fête à fête

Being healthy with the sweet stuff doesn't have to be hard (or taste yucky) anymore. Thanks to Ania Catalano's new book Baking with Agave Nectar, you don't have to compromise your taste buds with strange-tasting sugar substitutes in your baking. With over 100 recipes featuring this wonderful sweetener, you will be amazed at how the All-American Apple Pie and French Pear Frangipane Tarte recipes will taste, or try the Lemon Chiffon Cake. There is a chapter on using agave in buttercreams and other types of frosting and sauces.

Agave nectar carries plenty of health benefits, along with having a low glycemic index. Its taste is sweeter than sugar, and it's ideal for diabetics and those with hypoglycemia. It's also perfect for those who are trying to lower their sugar intake, and the texture is great to work with in baked goods. Try the refreshing sorbet recipe below - it's a great start to toast the start of summer...

Watermelon Sorbet

Makes 1 quart
Vegan & Gluten-Free

This particular sorbet is like really good Italian ice. It’s got an icier 
texture than some of the other 
sorbet recipes because it’s made from fruit that has a naturally high water content. It’s most appealing and quite refreshing on a hot 
summer day.

Half of a small seedless watermelon, 
rind removed, cut into pieces
½ cup light agave nectar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Pinch of sea salt

Place the watermelon pieces in a food processor and blend until liquefied, about 1 to 2 minutes. Measure out 3 cups of the watermelon purée into a large bowl. Add the agave nectar, lime juice, and salt and combine well. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight until ready to freeze. Pour into the ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions for freezing. Freeze 20 minutes. Transfer to a plastic storage container and place in a regular home freezer to firm up. Remove the sorbet from the freezer 10 minutes before serving to allow time to soften up.

Reprinted from Baking With Agave Nectar: Over 100 Recipes Using Nature’s Ultimate Sweetener by Ania Catalano, photographs by Lara Hata. Copyright © 2008. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA.

-Tami

Tagged as: baking, cake, cookbook, cookies, cooking, cooking techniques, health, pie

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With summer just around the corner, it's time for some skin/body prep for bikinis and the beach! Biotherm's new Celluli Laser might be just what you need. A pioneer with the BioFibrine(TM) technology, collagen fibers are softened and the annoying orange peel is effectively reduced within 10 days. Whoa - I think I might load up on this!

To complete the entire body regimen, don't forget the delicate skin on your face. The Rides Repair line features dermobiotic plankton to stimulate cellular turnover. With daily use, wrinkles are smoothed out by 85% with the Rides Repair Day Cream. There is also a night cream version and an eye cream if you want to ramp up the anti-wrinkle regimen.

www.biotherm-usa.com

-Tami

Tagged as: beauty, beauty product, skin, skin care, skin care product

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Summer lip colors have never been so fun - Three Custom Color Specialists have come up with their new Light Brights lip collection. Not just for club kids, your lips can now have a dance party with shades like Palladium (a flash of hot pink), Limelight (pinky peach), Danceteria (flirty coral), and Area (tangerine).

Don't be too shocked at the DayGlo colors - the super creamy and sheer formula is really wearable, and can be mixed with other lip shades or dabbed with lipgloss. Try using them on your cheeks too!

www.threecustom.com

-Tami

Tagged as: beauty, lip color, lips, makeup

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My chic gal pals from the Blog Carnival and I decided to check out the jewelry selection from Overstock.com for some neat finds. I fell in love with this gorgeous Pearl and Carnelian Sea Treasure Necklace.

Fashioned with Anusara threads, lustrous pearls, carnelian, smoky quartz, garnet, and peridot, this dazzling hand-crafted piece is a great accent on almost any outfit. It will dress up a casual jeans and t-shirt ensemble, or compliment your little black dress. The price is totally right (53% off original price), so what are you waiting for? Go get one for yourself soon...

-Tami

Tagged as: fashion, jewelry, shopping

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Talk about a breathtaking collection of Spring gifts from Vosges! Just in time to shower Mom with your adoration, here are some last-minute gift ideas to make her smile:

The Green Collection is a gorgeous celebration of life and is inspired by the spices, teas, fruits and flowers indigenous to Asia. The Ellateria truffle is a beautiful Indian green cardamom, while the Kaffir (Thai kaffir lime) is a nice interpretation of this exotic flavor. The Kayoko (Japanese macha green tea) goes very well with the white chocolate. I just loved the aromatic and earthy Buddha's Leaf (Malaysian pandan leaves).

For more of nature's bounty, the pretty Les Fleurs du Chocolat Collection will send you into a blissful dream of organic fruits and flowers. This limited edition collection includes Siam Citron (jasmine tea , lemongrass, coconut), Mirabelle Orange (mirabelle plums, orange flower water), Rose Vert (tarragon + rose water), and Platanos y Orchidus (orchid vanilla + caramelized bananas + Jamaican rum).

Lastly, the pièce de résistance...go splurge on the Red Velvet Party Cake. The sweet chocolate red velvet cake is layered with cream cheese & white chocolate ganache (oh my!) and organic New Mexican pecans. This Southern darlin' will thrill everyone, and it's encased in a flower embellished white chocolate shell. It's almost too darn cute to eat!

Buy at: www.vosgeschocolate.com

-Tami

Tagged as: artisan, chocolate, chocolate truffles, food, gifts, Gourmet and Gourmand, holiday, organic ingredients

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