Local Remedies

I've always heard about the amazing abilities of garlic and its boost to your immunity but I never tried it for myself until recently. A few weeks back I decided to launch an assault on a pesky plantar wart that has been with me for about three years no matter how many shots of liquid nitrogen my podiatrist in DC or my dermatologist in Prague gave me. I also incorrectly applied an anti-wart agent called Acetocaustin which only requires application once a week, but the genius that I am failed to read the directions and applied daily. To be honest, I'm lucky to still have my toe! So anyway, a couple of my Czech friends noticed me limping and gave me a two new approaches. The first suggested I soak onion pieces in vinegar for 24 hours and then apply them to the affected area and wrap it with a baindaid for 24 hours. She went on to say it really stinks, but it really works. The really stinks part really was a huge stumbling block, I must admit. Fortunately another friend recommended garlic and only at night. The trick, she said, was to cut the clove down the middle and to put a piece on the affected area with a bandaid during night hours. Well, I did a little research (you may find this interesting http://bastyrcenter.org/content/view/851/) and decided to give it a shot. I'm about 2.5 weeks into the garlic regimen and it seems to be working! 

Another nifty product I've been happily surprised by is something called Carbosorb. They are edible charcoal tablets. Hmmm, could be a great Christmas gift for naughty kids now that I think of it. They look like little charcoal hockey pucks. :) Well, after figuring I had a stomach bug or had ingested something spoiled or bad, I took a look in my medicine cabinet and found Carbosorb. You take 2-3 about four times a day and it helps with the cramps and feeling of heart burn in the chest and it also helps take out the toxins from the intestinal tract and gets things running more normally. They work! 

Red Velvet Cup Cakes

Following up on my last post, the dinner party was a grand success. And, I can now affirm that the cupcakes taste as good as they look. With cream cheese (or Lucina) frosting and some chopped pecans they taste even better. They came out really moist thanks to 1 cup of oil. While I'm not sure this is my absolute favorite Red Velvet recipe, it sure is a good one. I'm not sure what I want more of - perhaps cocoa? I want a bit more flavor or something. It's hard to put my finger on it. Oh well, I might just have to keep trying different recipes :) I have a great cakedoctor recipe which uses German Chocolate cake as its base which may be better. But I feel like such a cheat!  Anyhow, here's Paula Deen's Red Velvet Cupcakes from Food Network.  It gets my stamp of approval! Happy baking!


Paula Deen’s Red Velvet Cupcakes from Food Network

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 C). Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers (you may prefer to double line since they are so moist). In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened (in Europe I'd recommend Lucina or Kiri)
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish (optional)

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Garnish with chopped pecans, fresh raspberry or strawberry, or sprinkles.

Likes and Dislikes

Things I like:

Day light - It was wonderful to wake up to light and sun this morning. It's even better to leave work when it's day light.

Red velvet cupcakes - Baking them at any time of day, even at 8 or 9 pm after a long day at work. And, of course eating them brings even more delight.

Hosting dinner parties - Tomorrow I'm having around ten people over. Fortunately, my part of the bargain is providing the space and dessert. After tonight I'm almost there. There's still some cleaning to be done after work on Friday (sigh).

Fresh linens on my bed - When I was a kid I had a deal with my mom: if I dusted my room and tidied up, she would in turn make up my bed with clean sheets. It was sheer pleasure to climb into bed on cleaning nights.

Things I don't like:

Getting up early after staying up too late - Haha, that's the story of my life. I don't give up easily. Still working on becoming a morning person.

Cleaning up after baking - Especially after a draining day at work and particularly after making Red Velvet batter. The red food coloring has a way of showing up in random places (i.e., counter tops, appliances, the wall, etc.) as well as staining my finger tips.

Crunchy towels - That's right ... I don't have a dryer. It forces you to plan ahead which is fine, but the crunchiness of my towels is something I don't think I'll ever learn to like. If you have any tips, I'm all ears! Send them my way. I do use softener, but it doesn't make a difference.

Changing my sheets & other housekeeping - I'm sure the world's smallest violins are playing in my honor, but I really have no energy for housekeeping - in any form - after working nine to ten hours. Of course, I battle it out and get things done, but I have no idea how working moms do it. When I get tired after cleaning or baking, I always think of my mom and wonder how she ever did it working a full-time job, raising four kids, and preparing wholesome meals (nothing out of the box)!

Well, enough pondering for one night. I think I've got laundry to hang up. :)

Sweet dreams!

Time Flies No Matter What

Wow. I just took a look at the date of my last post and did a double take. I didn't realize it had been that long. Well, happy 2011 to everyone! As I was flying back after New Year's, I had a feeling that 2011 was going to be full of change, but I had no idea that change would hit me from about every angle possible. One thing I've learned at my mature age is that as you grow older time flies whether or not you are enjoying it. That's not to say I haven't enjoyed different opportunities I've had over the last few months, but it definitely hasn't been all peaches and cream either. I'm learning that grieving is for sure a process and it is different for each person. The fact that I am still grieving impacts so many facets of my life. Sometimes I don't recognize the person staring at me in the mirror. While it is hard, I do know God is working something good in my life and growing me. However, sometimes it feels kind of painful sort of like what a new born butterfly undergoes as he/she pushes his/herself out of the chrysalis.

Well, I want to thank a certain Syracuse fan for encouraging me to write again. I was getting a bit discouraged at the end of last year that my faithful readership had dwindled, but I'm not done yet. I don't always find the time, but I will try to do my best as long as I know there is at least some interest out there. Comment once in a while! 

My tidbit for today is that for the latter half of today I thought aliens might have descended upon this fine city. As I was in my local grocery store (Albert - a Belgian chain supposedly) in the check out line, the lady at the register actually put my frozen pizza in a plastic bag and put a few of the items still on the conveyor belt in my grocery bag. I nearly fell over. You are pretty much on your own over here in terms of bagging. It was such a small thing, but the fact that it hasn't happened to me in over 3 years but happened today left me feeling as if something monumental had happened. I walked out of Albert's with a new found spring in my step. Isn't it pretty amazing how something so miniscule can be so huge?! To my American friends: enjoy your world class customer service. Nobody does it better than the good ole US of A. But, I'm happy to report there is incremental progress happening across the pond! :)

Until next time!