Wednesday, 7 March 2007
Thursday, 1 March 2007
Video Concert sauvage dans le métro ! - Naturally7, Metro, Paris, Concert, Beatbox - Dailymotion Partagez Vos Videos
A definite Thornton's moment, superb stuff!
The Mystery Chocolatier
Wednesday, 28 February 2007
Sex, Chocolate and Your Best Friend!
But Bad for Your ‘Four Legged Friends.’
Chocolate drinking, has since earliest times been attributed with the ability to increase human libido and prowess. Many have claimed it possesses sexual and medicinal properties. Chocolate is definitely considered by many to be an aphrodisiac.
It is statistically true that men tend to give women chocolate, however, whether it is for the supposed love properties is an interesting point of conjecture. According to many women (I personally believe them) it is much more romantic to receive flowers instead. Chocolates are an added bonus in these situations.
In Aztec culture Montezuma is reported to have drunk an average 50 goblets of cocoa a day. This was to increase his prowess in lovemaking. 50 cups is not really my cup of tea. Nevertheless, it has long been revered as a food of love.
Many claims have been made about Cocoa’s beneficial medicinal properties, as well as various side effects for those who indulge in eating and drinking of chocolate.
This is not really surprising, we are after all discovering more about out own bodies, and the link between our mood and the foods we eat. What’s not so clear, are the actual effects consuming chocolate might (or might not) have on us.
The cocoa bean (Theobroma cacao) gives us the substance Theobromine. This is known to variously affect those who eat or drink chocolates.
· Theobromine is one of the active ingredients in cocoa and chocolate alike. It affects several of the major systems of the body:
· The ‘central nervous system’. (The brain and it’s components)
· The ‘cardiovascular system’. (The heart and lungs, which is one of the areas scientist now believe is beneficially helped by cocoa.) A current area for debate is the use of chocolate-based medicines in the treatments of coughs.
· Theobromine is also said to cause raised blood pressure, as well as inducing vomiting.
Whatever the claims and counter claims of chocolate’s promoters and detractors, it is abundantly clear we in the people like chocolate. In Northern Europe individuals consume approx. 15 – 22 lbs of it per annum. Americans consume somewhat less.
Strangely, one of the ancient treatments for emaciation (weight loss) was to drink chocolate. It certainly helps many round the world to do just that.
I can personally testify that I put weight on if I eat large amounts of the stuff. The reason may be that we corrupt the bean with so much fat and sugar that add caloric value, rather than the properties of the beans themselves.
Fantastic Gourmet Chocolates Delivered to your Home
Most sensible people are not concerned about their consumption of chocolate, considering them a luxury. They are usually given by an admirer, or purchased in an impulse to cheer us up after a gruelling day at the office.
Whatever our reasons, we like chocolate’s comforting power. Gourmet chocolates are fantastic, as are Swiss, Belgian, Thornton’s (my personal favourites) and Hershey’s chocolate.
There are increasingly more and more Internet sites, where you can browse the aisles of online Chocolate Malls, in a quest for 24/7 never ending chocolate heaven.
So, as you sit at home, indulging in your latest purchase a word of warning: If you have a dog or other pet.
Don’t Ever Feed Them Chocolate!
Let me repeat that!
Don’t Ever Feed Them Chocolate!
There are two extremely compelling reasons for this:
a. Theobromine is toxic for animals and can cause serious problems for them.
b. If you share your favourite chocolates: THERE’S LESS FOR YOU!
Visit our blogs for further help and free recipes: The Chocolate Box ¦ Chocolate accessories
The Chocolate Mall ¦ Free Recipes & The Chocolate Gourmet¦ Free Recipes
Charles Poxon
About the Author: Charles is an avid consumer of chocolate: He runs several websites listed within the body of the article. He is a keen chef and runs a knife website: http://thebladesedges.com that covers cutlery for use in the making of chocolate.
Tuesday, 27 February 2007
CHOCOLATE WHIP
CHOCOLATE WHIP
1 ½ squares of Baker's Chocolate,
Pinch of salt,
2 level tablespoonfuls of cornstarch,
2 eggs (yolks),
6 level tablespoonfuls of sugar,
2 teaspoonfuls of vanilla,
5 eggs (whites).
Put milk, chocolate and salt in double-boiler; mix cornstarch in a small quantity of cold milk, and stir into the hot milk when the chocolate has been melted; stir until smooth, then cook twelve minutes. Mix together the yolks of the eggs and sugar, then pour the hot mixture over it; cook again one or two minutes, stirring. When very cold, just before serving, add the vanilla and fold in the stiffly beaten whites of the eggs. Pile lightly in a glass dish and serve with lady fingers. A meringue can be made of the whites of the eggs and sugar, then folded in the chocolate mixture, but it does not stand as long.
For More Recipes Visit:
The Chocolate Mall
Monday, 26 February 2007
The Chocolatier's 'Chocolate Cream Pie'
Line a pie plate with rich pie crust, putting on an extra edge of crust the same as for custard pie. Fill with the the chocolate filling (below) made after the following recipe. Bake in a hot oven until crust is done; remove, and when cool, cover with a meringue and brown very slowly in moderate oven.
- 1 cup of milk,
- Pinch of salt,
- 1 ½ squares of Chocolate,
- 2 level tablespoonfuls of flour,
- 2 eggs (yolks),
- 5 tablespoonfuls of sugar (level),
- 1 teaspoonful of vanilla.
Put milk, salt and chocolate in upper part of the double-boiler, and when hot and smooth, stir in the flour, which has been mixed with enough cold milk to be thin enough to pour into the hot milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens; then let it cook eight or ten minutes. Mix the eggs and sugar together and pour the hot mixture over them, stirring well; put back in double-boiler and cook, stirring constantly one minute. Remove, and when cool add one teaspoonful of vanilla.
Note: Timings vary with each individual oven.