If you’re like me, every morning you get up and brew coffee while anxiously waiting for it to be ready to hit your lips! Sometimes my eyes are actually bigger than my appetite for the amount of java I’ve made, and I’ve found some interesting ways to make good use of the leftovers of this luscious nectar. Important: All three suggestions use plain black coffee, minus any additives such as cream or sugar and it is important to cool the coffee down before using it. Here we go!

1. Use as a Hair Rinse: If you’re a brunette, you can ... Read More »]]>

If you’re like me, every morning you get up and brew coffee while anxiously waiting for it to be ready to hit your lips! Sometimes my eyes are actually bigger than my appetite for the amount of java I’ve made, and I’ve found some interesting ways to make good use of the leftovers of this luscious nectar. Important: All three suggestions use plain black coffee, minus any additives such as cream or sugar and it is important to cool the coffee down before using it. Here we go!

1. Use as a Hair Rinse:
If you’re a brunette, you can use left over black coffee as a final rinse after your shampoo and conditioner. I do this in the shower and put the coffee in a plastic cup. Just dump it on your hair and then rinse thoroughly. I do this about once a week and it imparts great shine to my tresses.

2. As a Fertilizer for your Plants:
Now this may sound strange but I’ve been doing it for years with spectacular results. Coffee actually contains a high percentage of antioxidants and nutrients that certain plants thrive upon. Varieties that like acidic soil, including hydrangea, gardenia, azaleas, amaryllis, hyacinth, and begonia respond well to a mix of equal parts water and coffee. Outdoor plants usually like a once a month water/coffee fix, while indoor plants in pots benefit from a water/coffee fix approximately once every 3 months.

3. Use Coffee to Enhance Chocolate Flavor in Baking:
This is one of my very favorite ways to use left over coffee! When you’re baking brownies or anything chocolate, add a tablespoon of cooled coffee to that batter and get ready to send the flavor soaring! Coffee really intensifies the flavor of chocolate and you’ll wonder how you’ve been missing out on this trick for so many years!

As a coffee lover I am happy to have uses for my left over coffee that benefit my looks, my plants and my food. Recycling is paramount for me and I’m always on the lookout for ways that I can avoid wasting anything that comes into my house or my life. Now that you’re armed with ways to make the most of your coffee, let’s raise a mug to getting the most from our java each and every day.

Laura Carson Miller is a freelance lifestyle writer for magazines and the web. Her website is www.lauracarsonmiller.com.

Photo credit © Barol16 | Dreamstime.com

“I jumped at the opportunity to illustrate for Baby Love’s Cupcakes”, explains Wendy, “her website provided great inspiration for stylish graphics ... Read More »]]>

Inspired by her 6 year old son, and toddler daughter, Jennifer Lee Wilson, of Baby Love’s Cupcakes, dreamed of creating a lovable ‘Baking Mom’ character that could capture the hearts and imagination of all ages.  She set out to find an illustrator who could help turn her vision into a colorful whimsical world.  Wendy Sefcik, of Broken Box Designs, was the perfect match.  With Wendy’s unique style and technique, the two women created an imaginary bakeshop where everyone is welcome.

“I jumped at the opportunity to illustrate for Baby Love’s Cupcakes”, explains Wendy, “her website provided great inspiration for stylish graphics and the book embraces family fun in the kitchen”. Whether the baker has experience or is just starting out in the kitchen, Baby Love’s Family Recipes is a book for anyone who loves cupcakes. “The book is a visual treat; the made-from-scratch recipes are very easy to follow for even young bakers” explains Jennifer Lee.  To make certain no one is excluded, the book even has a recipe for the family dog and a cupcake coloring page for the smallest member of the family. Purchase Baby Loves Cupcakes

Jennifer Lee and Wendy are currently working on additional illustrations and story lines for a second book.  This book is only the beginning of Baby Love’s creations and adventures in the kitchen!

Chic Galleria is thrilled to be able to give away a copy of Baby Love’s Cupcakes Family Recipes to one lucky reader!  Just leave a comment on this article and answer this question….Who is the baker in your family?  A name will be drawn at random from the list of comments and the winner will be announced November 16, 2009. Good luck!

Congratulations Bead Dreamer!

The calender has turned and 2009 is marching on. I want to lodge a complaint — stop it; I am not organized enough for that yet! (Hmm, is there a board to whom I can submit that complaint?)

Plus Iʼm still ruminating over resolutions; argh! Iʼm not a fan of the resolution, mainly because I am rarely successful with them & I hate being reminded that I am coming up short when I was the only one who knew where the bar was set!

So I have decided to join my wise friend Johnʼs fasting plan for the new year. My ... Read More »]]>

The calender has turned and 2009 is marching on. I want to lodge a complaint — stop it; I am not organized enough for that yet! (Hmm, is there a board to whom I can submit that complaint?)

Plus Iʼm still ruminating over resolutions; argh! Iʼm not a fan of the resolution, mainly because I am rarely successful with them & I hate being reminded that I am coming up short when I was the only one who knew where the bar was set!

So I have decided to join my wise friend Johnʼs fasting plan for the new year. My fast of choice is media, because the idea is to give up something meaningful. I find myself listening to the news and reading the paper and my heart starts to palpitate and my breathing feels tight and I begin to wonder how many relatives I might be able to house and how long we can live on beanie-weanies and before long IAMCALCULATINGHOWLONGITWILLTAKEMETORIDETOWORKONMYBIKEAFTER
ISELLMYCAR. I want to put my fingers in my ears and start singing “LALALALALALA.”

Instead of joining the frenzy, I commit right now to finding people who are creative in these tight times, rising above the mele and giving the rest of us inspiration!  To that end, I share my newest obsession, Bakerella.

In case you are one of the two people on earth not following Pioneer Woman, you might have missed Bakerella in PWʼs sidebar. (I particularly love PWʼs cooking site, because itʼs real food for real people – those of us who prefer to eat instead of be thin.) And since I am devoted, I immediately followed up on the teasing photos of Bakerellaʼs site.

I love to cook, but I am so not a baker. This site so makes me want to change my ways Her creations are not just food, they are D-E-S-I-G-N! I attempted to stalk her, but sheʼs very elusive. (I chalk that up to her focus on her art.) But she was kind enough to answer a few questions.

Your profile says you took a baking class in 2007. Was that your first experience
with baking, or have you always loved it?

“I donʼt remember my first, but Iʼve always loved baking. Probably because I love eating
the results!”

Where do you find the inspiration for the products that you bake?

“I find inspiration all around me. From a pillow pattern in a catalogue I used for a cake
design to a plastic coca-cola bottle I used for a snow globe cupcake.”

Do you sell your baked goods?

“Nope. I sell some t-shirts, though.”

What is your favorite experience with baking since you began?

“My favorite was probably when I took the cake decorating class. I canʼt remember the
last time I was so genuinely happy and excited all at the same time.”

What gave you the idea to start a blog?

“I added some cupcake photos to a cupcake photo group on flickr.com. Then, I just
decided to start the blog to keep track of my baking experiences. I never expected
people to actually find my stuff.”

When were you on The Martha Stewart Show, and how did Martha find you?

“It was an episode in April of 2007, for Cupcake Week. One of her producers found my
blog and contacted me.”

What are your plans for the future with Bakerella?

“Iʼm open. Definitely more baking and hopefully a book.”

In several recent postings on her site, Bakerella features some jaw-dropping sugar cookies. She used terms I had never heard – “flooding” & “piping,” just to mention a few. She mentions as her guide a book called, “Cookie Craft.” I ordered it from Amazon in the next blink of my eye, and the pictures in it make me want to abandon my life and find a job as a cookie flooder. Ahhh, bliss.

Photo courtesy of Bakerella

Dough for crust: 3 c. of flour ¾ c. sugar 1 ¼ c. shortening ¼ t. salt 2T water

Cut all of these ingredients together with a pastry blender.  Divide into two.  Press half of dough into the bottom and sides of a 9″x13″ pan.  Be careful not to overwork this dough, so as not to make it tough.  Save the rest of the dough for lattice over the top.

Filling

4 c. peeled, sliced apples, (for COOKING) 1 ½ T cinnamon 1T nutmeg 2 c. sugar 2 c. water

Heat all ingredients over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture thickens.  Pour apple mixture into crust.  Create lattice ... Read More »]]>

My Grandmother’s Apple Cobbler

Dough for crust:
3 c. of flour
¾ c. sugar
1 ¼ c. shortening
¼ t. salt
2T water

Cut all of these ingredients together with a pastry blender.  Divide into two.  Press half of dough into the bottom and sides of a 9″x13″ pan.  Be careful not to overwork this dough, so as not to make it tough.  Save the rest of the dough for lattice over the top.

Filling

4 c. peeled, sliced apples, (for COOKING)
1 ½ T cinnamon
1T nutmeg
2 c. sugar
2 c. water

Heat all ingredients over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture thickens.  Pour apple mixture into crust.  Create lattice by rolling remaining dough out on lightly floured surface.  Using a pastry wheel, cut strips and lay in a criss-cross pattern over top of cobbler, squeezing dough at sides to secure.  Sprinkle top of cobbler with cinnamon-sugar, if desired, and dot the top with butter. Bake at 400 degrees for the first 30 minutes, then down to 325 degrees for 1 hour.  Serve with vanilla ice cream or even half and half.