Know Magic

Chocolate enthusiasts didn’t have any other way to temper chocolates except via manual tempering before the compact tempering machine was invented. Tabliering and seeding were the only methods available to them, for which a double boiler and a frequently-calibrated thermometer were vital.

But manual tempering was quite complex and for novice chocolatiers, it was an ordeal because whether they succeeded in tempering their chocolates or not was a big question. And they couldn’t use the tempering machines available at that time because their size and capacity were strictly meant for big chocolate makers.

Thanks to a computer professional from New York, a much smaller chocolate tempering machine that fit countertops soon became accessible to these chocolate enthusiasts who found the new machine handy, particularly in keeping chocolates tempered for longer hours or even all night.

Snyder wanted to perfect the temperature control functionality of his new invention because only if the temperature was controlled and maintained at a specific temperature would type V crystals be produced in sufficient quantities to make chocolates firm, creamy and shiny. If this was not done, the fatty acids of the cocoa butter would crystallize into six different crystal structures, which would totally impede the creation of type V crystals.

Snyder before long obtained a patent for his tempering machine and his Sinsation Chocolate Maker came out into the market circa 1996. Hobbyists and homemakers, its target market, called it the “kitchen appliance”.

Sinsation was initially sold by the outfit, Chandre LLC where Snyder was Chairman. Another IT company called Indotronix International Corporation provided a $1 million stimulus for its production and marketing. Sales were primarily made via mail order and advertising was via gastronomic and chocolate magazines.

In the year 2000, the sales of the Sinsation shifted to ChocoVision, which added the tempering machine to their line of products, christening it as the “New Sinsation”. The stake of Indrotronix in this company appears to have continued till today.

Sales mostly came from eBay. Much later, participation in trade shows and industry exhibits opened a bigger market for ChocoVision. Before long, the Revolation was found in the kitchens of chocolatiers and other confectionery professionals, besides those of the original target market of hobbyists and homemakers. Internationally, the Revolation was sold via retailers and other distribution channels situated across the globe.

All it needs is a look at hard numbers to understand the place popcorn holds in the nation’s wants. A staggering 1.000.000.000 pounds of uncooked kernels passed across the tills of US retailers in 2000 alone. As a result, over 1.000.000 pounds come from the Popcorn Factory, ready prepared as popcorn balls, popcorn favors, tins of popcorn and gourmet popcorn, yearly. And not only that but it’s kosher certified, so everyone can indulge in it.

Given their three decades of experience, you can confidently order from them, whichever mix you’re craving. To make sure of quality they first pick out the best, most flavorful grain from the U.S.A. Then, pure corn oil comes into play, popping the corn before the flavors are infused straight into the flesh. It’s packaged in eye pleasing cartons and delivered straight to the customer.

Their tins go further than most, sized for 2.5 and 6 gallons and filled entirely. So if you have a event to cater for - or merely want to stock up enough to last through movie night for a few weeks - you know where to come. Plain, obviously, and buttered - but you can also find them offered flavored with banana cream pie or white chocolate raspberry.

But if that’s not your thing, they can offer other possibilities; most popularly the delightful smaller tins and boxes. As with many presents, these can be redesigned to reflect the reason they’re being given. They offer additional customization options - an appropriate image, the recipient’s name, or a special note. Know what you want? You might place a significant order. As an alternative, assortments contain small quantities of different flavors so you can sample everything. Alternatively, should you need a larger assortment, you have a solution - the tower. While they offer predesigned towers, you can also determine the contents of each box in a custom stack. Popcorn in almost any flavor your heart desires can be acquired from them. Owing to their presentation they make superb gifts. Can you think of anyone who’d love a six gallon tin? You can be confident it’ll be well received.

Did you ever wish you could send your friends and family the type of fabulous cookies and brownies your grandmother used to bake? Cheryl & Co can make this possible. Regardless of which area you might want to send a present to, they can deliver a huge range of cookies directly from their bakeshops. All of their fantastic gift boxes, hampers, and brilliantly colored tins is exquisitely decorated and is taken fresh straight to your loved one’s door. It is a comforting and quick way to cheer up your friends, family, clients, and business contacts. The very first store opened its doors in Columbus, OH in the early 1980s. Indeed, less than a decade after opening, they had grown to include a large range of desserts and gifts. Later on they started promoting their goods through catalogs and department stores as well as through a corporate gift department to serve businesses. Their web site was a great success and nowadays they have joined the 1800Flowers.com family, who supply all sorts of floral arrangements and gourmet gifts across the world. Preserving the standards of their celebrated recipes is the company’s main priority. Every last batch of cookies is shipped promptly to make sure it is received at the height of freshness.

All the cookies and brownies are made only from premium ingredients. You can choose from conventional goodies like macadamia nut and oatmeal raisin, as well as some more exotic flavor combos, such as chocolate peppermint. Almost as gorgeous as their scrumptious baked goods are the decorative packages they come in. When you are short on time, lots of pre-selected gift baskets are available on the internet. Or, just decide on a gift box or tin and then select the treats you think the recipient will prefer. The delightful brownies are available in buttercream frosted, nut and low sugar varieties, and even in small sampler assortments. Premium cookies in an upmarket container are the ideal gift for colleagues. Or you can tell a loved one you miss them and are thinking of them by picking out delicious treats in a fun hamper. There are also cookies decorated especially at Christmas, Halloween, and other high days and holidays to make sure you can send the perfect present quickly and without any hassle.

Regardless of whether you wish to give your valentine a gift to remember, to congratulate a new mother or you need to show somebody you care, Cheryl & Company have something that will brighten up their day.

Distribute holiday sunshine throughout your locality with a advanced hors d’oeuvres occasion! The thought of a progressive fete is that a crew of revellers move on foot from one house to another, enjoying delightful appetizers and beverages at each stay. Whether you live in a home or an apartment, this fete is a good means to integrate with your neighbors and ring in the occasion season.

Host an open house party. This is a busy season for occasion celebrations. Giving an open house for the whole family may trim down on costs and time. If adults and youngsters will both attend the party, make sure to have a couple of those fabulous activities set up for the kids and run by assistants during your celebration. Host a tree trimming occasion. The main activity will be embellishing the tree and your house with your decor. If you have little trees that demand dressing, this is idyllic. Serve drinking chocolate and biscuits, not a complete meal. Don’t agenda your holiday party around a meal time. Say no to the goody bags at your holiday fete. Keep guests entertained with imaginative holiday party games. Let a craft or a dressed cookie that the tykes fix and dress serve as a take-home favor.

Contribute even more cheerfulness to the holiday time of year with jolly cupcakes. This line-up of sugarinesses is unbelievable from a easy holl berries candy and holiday gift cupcakes to an enviable ritzy designer ornament exhibit of a great fondant-covered cake ball and additional treats. The photographs alone will give your sweet tooth a thrill and get you in the occasion baking mood.

Still want a cool Halloween costume for your youngster that won’t break your budget? Then see these 5 delightful themes! Utilizing details from around the home and a couple of craft shop provisions, you can put these quick outfits together in minutes. And the best function? They’re all $25 and less! Check additional last minute costume themes for grownups and pets too!

How many times have you seen pictures of babes dressed as pumpkins for a first Halloween? Because the iconic jack-o-lantern is on of the most fashionable Halloween ideas for the most childlike trick-or-treaters, they are effortless to retrieve in depots and online stores. The loose-fitting bodysuit of a plush pumpkin costume ruffles out to the ideal circle shape.

You can see all sorts of animal costumes in stores, but they can be overpriced. Make one yourself out of garments and other items you already own. For instance, to prepare a bunny costume:

1. Start with a solid brown outfit, socks, mittens and cap.
2. Hot paste cotton balls to the backside of the outfit for a tail.
3. For ears, trim two triangle forms from brown paper and paste to the cap.

Hint: Use any solid colour getup you have available to produce unique types of animal costumes.

The Yoda pup costume is definitely my favourite. There is something about those green ears that’s just fantastic! Your dog can likewise costume as Princess Leia or Darth, and you have a pack of “Star Wars” character costumes to select from.

You come home from work after a long day, sink into the tub for a moment of reprieve and just as your muscles begin to relax … the phone rings. You dash out and grab it on the last ring only to be greeted by a telemarketer who mispronounces your last name.

Surely most every American has had their bath, dinner, favorite movie moment or (you fill in the blank) interrupted by a telemarketing call, and if you’re like most Americans it’s an everyday occurrence.

While you may not give in to telemarketing sales pitches, many do. In 2002, the telemarketing industry brought in over $11 billion in revenue, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This is a huge profit by any standard, but when you consider that it comes from only 3,245 U.S. telemarketing bureaus it becomes clear just how massive an industry telemarketing calls have become.

Every year, telemarketers make some 8 billion calls, which worked out to about 100 per household in 2002. They do have some restrictions-Federal law prohibits telephone solicitations before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., and when they do call telemarketers must provide their name, the company for which they work and a phone number.

As though sales calls aren’t bad enough at home, complaints of telemarketers targeting cell phones are increasing-and in this case it’s not just a waste of your time because you’re the one paying for the air time. Though federal law does prohibit telemarketing calls using an automated dialing service to cell phones, it doesn’t prohibit direct calls and many do get through.

If you want to dramatically reduce the number of telemarketing calls you receive, there are several actions you can take.

1. The National Do Not Call Registry

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) created a national registry of phone numbers that are blocked from non-exempt telemarketers. Over 60 million phone numbers have been added to the Do Not Call Registry since its launch.

The Registry is one of your best bets to reducing telemarketing calls: 92 percent of people who used the Registry said they are receiving “fewer calls” and 78 percent said they’re getting “far fewer calls” or none at all, according to a Harris Interactive poll,

There are two ways to add your number to the list:

1. Online at www.DONOTCALL.gov

2. By calling 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236) from the number you want to register

Note: Certain telemarketers are exempt and may still call numbers on the Registry. These include charities, politicians, telephone surveyors and businesses that have a prior relationship with the person they’re calling (banks, airlines, phone-service providers, etc.). Businesses that you’ve given permission to call are also exempt.

How to File Complaints

If your number has been on the Registry for at least three months and you receive a call from a non-exempt telemarketer you can file a complaint with the FTC. To do so visit www.DONOTCALL.gov or call 1-888-382-1222 (TTY1-866-290-4236) and have the date of the call and the phone number or name of the company who called you ready.

2. Ask Telemarketers to Take Your Name off Their List

When a telemarketer does call, ask them to remove your name and number from their list. They are required to add your number to their own “do-not-call” list and keep it there for 10 years. If your number has been on the Do Not Call Registry for over three months and the company is not exempt, you may also want to file a complaint (see above) with the FTC.

3. Keep Your Phone Number Unlisted

There is typically a monthly fee to keep your telephone number unlisted, which means it won’t be listed in the local telephone directory nor will it be available through Directory Assitance (411) or telephone operators (0).

This will cut back on the number of people and companies that have access to your number, however, according to the Federal Communications Commission, there are no laws against the collection of unlisted telephone numbers, and in some cases unlisted numbers can still be obtained from a directory assistance operator. They may also be sold to other organizations or people with whom you have done business in the past.

In fact, industry experts say that one way marketers gain access to unlisted numbers is from the customers giving out their numbers themselves, via surveys, product registration cards and credit card applications. The numbers are also gathered from public records like property data.

Anti-Telemarketing Script

Here’s what to say when telemarketers call you. Just follow the script if you don’t want any more junk calls:

1. Are you calling to sell something? or Is this a telemarketing call?’

2. Could you tell me your full name please?

3. And a phone number, area code first?

4. What’s the name of the organization you’re calling for?

5. Does that organization keep a list of numbers it’s been asked not to call?

6. I would like my number (s) put on that list. Can you take care of that now?

7. And does the company you work for also make telemarketing calls for any other organizations? (If they answer no, skip the next question.)

8. (If yes) Can you make sure your company won’t call me for any other organization?

9. Is it clear that I never want telemarketing calls from anyone?

10. Will your company keep my number on its do-not-call list for at least 10 years?

11. And does your company have a written policy that says that on paper?

12. Can you send me a copy of it?

13. What’s your supervisor’s first and last name?

14. What’s your employer’s business name, address and main telephone number?

15. Are you calling for a tax-exempt nonprofit organization?

16. Is this call based on a previously established business relationship?

You may need to ask to speak with a supervisor if they can’t answer your questions. Before hanging up, check that you have all their answers written down, then say goodbye. Add the date and time to your record. (Is it between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m., when such calls are prohibited?)

Copyright (C) 1996-2005 Junkbusters Corporation. Reproduced by permission under the GNU General Public License

From the FREE SixWise.com e-newsletter, the Web’s #1 most read newsletter with original articles in all 6 areas of life leading to complete wellness.

For your favorite insatiable sweet tooth, a cookie gift basket is sure to make their day. Cookie gift baskets are available from a variety of sources, some bakeries create their own gift baskets and gift basket companies offer a variety of gift baskets for every occasion featuring cookies. They are often included in other gift baskets well, for instance many coffee gift baskets also contain cookies.

Cookie gift baskets don.t come just in baskets. Many smaller varieties come in decorative tins or canisters. Also available are decorative arrangements such as cookie bouquets. These can be a great choice for a less expensive option. Often they consist of a dozen cookies displayed in a flower-like arrangement, usually in a canister or cup instead of a vase. Everyone from Mrs. Field’s to small local bakeries offers a cookie gift basket. They are available in a variety of sizes, from a dozen cookies to huge baskets.

Frequently during the holidays there will be Christmas cookie baskets or cookies decorated like Christmas ornaments. Easter may have cookies decorated like Easter eggs or shaped like bunnies. Cookie gift baskets may also come in seasonal tins or holiday keepsake baskets. There are also themed cookie gift baskets for events like a new baby, birthdays, Mother’s Day, or Father’s Day.

Cookie gift baskets also come in a variety of price ranges, from under $20 to over $100, making it easy to select a gift appropriate to the situation and your relationship with the recipient. For diabetics or people on restricted diets, there are options with sugar-free, low carb or no cholesterol cookies.

A cookie gift basket is a great choice for any occasion, from housewarmings to new babies to condolences. There is such a variety to choose from that you can find something appropriate to any situation.

About the Author: Bob Bassett is the owner of Unique Gift Baskets Online which offers a wide selection of gift baskets for any occasion including baby gift baskets, food gift baskets, wine and corporate gift baskets. http://www.uniquegiftbasketsonline.com

Source: www.isnare.com

Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is the relationship between the amount of alcohol consumed and the elimination of alcohol in your blood. This is usually measured as the percentage of deciliters of blood. So if it is measured by how much blood you have, your body weight makes a difference on how much you can drink. There are a few variables that determine your blood alcohol level:
-Weight
-Male or female
-Amount consumed
-How long the time frame was while drinking
-How long it takes to get back to a 0 BAC

A BAC of .04 means you have 4 drops of pure alcohol for every 10,000 drops of blood. An average man at 160 lbs. that drinks two beers would have a BAC of .04 after about an hour, on an empty stomach. Someone who reaches a BAC of .10 will normally show signs of intoxication. On average, it takes about 1 hour for 1 drink to leave the body. On women, it takes long because usually women have lower water in their body and have a higher percent of body fat than men. The fatter you are, the longer the alcohol stays in your system.

First, the alcohol is absorbed through your stomach. When you eat, then the alcohol is absorbed into the food and has to go on to the intestinal track for absorption. This takes longer for the alcohol to be absorbed. It all depends on how much you drink and how much you eat. A small amount may be absorbed through the stomach, but most alcohol is absorbed through the intestines where it enters the blood stream and travels to the brain.

Alcohol is a system suppressor along with other drugs like sedatives, painkillers and marijuana. Other drugs have a different effect on impaired driving, like cocaine and amphetamines, which are system enhancers. Alcohol impairs judgment, coordination, vision, and reaction time and increases drowsiness.

This is how your BAC is calculated and consequently gets you thrown into jail for a DWI. 35% of those convicted of DWI will become repeat offenders. Its simple, don’t drink and drive.

About the author:

Stuart Simpson
Information on DWI’s at
http://www.dwi-dui-attorney.com/

A traditional recipe from Florence-Italy, jazzed up with a variety of mushrooms, serves best with a dry, full flavoured white wine.

Ingredients

Nutrition Details

Nutrition Features

• * Good source of riboflavin (20 %DV)
• * Source of omega-3 fatty acid (0.5g)
• * Excellent source of vitamin A (35 %DV), vitamin D (100 %DV) and folate (30 %DV).

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Add the shallot, garlic, salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often until browned. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the mushrooms and stir until evenly coated. Gradually stir in the wine and cream; bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium-low. Gently stir in the spinach and kippered fillets. Cover and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until the spinach is wilted and the fish is warmed through. Stir in the lemon zest. Serve over hot pasta, rice or potatoes. Makes 4 servings.

Tip: Try this recipe using mushrooms such as oyster, shiitake, cremini or button.

Lean protein is your diet is essential to weight loss and weight maintenance. Tuna fish is an excellent source of lean protein as it is lower in fat than red meats.

Losing weight isn’t about hunger, misery and crash dieting! By learning to make, delicious, easy-to-prepare, nutritious food your body needs and will enjoy - losing weight becomes exciting and energizing.

Instead of high calorie, fatty sources - use spices to provide flavorsome, exciting meals your whole family will enjoy. “Tuna Patties With Lemon Dill Sauce” is another recipe in a range of hunger-fighting, low fat recipes to assist you keep your weight under control. This irresistible, no-hassle meal will help you reach your weight-loss goals - while making mealtime a real treat.

Variety is an essential element of any successful health program. If you get bored with foods, you’re much more likely to abandon your program altogether. Experiment with spices to find exciting alternatives, try new recipes and build your repertoire of quick home cooked meals to replace take outs, frozen dinners and snacks. Your body will love you and your family will be delighted.

These tuna fish patties are delicious hot or cold. They are great for the lunchbox - just hold back the sauce.

Ingredients:

1 (12 ounce) (350g) can white tuna packed in water, drained and finely flaked
3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup minced green onion
1 egg
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Lemon Dill Sauce:

1/4 cup nonfat chicken broth
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon dried dill

Directions:

In large bowl, combine tuna, breadcrumbs, green onion, egg, milk, and lemon peel.

With lightly floured hands, form mixture into patties.

Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat.

Cook patties, until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side.

Sauce: combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until warm.

Add a small amount of flour and mix with a whisk to thicken sauce.

Spoon sauce over tuna patties and serve.

Makes 4-6 Servings

Approximate Nutrients per serving:

Calories: 190
Total fat: 1
Saturated fat: 0 grams
Cholesterol: 72 mg
Sodium: 34 mg
Carbohydrate: 18 grams
Protein: 29 grams
Dietary fiber: less than 1 gram

Kim Beardsmore is a weight loss consultant whose business operates across 60 countries. This world renowned, medically approved program will give you results you’ll love and all the support you need! Estimate your healthy body weight, tons of recipes, articles, free newsletter and more at http://weight-loss-health.com.au