What to do with slightly old strawberries

The truth is quite often I buy berries I forget about them or in the case of raspberries I hyperventilate so much about the actually recipe I want to use them in that I wait to long and they begin to mold. Berries are my favorite fruit but I happen to go nuts fantasizing about what I am going to do with them and then let to much time pass. Then their are the berries that are still edible but the texture is too mushy and they look a little bit funky this really applies the most to strawberries, but I found a recipe that utilizes slightly old and funky strawberries perfectly; I originally got the idea from Gourment, but have adjusted it to my liking:

Strawberry Lassi
1/2 pound strawberries (cleaned and trimmed and sliced in half)
1/4 cup honey (adjust too your liking)
a pinch of ground cardamom
1 cup of yogurt

Put strawberries, honey, and cardamom in blender and puree until smooth. Then add yogurt and blend, until well blended. Serve and enjoy.

Scent of the Day

Today I am going with Narciso Rodriguez for her edt which because it is bizarrely so synthetic yet quickly becoming timeless matches Seurat.

Scent of the Day

Today I am going with my delight sample of the scent Baghari by Robert Piguet, this is perfect for spring. For such an exotic name it really is about charm and delicate warmth. Notes: bergamot, aldehydes, violet, neroli, jasmine, bulgarian rose, rose centifolia, iris, vanilla, vetiver, amber, musks. The mix of violet and vanilla gives it a beautiful nuance of heliotrope; a very gentle aldehyde scent. This is the new re-formulation.

Perfume Review: Tom Ford/Estee Lauder's Azuree Soleil

Where to begin with Estee Lauder's Tom Ford Collection Azuree, a seasonal offering of makeup and fragrance, that was inspired to some degree from Estee Lauder's own Azuree collection. Well, I'm not going to start there, many have already done it and have written wonderful posts about the history that inspired Azuree Soleil, the fragrance of Tom Ford's collection. Rather I will say that Azuree Soleil inspires in many an image of the perfect coconut tropical scent in the most tasteful of ways, but my thoughts differ on its gourmand imagery, it is not a perfect glass of coconut water, but something all together more savory; Thai green curry. It should be noted I cannot wear most fragrances that go into near savoriness due to the fact that near savoriness is most often supported by cumin note and I am one of those people that when a cumin note is applied to the skin it is all bad. But then again Thai green curry is not the average curry it is made up of beautiful aromatics: kaffir lime leaf, lemongrass, ginger, basil, coconut cream, chili. These are scents that do not necessarily scream savory. When I first applied Azuree Soleil I was hit by a rush of spicy zest and woodiness, that reminded me a great deal of Origin's Ginger Essence (I suspect this opening is due to the citrus,woods, and vetiver mixing) and it also reminded me of some dish I had eaten. It took me a few days to realize that reminded me of Thai green curry. This image does not last through out the scent but at the very beginning, the scent goes through stage at one point a creamy gardenia coconut scent, then becoming a creamy floral caramel scent, but then the woods arrive again blending with the gardenia to make a wonderfully tropical yet earthy scent.

Scent of the Day

On cold dreary days, such as today, you need those scents that cloak or transport you to warmth, I chose L de Lolita Lempicka today, with its notes of Bitter Orange (now you get the image), immortelle flower, and musk.

Scent of the Day

For today I am going with L'Heure Bleu as a part of game we are playing over at PoL

Scent of the Day

For today I am going with Michael Kors Island Hawaii. A very soothing tropical scent that doesn't play on tropical fruits, coconut, or gardenia but rather the gorgeous florals of Hawaii.

Scent of the Day

After days of transparent scents that are perfect for summer and spring, I am going with the autumnal gold dusted woods of Burberry Brit Gold on this rainy day (this was also my holiday fragrance for last year).

Scent of the Day

Going with my brand new gorgeous Estee Lauder Azuree Soleil, review coming soon.

Pre de Provence Ananas Soap Review

When ever I am in the middle of a season I always begin to yearn for all the things opposite of it (no matter how much I love that season). A few months ago I stopped in at my local Pure Beauty and found something that has made me me want to do something no sane person should have the desire to do: eat my own soap. The soap is Pre de Provence Ananas(pineapple) and never would I have expected myself to fall in love in with pineapple soap. I am not someone who in general likes fruity scents, but this one caught me off guard, because it actually smells like the most perfectly ripe pineapple, not canned, but the fresh astrigent sweet floral green scent of pineapple. This fragrant soap has entranced me, I have bought another bar, I have given it as gifts in guest soap form, and it has sent me on a quest to find a pineapple fragrance to wear and candle. I could not recommend this soap more. It is not overly drying (made with shea butter) and has a gorgeous foaming quality.

Scent of The Day

Today I am participating in the G game (for one week try and wear as many fragrances starting with G or just one) with Gold by Donna Karan, which has occured to me would have made an excellent easter scent with dominant lily note in it.

Scent of The Day

It is Easter and I can honestly say I have done mainly homework today. The truth is Easter stopped being a major holiday for me when i stopped getting an Easter basket in the morning and that was a long time ago. Adulthood in your mid-twenties truly is a strange period as far as holidays go. My scent for today is Andy Tauer's ode to lavender in all its glory: Reverie au Jardin.

Back to the cooking....Rhubarb!

Yes, I am a happy cow, but then again you would be too if your grandmother gave you 1 1/2 pounds homegrown organic rhubarb. Rhubarb has to be one of the most incredibly uniquely flavored and scented vegetables out there, the scent is of grass, strawberries, and tomatoes. The flavor as if a green apple and strawberry had been mixed together. So to celebrate it in it's incredible glory I took Gourmet's 2006 Rhubarb Compote recipe and tweaked it into making it my own.

Rhubarb Compote

1 1/2 pounds Rhubarb (about 4 cups chopped into 1/2 inch pieces)

1 cup of suger

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Combine all the ingredients in a medium, heavy based saucepan, over medium and stir until suger dissolves and mixture begins to boil. Reduce heat to medium low and cover, and cook for about 7 minutes. Let mixture cool and then chill (I had a hard time doing this) and serve with something wonderfully creamy (I did mine with Greek yogurt, but I suspect this may one of those perfect ice cream toppings). By the way you will be tempted to eat spoonfuls of this and I did and I don't regret it.

Sometimes You Need To Smell Like A Cloud (scent of the day)

I've lately been thinking of fragrances that invoke objects, memories, colors, and the things scents can remind you of. Today I guess, I kinda wanted to smell like a white fluffy cloud, or at least what my mind the scent that would best personify the character of clouds on bright sunny blue sky. So came up with this layering Kuumba Made Vanilla Musk over Ava Luxe Loukhoum body creme. So far the combination is working, giving off an air fluffy warmth.

Scent of the Day

Today is going to be one of those long days where I don't get home until pretty late, so when it is one of those days I either opt for a confident scent or a comfort/clean scent, today I am going with the latter:

Pearl by Sage Machado Eau de Toillette

Notes: Indian sandalwood, vanilla, light musk, mousse de chine (ironically this is only stated for the body creme)

Scent of The Day

My scent for the day is Stella Rose Absolute which is one of the best rose scents you can find easily and easily one of the best out there. This is plush dewy dark rose scent with brightness from a hint of citrus and wonderful sensual depth from the amber. It is one of the scents that helped re-fall in love with rose scents.

Notes: Rose, Peony Flower, Mandarin, Rose Absolute, Amber.

Sunday: Always comforting and clean

There is nothing quite like Sunday, it epitomizes the need to relax, rejuvanate, exercise the soul and body, or in my case most often to create. Most of my Sundays are spent cooking something new, and to borrow from Nigella, "...relaxed putzing in the kitchen." This is the day I most often pick scents that are very clean or very comforting (this often goes hand in hand). Today my scent is:

Pure Grace, the notes for it are: Bergamot, Water Lily, Lavender, Jasmine, Cool Greens, Musk.

This is a scent that is consistantly in my Sunday rotation. It epitomizes relaxed, calm, and clean.

So the question is what are your favorite calm, clean, and comforting fragrances?