Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free, Food Free Cake. Diaper Cake!

A "cake" made out of diapers is a stylish and cool gift to give someone who is expecting.  I made one the other night for a friend of mine.  The process was enjoyable because I like to make things, and it's fun to go and pick colors and ribbon and things.  (I don't think of myself as a "girly girl", but apparently I am when it comes to this.)  Also, I get to go buy baby things and make something for a baby, even if it isn't my own.  (Sometimes, you just have to put your feelings on a shelf and do something nice for someone else, right?)  It was fun to do and it feels more personal than just going and buying random baby merchandise.

It's not hard to make this diaper cake.  There is a video on the internet that takes you through the whole process.  I love that it's set to the music of "Meet Joe Black".  (Because really, what goes with sweet babies better than music from a film about death personified?)  The only modification I made is that I used slightly bigger diapers on the bottom two tiers and the teeniest ones on the top.  I think it looks better that way.  Also, the mother can use the top layer when the baby is first born, and keep the bottom two tiers as decoration for a few months or so until the baby grows into them.  Also, I think it's a cool idea to use a pizza pan as the base because the new mom is totally going to be using it to heat up a lot of frozen pizzas for dinner after the birth!

Make this for the next baby shower you're invited to.  It will be a hit with the mom-to-be, and everyone will think you're super cool! 

It's like Nirvana, but with tea!

This weekend, I finally went to the new tea store "Teavana".  (Well, it was new to me anyway.)  Who knew you could spend so much money on tea and tea accessories?  They say, many upscale products aren't really that much better than others, but the packaging is much fancier.  I think this may the case here.  Don't get me wrong,  I loved looking around in the store!  The tea pots were fun to look at, but I am never going to spend over $200 on a tea pot.

I am a big tea drinker and have at least 3 cups a day.  Since I can't have too many treats (no wheat, dairy, sugar, or yeast), tea feels like a sinful delight.  I was reminded of the saying, "a fool and his money are soon parted" because the store seems to be designed to part fools from their money.  Well, I must be a fool because I spent $42 on tea!  You have to buy the tea containers, then you can buy whatever tea you want to fill it.  There are several dozen large canisters behind the register which the sales people will open and waft in your general direction so you can smell the various teas.

The sales person I spoke with was full of helpful information.  Did you know that green tea can help regulate your blood sugar if you drink it before a meal?  Also, did you know that Oolong tea helps increase your metabolism and burns fat if you drink it after a meal?  I didn't!  The sales lady (who was Asian) says that all Asian households have both green and oolong teas on hand since the dishes they eat are often fatty.  With that in mind, I HAD to get one of each!  I ended up getting Dragonwell (green) and Toasted Nut Brulee (Oolong).  The Dragonwell tea was good.  I love a nice green tea, but I have to say it wasn't any better than my favorite Numi Gunpowder Green tea.  I used to feel guilty buying the Numi tea since it's $6.99 per box (although Whole Foods has it on sale often), but now I'll buy it guilt free since it's less expensive than the Dragonwell.  The Toasted Nut Brulee tea however, is awesome!  I will definitely be back for more.  It's like dessert in a cup AND it helps you burn fat?  Why aren't we all drinking this all the time?  I will go back to Teavana and try some more teas, however it will not be an everyday thing for me.  As a special treat however, it's heavenly!

Very Berry Chocolate Mousse

(I was going to call this "Cherry Berry Chocolate Mousse", but I only had blackberries in my freezer and no cherries!  I bet cherries would be good though, and I plan to use them next time.  Maybe I'll try some Amaretto in there too!)

For a Valentine's Day treat, I made chocolate mousse for my husband (and me!).  I used Julia Child's recipe (of course), but made some changes.  I am avoiding wheat and dairy so this is a less harmful dessert for me than most.  There is a lot of butter in it, but butter has very little lactose in it and is mostly fat so lactose intolerant people can usually have a bit of butter every now and then.  I find I can tolerate it in moderate amounts.  (This is not an everyday thing, but as an occasional treat, it's not too bad.)  There is no whipped cream in this mousse.  The creamy lightness comes from beaten egg whites.  This allows more of a deep, dark chocolate taste to come through since cream kind of dilutes (or "milks down") the chocolate.  Dark chocolate lovers out there, this mousse is for you! 

I made the following modifications to the recipe:
1.  I substituted Chambord for the Grand Marnier
2.  I sweetened it with agave syrup instead of sugar (1/2 cup instead of 3/4 cup since it is sweeter).
3.  Since the agave syrup made it more liquidy, I added some arrowroot powder to compensate. (Otherwise, it wouldn't thicken properly without the dry sugar.)  I didn't measure.  I just sprinkled some in, then when it didn't thicken enough, I sprinkled some more.  I probably used about 2 teaspoons or so.
4.  I simmered some blackberries with some more Chambord and agave syrup, reducing it to a thick compote, and used it to top the mousse.  The tartness of the berries balances the rich, sweetness of the mousse nicely.

You can use my modifications or make Julia's original recipe.  Either way, get ready for sinfully delicious goodness!  Actually, I've made the Grand Marnier and orange version with agave syrup instead of sugar and it was delicious as well.   Here is the recipe, straight from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" (p. 604-5): 

"Mousseline au Chocolat
(for about 5 cups, serving 6 to 8 people)

Beat 4 egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar (or 1/2 cup agave syrup) together until mixture is thick, pale yellow, and falls back upon itself forming a slowly dissolving ribbon.  Beat in 1/4 cup of orange liquor (or Chambord).  Then set mixing bowl over a pan of not-quite-simmering water and continue beating for 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture is foamy and too hot for your finger.  Then beat over a basin of cold water for 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture is cool and again forms the ribbon.  (I put the arrowroot in at this point, if agave syrup is used.)  It will have the consistency of mayonaisse.

Melt 6 ounces of unsweetened, dark chocolate with 4 Tb.  strong coffee in a double boiler.  Remove from heat and beat in 6 ounces (or 1 and a half sticks) of softened unsalted butter a bit at a time, to make a smooth cream.  Beat the chocolate into the egg yolks and sugar (or agave), then beat in the optional 1/4 cup of glazed orange peel* (see below for recipe).  

Beat 4 egg whites and a pinch of salt (in a separate bowl) until soft peaks are formed; sprinkle on 1 Tb granulated sugar (I leave the sugar out, and it still comes out fine).  Stir one fourth of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.  Fold in the rest.

Turn into serving dish, dessert cups, or petits pots.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.  (You can top this with whipped cream, but I like to make berry compote or glazed orange peel and top it with that instead.)"

* "Glazed Orange Peel (p. 587)
  (for about 1/2 cup)

Remove the colored part of 3 orange skins with a vegetable peeler.  Cut into julienne strips 1 1/2 inches long and 1/16 inch wide.  Simmer in water for 10 to 12 minutes or until just tender when bitten.  Drain.  Refresh in cold water.  Dry on paper towels.

Boil 1 cup sugar (or 3/4 cup agave syrup) and 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan to the thread stage (230 degrees).  Remove from heat.  Stir in the drained peel and 1 t. of vanilla extract.  (I add a splash or two of Grand Marnier at this point.)  Let the peel stand in the syrup for at least 30 minutes.  Drain when ready to use.  Under refrigeration, the peel will keep in the syrup for several weeks."

I know it seems like a pain to do all of this, but it's totally worth it!  My girl Julia knows what she's talking about.  Make this for your significant other, and they will love you!    

Yoga Pete

     The other night, we had a house guest.  One of my husband's friends was in town visiting his father, who coincidentally lives in our town, and he needed a place to stay since his father's house was full of other guests.  (Seriously, what are the odds of this?  They met while in school in Greece!)  Anyway, I'll call his friend "Yoga Pete".
     Yoga Pete is a fascinating person.  He is half Swiss, half Greek, teaches yoga, has lived in Japan, has traveled to China, and attends an ashram in India to work on his yoga skills some summers.  Also, he was a Philosophy major at University so he asks you questions like "what do you think happiness is and how do you create it?"  I find it really refreshing to speak with someone who is an extremely good conversationalist.  It makes me want to cultivate this skill in myself. 
     I'm reading a book at the moment about how technology is killing conversation skills in people.  It's a bit of a paradox because, while the internet connects people, it also removes us one step from being face to face.  People are constantly "plugged in".  You almost cannot have a conversation with anyone these days without them checking their iphone or blackberry every 5 seconds.  (Yes, it's a bit ironic that I'm saying this via the internet but like I said, it's a paradox.)  The book I'm reading says there are two things which a good conversation requires:  attention and interest.  Most people today have some form of ADD, and /or just aren't interested in other people.  (I hate to admit this but I, sadly, must include myself in this.)  Anyway, the conversation my husband and I had with Yoga Pete was the first real, meaningful, uninterrupted conversation I'd had in quite some time.  It was enjoyable!  I am going to train myself to have more attention and interest in others.  "Attention x Interest = Conversation = Joy!"     
     The next morning, Yoga Pete showed us some yoga moves.  Do you know how impressive it is to watch someone do something that they are really good at?  It doesn't matter what it is, but to see someone execute something so fluidly and effortlessly is quite something.  (I think this is one reason why we like watching the Olympics so much.)  Then, I got a private yoga lesson during which he showed me the "Sun Salutation" that he does.  (This link I posted shows a slightly different one than he one he showed me, but you get the idea.)  The corrections he made to my form ("bring your shoulders down, bend your knees then straighten them, breathe through your nose, etc.") made it feel completely different than what I had been doing.  Yoga Pete says that doing 5 Sun Salutations every morning is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your health.  He made it seem so much more accessible to me!  There is no way I'm going to do a whole yoga routine in the morning, but 5 Sun Salutations are totally possible.  (5 minutes, tops!)  I did them this morning, and it woke me up more than caffeine.  I'm going to continue to do them.  He says he started with just 5 minutes in the mornings, and now (after 16 years) he does an hour and a half, which would have been inconceivable to him when he first started.  He also says that he feels much better and has more energy now (at 40 or so) than he did when he was 20.  There are men at his yoga school that are in their 60's that are even healthier and more flexible than he is!  How inspiring is that?
So---go do 5 Sun Salutations to get the blood pumping to your brain and then go have a scintillating conversation with someone today!  You'll thank me (and Yoga Pete) later!         

A Sweet Valentine's Story

     I'm a bit of a Valentine scrooge, I have to admit.  When I was single, I thought it was mean to make single people feel worse about being single.  Now that I'm married, I think it's unnecessary because my husband makes me feel loved every day.  I don't need flowers and chocolates to feel special because he already makes me feel special.  However, I wanted to share with you a great, real-life love story that makes me very, very happy.

     A work colleague of mine and his wife will be celebrating their second, second anniversary this year.  Let me explain:  (I'll call them Frank and Alma.)

        Frank and Alma were married when they were in their early 20's.  They divorced 4 years later.  They both married other people.  Alma's second marriage ended very quickly (with no children) because it was pretty much a rebound relationship.  Frank's marriage lasted for 15 years or so, and he had 2 children.  Eventually, his marriage ended as well.  Thirty-five years after their divorce, they met again.  They started dating and found that they still loved each other.  A year later, they were married on the exact same day as their original wedding.  They are deliriously happy and are certain it will work this time because they both say that things that are issues when you're in your 20's are no longer issues when you're in your late 50's.  They had their second, first anniversary last year. 
     Alma says she couldn't be happier and feels that her life is complete.  She always wanted to be with Frank, and she wanted Frank's children.  Now she has both!  (She has a great relationship with Frank's children so she "has" them in that sense.)  Also, she gets to have grandchildren with Frank.  What a wonderful story!  I think it's so uplifting and inspiring.  I want this to give hope to all of you out there!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Childless Child

 This turned into a bit of a rant.  I have mixed feelings about posting this, but it has been on my mind a lot and it had to be written.  This post is for all the infertile women out there who are craving just a smidgen of understanding:

   The other night, I re-watched the movie "Julie and Julia".  I loved it although as far as I'm concerned, the Julie parts should be cut out and the whole movie should be about Julia Child.  In fact, why don't they make a movie about Julia Child?  They could include bits about her life in India and China, and include how she met and got together with Paul.  Anyway, I identified with Julia in several ways.  One way was about her apparent infertility.  It absolutely broke my heart during the scene where Julia was reading a letter from her sister in which she learned that her sister was pregnant.  She was visibly upset and was crying but said, "I'm so happy".  Someone told me that when she saw it in the theater, people laughed at this moment.  As a woman who is struggling with infertility herself, this makes me furious because it shows a real lack of understanding of the general public on this issue.
    In our culture, people ignore this topic altogether.  Our society seems to glorify motherhood and has several conventions which are cruel to those who cannot participate.  I don't think individual people are cruel, but society at large certainly is.  The previously mentioned letter-reading scene in "Julie and Julia" shows how socially unacceptable it is to be anything other than ecstatic over the news of another's pregnancy.  Julia couldn't even admit her sadness to her husband who adored her and knew better.  If a woman shows any signs of being upset over someone else getting pregnant, then she is accused of being selfish and she should "just get over it".  This is similar to going up to a blind man and telling him that you just had lasik  surgery and can see crystal clearly without  glasses.  If this man were not jumping for joy over your good fortune, would you accuse him of being selfish?  Of course not!  Yet this is what we do to infertile women all the time.
     Another cruel convention is the baby shower.  A pregnant woman has the one thing I want most in the entire world.  And society says I have to throw her a party and give her presents?  Really?  Would you ask a homeless man to throw a house-warming party for someone he barely knows who just bought a house?  Don't get me wrong.  I have no problem buying baby shower presents for friends of mine.  I'm talking about  people I barely know like my mother's church friends or mere acquaintances.  I know the reasoning behind the baby shower is that you have to financially help out the new mother who has to buy all this stuff for her baby.  However, women who do fertility treatments pay WAY more than new mothers do.  IVF treatments and adoption can range from $30,000 to $70,000 and up.  (And that's before the baby even gets here!)  I'm sure even all-designer baby merchandise wouldn't cost that much.
   Another injustice is in our medical system.  Most health plans do not cover fertility treatments.  This is unfair because some of us have paid health insurance all of our working lives, and have made very few claims.  The ONE thing I need my insurance to cover is something that they won't cover.  If disease is defined as "something in the body isn't functioning properly", then infertility is a disease.  It is not an elective procedure.  I did not "elect" to go through fertility treatments.  It's just what I have to do to have my body function the way it should in the first place.  Health insurance REALLY should cover this!
      The truth is that I want a child so badly I can hardly breathe.  People think that everything's "okay" with me now that I have decided to adopt, but the fact of the matter is that I will NEVER be okay with this!  It's just not okay at all!  I wish I could flip a switch in my brain and not care about this anymore.  Or be like the women who just don't want children.  My life would be so much easier if I were like them.  I especially wish that people had an ounce of sensitivity when talking about their children, grandchildren, pregnant daughters and friends, etc.  Every time I hear about someone else becoming pregnant, it's like having salt rubbed in the ever-present wound in my heart.  I get it.  You're excited.  I'm not saying you shouldn't be and I'm not saying you shouldn't ever mention it.  Just please be aware that someone in the room may be dying a little inside every time you bring it up.    

Mozart and Roses and Snow! Oh My!

    Life is good.  I heard someone say once, "sometimes, life serves you up a slice of awesome!"  A great concert last night and a snow day today make me feel like Christmas has come again!
     Recently, I have been feeling a little blah.  I didn't really know what was wrong, but now I think it had to do with the fact that I took a break from my instrument over Christmas.  I've discovered that I'm happiest when I'm  preparing for a performance of some kind.  (Either me or my students.)  Anyway, I've decided I must pursue more playing opportunities.  (There's no reason why I haven't been other than my own laziness.) 
     Last night, I played in an all Mozart concert.  What fun!  It was tiring and required complete focus for the entire time, but it was thoroughly enjoyable.  At the dress rehearsal, our personnel manager gave single red roses to all the ladies.  This tiny little thing made me happy.  I was surprised at myself because I normally do not like to receive flowers.  (I once had a boyfriend who gave me flowers every time he did something wrong.  Now, I usually get suspicious when someone gives me flowers.)  I guess it makes a difference when you know the motivation is pure.
     Our guest soloist was Spencer Myer  and he was amazing!  He was the Gold Medalist of the 2008 New Orleans International Piano Competition.  You know, sometimes people don't deserve the awards they win and sometimes they absolutely do and you can't say enough good things about them.  Myer falls into the second category.  His Mozart Piano Concert No. 25 in C was effortless and fluid.  Much attention was paid to detail and every nuance was there.  It was fun to watch him because he was completely in the moment.  I had a teacher once say, "It's not enough to play the music, you must BE the music!"  This guy WAS the music.
     After the concert, I didn't have to try and force myself to go to sleep at a decent hour because our employer had given us Friday off due to possible snow!  Now, this doesn't sound like a big deal but it is very unusual to get snow where I live.  I didn't think it was actually going to snow, but I was thrilled to have a day off.  When I got up this morning, it was snowing!!  It really did feel like begin given a gift!