Author: A n j i n h o - Sweet Moments from the Little Angel ®

The Bean / O Grão-Amêndoa

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English: THE BEAN Criollo, Forastero and Trinitario. The Criollo beans are the most prized of these three varieties. Fine and complex in flavour but challenging to grow requiring extra care and protection. The Forastero is the most used variety in world’s cocoa production. Full chocolate flavour but less complex in the final notes of the palate. Disease resistant and high yield. The Trinitario is a hybrid of the two varieties and has high yield and resistance characteristics of the Forastero and flavour depth characteristics of Criollo. These three main varieties of cocoa are universally used as a classification of Theobroma cacao, the cocoa tree, and the cocoa bean. There are many subspecies deriving from these three main varieties. Based on genetic variations other classifications may do better justice to existing genetic diversification. As an example, in Juan C. Motamayor research (Geographic and Genetic Population Differentiation of the Amazonian Chocolate Tree, 2008), the following 10 groups are used to classify cocoa in the Amazon basin; Amelonado, Contamana, Criollo, Curaray, Guiana, Iquitos, Marañon, Nacional, Nanay and Purús. …

Our Daily Bread / Pão Nosso de Cada Dia

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English: OUR DAILY BREAD The resurgence in recent times of the sourdough bread is a positive reaction to the deterioration of the nutritional value in industrially produced breads – the fast, cheap and profitable chemical breads. Many traditional diets around the world have benefited for millennia from natural fermentation of foods for nutrition, health, food preservation and food safety. Naturally fermented bread, or sourdough, has been baked for thousands of years. The beneficial natural ferments help to foster the good bacteria in the digestive tract, gardening our internal flora. The long and slow natural fermentation of sourdough bread makes the absorption of iron, zinc, magnesium, antioxidants, folic acid and other B vitamins easier during digestion. Fibre deficiency in the modern western diet is a promoter of many illnesses. Anjinho’s sourdough has a special natural ingredient that increases the content of fibre up to 25% in some recipes. This bread nurtures and balances the digestive system. Anjinho’s Cocoa Bread (photo), one of the sourdough recipes, does all the above and treats the palate to the richness …

Zen

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English: ZEN There is no purpose on getting somewhere if when we get there all we think about is getting to some other place and future moment. Life exists in the present. Reducing the present moment to insignificance, squeezed between an ever present past and an unknown future, is to live an illusory existence. Emphasis in the here and now expands the present moment into life experiences of what is really happening. Experiences felt and interacted with all the senses and sensorial brain.   Português: ZEN Não há propósito em chegar a um lugar se quando chegarmos lá tudo o que conseguimos pensar è chegar a um outro lugar e momento no futuro. A vida existe no presente. Reduzir o momento presente a insignificância, comprimido entre um passado constante e um futuro desconhecido, é viver uma existência ilusória. Pôr o ênfases no aqui e agora expande o momento presente para a vivência das experiências do que está realmente a acontecer. Experiências sentidas e interagidas com todos os sentidos e cérebro sensorial.

Honshu

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English: HONSHU We often think of Japan as a heavily industrialised and urbanised country but beyond the megacities there is tranquil preserved wilderness. The forests, mountains, volcanoes and hot springs of the central island of Honshu are an essential experience. Breathing and contemplating the beauty of these landscapes helps the western mind to immerse itself in the Japanese appreciation of nature, Japanese aesthetic ideals and zen buddhism.   Português: HONSHU Normalmente pensamos no Japão como um país altamente industrializado e urbano mas para além das megacidades há regiões tranquilas de natureza preservada. As florestas, montanhas, vulcões e fontes termais da ilha central de Honshu são uma experiência essencial. Respirar e contemplar a beleza destas paisagens ajuda a mente ocidental a se imergir na apreciação japonesa da natureza, dos ideais estéticos japoneses e do Zen-budismo.

Shaping the Easter Bunny / Esculpindo o Coelhinho da Páscoa

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English: SHAPING THE EASTER BUNNY The ancient Greeks thought rabbits could reproduce as virgins. Such a belief persisted until early medieval times when the rabbit became associated with the Virgin Mary, appearing in manuscripts and paintings where the Virgin Mary was depicted. Rabbits, known for their intense breeding, have traditionally symbolised fertility. A bunny was the animal symbol of Ēostre, the Saxon Goddess of fertility. The celebrations of this fertility deity by the Germanic peoples of Europe were held on the day of the spring equinox – the passing of winter and the beginning of spring. Today the bunny is a symbol of Easter, the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. Easter celebrates Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead, three days after he was executed, and is central to Christian theology and belief. At Easter, long-eared chocolate bunnies take over the world in various shapes and personalities. They entice the imagination of children and the child in all of us, awaiting the moment of that first bite, ears first.   Português: ESCULPINDO O COELHINHO DA …

Pâtisserie Française

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English: PÂTISSERIE FRANÇAISE Savouring sweets, deserts and pastries in France is a cultural affair. From Alsace to Normandy, from Paris to Provence, local pastry chefs master their craft and orchestrate their expressions to a local audience. There is traditional and modern, old and young. Perfectly baked pastries with carefully balanced custards and crèmes, generous amounts of cream and butter, fresh fruit, wild berries and an unconditional commitment to palate, texture and aesthetics. It was from as early as the middle ages that the pastry kitchen took its own path within the culinary arts of France. During the 17th and 18th centuries the pastry craft developed a wide range of techniques. Many pastries, cakes and confections from this period are still celebrated today. French patisserie is delicate and complex and requires specialised skill to execute and time for preparation. Freshness is never compromised. Reputation is earned, mastery respected.   Português: PÂTISSERIE FRANÇAISE Em França saborear doces, sobremesas e pasteis é um assunto cultural. Da Alsácia à Normandia, de Paris à Provença, pasteleiros locais produzem a sua …

Po Cha

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English: PO CHA Po Cha is made from churning tea, salt and yak butter. The type of tea used is usually black brick tea from Pemagul. A portion of this brick tea is crumbled into water and boiled until producing a smoky, bitter brew called chaku. The chaku is poured in a wooden cylindrical churn with a hunk of yak butter and salt and churned for a few minutes before serving. Lhagang (Tagong in Chinese), at the edge of the Tibetan plateau, is surrounded by grasslands where Tibetan nomads graze their herds of yaks. Po Cha is drunk several times a day by Tibetans, its calories and warming qualities help keep energy levels up in the harshness of the cold, high altitude environment. Mount Yala, at an altitude of 5,820m, is covered with snow all year round and is worshiped by the Tibetan people. At the foothills of the sacred mountain, in honour of the Living Buddha, the Muya Golden Pagoda has a 100-kilogram pure gold roof in the center of the monastery’s towers. There has …

Silky / Sedoso

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English: SILKY More than ever we interact with realities that are out of reach, out of our touch. Our brains are exposed to an overwhelming amount of artificial imagery in digital devices that we use daily. These experiences, virtual in nature, are real to (some) parts of our brain. The silk embroidery art of Vietnam is an ancient artistic expression. The meticulous detail of manually creating an image from fine individual threads of silk requires the art viewer’s comprehension of process. Once the process is appreciated, the visual experience rises to another level, it lights up other parts of the viewer’s brain. At the studio the silk artisan’s craft is created in the here and now, before your eyes, in real time. You can touch the smoothness, even smell the silk. The image is physical. You can feel the artisan’s artistic narrative with the fullness of your sensorial brain.   Português: SEDOSO Mais do que nunca nós interagimos com realidades que estão fora do nosso alcance, longe do nosso tacto. Os nossos cérebros estão expostos …