Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Avocado Recipes From Town and Country magazine

http://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/dining/a2859/avocado-dishes/?src=spr_FBPAGE&spr_id=1454_162893374

Something in me is encouraging me to save this link, especially for the cranberry avocado salad recipe (which I'm tempted to try and eat at least once a week and/or as a dessert if the recipe is feasible for my husband and I).

 

20 Absolutely Amazing Avocado Recipes

Just in case you needed another reason to buy more.

Avocados are the best. Not only are they beyond delicious, but they're healthy too. As avocado season gets into full swing, it's time to take advantage and go avocado-crazy! But before you can do that, you need to know how to quickly and, more importantly, safely open and pit an avocado. It's easier than you think. No, really, this finger-saving tip is life-changing.
1. Slice the knife through to the pit lengthwise, then rotate 90º and slice through again, so the avocado is cut into four pieces but is still attached to the pit.
2. Hold the avocado in your hand and twist. The pieces will start falling away from the pit easily. The last piece will hang onto the pit – just twist the pit a little with your hands and it should pop off quite easily.
3. Peel away the skin from each piece by hand and you're done!
WE RECOMMEND...
Now that you can cut open avocados in no time at all, you need some truly amazing avocado recipes. From savory to sweet, these 20 recipes are avocados at their best.
1. Cranberry-Avocado Salad
This beautiful salad pairs sweet-tart cranberries with the rich avocado. Double yum.
Get the recipe from Tried & Tasty.
2. Grilled Guacamole
Summer means both avocados and grilling. Put 'em together and you get this truly perfect guacamole.
Get the recipe from Kiss My Smoke.
3. Avocado Brownies
Avocado is great for reducing butter in baked goods and adding a healthy kick, but, as these brownies can attest, you won't sacrifice flavor!
Get the recipe from This Week for Dinner.
4. Quinoa Burrito Bowls
These burrito bowls will become a way of life for you, and the avocado on top is soooo much better than a cherry.
Get the recipe from What's Gaby Cooking.
5. Chocolate-Avocado Pudding
If you want to eat vegan but want your pudding, too, avocados are your answer!
Get the recipe from An Edible Mosaic.
6. Avocado Bruschetta
WE RECOMMEND...
Basically the best bruschetta this side of anywhere.
Get the recipe from Laylita's Recipes.
7. Avocado Pasta
This pasta dish has only five ingredients, is incredibly fast and easy, and is totally, ridiculously yummy.
Get the recipe from Dessert for Two.
8. Hummus-Guacamole Dip
Serve this at your next party and become everyone's favorite person. (Shhhh …it's healthy too.)
Get the recipe from This Week for Dinner.
9. Avocado Pie
Come to mama, beautiful, rich and creamy avocado pie.
Get the recipe from Foodologie.
10. Buffalo Chickpea-Bella Baked Avocado
This baked avocado is filled with all kinds of spicy goodness.
Get the recipe from Spabettie.
11. Creamy Avocado Dressing
You need a reliable, delicious, creamy avocado dressing in your life. #truth
Get the recipe from Tasty Yummies.
12. Asparagus and Avocado Spring Rolls
WE RECOMMEND...
Avocado takes center stage in these light spring rolls dipped in citrus dipping sauce.
Get the recipe from Oh My Veggies.
13. Vegan Chocolate-Avocado Cookies
You won't even know these chocolate cookies are vegan.
Get the recipe from Two Peas & Their Pod.
14. Avocado Egg Salad
Egg salad? Boring. Avocado egg salad? Anything but!
Get the recipe from Running to the Kitchen.
15. Raspberry-Banana-Avocado Smoothie
Start your day off right with an avocado-packed smoothie. Bonus: It's not green.
Get the recipe from Texan Erin.
16. Sweet Potato, Apple, and Avocado Salad
This paleo, gluten-free, and vegan salad is gorg and delish.
Get the recipe from Savory Simple.
17. Avocado Ice Cream
Have you had avocado ice cream? It takes creamy to a whole new level.
Get the recipe from The Law Student's Wife.
18. Mango-Avocado Salsa
WE RECOMMEND...
Flavored with strawberries and habaneros, this mango avocado salsa is truly irresistible.
Get the recipe from A Southern Fairytale.
19. Avocado and Feta Orzo Salad
Rich, creamy, and packed with flavor, this just became your favorite pasta salad.
Get the recipe from Diethood.
20. Avocado Truffles
Yes, there are avocados in these truffles. Yes, they are awesome.
Get the recipe from Food Faith Fitness.
Jane Maynard is a food blogger at This Week for Dinner and Babble, a writer and designer, and a lover of all things chocolate.
Posted by at No comments:

Harper's Bazaar link on actresses From the Mad Men

http://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a10271/mad-men-actresses-0415/

A fashion oriented link for those who enjoy watching the Mad Men Tv series. It is a positive thing that they included the three actresses (Christina Hendricks, Kiernan Shipka, and Elisabeth Moss) pictured for this article. I’m just surprised that this article did not include other Mad Men actresses as well such as January Jones and Jessica Pare because they matter to the story as well (since the story’s theme seemed to include the implication of the women of Mad Men and both have played the roles of Don Draper’s (Jon Hamm) spouses in the show).



MAD ABOUT...

As the final season of Mad Men kicks off this month, we celebrate the show's leading ladies and their favorite things.



ELISABETH MOSS

Bedside-table staples: A bunch of scripts, a cup of coffee, a candle, a Mini Jambox, and Smith's Rosebud Salve, which I'm addicted to. It's the only stuff I can put on my lips. I'm watching: The Sopranos,Friday Night Lights, Breaking Bad—you know, the shows that you're supposed to see. But I also watch The Real Housewives andProject Runway—super-relaxing, comforting stuff. I love to watch TV in bed. Food for thought: I've been going to Cafe Fiorello in New York since I was 11, when it was half the size it is now. I always order from the antipasto bar. Guilty pleasures: I like red wine, particularly a blend called the Prisoner, which is made by Orin Swift. And I love a little bit of chocolate in the evening. I'll try to make it dark chocolate, so I feel less guilty. I'm currently obsessed with Justin's dark-chocolate peanut-butter cups—they fool you into thinking they're healthy because you can buy them at Whole Foods. Beauty must-have: I have to put on La Mer eye cream before bed; otherwise I can't sleep. Go-to fashion: When I get dressed up, I love Stella McCartney, Rodarte, and Alexander McQueen. For every day, I love Rag & Bone. I have their booties in four or five different colors. In character: Peggy's wardrobe has made me aware of what looks good on me, physically. Fit-and-flare works because it shows my waist. Small pleats are good, but not large pleats. In terms of her character, I often can't tell the difference between her and me. She's become a more mature, forthright, confident woman. And she's gotten a much better sense of humor, with great one-liners. Both of us grew up over the nine years that we filmed, and we ended up becoming more like each other. There are so many characteristics that I don't know if I gave to her or if she gave to me.

WE RECOMMEND...
KIERNAN SHIPKA

Food for thought: I love going out to eat. My favorite restaurants in L.A. are Sqirl—they have great French toast—and Cooks County for fried-chicken Mondays, because who can pass that up? Bedside-table staples: An alarm clock that I don't wake up to, a stack of books, and a phone. I'm reading: The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern. I just ordered a bunch of books from the Book Cellar in Chicago, which is owned by a good family friend, Suzy Takacs. I'm watching: Veep andArrested Development are great, and Orange Is the New Black is super fun. Beauty must-haves: I use Mario Badescu face products, particularly their Drying Cream for blemishes, and I like Shiseido's sunscreen. Fashion favorites: I think Miu Miu is glorious, and I'm a really big fan of Acne—their pieces are super cool. And I can never buy enough oxfords. Valentino has good ones this season. In character: It's because of Sally that I got interested in vintage clothes. Janie Bryant [Mad Men's costume designer] has taught me so much about fashion—how it can be more than just nice-looking outfits; it can be a story. I would love to be friends with Sally in real life. I hope she would like me! She's so independent, and she has a great sense of self.
CHRISTINA HENDRICKS

Relaxation trick: I do a lot of knitting. I'm working on a sweater for my husband right now. Bedside-table staples: Fresh Sugar lip balmand essential oils. I have different oils that calm you down or help you not crunch your teeth at night. I'm reading: Please Kill Me, by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain. It's a history of punk music. My husband gave it to me for Christmas. I'm watching: I stream a lot of old shows. My all-time favorite is Northern Exposure. Guilty pleasure:Pasta, for sure. Food for thought: I love Il Buco in New York. I always get the same dessert, which is panna cotta with aged balsamic vinegar on top. Recent splurge: I just bought two oil paintings by the artist Malcolm Liepke. I absolutely love his stuff. It reminds me of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. He paints a lot of redheads. Go-to fashion: For events, I love Dolce & Gabbana—their designs are always flattering and feminine. In character: I've definitely incorporated Joan's wardrobe into my own. There was a dress she wore several seasons ago that I loved—a red one with a big bow—and the seamstress reproduced it for me and gave it to me as a wedding gift. I'd like to go out with Joan. She's always up for anything and makes the most of it.
Posted by at No comments:

Occult library discussion on creativity

http://www.theoccultuniversitylibrary.com/blogs/news/17713616-10-paradoxical-traits-of-highly-creative-people

This is a third uplifting link on creativity that I found on a facebook friend’s post.

10 PARADOXICAL TRAITS OF HIGHLY CREATIVE PEOPLE

More than ever before, our world needs people who are alive and inspired, who have new visions, new ideas for implementing them, and new energy. However, as much as corporations, classrooms, and clinical centers say they want to support creativity, they usually end up stifling it.
For one thing, creative people are often misunderstood as undisciplined, or misdiagnosed as having a personality disorder, when in fact they are absolutely healthy within a creative norm, and capable of brilliant work when recognized, nurtured, and supported in developing their expressive capacities.
In Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, creativity scholar Mihaly Csikszentmilhalyi developed a generic description of the creative personality. It gives teachers, therapists, coaches, managers, and co-workers an expanded framework for working with people driven by internal passions, visions, and values.
Csikszentmilhalyi wrote:
 “If there is one word that makes creative people different from others, it is the word complexity. Instead of being an individual, they are a multitude. Like the color white that includes all colors, they tend to bring together the entire range of human possibilities within themselves. Creativity allows for paradox, light, shadow, inconsistency, even chaos –and creative people experience both extremes with equal intensity.”

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CREATIVE PERSONALITY
1. A great deal of physical energy alternating with a great need for quiet and rest.
2. Highly sexual, yet often celibate, especially when working.
3. Both extravagant and spartan.
4. Smart and naïve at the same time. A mix of wisdom and childishness. Emotional immaturity along with the deepest insights.
5. Convergent (rational, left brain, sound judgment) and divergent (intuitive, right brain, visionary) thinking. Divergence is the ability to generate a great quantity of ideas, to switch from one perspective to another, and to pick unusual associations of ideas. Convergence involves evaluation and choice. Creative people have the capacity to think both ways.
6. Both extroverted and introverted, needing people and solitude equally.
7. Humble and proud, both painfully self-doubting and wildly self-confident.
8. May defy gender stereotypes, and are likely to have not only the strengths of their own gender but those of the other as well. A kind of psychic androgyny.
9. Can be rebellious and independent on one hand, and traditional and conservative on the other.
10. A natural openness and sensitivity that often exposes them to extreme suffering and pain, yet also to a great deal of enjoyment. Despair alternates with bliss, despair when they aren’t working, and bliss when they are.
The most important quality among creative people, says Csikszentmilhalyi, is the ability to enjoy the process of creation for its own sake.
Ask yourself how you can create classrooms, workplaces, families, and healing environments that value and support the gifts that the creative people you know have to offer.
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)