Cake Decorating 101

I wish I had more time in this world to blog! Life has been so full and so busy lately.

In addition to Ayurveda school, Spanish, Eastern Philosophy, etc, I started a cake decorating class last week! In fact, I just got back about an hour ago after being there for four hours learning how to frost a cake (yes, it's a lot harder than you'd think), and practicing simple icing decorations and techniques. It's only an 8 week class (just 6 left to go!) but I'll be learning how to work with fondant, colors, writing, piped flowers, and for the final I have to draw out a cake and create it! I have to start planning and scheming now... Anyway, it's pretty cool, the hardest part about it is having consistency. Consistency is key. Applying the right amount of pressure with the knife and squeezing out the frosting evenly. It's a lot harder than it sounds and looks but practice will help over time. Definitely makes you have so much more appreciation for "simple" cakes that you can pick up at the bakery. Our awesome teacher has been a local baker here for the past (almost) 40 years! She started out at Staff of Life back in the day, and went on to work at Gayle's and The Buttery. So I'm learning from the best of the best. She's a total inspiration! Check out her blog!

Right now for practice, we are using styrofoam and cardboard cakes.

It's a trick!

You don't want to eat the frosting either. It's pretty gross.

Just shortening and sugar. Yuck!

Not too shabby for my first try. I need a lot more practice. And patience. My lord.

Anyway, I'm going to try to keep this updated with what I'm doing in class. I'll see how time permits!

Ahh, there is so much to talk about... as for now, I'm going to bed.

Kapha Balancing Tea & Seasonal Routine

Every season has it's proper guidelines, and in Ayurveda this is known as Ritucharya. We modify the lifestyle to match the seasons. The sky is cloudy, there is still a chill in the air, April showers will bring May flowers, and you know what that means--more pollen and allegies! In Ayurveda, philosophically we should follow a diet and lifestyle that is the opposite of these qualities so that this cold and heavy energy does not accumulate in our physiology and psychology, so as to prevent imbalances and disease.

Kapha is aggravated in the late winer and spring (February to May), Pitta is aggravated in the summer (June to mid-September), and Vata is aggravated in the fall and early winter (October to February). We can't exactly follow the calendar strictly, but mainly use our intuition and pay attention to nature as it will tell us which Dosha will be influenced. It's mainly an opportunity to fine-tune our habits, to make small adjustments for good health.

(In India, the whole year is divided into six seasons, but understandably speaking, here in the US there is a vast difference in the weather pattern in different states which must be taken into consideration, as well)

That being said, we are in Kapha season. Dietarily speaking, food and drinks should be compromised of hot, dry, and light qualities to counter the cold, moist, and heavy qualities of Kapha. Baked, broiled, or grilled warm foods are best. Add pungent spices. Eat more vegetables. Cut down on sweets. Sweet, salty, and sour tastes aggravate Kapha, so they should be avoided. Pungent, astringent, and bitter tastes reduce kapha so they should be added.

For example, cheeses, ice creams, yogurts, and other heavy, cold, moist dairy products are going to increase Kapha--phlegm, respiratory disorders, colds, flus, asthma, bronchitis, and/or swollen glands will result. Commonly we may feel sluggish, lethargic (avoid taking daytime naps!), have headaches, or water retention. If that sounds all too familiar, then maybe observing your lifestyle with more awareness is the answer. It may be a little trial and error here and there, but make small changes and you will see a huge difference. I promise.

Herbal teas should also be emphasized. Ginger, calamus, and clove are best, and if anything, just drink warm water. Here is a recipe for a delicious and easy tea that can be prepared daily. All you need is a few herbs and you'll be hooked! It's my new favorite tea!

Kapha Balancing Tea

4 cups water

1 Tablespoon cinnamon sticks, crushed

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon fresh grated or chopped ginger

1 Tablespoon of sucanat or other natural sweetner (optional)

Procedure: Heat water in a pot. Add slightly crushed cinnamon sticks and turmeric powder. Boil for 3 minutes. Add sweetener and grated ginger and boil for 2 more minutes. Strain and serve hot. You can also save the herbs and put it in a metal tea steeper and add more hot water to the cup later. I reused it about two times before it lost most of the potency.

Coconut Red Lentil Soup

Soups and dal have been a primary staple in my diet lately, especially with the way the weather has been. Heating, nourishing, and balancing for the season. I've been gracing the bulk bins every week or so now loading up on yellow split peas (dal) and red lentils to make Ayurvedic dishes such as kitcharee, soups, and dals. They're so easy to cook with! Beet dal, for instance, has been my favorite. You just boil beets and dal in a saucepan, add ghee and some spices, and tada! It's magically delicious, quick, and super healthy. I happened to come across Heidi's recipe a few weeks ago for a Coconut Red Lentil Soup and since it's based on an Ayurvedic recipe from the Esalen cookbook, I couldn't resist. It sounded pretty awesome--ghee, golden raisins, ginger, green onions, coconut milk, tomato paste, cilantro. The minced ginger was nice to bite into every so often, as were the sweet plump raisins. My only issues were I don't think I rinsed/soaked the dal long enough because the texture was a tad gritty. And for some reason I've left the green onion fan club recently. I used to hate them growing up for years, loved them for the past two or so, and recently I've realized it's a trigger for my headaches, mainly when they're raw. Makes sense. So I didn't really dig em on top, but incorporated in the soup it was okay. Perhaps next time I would just substitute them with a whole truckload of cilantro because cilantro has been my best friend lately. Anyway, this was great with some brown rice on the side or mixed in! Try it out! This is a great soup for pretty much anyone.

Coconut Red Lentil Soup

Recipe from 101cookbooks.com and Esalen

1 cup yellow split peas
1 cup red split lentils
7 cups water
1 medium carrot, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 tablespoons fresh peeled and minced ginger
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 tablespoons ghee (can use oil to make vegan)
8 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
one small handful cilantro, chopped

cooked brown rice or farro, for serving (optional)

1. Give the split peas and lentils a good rinse - until they no longer put off murky water. Place them in an extra-large soup pot, cover with the water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the carrot and 1/4 of the ginger. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the split peas are soft.

2. In the meantime, in a small dry skillet or saucepan over low heat, toast the curry powder until it is quite fragrant. Be careful though, you don't want to burn the curry powder, just toast it. Set aside. Place the butter in a pan over medium heat, add half of the green onions, the remaining ginger, and raisins. Saute for two minutes stirring constantly, then add the tomato paste and saute for another minute or two more.

3. Add the toasted curry powder to the tomato paste mixture, mix well, and then add this to the simmering soup along with the coconut milk and salt. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or so. The texture should thicken up, but you can play around with the consistency if you like by adding more water, a bit at a time, if you like. Or simmer longer for a thicker consistency.

ALSO! I really like this idea of "Five Senses Friday" on Abby Try Again's blog so I'm gonna go ahead and play along, too.

Seeing: lots of people, rain, traffic, eggs, and easter candy

Hearing: the new She & Him album (way, wayyy better than volume 1) & Fruit Bats! excellent

Feeling: not ready to go to bed, cold feet

Tasting: peanut butter & strawberry jelly sandwich on winter wheat, with warm spiced coconut milk... sometimes this can be the best dinner ever, as it is tonight

Smelling: fresh cold rain on the pavement

Today I am Excited about Everything

Streaming live video by Ustream

So I've become a little obsessed with watching (or stalking, rather...) this live steam of barn owl Molly in her nest box taking care of her newborns the past few days. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined being able to catch a glimpse of this spectacular phenomenon. This is better than going owling! (Mainly because my ventures out at night have been pretty unsuccessful, although I did hear one owl the other night on a hike...) It's available 24/7! Whattt?!? Amazing, I tell you. Amazing. And yes, I do watch it while I bake and I squeal and freak out over it... because I'm a dork. I'm in awe over this. It's too perfect for an owl-obsessed freak like me. Look at how beautiful she is!

Besides that, here are a few other things I've been loving lately...

(Just discovered her awesome blog here.)

Urban Weeds (Portland Street Style)

Reason #697 on why Portland rules and why I can't wait to live there.

Everyone is beautiful and has style!

I can't help but have the hope that maybe one of these days I'll be photographed unexpectedly as I wander the streets...

Donna Wilson's collection!

OH MY GOD.

MY NEW OBSESSION.

I LOVE ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING.

Seriously, I would buy anything and everything that she makes.

Owls, beards, birds, foxes, kitties, weird monsters, cupcakes, faux wood...

pretty much everything I adore.

And look at how cute she is!

Oh, and I finally bought a carton of this today because it was on sale and I'm stoked on trying it.

Coconut everything these days, I tell ya. Even coconut kefir!

Alright well I'm in the midst of cooking an indian feast for a friend and I tonight. Vegan baked sweet potato samosas, cardamom coconut brown rice, sauteed garlicky ginger chard, with many fixin's and sauces: cilantro-cashew-ginger chutney, banana-ginger-apple chutney, mango cardamom jam, tamarind sauce, and making a special "kapha" tea tis the season. Yeah, I think that's about it. I've been cooking a ton cause it's spring break woohoo! Red lentil beet dal, sweet potato and dandelion greens gratin, coconut chocolate avocado muffins.

RECIPES SOON TO FOLLOW. I PROMISE.