Gluten free goodness: Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix

So I finally tried out Ms. Betty Crocker's newest Gluten Free offering: Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix. First inaugural recipe: Banana Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting from BettyCrocker.com (For Recipe, Click Here).

The recipe was very easy to follow. Simply plus up the Betty Crocker mix with bananas, eggs, vanilla, butter and of course more butter, milk and powdered sugar for the frosting. Now, pre Gluten Free days, I ABHORRED boxed cake mix!! would not even consider boxed cake - NEVER!! Only Swan's Down cake flour for this girl (cake snob, i know!). But as I still have my gluten free training wheels on, I caved under recommendations from others who suggested the mix....and I am certainly glad I did!!

After mixing the batter, I placed them in my new silicone baking cups from Crate and Barrel - Highly recommend, BTW ( only bought a set of 12... so I had to supplement with Barbie cupcake liners - it's all the grocer had!) and baked for 18 minutes....
The cupcake was not moments out of the oven before one mysteriously vanished... hmmm.


Next step, brown butter frosting. 1/3 cup butter gently browned, cooled, then mixed with vanilla, milk and 3 cups powdered sugar. Whoever came up with this concoction - I would love to meet you and give you the biggest hug ever. It.Is.SOOOO. GOOOD!! You! Brilliant!

Look at the little specks of browned butter! yay!


This cupcake saved my life. Gluten free or not, you're life will change with one bite, I swear!

My First Blog AWARD!! YAY!

A good friend Jordana just made my day by nominating me for a blog award!! How wonderful! Jordana is a fantastic food blogger - menumaniac.blogspot.com - I encourage you to check it out. The pictures alone are totally crave-worthy!

Before passing on this award, you must follow the RULES:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his/her blog link.

2. Pass the award to other blogs that you've newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Now, I have the pleasure of passing it on to a few other deserving blogs including:

Christina at Christina's favorite things

Gypsy Jane at Sweet Enough Already

Psyche at Economy of Style

Have fun!!

Rue La La!!

My good friend Christina (author of a great blog Christina's Favorite Things) introduced me to an amazing sale site: Rue La La. This invitation only site brings the best sample sales to users. For an invitation - click here.

Check out these AWESOME upcoming sales!!

Amazingly beautiful shoes from Sigerson Morrison

Great deals from Williams Sonoma!!

Juicy Couture (a personal fav)

and a perennial summer favorite - Havaiana's

If your interested in these sales, sign up! :) I know I'll definitely be looking at the Juicy Couture and Havaiana's

I.Love. Bacon!!

Bacon bacon bacon bacon! During breakfast with colleagues today, we discussed our infinite and concrete love for all things bacon... and that brings me to today's blog post: BACON!!

It's more than breakfast food. It's a cult phenom! Bacon Across America!!

This cured pork wonder is now the darling of the culinary world: Bacon Ice Cream, Bacon chocolate, the infamous Bacon loaf and now....

Bacon Donut

Squeezable Bacon (oh you Sweedes!)

Bacon LUBE (To which the testers say "mmmmm tastes bacon-y!") It started out as an April fools joke, to which the pranksters found interest from the Internet community - beta tested and found it successful! Yay to Internet democracy!

Link to YouTube video of SFW "beta testing"

... and even bacon alarm clocks!! Is there anything this wondermeat cannot do!?!!?

Chivilary is not dead... but I don't know what to do with it!

I just had to blog about this before I forgot about it... and it just happened to me again - so here I blog!

For those in the know, recently my work assignment changed and now call our corporate HQ home. "Headquarters" life is a bit of an adjustment, beyond the influx of emails, meetings and sweater vests (ew! guys don't do it!!) I find myself surprised and admittedly awkward around acts of chivalry: men opening doors, allowing women to exit the elevator first, etc. Don't get me wrong, the wonderful guys at design would hold doors open and such - and I found myself equally uncomfortable with it- but now it happens with more frequency. At least 4 times a day, I find myself in the awkward situation of "who goes first" through open doors or laugh when men will not enter through doors I hold open. My mom taught me to be independent and considerate, which means holding the door for anyone else, exiting elevators last, walking behind people if necessary, allowing elders to sit before me, etc. etc. and so forth. So when the door is held open for me, or people wait until I exit the elevator first, I'm a bit taken aback. I am sure I'll get used to it in time... but for right now, I find myself blushing, rushing awkwardly through doors and laughing nervously as cultural and social mores play out from elevator to entrance way!

Am I alone on this one? Gen X/Y ladies, do you feel me? Just throwing it out there!

First they outlaw guns, then knives?!!?

Apparantly in the UK, goverment regulations have become more stringent on gun ownership (which I am all for)... but the unintended concequence is predictible, yet simultaniously strange.





Crimes of passion do not subside simply because it's more difficult to obtain a gun. In fact, the proper Brits are finding more "clever" ways of doing in their friends and loved ones - the trusty knife.

Anyone who's studied history knows the knife has been a weapon of choice for centuries. But no longer! Who knew one could improve upon a timeless design?

Gizmodo features an excerpt and quotation from the designer John Cornock:

Mr Cornock, 42, from Swindon, said that
the knife will cut vegetables, but
will make it almost impossible to stab
someone to death and will reduce the risk
of accidental injuries.
He
said: "It can never be a totally safe knife, but
the idea is you can't
inflict a fatal wound. Nobody could just grab one out of
the kitchen drawer
and kill someone.

Simply, the New Point knife is for cooking "nothing more- nothing less". ...and I want one! Not because I fear death from the hands of my loved ones.. but am quite certain I will inadvertently do harm unto myself. Anyone who knows me understands I am a consummate klutz. I have lopped off many a fingertip (even with a veggie peeler.. it was a bad scene) due to my inability to concentrate or lack of depth perception. In fact, I can no longer feel the tips of most of my fingers!

Hence, I am very excited to welcome this knife into our collection :) I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, I'll keep using my Wustof's and keep bandaids in the kitchen.

Great give aways

Polka dots and cupcakes blog (lover of all things sweet, cute and preppy) is giving away a fantastic Hobo clutch. I have yearned for one since my good friend Christina introduced me to hers. You can check out PolkaDots and Cupcakes by clicking here - leave a comment or friend her blog to enter!







Another great give away comes from Fantabulously Frugal with her Favorite things giveaway bonanza! I love her site, it's all about finding great deals and free giveaways - highly recommend. Seriously, it's insane the amount of goodies she's giving away!! Here's a taste:

• Decorative envelopes from etsy seller Adnagam
  Frango Dark Chocolate Mints
  Sunshine Yellow Hair Pins from etsy seller creamrose
  Purple Rain Amethyst Earrings from etsy seller Sew*Cool Design
  Paperchase 8 Folded Cards with Envelopes
  Small change purse from etsy seller Made by Hank
  Cucumber Melon Salty Soap Scrub from etsy seller Sissy Soap
  Soap Nuts from Laundry Tree
  Spring Flower Garden Cupcake Liners from etsy seller Layer Cake Shop
  2 Vera Bradley cloth napkins
  Musings Recycled Notebook in Blue from etsy seller subu
  Fleur de Lis Necklace from etsy seller Bumble Beadz
  Marc Jacobs key fob
  Stationery and small letter-pressed notebook from etsy seller Sarah Drake
  Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Protective Recovery Complex
  Coriander Ivory Small Cosmetic Bag from etsy seller The Sweet Sugar Beet
  Smashbox Lip Gloss
  Reusable Sandwich & Snack Bags from etsy seller Green Street
  Reversible Coffee Sleeve from etsy seller LilE
  Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
  OPI Nail Polish
  Stick With Me, Kid Shopping Tote from etsy seller Earth Cadets
  As well as MANY MORE surprises!

HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!!?! check out her site, it's great! either way, enjoy these giveaways and great blogs!

we are babycakes. we are the world.

A colleague from New York surprised our staff with tasty treats from Babycakes. He's vegan and has been in love with babycakes bakery and decide to share with us. For those of you who don't know - Babycakes is my new favorite thing EVER.

The bakery is all about vegan/gluten free baked goods sweetened with agave (NO SUGAR). Do you know how long its been since i had a cookie? or muffin??? I damn near cried. Most gluten free cookies are intolerable. Dry, texture is awful, it's not worth it. But Babycakes was amazing. Look at this menu. Seriously. the cookie sandwich!?!?

I hear they have cupcakes and frosting they will send to you :) omg. must.buy.now. They also have a new cookbook available at barnes and noble or amazon.com

So if you are gluten free, health conscious, vegan or just looking for tasty treats - you need to check out Babycakes!! :)

For those of you without an NYC connection, they just opened up a vegan/gluten free bakery in Berkley called Sugar Kisses- walking distance!

I'll review the treats soon and let you know...but it all looks very promising!! This gluten free, casein free, sugar free thing is getting easier every day!

Processed food will kill you. Case in point: pot pies

According to NY Times, increasingly food companies are putting warnings on processed food labels they cannot guarantee the safety of their foods even if you commit to following cooking instructions!!

Watch this video on cooking a pot pie. Disturbing and infuriating.

NY Times Pot Pie Confidential

what is it about active shows that make me want to eat everything in sight?

OK. For whatever reason, every time I catch "The Biggest Loser" or "Dancing with the Stars" (or even Infomercials for "Turbo Jam" - a great workout program btw) I want to do nothing but eat. Stuff my face and watch other people work out. Do I feel guilty? hmmm - maybe. But I cannot help myself. Perhaps I feel bad for those who are busting their ass as I nibble on frozen mangos or think to myself " as they are crunching calories, I am crunching cayanne popcorn.... umm, Cayenne helps burns extra calories, right??





Speaking of food. Get this Gluten Free peeps - Betty Crocker is AWESOME and is unveiling GLUTEN FREE BAKING MIXES!!! ZOMGWTFBBQ!!! According to Betty (Crocker, that is) she's unleashing tasty gluten free vanilla cake, devils food cake, brownie and chocolate chip cookie mixes and even offers modifications for dairy/casein/butter free. YAY!!! GOOOOO BETTY!!



And Ms. Betty is one savvy lady with a hot, Free Iphone app featuring 4,000 tasty recipes. You can search for recipies no problem.. or you can say "hey Betty, all i have is chicken, day old pasta and peas. wtf can I do w/ this??"- and it will respond with : "how does tasty chicken garlic pasta studded with Parmesan peas sound? you can do it!". Step by step photos guide the way. How great would this be after a long day at work... you're in the grocery store totally void of culinary inspiration...or staring at your virtually bare fridge wondering if you bought blue cheese or if your block of romano went bad... and voila!! Instant tasty ideas (like bacon salt)! Here's hoping the app includes gluten free/friendly recipes. Here's also hoping caring friend or reader will donate an Iphone so we (I) can continue to experiment and review on your behalf, gentle reader :)

Very quickly...Favorite blogs of the moment

Enjoy what tempts me to distraction.... :)

PassiveAgressiveNotes.com
According to NY times: “the classic description of the behavior captures a stubborn malcontent, someone who passively resists fulfilling routine tasks, complains of being misunderstood and underappreciated, unreasonably scorns authority and voices exaggerated complaints of personal misfortune.”

CakeWrecks.com
According to Cakewrecks.com:"A Cake Wreck is any cake that is unintentionally sad, silly, creepy, inappropriate - you name it. A Wreck is not necessarily a poorly-made cake; it's simply one I find funny, for any of a number of reasons. Anyone who has ever smeared frosting on a baked good has made a Wreck at one time or another, so I'm not here to vilify decorators: Cake Wrecks is just about finding the funny in unexpected, sugar-filled places."

Theimpulsivebuy.com
According to Theimpulsivebuy.com: "The Impulsive Buy is dedicated to providing quasi-reviews about various consumer goods. Each review goes off on some tangent, but almost always comes back to complete the review. If it didn’t, we wouldn’t be a quasi-review website. Instead we would be some quasi-babbling website.
The Impulsive Buy USUALLY posts five four three two reviews a week. About one in every fifty are actually any good.
The staff of The Impulsive Buy are not experts, but they do like to try anything that has any of the following words on the product: new, improved, new and improved, better tasting, reconditioned, less fat, fat-free, best-selling, less calories, reduced for quick sale, limited edition, free toy, 50% off, or now with Olestra".

christinasfavoritethings.blogspot.com
A good friend and according to her: " I am constantly trying new things and once I fall in love with something I swear by it. My friends are always coming to me asking for recommendations for just about anything so I figured I might as well start blogging about it".

Obsession of a lifetime: my husband

My husband Chris celebrates his Un-Birthday every April 29th. Each year, he contests he was not born, but extracted (C-section) and thus is somewhat immortal (not like a zombie - those are weird). Comments like these are amongst the many reasons why I love him and why he and I are perfect for one another.

Chris and I met in college and after a 5 year courtship got married in a crazy ass huge Italian wedding. Almost 3 years later, he makes me smile every day with his brilliant mind, quirky sense of humor and little "Cranna-isms". While I may not understand his love for W.O.W, X-Box, Black licorice, too big gym socks and shirts he's owned since high school - I certainly understand how amazing he is and grateful I get to share my life with him!!

Happy birthday, Chris!!! Many wishes for 100 years of happiness, love and fast Internet access!

Detroit Foodies Rejoice!

Anyone who knows me understands I love food - and I am clearly not alone in my obsession. Food allergies be damned!

There are a few upcoming events fellow foodies (and Foodie curious) friends should check out!


Eastern Market Michael Symon Live Cooking Demonstrations - May 2 - October 2009
My favorite thing to do on Saturday's during the summer is to meander through the historic stalls of Eastern Market. For those of you who have not had the pleasure - it is a foodies dream. Hundreds of farmers, butchers, fishmongers and spice purveyors selling the most fresh and luscious foods. Always requires a stop at Russel Street Deli for breakfast. Eastern market has been adding many cool weekend events - Lion's tailgate and now live cooking demonstrations from the famous Iron Chef himself - Michael Symon!! Free and open to the public from 9 - 10 AM. Visit the Eastern Market blog for more info


MexicanTown Pub Crawl - May 2
One of my favorite things has nothing to do with food. It's an eco friendly bus called the Night Move. For cheap you can buy tickets for an evening - it will pick you up in Royal Oak and makes stops throughout Royal Oak, Ferndale and Detroit. Perfect way to safely get from bar to club to Leo's Coney Island. On May 2, the Night Moves will be truckin' all night for pre Cinco De Mayo fun. Hosted by the Mexican Town fav Xochimilco's, the website promises "food fun and hijinks's"! Also part of the crawl: El Zocolo, Los Galanes and Mexican Village. Cost - $10 in advance, 15 at the door. Register at DetroitSynergy.com.


Detroit Foodie Tw(eat) up at Angelina's Italian Restaurant: May 6, 2009
Hosted by a great blog, Twohungrydudes.com - $25 includes wine tasting and selected tastings including Angelina's amazing Italian food (all made in house):Mozzarella cheese, Assorted Salumi, Assorted Smoked Fish, Calamari, Arancini (stuffed rice balls) Gnocchi. Signup at Angelinatweetup.eventbite.com

Sunday musing... Geek Eye Chart

One of my favorite websites is designyoutrust.com - excellent for visual stimuatlion and inspiring creativity. Found the following awesome Geek Eye Chart. If you can read this, you're more leet than I. PWN3D.

I feel dirty for liking this... but I love the new Lincoln Ad campaign

I know. Traitor. But I can't help it.

It's a great campaign. Cars... meh, they are getting better. But the ads are sexy, seductive modern and great use of killer music.


http://www.lincoln.com/extras/tvads.asp

WTF - Domino's Bread Bowl Pastas

Again, thanking my allergies for saving me from yet another taste and caloric debacle.

OK. I can sort of forgive Pizza Hut for branching out and bastardizing pasta. The recession causes us to do awful, awful things. Pasta is cheap (profits!), easy to smother in cheese (taste!) and quite difficult to screw up (mass produce!). As we say in my house, these pastas are "I-Talian". I-Talian is a phrase I coined during my tenure at Tony's Pizza . Inevitably, some person would ask for "I-Talian" dressin' with their Anti-Past-O salad and I would throw a few packets of mass produced yellow goo with specks of dehydrated vegetable grossness atop a salad stuffed with enough salami, ham and provolone to coax a mild heart attack. Now, if you've had the good fortune of speaking to a person of Italian heritage you will quickly hear we pronounce Italian like "eeeetalian" versus "EYE talian" (said with a southern drawl for effect). Hence foods which are "mock Italian" earn the I-Talian moniker - Olive Garden, Prego, Toscani Pasta and now the title goes to Domino's pizza for the all new Bread Bowl Pasta.

Simply - place greasy pasta in middle of cheesy breadstick dough, bake. add more cheese and butter, put in box and serve! According to Dominos.com They come in five varieties: Italian Sausage Marinara, Pasta Primavera, Chicken Alfredo, Three Cheese Mac-N-Cheese and Chicken Carbonara. You could order them without the bread bowl, but what's the fun in that?? These come in a bread bowl!! Like fancy Panera soup!! CLASSY!!!

Nutritional information is not listed yet - but really, can you blame them? Unless you're running the Boston Marathon, or an aspiring sumo wrestler I can't imagine the Domino's bread bowl pasta would be part of any dietary plan. But you know you want one. They’re available now and prices start at $5.99. You can order online and get a dollar off.

Want more cheesy, carb goodness? Check out one of my favorite websites, The Impulsive Buy for more info!

Obsession of the moment - Personal Chefs

For my mom's 50th birthday party - we went ALL OUT! Two weekends full of decadent parties. The first, a luscious family dinner at Piccirilli Ristorante in Shelby Township, MI. Absolute perfection. Umberto is a family friend and always makes hand made pasta, fresh sauces and fresh Italian cuisine. It's one of the very few places my dad will eat out at. When it comes to Italian food, we have discerning taste. No I-Talian, fake mozzarella covered noodles with red topping allowed.

The Second party was a riotous girls night out with my cousins, aunts and my mom's rowdy friends. Now, my first plan was to cook an obscene amount of food, slave for 3 days, clean, shop, prep, cook, serve, get ready then go out. Inherent in this flawed plan was me and my mom running ourselves to the ground rendering us too tired to enjoy the limo ride and dancing that was to follow. Instead, I remembered an article I read in the Detroit Free Press about Personal Chef services. Personal chefs are not for the rich. For a very reasonable fee they can prep and cook your weekly meals, host a cooking class for your friends in your house, or cook for special events ( a great gift for new parents or grieving families). I visited personalchefsearch.com and clicked on "Michigan" - emailed a few potential chefs and chose Chef Jamie Aragones who owns the personal chef service "The World at your Table" .

She was AMAZING!!! She worked with me to create a wonderful Spanish tapas inspired menu including seafood paella.

She was fantastic, professional and VERY REASONABLE. I could not have made what she did at the price we paid. HIGHLY RECOMMEND her services and thought the food, service, presentation and quality was impeccable. Above all she was eager to meet the challenge of my food allergies and made great food that I could eat!!! I loved not having to eat before the party or feel left out. Such a great feeling to participate with everyone together in a meal.

Afterwards we went out dancing at Main Street Billiards (Awesome patio) and Club 22 (SCARY underage men who were dance assaulting us!! WTF!). All in all, my mom had a great time!

Trader Joes - te AMO

For those of you who are gluten free, allergen aware, organic conscious, or just looking for really good food at an affordable price - ya'll gotta get to Trader Joe's. Here are some of the things we cannot live without in my house:

- TJ's fat free Greek yogurt: So much better than normal FF yogurt. Add stevia, frozen fruit = brilliance!

- TJ's Rice Cakes: I would eat them even if they were not the only thing I could eat. They have a really nice, toasted taste and texture..the only rice cake that dose not taste like cotton flavored ass.

- Whole Grain Tortilla Chips - BE WARNED : THESE ARE LIKE CRACK!! AMAZING.Nutty, full of flavor, just salty enough. Great taste of roasted sesame seeds... SOO much better than tostito's mulitgrain chips. I have to throw out the bag sometimes because I will eat them too quickly, then feel guilty...then guilt eat some more.

- Gluten Free Pancake mix - Throw some blueberries or bananna's in with the mix to add moisture... they can get a little dry... if you can add syrup atop their golden tastiness, that would help too - or just suck it up and throw some stevia up on them and a side of homemade turkey sausage patties and HAWT B-FAST ACTION

- Frozen Mango, Papaya, Pineapple, Blueberries and Black Cherries - my favorite snack is simply mowing on frozen fruit, esp. when watching the "biggest loser" on NBC. I have no idea why i am compelled to stuff my face while watching the show, but somehow always find myself enthralled by the contestants and eating frozen fruit...sometimes with Greek yogurt.

- Belgium 70% Dark Chocolate bar and Belgium 70% Dark Chocolate with Whole Hazelnuts - OK, who doesn't need chocolate!?!? Not to sound like the A-Typical estrogenite, but really. Chocolate is lovely. And this chocolate is perfection. Gluten free awesomeness and tasty goodness.

Husband's fav's

- Black Licorice scottie dogs - so delicious!! and gluten free!
- Mango Berry Bran Muffins - Full of fiber, moist mangoes and berries - low on fat and cals. Lovely!

Obsession of the Moment: Zevia Soda

For those of you who think diet soda is really "Diet" - sister, you are soooo wrong! The body interprets sugar substitutes as sugar. process it as sugar, makes you crave other nasty foods just like sugar does, has a glycemic impact. Splenda, Sweet and Low, Equal , etc - I don't care- they all the same nasty side effects and gross aftertaste - look it up, people. It's science!!

... unless it's Stevia. A herbal supplement recently approved by the FDA for use as a sugar substitute, stevia has been used for a while as a nutritional supplement. It's got a wonderful sweet taste without glycemic impact (so it's not processed by the body as sugar and safe for diabetics). The taste is very similar to sugar without an aftertaste. For those of you who know, the whole "allergic to yeast" deal also means I cannot have sugar (sugar feeds yeast). While I love sparkling water with lemon or lime and tea... it gets a little boring, and I can't deny I have always loved a nice soda to go along with lunch or at least my popcorn habit. And vanilla vodka tastes really good with cola. Deeelish!

My good friend Rebecca H. introduced me to an AH-MAZ-ING discovery: Zevia Soda. All natural, great tasting soda sweetened with stevia and all natural ingredients in Cola, lemon/lime twist, orange, root beer, ginger ale and cherry. I have tried the Cola, twist, orange and ginger ale - all wonderful. Good flavor, just sweet enough and no aftertaste. The only drawback, it's about a $1 a can. But for girls like me who can't have sugar or sugar substitutes, Zevia is WORTH EVERY PENNY! And yes, it tastes wonderfully delicious with vanilla vodka! Pick up a case at Better Health (Detroit, MI), Amazon.com or Zevia.com and request Zevia be carried at your local grocer!

Cheers!

Thursday WTF - ZOMG! Zombies attack san fran

Apparently, zombies run free in San Francisco... and they wear prom dresses, have oozing wounds and really, really like brains.

Don't get me wrong. Who doesn't love a good Zombie Movie (Shawn of the Dead), Thriller remake, or hacked road sign warning of impeding Zombie doom... but if i had to choose Zombie or Ninja - I think I'd go Ninja.

If you disagree and feel Zombieism is for you, and happen to live in San Fran - check out the following websites:

SFZombieswarm

Emergency Zombie Swarm photos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMWMeLTjnxA&feature=player_embedded

Welcome to the Motherhood - Reviews, Giveaways, Coupons, Review, Coupon Codes: Zevia Giveaway

Welcome to the Motherhood - Reviews, Giveaways, Coupons, Review, Coupon Codes: Zevia Giveaway

Zevia will be the feature of my next "Obsession of the Moment Tuesday"but stumbled upon this great give away from "welcome to the motherhood" (No, i'm not preggo - i was searching for coupons for Zevia thank you very much) . But the site is very cool - and so is the giveaway! free case of zevia! tasty stevia soda pop!

Obsession of the Moment: Bob's Red Mill: Gluten Free All Purpose Flour

Tuesday's Obsession of the Moment goes to Bob's Red Mill's Gluten Free All Purpose Flour!

Recently, I was diagnosed with a whole slew of random allergies from outdoor to mold, yeast, gluten and dairy (incidentally, everything but cockroaches!!) . Now, for those of you who are unaware, my family is hardcore Italian - Sunday pasta dinners filled with meatball mowing, home-made wine drinking, cheese nibbling, sausage devouring, salami rolling, bread making, espresso drinking and cookie dunking goodness. I'm talking about GOOD TIMES!! Now - I can't even eat minestrone (most soup bases have MSG and yeast - two things I'm allergic to). Convinced my true calling was to become sommelier or chef - I relished the opportunity to practice my culinary craft. Now relegated to salads with lemon juice, lean meats and veggies - I have had to absolutely re-define eating...but did not want to give up my affinity for really, really good food.

One product I am grateful for is Bob's red mill - particularly the gluten free all purpose flour. Now listen up, peeps- this flour is THE BOMB for frying and pan sauteing. Great flavor, creates a wonderful brown and crispy crust - it's simply fantastic for cooking. In fact, I would use this flour even if I had the option to use normal flour - it's that good!

Recently, I made a super tasty meal with tilapia salted with kosher salt and pepper and dusted with Bob's red mill gluten free all purpose flour seasoned with fresh parsley and garlic salt. Lightly pan fried in olive oil then squeezed fresh lemon. SOOOOO simple, very fresh and incredibly yummie. I encourage you to try it! You can find Bob's big red mill products in Meijer, or on Amazon.com. Hey, while you're at Amazon - check out the reviews. I'm not the only one who loves it!!!

Thursday WTF

WTF moment: Budweiser & Clamato Chelada


According to the folks at Budweiser, this unholy combo is " La Combinacion Perfecta!" Granted, i am not the target demo (Hispanic males) but I happen to fundamentally disagree with that statement.

1) Budweiser (ok, ok, ok - Bud Light)- consumed in any way beyond beer pong - is reprehensible

2) Clamato - outside a bloody mary - is something I have not experienced, nor do I want to.

But the two together wins my Thursday WTF!!??!! award. Congrats, Bud. This sounds totally gross and I thank my new found allergy to beer and all things nasty for never letting my curiosity get the best of me.

Reviews available on Beeradvocate.com, expotv.com, the impulsive buy blog

Spring cleaning the makeup bag

Fact: annalisa+winter = miserable

Fact: annalisa+spring = blissful

To celebrate the onset of Spring- I decided to re-vamp my make up bag with some fresh, new spring treats.

1) Fragrance: Viva la Juicy - My good friend Nicole introduced me to Viva La Juicy last week - WONDERFUL!! and she had the "To-Go" purse friendly rollerball. It's Luscious, feminine with sweet floral overtones with amber/vanilla finish - perfect spring scent. I have been wearing CK Euphoria through the winter (indeed, a lovely scent) but felt it prudent to start spring with a light, feminine scent. Run over to Nordstroms and get a free sample..I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! More info: check out the review from Sephora.

2) Blush : Nars Orgasam - Nars, hands down, has the best blushes out there. Great color selection, excellent wearability, go on smooth and last all day. Now, for those of you who haven't picked up a beauty mag or perused a beauty blog - you may not be aware everyone and their sisters are enamored by Nars Orgasm. As the name suggests, it is ooohhh so good. Peachy/pink in tone, it imparts a wonderful, fresh glow. My winter color tends to be a bit darker to give color (Nars blush in Sin), but spring and summer time beg for a lighter shade. You can find Nars in many places, primarily Sephora .

3. Neutrogena Triple Moisture Hair Mask: Dry winter air makes my curly hair brittle and dull. Neutrogena triple moisture is a great hair care brand from shampoo to conditioner to mask and is very, very affordable. I especially adore the mask and use it once a week. For an added treat, heat it up for 30 seconds in the microwave to encourage penetration and aid in overall relaxation. Leave on your hair for 15-30 minutes, rinse in warm water and style as usual. I credit this product for taming my unruly, frizzy, thick mess of hair into a glossy, soft, manageable mane. For $5 a tub, can you really go wrong? And if you are an Ebates.com fan, you can click your way through to drugstore.com, get an amazing discount AND money back!

Spring cleaning means more than your closet, sister! Enjoy the excuse to indulge and renew!

Obession of the moment: Yoga Shelter, Royal Oak

Gentle Reader - I know you have heard all the hype - "Yoga is great!", "Yoga is SOOOO Amazing!", "OMG you have to TRY it!!". And your friends are right. It is indeed all those things. I used to practice at least twice a day to Yoga DVD's (Shiva Rea's videos were my FAV - highly recommend)...but found them routine after a while and fell out of it in favor of Turbo Jam (great workout!), Kickboxing and running. Then asthma and allergies hit and I found myself unable to work out for 3 months while I struggled to find the energy to breath. Now, those who know me understand I get crazy ant-sey during winter...I hate being indoors!!! And find myself on "the wet sock" as my D.H. would say. The whole not working out thing was just killing me. Wisely, my D.H. encouraged me to find an outlet. Perhaps dodgeball or yoga - he suggested.... serendipitously, the very next morning two friends (thanks J.E. and N.B-S!) encouraged me to join them for evening yoga at Yoga Shelter in Royal Oak.

"Free week trial"! they said "Great music and energy!" they pointed out. So I grabbed my inhaler, dusted off my yoga mat and went. They were right. The workout is done in a 90+ degree room to contemporary music (rock, pop, rap) - something I thought would be distracting but was an AMAZING enabler! Beginners classes do not exist. The philosophy is simple: Yoga is done at your pace - honor yourself. You will SWEAT your FACE off - in the most fantastic way! It's challenging, relaxing and rewarding. My fav classes so far are Sanya Vinyasa and Fusion. Check out the site - I'm happy to go to a class with you!! http://www.yogashelter.com/

Welcome!

I have tried a few times (albeit unsuccessfully) to try and get a blog going, but now feel I have found my groove! And Voice!! I can't wait to share my thoughts with you...and hopefully, you will be inspired to follow, read or post comments. And if you just wanna hang out - that's ok by me!

...I will do my best to post on Tuesday and Thursday of every week...but as the title dictates, I have a tendency to embrace distraction... :)

Enjoy! Feel free to leave your suggestions and thoughts!