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Sadhvi Sez: Easy Swiss Tiramisu Recipe

Saturday, April 28th, 2012

TIRAMISU

I’ve had a long relationship with Tiramisu. Not growing up in Cleveland, no, that chapter of my life was Fannie Farmer Fudge, Snickerdoodle cookies, home-made tapioca pudding, and delicious poppy seed and nut rolls days.

But after moving to Switzerland, my whole world opened up in many ways with new things to discover, like architecture, art, gardening, and of course, food.

And since there are French, German, and Italian-speaking parts of Switzerland, that diversity not only listed all the ingredients on the labels of every item in the grocery store in those 3 languages (french is the easiest and closest to english, funny enough), but it also brought a lot of variety to what I ate.

I think I had my first bite of Tiramisu in an Italian restaurant somewhere, and while I don’t remember where, I do remember being blissed out!

VERMONT CREAMERY'S MASCARPONE

I just had to try to make it myself, and was happy to find out that it is so easy. In Switzerland, there is a very good cook book that is called “Betty Bossi“. It’s kind of the same as “Betty Crocker” here in the States. I just linked the word, “Betty Crocker” to the Americanized-version of Tiramisu. But I would definitely stick to the Swiss one below.

NONNI'S BISCOTTI BITES

Since the recipe calls for mascarpone, I hadn’t made it in a long time because I just couldn’t find it here. A few weeks ago, I was trying to get out of our local Whole Foods as quickly as possible (I hate shopping!), when I saw Vermont Creamery’s mascarpone. It was something like $4.99 for 8 oz., which I thought was OK. It’s so OK that I’ve invited myself to potlucks of people I don’t know just so I can make it to be able to eat some. I think I’ve made a total of 5 batches since then.

It takes about 20 minutes from start to finish, and it is really good! Just about everyone that I have shared it with has asked for the recipe, so here it is…enjoy!

Here’s the original recipe from the Betty Bossi cookbook, and here is my translation:

Sadhvi’s Swiss Tiramisu

Get 3 bowls (2 medium, the 3rd one larger) out of the cupboard. Get an oblong glass loaf pan, or small cups or…anything you want to use to present the Tiramisu in.

Take the Nonni’s Almond Biscotti bites, and place them in one layer at the bottom.

Take a Pyrex measuring cup, and add 3-4 T. instant Italian espresso coffee. Add 1 cup hot water to dissolve, and then add 1 T. sugar, 3 T. Amaretto, and 2 T. Patron Orange Liqueur. Mix it up, and put aside to cool.

Take 8 oz. of Mascarpone (the whole container), and put in the BIGGER bowl. This container was shy 2 T. of mascarpone, so I used 2 T. of sour cream. Grate the peel or an organic lemon over the bowl, and mix it up.

Separate 2 very fresh eggs (I got mine by lifting one of our hens up, and taking them from there), the yolks go into one bowl, and the whites go into another one.

Add 3 T. sugar to the egg yolk and mix them up with a hand mixer. Add to the mascarpone mixture. Clean the beaters.

Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites, and mix until “stiff peaks” form. Add 1 T. sugar, and mix some more.

Gently fold the egg whites into the “mascarpone mixture”.

Pour enough of the espresso mixture over the biscotti (like maybe a little more than half of it).

Layer and spread the mascarpone mixture over to cover.

Take some more of the biscotti and dip them into the espresso, and lay gently on top.

Pour the last of the mascarpone mixture on top. Shake the crumbs from the biscotti box over the top.

Cover the top with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Voila!

* Note: If you take this to your friend’s house, or make it for dessert when friend’s come over for dinner, expect them to think you are smarter, more attractive, and more pleasant to be around than before.

IT'S SO GOOD:)

Tags: betttybossi, easytiramisurecipe, myswitzerlandtiramisu, nonnisbiscotti, patronorange, sadhviseztiramisu, swisstiramisu, switzerland, vermontcreamery, wholefoods, womencooks, womenover50recipes
Posted in Living, Main, Products, Recipes/Food, Sadhvi Sez | 6 Comments »

Amazing Women Over 50: Helen Collins: “I Can Do This!”

Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

I am inspired to write this week about an incredible woman, Helen Collins of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, the courageous 80-year-old who managed to land a plane when her husband collapsed of a heart attack, mid-flight from Florida to Wisconsin. The couple was traveling to visit their son, when John Collins, 81, collapsed at the wheel. His wife, Helen, radioed for help. Their son, Richard, waiting on the ground, became extremely nervous: “I can’t even tell her how to run a computer, let alone land a plane,” he told ABCNews.com. “It was a very trying time. I thought I was going to lose them both.”

But although he did end up losing his father, who was pronounced dead after landing, his mother’s cool head under the most difficult circumstances kept him from losing both parents. With the help of pilots, one on the ground and one in the air next to her, Helen managed to learn very quickly how to fly a plane she had never flown before–and how to land it. (Helen had flown planes in the past, but it had been 30 years since she had piloted a plane.)

“The sheriff said she was amazingly calm and alert and level-headed,” Richard Collins said of his mother whom he described as “about as frail as frail can be” after having undergone two open-heart surgeries in the past several years.

Here is my favorite part of the story: at one point, his mother apparently got frustrated with her instructors and said, ”Don’t you guys have faith in me? I can do this.” And she added: “This is a hell of a place to be.”

Moments before landing, she said, “I don’t think I can do this,” but she was able to land the plane finally, after circling for an hour-and-a-half, trying to get lined up correctly with the runway. This was right at the point where one plane engine was “sputtering.” According to the director of the little airport where she landed, “She was on her last attempt….We were all watching and knew she had to do it.” As observers described it, “she bounced pretty hard, and when she bounced, the plane tilted forward and the landing gear broke.”

And what did she end up with? Only a crushed vertebra!

When Helen Collins later described her harrowing experience, she said that her husband “became unconscious and took off his seat-belt to breathe better.” He lay down in the plane and Helen saw him “turning gray.”

“She felt his hand and she knew,” Richard Collins said as his voice cracked. “Everybody is so proud of her.”

Helen and John Collins

Next time I feel overwhelmed by some challenge that has been put in my lap, I hope I can remember Helen Collins and say to myself, “I can do this!”

For the full story, including a recording of Helen Collins talking to her instructors, go to the Huffington Post at this link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/05/wis-woman-sounds-calm-as-_n_1405200.html

Tags: amazing women over 50, bravery, can-do, flying, helencollins, Huffington Post, oops50amazingwomen, womenbloggersover50
Posted in Aging, Beautiful Women >50, Main | 3 Comments »

Oops50: Sending a Shout-Out for Writers

Tuesday, April 24th, 2012

Annice

Girlfriends,

It’s been several years since we last sent a shout-out asking you to contribute a blog post with us at Oops50.com. Your responses have been overwhelming, and for that, we thank you. We heard from cops, farmers, actresses, retirees, mothers, caretakers, yoga teachers, etc.

So again, we invite all you baby boomers to share your stories, your dreams, and your regrets with our readers. We know there are tons of subjects to write about because at this point, you’re not afraid to speak your mind!

Some of our favorite categories are: Friendship, Family, Cooking, Gardening, Pets, Health and Wellness, Spirituality, Menopause, Sleep (or the lack of), Work, Retirement, Starting Over, Books, Films, and of course, your favorite products. Or, if you have a new category, just go for it.

If you’re interested, please contact me at Annice@oops50.com and I’ll send you our guidelines. And, don’t forget to spread the word.

Tags: 50 plus yoga, beautifulwomenover50, oops50, women growing older, women over fifty, women's journeys, womenandgardening, womenbloggers, womencrones, womensharingtheirstories, yoga
Posted in Beautiful Women >50, Main, Other Voices | No Comments »

Sadhvi Sez: I am Thankful to You Helen Caldicott

Friday, April 20th, 2012

THE FIRST POPPY OPENS

There’s a lot going on, and that’s why I haven’t written in a while.
Some of the things that have taken up my time are the following:
1. Planting and pruning time in the garden
2. Work
3. A couple of birthday party’s
4. The fact that I’ve been drawing a blank on what to write about
5. And, our dog ate my ongoing journal of notes

We’ve also had some crazy weather, so not knowing if it’s summer or fall or spring has got me a little out of sorts. Then we had a killing frost, with my beloved fig tree surviving, but with a lot of damage, and just a few days ago a deluge of rain. Constant rain. Unusual amounts of rain. But no wind like the mid-west had with it’s incredible tornadoes that went through. Yes, there is always something to be thankful for.

The real news of the tragedy of Fukishima is coming out – finally. The media has been successful in keeping the truth of what did happen, and what is happening, from us for over a year. But the truth will always prevail, and so it is with the nuclear meltdown to end all nuclear meltdowns at Fukishima.

A BEAUTIFUL WEED

I go back and forth: should I even mention anything? Most friends don’t care, don’t know, or truly think it’s been taken care of.
Which I find interesting, because during the 1960′s and 70′s, these same older friends were the younger generation who were trying to change the world; to make love, not war; to give peace a chance; to stop all nuclear power, with bumper stickers like “The Sun in the only Nuclear Power we Need”.
I guess nothing could can be done, and it doesn’t ultimately matter anyways, right? Or maybe we are getting too old to think about it.
After watching the speech that Helen Caldicott, I went out into my garden and took a few pictures of the first Oriental Poppy and some flowers that are really weeds that I so enjoy to see come every year, and I was filled with peace and happiness. Because like Helen Caldicott, I am a worshiper of Nature. And, I love this planet. It’s time to go inside and create the world I want to see, to imagine it, to see with my mind’s eye, a better world that will come out of the chaos and change. I can’t wait.

Tags: fukishima, fukishimacoverup, helencaldicott, oops50sadhvifukishima, women over 50, womenbabyboomerbloggers, womengardening, womenwritersover50
Posted in Environment, Main, Sadhvi Sez, The Environment, World | 12 Comments »

Oops50: VOTE NO Against the So-Called “Marriage Amendment”

Tuesday, April 17th, 2012

If this amendment passes, we’re going to look back 20 years from now, or 10 years from now, and we’re going to think about that amendment the same way we think about the Jim Crow laws that were passed in this state many, many years ago.

Jim Rogers, CEO, Duke Energy

Since the primary election is almost upon us here in North Carolina–and since early voting starts this week, I want to urge all of our North Carolina readers to vote against the so-called “marriage amendment” on May 8th. Even if you weren’t intending to vote in this primary (which I normally wouldn’t be, since it’s a Republican primary), PLEASE PLEASE go vote against this ridiculous amendment to our state’s constitution. This amendment will, to put it simply, set us back several hundred years by institutionalizing and legitimizing discrimination. Not only that, but it will also make life harder even for heterosexual couples who live together. As I understand it, under this change in our state’s laws, businesses would no longer be able to offer domestic partners of any kind–homosexual or heterosexual– any kind of health insurance benefits. Also, people who are not married will have no protection against acts of domestic violence.

This kind of change has already taken place in the other states in this country that have voted a similar amendment into law. So readers in other places, watch out! You could be next!

This type of backlash against the progress of human rights is well-funded and beautifully orchestrated. And it’s no accident that this important vote has been placed in the middle of a Republican primary ballot–certainly not a normal hangout for liberal voters!

I was proud to see that Jim Rogers of Duke Energy, joined other business leaders across the state, including the head of Self-Help Credit Union and top officials at Bank of America, in speaking out against the amendment last week, stating that if we are to be a state that wants to conduct business with other states and especially with other nations, then we cannot afford to be seen as discriminatory or not inclusive. He also said, “I’m old fashioned. I believe we’re all children of God, and we shouldn’t have special rules for some and not for others. We have to recognize differences in people and celebrate those differences.”

I am embarrassed that my state is even debating this subject. This kind of legalized discrimination should be something in our past, something we have risen above, not something right here in front of us, and definitely not something we are trying to vote into law. Isn’t it about time that the citizens of our state showed that we are educated, thinking people with hearts, who care about the rights of all North Carolinians, not just the fill-in-the blanks (white, straight, male, wealthy, married, whatever) ones?

Please join two former mayors of Charlotte, Harvey Gantt and Richard Vinroot (from opposing political parties) and the Wake County Board of Commissioners and the Orange County Board of Commissioners and, among others, the city councils of the cities of Greensboro, Durham, and Asheville and vote against this amendment.

To read the rest of Mr. Rogers’ speech, go to www.protectncfamilies.org. That website can also tell you other ways to support the campaign against this amendment, by sending in a donation, signing a pledge to vote against it, or participating as a volunteer.

Let’s protect ALL North Carolina families, not just the ones who look like us.

Tags: amendment, anti-gay legislation, constitution, discrimination, Duke Energy, Jim Rogers, Marriage Amendment, oops50, oops50politics, protectncfamilies
Posted in Family, Love, Main, Politics | 2 Comments »