Chocolate Lovers Rejoice

I found the following tips about chocolate at Heart-Healthy Living. I'm sure you've heard that a bit of chocolate is good for you, but maybe you'll pick up a few more tips from the following article and check out the recipes. Didn't we all know that something that makes you feel so good had to be good for you?
Savory
Dark chocolate not only tastes good, it's good for you, too. It promotes heart health by lowering blood pressure and boosting your mood.

By Lynne Meredith Schreiber
Photos by Scott Little
Food styling by Greg Luna

“Dark chocolate saves lives,” says Arthur Agatston, M.D., a preventive cardiologist at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and an admitted chocoholic. He bases his claim on a 2006 Scandinavian study, which showed that consuming small amounts of chocolate with 70 percent or more cocoa content—and without fattening mix-ins such as caramel, butter, or too many nuts—significantly diminished the likelihood of heart attacks.

Derived from the cacao plant, dark chocolate contains flavonoids, which help keep blood vessels clear and flowing, says Julia Zumpano, a registered dietitian with the Cleveland Clinic.

Dark Chocolate Increases HDL
Dark chocolate and cocoa powder increased good (HDL) cholesterol levels by 10 percent, according to a Finland study.

When buying chocolate, avoid:

* milk chocolate
* heavily processed bars
* chocolate with marshmallows
* chocolate with caramel
* chocolate with cream

Heart-healthy nuts, such as almonds and walnuts, are OK. “The more plain the chocolate, the better,” says Julia Zumpano, R.D., of the Cleveland Clinic.

Salad With Oranges And Chocolate
Scientists believe nuts may play a role in protecting against heart disease. Here almonds or walnuts team with salad greens, oranges, and a hint of chocolate for a spectacular side dish.
View the Recipe

Feel Better With Chocolate
Chocolate’s naturally occurring serotonin and dopamine are potent antidepressants, Zumpano says. That makes this indulgence a good alternative to cigarettes and addictive drugs; its quick, blissful high won’t hurt your body.

Chocolate also prompts pleasure because it contains phenylethylamine, a natural pain reliever.

Saucy Chicken with Garbanzo Beans
A little chocolate stirred into the chicken and bean mixture just before serving provides a rich but subtle flavor without adding lots of calories and fat.
View the recipe

Heart-Healthy Living's Favorite Chocolates
We taste-tested about 20 brands of chocolate that contain at least 70 percent cacao for the best heart-health benefits. When the buzz wore off, six favorites rose to the top. Look for quality chocolate in specialty food stores or shop online at chocosphere.com.

Here are our picks:

Valor Dark Chocolate 70%

El Ray, Apamate, Dark Chocolate, 73.5%

Scharffen Berger, Bittersweet, 70%

Bernard Castelain, Macaibo, 70%

Unique Origin, Guyave, 71%

E. Guittard, Quetzalcoatl, 72%

For more heart-health tips, visit:

Tips to Lower Your Blood Pressure

Low-Sodium Recipes

30-Minute Recipes

Register for the free Heart-Healthy Living e-newsletter

Top Five Kitchen Trends

Last month's Kitchen and Bath Industry show, where over 1,000 companies exhibited new products, gave insight into the latest trends. This year's kitchen features products that are: earth-friendly; high-tech; colorful; designed for fresh, healthy food preparation; and all about convenience-meets-multifunctionality. Here's a peek at products that embody these top five trends in kitchens...

1. Earth-Friendly
Green is in all over the house—perhaps most of all in the kitchen. Renewable and recycled, environmentally safe, and energy-efficient products abound.

Sustainable Tabletop
Teragren's formaldehyde-free, food-safe bamboo parquet butcher block, available in natural or caramelized colors, is perfect for kitchen counters and tabletops. Also shown is the company's Studio wide-plank floating floor, which is available in vertical or flat grain; it features TeraLoc, a self-locking system that requires no adhesive. Made with environmentally safe materials from rapidly renewable Optimum 5.5™ Moso bamboo, Teragren products are as green as they are stylish.

Safe Surface
The EQcountertop from VT Industries uses a low-emitting particleboard core, water-based adhesives, and Greenguard indoor air quality-certified laminates (from laminate manufacturing partners) to offer a green, healthy surfacing option. Shown is VT's Nova profile with Wilsonart's mesa gold laminate.

2. High-Tech
The kitchen of the future is here now, chock full of techie elements that meld functionality with fun.

Now You See It, Now You Don't
If you think cleaning your gas stovetop is a drag, you will love Fisher & Paykel's Project Luna stovetop. A frameless piece of 36-by-16-inch black glass supports three individual glass burners that, when not in use, retract flush into the surface. A button prompts them into place for cooking. The Aero burners offer a sparkless ignition and an instantaneous flame, ideal for precision cooking. Due out in the U.S. market next year. Fisher & Paykel

3. Colorful
Stainless steel might never go out of style, but it's sure losing some steam against this year's bright appliance hues.

Dishwasher with Personality
As part of its Preference collection, Dacor recently introduced 24-inch dishwashers in an array of colors. A floating glass front panel is available in six colors: anthracite gray, sterling gray, titanium silver, blue water, slate green (shown), and black.

4. Fresh and Healthy
Companies are catering to nutrition-conscious consumers with products that help keep cooking healthy.

Faucet Filter
Enjoy the freshness of filtered water at your own sink with Kohler's Carafe kitchen, which integrates a water filtration system. A single-lever operation and 360-degree swivel spout keep it all together in one stylish fixture.

Clean Copper
Copper's natural antibacterial properties make Native Trail's offerings especially alluring. The Farmhouse Duet recycled copper sink with a double basin and exposed apron front is available in an antique copper finish (shown) or a new brushed nickel finish.

5. Convenient and Multifunctional
This year's products pack it in for multitasking, time-challenged consumers.

Super Sink
A sink is no longer just a sink with Franke's new Active Kitchen collection. The Mythos sink system (shown) offers an array of accessories including a flexible, tempered satin glass preparation board, a colander, and drain tray. It is available with Franke's rail system for handle mounted components, a pull-out sprayhead faucet, and a matching Mythos vent hood.

Easy Switch
Satisfy your craving for change with Broan's new ready-to-hang decorative backsplashes. These tumbled-marble, pre-assembled fields of tile hang with all the permanence of a picture frame. It's available in four designs, each in a brushed aluminum frame.

Source: This Old House
See more kitchen trends

Ebelskiver Filled-Pancake Pan

This is an ebelskiver pan. You can create the traditional Danish ebelskiver, a plump, puffy pancake filled with jam, curd, fruit or cheese. How about chocolate? The possibilities are endless.
Is it something you must have? Maybe not, but does it speak to your inner child? Perhaps.
Check out the video at Williams-Sonoma. Sunday mornings will never be the same again.

a lighter shade of pale

What is it about this kitchen? Could it be the simple pendant light that hangs over a small table. Perhaps that incredible window that brings the outside pouring into the space. But then again, maybe it's those soft yellow cabinets. I'm a sucker for yellow in a kitchen because my mother always thought a kitchen should be yellow. Whatever the reason, this kitchen evokes warm feelings for me.
---------------

"Cabinets were torn out and replaced with recessed-panel Shaker-style ones, which were then painted sunny yellow, a departure from the suite of whites that illuminate most of the rest of the house.

The terra-cotta tiles on the kitchen floor were exchanged for limestone. In the breakfast area, a round table and modern wicker chairs are set in front of a wall with soaring windows that afford views of the garden with its striking urns and architectural embellishments."

Sources:
Cabinetry: Barrons Custom Kitchens, 301/948-6400.
Oven; range; hood: Viking, 888/845-4641.
Countertop: Silestone by Cosentino, 800/291-1311.
Limestone floor tiles: Architectural Ceramics, 301/762-4140.
Pulley light, mat; chairs: owner’s collection.
China: Tone On Tone, 240/497-0800.
Tablecloth (Great Plains): Holly Hunt, 312/661-1900, trade only.

More photos of a lighter shade of pale can be found at Traditional Home.

Letting It All Hang Out

Savoring Simplicity has moved to WordPress. Please, join us there. It's simple. Just cut and paste the following url to your browser or click here.
http://savoringsimplicity.wordpress.com/

Exposed storage is all the rage today. Some of us are baring it all, and we're proud of it. No longer required to be rustic, some of the sleekest looks are showing up in exposed storage. Long past being relegated to the mud room, garage and attic, we've moved it into our bedrooms, baths, and kitchens. Like an eccentric aunt, we've brought it into the open where all our friends can ooh and ah over its clever and unique attributes.

Letting it all hang out seems to say, "I have nothing to hide. Look at me." It's often the answer for those who live in small spaces, utilizing every inch of wall space for storage. Not only friendly but accessible, with everything at the tips of our fingers, we can easily find Grandmother's holiday platter, or that seldom used esoteric spice.

Though open storage may be for every room now, it may not be for everyone. Perhaps the solution is to have some traditional cabinets in which to hide the less than attractive but necessary items, and some open storage for the more appealing paraphernalia. Something to think about.