Archive for the ‘Products’ Category

Oops50: Sadhvi’s Apple Charlotka

Friday, January 20th, 2012

APPLES PILED HIGH

After realizing that I only spent 3 minutes, 10 times a day on FB, I decided to try and see how many “real” hours a day I was spending on the computer. It turns out I average around 5 hours. By stopping FB, I had only managed to cut out 3.5 hours per week. Hmmm.

I thought it would be interesting to find out how I compared with my friends, and found out that working and retired people alike spend about the same amount of time, an average of 8.5 hours a day…reading books, watching YouTube, texting, answering emails, being in chat rooms, playing games, working…whatever. Some were on for around 16 hours per day, while others were just on it an hour.

I am not trying to turn back the hands of time here. I do realize this is the norm now, this being on the computer for hours and hours and hours. I just realized that being on the computer has replaced and surpassed the amount of time spent watching TV. I went to get my eyes examined the other day, and my eye Dr. told me that I should get a pair of glasses that I use just for the computer, to avoid eye strain, which I do have.

So since I can’t cut down much more, I can take breaks: baking, gardening, painting.

Apple Charlotka

Here’s a recipe from the Smitten site (one of the few food blogs that I like) that I have modified to make gluten-free. I’ve also cut back the sugar a bit, and sprinkle some of it on top to get a bit of caramelized glaze on top. You’ll see. It’s easy, not too sweet, and very yummy. The original recipe calls for all-purpose flour, by the way, which of course you can use.

Sadhvi’s Apple Charlotka

Butter or nonstick spray, for greasing the pan

6 large tart Apples, like a Granny Smith
3 large Eggs
1/2 cup Sugar
…and another 1/4 cup Sugar to sprinkle on top towards the end of the baking time in the oven
1 t. Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 cup of Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix (this replaces the flour, it is gluten-free, and, it tastes good!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper.

Butter the paper and the sides of the pan.

Peel, halve and core apples, then chop them into medium-sized chunks.

Put the cut apples directly in the prepared pan.

Meanwhile in a large bowl, using an electric mixer or whisk, and beat eggs with sugar until thick.

Beat in vanilla, then add the cinnamon.

Now stir in Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix with a spoon until just combined. (The batter will be very thick.)

Pour batter over apples in pan, using a spoon or spatula to spread the batter so that it covers all exposed apples. (i.e. spread the batter and press it down into the apple pile. The top of the batter should end up level with the top of the apples.)

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or so.

Then sprinkle that reserved 1/4 cup of sugar on top.

Bake another 5 minutes or so.

Now move the pan up a rack, and put on Broil. (At this point, watch the cake to make sure it does not burn!)

When done, cool in pan for 10 minutes on rack, then flip out onto another rack, peel off the parchment paper, and flip it back onto a serving platter.

Eat plain, warm or at room temperature, with some whipped cream or sour cream on top to get fancy, if desired.

Enjoy!

It's Good!

Tags: apple sharlotka, easy gluten free recipes, pamelasglutenfree, smitten, women crones, women FB, women over fifty, women who blog, women's journeys, womenelder's
Posted in Beautiful Women >50, Living, Main, Products, Recipes/Food, Sadhvi Sez | 7 Comments »

SadhviSez: Preserve the Harvest Now to Enjoy Later

Saturday, October 1st, 2011

SADHVI

I had a lot of Basil plants that I’ve been using in salads all summer long…if you keep pinching back the plant, and never let it start to flower, it becomes very bushy and full. Which means, more Basil! Notice how I capitalize the word: Basil. It’s like a good friend, and I cannot imagine my life without it.

The other day I heard someone say it’s going to get cold, so I harvested all of my plants to make my version of “pesto”, knowing that with just one cold night, all that lovely taste inside those leaves would be gone, and therefore wasted. I never really FEEL like doing these kinds of things, I just somehow start to move in that direction, and IT happens on it’s own. I must have it in me from my Slovenia grandma or something. Or maybe from my other grandma, Mabel Carter? Both women had gardens, sewed their family’s clothes, and both put food up for the winter months.

ONE OF SADHVI'S PAINTINGS

So I got out my Cuisinart food processor, started to pluck Basil leaves (never stems), added olive oil and a little salt, and then blended until I got the consistency that makes it pourable into clean glass jars, labeled them, and voila! A base for pesto that will last a long, long time if it’s kept covered with olive oil, and in the back of the fridge. Just let it sit for an hour or so, to make sure the olive oil comes to the top to “seal” it, which preserves it.

SADHVI'S BASIL HARVEST

I had grown hundreds of pots of different types of Basil my first year that I started to garden, way back in the spring of ’94. I had never gardened before that. I was too busy with my “life”.

Then we got into a terrible car accident, and I slowed down.

And started to paint and to garden.

I didn’t know how to do either before the accident.

That first year I grew Thai Basil, I grew Purple Basil, I grew maybe 10 different types of Basil. And you know what? I only grow 2 types nowadays. The Genovese Basil and the Greek Basil. The other ones are interesting, but really, I don’t waste my energy on them, because the taste is only in those 2 I grow!

After harvesting all those different types of Basil that first year, I mixed them with garlic and pine nuts and olive oil and salt and put the mixture in sterilized glasses. Much to my horror, after a month in the fridge, they were all moldy and had to be composted – my heart almost broke in two! All that work for nothing. Well, being the type of person that has to make a big mistake the first time I do something, I’ve since been told how to do it the right way.

BASIL, OLIVE OIL, SALT!

So here’s a very simple way of preserving Basil from Martina, my Swiss-Italian girlfriend.

Martina told me to never add the garlic and the nuts. Only do that when I am making the meal, she said. This is the way her Italian grandmother taught her and I’ve been doing it this way every single year since, which makes this year my 15th year.

1. Take a big pot and fill with water and bring to boil and then add the pasta.

2. While that’s cooking, take a big mixing bowl and spoon out some of the “Basil, Olive Oil and Salt” into it. Let it sit on the counter for a while, and then, take a paper towel and wipe the sides of the inside of the jar, removing any of the mix, and make sure it’s covered with some olive oil; not a lot.

3. Add some fresh-pressed garlic cloves and some chopped walnuts or pine nuts (or whatever nuts you have), and mix.

4. Once the pasta is “al dente”, ladle out some of the water from the pot and mix in with “Basil, Oil, & Salt”/garlic/nut mix until it’s the way you like your sauce.

5. Drain the pasta, rinse, and add to the mix and toss.

Grate lots of the best Italian Parmesan cheese you can afford, get a good bottle of red wine, put some Frank Sinatra music on, and maybe a candle or two, and savor the taste of summer, preserved!
p.s. if you want to see how other people make and preserve their pesto, Culinate, which is one of the food blogs that I subscribe to, shares their tips. Just Click This!

Tags: culinate, easypestorecipe, foodblogs, for the love of basil, franksinatra, preservingbasil, womenwhoblog, womenwritersover50
Posted in Beautiful Women >50, Gardening, Home, Journey, Living, Main, Products, Products, Recipes/Food, Sadhvi Sez | 17 Comments »

SadhviSez: My Favorite Face Creme

Saturday, September 24th, 2011

SADHVI

There’s a lot of time and money spent on face creams. Both by us women, and in advertising dollars. To make us look younger, flawless…perfect! Just pick up any magazine while you’re waiting to check out at the grocery store and flip through the pages. The beautiful faces that look at you are simply stunning, aren’t they?

As I see myself getting older, I’ve noticed that there has been the thought that if I get this or that face cream, I will look like I did when I was younger, or at the very least, better. I have tried samples of Estee Lauder and felt like I’ve been putting something with silicon on my face. Interesting, but too weird. I’ve tried Lancome, and nearly got knocked out by the strong perfumed scent. I’ve tried Chanel and Guerlain, and could not justify the price tag. Then I thought the drugstore products, like Roche or L’Oreal would be good. They stung my face, and smelled too strongly of synthetic perfume.

I’ve been big into the natural and organic movement since the ’70′s, way before big companies got interested in the movement, and bought most of them out. Those were the days when being a vegetarian was considered very odd…cult-ish even!

WILD SAGE BOTANICALS Rose Geranium Face Lotion

So I just wanted to let you know that one of my 2 favorite face creams* is made by Wild Sage Botanicals. Every product is hand-made by Garima, the woman behind this very cool “company”. I think I have to say that again: every product is made in small batches, by hand, by Garima! With most of the herbs from her own garden. Pretty incredible, really. With wonderful smells that are euphoric and make me happy. Wild Sage’s Rose Geranium Face Lotion is my pick for the best moisturizer for my skin. Check out Garima’s site and see if you don’t just love her products. She has drawn all the plants and things on the site herself too. And her prices are very affordable. Which is so important these days when most of us are watching every penny that we spend.

If you do happen to order some of Garima’s products, please let me know. I wonder if you will become a loyal fan like I have been for the past 20 years!? When something is good, I don’t think you have to shout it from the top of a mountain – you just know.

And if you have a few moments, check out this informative clip below. I think we need a little reminder on why the stuff that is being mass-marketed and fed to us, and readily available is not something that we want to buy!

*P.S.: The other face cream that I use is one that is not available for sale, yet! It’s made by a close friend of mine, in small batches, and it is what I call, “The Perfect Cream”. It’s based on a recipe by one of my favorite herbalists, Rosemary Gladstar. It smells like a bouquet of roses (real ones), and it goes in and makes my skin feel so good. I keep saying she should sell it. Maybe one day she will… I will let you know.

Tags: Beautiful Women >50, facecreams, mature women over 50, thebestfacecream, wildsagebotanicals, womenover50facecreams, womenwhoblog
Posted in Aging, Beautiful Women >50, Beauty, Living, Main, Products, Products, Sadhvi Sez | 6 Comments »

My New Red Shoes

Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

JANE

I have a pair of new red shoes from a company that I want to highly recommend to our readers. I didn’t think I’d ever write again about shoes, especially red ones, but I can’t help it. I love my wonderful new shoes, “filled with millions of tiny air bubbles” from a British company called Hotter Shoes.

They approached us at Oops50 recently and asked if we would like to try out a pair of their shoes, and of course I agreed to be a guinea pig—who wouldn’t want a new pair of shoes with the emphasis on comfort, right? I was a little worried though, that I might be signing up for what our mothers would have called “comfortable shoes.” You know the type: big, wide shoes with thick soles that come in either white or black. Well, I went tho their site and was pleasantly surprised; the shoes looked good, but they actually look even better in person.

Jane's New Hotter Shoes!

These are not ugly, comfort shoes of the variety worn by old ladies with bunions. These are stylish and comfortable shoes—to tell you the truth, I didn’t believe those two words could go together. And even though the company’s name brought immediately to mind the movie, “Kinky Boots,” while there is nothing kinky going on, these are definitely hot shoes!

They come in all kinds of different designs. And they are incredibly comfortable. No aches and pains. No sore toes. And, they come in wide sizes without looking wide. Check out their site, and if you order a pair, do let me know if you agree with me. And if you have a moment or two, let me know what your most comfortable shoe is, Ok?

Tags: babyboomerwomen, comfortable shoes, greatshoesforwomen, HotterShoes, Kinky Boots, oops50favoritethings, red shoes, shoes, womenover50
Posted in Beautiful Women >50, Health, Home, Living, Main, Products, Products, Products, Products, Shopping, Style | 4 Comments »

Help: My iPhone says it’s OK to check my email while driving!

Friday, August 19th, 2011

‎

SADHVI

I got a new iPhone last week so that when I am at our stand at the Market, I can take credit cards with the Square. I spent a long time trying to figure out the best deal from the many companies, and frankly, it was harder than my first year of college! So when a friend said I should Google Square I did and was so happy that someone (one of the founders of Twitter) came up with this easy method that lets you take any credit or debit card with a smart phone. And the best part is that there’s no monthly fee or service contract. Another added perk is that customers think you are cool if you offer this, don’t ask me why! Kind of like if you’re the first kid to have the newest-toy-on-the-block sort of thing. It couldn’t be easier to use, and the money goes straight into your bank account. Perfect for massage therapists, artist’s, and small business owners. And it works with the Droid and the iPad too. Really, it’s great.

iPhone4

But getting an iPhone has made me cross the line from where I set my boundaries in my own personal comfort zone of technology. I mean, I don’t text because I find it kind of weird to type on something so small, and, I don’t have kids, which I hear is the only way to communicate with them these days. I don’t like to play games. I don’t really get lost, and if I do, I like to look at a map or even ask people for directions (I get a secret thrill out of talking to a complete stranger of the same species as me!). I don’t need to identify a song I like on the radio, I can just enjoy it as something new, and I will leave it to chance when I am on the road and am looking for a good place to eat. If it’s not good, I know it will be an interesting memory, or something soon forgotten.

So imagine becoming immediately addicted to something that I am a bit embarrassed to write about: and that is, checking my incoming email while driving! Can you believe it? It was as if some part of my brain took over and told me: ‘It’s OK…you’re just cleaning up any junk mail and looking for the important ones!” The bad part is that I wasn’t just doing it just at red lights. After catching myself doing it during a long stretch of the ride home, I vowed not to touch that iCrackThing while driving ever again. I don’t know what happened, but it was scary! No wonder Apple is now worth more than the oil companies!

My 10-year-old niece came to visit, and while driving together in the car to the horse ranch that she would be staying at with her Dad in the car ahead, the beautiful mountain views were truly something to behold. She sat next to me playing a game on her new iPhone4. “I love it!”, she says. I told her she can love it, but not while driving on vacation with her Aunt Sadhvi. I wanted her to find enjoyment in the ride and the journey and the wonderful views. She reluctantly put her beloved iPhone away.

Just to let you know, I also write her letters in cursive writing, on cute stationary and send them in the mail with stamps that I pick out, not the ugly Forever Stamps. I’ve heard they don’t teach cursive writing in schools any more, and I think that’s kind a real shame. That’s when I started to send her letters. So maybe my niece will be able to land a job someday because she knows how to read cursive?! No, I’m just kidding. I really just want to make sure she has some “human connection memories” instead of computer games that she’s become addicted to on her awesome iPhone.

Or just maybe all this tuning out and tuning into a hand-held computer that is so cute, sleek and even loveable is just a way to tune out the hectic energy of the world?

Enjoy!

Sadhvi

“Be careful not to fill up every moment of your life with “stuff”: things to think about, to react against, to worry about, be upset about, regret or even look forward to… There’s more to life. You don’t have to stop doing, but you can intersperse your life with brief moments of presence. Like now… allow everything to be as it is. Then become aware that there is an awareness here, a consciousness, & that THAT is more truly who you are than anything else.”

EckhartTolle