The World is an Apple and the Lady is a Pineapple

I know the title doesn't make any sense but it will if you read through this  really interesting post on  "Arts at Michigan," a site dedicated to integrate "the visual, performing, and literary arts into the undergraduate experience at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor campus."

Click on the pic and you'll get linked 

Is Taste Different from Flavor?

That is a question I do not ask myself everyday. But somebody did.

I found a short video that made  sense of the question.

Click on the pic to get linked to the video

Now you know...  sweets= energy.
If I eat it, I should use it.

THE GREAT CHOCOLATE SHORTAGE... A Lesson in Sustainability and Economic Piracy

THE WORLD WILL END IN 2020, at least for chocoholics like myself.

News about the impending chocolate shortage in 6 years time is killing me but instead of taking it lying down, wallowing in misery, I called to my inner Willie Wonka and began tap, tapping away at my  keyboards. Here is what I discovered:

The first warnings of a chocolate shortage as heard from Mars, not the planet but the makers of the chewy chocolate-covered nougat bar, as reported by confectionerynews.com in June 2011.

Recently, more alarming news has been surging online like a river of hot molten cocoa.

Click on the photo to get linked to the full article.

Click on the photo to get linked to the full article.

People are horrified! The hysteria's been overwhelming, even Stephen Colbert dipped into the issue.

Click on the photo to get linked to the full article.

But before you jump into conclusion that this is like a nightmare where a horde of Dementors from the Harry Potter series come knocking at your door, here's more information that will increase your serotonin levels.

Did you know that most of the cocoa used for your chocolate does not come from the Mayan jungles but from Africa? Most (70%) comes from the Ivory Coast, a former French colony of 24 Million people? I honestly did not.

Source: http://worldcocoafoundation.org

The same report says  that, "unlike large industrial crops, 80% -90% of cocoa comes from small, family-run farms." Out of the 6 billion possible consumers of chocolate around the world, there are only five to six million cocoa farmers. Cocoa trees grow only in tropical environment and its harvest is easily affected by changing weather.

So is climate change mainly to blame?

Not so, says Tim Worstall, a contributor at Forbes magazine.

He says politics and price fixing is also a major factor. "The raw material, cocoa, is not responding to market prices because the government in the largest producer of the stuff is deliberately stopping market forces from working."

And at snopes.com is saying that alarmists have blown the first reports way out of proportion. "Articles circulating on social media cite 2013 chocolate market trend reports; but in those, much of the focus was on increased consumption in regions like China and their impact on the global chocolate supply."

Yes, supply will be shorter and it will be more expensive but there will still be chocolate.

The farmers who produce it will not get any richer, the governments and middlemen richer and the public will be left craving for more.

The question on my mind right now is, "can we produce our own cacao?"

FOUND: CANE ICE CREAM

Jippongi Korean Cane Ice Cream looks cute and, with the cane, very in season. 

The cane cone tastes like unseasoned corn puffs, though and a bit hard to bite.

The ice cream, which comes in 2 flavors- chocolate and vanilla, tastes like any soft ice cream. Nothing special.

Tasty Wake-Me Upper: Edible Coffee Cup

Just saw this article online about the Alfred Cone, a waffle cone coffee dipped in chocolate that's used to serve coffee. Delicious idea.

Source: http://instagram.com/alfredcoffee

The cups are served with wax paper holders.

If you think this is interesting, here's what;s been written about it (just click on the picture and you should be redirected to the sites) :

 

MAMON SERVED WITH A SIDE OF GRAMMAR

This blog entry was written sometime in  2013 when I was attempting  to go back to food blogging.


 My hubby, the real grammar Nazi, was first to spot this ad with a problematic Filipino grammar.

Here's  a concise version of the rule on the right usage of the unlapi (prefix).

Source: http://tl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unlapi

 Yeah, it might be from Wikipedia but it's still right.

I wouldn't have minded it if it weren't plastered on a billboard across EDSA and if the advertiser hadn't used it nationally televised commercials. I made a short rant post on my FB page about it because it really bothered me that the company and the agency would be so careless in its copy. 

I guess it wasn't just me who noticed the mistake because soon after, the billboards were changed.

I don't know if they changed the  TV commercial, too. I'm just glad that whoever gave the go signal to spend a bit more to correct a mistake did so. Salamat.

There's Comfort in Writing About Food

I have not written about food for a long time. I have been trying to lose weight and that's hard to do while thinking and writing about food all the time. I used to be able to exercise while watching Anthony Bourdain sample Cebu Lechon, the best pig in the world. I motivated myself by thinking that if I could burn all the calories  now, then I can eat more later.  This diet philosophy didn't pan out, though.  Even if I missed out on the exercise, I never missed out on eating more.

I guess, some people find their sanity and zen in exercise, I find mine in making, tasting and writing about food.

 

So here I am, two years since my last entry,  back in front of the computer, writing about food. There's nothing special about tonight, except that I decided to share my food experiences again. The hubby was hungry and wanted to try a new resto along Katipunan Avenue.  So we did.

Santiago

A few weeks back, the first time we passed by the restaurant, we noticed that the blurb below the restaurant name on the fascia used the word "kwento," which was a pet peeve, especially for the hubby who always endeavored other writers to use the more grammatically correct "kuwento," with a "u" (which is all about the "kambal-patinig" rule.  For more of this, check out the really cool downloadable version of the Ortograpiyang Pambansa). But we're not such snobs, especially when we're hungry.

It's an old house turned into a family restaurant with a bakery.

The menu consists mainly of comfort food with a few regional dishes like Ilonggo Chicken Inasal and Ilocano Poqui-poqui. We ordered the  Humba  and the Ginataang Gulay served with grilled Liempo.

The Humba was well-spiced and the pork hock meat (pata) was tender enough. I liked it since it's not as sweet as the Boholano version my mom used to make. It actually tasted like Paksiw na Pata, minus the banana blossoms, plus a hard boiled egg cut in half.

Humba

The Ginataang Gulay, did use fresh vegetables- squash, winged beans, string beans, okra and eggplant and were not overcooked. The coconut cream used tasted fresh and I believe they used some bagoong to flavor the dish. The Grilled Liempo was good for just one person but the veggies could have served four.

Ginataang Gulay

The cucumber lemonade drink was refreshing enough and not as sweet as vendo machine lemonades.

I would probably go back there with friends as it is not a place to dine alone in.

Took home some of the  goodies like the Sans Rival Cookies and Palmiers (Mariposa) which the bakeshop guy described as a softer and creamier version of otap. He's right. Biting into one flaky piece as I close this blog entry.