Sunshine In A Glass: Mango Pudding Recipe

We had some extra mangoes hanging around from a recent Bountiful Basket so I decided to whip up a divine pudding recipe I learned from our family friend Marta, who lives in Brazil.

We were kicking ideas around to give it an English name you all could understand because pudim de manga {in portuguese} AND mango pudding {in English} both sounded a little boring, and well, this one just needs something a little more exotic!

My husband wanted to call it chique-chique after a little town near where we lived in Brazil ~ that would be translated to chic, like "you are so chic, darling!" {and you truly are!}, not chick like the cute baby chickens {though they're cute too}!  But if you want to hear how it is pronounced, then click on over here ~ it is pretty darn cute!  That's why I love portuguese!  If languages could be called "cute" then Brazillian portuguese would be it!  But I digress... the name in the end that I keep thinking of is...

Sunshine In A Glass

2 mangoes, peeled and removed from pit

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cans worth {poured into empty sweetened condensed milk can} of heavy whipping cream

Place everything in a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour into serving dishes and chill until ready to eat.  Enjoy!

It is sinfully delicious I tell you!  So sinful I don't even want to know how many calories this baby has!  So if you can come up with a more exotic sounding name, then I'm all ears!

The At Home Workout Club: Month 4

Wow!  I know I say this every month, but I can't believe another month has flown by already!  The weather has  been warming up, the sunshine coming out more often {well, if it's not raining ~ but at least it hasn't  been huge snowstorms for us anymore} and I am so enjoying being outside again!

We have some lovely trails around here that I intend to take advantage of now that it is warming up again.  So this month I wanted to add something I can use while working out outside.

So this month I've decided to make an investment in a brand new iPod Shuffle that I plan to load only with upbeat, kicky little workout tunes!  The iPod takes up most of my monthly budget for this month, but I'm pretty sure I already have tunes to make a fun little mix for it.

What are some of your favorite workout tunes?

Qui Je Suis ~ Who We Are Becoming

The following was a fun little exercise I did way back in 2004 in a discussion group I belong to wherein I envisioned a perfect little life for myself.  The fun thing is that most of this still rings true for me and is how I strive to live my life still today.  I will probably update it now that I am a little older and wiser though.  

How do you envision your perfect little life?

And are you working to attain that life today?

~B. circa 2004~ish

Let me introduce you to ~B.  At first glance she may seem like a traditional sort of girl.  But upon closer inspection, you will soon realize that she is quite unexpected with her jazzy sense of style.  Let’s take a peek into what a typical day is like for her.

One thing you will notice immediately about her, is that she takes the time to indulge herself in the little luxuries of life.  The fresh cup of hot cocoa in the mornings before pulling on her wellies, fetched from a neat little row, as she heads out the door into the crisp morning air with her chocolate lab hot on her heels ready for a brisk walk along the river near the nature preserve.

On her way home, she can be spotted at her local neighborhood farmers market,  where they know her by name and set aside the best produce for her, knowing that she will soon be there.  Today she has collected some fresh eggs and veggies for a delightful omelet she will savor outside on her brick patio underneath the grape filled pergola.

She relishes the change of the seasons as she sips a cup of fresh apricot nectar she made herself, listening to the many flocks of birds and geese honking overhead as they migrate along the major flyway she lives under.

Her home sits on a green and leafy estate and is filled with a mix of traditional and quirky items that hint of a surprising swank little European hideaway.  It nods to her rich Danish, English and German heritage and love of history but has a very forward thinking approach as she contemplates her own legacy. 

She has thrown open her large, tall leaded windows so that the breeze will gently blow the beautiful window treatments in a graceful manner as she contemplates what to read from her beautiful collection of classics, and charming old etiquette books. 

Her house is not cluttered with ambiguous items, but each thing is carefully chosen with an eye for aesthetics and function, as in the leather bound photo albums she has created with beautiful gold embossing their spines.  Because if there is one thing she understands keenly, is that the details make all the difference on the whole. 

Her closet is neatly organized and one gets the feeling of stepping into a chic little boutique.  It is filled with classic clothes with clean simple lines, yet the first impression can quite deceive you for while it is classic, it is never stuffy or boring.  Upon closer examination you will notice that each piece is set apart by exquisite and unexpected details that make them truly as unique as the girl who wears them. 

The majority of her wardrobe is filled with casually elegant clothing that give off the air of being on holiday all the time.  It is what she considers “Park City Chic”, resort-like, casual and comfortable.  For this truly fits her active lifestyle as a mother.  She looks equally at home whether casually strolling the streets of Park City galleries, chasing children and dogs, or running to the local PTA meeting. 

She treasures her friends and family, and often you will find multiple people and impromptu festivities going on.  Tonight however, she will spend a quiet night with her family, helping her daughter with her homework after a lovely dinner of butternut squash soup, crisp salad and bread.  Later they will play quiet board games and  maybe take a peek into the telescope before the children head off to bed.

Once the house quiets down, ~B. settles into her cozy little nest of a bed with her sketchbook and sketches out the details of her new eveningwear collection.  And of course, she snuggles with her husband while sounds of Paolo Conte waft through the air.

Variation on a Theme: Pale pink

Ok, I'm not really a pink person.  It looks horrible near my face so I usually steer clear of it altogether.  But I've found a cute {and affordable} pair of pale pink {and pale yellow too, but that will be a different post} capri length pants that I keep thinking about.

I keep thinking it just feels so springy and could be a fun and refreshing wardrobe update to throw in for the season.  But!  I have reservations with pink beyond it looking horrible near my face because I

{a} ~ don't want to look like an easter egg
{b} ~ don't want to look "too sweet"
{c} ~ don't want to appear silly wearing it

So I've been playing around with different options on Polyvore to see if I could come up with something that I might like before running out and grabbing them.  The pants I chose on Polyvore are not actually what the real pants look like {aka, the ones I'm considering are NOT skinnies!}, but they were about the closest thing I could find in color on Polyvore to represent them.

First up, some navy and pink combinations.  I kind of like these. The navy keeps them from being "too sweet" I think.  And they seem like  great mom~on~the~go type of outfits.

Next up I went with some pink and green combinations because hey, deep down I'm kind of a preppy sort of gal!   The first one is more of a pale green which kind of feels a little "sweet" to me, but with the right accessories it feels more of a "grownup sweet" than "childish sweet" if that makes sense.  It might not be a combination I wear often, but for the right occasion I think it might be nice:

The next green combination is more of a bright playful green which could be really fun.  I couldn't find a shirt I liked with this combination on Polyvore yet, but I think you get the vibe I'm going for with it?

The last combination that I didn't have time to play around with yet was a classic chocolate and pink combination.  I may have to play around with polyvore ideas for that one later.

 So over to you:

Are you a pink person?

What are your favorite things to wear with pink?

You Are Loved

Ok, so I know this song was written as a Christmas song, but it's just so cute I had to share it ~ even in March! And besides, I totally love the message ...

You Are Loved!

"You Are Loved" - Happy Holidays! from The Girls With Glasses on Vimeo.

Like it too? 

Well you can download it for free by going here!  

Merry Christmas! 

Pizza and Calzones

One of my favorite ways to clean up the fridge {and save money} is to make pizza or calzones at the end of the week.  You can throw so many things on those ~ you don't have to eat a standard fare pizza.  Oh no! Feel free to get creative!  Go gourmet and make your own creations!

Check it out!  If you look closely you can see

the steam rising off my calzone!

For a pizza or calzone you will need pizza dough. Making your own dough requires a little bit of forethought, but it really isn't that hard to make.  Plus, it uses fairly inexpensive ingredients to help you save some "dough"!  Ok, I just couldn't resist!  I had to throw that in for you!  

Here is my favorite pizza dough recipe:

Pizza Dough:

2/3 cup lukewarm water

1 pinch sugar

1 1/2 tsp dry yeast

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cups unbleached white flour

1 tsp salt

To make dough:

Stir together 1/3 cup water and sugar in a large bowl.  Sprinkle yeast over the mixture and let stand until foamy {about 10 minutes}.  Stir in the remaining 1/3 cup water, the olive oil, flour and the salt.  Knead the dough by hand on a floured surface for about 10 minutes or in a food processor for about 5 minutes.  Put dough in a deep, oiled bowl and turn to coat it with oil.  Let dough rise, covered with plastic wrap in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.  Punch down the dough and form into four balls.  Each will make a serving size pizza.

Ok, so now you have your dough ready.  Now is the fun part of creating the toppings for your pizza or stuffing for your calzone.  Like I mentioned above, a lot of times I throw on whatever veggies are still hanging around in the fridge.  A little bit of spinach?  Sure!  White bean  puree?  Why not!  I've even been known to throw on some steamed sliced carrots!  But you could always throw on some leftover chicken with barbecue sauce too.

If all this seems a little too adventurous, you can always use your favorite toppings or find some new variations in cookbooks.  But I am going to give you two of my favorite recipes that I was considering giving Adrienne when she asked me for some cost~friendly meal ideas. 

First up ~ a butternut squash pizza!  This is a great recipe to use up some of the root storage vegetables throughout the fall and winter.  Come to think of it, your dough ingredients can all easily be stored in your food storage too!  Score! 

Butternut Squash Pizza

1 cup sliced onion
1/2 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and sliced thinly
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, sage or herbes de provence
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp olive oil {1 tbsp reserved}
2 tbsp parmesan cheese {ok or more if you feel like it needs it! And um, mine usually does because I um, really love cheese!}
Pizza dough

Preheat oven to 400.  Combine onion through olive oil {except for the reserved tbsp} in a roasting pan and mix well.  Roast for 20 minutes, or until onions are beginning to brown and the squash is tender.  Roll out pizza dough and place on baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal.  Distribute squash mixture evenly and bake at 450 for 10 minutes or until crust is firm.  Take out of oven and sprinkle with parmesan and drizzle with reserved olive oil, then enjoy!

My other favorite recipe is a zucchini-tomato calzone.  It is wonderful in the summertime when the garden is overflowing with fresh home grown tomatoes and zucchini!  But if you are having a hankering for this on the off season, the tomatoes and zucchini aren't too expensive and it still makes quite a tasty meal!

Zucchini Tomato Calzone

2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups sliced onions
1 small zucchini, grated {or about 2 cups}
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 medium tomatoes
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup chopped basil
pizza dough

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium high heat.  Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes or until softened.  Transfer to a plate.

Heat the other 1 tbsp olive oil over high heat and once it is very hot, add the grated zucchini and garlic.  Stir often and make sure it doesn't burn for about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and add the parmesan, salt and pepper.

De-seed the tomatoes by cutting in half crosswise and squeeze the seeds and juice out.  Chop them into a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Roll out pizza dough and place a layer of onions, followed by tomatoes then zucchini into the middle.  Sprinkle with chopped basil.  Fold dough over and moisten edges with water and press edges together with fingers to seal.  Place on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal and bake at 450 for 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Enjoy!

So there you go!  Those are two of my favorites.  What are some of your favorite pizza/calzone combinations?  Do tell!  I'm always up for trying something new!

Variation on a Theme: Chocolate {and a quick observation on black}

I have been having fun playing around on Polyvore lately.  Just for fun I've decided to take one dress and try accessorizing it differently.  So I decided to take a basic chocolate dress and see what I could do with it!  Here we go!

First up ~ a fairly basic look

with gold and pearl accents.

 Then I decided to freshen it up a bit

with some blues and greens

{check out the cute flower pin at the waist!}:

 

Then adding in a bright pop of pink

just for fun!

And some light pink

for a softer feel:

And lastly, a more natural look with straw accessories

{I forgot to change the shoes to a cute wedge ~ oh well!}

I think I could have fun wearing any of these combinations!

But on a different note, today I attended a CE class to keep my professional credentials current and decided to observe the women.  As I began to look around I realized just how much black is worn by people.  And let me tell you something ~ it is worn a lot!  Just start looking around you.  Every single woman in my class was wearing black in their outfit to some degree, whether it was the entire outfit or just a skirt or pair of trousers.  Out of the 14 women in attendance every. single. one. wore black, except me.    But then again, up until very recently, I probably would have been wearing something black too.  So I was never very good at math, but I'd say that percentage was pretty darn high!

But do you really want to look just like everyone else out there?  I've been noticing lately that the women who catch my eye and stand out as being truly chic aren't usually the ones wearing black.   I'm not saying black can't be chic.  It can actually be quite stunning on the right woman.  I don't know, it was just an interesting observation and offered some food for thought!

 

So, what do you think?  

Are my black observations similar 

to what you see in the workplace too? 

Do you think the percentage would be

different in a larger setting?

and . . . 

How would you accesorize the LBD?

{That would be the "little BROWN dress"!}

Let me know!