aujourd'hui l'aubergine

The daily doodle today is eggplant. I have been lusting for a little Moussaka lately, and though The Mister is not this violet nightshade's biggest fan, I went ahead and labored through the late afternoon to make us a homemade version anyways, (like I said, I have a scratch to itch.) Lo and behold, I turned my man into a believer!

Moussaka: I used a very loose version of this recipe. I prefer Creme Fraiche over Béchamel - which removes quite a bit of work -  and I use parmesan only on the top and then serve with extra at the table.  Fresh grated parmesan only, please. Make it a new house rule. The nutmeg/cinnamon flavors are a must, and pumpkin pie spice will do just fine. I also substitute Beef for Lamb as it is in-season, add zucchini to liven it up, and a word to the rookies: as with any lasagna-style baked and layered casserole, Moussaka does not fit under the category of wham-bam-thank-you-ma-am. 

Ingredients at their best in AUGUST include:

Aubergine

Basil

Beetroot

Blackberries

Corn

Crab

Duck

Fennel

Fig

Lamb

Lettuce

Mackerel

Melon

Nectarine

Peaches

Plums

Summer Squash

Tomatoes

Get thee a grater. I have (forcibly) used our family's rape a fromage to grate enough parmesan for twenty plus people on regular occasions --- and 20-plus French cheese loving people no less! My family must have moved up in the cheese grating world, because this summer they sent me home with the above 'heirloom.'

wheel of fortune

Aah, Scorpio: Analytical, All or nothing, Energetic, Industrious, Self-Assured, Vivacious...

Miss Astrid Kirschenbaum in an impromptu apres surf stretch/yoga session. I am all about intertwining yoga into my day little bits at a time. A few sun salutes upon waking, some crazier poses in the grass while outside, and warriors or stretching to wind down in the evening. Most importantly I am evermore mindful of my posture. 

Vrishikasana ~ Scorpion Pose

Vrischik ~ Scorpio

For more info click Pincha Mayurasana, forearm balance.

menu du jour mousse au citron

A thick lemon mousse can top a cake (just keep whipping the cream!) and the curd can be used as filling. Or style Francaise: spread the tangy curd thin on a tart shell and serve the whip on the side. 

These days I am a fanatic for anything cremeuse and have no qualms perpetuating my current cheese/yogurt/cream infatuation. This lemon mousse recipe really struck a chord with me and is a welcome divergence from my usual baked cakes/breads/cookies. Here is a fluffy, summery lemony mousse that is perfectly tart, sweetened only with agave and as far as mousses go, a no-brainer.

Lemon Mousse

Make lemon curd by whisking together 2/3 cup Agave, 3 Eggs, 1 cup Lemon Juice, the Zest of 4 lemons, and 1/2 cup melted Butter. Microwave for one minute intervals until the mixture coats the back of a metal spoon. No kidding - lemon curd in the microwave - and here your friends will think you are so sophisticated.

Whisk one pint of Heavy Whipping Cream by hand. Put a whisk, metal bowl and the cream in the freezer for eight minutes so everything is super cold and then whisk away - fast as you can switching directions. It will take about five minutes, albeit feel like a very long five minutes!

Gently fold the whipping cream into the curd starting with only a little and gradually becoming more liberal. Add until you find the desired consistency or taste, you may not need all of the cream. Save the remaining cream for this month's peaches or your AM coffee. I drizzle a little agave and grate a little zest over the top when serving to company.

I have been using white-board markers on mirrors to announce the in-house ice-cream flavors to my family or the menu for the evening to dinner guests. This would also be a fun way to post chores or a grocery list. The markers should work on mirrors, glass, refrigerators and so forth, but test the surface before going buck-wild. 

bring it back to me

There are still products worth traveling for and foreign trends to be spotted first-hand -- even before Vogue hits the press. Though nearly all objects may now be available throughout the world, there is something special about carrying a taste of your travels home. Mr. K laughed when I pulled out a large jar of Nutella from my lesportsac, but importing it yourself just tastes better doesn't it?!

Hair protection Phyto Plage "l'originale" is yet to be trumped. 

And is a must for surfers.

NUXE spray-on dry oil smells other-worldly.

Savon de Marseille is a cure-all best bought as big as possible. 

"Extra Pure 72% Olive Oil."

Mini Mavala Nail Polishes are sold in even the most obscure of Pharmacies.

About an inch tall they have the new cool colors before they are cool. 

Foutas. These very soft, very stylish, quick drying towels/throws/sarongs/table-cloths are Turkish, yes, but currently all the rage on the Cote D'Azur. They can even replace your regular bath towels especially if you live by the ocean where fabric tends to remain damp. Originally used in the Hammans (saunas) these towels are 100% cotton and a breeze to care for. 

basics

A magazine-inspired doodle from long hours in the Delta Lounge. 

Yoga is really trying to liberate us from ... shame about our bodies. To love your body is a very important thing -- I think the health of your mind depends on your being able to love your body. ––Rodney Yee

I used this Rodney Yee book while abroad to keep up my personal practice. It is a great book for getting back to the basics no matter what your level. After all, the basics are what it's all about. 

home, the abiding place of the affections & special green tea

I'm back home to hubby after a little euro-vacation with the family. 

How is your summer going? The above two sketches filled some lay-over time in JFK; they are both inspired by photos from magazines. 

Once a year I get the great opportunity to reset my buttons in low-key, slow and sumptuous France. Hopefully the next posts will reflect my refreshed mentality. 

Switch-up the caffein this summer. Matcha 'Python' Green Tea Cappucino. 

Although not a French acquired habit, I was happy to come home to this Cali-inspired drink. For a Matcha Green Tea Latte or Cappuccino steam up 1 teaspoon matcha green tea powder and 4-8 ounces almond milk in a frother, with a whisk, or simply shaken and sweeten to taste. I take it plain. I hear it is also amazing when poured over ice. 

With matcha green tea the whole leaf is ingested, rather than just the steeped water of bagged teas. Researchers from the University of Colorado found that the concentration of the antioxidant EGCG available from drinking matcha is up to 137 times greater than the amount of EGCG available from other commercially available green teas.  The caffein in matcha tea is released like food -- slowly throughout the day. It is said to boost metabolism and help reduce cholesterol levels when drunk regularly.

I buy my matcha at Teavana. 

first day of summer

Prasarita Padottanasana ~ Wide Angle/Legged Forward Fold

Prasarita : Expanded, Spread, with Outstretched Limbs

Pada : Foot
Ut : Intense (another new favorite sanskrit word, UT!)
Tan : to Stretch or Extend

HELLO SUMMER!!!

This classic pose is so rife with benefits, I suggest  getting into it and feeling them for yourself. Try different arm variations such as hands clasped behind the back, hands flat on the floor between your feet or as shown, gripping your ankles or big toes. When clasping your big toes use your forefinger and middle-finger to hook underneath with the thumb on top. Use this same talon grip for many other poses, too, such as Utthita Hasta Padangustasana (Extended Hand-To-Big-Toe Pose.)

"No man ever listened himself out of a job." –– Calvin Coolidge

Listening is the greatest gift we can give others.

Listening is being willing to be changed by what we hear. Today listen to everyone without planning what to say or thinking about something else while they are talking. Not only will this help stay present, but it also will transform your relationships. ––A Year of Living Your Yoga, Judith Lasater. 

"Let a fool Hold his tongue and he will pass for a sage." ––Pubilius Syrus First Century BC, Maxim 914

"I remind myself each morning: Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I'm going to learn, I must do it by listening." ––Larry King

Pizza Party

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. 

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:

http://thelittlenell.wordpress.com/2011/05/31/wedding-of-the-month-parkerkirschenbaum/

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...

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 Blueberries
1/3 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

Overcoming fear while eating lemon-ricotta-almond cake!!!

Gluten Free Lemon-Ricotta-Almond Cake no less! Click! or read below. 

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.  

3 eggs
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

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
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!

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.