Chocolate for Breakfast book

This book is to be published tomorrow, Feb. 17, 2009

Here is an article about it from a Tulsa newspaper...
Chocolate for breakfast. Why not?
http://www.tulsaworld.com/lifestyle/article.aspx?subjectid=39&articleid=20090211_39_D3_Chocol58803

Chocolate-chocolate pancakes are found in "Chocolate for Breakfast."

By NATALIE MIKLES World Scene Writer
Published: 2/11/2009 2:21 AM
Last Modified: 2/13/2009 11:38 AM

It's definitely decadent, somewhat indulgent and just a little bit naughty.

It's "Chocolate for Breakfast."

And for author Barbara Passino, it's more than a catchy book title. At her Napa Valley bed and breakfast, the Oak Knoll Inn, every morning starts with chocolate for breakfast. Not just chocolate, mind you. But every breakfast has at least a little.

It's no wonder. Passino's mother tells her the first piece of solid food she ate was a chocolate brownie.

"I didn't stand a chance after that first brownie," she said.

When Passino opened the Oak Knoll Inn 17 years ago, she didn't set out to serve chocolate for breakfast. For a chocolate-lover like herself, it was just a natural thing to do.

"I didn't even realize it until one of my guests pointed it out to me. She said, 'This is the fifth day you've had chocolate on the menu.' Really?" she said.

By now it's tradition, whether in the form of chocolate crepes, chocolate tacos filled with fresh fruit, chocolate-filled toast pillows or a chocolate omelet with blueberries in a pinot noir sauce.

"People who come here are going to be going out and drinking wine around 11 in the morning, so it's good they have something good and solid for breakfast," she said.

Passino has no problem with your typical "chocolate for breakfast" fare — hot chocolate, chocolate-chip muffins, chocolate croissants. But it's the unexpected, like the chocolate omelet, that delights her guests. It's also the reason
she wrote the cookbook.

Guests asked so often for the recipes that Passino began writing them down, freely sharing them with guests and friends, letting them help her with the testing.

And Passino loves the idea that people can re-create the luxury of a Napa Valley inn wherever they live.

"During the week," she said, "you have your oatmeal or grab a bagel, but on the weekend, sitting down to a nice breakfast is a way to get the family together, to relax."

Yes, and to eat chocolate omelets.








Here are some reviews of it, plus a recipe from it:

Chocolate for Breakfast: The Cookbook, Oak Knoll Inn, Napa Valley (Hardcover)

by Barbara Passino (Author), Antonia Allegra (Editor), Marc Hoberman (Photographer)

- 288 pages
-Publisher: Gerald & Marc Hoberman Collection (February 17, 2009)
-Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1919939555
- ISBN-13: 978-1919939551
-Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 8.7 x 1.3 inches
-Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds

Product Description
With over 100 detailed recipes and 260 full color photographs, this lavishly illustrated cookbook is the ultimate tribute to the world's favorite indulgence. Chocolate connoisseur and chef extraordinaire Barbara Passino is renowned for her sinfully decadent breakfasts, which she serves daily at the luxurious Oak Knoll Inn, situated in the heart of Napa Valley, California. "Chocolate for Breakfast" is a sumptuous collection of Barbara's passion-filled techniques, philosophies and anecdotes, all presented in easy-to-follow recipes and illustrated with the spectacular photography of renowned photographer Marc Hoberman. Menus with a chocolate twist inspired from cultures around the world are presented, including Italian, French, Asian, Moroccan, Spanish and American, as well as some fun surprises such as breakfast ideas for Valentines Day, the secret to making a perfect bed (who says breakfast has to be at the table?), a Chocolate-y proposal and a lot more.

About the Author
Marc Hoberman is a photographer, designer, author and director of The Hoberman Collection, a publisher of luxury photographic coffee table books. From a young age he has travelled the world, camera in hand, capturing the striking images that have earned him his reputation. Commissioned by many prestigious organisations and publications including Vogue, Historic Royal Palaces and the Elton John Aids Foundation, he is also an official photographer for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, working with many of the world's leading movie stars. Marc lives in London with his wife Sarah. Barbara Passino is the proprietor/chef of Oak Knoll Inn, a luxurious, intimate inn nestled amidst rows of grapevines in Napa Valley, California's Wine Country. Her decadent breakfasts have become the stuff of California legend and attract people 'in the know' from all over the world. Leaving behind 15 years in the world of finance, Barbara took a break from creating the mutual fund business at Charles Schwab and studied with master chef Marcella Hazan in Venice. Hungry for learning about other cultures through the way food is incorporated into daily life, Barbara combined travel with the study of cooking and was inspired to turn her passion into a full-time dream-come-true, in the heart of Napa Valley with her husband John. All of this culminated in the greatest breakfasts imaginable.

Serve these pancakes with a raspberry sauce or sliced strawberries.

CHOCOLATE-CHOCOLATE PANCAKES

1 2/3 cups flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
5 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 ¼ cup (plus up to ¼ cup more) milk

1. Put the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and sugar through a sieve placed over a large mixing bowl. Add the chocolate chips to the dry ingredients. Beat the eggs and vanilla together. Add melted butter, then milk and continue to blend. Pour the liquid mix over the dry ingredients, and stir thoroughly. It should be about the consistency of a really good chocolate milkshake.

2. Place a platter in the oven and turn the heat to 200 degrees. As you make the pancakes, put them on the platter so that they stay warm until you’re ready to serve.

3. Place a griddle or a large skillet over moderate heat and brush the surface with a little melted butter. Using a ladle, drop batter onto the griddle to make pancakes about 2 to 3 inches across. Cook until the edges begin to look dry and bubbles appear on the surface. Flip gently and cook for another minute on the other side.

Book- Brain Rules

from the book BRAIN RULES


The 12 Rules

Read the chapter, then use these tutorials to reinforce the concepts:

Explore each rule through illustrations, charts and video. These tutorials are designed to reinforce the concepts in the book; we recommend reading the corresponding
chapter first.

EXERCISE | Rule #1: Exercise boosts brain power.
SURVIVAL | Rule #2: The human brain evolved, too.
WIRING | Rule #3: Every brain is wired differently.
ATTENTION | Rule #4: We don't pay attention to boring things.
SHORT-TERM MEMORY | Rule #5: Repeat to remember.
LONG-TERM MEMORY | Rule #6: Remember to repeat.
SLEEP | Rule #7: Sleep well, think well.
STRESS | Rule #8: Stressed brains don't learn the same way.
SENSORY INTEGRATION | Rule #9: Stimulate more of the senses.
VISION | Rule #10: Vision trumps all other senses.
GENDER | Rule #11: Male and female brains are different.
EXPLORATION | Rule #12: We are powerful and natural explorers.

The Back of the Napkin

I discovered a book on amazon.com called "Back of the Napkin"...here is an illustration from it...so creative...there is a blog, and some inspiring stories and ideas here. Looks so good. OK..it is now on my wish list!

I like this tiny car....

A stack of Smart Cars in the snow outside Cobo Hall as preparations are made for the North American International Auto Show on January 10, 2009 in Detroit, Michigan. Despite the American love-affair with big cars, the United States has emerged as the third largest single market for Daimler AG's tiny Smart car, the chief of Smart USA said.
(AFP/File/Stan Honda

Vicks Removes Warts!

This, to me, is an amazing story. My mom had a wart about an inch or so from her eye. She recently heard that Vicks removes warts. So every night, she put a dab of Vicks on her wart. It got smaller and smaller and finally disappeared. Wow!

Big Full Moon-Why

Tonight, we will have a big full moon-the biggest of the year 2009...

Saturday night special: Biggest full moon of '09
Moon will be nearly full, rising earlier Friday night and later Sunday night
This view of a full moon was photographed by an Expedition 14 crewmember onboard the International Space Station. Earth's horizon and airglow is visible at left.

If skies are clear Saturday, go out at sunset and look for the giant moon rising in the east. It will be the biggest and brightest one of 2009, sure to wow even seasoned observers.
Earth, the moon and the sun are all bound together by gravity, which keeps us going around the sun and keeps the moon going around us as it goes through phases. The moon makes a trip around Earth every 29.5 days.
But the orbit is not a perfect circle. One portion is about 31,000 miles (50,000 km) closer to our planet than the farthest part, so the moon's apparent size in the sky changes. Saturday night (Jan. 10) the moon will be at perigee, the closest point to us on this orbit.
It will appear about 14 percent bigger in our sky and 30 percent brighter than some other full moons during 2009, according to NASA. (A similar setup occurred in December, making that month's full moon the largest of 2008.)
High tides
Tides will be higher, too. Earth's oceans are pulled by the gravity of the moon and the sun. So when the moon is closer, tides are pulled higher. Scientists call these perigean tides, because they occur when the moon is at or near perigee. (The farthest point on the lunar orbit is called apogee.)
This month's full moon is known as the Wolf Moon from Native American folklore. The full moon's of each month are named. January's is also known as the Old Moon and the Snow Moon.
A full moon rises right around sunset, no matter where you are. That's because of the celestial mechanics that produce a full moon: The moon and the sun are on opposite sides of the Earth, so that sunlight hits the full face of the moon and bounces back to our eyes.
At moonrise, the moon will appear even larger than it will later in the night when it's higher in the sky. This is an illusion that scientists can't fully explain. Some think it has to do with our perception of things on the horizon vs. stuff overhead.
Try this trick, though: Using a pencil eraser or similar object held at arm's length, gauge the size of the moon when it's near the horizon and again later when it's higher up and seems smaller. You'll see that when compared to a fixed object, the moon will be the same size in both cases.
More lunacy
If you have other plans for Saturday night, take heart: You can see all this on each night surrounding the full moon, too, because the moon will be nearly full, rising earlier Friday night and later Sunday night.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28581233/?GT1=43001

Jane Austen World

Many gals I know are very into Jane Austen.
I have seen some of the movies and read a few of her novels. I did take the quiz....

Take the Quiz here!