freezer for 1 hour. This makes it easy to cut. Pairs explosively with robust red wine. Boss’s choice: Livingston Merlot.

Read more stories by Joshua Elie HERE and his bio HERE.

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