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*

*information taken from "Raw Raw Raw 80/20 Diet Plan & Cookbook"

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.

Another coffeecake...

BUTTERY CREAM CHEESE COFFEECAKE

This recipe is from Food. com, but I'm sharing it because it is SOOO good! I find coffeecakes to be very involved and time consuming, but our family loves to eat it above other baked goods, so I don't mind making it for us. Enjoy!

Not much narrative to add tonight; X Factor is on! :O) I creamed the butter and sugar with a spoon. Obviously, go ahead with a mixer. I'm so muffin-minded that I do everything by hand!

Coffeecake batter is always so thick! I did follow directions and put more than half (2/3?) of the batter at the bottom. Greased the 9x13 with just butter.

Brief peek at the filling ingredients... 2 packs cream cheese, egg yolk, sugar and vanilla. Beat with mixer (recipe doesn't specify).

Spread whole bowl of filling over the batter in the pan. Taste some! It'll get your taste buds going for the end result! Spread remaining batter over filling (will look like not enough).

Mix the topping- flour, butter, sugar. My butter wasn't soft enough, so it didn't produce the right end result. but after baking, it looks fine.

Sprinkle (pour) topping over batter.  

I sprinkled nutmeg and cardamom over the top STRICTLY for picture purposes. :) All of my photos are white and yellow. I'm sure the flavors will accentuate the vanilla cream cheese flavor! 

RECIPE

Ingredients

    CAKE

1 cup butter (no substitutes)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup sour cream

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

   FILLING

2 (8 oz) pkgs cream cheese (softened)

1 egg yolk

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

  TOPPING

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

14 cup (half stick) butter (semi softened)

Directions

Preheat oven 350F(oven rack set to second lowest position)

Grease 13.9 inch pan

CAKE: Cream butter with sugar (3-4 minutes). Add eggs and sour cream; beat well (another 3 minutes). In seperate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture; beat well until combined (batter will be thick). Spread more than half the batter in prepared pan.

FILLING: In another bowl, cream together all filling ingredients, then carefully spread over cake batter.

Spoon remaining cake batter over top of cheese mixture (it won't cover the cake batter completely).

TOPPING: Mix all ingredients and sprinkle over cake.

Bake for 50-55 minutes or until middle feels set (not jiggly).

A bit of a tangent from the muffins... COFFEECAKE ANYONE?

CRANBERRY STREUSEL COFFEECAKE

This is my favorite breakfast 'bread' to make for my family. Because we prefer the sweet joined by tart, this recipe creates the perfect combination for our peculiar tastebuds! I'll admit, it's a bit involved, but if you're in the mood to really bake (not just throw some flour into a bowl and mix with wet ingredients), you will enjoy making this delicious coffeecake. So, grab your measuring cups and bowls, and let's get baking!

First, place in a small saucepan 1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, 1/4 cup sugar, and 2 tablespoons orange juice. Cook over medium heat. Stir constantly until berries start to pop, then remove from heat and set aside. 

 See here, my four-year-old helping me pound the walnuts into chunks for the streusel (which is next on our task list). You don't have to pound your walnuts into the right size. I usually use a chopper or knife, but she really wanted to help, and this was the safe alternative.

Combine in a small bowl 1/2 cup of walnut pieces, 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons softened butter. Mix together with a fork until it's crumbly and set aside.

Stir together 1-1/2 cups flour, 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Cream 6 tablespoons butter (softened), 3/4 cup sugar, and 2 teaspoons grated orange rind. Then, add two eggs (ONE at a time), beating well after each. Stir in flour mixture alternately with 3/4 cup milk, beginning and ending with flour.

Spread half of the batter over the bottom of a greased and floured square pan. Sprinkle half the streusel,

then spoon half the cranberry filling. So beautiful!!!!

Cover with remaining batter; top batter with remaining filling

 & sprinkle with remaining streusel.

 Bake 50-60 minutes in preheated oven (350F) or until knife comes out clean. Clean on wire rack. Serve warm or room temperature!

 This is my 2nd time to make the cake. It comes out lighter if you use LIGHT brown sugar. I only have dark brown sugar, which I use for my muffins, but it still tastes great!