Author Archive: Joanna Maligaya
Chocolate Chip Muffins
October 19, 2011
A muffin is a type of bread baked in small portions. Many forms are rather like mini cakes or cupcakes in shape, although they are often not as sweet as cupcakes and normally lack frosting. Its name was derived from the French word moufflet which generally applies to bread and means soft.
Muffin recipes originally materialized in print by mid 18th century and quickly stepped forward. By the 19th century muffin, as a marketing strategy, men walked the streets of England at tea time. They wore trays of muffins on their heads and rang their bells to attract customers.
As a matter of fact, three states in the United States of America have embraced their own official muffins. Minnesota, Massachusetts, and New York, have adopted the blueberry muffin, corn muffin, and the apple muffin as their official muffin of choice, respectively.
Enough with feeding the brain? Then go feed your tummy.
Read more
Chocolate Is 2011’s Top Specialty Food
October 18, 2011
Consumers of all ages (especially those 24-35 years of age, mostly women) across all USA are embracing specialty foods this year, according to a new report from the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT). Needless to say, chocolate has always been popular. But now, chocolate has already triumphed over coffee as the top specialty food purchase.
For the time being, Chuao Chocolatier in San Diego County has won a sofi Gold award from the NASFT in the hot-beverage category for its Spicy Maya Hot Chocolate. The just-add-water hot chocolate drink is a blend of cinnamon, pasilla chile and cayenne pepper, giving a spicy finish to it. They all come together with a blend of premium 58 to 72 percent Venezuelan chocolate to make this particular beverage gourmet.
Read more
The Chalk & Chocolate Art Tour
October 14, 2011
Eighty students of Royal Oak, Michigan, had a field trip downtown last October 12 and turned a pedestrian plaza on Washington Avenue into a work of art which will be used for the Chalk & Chocolate Art Tour scheduled this weekend. There will be a tent set up at Fifth Street just in case it rains.
Shop curators and restaurant owners downtown will be hanging chalk art masterpieces done by 100 elementary school students in their windows. Also, they will be offering their confectionaries for the first-time affair in Royal Oak.
An opening night party starts at 6 p.m. Friday with a benefit at Fifth Avenue for the Royal Oak Neighborhood Schools art curriculum. The door charge is $40 which includes live entertainment and food from six restaurants and all sales incurred go directly to district art programs.
Read more
Chocolate Easter Bunnies
October 13, 2011
I know it is absolutely nowhere near Easter, but it just feels right to share this info on the spur of the moment. C’mon now, cut me some slack! 🙂
For starters, Easter is known as the most sacred Christian holiday of the year. Jesus Christ’s resurrection after his crucifixion is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday.
Did you know that ninety million chocolate Easter bunnies are produced each year? No child's Easter basket is ever complete without a chocolate Easter bunny or two. But how did Easter get mixed up with a rabbit? Where did that come in?
Read more
Chocolate Fudge
October 12, 2011
Whenever we hear the word "fudge", the soft chocolate squares we all love suddenly come into mind.
Chocolate fudge was reputably invented by an American confectioner in Baltimore, Maryland who mixed soft chocolate with caramel by accident and the rest, as they say, is history. Some people beg to disagree though as they strongly believe that fudge was a British invention. According to them, there are some variations of fudge found in the British midlands and Scotland. Nevertheless, even the best of the best British confectioners admit that chocolate fudge is indeed an American invention.
Fudge can be used both as a main or auxiliary ingredient in certain confections such as fudge-filled candies, fudge-filled cakes as well as cakes made with fudge, among so many other mouthwatering desserts.
Whether you are a chocoholic or simply enjoy chocolate, chocolate fudge can surely make for a good chocolaty treat.
Read more
Chocolate Week
October 11, 2011
It's not very often that you get to devote one whole week just for a particular food. Suffice it to say, if the subject is chocolate, we get all the more devoted, and craving, so to speak.
Chocolate Week, UK's favorite themed week, or should I say, favorite week, is here again for its seventh consecutive year to celebrate the foodstuff that has its origins in ancient Aztec and Mayan culture. Even though we know we can enjoy it any time of day and any day of the year, it's the time of year when we can ultimately celebrate chocolate... for a week! Imagine that.
Chocolate week 2011, starting October 10, has a plethora of events lined up for everyone, over 350 events happening across the whole of Britain, from chocolate art workshops and tasting to hot chocolate sampling and dessert-making demonstrations, indulge yourself in chocolate madness.
Read more
Chocolate: Around the World
October 7, 2011
If you are a self-proclaimed true blue chocoholic and want to satisfy your need for anything chocolate, then why don’t you head to the Field Museum in Chicago?
“Chocolate: Around the World”, a smash hit exhibit which sold more than 360,000 tickets in its first Field run in the year 2002 is back not only to entertain you, but also give you juicy and interesting information.
In the past nine years, “Chocolate” has already been to 22 other American museums and will go international when its present Field run is done in January, said the Field president and chief executive officer, John McCarter.
“Chocolate” is a combination of both the Field’s focus on anthropology as well as natural history and its attention to the origins of cacao beans and the role chocolate played in the past centuries. “This is one of the great combination stories,” McCarter said.
Read more
Day of the Dead
October 6, 2011
Did you know that in Mexico, chocolate is used to make offerings during the Day of the Dead festival? This particular fiesta acts as a commemoration to pay tribute and honor all the deceased members of the family. Chocolate and sweets are important components of the festival. People give each other skulls made of chocolate or sugar. The Day of the Dead fete is celebrated throughout the country on the 1st and 2nd of November.
As morose as it may sound, it is in fact a cheerful occasion where departed loved ones are reminisced. Some families even construct altars dedicated to the dead relatives. The altars are filled with flowers, candles, wooden skulls and photos of the dead. The families celebrate and bring to mind the deceased members by eating the favorite foods of those passed. The specific foods that are specially eaten in this celebration are pan de muerto which is a skull-shaped bread and Calabaza en Tacha which is a dessert made with sweet pumpkin, cinnamon, and piloncillo, dark sugar cones.
Read more
Very Chocolate Pudding
October 5, 2011
Food has a way of tasting more enjoyable when you know you have poured your heart into making it, most especially when it’s your favorite food.
The fascinating taste of chocolate pudding is considered a staple food of many people. Even when it usually contains high amounts of sugar and calories, a lot of people just can’t stay away from it. It is a necessary evil for many.
Chocolate pudding traces back its origins to chocolate custard. It was initially considered a food item suited for children with weak physical disposition because of the high calorie content, which in turn provides more energy. But it eventually became an item listed in the dessert menu of eateries.
Read more
BitterSweet: Beer+Chocolate
October 4, 2011
As you may have read in the earlier blog posts, one of the things that makes a chocolate and beer tasting great is the fact that it is unusual, yet it works! Even people who say they don’t like beer, often do like chocolate so everyone can enjoy the event.
Last week’s Craft:Beer+Food event was a huge hit, the pairings were sublime. If you weren’t able to attend, fret not, as a sequel to this delightful affair is anticipated. After Craft:Beer+Food comes the next big thing, BitterSweet:Beer+Chocolate. It is a non-profit happening that enables local breweries to showcase their beers along with the remarkable chocolates of Seattle’s own Theo Chocolate.
Read more