I have always preferred liquid soap and shower gel over bar soap. What I dislike about most (American) soaps is that icky, cruddy film it leaves everywhere in your tub and on your skin. It grosses me out.
My mother introduced me to the beauty of French, English, African, Spanish and Indian soaps years ago, and I saw the light! Quality, triple-milled soaps are worlds apart from their lesser counterparts.
If you’re one of those folks who gets the heebie jeebies when you think about soap scum and that goopy soap muck in the soap dish, I learned this secret…
The Art of Using Soap…
Whenever you buy any kind of soap, immediately unwrap it and place it in a basket or bowl where the soap can be completely exposed to the air. Leave it in that basket or bowl exposed to the air until you’re ready to use it.
The air will harden and solidify the soap and improve its integrity so it doesn’t crumble into a pile of mush in the soap dish, and it will hold its shape over time as it is used.
Do keep this air exposure tip in mind for when you’re using the soap, and store it daily in a wire or mesh tray that will allow it to fully breathe and dry. Soap lasts 3x longer this way! My mother taught me that little gem.
She’ll even unwrap ten bars of soap and place them all in the same basket. By the time each bar is used, it’s in the absolute ideal condition.
Now, for the main event… My latest love: Bon Savon luxury soaps! When I say they carry a wide assortment of imported soaps from everywhere in the world, I kid you not.
If you have a thing for good soap, look no further. Bon Savon is a soap lover’s best dream! They sell soap for every “body” - for men, women and children. Shopping for everyone!
You know I love to showcase eye candy, so feast your beady eyes upon these:
Look how sweet and precious! Gianna Rose Atelier Les Animaux d’Enfant (Baby Animals) soap for children
Baby animals on parade! Elephant, teddy bear and bunny, sized just right for a
child’s bath. This gentle soap is triple-milled and molded from vintage dies, in a mild vegetable-based formula and has a delicate, clean scent. The petite trio comes in a miniature keepsake box.
Aphrodite Olive Oil Soap
The benefits of olive oil are well known. In addition, olive leaves are found to be rich in antibacterial agents. The crushed olive leaves in this bar will exfoliate your skin and cleanse clogged pores. This soap contains 80-85% pure olive oil, no artificial preservatives or fragrances, and no animal fat.
Luxo Banho Portuguese Crème Oval Soap
This giant luxury bath soap became the toast of Europe during the decorative 1920’s. The ornate art deco gift box became synonymous with the new glamour and chic of modernism. Luxo Banho is a milk-rich, emollient, timeless luxury bar for the bath.
Apiana Honey Soap
A moisturizing soap for all skin types. Presented in a pictorial package that makes a perfect gift.
African Black Soap
African Black Soap is a luxurious, creamy moisturizing cocoa butter soap that is ideal
for blemish-prone skin. It cleans and lifts away dirt and bacteria, and softens dry skin. Warm, earthy fragrance. IMPORTANT: This soap contains antibacterial agent Triclocarban (0.7%) and should be used according to directions.
Côté Bastide Soap Cube
Milk is a traditional beauty treatment for the skin. This Côté Bastide soap cube has a fresh, soft and comforting fragrance that reminds one of sweet cream.
Côté Bastide Fig Tree Soap
A fresh, green, earthy fragrance extracted from the crushed leaves of the fig tree.
The antique designed wrap is reminiscent of designs from yesterday.
MEN - Magno La Toja Spanish Soap
A bar with a strong personality: its fresh yet spicy classic “soapy” scent is combined with the cleansing properties of mineral salts. This Spanish brand provides the pleasure and care of thermal waters in your home. The famous La Toja Spa, located on La Toja Island, is known for its water with unique mineral salt content. La Toja soap will cleanse and revitalize your skin.
MEN - Roger & Gallet Gentle Nature/Cinnamon Orange Soap
Men, you will love the powerful hit of spicy cinnamon and zesty orange in this luxe, creamy bar!
Nasturtia Milk Pear Soap
Goat’s milk is very rich in vitamins and minerals and contains short-chain fatty acids that are dispersed throughout the milk, creating a very fine emulsion. These features make it a perfect natural moisturizer. Fresh pear fragrance.
Nasturtia Pink Grapefruit Soap
Grapefruit has a very specific, tangy aroma that is hard to recreate in its full splendor. This is one the best grapefruit fragrances we have found in soaps.
Waterl’eau - “The Green Deep” Soap
The Green Deep brings the rich aroma and all the benefits of green tea extract. A light citrus infusion makes it fresh and invigorating.
Phebo Brazilian Glycerin Soap
This Brazilian glycerin soap has an exotic, spicy scent.
I used to think I wanted to own and operate a quaint bed and breakfast when I retire. Make that a soap shop!
What do the following all have in common with each other?
jerry falwell ; halo 3 beta ; melinda doolittle ; kim kardashian ; preakness ; shrek the third ; taylor swift ; phoenix suns ; yolanda king ; presidentielle 2007 ; bayrou
As of September 27, 2008, Google’s Hot Trends listed these as the most popular:
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Do some of those terms look like Chinese or Greek to you?
Folks, if you want to stay in the loop of what’s hot this very moment,
Google’s Hot Trends is your friend.
There is a river, OK - an OCEAN - of information floating about the Internet on how to increase your site’s traffic and make money blogging.
Most of those information sites, though, make me cross-eyed and weary.
I didn’t have much luck with increasing my site’s statistics and profitability until I took the sage advice of Paula Neal Mooney, the ultimate blogging guru.
If you’re a blogger or an aspiring blogger and you’ve been wondering:
1. How can I make money as a blogger?
2. How can I increase site traffic (increase blog traffic) and get more readers?
3. How can I attract loyal readers - repeat readers?
4. Is Google AdSense effective? Is Chitika eMiniMalls effective?
5. What is the best way for a blogger to earn money?
6. What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
7. What is the best way to optimize my site?
8. Where do I even begin with blog advertising?
9. How much money do bloggers earn?
10. Is there a detailed list of blogger salaries anywhere? (Yep, right on Paula’s blog!)
11. How can I get more site exposure in other media formats?
12. How can I improve my blog ranking?
13. What’s the best way to make use of bookmarking sites like Digg (how to get Dugg) and Technorati?
14. How can I make a free website?
15. I need advertisers. How can I attract advertisers?
16. What is AdBrite?
17. What are Google AdWords?
18. How can I sell my blog?
19. What is BlogHer?
20. What is cost-per-click (cpc)?
21. How can I get PayPal donations on my site?
22. What is ghost blogging?
23. What is Swag?
24. What is Squidoo?
25. What is Google AdSense?
26. What are other ways I can make money online or make money from home?
27. I want to watch TV online for free. Which free TV shows can I watch online? Is www.watchtv.de good? What about www.makemewatchtv.com , www.broadcast-live.com/television , or www.worldtvpc.com ?
Paula Mooney’s exceedingly resourceful blog says in its header, “I help bloggers make money, get readers and increase blog ranking.”
I attest that this is true!
My own site’s traffic has greatly improved since employing some of the fabulous blogging optimization techniques that Paula has freely offered.
Ms. Mooney certainly has a knack for this blogging thing. She’s so GENEROUS with her valuable information, too.
One thing I sincerely miss about living in Washington, D.C. is the tremendous diversity of cuisines. Here in L.A., you have your occasional ethnic pockets. But most of the time it’s do you want salads, sushi, or Mexican food?
I’m not saying we don’t have our occasional ethnic cuisine variances in L.A., and I do know about Pollo ala Brasa in Koreatown, but one must search diligently for these gems. Case in point: a good El Salvadoran pupuseria.
Look, I like Mexican tamales as much as the next chick. But I’d much rather have
El Salvadoran queso-stuffed pupusas, grilled all hot and gooey!
Note: In other Latin American countries, such as Venezuela, a pupusa is called an “arepa.” Call it what you will, but just don’t call me late for dinner.
Oster makes an ideal arepa/pupusa maker:
In the D.C. Metro area (especially in Arlington!), you can find a million El Salvadoran pupuserias, and Peruvian pollerias too, for that matter.
I really, really love El Salvadoran food. It is SO delicious! There’s a spot on Columbia Pike in Arlington that makes the most amazing Salvadoran food, but I haven’t been there in a while and can’t recall the name of the restaurant.
Since D.C. is a mecca for El Salvadoran food lovers, as well as Peruvian chicken addicts,
I would have to give two huge thumbs up for the restaurants all along Columbia Pike in Arlington.
There is also a spot on the Pike (can’t remember the name, sorry!) that serves the BEST crunchy steak tacos I have ever had in my life. Each crunchy white corn taco comes filled with slices of marinated and grilled steak and is topped with fresh pico de gallo and crumbly queso blanco. They don’t speak a lick of English in this joint, but the servers always knew what to bring me, along with an ice-cold Corona with a lime.
If I were back in D.C., I would know exactly where each of these places are and I could point you in the right direction.
My best advice? If you’re craving Latin food and you’re in the D.C. area, pick any Latin restaurant on Columbia Pike and you’ll be pleased. It’s all very authentic, affordable, and most of all - very, very good.
But oh yeah, wasn’t this post supposed to be strictly about pupusas? How about I leave you with a great recipe, courtesy of Mi Cocina Latina.
If you don’t like pork, substitute according to your preferences.
Pupusas Stuffed with Pork
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1/2 lb. ground pork
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
* 1 medium tomato, chopped
* 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
* 1 tablespoon MAGGI Granulated Chicken Flavor Tomato Bouillon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded manchego or Monterey Jack cheese
* 4 cups corn tortilla mix
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 2/3 cups hot water
* Curtido (see recipe on site)
Directions
HEAT oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork, onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until pork is no longer pink. Drain. Add tomato, jalapeño, bouillon and cumin. Reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes or until liquid is evaporated. Remove from heat; cool.
COMBINE tortilla mix and salt in large bowl. Stir in water to make a soft, pliable dough, adding more water if necessary. Shape into twenty-eight 1 1/2-inch balls, keeping covered. Press each ball into 5-inch diameter circle between pieces of plastic wrap.
STIR cheese into filling. Spread about 1 rounded tablespoon filling on a tortilla to within 1/2 inch of edge. Place a second tortilla on top, pressing lightly to seal edges. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.
HEAT griddle or skillet over medium heat. Brush with oil. Cook pupusas for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Serve hot with Pickled Cabbage Relish (Curtido).
This fabulous recipe comes from the highly-talented Croatian chef, Dennis Valcich.
I received permission directly from Mr. Valcich to post this recipe, so have a go at it and let us know how you like (love!) it.
You could even serve this as a wedding cake!
Wine and Ricotta Torte with Grapes
130 gr butter, softened
130 gr icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
grated lemon skin
4 eggs
3 Tbsp. milk
170 gr strained flour
200 gr icing sugar
Soft butter and bread crumbs for baking tin
Filling
250 mil Treminer Riesling wine
40 gr gelatin powder
250 gr fresh Ricotta cheese
80 gr icing sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
500 gr white and black seedless grapes, mixed
250 mil thickening cream
grated almonds for dusting
Directions
Preheat the oven to 180 C. Take two cake tins without the bottom part. Place them on backing tray, on top of greased paper, lift excess paper to outside the tins.
Inside part of the rings, spread with butter and dust with bread crumbs.
Separate egg yolks from whites, and smoothly beat butter with sugar, vanilla sugar and lemon rind. Slowly keep adding one egg yolk at the time, add flour and milk; mix well. Divide mixture evenly and pour into both tins.
Beat egg whites until hard, slowly adding sugar. Evenly add egg whites to mixture in the tins and smooth over.
Bake the mixture for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool, and remove the paper. Cut mashed seedless grapes in half. Dissolve gelatin in warm wine, leave to cool down, add Ricotta, sugar, and vanilla sugar.
Thicken the cream and add to the mixture together with grapes. Return one baked base to the tin lined with greased paper, add half filling, spread evenly, sit second baked base, which you cut in half and add the rest of the filling. Sit other half of base, place torte in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Remove the tin ring and paper. Spread same cream around the torte, dust with minced almonds and decorate top with cream and grapes.
This dessert will leave your guests speechless. Speechless, I say!
I lucked out in finding an awesome Caribbean caterer in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) for your private jets and yachts: Blue Iguana Catering!
How it works, per their site…
IN-FLIGHT CATERING FOR PRIVATE PLANES AND JETS
We offer a wide variety of breakfast, lunch, and dinner items to suit all tastes. Blue Iguana Catering is more than happy to pick up any last minute items you and your guests may need, such as ice, magazines, papers, fresh flowers, etc. If it is on Tortola, we will find it. All of your gourmet items will be bulk packed to help save precious space. We’ll even wash your dirty dishes! Every effort will be made to fulfill any special requests. Substitutions may need to be made. Food is delivered directly to the plane. However, a 24-hour minimum notice is required.
Below is a brief sampling of the menu Blue Iguana Catering offers for airline catering:
Eye Openers
Fresh muffins and pastries with butter and preserves
Cornflake-crusted French toast
Tropical fruit crêpes
Fresh fruit platter
Gourmet Entrées
Jerk chicken with black bean and corn salsa
Grilled marinated chicken breast with artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes
Beef Stroganoff with wild mushrooms and sour cream
Chargrilled strip loin steak with green peppercorn sauce
Seafood kebabs with mango chutney
Baked Mahi-Mahi with West Indian Creole sauce
Anegada swordfish with capers and sun-dried tomatoes
It’s not just great food that we provide. We at Blue Iguana Catering offer the complete catering solution, allowing you to concentrate on what you do best - flying and sailing!
CATERING FOR YACHTS
We can either drop the sumptuous meals off to your yacht, allowing you to enjoy your fine dining experience in a more intimate atmosphere, or we can send a chef out on our boat Mise En Place to cater to your every whim while you relax with a cocktail on deck. Watch the sun set as we deal with the food.
Here is a sample of Blue Iguana’s sailing menu…
Sautéed baby conch with fresh local mango, rum and cilantro
Mixed baby greens with a Vermont maple balsamic reduction and basil oil dressing
Pan-seared grouper with macadamia nuts and braised bananas
Fresh berry Sabayon
Enjoy your sailing vacation while we worry about the dishes. Your private chef caters to you on your yacht.
Our menus will please even the most discriminating palate. From succulent seafood to our farm raised exotic game, everything is prepared with only the finest and freshest ingredients.
Blue Iguana Catering will make your in-flight and nautical dining experience one to remember!
Let’s get our week off to a tasty headstart as we in the U.S. gear up for our exciting
Independence Day festivities this week.
Nothing says “4th of July” quite like the El Paso Chile Company. This company has everything to make your outdoor cookout anything but dull!
Take, for instance, their Beer BBQ sauce…
A hearty American Bar-B-Q sauce, tapped with dark beer, Texas mesquite smoke and molasses for a rich, smooth character. Pour it out, rub it on, eat it up!
I love beer BBQ sauce! Beer adds a whole new taste dimension when added to an already kicky BBQ sauce. You’ve gotta try it!
Cowboy Catsup
Rope your burgers and fries and slather on some of this jalapeño catsup. Onions, hot peppers, bell peppers and garlic add a kick to the tradition of catsup in a spicy, Southwestern style.
Now THIS is different - Mediterranean Salsa!
The stuff that myths are made of! Italian sun-dried tomatoes, Greek kalamata olives and capers, French Herbes de Provence, red roasted peppers and chipotle chiles are embraced in an impassioned mosaic of tempestuous flavors and colors.
Cuban Black Bean Dip
Waving palms and a cool island breeze. Visit a forbidden paradise of silky black beans, sweet red pepper and an undercurrent of rich authentic gold rum, resulting in a Cuban sensation that may taste mild, but is definitely hot, hot, hot!
Mexican Wedding Cookies
It’s got to be love at first bite with our simple, but delicious Mexican Wedding Cookies. Traditionally, these treats are given to guests attending the bride and groom’s happy day, but we think they are so good that it’s a shame to only serve them at special occasions. Just try one and you’ll agree, there’s nothing better than these yummy pecan cookies rolled in sweet powdered sugar. Definitely a match made in heaven.
Margarita Cookies!
Little bites of heaven…each delicious cookie is infused with the juice of tart key limes, crushed almonds and then baked to flaky perfection. A dusting of fine powdered sugar puts the finishing touch on these sweet babies.
Mmm… Dulce Pecan Sauce
A perfect sauce for topping Dulce Cake or premium ice cream. Rich, smooth and totally delicious. Made with pecans and laced with Madagascar vanilla!
I’m psychic. In my crystal ball, I see a vision of El Paso Chile Company being inundated with gazillions of express orders just in time for the holiday.
I had been wondering what the heck happened to Asian chef Ming Tsai, who used to be on the Food Network almost 24/7. I loved watching Ming’s East Meets West show, and I would look SO forward to watching it!
I used to hate Chinese food (hated it!). Ming was the one chef who got me to explore that cuisine and learn to enjoy it. Although Ming’s Asian style of cooking is more fusion and experimental, that was the closest I could get to eating Chinese anything.
Japanese sushi, teriyaki, tempura and udon I’ll certainly do. I will be the first to order coconut lemongrass soup, Pad Thai, and Thai spring rolls at a Thai restaurant. Vietnamese food is incredibly pretty, and I love phở. Mongolian and Malaysian specialties - bring it on!
But for some reason, I just couldn’t get with Chinese food. Maybe because here in the U.S., Chinese food tends to be so Americanized and greasy.
Or perhaps it was all the heavy pseudo-Chinese food I inhaled in my late-night, bar-hopping college days that did me in.
Anyway, this post isn’t even about Chinese food. It’s about a wonderful French pear tarte tatin by amazing pastry chef Gale Gand. Ming featured this recipe on his web site. It was snag-worthy.
Gale Gand’s Pear Tarte Tatin
Serves 6 to 8
1 sheet puff pastry
1 recipe Jasmine Caramel Sauce, reduced by 50 percent
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons vanilla brandy
2 tablespoons orange juice
4 to 5 ripe pears, peeled, halved and seed packet removed with a melon baller
Whipped cream or ice cream for serving
Preheat oven to 425ºF.
Thaw the sheet of puff pastry and cut a round disk out using a 9-inch cake pan as your guide but cut it 1-inch bigger all around. In the same 9-inch cake pan, warm the caramel over medium heat until it starts to bubble. Add the cinnamon stick and stir to combine. Stir in the brandy and orange juice to deglaze the pan and continue cooking until it becomes a smooth caramel. Remove the cake pan from the heat and then place the pear halves in the pan in a spoke pattern.
Return the pan to the stove and cook on low for 20 minutes to tenderize the pears somewhat. Top the pears with the round of puff pastry, draping it over the edge of the pan (don’t worry, it will shrink during baking). Bake 20 to 25 minutes at 425ºF, or until the pastry is golden brown. Let cool in the pan to set the caramel. The pectin the fruit has given off will help set the juices. Turn upside down onto a plate and remove the pan to serve. You may need to warm the bottom of the pan slightly over a hot burner to allow the tart to release from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature, in slices, with a dollop of whipped cream or scoop of ice cream.
Serve with Ambazillac Cuvée Mademoiselle or a pot of dark roasted coffee.
