Fancy Gourmet Dessert Cakes

The beginning of the year’s festivities begins with Halloween, where spooky tradition takes precedence over the mundane.

Let’s start with “Trick or Treat”. During the Dark Ages once per year, the Catholic Church, deemed it permissible for beggars to beg for food in exchange for prayer. Over the course of time, it evolved into an American tradition where participants playfully threatened to play a trick on anyone who denied requests for treats.

One thing is for sure, the scary movies shown leading up to the holiday bring more excitement to the occasion. The stress that culminates from dealing with witches and goblins all year long, leads to a strong desire for thrills, sweets and parties.

Here are a few quick costume ideas that you can use if you are on the spot and need to think fast. Make use of any household makeup that you have around. Smear mascara under your eyes and mess red lipstick around your lips, put lots of mousse in your hair, wear a ripped tee-shirt, and instantly you are transformed into a punk rocker, mind you, this works for girls or guys. Great props to use are tobacco pipes, hats, flour (for the zombie look), gauze (for the mummy look) and band-aids (for the dull razor look).

 Have a Happy Halloween!  

Written by Delightful Biteful 

I remember as a child, having the treat of picking apples and pumpkins, all the while looking at the bright colors of fall and feeling the crisp, seasonal wind begin to blow. When I grew older, I settled in the big city. It was exciting but a little dreary during the change in season when the skies grew darker and the evening came earlier. No more apple trees and pumpkin patches to rely upon.

Adding color to my surroundings was the answer to the conundrum I found myself in. So I looked to the autumn leaves which always cheered me up and found a solution; I decided to make an autumn wreath. When I learned about some basic tools that can be used to make a wreath, I realized that it wasn’t going to be that hard . All I needed to do was utilize my dusty imagination. The foundation of a wreath can be created with a circular cardboard cut out with another circle cut out evenly inside of it, about 3 inches down. The cardboard between the outer edge and the beginning of the inner circle would be the area for laying down the dried flowers and artificial leaves. I received a tip from a friend to cover the cut out with a colored spray paint that coordinated with the flowers and leaves I was going to use. I bought some potpourri with large dried flowers and used glue to place the dried flowers onto the board one by one. In between the flowers about 2 inches  apart, I added some artificial autumn leaves. I was careful to cover all of the cardboard and to make sure the glue was as inconspicuous as possible. I will say, that after a couple of hours, the project did take on the look of an autumn wreath. A wreath can be any size you want and over the years I’ve used all kinds of flowers. I will recommend dried sunflowers, mini carnations, raffia and baby’s breath. Thin ribbons and bows can be attached too.

According to wikipedia:
Aromatherapy is a form of alternative medicine that uses volatile liquid plant materials, known as essential oils (EOs), and other aromatic compounds from plants for the purpose of affecting a person’s mood or health. Scientific evidence is weak and preliminary but mildly encouraging for a limited number of claims.

I believe that it is good for one’s health and I believe that aroma triggers a natural response, and that a pleasant smelling environment usually indicates a sound and peaceful state of affairs. The effectiveness of aromatherapy may be connected to man’s development, as fragrant flowers, food, and beverages, signaled to the mind that all of the basic needs were being met and so created a feeling of calm. Friends of mine swear by the power of the nostrils and after a few vivid odor experiences, I realize that pleasant smells do have an impact on my psyche.

I myself find my mood improving whenever there is something pleasant in the air. When cooking a fine meal, I perk right up as my nostrils alert my hungry stomach that a nice mouthful is on the way. So, I have found a little trick to improve my health, using aromatherapy. It started after I’d actually gotten full on the smell of a good supper. Sound crazy? Well I’m not the only person that’s had that experience. My mind had become convinced that I had already eaten. I want to add that it was due in part, to thirst. Thirst can trick the stomach into thinking that it is hungry. Try quenching your thirst while cooking and see if it satisfies your hunger at all. I suggest this for folks on a diet, because I have cut down on my food portions with this method, and still get to enjoy the meal, and that has been very therapeutic. By the way, this works for dessert too!

Happy Aromas To All!
Written by Delightful Biteful