Documentary uncovers child labor and trafficking in the cocoa industry. The Dark Side of Chocolate is a documentary about the continued allegations of trafficking of children and child labor in the international chocolate industry While we enjoy the sweet taste of chocolate, the reality is strikingly different for African children.

a film by Miki Mistrati og U. Roberto Romano

The Dark side of Chocolate

Watch documentary via: DocumentaryStorm

Great party treats

Via Intimate Weddings

O Melhor Bolo de Chocolate do Mundo

About The Best Chocolate in the World Grub St NY

Recipe Via Pinch My Salt

Recipe Via: David Lebovitz

Recipes in this video

Moqueca de peixe e camarão
Caipirinhas
Feijoada
Xinxim de galinha
Quindim

Mozzarela Di Buffala
Naples, Itala
Italian DOP, EU PDO

This is a rare and special treat. We all know mozzarella; it’s one of the most commonly consumed cheeses in the United States. Of course, fresh handmade mozzarella is a huge jump up from the supermarket stuff, and di Bufala a step farther still. Water Buffalo are cultivated around Naples, and now on a few small farms in the US, to make this fabulous cheese. It has a more melting texture and slightly more lactic flavor than even the best hand pulled mozz. Good cheese shops usually stock some of the Italian stuff via air freight. Get some

Gruyère
Fribourg, Switzerland
Swiss name-controlled

This is Swiss! Representing the host of great cooked-curd alpine cheeses, Gruyère is probably one of the most famous cheeses in the world. It deserves every scrap of its fame. Gruyères, both the select and the standard, exhibit a lovely pliable texture coupled with the flavor intensity of a drier cheese. It tastes nutty, fruity, buttery, with a unique piquancy from propionic acid. The more well aged examples will have tiny crunchy bits in the sea of toothsome paste; these are proteins slowly crystallizing over time.

Constant Bliss
Greensboro, Vermont, USA
Made by Jasper Hill Farm

This is the darling of American Artisan cheese, and for good reason. It embodies the movement. Born of an Old World recipe, it has morphed to become a cheese unlike any in the world. Neither firm nor hard, the cheese delivers what it promises . . . a constant, nutty, mushroomy, salty bliss.

Leonora
La Mancha, Spain

Central Spanish goat cheese has become a force to be reckoned with in recent years. The rough and sparse landscape is an ideal environment for the creation of creamy goat cheeses with an exceedingly tart note. Leonora is the newcomer to the family, but is rapidly eclipsing the others in terms of consistency. The flavor is always bright, clean, and the texture a perfect balance of whipped and crumbly.

Taleggio
Lombardy, Italy
Italian DOP, EU PDO

The great Italian washed rind, Taleggio is a unique, though mellow, contribution to the style. Think of it as stinky cheese with training wheels. The pronounced aroma will announce its presence; the hearty, buttery, beefy flavor will win over even the cheese novice. Creamy textured and salty, it is a perfect cheese to add to risotto, melt on pizza, or lay on sandwiches, when you want a more flavorful cooking cheese

Brie de Melun
Ile-de-France, France
French AOC status, EU PDO

Brie is perhaps one of the most popular cheeses in the world, and is certainly the poster child for soft ripened cheese. At least it has been ever since Tallyrand locked a bunch of diplomats in a room in Vienna and wouldn’t let them out until they declared Brie the “King of cheese”. In spite of the plethora of knock-offs, real, raw milk brie from the lush pastures of Ile-de-France is a singular pleasure; in particular the bries of the village of Melun stand out. The milk gives the cheese its rustic, lactic backbone, and the molds add an earthy note of mushrooms and garlic

Robiola della Alta Langa
Alta Langa, Italy

The Due latte Robiolas of this area of Piedmont/Lombardy are like Brie on steroids. The cow’s milk gives the cheese body, and the sheep’s milk gives it a long finish, but the surface molds and yeasts give it a funky, mushroomy flavor. That, and the unctuous texture, will leave you wanting another bite and a nice glass of Barbera.

Kumquat

Did you know…

Kumquats originated in China (they are noted in literature dating to the 12th century), and have long been cultivated there and in Japan. They were introduced to Europe in 1846 by Robert Fortune, collector for the London Horticultural Society, and shortly thereafter into North America.

Fruit Selection

Choose firm, glossy colorful fruits. Avoid bruised, shriveled, or wet fruits.

Recommended Storage

Refrigerate kumquats for up to 2 weeks.

Kumquat Refrigerator Pie

Ingredients

Crust

1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Ingredients

1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup pureed kumquat rinds
14 oz can condensed milk
the juice of 1 lemon
the juice of 1 lime
the juice of 1 orange
8 oz package cream cheese, room temperature

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine sour cream and butter together in a bowl. Mix in the flour, but do not over mix. Form the dough into a ball and place into the refrigerator for a few minutes. Lightly flour your work surface, and roll the dough into a medium thick crust. Place the crust into a 9 inch pie plate and prick the crust with a fork. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely.
2. Beat the cream and sugar with an electric mixer until it is light and fluffy, and holds its shape well. In a separate bowl beat the room temperature cream cheese, kumquat rinds, milk, and juices until well combined. Now add the fluffy whipped cream and beat until it is well incorporated. Scoop the filling into the cooled pie shell. Refrigerate overnight before serving.

Pomelo

Did you know…

The tangelo is a hybrid between the pomelo and the tangerine. It has a thicker skin than a tangerine and is less sweet.

Fruit Selection

Look for glossy, round, smooth pomelo that are heavy for their size. Avoid gray-brown spots.

Recommended Storage

They can be left out for a week or refrigerated for up to eight weeks.

Pomelo Salad

For the delicious recipes visit Rasamalaysia

Cranberries

Did you know…

About 95% of cranberries are processed into products such as juice drinks, sauce, and sweetened dried cranberries. The remaining 5% is sold fresh to consumers. Cranberries destined for processing are usually frozen in bulk containers shortly after arriving at a receiving station. To allow air movement deterring decay, cranberries for fresh market are stored in shallow bins or boxes with perforated or slatted bottoms. Because harvest occurs in late autumn, cranberries for fresh market are frequently stored in thick walled barns without mechanical refrigeration. Temperatures are regulated by opening and closing vents in the barn as needed.

Fruit Selection

Choose firm cranberries with a bright red color. Avoid mushy, wet or pale berries and debris.

Recommended Storage

Refrigerate cranberries for up to three weeks or freeze for up to a year.

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

Great recipe for this cold winter Libby’s Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

The Table

The starter Fig & Pumpkin  soup with Goat cheese and asparagus

Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

2 Medium Cinderella Pumpkin

1 clove garlic, minced

1 large onion chopped

1 vegetable bullion

1 teaspoon of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a pan place onions and garlic and sauté until golden brown.  Add 1 litter of water, add pealed pieces of pumpkin a vegetable or chicken bullion, salt and pepper to taste bring water to a boil, reduce heat to low, until pumpkins are soft. let let cool down for 2o min before placing it into the blender or food processor.

Place the pieces of pumpkin (the garlic and onions with some of the broth) into a food processor or blender until reach consistency desired. In my case (as shown in the picture above) I puree mine soup until a thick consistency (no cream added) if is too thick use water use to boil pumpkin to reduce the thickness.

Once you had reach the right consistency return to pan, and bring to a boil again but only for 5 min. let it cool down fro a fe minutes before serving.

Pour into soup bowls and garnish with creme fraiche and a small pinch of cranberry sauce.