Monthly Archives: June 2012

Say No To Chocolate-Filled Syringes

Dubai Municipality's Food Control Department was forced to issue a warning when rumors about chocolate-filled medical syringes started circulating in the United Arab Emirates.

Photos of these syringes filled with a chocolate spread by Nutella first started surfacing on social media sites, and some concerns were forwarded to the Dubai Municipality hotline.

Khalid Sherif, Director of Food Control Department, said: "The Ministry of Health confirmed that the medical needles are not clean or sanitized and might be used in hospitals to take blood or inject medicine," He also added: "We strongly advise the public to purchase food products from authorized establishments only as they get approval for all food items, apart from the periodical check up by the civic body."
Read more

Chocolaty Bread

The Netherlands is probably one of the biggest fans of bread in Europe. A lot of tourists who get to swing by are enamoured with the assortment of their breads. Generally, their breakfast and lunch mainly consist of bread. That being said, you won't be surprised by the variety of bread and sandwich toppings you can find there. "Luxury" isn't the right term for it, you might want to lean toward "necessity".

Typically, breakfast consists of 2-4 slices of bread, and it depends on whether you'd like an open or closed-face sandwich. Margarine or butter is spread onto the bread in order for the toppings to stick. One sandwich will have a cover that is on the more savory side, and the other one will be on the sweeter side. Dutch children typically eat the savory sandwich first, followed by the sweet one which they usually crave.
Read more

Chocolate Milk Shake

Basic doesn't necessarily equal plain. Nothing beats the taste and texture of a good chocolate milkshake. When it's good, it's good. When it's not, it's still good! Do I even make sense? It's perfect with a greasy cheeseburger, but it goes well with even a gourmet meal.

A milkshake is described as a sweet, cold drink made out of milk, iced milk or ice cream, and sweeteners or flavorings such as fruit syrup or our favorite, chocolate sauce.

Preparing this tasty and simple chocolate milkshake offers a good chance to get your kids involved.  They will surely enjoy doing the drizzling of the sauce, making some mess, and observing the colors as they change. Why of course, they will enjoy having it after all the preparation!  And, here's a reduced calorie version so you can have without guilt too!
Read more

Chocolate Before Doomsday

I know all of us have managed to watch at least a couple of movies whose plot is focused on alien invasion, world destruction, or whatever a screenwriter could think of as long as it is related to ending all the life on this planet. This trend became more elevated with the infamous doomsday thing in the year 2012. I’m not sure if people are just plain masochists thinking about losing their souls or are really curious on whether this suspicion is true and if so, when is it exactly going to happen.

Of course dying is an unpleasant thing most especially if you are unprepared for it. So if it is my turn to go, I think it would be helpful if I knew about it ahead of time. That is not for me to stop it because I am no superhero or God, but the awareness of it will somehow make sense.
Read more

From Diamonds To Chocolate

Designer Azature Pogosian, the jewelry designer who has black diamonds as a specialty, is all the rage in Hollywood. Hollywood A-listers such as Beyoncé, Rihanna, Fergier, Scarlett Johansson, and Miley Cyrus, among others, have been seen sporting his designs down the red carpet.

In 2007, he was able to launch his upmarket jewelries and has added an up-to-date fashion jewelry line, AZ by Azature, which you can get for $50-$850. In Houston, for a showcase of his collection at the St. Regis Hotel through Saturday,  "The Black Diamond King" has also ventured into the chocolaty world. The designer has recently launched a high-end line of black-diamond pralines hand-made out of the rare "Wild Treasure" cocoa bean.
Read more

The Reggie! Bar

I bet there's at least one reader of this blog that enjoys an Oh, Henry! or Baby Ruth candy bar as a guilty pleasure. It has been said in baseball circles that such treats were named after home run hitters Henry Aaron and Babe Ruth.  (Whether baseball has it right is another story.)

Then there's the story of the Reggie! bar...

Reginald Martinez "Reggie" Jackson was born May 18, 1946. He was dubbed "Mr. October" due to his clutch hitting in the postseason. Jackson is an ex- American Major League Baseball right fielder, and he played for four different teams from the year 1967 to 1987. Currently, he's serving as a special advisor to the New York Yankees.
Read more

Cocoa Chiffon Cake

Chiffon cakes have been around for decades already, capturing many hearts. If you want to bake some for yourself or for family and friends, look no further.

A chiffon cake is described as a very light cake made out of vegetable oil, baking powder, flour, sugar, eggs, and flavorings. It’s a mix of both foam and batter type cakes. In distinction with butter, the conventional fat used in cake making, it’s actually a little hard to beat air into oil. Thus, chiffon cakes, like angel cakes and other foam cakes, get its fluffy texture through beating egg whites until they become stiff, and then folding them into the cake batter before baking.
Read more

Bring Home the Chocolate-Covered Bacon!

Ed Gotwalt, the owner of Mister Ed's Elephant Museum and Candy Emporium based in Orrtanna, Pennsylvania, recently introduced the phenomenon of meat and chocolate in his store. He started serving chocolate covered bacon about a month ago.  Since then he's been keeping his supply up, ordering 25 to 50 pounds nearly every week.

According to Gotwalt, it has been so much of a rage that their supply is having a hard time keeping up with the demand. Their store’s sign says "Bring home the bacon to Dad. It's covered in chocolate." That seems to be pulling people into the store. "Dad always bring home the bacon. Now you can bring home the bacon for Dad, and it's chocolate covered," he said.
Read more

Dark Chocolate for Kids?

If it's sweet, kids will eat it.  Make that sweetness chocolate, and it's gone without even thinking about it.  For most kids that's true even if it's dark chocolate (except, strangely for our son, who loves milk chocolate and won't touch dark chocolate).

Dark chocolate often in the news for its heart healthy consequences, such as lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke in adults.  Now someone has finally asked the question, "is dark chocolate healthy for children?"
Read more

Fano Carnival – Wild Chocolate Dreams

As a famous ancient Roman saying goes, 'Semel in anno licet insanire', which means 'madness is permissible once a year', has been really applicable for the Fano Carnival. This is arguably considered the most famous of all carnivals in Italy.

This is the time of the year when people go berserk and are taken by the frenzy of festival, which makes them abandon their daily routine and join the festivities. The Fano Carnival seems to rob people of their inhibitions, and people indulge in it with reckless abandon.
Read more