Three personal secrets

A dear friend of mine insists I release three secrets about myself in the course of the next week. Well, she wanted this done before New Year but I negotiated an extension. Stay tuned and Happy New Year.

Levi's mannequins

Wow-sale! Find a store near you.

Relax, rejuvenate: childfree hotels

Childfree hotels - Big Sur, South California:


Highway 1 through Big Sur designated American National Scenic Byway & California Scenic Highway, an honor reserved for highways that are so distinctive they are destinations unto themselves.
Big Sur, offering best lodging in Monterey County and the best lodging in California.
"Big Sur" is derived from the original Spanish-language "el sur grande", meaning "the big south", or from "el país grande del sur", "the big country of the south".

So, my friends decided to visit.
They are well off and looked for the best options as far as lodging is concerned.


Post Ranch Inn

Post Ranch Inn was created for adults to relax, rejuvenate and nurture relationships.
Therefore, our minimum age for guests is 18 years.

Ventana Inn and Spa

Ventana Inn & Spa is designed and is operated as a resort for adults.
Many guests come to Ventana expressly to take a break for a few days from their own children.
No one under the age of 18 is permitted to stay at Ventana Inn & Spa.

Choice No. One and choice No. Two hotels turned them down because of the kids they had in tow. So they are thinking about visiting Big Sur next time without kids. In order to relax, rejuvenate and nurture their relationship.

More on the subject:  
Childfree hotels
LGBT-Welcoming

Snacks on a plane

Remember the horror movie?
The one combining two phobias in a deadly knot?
I mean "Snakes on a plane" (2006).

There is something even worse.
A 6-hour flight with no food served.
Snacks and meals available at additional charge.
But Okay, I'm willing to pay some for a nice meal.
Oh well, if not nice at least for some hot meal.

But here we go.
Meal are no longer called "Herb-Roasted Chicken with Pears and Figs" or "Steak Au Poivre with White Beans" or "Mushroom Ravioli".
That's for first class.
For economy they are economically called "Hearty Meal", "Protein Meal", "Comfort Meal" and "KIds' Meal".

Hearty Meal
This anytime combination includes Old Wisconsin beef salami, Late July Organic Crackers, Oakfield Farms cheddar cheese, Snyder’s mini pretzels, Welch’s fruit snacks, and Thin Addictives Cranberry Almond cookies.

Protein Meal
This protein-packed meal combines Bumble Bee lemon pepper tuna, Athenos whole wheat bagel chips, Wild Garden sundried tomato hummus, Partners crackers, Emerald's natural almonds, Ocean Spray Craisins and a Toblerone chocolate.

Comfort Meal
Grab a treat for all ages: Mott's applesauce, Madi K's blend of almonds, raisins and chocolate, Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies, a Clif Organic Energy Bar, Sun butter, Partner's Crackers and Dickenson's strawberry preserves.

Jet Set Kid Pack
This fun kids' snack box comes with Giddy Strawberry Dip'ems Snacks, Ritz Peanut Butter Crackers, Pepperidge Farm Whole Grain Goldfish, Fruit By The Foot, Dolphin Earbuds, and a slide puzzle to pass the time.

No single fresh component! Of coursed nothing cooked or served re-heated.

Travelers dear, take good care of yourselves, take yogurts, sandwiches and apples along.

Enjoy your flight!

Specialty kitchen gadget (4)

1. Fishbone pliers
2. Corn cob butterer
3. Carrot curler

The forth and the last on that hour spent at Sur La Table while waiting for life to happen was onion holder. Onion holder looks like a hair comb with teeth meant to hurt not to deliver pleasurable experience.

Onion holder

$12 and it's yours. You may wish to purchase onion goggles @ $23 or onion saver which is, like, free @ $4.




 Onion choppers and mandolins are of less interest, they may actually be of use and what's worse of universal use which defeats the idea of specialty kitchen gadget.

Onion saver

Also in pink at BB&B for just $20

Happy holidays everyone!

Fashion twit - knee high boots

                    Ralph Lauren - Cosima Suede-Calfskin Boot                                  Price: $1150 | Sale Price: $859 

These are impeccable. A winner no doubt if you compare Ralph Lauren to UGG Collection Donata (on the left), ready to ship from Zappos @ $1195 or Versace™ boot Lsd151q Lvna, ready to ship from Zappos @ $1,350.00 SALE! $810

Scratchy grains

A couple of international foods I feel good about:

Finn crisps as a healthy alternative to French baguette.
Sold at Whole Foods, international sections of some regular supermarkets, ethnic stores, Amazon.

Buckwheat as a healthy grain, high in fiber, protein, vitamin B complex, minerals.
Perfect for vegan and vegetarian diet.
Good for people suffering from diabetes / concerned with controlling blood sugar levels, people with risk of heart disease, people concerned with gluten-free diet because of celiac disease or other reasons [not to be discussed here and now].
FACT: It is not a cereal grain.
While many people think that buckwheat is a cereal grain, it is actually a fruit seed that is related to rhubarb and sorrel making it a suitable substitute for grains for people who are sensitive to wheat or other grains that contain protein glutens. Buckwheat flowers are very fragrant and are attractive to bees that use them to produce a special, strongly flavoured, dark honey (Whole Foods).

Could work as a side dish and goes well with beef stew, or as a main entrée and goes well with sautéed onions or/and mushrooms. I prefer to buy unroasted buckwheat and roast it myself for the above purposes:
Buckwheat Groats (Amazon)  / Arrowhead Mills - buckwheat groats. Works fine for breakfast with milk added right into the bowl of porridge.

It may come pre-roasted (like Wolf's Kasha). Not my preference.


Buckwheat flour (e.g. from Arrowhead Mills)  helps with guilt-free gluten-free pancakes and baking. Actually, buckwheat pancakes belong to traditional Acadian cousine.
Tried buckwheat pancakes in Nova Scotia, home to Acadian culture. Splendid sun-dawns and nature walks, bland food.  

Soba noodles in your soup for dinner will work well too.

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were two of the first American farmers to grow buckwheat and recognize the benefit to their crop rotations. With increased focus on specializing in the major commodities during the 1900s, buckwheat become much less common. In recent years, some farmers in north Missouri grew buckwheat under contract with a major buckwheat processor (Jefferson Institute).

More specialty kitchen tools

#3. Carrot curler But this post is not even about the #4 gadget that caught me off-guard at Sur La Table. It's about expanding horizons no matter what are the circumstances. I shopped at Target. I had to get some boring stuff like plain sport t-shirts and some grocery basics. The only thing I'm passionate about when at Target are these Archer Farms Strawberry Pull-Apart Fruit Peels

But never underestimate the kitchen tools section of Target. It's small but freaky. I looked for a gift to a dear friend who pretty much can buy anything she needs for herself. So I shopped for things she doesn't need - specialty tools. Palm-held citrus zester - Chef'n - $8. Clip-on utensil holder - Michael Graves - well, can't find it's on Target website, one on the photo below is sold at Amazon (Trudeau Pot Clip $7)

Must hear from her in January re these tools...

Bags and belts

I started with bags. I mean it's a holiday season and a bag is one of the best material presents I can imagine. I value experiences more than objects but this matter is not to be explored here and now. So I brought two bags home to eventually settle on one: Patricia Nash --- 2011 Holiday season -- 3d row, 2nd from the left: looks classy, smells of camel urine (which is fine with me), has certain design flaws - too eagerly detachable strap and rivets embossed with company logo protruding from inside.

This is not the one I got but it's funky and gives you an idea. Patricia Nash "Milano" Large Convertible Satchel could be found at Dillard's ($248). Patricia Nash designs are on sale at Macy's (decent selection), Nordstrom (one model, currently unavailable), Urban Outfitters (good deals, small selection).






The other one is from Fossil. I've been in love with Fossil for so long that my favourite clutch-with-a-strap bag is not manufactured any more.

Vintage Re-Issue flap with lock @188. The one I got is slightly different and it's yellow. Like it but not in love. 

Anyway, started searching for a perfect one. Somehow got into Ralph Lauren bags and belts. 

Upscale show-off with the logo right into your face. If you check on belts you get an idea of what it's all about. 

It's about status.  

Well, the one below on the left is from alligator leather @ $1695. It better be high price. 

The one on the right is just a belt. A stripe of leather with as buckle @ $325.

More fashion twits




So when you wear this polo shirt with Ralph Lauren logo

bought at TJ Maxx for 30 bucks think about all these alligators and Wall street slaves tortured in order to support the brand.

Food in the cinema

Forrest Gump

Shrimp: According to Pvt. Benjamin Buford 'Bubba' Blue

Forrest Gump shrimp commercial

Pulp fiction
Five-dollar milkshake

Great culinary blog "My last bite..."

Sur La Table is my favourite store for kinky gadgets. Crate and Barrel, Williams Sonoma are somewhat behind. Paying too much attention to cookware and (in case of Crate and Barrel) to dinnerware. Just to give you an idea: I'm in line to pay for my finds and overhear the conversation. This sharp-looking not-so-young lady asks a girl at the counter about some special spatula she'd seen on TV. - We are sold out twice!

But imagine my disappointment when I asked for truffle shaver and they didn't have one. Offered me chocolate shaver instead! I looked here and there, I looked everywhere and I found this My list bite... culinary blog through the old post about Truffle shaver the author got form Sur La Table!

I was deeply touched by the story of her childhood in Okinawa and then children's home in US.

And I liked the idea of (her favourite) food films section.
1. Tampopo
2. Mostly Martha
3. Ratatouille
4. Big Night
5. Eat, Drink, Man, Woman
6. Like Water for Chocolate
7. Under the Tuscan Sun
8. Woman on Top
9. Dinner Rush

I would add
10. "Babette's feast" (1987, Denmark)
11. "The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover" (1989, USA)
12. "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (1971)

more to come

Specialty kitchen tools (3)

1. Fishbone pliers
2. Corn cob butterer

The third gadget that creped me out was a carrot curler.

Carrot curler

Image courtesy of Bed, Bath and Beyond  
Simply place a carrot in this curler, rotate the carrot clockwise, and you have ribbons to add to your favorite salad by Norpro @ just $9.99!

Twin Curl Garnish Ribbon Cutter $1.80

Twin Curl Cutter by Scandicrafts (above) from the BakeDeco for just $1.80! Never knew you can buy specialty kitchen accessory for the price of a buttered bagel. 

Speaking of curlers. The amazing store Sur La Table which - I could'n help it - I visited twice in less than 2 weeks - offers more curler and shavers.

Butter curler by Things Cook @ $8 with wooden handle.
Or you may try one with stainless steel blade and handle by Paderno World Cuisine  Butter Curler from Amazon @ just $24.80. And actually many more with plastic, rubber and wooden handles for as low as $2.99.

Westmark Butter Curler  @$9.90 comes in the middle of price range:

from Kerekes at BakeDeco.

So, if exclusiveness is the point, you can get the very best expensive specialty gadget or, if functionality is the point, you may find a bargain. The only downside is - no, not the shipping cost, you can always sign up for Amazon Prime and shop all you want - but the fact that you don't really need all of these.  At least not more often than these heart-shaped pancake rings your high school sweetheart gave you on Valentine's day and you never had the guts not to bring it to your new house where you live happily ever after with your three children, high school sweetheart long gone.  

Norpro Nonstick Heart Pancake Egg Rings, Amazon

Trudeau 4-Inch Heart Shaped Egg Ring, Amazon

Guess red ones were not available back then so sometimes I think about rekindling old fire. Sending him this gift - meaningful for us and useless for his daughter.

We'll talk about kitchen space later. Industrial design in not exactly my venue but we need to do something about all these enticing objects, all these kinky things that make a perfect useless gift. 

Why would you do such a disservice to yourself and eat processed foods? There are few explanations:
=== lack of awareness ===
=== lack of education ===
=== lack of resources: funds & time ===
=== lack of energy ===

Ask me about you favourite processed food and I will tell you  why you don't want it any more (awareness) - how to substitute it with nutritious and healthy food cooked from raw products (education) - how to find either money or time (resources). If you start treating yourself better, you'll replenish the lacking energy.

Buy a number of raw products that do not require time, just the money. Start with brown sugar:

India Tree Dark Muscovado Sugar, 2.8-Pound Jars (have no idea but planning to try it out)

My favourite  La Perruche Brown Sugar Cubes, 500g (1.1lb)

Gold coast slave ship bound for cotton fields,
Sold in a market down in new orleans.
Scarred old slaver know he's doin alright.
Hear him whip the women just around midnight.
Ah brown sugar how come you taste so good
(a-ha) brown sugar, just like a young girl should
A-huh.

Drums beating, cold english blood runs hot,
Lady of the house wondrin where it's gonna stop.
House boy knows that he's doin alright.
You should a heard him just around midnight.
Ah brown sugar how come you taste so good
(a-ha) brown sugar, just like a black girl should
A-huh.

I bet your mama was a tent show queen, and all her boy
Friends were sweet sixteen.
Im no schoolboy but I know what I like,
You should have heard me just around midnight.

Ah brown sugar how come you taste so good
(a-ha) brown sugar, just like a young girl should.

I said yeah, I said yeah, I said yeah, I said
Oh just like a, just like a black girl should.

I said yeah, I said yeah, I said yeah, I said
Oh just like, just like a black girl should.

(Rolling Stones)

Eat soup = lose weight (2)

Soup one.

Another simple soup is miso soup. Takes minutes to prepare. All you need is few tablespoons of miso paste, a tablespoon of dry granulated seaweed with bonito or just sea kelp, tofu (take 1 pack, half a pound, 200+ g, wsuru2 (c)). Take 1 litre / 1 quart of water (wsuru2), add dashi or seaweed, bring to boil and cook for few minutes, add miso, tofu, cook for few minutes more. Turn off the fire and add chopped fresh scallions, let it stay for few more minutes. Makes a nice meal by itself if you use it in a way similar to mushroom soup, makes an good part of light meal in combination with main entrée of brown rice, stir-fired vegetables and beef.

It's not about dieting, it's about diet and healthy lifestyle.

* wsuru2 (c) - whatever system of units you are used to ((c) kate middlesex)

Mystery game

FITCHBURG A Fitchburg man apparently shot himself in the backyard of his home after his 74-year-old mother died inside the house.

According to Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.'s office, Delores Gurden, 74, was found inside her home at 228 Pratt Road, and her son, Stephen Gurden, 56, was found outside the home, dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The DA's office said there were no signs of foul play. Police went to the home to check on the well-being of the Gurdens about 5:30 p.m. Monday and found the bodies.

It's like a mystery game. Only it's not a game but an actual news story.  Without looking at the solution try to guess the cause of woman's death and what's more interesting the reason for her son's alleged suicide.

Mood: curious

Fashion twit: shoes by Jimmy Choo

Here come shoes from Jimmy Choo who was awarded  an honorary doctorate in art in July 2004 by De Montfort University, Leicester, U.K., for his contribution to their unique Single Honours Footwear Design degree.

On sale now at footcandyshoes (30% discount) and Jimmy Choo (50% sale)

Biel

These bright wedge heeled sandals are sculpted in a stiletto trompe l’oeil, to faithfully retain a Jimmy Choo streamline sexiness @ $595

To balance out the high price of J. Choo, go to zappos and buy another pair of wedge heeled shoes from BC footware @ 55$

Mood: amused

Specialty kitchen tools (2)

While visiting Sur La Table I was dumbstruck by four kitchen gadgets.

Fish bone pliers

corn cob butterer (photo courtesy of KitchenDrawers)

and two other.

Speaking of corn-related accessories, here are some more (well, designs for corn holders are innumerable so I leave this topic to industrial design majors to review)

  Corn zipper from ChefCatalog

  Another butterer (Tupperware) from Amazon

 And corn cob stripper from Amazon

Coffee

Random ads come from random blogs I read. People share their experience and I have no share here.

Random: nespresso coffee in capsulas.

I personally prefer traditional ibrik (cezve). Just realized that thjis is what I want under my tree: hand coffee mill.
I'm quite happy with my electric Brown coffee grinder but it's all about lifestyle. Grinding coffee manually means that you opted out of all this jazz and transported  yourself back in  time when life was slower and had more aroma.

Kettle popcorn & corn cob butterer

To be brutally honest, kettle popcorn tastes better than naked microwave popcorn. Take a dutch oven or a wide stock pot with thick bottom, put on high heat and pour high smoke point oil generously. 

Salt the oil. The finer the salt the better. The oil will eventually stick to popped corn and so will the salt. Spread 2 (max 3) tablespoons of corn kernels at the bottom. The kernels should be leveled and should form a single layer.

Close the lid. Lids with steam holes are the best. You may use a steamer from steamer set as a lid. The purpose of the lid is to contain popping corn but allowing water that is produced as a result of the process to evaporate is essential.

After you hear the very first few pops, set your timer on 1 minute - 1 minute 30 seconds (this is art). In 1-1:30 minutes take the pot from the heat, let it rest for 15 sec and then remove the lid and let popcorn dry for another 15 sec. Put in a serving bowl. The whole process will take you 5 minutes max.

Enjoy! And don't forget to have plenty of liquids and fruit with your popcorn and soup for dinner.

Getting America back

What was America for people from abroad in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s?
Freedom equated to Levi Strauss blue jeans, Coca-Cola and chewing gum.

Fact: The word DENIM comes from the name of a sturdy fabric called serge, originally made in Nîmes, France, by the André family. Originally called serge de Nîmes, the name was soon shortened to denim. Denim was traditionally colored blue with indigo dye to make blue "jeans".

Fact: when launched, Coca-Cola's two key ingredients were cocaine and caffeine. The cocaine was derived from the coca leaf and the caffeine from kola nut, leading to the name Coca-Cola.

Fact: In 1906, Frank Fleer invented the first bubble gum called Blibber-Blubber gum. However, the bubble blowing chew was never sold. Therefore all credit goes to employee of the Frank H. Fleer Company, Walter Diemer, who invented the successful pink colored Double Bubble, bubble gum.

The Statue of Liberty with Coca Cola bottle torch made a perfect picture meme which swiftly proliferated the web but not everyone knew that it also had jeans underneath the tunic and was about to produce a translucent pink bubble.

My believes: even Cherry Coke Zero is no good for you.

My doubts: this statement - Benefits of Chewing™ (Wrigley). Ask your dentist. I am sure dentists are getting perks from chewing gum manufacturers for promoting gum while manufacturers of gum promote dental business by, well, selling you gum.

But I digressed. It's all about getting America back, and it's about Levi's jeans. The new CurveID campaign is about finding your perfect fit with Levi's® Curve ID: Slight (for women with straight figures, or have trouble finding jeans that fit at the waist), Demi (for women who are more evenly proportioned aka usually the girls who hardly have trouble finding jeans that fit), Bold (for women with curves who experience waist gapping in the back), and Supreme (for women with the curviest shape and need a back with a higher rise so it doesn't sit too low).

Found my curve ID. Ordered 2 sizes (shipping with code CURVES is free). Selected one. Liked it. Wearing my flared demi curve Levi's right now.

Eating soup = losing weight (1)

Have you ever tried mushroom soup for dinner? Note: no hidden meaning, drug or sexual subtext. So, mushroom soup. I don't mean cream of mushrooms. I mean plain and simply delicious clear mushroom soup. Wild mushrooms are great but let's make it cheap too. Take 8 oz of common mushrooms, also known as champignon mushrooms, cultivated mushrooms etc. and 1 medium to big onion, all chopped. Sauté with vegetable oil. Add to 1+ qt (1.5 litre) of water along with some salt. Boil on medium heat - and as it boils, add a couple of decent size potatoes cut in small pieces. Boil for another 16-20 minutes. You can use more or less water next time for best results. To make it fancy, garnish with chopped fresh herbs like cilantro, parsley, scallions... Eat it at American dinner time as the last meal of the day (you can eat a snack later). You may have a slice of toasted bread with it. Eat as much as you can and nothing else. Mushrooms are low in calories but they somehow give you strength. Since this soup is low in nutrition, carbohydrates and fat, it won't last more than 2-3 hours. So either go to sleep then or eat an apple if you need to go on with your life for some extra time. Even cultured mushrooms could be hard on your liver, pancreas and stomach so use this dieting tip in moderation. One-two times a week should be safe. Enjoy!

Specialty kitchen tools (1)

The funniest thing ever that we indeed use some of these speciality utensils in our daily life or at least for special occasions. Take apple corer. Or egg slicer. Or nut cracker. Or ice cream scooper. Or pasta serving fork. But when it comes to fish bone pliers we are startled. As a party host we either risk the lives of our children and elder relatives by relying on their alertness and dexterity in removing the fish bones from this carp-a-la-natural on their plate. Or we do it with our own fingers. Fingers! This is so uncultured. This is what fish bone tweezers and pliers are for. Tweezers by Global at Amazon.com $43 Pliers by Messermeister @ Sur La Table $20 Fishbone tongs by Rösle $17 Tweezers by Shun @ Williams-Sonoma $40 Pliers by Wüsthof @ he WEBstaurant Store $33 I vote for safety. Fish bone pliers, tweezers and tongs in every household! Best sock & stocking staffers ever. It may save your life or a life of a loved one! More to come

Topics to follow:

• visiting  Sur La Table (tag: lifestyle)
• eating soup = losing weight , with more than just few recipes (tag: diet, recipes, lifestyle)
• beer demotion (lifestyle)

Pop your corn, eat your fruit

Actually, popping your own corn in a microwave in a bigger brown bag can be a good idea. You can reuse a bag multiple times. You can get these bags at places like Au Bon Pan with your breakfast croissant. Which is fine as long as you follow the rules. Talking of popcorn bags. They are sold cheap, cheap as in 500 bags for 13 bucks (while supply lasts, amazon.com). Customer confessions: NICE & MULTIPURPOSE I love these bags. I purchased a box for my sons carnival style birthday party and they were perfect. In addition, they served multiple purposes during the birthday party, for instance we cut them to use as french fry and soft pretzel holders. The are so nice that instead of using our bowls for popcorn during family movie night, we use these bags. CHEAP At three cents per bag (popcorn not included), this is pretty cheap fun these days. FUNCTIONAL, CHEAP, WILL BUY AGAIN Honestly, there's not much to say about popcorn bags. These were by far the least expensive I could find, and they did they job just fine. I would buy them again.

Don't forget you fluids: water.
Don't forget you fruit: apples any time, citrus according to the season. Stay away from commercially made orange juice. Unless you squeeze it yourself or your SO does it for you, don't trust this juice. It's sugar and it's carbs. It's close to Coka-Cola. There are juices worse than orange juice: that be grape juice which is by far the worst or apple juice. But I suppose you are serious about your diet and quit drinking those long time back. See for yourself.

Austerity party

If it need to be an austerity party, let it be really festive and frugal at the same time.


I won't be the one suggesting to dilute ethanol with water and mix it with cheap strawberry  jam.  I like to drink quality stuff.  And there are ways to have it and to stay within budget limits. But I'm not sharing my secret. Not yet.



So let's move to food.

Popcorn. Make kettle popcorn with good oil: grape seed, olive oil.  This will add party flavour.
Season it with chilli pepper flakes.
With garlic. With Jalapeño peppers. With Cajun spices.
In short, use your imagination.

Make few butches of home-made flavoured cream-cheese.  Sour cream, salt, flavour - mix it, let it drain in colander overnight.
Flavours:  fresh chopped dill; red pepper;  small amount of blue cheese; tarama (fish roe) - this will make taramasalata rather than cream-cheese; olives; scallions.  For vegans use tofu sour cream substitute.

Make canapés with rye bread, pumpernickel, rye crisps, small white toasts, serve tartlets made with puff pastry.

Make humongous all-greens salad with sesame seeds &  sesame oil  or sunflower seeds  & sunflower oil or roasted unsalted peanuts and peanut oil or let your imagination loose and invent something already.  Like pine nuts. That be pretty far from idea of austerity but who cares.
Mind your guests allergies to avoid anaphylactic shock resulting from all these peanuts, nuts and seeds.

Add a hint of lime or a wedge of lemon to a pitcher of cool water.
Or add mint leaves. Or lemon and mint.
Make sure your party takes place in warm weather with spicy and salty food so people are rather thirsty than hungry.

Still, boil potatoes and serve whole with salt, garlic and a hint of oil.  Delicious.
Add herring and you have a balanced meal.

My winter austerity party deserves a separate entry.

Finish the evening with petit fours and tea / coffee. The former can be made really tiny but the latter (quality tea/coffee) is expensive. Brew second grade tea and most of your guests won't ask for seconds.


Advertisement: Tofutti Sour Cream (no, I don't like it, though I favoured Tofutti Cream Cheese for some time; but I'm not a vegan so I don't have to)
Advertisement: Tarama by Krinos  Tarama is delicate, pink, pure carp roe that is naturally cured and aged for over one year. It makes an attractive and delicious base for the traditional caviar-style spread, called taramosalata or taramosalata. Tarama also adds a subtle, seafood flavor to stews and soups.

 
Advertisement: La Madeleine Country French Bistro  :  positive experience with breakfast & lunch in Houston, TX; affordable too; I truly miss it. Remembered it in connection with brioches and petite pastries. 

Tired from popcorn? Not yet?

Popcon is incredibly economical.  Two table spoonfuls will yield you a meal (the one you skip 'cause you are filled with popped corn).

Don't forget to drink plenty of water. Well, if you choose to drink soda instead, you may as well not skip your meal and forget about following this particular way of losing weight. We can settle on some water and some tea. Even tea with sugar is much better than soda. See for yourself:  sugar content in soft drinks (never mind the acid, we are not talking about gastrointestinal health or dental health here).

Enjoy!

Life zero

There is nothing to my knowledge indicating that I could've died during birth or been aborted or miscarried during pregnancy. My mother was offered to abort when she saw the doctor after getting pregnant with me but that was the culture of the time and place not something she actually contemplated.
Therefore I dare to take lightly the horrors of psychological birth trauma 
and trust myself in not spending one of my 9 lives at that moment. 

Fashion twit

My obsession with long skirt:
ordered one from Territory Ahead for about 60$.
Should be enough for the season unless this one is plain wrong for winter and has to wait till spring.


My watch is bearing fruit: the  skirt on watch (Lanvin skirt from Neiman Marcus) is down from

Original:	$2,590.00
to:	$1,813.00						Will keep you posted

Pop your own corn (2)

My idea of dieting is simple and it works.
Fiber, fiber, water.
And if you consume the above in ample quantities then you can eat whatever you want as much as you want.

So pop your own corn 5 times a week: a handful of corn kernels will allow you to skip a meal. Do not overdo it. It's nice to skip one meal a day with the help of corn but not more than that. People are not designed to live on popped corn by any means. The nutrition vaue of naked popcorn is low, which is good and bad, so this tip has to be used in moderation.

Eat whole apples, buy fresh and tasty ones, so you can enjoy the process. Peel them only if you can't eat them whole.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Forget the cost, after all, these are apples, not some exotic or hard-to-find-out-of-season berries. Granny Smith, Golden Delicous, Mutsu, Jonatan, go with the season, go local, buy the best kind.
What's good for apple upside-down cake, is firm, tart, good for eating.
Too tart for you taste?
Pour some honey in a small dish and cut the apple and dip the wedges. As I promised, as long as you follow the rules, you can eat whatever you want. Honey allergy? Put some raw sugar in a dish instead.

Next time I ramble on the subject of healthy lifestyle, I will help you to diminish your desire to eat certain foods. So you can eat whatever you want but you won't crave what is not good or you. Please name 1-3 foods you believe are wrong for you but you can't remove from your life.