Friday, February 24, 2012

Dark Nails, Delectable Coffeecake, Delicious Salad, & A Word on McDs & GMOs!

TOO-DARK-FOR-ME NAILS
I bought a black polish (w/a bit of shimmer) to use under my all-time favorite ESSIE Set In Stones, but when a fleck polish arrived in the mail from my sister, I had to try that on the black instead.
On the index finger is one thin (uneven) coat of Sally Hansen Diamond Strength "Black Diamonds". On the rest is a thick single coat.
 I was extremely annoyed by the thick, gel-like polish and its brush that seemingly had no grace to it. The clumsy bristles brushed to one extreme or another- all over the cuticle and then some, or not far enough over the surface. As you can see below, it was a messy process. (More to come later in the post...)

TORI GLORY
for our families...
While I painted my nails, Tori played with her Papa,
and I took full advantage of her love of the camera.
 She asked Papa to bury her in animals...
 then 'hid' from him in a box...
 ...which turned into Hide-And-Seek...
 ...the night continued with a father/daughter sword fight,
and ended with an all-out meltdown of a very tired four-year-old who hadn't napped.

TOO-DARK-FOR-ME NAILS continued...
2nd thick single coat. The look was more pleasing to me, but the process was still on my hit list.
 Here, I added a coat of  the ZOYA (Fleck) Opal. I admit that I wasn't a fan of the way it turned godzilla green. Below shows one hand "godzilla" (Opal) and one hand just Black Diamonds.

 Zoya Opal over Sally Hansen Black Diamonds.
 
 

I thought I'd be clever by trying my Set In Stones idea over the whole "godzilla" manicure, thus saving a bad manicure and lots of time starting over to try my idea...
 The "godzilla" shone through the "stones" so much that it was a waste of polish and time.
But, in the future, I plan to try the fleck polish over something totally unassuming, such as ZOYA purples or an irridescent white or creme. Maybe even Tori's turquoise! So all is not lost.
Besides, Tori saw my manicure and insisted on having the same on her nails. She loved it. :o) To each her own!

 Farfalle Asparagus Salad
For our snack meal when we gather with friends on the weekend, I made this cold pasta salad. (I don't have enough hands to snap photos while I cook, so all I have is end-result pictures.) It was DELICIOUS and the recipe went right into my recipe folder! Try it for yourself!


SIDE NOTE 
On the day I made this salad, I had also made a spinach dip and planned a huge roast in a crockpot, because we were having a friend come for the weekend. I had a placenta-on-the-brain moment and forgot to start the roast in time for dinner that Friday, so at nearly 8:00 pm (3 hours past our normal dinner time), we ordered a $10 any size, any topping pizza. Pizza Hut isn't gourmet or anything in our opinion, but that night, someone made a superior vegetable w/ burger pizza, and we were in pizza heaven! lol!
 At the same time, I bought this new root beer from a natural marketplace and all three of us LOVED it! So creamy and not-too-sweet!

The Muffin Lady's coffeecake
I have a book called The Muffin Lady. She has a great story and even greater muffin and loaf recipes! I attempted a muffin experiment with her coffeecake recipe (included at the end of blog post)...
 Here's the batter (above) and here is the streusel (below)
 For those interested, this is Linda's book. The base ingredients for most of her recipes is her mother's original pancake recipe, which explains the thicker consistency than typical muffin batters. It's simply irresistable batter- I can't keep my fingers out of it! *SHH!*
 As for my muffin experiment, it's back to the drawing board with this one, because the streusel topping collapsed into the streusel in between batter layers, creating a huge crater in each muffin. Plus, they "rose sideways" across my muffin tins, instead of rising upwards to create a dome.
 But, according to my husband, they were still very tasty, so I'll probably use the recipe as-is for family coffeecake, and experiment a little to create a muffin to sell. (I'll just stick to my most popular selling muffins for now, Raspberry Chocolate and Orange Almond.)


NUTRITION TIDBIT
Natural immune builders: RAW FOODS!
Are you being attacked by 'the common cold'?
Did your cold turn sour and become bronchitis or pneumonia?
Want to know how to gear up for allergy season?
The following popular RAW fruits and vegetables have aMAZing natural healing properties to combat (or prevent) those ailments:
Blueberries, Cranberries, & Cherries-Kill infectious bacteria & viruses
Grapefruit-reduces fever from colds and flu, relieves chest congestion
Kiwis-fight off viruses
Lemons, Limes-kill fungi, bacteria, parasites and cut mucus build-up, prevent colds, and fight fever
Oranges-fight viral infections, strengthen immune system
Papayas-cut mucus buildup, fight off infections
Strawberries-protect agains viral infection

Avocados-ward off infection (also protects against miscarriages!)
Cabbage-stimulates immune system, kills bacteria and viruses, increases antioxidant mechanisms
Garlic cloves-fight infections, stimulates immune system, prevents AND relieves bronchitis, destroys bacteria (antibiotic!)
Mustard Greens-clears chest congestion, stimulates the immune system, reduces mucus buildup from colds
Onions-kill bacteria
Peas-fight infections
Bell peppers-fight off infection and ward off colds
Potatos-protect against viruses
Radishes-clear the sinuses, reduce hoarseness, phlegm, and sore throats, cut mucus congestion
Turnips, Turnip greens, Rutabagas-treat bronchial disorders, sinus problems, clear mucus conditions and lung congestion, and relieve coughing
Watercress-clear mucus from lungs
Papaya, onion, turnips/greens/rutabagas, & garlic cloves, again- treat (asthma &)hay fever*


Seasonal Allergies
(Start building immunity against seasonal allergies by consuming a teaspoon of LOCALLY GROWN, RAW honey each day! Also, SPIRULINA (found in green drinks such as Odwalla or Bolthouse Farms offers) and in tablets/capsules at your local health/vitamin store- is known to combat the ailments of seasonal allergies).

WHAT AMERICA NEEDS TO KNOW
Do you eat (or feed your children) McD's chicken nuggets? Do your body a favor and watch this short clip on what they're really made of!

Heard of GMOs? No?! Then click on this link and discover a whole world of deception in our foods. Your health will thank you for it! (Look for more on this subject in future posts.)

 Streusel-Filled Coffeecake Recipe

For the cake:
1 1/2 C flour
1 T baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 C sugar
4 T butter or margarine
1 egg
1/2 C milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling and topping:
1/2 C brown sugar
2 T flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 T melted butter or margarine
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Sift the dry ingredients. Slice the butter into pieces and use a knife to stir them into the dry ingredients until a fine cornmeal-like mixture is attained. Mix together the egg, milk, and vanilla, and add to the flour mixture.  To make the topping, mix together the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon.  Blend in the butter and nuts.  Spread half of the batter in a wax paper-lined 8-inch square pan.  Sprinkle with half the topping.  Add remaining batter and cover with the remaining topping. Bake 25-35 minutes. Yields 8-12 servings.

4 comments:

  1. Your blog is over-the-top Jenn! I just skimmed over it (time constraints at the moment-which I KNOW you understand) and will sure be back for a longer pause to read everything again more completely this time. LOL That being said, Wow! It's pretty clear how your personality shines thru your blog here, especially your nail polish ones! I love the Tori one, can almost see her laughing and hiding......Looking forward to May! Miss you and this blog sure helps alleviate the 'Missin' Love you!

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  2. I didn't even wait one day to take the polish off. :| But Tori still has hers on!

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  3. Wow, I have to agree with mom! YOur personality shines through! I love the nutritional information and the meals you share. I also happen to love the polish picture at the end with Essie and Zoya on black!! LOL.

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  4. ALSO, I am right there with you on the green thing. Yech. I have seen it used on other colors and it looked good though!

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