Author Archive: Joanna Maligaya
Chocolate Campaign to Benefit Fukushima Kids
January 13, 2012
In 2006, a nongovernmental organization in Japan started an annual chocolate-selling campaign to benefit and provide support to pediatric cancer patients and hospitals in Iraqi cities, including Baghdad, Basra and Erbil. This year, some of the proceeds will go to the children in Fukushima Prefecture, where the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is situated.
Minoru Kamata, chief of the Japan Iraq Medical Network, said: "We received many messages of support from Iraqi people (after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami) that made us determine to allocate part of the proceeds for Fukushima." Kamata, a doctor and an author, has also shown his support for Belarus after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster by participating in medical programs. He also said that certain group members have played their parts in the removal of radiation in Fukushima Prefecture.
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Chocolate Mousse Tidbits
January 12, 2012
For such a valued and delectable dessert, information about the origins of chocolate mousse is rather sparse.
The word "mousse" is a French word which means "foam" or "lather". A mousse is a certain type of food that incorporates air bubbles to give it an airy texture. Depending on how you prepare it, it can turn out light and fluffy or creamy and thick.
It made its way into the culinary world in the 18th century which was the period when chefs in Europe, especially in France, learned about the frothing power of eggs. A French writer Menon recorded the recipes which mostly involved different kinds of dishes from fish to vegetables. It didn't take too long until the infamous 19th century French painter and cook Henri de Toulouse came up with the idea of mixing in chocolate with mousse. He originally called it "chocolate mayonnaise", which we now know by the more appealing name "chocolate mousse".
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Chocolate Almond Coffee
January 11, 2012
Coffee is a staple in our daily routine. It never fails to jumpstart our day. Sometimes we long for the kick it gives as we get up in the morning. Other times we might want a pick-me-up. And in another moment we might be eager for the enticing flavor and aroma.
Aside from the little pleasures we get from drinking coffee--just like chocolate--it actually offers several health benefits such as fighting free radicals that can cause cancer. This is because coffee is known to contain a significant amount of antioxidants, even more than green tea does.
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Festival of Chocolate
January 10, 2012
The Festival of Chocolate, Florida's only all-chocolate event and the grandest celebration of everything chocolate in the Southeastern United States, will be taking place on January 14-16, 2012 at the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI).
Local and regional chocolate and confection companies will be featuring and selling treats such from truffles and cupcakes to ice cream and chocolate drinks.
Guests and patrons can also participate in fun chocolate competitions conducted for the young and the young-at-heart. Go nuts in piling a skyscraper of cookies or in their signature "Face the Cookie" contest.
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Chocolate That Doesn’t Melt
January 6, 2012
How would you feel if you created something which you originally intended just for fun, and it turned out to be your shot at being a millionaire?
A British engineer from Belfast, Stephen Lennie, aged 43, created the flexible chocolate at home together with his wife, Karen, 42. It was initially just a surprise treat for his daughters Rebecca, Natalie and Aimee just to keep them entertained on rainy days.
People were all the rage about it as more than a million pounds worth of this particular product which they called 'Magic Choc'. The product was purportedly sold mainly as stocking fillers for children last Christmas. They were bombarded with others from countries like Russia, Greece, and South Africa.
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The Cacao Tree
January 5, 2012
Probably by now, you know that chocolate is made from the fruit of the cacao tree. Let me share some tidbits about all you chocoholics' own version of "tree of life".
Cacao trees are tiny evergreen trees that are only about 6 meters tall. These trees produce fruit and flowers all year round and they are cultivated in countries within 10 degrees North and 10 degrees South of the Equator where the climate is most favorable for the cultivation of cacao trees as they require warm and humid environment. Furthermore, cacao trees need fertile and well-irrigated soil along with regular rainfall to grow their best.
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60-Second Chocolate Mousse
December 21, 2011
If you're having guests come over to your house, you can always serve chocolate mousse as a dessert. Whether your visitors are kids or kids at heart, chocolate mousse will definitely make you hear them go 'mmmm'. Plus, you can make it without much hassle.
Just in case you wanted to know, the word mousse is French and it means foam or lather. This is a specialty in French restaurants, which made its way into the British and American culture in the 1960s. The most essential part in creating chocolate mousse is the foam, which gives this treat an airy and light texture. You have the freedom of choice to prepare it light and fluffy or creamy and thick. It all boils down to your liking.
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Harlow Chocolate Run
December 20, 2011
A voluntary group in the U.K., called the Harlow Chocolate Run, has been providing food, drinks, and clothes to the homeless locally and nearby areas for over 40 years now.
The organizer of Harlow Chocolate Run, Mick Granger, believes that the people they are helping are usually at their all time low which he thinks is a very lonesome situation to be in, so they help them in whatever way possible.
"There is a lot of stigma surrounding the homeless yet so many don't realize that it can take just one traumatic event – a relationship break-up, the loss of a job, grief – to leave people like you and me vulnerable", said Mick.
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