Very Flaky Gourmet Pie Crust Recipe

Achieving a delicious flaky pie crust is one of the most difficult tasks for any baker, whether a novice or a seasoned baker. Here is a recipe for gourmet pastry with a slight twist. The key is in the cream cheese and pure butter. The recipe asks for pea-sized butter pieces formed within the pastry dough. This creates the flaky texture of the pastry. Moreover, cream cheese adds additional texture to pastry, which makes for an incredibly rich and flaky pie crust. Bon appetite!

Ingredients

2 sticks cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 package cold cream cheese

1½ tablespoon ice water

1 teaspoon brown sugar

Directions

Combine the dry ingredients by hand in a bowl or food processor. Mix dry ingredients with the butter and cream cheese until a course meal forms. Add cold water a little at a time. The pastry is ready when it sticks together between your fingers. If it does not, continue to add water (up to six tablespoons). The butter and cream cheese should not blend completely with the dry ingredients, but rather, it should resemble small pea-size pieces in the pastry. Do not overwork the pastry. Chill the pastry for at least an hour before rolling.

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All-Natural Revitalizing Facial Mask

I wanted to create a natural recipe which targeted my specific facial needs. I whipped together an all natural facial mask from kitchen ingredients. It works as a clarifying and toning mask ridding of uneven tonalities in the skin, plus as a peeling mask and moisturizing mask due to the yoghurt, milk and honey ingredients. The cherry and lemon ingredients act as a toner and astringent, evening out skin tone. They are also powerful antioxidants. Plenty of money is saved rubbing vitamin C on your face rather than purchasing those Vitamin C gel caps sold by the beauty industry. I've paid anywhere of $50-60 for a 30-day supply of those little gems.



Facial Mask Recipe:
2 tbsp yoghurt
A dash of milk
1 tbsp of honey
A wedge of lemon
1 tbsp of virgin olive oil



Yoghurt balances ph levels in the skin nicely, especially if using an ingredient like lemon, or anything acidic, including aspirin. It is also packed with wonderful enzymes. Additionally, I use (cherry) natural yoghurt, not plain yoghurt, because cherries have deep toning properties different from lemons, limes, tomato and so on.

Adding 4-5 caplets of aspirin will change this mask into a mini-dermal abrasion mask revealing a newer layer of fresh skin which is brighter, cleaner and smoother.

Additionally, this mask goes on clear (and very moist like a moisture pack) and dries firm onto your face, like a peel-off mask. It truly tightens the skin yet moisturizes to totally revitalize dull and tired skin.

Because the consistency can change with ingredients each time it is made, you can also add a gel basis to it for a peel-off mask. Adding some aloe gel, or gelatin, will make certain it can be peeled off. Peel-off masks clean deeper and remove dirt, dead skin cells and even unwanted fine hairs from the face.

Make sure to cleanse and use a facial scrub before you begin the facial mask portion of your beauty regime. The most simple and basic natural facial scrub is a little water or oil with brown sugar dissolved into it. After cleaning and a facial sloughing, I squeeze the remaining lemon from the lemon wedge over the t-zone of my face. It stings and tightens immediately.

After the mask is washed gently away, or peeled, I use natural vitamin E from my supplement bottles and add the oil onto my face -- then I add a moisturizer to complete my home-made facial experience.

Photos: Courtesy of Canyon Ranch Spa Club, Yuan Spa and Sanctuary Spa

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Shrimp Fondue

Coconut Lime Shrimp Fondue:

The coconut lime shrimp is a fondue oil recipe. Basically, we are preparing the shrimp in a breading ready to dip with spears into a hot oil for crispy deep-fried shrimps. This is a delicious recipe for deep-fried shrimp any time of year, even if you do not own a fondue pot.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut milk

2 Tbsp fresh limejuice

1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs

1 Tsp curry powder, salt, and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 lb/500g shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 egg

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut, minced

Oil for fondue

Instructions:

In a bowl combine coconut milk and lime juice. In a second bowl, combine breadcrumbs with curry powder, salt and pepper. Dip shrimp one at a time in coconut milk, then coat in breadcrumbs. Place breaded shrimp on a platter and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. In a third bowl, beat egg. Place coconut on a plate. Dip shrimp in beaten egg, then roll in coconut until thoroughly coated. In a saucepan, heat oil to 375 F (190 C) and transfer to fondue pot, or heat oil in an electric fondue. Do not fill fondue pot more than half-full. Spear shrimp on fondue fork and fondue for 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown.

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Chocolate Fondue

This is my ultimate favorite chocolate fondue recipe of all time. The honey-nougat Toblerone, honey and nut flavors are what make this recipe memorable. A perfect recipe for the holidays, or any time of year.

Ingredients:

6 Tbsp whipping cream, or half and half
3 Tbsp honey
2 3.52-ounce bars Toblerone bittersweet chocolate with honey nougat and 7 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 Tbsp kirsch/clear cherry brandy, or cognac, or kahlua is lovely too
1/4 Tsp almond extract


Instructions:

Bring cream and honey to simmer in double boiler on top of a heavy medium saucepan of water, or you may do this right in your fondue maker. Add chocolate; whisk until melted. Remove from heat, or lower temperature on fondue. Whisk in your liqueur and extract. Pour fondue into a bowl; place on platter, or pour from double boiler into a warming pot if you do not own a fondue set. Serve with fresh fruit, dried fruit, cookies and cakes like sponge cake, and nut breads. Simple and delicious - You are ready to go!

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Coffee Skin Cure Ideas

When it comes to skin care, coffee is a choice ingredient these days ever since it’s been established those little beans are good for us. You may have even seen beauty products on the store shelves containing java beans this past spring. You can blend together your own natural recipes straight from home and it is cost effective. Moreover, if it’s a self-tanning lotion you’re looking for you can even concoct your own lotion at home.

Other recipes you can make yourself with the bean are coffee grind scrubs, skin tints, coffee moisturizers and cellulite wraps. Coffee beans are very effective on cellulite treatment and ridding of varicose veins. Combine some coffee grinds with some egg white for skin exfoliation. Apply the scrub all over before applying your sunless tanner to the skin for a streak-less application and smooth skin.

Another application is to brew a pot of coffee and allow it cool before pouring the cooled coffee all over your skin for a darker skin tint - naturally. Leave it there for about one half-hour and then rinse.
Moreover, a recipe of brewed coffee beans mixed with olive oil (or oil of choice) along with coconut milk makes a natural yet effective oil-based suntan product. If you add more coconut milk than oil you’ll end up with a creamier based lotion rather than the tanning oil variation. I simply purchase a can of coconut milk at any grocery store. I find it gives you an overall darker tan, and also prepares and protects your skin from skin damage and possible skin cancers. This tanning product won’t guard you from the sun’s UV rays so applying an SPF base is recommended.

Now, for those seeking an effective cellulite treatment, especially in the spring season before summer, the java bean is a good friend. On average, a cellulite wrap offered at spas range from $70-$210. However, at home you can give yourself a series of treatments, which will work better on ridding the winter toxin buildup in the skin that so many women are prone to. These are the recipes I’m using:


Coffee Scrub

First, a simple recipe of coffee beans, brown sugar, olive oil, a few drops of almond oil and, if you like, a dash of chocolate into the blend makes a delicious and powerful scrub. Rub this all over in the shower and rinse off for smooth and revived skin, a cellulite treatment and exfoliation of the skin all wrapped into one scrub. Plus, you can rub this scrub in and leave it on for up to one hour for an alternative method of tinting the skin.

Coffee Wrap Treatment

If you’re needing that extra cellulite treatment which works deeper and more intensively into your toxin buildup than it is very simple and easy to use the coffee scrub already mentioned, but add a bit more oil to it and wrap yourself firmly in traditional cloth wraps (if you have found them in stores) while remaining in a warm location. It is also possible to warm blankets or towels and add drops of aroma therapy for a very aromatic and heating/thermal wrap experience.

The simple wrapping of saran wrap also proves effective for a thermal experience. Saran wrap likely is the most used home product for wraps. Similarly, wrap yourself in blankets or towels after you’ve applied the saran wrap in the targeted cellulite zones. Better yet, jump in your sauna or similar space if you’re lucky to be around those warm units while you’re wrapping. Do at least one to two wraps for light cellulite and up to a series of 6-8 wraps for problem cellulite areas. Reducing cellulite is not only a cosmetic concern, but a good health preventative in the detoxification process.

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Shortbread Recipe

Traditional Shortbread is a simple recipe, and similar to making pie pastry - one of the more difficult recipes to make successfully. The key is in fresh ingredients, pure butter, confectioner/icing sugar and creaming.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour, sifted
1/4 cup superfine sugar/icing sugar/confectioner’s sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, or 1 stick of butter, unsalted

Instructions:
Cream together the butter and sugar by first creaming the butter with your hand, hand blender, or food processor. Add sugar slowly. Let the creamed butter and sugar sit for 5 minutes. The sugar perforates the butter making it light and fluffy. Add the flour and pinch of salt, kneading the dough with your hands until the dough resembles coarse meal. Form a ball and wrap dough with parchment paper, or wax paper refrigerating for one hour, or overnight.

Pat the shortbread dough into an ungreased 9-inch square pan, or traditional shortbread mold. Pierce the dough every 2-inches with a fork. Bake the pan shortbread for 30-40 minutes, or until lightly browned, at 300 F. Cut into squares or bars while still warm. You may also prefer to form dough balls and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper if you prefer the cookie style. Bake cookies for approx. 30 minutes on 300 F.

I roll cooled cookies and/or bars into parchment paper sprinkled with icing sugar. I will then dip half the cookie or bar into a chocolate concoction. Quite often, I will make shortbread bars with a ½ cup of chopped or ground pecans, adding one ½ teaspoon of vanilla to the basic recipe above. In this case, often I will substitute the icing/confectioner sugar for brown sugar; otherwise, I keep the icing sugar because there is something in it, which makes the shortbread lighter and fluffier, melting in your mouth. I also never use shortening, or margarine, because traditional shortbread is a simple recipe and consists of pure butter flavor, with less of a sugar flavor.

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