Friday, September 27, 2013

Top 10 Go To Desserts

Having a go to dessert is crucial for any dinner party.  Check out these top ten desserts from apartment therapy that everyone should know how to make.  What is your go to dessert?

What are the desserts you know by heart? The sweets you make over and over, to the point where you barely need the recipe? Dessert can be a special treat to end a meal, or a simple comfort during a tiring week, and we have a few we love enough to memorize. These are often the simplest and the easiest to remember, like a batch of warm chocolate chip cookies or that light-as-a-feather one-ingredient ice cream.

Others of these sweets have a classic elegance, like the chocolate layer cake that your friends always beg you to make for their birthdays, or that most perfect of all desserts: panna cotta. Here are 10 desserts, big and small, that we think are worth knowing by heart.



Chocolate Layer Cake
A "by heart" dessert really means two kinds of recipes to us: Those that are so easy that they barely require a recipe, like One-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream and fruit poached with wine and spice. And then the recipes that are maybe a little trickier — like a good pie crust or a batch of ice cream — but that we make so often that the process feels intuitive.
Both kinds of desserts form the bedrock of our dessert repertoire. Know how to make a pie crust and you can whip up a galette or a fruit-filled pie on a whim. Memorize the formula for a creamy panna cotta and you have an easy, crowd-pleasing dessert whenever you need one. The process for making a chocolate cake is more or less the same for any kind of cake — take this muscle memory with you as you take on new recipes. And so on with just about every recipe on this list.
What desserts do you know by heart? Which ones do you think are essential for the home cook to know?
    TOP ROW
  • 1
    How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies - You just can't go wrong with chocolate chip cookies. With this version, you don't even need a mixer.
  • 2 Chocolate Layer Cake - Does a chocolate cake sound intimidating to you? It shouldn't! This fluffy, tender, and deeply chocolatey cake is ready in about an hour and couldn't be easier.
  • 3 One-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream - Yup, that's right. Frozen bananas whizzed in a food processor are a dead ringer for vanilla ice cream. Take a look at our 5 favorite flavor variations when you feel like switching it up.
  • 4 How to Make Panna Cotta - This is Faith's ultimate dessert for everything from a weeknight treat to a big dinner party. It's easy, it's elegant, and it's endlessly adaptable.
  • 5 Roasted Strawberry Goat Cheese Squares on Puff Pastry - This is the perfect example of what you can make with a package of puff pastry in the freezer. If strawberries aren't in season, go for apples, a few black berries, or any other ripe fruit — even just a dollop of jam and a sprinkle of nuts!
Chocolate Wafer Icebox Stacks

    BOTTOM ROW
  • 6 How to Make a Pie from Start to Finish - Knowing how to make a good pie crust is one of those essential skills that's always handy to have in your back pocket. And it's not as intimidating as you might think!
  • 7 Chocolate Wafer Icebox Stacks - These ¨ber-simple little cakelets are more delicious and more addictive than they have any right to be. Just trust us on this one. Switch it up with different cookies or by flavoring the whipped cream.
  • 8 How to Make Ice Cream at Home - Use this base to add any other flavorings your brain can imagine — fresh blueberries, a swirl of chocolate fudge, candied nuts, peppermint... Plus you can still make ice cream without an ice cream maker.
  • 9 How to Make a Fruit Crumble with Any Kind of Fruit - No matter the season and no matter the fruit, a fruit crumble is always there for you.
  • 10 Honey and Spice Poached Pears - Last but not least, we have poached fruit. It's amazing how decadent a simple piece of fruit can feel once you've poached it in a little simple syrup or leftover wine with a handful of spices. The method in this recipe applies to any tree fruit you have in the kitchen — apples, apricots, peaches, plums... You get the idea!

Thursday, September 19, 2013

5 Stress Relief Tips

Does the upcoming holiday season already have you stressed out?  Check out these great tips on how to reduce stress in a healthy way.  You can start practicing these methods now, so you are ready for the holiday season.  Keep reading to learn more and check out OxyFresh for more information.

  1. Unplug – Turn off the cell phone, power down your computer. Today, many people feel that they are ‘on call’ all the time. Sever the ties and enjoy some quiet time. Grab that book you’ve been meaning to read and head to the park, or just stay at home and relax in a comfy spot. Enjoy a little peace and quiet.
     
  2. Start saying No – Most people are pulled in about 20 different directions all of the time. Help out here, volunteer there…while they are all good causes and they all need help, you aren’t the end all answer for them all of the time. Today, many people volunteer or serve simply because they feel obligated to do so. If you volunteer somewhere, do it because you want to and enjoy it. Learn to say no every once in awhile and use the time doing something you enjoy.
     
  3. Exercise – You don’t necessarily need to go enroll in a gym or start a detailed exercise regime. Just get out for a walk, take a bike ride, or go for a swim. Whatever type of physical activity you enjoy; get out and do it. Exercise is an excellent way to relieve stress. Physical exertion is also a great way to ward off insomnia as well.
     
  4. Positive Thinking – It may not sound like much, but it is helpful. This may be hard in the beginning, especially if you are a cynical person, but give it a try for a few days. Stress and anxiety is tiring. Positive thinking enables you to overcome your anxiety and find happiness and serenity. You may find that simple mundane things that caused stress before no longer adversely affect you.
     
  5. The Big Picture – When something starts ‘stressing you out’, take a step back and evaluate it in light of everything else going on in the world. Is it really significant enough to cause problems for you? In the grand scheme of things, how important were those two or three extra minutes that you had to wait in line at the store? Let the little things slide.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Help Your Electronics Budget

Are you a fan of electronics? There are ways to get all of the high tech toys you love without breaking the bank.  Check out these six steps on how to tighten your electronics budget without sacrificing anything!  You can find out more great tips at Apartment Therapy.
2012_07_26-How_to_Cut_Cable_Tonight_1984.jpg
Ditch the Expensive Cable Plan
If you're on the fence about cutting cable, read through our helpful guide to walk you through the pros and cons of ditching cable. Streaming TV is definitely here to stay, and there are great ways to find what's available and where it's playing online. If you can't live without cable TV, at least stop paying for your expensive monthly cable box rental and purchase a cheap over the air antenna. Perhaps even ask yourself if you can survive without TV at all!

Stop Buying Movies
The writing has been on the wall for physical media for quite some time, yet many of us just can't quite let go of our media collections. But since many of us are leaving cable subscription, it might be time to migrate over to streaming services and pare down your media collection (a great opportunity to sell it for a little extra cash). Highest quality playback still requires discs at this time, and latest releases are not always immediately available online (though this is becoming increasingly not true), but there's always Netflix or Redbox for occasional affordable disc rentals.

Stop Buying Music and Stream It!
Online streaming music is everywhere. Yes, commercials are part of the agreement when you stream free, but honestly there aren't actually that many commercials on Pandora, Rdio, Spotify, or other alternatives. It's not like the olden days of radio where you had to hunt around for something to listen to, there's pretty much a streaming station or playlist for every musical taste out there.

Take Advantage of Rebates
Government and utility companies often offer rebates for energy efficient appliances and devices. Before you buy, check around to see who's offering what kind of discounts if any. For example: Pepco provides the electricity in our area and they provide up to $2,750 in rebates with the ENERGY STAR program.

Be a Smart Consumer
Most important for anyone on a budget is to eliminate/limit impulse purchases. Buy smart and don't be swayed by every little iDevice that gets marketed as the next best thing. In instances when you do need to purchase electronics or appliances, consider buying last year's models. Usually year to year changes between models are modest to moderate. This is especially true with HDTV sets, where prices between last year's model can be hundreds of dollars cheaper than the latest release.

Slim Down The Cell Phone Service
We're not necessarily saying you have to completely ditch the cell phone, but paying thousands of dollars a year for a mobile device can cost a decent percentage of income across a year. Considering moving away from a contract agreement and moving over to a prepaid service to stop hemorrhaging money each month.
Twitter Delicious Facebook Digg Stumbleupon Favorites More