Chocolate Mania

“Chocolate” what do you understand by this word? You can’t explain chocolate so easily it’s got different kinds of verticals which make us happy every time. No matter how young or how old you are everyone likes chocolate. I personally enjoy chocolate any time of day. This is one thing where nobody thinks about their age and enjoys their chocolate, especially kids and ladies like to consume chocolates any time. Chocolate is famous all over the globe. Because of these there are so many national and multinational companies in to the market that are producing several types of chocolates.

In Oaxaca, in South-eastern Mexico the centuries-old tradition of chocolate-making is still going strong today, with Oaxacans each apparently consuming 5.5 pounds of the stuff on average per year. There are so many countries which are famous for their chocolates and chocolates making trends and unique methods.

So many baker shops also entered in this business and they are manufacturing mouth watering chocolate. From last few years companies are producing special chocolates for special occasions packed in designer cardboard boxes, designer pouches, designer bags, etc. Companies are trying their best to attract maximum share of the market for their products by experimenting different things to get the best out of it, which will be liked by the people of all age group. We know people like to gift chocolates on special occasions which are made in different shapes & flavours. Now a days we can see alphabets on chocolates that indicates the occasion such as birth days, wedding anniversaries, Father’s Day, Merry X’Mas, Happy New Year, and so on. People like very type of chocolate it can be fruit base, dry fruit based, or liquor based. Indian also started liking the liquor base chocolate.

Whenever we go to any restaurants we find that their menu card dessert section will be filled with so many verities of dessert which is mainly made with chocolates or the base ingredient will be chocolate. Even hoteliers know that the best selling dessert will be a chocolate based on so they try to keep as many desserts which have chocolate in it. Most of the cakes are also made with the different kinds of chocolates. You go to any cake shop we will find that people like to have chocolate base cake rather than any other cakes such as cheese cake, fruit base cake and so on. Chocolate has become an inseparable part of our life.

           

Chocolates have so many medicinal benefits.

·         Dark chocolates are good for heart: - eating a small amount of dark chocolate two or three times each week can help lower your blood pressure. Dark chocolate improves blood flow and may help prevent the formation of Blood Clots.

·         Dark chocolate is good for brain: - Dark chocolate increases blood flow to the brain as well as to the heart, so it can help improve cognitive function. Dark chocolate also helps reduce your risk of stroke. 

·         Dark Chocolate is filled with loads of antioxidants it helps to control the Blood

Sugar.

·         Dark chocolate contains theobromine, which helps to harden tooth enamel.

·         Dark chocolate is filled with vitamin & minerals. 

Do Enjoy Your Chocolate!

Have a safe New Year's Eve..!

Today is the last day of 2013, people are in celebration mood. Each & every individual is looking to celebrate the New Year Eve according to their likes & budget. The moment we say party that means alcohol is going to be part of it. Alcohol plays a very important role in any party but we should make some rules & regulation before hosting or attending any party.  This is the night which reflects back on the last 365 days and celebrates the upcoming year. As the clock runs down for 2013, everyone will be drinking, dancing, and telling stories of days gone by while presenting aims and goals for 2014. Whether celebrating at a house party with friends and family, or out at a city-sponsored event, taking a few precautions will ensure that everyone gets to and from their destinations safely. Safety is the first thing we need to consider before going for celebration of New Year eve. We had witness so many news that really shocked us from head to toe. Especially for ladies each and every lady who is going out of house to celebrate the New Year Eve, she should consider her safety first and then the fun & enjoyment. Now days it is really risky for ladies to go out of house late night.  So I have listed few points that will help us to celebrate New Year eve in right and safe way.

Host A Party:-

Instead we people of going out for New Year Eve Party, why not host a party at our houses? Be ready to have people staying at the night. We don’t want our friends driving drunk. Hosting a New Year party may be the safest way of celebrating the coming of the New Year. Not only does hosting our own party keep us off the street but it also keeps our friends at our party off the street. This is the best safest way of celebrating New Year Eve. 

Safety aspect for girls:-

This is especially for girls who want to celebrate New Year Party outside at a city-sponsored event.  Try to be with good company which will help us to enjoy every bit of party & will be able to carry best memorable moments along with us. Be mindful of our surroundings & how others are acting, and give a wide berth to those who seem out of control. Try to avoid mixing with strangers & unknown people that will keep girls safe & sound. Try to follow moderate drinking which will keep us in good sense & girls will be able to know what is going on around them. Keep a track of our cell phone throughout the night & store all the necessary helpline numbers that will help us in case of emergency or in any awkward situation. Carry good amount of money will again help us in right sense. 

Book a cab in advance:-

It is always safe to book a cab in advance rather than driving our own car after getting drunk. This will help us to reach home safely that to on time. These will reduce the risk of accident & getting caught by policemen. 

Dress Code:-

This is a special night and everyone who is going to attend any party want to look fabulous & outstanding from others but ladies while doing this we should consider the surroundings and people who all are going to be there. So do dress up according to party requirements but try to avoid wearing too revealing & exposing dress that will put you in some kind of trouble. So do follow some discipline while going to party. Carry body perfume which will help us to smell nice throughout the party time. 

Think about kids:-

Family people just can’t think about their own enjoyment, we have to consider our kids entertainment & enjoyment first and then ours. We should avoid crowded areas that will help us to keep our family safe & sound.  If we are hosting a party then we should plan some games & entertainment for kids which will help us to keep them busy.

Moderate Drinking:-

While we groove to the party tunes it is utmost necessary that we keep track of our drink throughout the party. That will help us to be in our sense and we will not get high. We should drink very slowly that will help us to spend more time with everyone rather than getting high and sitting aside. Ladies should carry a good handbag that will help us to keep all our valuable belonging in that.

Food:

Do eat food properly on time; try to avoid more consumption of oily food. Don’t eat too much of food which will cause in puking after few drinks. Try to drink water as much as possible which will help to reduce chances of headache & hangover.

After following all these steps we will be able to have a great and unforgettable New Year Eve party. That will remain alive in our mind throughout our life.

Cheers and happy New Year to all of Us.  

Wine oriented India

     Wine is a very ancient alcoholic beverage. Wine is regarded as the most complex and interesting alcoholic beverage.  This is so because each country and region uses different types of grapes for wine production; implements own labeling laws; follows own quality control methods,  different types of manufacturing processes, storage methods, evaluation methods, and maturation periods. That’s why wine is very complex beverage to understand. Every wine has its own identity in the market. Especially French wines are well known all over the world, because France has the largest share in wine production in the world.

      India is very new market for wines. Now Indians also have started drinking wine on regular intervals. India is famous market for Beers, Whisky & Rum. But now people have understood the concept of drinking & pairing wine with food. Though the young domestic wine market is still to take off compared to international mature wine markets, the consumers have slowly & gradually began showing their interest in International & domestic brands.  They are ready to experiment, according to leading importers & distributors of premium wines & spirits in India.

     Earlier Wine just meant choosing between red & white wine & that on very rare occasions. But now, wine makers have begun organizing different events connected with disseminating knowledge about wine, food that paired with wine & by holding wine tasting sessions or field trips for people on vineyards, wine making & processing that includes wine tasting also. Some of the manufacturers have started organizing wine fest in their wineries. This helped wine makers to improve wine knowledge among general public & generate interest in wine drinking to expand the wine market in India.

     Today India is one of the fastest growing markets for all consumer goods that’s why we see so many international brands are easily available in all the fields such as electronic, merchandise, food etc. so how will wine remain behind to do utmost business in our country. That’s why all international major wine makers from around the globe are trying to get their wines in Indian Market. They are promoting their wines by hosting some kinds of events such as food & wine fest, wine & good life, wine tasting sessions that help them to make people aware about their wines, which results in good sale of their brand.

     Most of the states in India have adopted new techniques & strategies, to improve their share & awareness in domestic as well as in International market. Awareness of brands have made its way into Indian consumer market that people are walking into wine stores or to fine dine restaurants & demand for wine by its label. That shows now Indian has very good knowledge about wine & how to match wine with food. This helped even domestic wine makers to produce different types of grapes & different kinds of wines such as fruity, herby, dry, semi dry, sweet, acidic by considering the upcoming demands of such wines.

     There are some wineries that are doing really good business in Indian Market such as Grover, Sula, Four Seasons, Nine Hills & Chateau Indage who all are producing good quality wines which goes very well with different types of Indian food as well as with other cuisines of the world. Today some of the Indian wines are getting sold in International Market that shows Indian wines are one of the good wines which can go very well with food.

The difference of sale figure of last few years also

     The difference of sale figure of last few years also says that Indians have opened the taste doors for wines, now we do find wines in every fine dine restaurant. There are few restaurants who are serving food & only wine along with food, no other alcoholic beverage is served there. Earlier wine was used to be an occasional drink but now wine is getting consumed on day to day basis.

 

BEER...!

The word of Beer is full of weird & wonderful brews. Beer is one of the oldest manufactured drinks. Nobody knows when was the first of beer is brewed but it is started couple of thousand years ago in Sumeria & Babylonia, changes happened in brewing style on regular intervals. There are so many stories are hidden in history of beer manufacturing. Russian brewed the Kvass, made from Kvass Seed & is still consumed in many parts of Russia; the Germans brewed a wheat version called Weisbier, Arabians & Africans brewed their own concoction from teff, millet, grass seeds; the Chinese made the Kiu from rice & sorghum; South Americans make their beer from any grain at hand.

 Now beer is one of the most famous alcoholic drinks. It is worldwide socially accepted due to low alcoholic content & it is drink on regular basis. Beer is treated as refreshing drink or thirst quencher. Beer is made with the help of malted cereal grains & flavor is given with the help of Hops. The process of preparing beer is known as Brewing. The place where brewing is going on that is called as Brewery, though beer can be made in the home & has been for much of its history. Nowadays beer is mainly produce with the help of Barley, Malt, Hops, Sugar, Brewer’s Yeast, Water & Finings.

Beer & food matching is quite a hot topic from last few years. Beer is a perfect companion for different food dishes. There are different beer available in the market with different taste, color, type, aroma, & character; that’s help us to choose beer according to our food. For example rich creamy risotto with nutty brown ale, Indian curries goes very well with lager beer, beef stew or mutton stew goes very well with stout beer, basic cheese can be served with draught beer & so on. Even few food dishes are made with the help of beer, as main ingredients to give perfect aroma & taste to that dish.

There are different types are beers available in the market according to individual taste buds. There is a difference between drinking beer & formally tasting it, but that difference isn’t huge. While tasting a beer we should bear few things in mind like shape of glass makes a big difference to how we perceive the beer, so always ask for the same glass each time when we drink beer & glass should be clean without any smell. Beer need to be chilled enough to refresh us, allow beer to stay in glass after pouring & before sipping it. Some people like to drink with froth some like without. Beer is the perfect drink for occasion, we can have our beer in stadium while enjoying different sports; beer companies are the major sponsors for most of the sports. or we can have blast during different parties with beers along with friends, relatives, & company colleagues or we can have corporate lunch or dinner with clients. 

Beer has some medicinal benefits too but they can be achieved by moderate drinking only that means 1 glass of beer every day.

•  Beer helps in making our bones stronger due to high level of Silicon.
• It helps to keep our heart strong.
• It helps us to keep our kidneys healthy.
• It helps boosting brain health.
• It reduces the risk of cancer due to antioxidants presents in a beer.
• Beer contains B12 Vitamin & helps us to boost B6 in our blood.
• It guards us against Heart Strokes.
• It reduces the risk of type 2 Diabetes by increasing insulin sensitivity.
• It helps us to keep blood pressure under control.
• By avoiding so many things, it helps us to live longer life.

Cheers for good health

Dining Etiquette

       

          Hello friends today we are going to discuss about dinning etiquette. Dinning etiquette plays an important role in creating a good impression amongst the people. Nowadays we all do go out for dinner or lunch with our relatives, family, colleagues or business clients. Dinning etiquette helps us to behave in professional manner in this kind of a meet up. Everyone does pay attention on their fellow companions regarding how they behave in public & they also observe each and every minor to major thing of ours. If we really don’t know how to behave in fine dine restaurants, people start avoiding us for social get together. They think that we are not a perfect match for their standards. So today we will know some do’s and don’ts in restaurants. This will help us to keep our standard according to the requirements of society.

• As soon as we are seated, we should remove the napkin from the table, unfold it and put it on our lap. Do not shake it open. Napkin remains on our lap till the end of the meal.
• Do consider host’s budget before ordering any expensive food or beverage.
• Do say thank you after each item when being served as it shows appreciation.
• Do use cutlery from outside to inside while having a meal.
• Do keep the glasses in its original place after having sip.
• Do keep your hand on your mouth while burping & say excuse me immediately.
• Do ask for help from server whenever necessary.
• Do call the server by his/her name which shows respect towards him/her.
• Do wait till everyone gets served; start eating only after the host begins eating.
• Do maintain the pace of table companion, so we will be able to finish the meal at same time like others.
• Do use proper cutlery for every course that has been served to us.
  
• Do drink beverages after the toast is being raised.
• Do sit with a straight back, do not lean on table.
• Do pass the condiments and accompaniments to ladies first, even if we are about to use the same.
• Do not cross over to take anything from the table, do ask for the same.
• Do not smoke without the permission of ladies on the table.
• Do not speak with mouth full, otherwise food particles may get sprayed on others, finish swallowing and then speak.
• Do not use cutlery to indicate while talking to fellow companion on the table.
• Do not have a sip with mouthful otherwise we will have oily marks or food particles on glass rim that is really unacceptable.
• Do not wipe your entire face with serviette; just gently wipe the mouth with it.
• Do not slurp the soup, as it rightly said do not drink the soup eat the soup.
• Gently stir your soup to cool it instead of blowing on it, spoon your soup away from you.
• Do not use the toothpick without covering our mouth.
• Do not make sound with cutlery while eating.
• Do not chew the food with mouth open, so have smaller bites and eat with closed mouth so as to avoid unnecessary chewing noise.
•  Do not play with cutlery, crockery while waiting for food.
• Do hold stemmed glasses by stem and other glasses by bottom.
• Do place the cutlery at 6:00 clock position or at 10:20 position in the plate with next to each other after finishing every course that indicates that one has finished with the course and is ready for next course.
  
• Do not place our purse, wallet or cell phone on the table.
• Do not touch our body parts while we are dinning.
• Do excuse yourself and place your napkin on your seat if we need to leave the table.
• Do not break bread with knife and fork; use our hand to break it into small pieces.
• Do tip our server it is not compulsory but it is expected.
• Do say thanks to the host for the lovely meal & to the server who has given good service.
• With the help of these all points we will be able to dine in any fine dine restaurant with our friends, colleagues, family, or business associates at ease.

Shades of Dragon Fruit

           

         Dragon fruit is a healty fruit grown in Central and South America, Israel, Southeast Asia, and Mexico. This plant is actually a type of cactus and the dragon fruit comes in 3 different colors  2 types have pink skin, but with different colored flesh (one white, the other reddish pink), while another type is yellow with white flesh. Dragon Fruit is very low in calories and offers various nutrients such as Vitamin C, phosphorus, calcium, fiber and antioxidants. Generally a Dragon Fruit is football shaped and has leathery leafy skin that is reddish pink in color.    
        
        One dragon fruit can weigh between 150 to 600 gm due to its thick outer covering of which only 60% is edible. Dragon fruit boosts immune system helps in digestion system due to its richness in fiber. Dragon fruit promotes the growth of probiotics. Dragon fruit helps to lower blood glucose in type 2 Diabetes. The glucose found in dragon fruit helps in controlling the blood sugar level for diabetes patients. Dragon fruit prevents formation of cancer causing free radicals.

Today I would like to showcase some interesting unique cocktails using dragon fruit as a base along with different liquors.

Dragon Fruit Martini

Ingredients

45ml – vodka

15ml- Dry vermouth

1cup – dragon fruit (small cubes)

1tea spoon – freshly squeezed lemon

15ml- sugar syrup

6cubes – ice

Glass: Martini Glass

Garnish: piece of dragon fruit cut into triangular shape with the pink skin

Recipe:

·         Feel the glass with crushed ice so the temperature of glass also remains same as drink.

·         Take a bowl & place those cubes of dragon fruit & muddled it with the help of muddler

·         Add 6 cubes of ice in cocktail shaker, and then add vodka & dry vermouth.

·         After that add muddled dragon fruit & lime juice & sugar syrup

·        Give a proper shake for a while, so all ingredients will mix properly, then strain into glass.

·        At the end decorate the drink with the help of garnish and serve it to guest.

Smoky Dragon

Ingredients:

30ml – vodka

15ml- Triple Sec                                  

15ml- Grenadine Syrup

1cup – dragon fruit (Big cubes)

6cubes – ice

Salt- for rimming (optional)

Glass: Martini Glass

Garnish: piece of dragon fruit cut into triangular shape with the pink skin

Recipe:

• Feel the glass with crushed ice so the temperature of glass also remains same as drink
• Give smoke with the help of charcoal, use small wooden skewers.
• Pour some sugar to give caramelized smoky effect to dragon fruit.
• Take a bowl & place those smoked cubes of dragon fruit & muddled it with the help of muddler.
• Add 6 cubes of ice in cocktail shaker, and then add vodka & Triple Sec.
• After that add muddled dragon fruit with grenadine syrup.
• Give a proper shake for a while, so all ingredients will mix properly.
•  Rim the glass with the help of salt (optional), and after that pour the drink into the glass
• At the end decorate the drink with the help of garnish and serve it to guest.