Pear and Brie Dijon Pizza
Spread Dijon Mustard over prepared and rolled-out pie crust. Top with plenty of minced garlic, chopped red onion, sliced plum tomatoes, slivered pear, olives, salt and pepper. Bake at 400 for twenty minutes.
June 12, 2011
Paschimottanasana & Pound Cake
Pashimottanasana ~ Seated Forward Bend
Paschima : West
Uttana : Intense Stretch
Paschimottana : Intense Stretch of the West
Fold forward from the hips, not the waist, keeping your spine as straight a possible (only in the head-to-knee, Janu Sirsasana, variation may the back curl.) There is no shame in keeping your knees slightly bent in this pose.
The lower belly should touch the thighs first, then the upper belly, then the ribs, and the head last. With each inhalation, lift and lengthen the front torso just slightly; with each exhalation release a little more fully into the forward bend. In this way the torso oscillates and lengthens almost imperceptibly with the breath. Eventually you may be able to stretch the arms out beyond the feet on the floor. (Keep in mind) A beginner's forward bend doesn't go very far forward and might look more like sitting up straight. Most students should sit up on a folded blanket in this pose, and most beginners need to hold a strap around the feet. Extremely stiff students can place a rolled up blanket under their knees. ––Yogajournal.com
Sour Cream Pound Cake, fresh from the oven. Effortless.
I whipped together this pound cake wanting to use some left-over sour cream from the Super-market Style Sugar Cookies CLICK! This pound cake is also reminiscent of a super-market loaf. It took me ten minutes to put together, and will take you more or less the same depending on how well you know your way around your kitchen.
Uncomplicated Sour Cream Pound Cake
1 cup white sugar (if even)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sour cream
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 pinch baking soda
1. Cream butter and sugar.
2. Add eggs and sour cream.
3. Blend with sifted flour and soda.
4. Pour into greased and floured loaf pan.
5. Bake at 375 for an hour
or until toothpick comes out clean (check after 40 minutes.)
Thank You, Will: allrecipes.com
Astrid and Julian Kirschenbaum tie the knot:
Our wedding is featured on The Little Nell's site!... CLICK! It includes a nice write-up. Now if only they would change the brochures...
June 9, 2011
peacock pose, hell and blueberry pie
Mayurasana ~ Peacock
Mayura : Peacock
This is a good one to play with when flowing from one-legged downward dog to one-legged, and then eventually no-legged, chaturanga. Though a peacock is prideful, have a sense of humor in your attempts and don't get too cocky when you succeed.
How to get a Bikini Body by Summer!!!! :
Much like fashion magazines that fill their pages with models several sizes smaller than the average woman, the tabloid magazines that fuel this bikini-body obsession are also largely staffed by women. That means women, not men, are increasingly responsible for making women feel bad about themselves, and for perpetuating ideals that may be physically and mentally unhealthy and unrealistic.
The only way this will change is if we stop buying into it. That means not buying magazines that critique whether or not someone who is out enjoying a day at the beach with tier kids is too big or too small for a bathing suit. –– Keli Goff, huffingtonpost"There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women." –– Madeleine Albright
Easy-as-Pie Bubbling Blueberry Open-faced Pastry for Tonight
I threw this together because I bought a big batch of grainy blueberries (oh no!) that I knew could be not only salvaged, but thoroughly savored by cooking them (just as the grainier apple varieties turn out wonderful with a little heat).
Keep organic wild blueberries in the freezer at all times so that you can pop this delicious hot dessert in the oven any night of the week, and then enjoy leftovers for breakfast the next morning.
Crust:
1 cup flour (a mixture of whole wheat/almond/rice flour... depending on your favorites and needs.)
1/3 cup oil
just enough sugar
a dash cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
Filling:
4 cups organic Blueberries1/3 cup Sugar, or to taste
2 tablespoons Corn Starch
1/2 Lemon's juice
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
a dash of Salt (do not skip the salt, salt gives sweets their depth!)
1. Mix and press the first set of ingredients directly into the bottom of an oven safe dish.
2. Dish can be round or square (think upsi-down cobbler).
3. Combine the second set of ingredients.
4. Pour on top of crust.
5. Bake at 425 degrees for forty minutes or until bubbling!
6. Cool and enjoy alone or with cream or ice cream.
Daily Doodles featured on yogaspy.com
June 7, 2011
Overcoming fear while eating lemon-ricotta-almond cake!!!
Pincha Mayurasana ~ Feathered Peacock Pose ~ Forearm Balance
Pincha : Feather
Mayura : Peacock
Do dolphin downward dog on your forearms and a few dolphin pushups to warm up and then just ease into Pincha Mayurasana, kicking up without over-thinking it. Don't let your elbows splay out more than shoulder's width (closer than you think.) Also warm-up with Urdhva Dhanurasana, Upward Bow, so when/if your legs fall behind your head you do not end up in your first wheel of the day ;)
If you have been practicing yoga for a while and can hold down dog for long periods of time, are comfortable standing on your head and on your hands - even if it's against the wall- then you are ready for this pose physically, it's only your mind that's holding you back. (At least, my mind majorly holds me back in this one.) I like to practice you-are-bound-to-fall-if-you-are-actually-making-an-effort poses at home on grass or carpeting, as I am one to be apprehensive in the look-at-me quality of a studio. You can teach your spouse or friend to properly assist you.
I glazed my gluten free Lemon Ricotta Almond Cake with melted guava preserves for a sticky blackberry-friendly surface. The cake is quite sweet, so any fresh fruit complements it well and the jelly is just there as glue.
Gluten-Free Lemon-Ricotta-Almond Cake
This one-bowl recipe is EASY, moist and refined.
Worthy of guests.
Time and energy friendly for the hostess.
A no-brainer in these gf times.
1/2 cup almond meal/almond flour
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup Pamela's Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix
1 cup sugar (3/4 should be enough... it's fairly sweet.)
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract (1 if you like lemon as I do.)
1 lemon's juice
1 lemon's zest
2. Whisk eggs and sugar.
3. Add almond meal and butter, and stir well.
4. Mash ricotta and add to batter.
5. Fold in Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix.
6. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon extract.
7. Grease 8" round cake pan. Pour in batter and bake for 30 minutes.
8. Cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving warm.
9. Garnish with fruit. Dust with powdered sugar prior to serving.
Still working on my "Homemade by Astrid" labels.
Delish! J ate 3 pieces and said he "wouldn't mind if I made it for him for his birthday." Which is in March. We do not have gluten allergies in our household, per-se, (I'm sure it's no the easiest food to digest for anyone,) but many family members are excluding the protein and the nation-wide frenzy certainly has my interest piqued. Especially after enjoying the French Open Federer-Djokovic match! (Djokovic sited the GF diet as his key to being unstoppable CLICK! since December, and since, just now, Federer.)
"It's mostly mental energy you're talking about, not energy supplied to muscle tissues," said David Levitsky, a professor of nutrition and psychology at Cornell University, when asked about the effects of giving up gluten if one has an allergy. (An allergy differs from celiac disease, whose sufferers, Levitsky said, can incur far-reaching health effects from eating gluten, including the inability to absorb nutrients.)
Levitsky said a gluten-free diet might have benefits for those with mild allergies, or even no allergy at all. "The other part of the story is, if you believe in a cause of your disorder, it becomes the cause," he said. "We see this in many different studies. If you believe it, you change your behavior in the direction of being cured."
Do you have any gluten-free thoughts or stories?!
Next on the Agenda: Friendship bracelets!
June 6, 2011
Padmasana & Jen Aniston
Padmasana ~ Lotus
Padma : Lotus
Remember this is a two-sided pose! (Practice with each leg on top.)
Padmasana can be considered the end-all-be-all of yoga. We practice Hatha yoga, the physical poses, in order to be able to sit in stillness comfortably for long periods of time. Sitting in Padmasana, or a version thereof, daily will undoubtedly help you to "Figure out your service on this planet. Figure out how that service nourishes the earth and go and do that." –– Elena Brower. Of course, sitting in any comfortable position will do.
Jennifer Aniston received the Decade of Hotness award at the Spike TV's 2011 Guys Choice Awards on Saturday night. Jen thanked her yoga instructor Mary Ingber and vowed to "keep downward-dogging until the fat lady sings" during her acceptance speech.
If this isn't motivation enough for me to get back on my mat (I have totally been laxing, and "my wrist hurts!") I don't know what is.
May 31, 2011
Navasana & Hello June!
With Memorial Day out of the way, let summer in! Still recuperating from the long weekend? I cannot figure out what day it is...
Paripurna Navasana ~ Full Boat Pose
Paripurna: Full, Entire, Complete
Nava: Boat
Until doodling this pose, I never knew or used the word Paripurna, but now it's a favorite. As far as Paripurna Navasana goes, though, not so much. Instead, I am a fan of Ardha Navasana: Half Boat Pose, where the legs are bent, so that the shins are parallel to the floor. My spine will not remain flat in the full pose in which case the abs are not working and the lumbar area is compromised. I also find I feel more strain on the hip flexors than strengthening anywhere else. Know thyself. Is Paripurna a goal? Not really. I use the variations that suit me to get into the abdominal muscles and leave it at that. Do not confuse 'full expression' with 'final goal.'
I can only be afraid if I am thinking about the future
Even in moments of greatest danger, we are not afraid if we focus on exactly what we must do in that moment. Fear arises when we think about what might happen or what could have happened. Today, when you feel afraid, note that you are thinking about the future. Take a breath(or several,) and settle into the now. ––Judith Lasater, A Year of Living Your Yoga.
Navasana
Paripurna Navasana ~ Full Boat Pose
Paripurna: Full, Entire, Complete
Nava: Boat
Until doodling this pose, I never knew or used the word Paripurna, but now it's a favorite. As far as Paripurna Navasana goes, though, not so much. Instead, I am a fan of Ardha Navasana: Half Boat Pose, where the legs are bent, so that the shins are parallel to the floor. My spine will not remain flat in the full pose in which case the abs are not working and the lumbar area is compromised. I also find I feel more strain on the hip flexors than strengthening anywhere else. Know thyself. Is Paripurna a goal? Not really. I use the variations that suit me to get into the abdominal muscles and leave it at that. Do not confuse 'full expression' with 'final goal.'
I can only be afraid if I am thinking about the future
Even in moments of greaest danger, we are not afraid if we focus on exactly what we must do in that moment. Fear arises when we think about what might happen or what could have happened. Today, when you feel afraid, note that you are thinking about the future. Take a breath(or several,) and settle into the now. ––Judith Lasater, A Year of Living Your Yoga.
May 29, 2011
Parighasana
Parighasana ~ Gate Pose
Parigha: Iron Bar or Beam used for shutting or locking a gate.
Side-stretching increases your capacity for deeper breathing by opening more space in the infrequently elongated side-body. Side-stretching allows your breath to be 3-dimensional. Breath is Prana, the energy source of life. This pose is life changing. Deeper breaths will calm your nerves and increase your metabolism; you will burn at a more efficient rate with Parighasana.
Being bored is not the result of an outside stimulus, or lack thereof, but a discontentment with oneself. You are not bored, you are boring.
"What are you doing to keep busy?" This is often a question asked to the unemployed, a housewife or any other non-nine-to-fiver. This question always strikes me as odd: as though keeping busy is an end goal or achievement, and not-doing is entirely undesirable. This question has everything to do with the questioner and nothing to do with the questioned. (If you have ever been asked this and it irked you, rest easy and take pity!) People feel the need to "keep busy," or else they fear they have no purpose or are worthless. The idea of keeping busy comes from a place of insecurity and fear. Much like he or she who is often bored, the busy-bees are afraid of being alone in stillness with themselves, but the truth is there is nothing to do; just being is enough.
Palace of Versailles Front Gate
May 25, 2011
Natarajasana
Ntarajasana ~ Dancer
Nata: Actor, Dancer, Mime
Raja: King
This pose feels beautiful and powerful.
Patience doesn't exist. We are either in the speed of what s happening or we are impatient. Being patient is an attempt to cover our own impatience. –– Judith Lasater
This patience doesn't exist idea is revolutionary for me and has been haunting me, in a good way, ever since I read it last weekend. I hope it reverberates inside you the way it has in me and you find yourself mulling it over when confronted with daily 'situations.' This memorial day weekend, try moving at life's pace. My plans? Beach! BBQ! And more beach.
Have you tried these? Nail strips. Pretty dope. Mine lasted one week ~ with lots of dishwashing and hot-tubbing. Buy them at CVS, Target, or anywhere where Sally Hansen products are sold. I heard other brands do not stack up, so stick with Sally.
May 24, 2011
Matyasana
Matsyasana ~ Fish Pose
Mastya : Fish
Matsyasana is the "destroyer of all diseases." You are welcome to take your legs into Padmasana, Lotus Pose, if it is in your practice.
Open and receive.
Today when someone offers you something –– an inviting smile, a warm cup of tea, or a chance to go ahead in line, receive it completely and without reservation. –– Judith Lasater, A Year of Living Your Yoga.
“Whatever relationships you have attracted in your life at this moment, are precisely the ones you need in your life at this moment. There is a hidden meaning behind all events, and this hidden meaning is serving your own evolution.” –– Deepak Chopra
May 19, 2011
make your own Mala - asana
Malasana ~ Garland Pose ~ Squat
Mala: Garland or Necklace
A Mala is the name for the buddhist prayer beads. Made from 108 beads, a mala is used as a tool to keep count of the number of times a mantra has been repeated by touching each bead per mantra, slowly moving along the necklace. By using the mala one doesn't have to focus on keeping count, there is a guru bead of different size or texture to signify a full 108 repetitions have been completed.
In traditional Buddhist thought, people are said to have 108 afflictions or klesas. There are six senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and consciousness) multiplied by three reactions (positive, negative, or indifference) making 18 "feelings." Each of these feelings can be either "attached to pleasure or detached from pleasure" making 36 "passions", each of which may be manifested in the past, present, or future. All the combinations of all these things makes a total of 108, which are represented by the beads in the ojuzu. This same number is also used in Japanese New Year services where a bell is rung 108 times. –– Wikipedia
This mala has numerous marker beads.
Make your own mala necklace with beads or gems you love ~ you certainly do NOT have to don those unsightly brown beads with the red thread! Use the above as a guide or one marker bead is fine too: whatever get you meditating.
May 18, 2011
Janu Sirsasana & real simple dinner tonight
Janu Sirsasana ~ Head to Knee Forward Bend
Janu: Knee
Genou (jenoo): french for Knee
Sirsa: Head
Making dinner at home always makes a big difference to how I feel. It is a project that is finished within hours or minutes with benefits that are reaped almost immediately and if the results aren't perfect there is always tomorrow. With practice, cooking becomes a daily accomplishment with instant gratification.
Kyleigh Kuhn courtesy of altamira
I have found that the forgiving and few-ingredient recipes from Martha Stewart's Real Simple and Vegetarian Times magazines make nightly at-home dining possible. Magazine recipes also keep life current and seasonal. With my lenient schedule I enjoy shopping as the French do nearly everyday buying only what I am missing for that evening's concoction and going to the market or specialty store most compatible with the required ingredients. If you do not have this luxury, which occasionally I don't have the patience for either, write down the ingredients for 5 dinners and buy those together. Write and organize your list because you are likely to have lots of overlaps or can make substitutions for multi-use. For example, you don't need pecorino for spring pasta and parmesan for bean soup. Choose one. (I like pecorino because it is tangier and creamier, and is made from sheep's milk, which is said to be more easily digestible.) I could go on forever about food! So...
In summation: check out the recipes in Real Simple magazine, realsimple.com, or Vegetarian Times and shop with specificity! Forethought might even give you the chance to go to specialty stores or farmer's markets.
Creamy Fettuccine with corn and Arugula, courtesy of Real Simple
A few favorites:
Real Simple: great website if you don't want/get the mag.
- Thai Curry Vegetable and Tofu Soup with soba noodles or rice noodles cooked in the soup.
- Roasted Sausage and Grapes with roasted potatoes and lemon with dill
- Fettuccine with Lima beans. Peas and Leeks or corn and arugula (Lighten up! I use a lemon/parmesan sauce or creme fraiche if I'm not feeling the cream. Creme fraiche can be bought at Trader Joe's.)
- Sugar Snap and Snow Pea Stir Fry
- Strawberry Rhubarb Tart with Apricot Cream (May issue, not yet online.)
Courtesy of Audrey Kitching
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