Chocolate and it’s Startling Health Benefits

Healthy goodness

The art of ‘Perfect’

perfection: the art

Nadia Minkoff London

If you’ve been fortunate enough to taste some of William Curley’s chocolates, it would come as no surprise that he he has been awarded the ‘Best British Chocolatier’ award 4 times since 2007.

William and his Japanese wife Suzue  have formed a formidable team, not only do they combine classic French flavours with Japanese notes, but an aesthetic  so refined it is a pleasure to behold and to taste.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to their Belgravia boutique for the launch of their new book ‘Patisserie’.   Those who know me, know I’ve had a life long love affair with chocolate (personally I go for the strong, dark ones :)) so William and Suzue Curley’s Boutique is as good as it gets for me.

For this particular event, glass trays laden with cakes were aplenty!  I can only describe these cakes as ‘the art of perfect’- the way they…

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The Creeping Decriminalization of Marijuana in the Caribbean

The Caribbean in focus

The Creeping Decriminalization of Marijuana in the Caribbean

The Creeping Decriminalization of Marijuana in the Caribbean.

Craving chocolate – how to supply increasing demands in cocoa crops

Important

THINKING OF INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING?

Well thought out piece

kaywritesheretoo

It’s been a good year for independent publishing. Mark Coker of Smashwords is feeling confident for the future, as is Electrik Inc.

But what about the many stages writers go through before they press the button that uploads their print on demand or ebook file? I thought I’d mention a few of the important stages we go through, from the very beginning.

You’ve written your novel. It’s complete. What now? A good start is having an online presence on some of the excellent writers’ forums out there: Here are just a few:

absolutewrite.com

youwriteon

writers-forum.com

I’ve found most writers’ forums have members who are very generous with information and help for all stages of writing and book production.

Also, consider having your entire manuscript assessed by a professional editor. This kind of help is invaluable because most writers don’t see where the plot is weak, most writers don’t see their…

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Natural Remedies- Toss the Prozac and get happy

Benefits

PlanetShae

If you’re feeling sad and blue, you don’t need to reach into your medicine cabinet for relief. There are natural ways to help with depression.

Take a look at Turmeric-The more I read about this wonder herb, the more I like it. Now apparently in addition to aiding in reduced risk of heart disease, reduced inflammation, and aiding in the regulation of diabetes, in recent studies, it appears to do a better job of putting a smile on your face than Prozac. 

Cocoa- Native to South America, cacao has been nicknamed the “Food of the Gods” and is known for its mood-boosting properties. It is able to trigger the production of dopamine and serotonin in the brain—important chemicals in mood regulation. In addition to boosting mood, cacao can also increase cognitive function or reduce the symptom known as “brain fog”. The best place to find this natural chocolate is at a…

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Mast Brothers Chocolate

Complete

Dressed In Orange

Last week I visited the Mast Brothers Chocolate store in Williamsburg for a tour and tasting. Like most others, I fell in love with this brand at first sight. The packaging is absolutely beautiful – they have a full time designer on staff who designs the paper and helps create the look and feel of the factory and store. What a dream job!

Behind the pretty packaging is delicious chocolate. The ingredients are simple, but the flavors are anything but. All you need is cacao and sugar to make chocolate, but the wonderful and complex flavors come from the beans. Everything from bean type, weather, and soil, to the roasting process define how the chocolate will taste. So when you taste notes of citrus, stone fruit, or slate, that all comes from the beans. Cool, huh?

After a little 101 on cacao beans, we got a behind the scenes look at…

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Jamaica: Risk, reward and incentives. Crime pays and getting away with murder is easy.

Our unfortunate reality…

Jamaica: Political Economy

Some things about life in Jamaica strike me as blindly obvious. One of them is the constant disconnection between what people say they want and what people encourage to happen. Economics is supposed to be about scarcity, but that is really another way of saying that it is about choice and how that is influenced. One of the main drivers for choosing is what is the risk and what is the reward of the choice. Normal, sane people go for things that tend to have more reward than risk. Policy makers should set up options for their societies that load rewards on things that they want to happen, and load risks onto things they wish to discourage. This is where Jamaica–the land of the exceptional–comes to the fore. We have a society that has been loaded with either perverse incentives or incentives that seem to run counter to what we…

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Meet Gordon Swaby: Jamaican Internet Entrepreneur & Innovator

innovative

Re-IMAGINE JAMAICA

Founder and CEO of EduFocal, Gordon Swaby. PhotoCredit – Jamaica Gleaner/PSOJ

At just 15 years old, Jamaican Gordon Swaby was already an internet entrepreneur. He created one of the largest video gaming resource websites in the English speaking Caribbean, founded a concept and design company called IconiTouch and was building websites for companies such as the Press Association of Jamaica (PSOJ), Coastal Steel Construction, the largest steel company in Northwestern Ontario, and the Bethune Dubois institute,  a non-profit organisation focus on the education legacies of American Lecturers- Dr. Mary McLeod and Dr. W.E.B. Dubois among others.

Today, under a decade later, Swaby, 23,  is Founder and CEO of a successful internet start up called EduFocal, an e-learning web applications for students at the CXC and G-SAT Level. According to Swaby, ‘EduFocal is essentially a social learning website for Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) students in Jamaica and Caribbean Secondary Education…

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