Based in Georgia, Graffiti Zoo offers an exciting array of Chocolate and Spices. I have not tried any of their creations but if there was one it would be Morrocan Elephants. Its combination of milk chocolate, orange zest and spicy ginger makes my mouth salivate. They give a portion of their profits to wildlife organizations.
I discovered them while reading Chocolate & More on Tom Peters site.

If you live in New Jersey, we even know where to get it. Another errand that Montclair Concierges can run for you.

Technorati tags: serge the concierge, chocolate, food and wine, graffiti zoo, tom peters , montclair concierges, wildlife

Since 2004, Montclair Concierges and New Jersey Concierges offer Concierge, Personal Assistant and Errands Services to northern New Jersey busy professionals.  Let us do the heavy lifting so you can work or play better.
Hourly Fee: $35.00 per hour (weekdays) (additional fees might be required if travel is needed).
We can also offer our services onsite, right where you work. A minimum of 5 employees must use the services and different fees apply. Contact us for more details.

This ad will be available in a 'listing' from Edgeio, a new free classified online service.

Technorati tags: serge the concierge, listing, new jersey concierge, edgeio, montclair , new jersey, services

A new company named Edgeio offers us all a new way to find things we need or to get rid of unwanted items.
It is a free service and they cover housing, services, cars, vacation, events, jobs and more.
Best of all the service is free. They collect items from websites and blogs. As they just launched, you might not find yet listings in your area.
To have your Ad show up, you just need to have a 'listing' tag with it.

In the past week, two articles in the New York times identified the same need for Concierges services as we have with our own Montclair Concierges and New Jersey Concierges offerings, here in New Jersey.
The first piece "Free to Be Yourself (by Hiring a Personal Assistant)" by Julie Bick is centered on individual needs. The second "My Concierge Will Call Your Concierge" by Jack Smith focuses more on corporate settings. We believe there is also a market , which we will start serving soon in our New Jersey area, for services offered in smaller businesses and offices where a concierge service can deal with individual employee needs so they can focus on their work. We do agree with points highlighted in Julie Bick's piece that concierge services should not be only geared towards productivity but also as a way for busy professionals to free up some time for personal activities, be it resting, reading, yoga or anything you do not want to postpone doing anymore.
I guess we all come to realize that time is not a commodity.

I just read the tips on How to Cook and Eat an Artichoke from Elise on Simply Recipes. Well let me add my own take from the persepective of someone born in Brittany (not California).
I agree on everything that Elise says about artichokes. A couple of minor differences, I never bothered to cut the ends of the leaves and neither did my mother, aunts and others that cooked it for me. As far as the way we eat it, it is either cold with a vinaigrette or warm with a sauce of melted butter to which we add red wine vinegar as the butter finishes to melt.
Brittany is a big growing region for artichokes, especially on the Channel side (or should I say la Manche). Brittany, the kitchen at the end of the earth is a good article on bretton staples.
A friend of mine even sold artichoke flowers to tourists some summers ago. There is also a liquor named Cynar made with artichokes in the PO region of Italy.

A very creative dutch student Jeroen Wijering litterally has the news popping up all over the world map as they happen with What's Up? Perfect for you if you are a news afficionado or curious or just sleepless.

Some of the news are in their native language just so you know.

I discovered this work thanks to the good people at Coudal in Chicago.

The first thing that caught my eye about 'La Petite Rousse' is its label in shades of pink. Then I thought to myself not another California wine with a french name that no one can pronounce. I later discovered the connection with La Petite Rousse of Montmartre who was painted by Renoir. The wine is a second label from Clos Mimi in Paso Robles, 100% Syrah. For more details, read the winemaker's notes on the 2004 vintage.

We just signed up with BlogBurst . Starting this Spring, they will syndicate Blog Content such as ours to a number of mainstream news outlets such as the San Francisco Chronicle, the Washington Post and the Houston Chronicle. It will give us additional exposure as we soon begin our second year. Thank you all for bringing us to this stage.

Funny how things work. Yesterday we wrote about 'Queso de Cabra' and today it just happens that our new under $10.00 red wine pick Carro Tinto 2004 from Bodegas Antonio Candela comes from the same area of Murcia, Spain.
It is 50% Monastrell, 20% Syrah, 20% Tempranillo and 10% Merlot.
Because of the dry climate of the area, the vineyards produces concentrated fruit.
The 4 grapes in this wine offers a balance between full flavors and rich fruit. Carro Tinto complemented nicely a few cheeses, crusty bread and a pear I chose to have with it.

Having recently discovered Queso de Cabra (Goat Milk Cheese) from Spain, I did a little research. You find Queso de Cabra named as Murcia or Queso de Pastel or Queso del Norte de Sevilla as Murcia is located between Andalucia and Valencia.
All this shows that neither cheese nor geography or history are simple matters.