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DOWNLOAD MOONGLOW FREE IN OCTOBER!

October 12, 2011


(art by Virginia Hilton, featured on MoonglowLove.com)

IT’S MY BIRTHDAY MONTH! That means, I’m in high spirits! To celebrate my birthday, I invite ALL of you to download my debut novel, MOONGLOW, entirely FREE during October! Here’s how:

Visit http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/62372 -Initiate purchase. You’ll be asked to register. Do so quickly. Next up, you’ll see a “coupon code” box. Enter LZ69G and complete checkout. You’ll be able to download MOONGLOW in any e-book format, absolutely FREE!

The best gift you can give me is your feedback! After having a read, sound off on MOONGLOW’s official site, Smashwords & Amazon.com‘s comments pages,  here on this blog, MOONGLOW’s blog, via e-mail, on Twitter or Tumblr — doesn’t matter. I just hope you enjoy what I’ve created! Even if you don’t, I’d love to hear from you! :D

Thanks, everyone! Cheers!

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Birthday Goat, Birthday Flan

September 6, 2011

I know meaty fare has become quite rare around here lately but I took the liberty of fixing a special something for a special friend celebrating a birthday today, Sept. 6th!

Firstly, goat is an amazing protein to work with. Many don’t brave it because of its characteristic gaminess but, really, I don’t think it’s that gamey at all. Reguardless, to tame out that taste/scent, simply rinse your goat meat in lemon juice and/or use with lemon (or lime) and apple cider vinegar in your marinade ingredients. Marinade should take no less than an hour. Most prefer to marinade goat overnight. Your call.

For this recipe, I marinaded my goat in a puree of the following:

1/2 cup olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
4 garlic cloves
1 tsp. summer savory
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. fennel powder
generous handful cilantro
generous handful flat leaf parsley

Puree all ingredients in a blender . Set aside.

Your cuts of goat will determine how you marinade. I had a variety of hind, ribs and leg so I marinaded the lot of it in huge ziplock plastic bags. Put goat in the bag(s). Pour marinade in. Seal bag and manhandle the bags to evenly distribute the goods throughout your meat. Place in refrigerator no less than 1 hour, preferably over night. I marinaded for 4 hours.

When it’s time to cook, remove goat from fridge. Let come to room temperature on the counter. This allows the protein to spend its time cooking instead of having to heat up in the pan from a refrigerated state

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

Heat skillet (cast iron is ideal) on stovetop. No need to add fat to the skillet since we’ll be searing with the marinade coating.

When water finger-sprinkled into the skillet rolls away and evaporates quickly, add goat. You know you’re doing great when you hear that SIZZLE! Get all sides of the goat to an attractive golden brown, about 8-10 minutes, all around. Remove meat to a prepared roasting tray, (foil lined works)

Roast in oven for 10-15 minutes for rare (as pictured). 20-25 minutes for medium rare. Longer for anything higher. :p

Remove from oven when done and allow to rest a good 10-15 minutes before carving.

That said, here’s what I paired the goat with!

First, I sauced the plate with a Tomatillo  sauce made from the following:

2 tomatillos, husked, rinsed (must rinse away that sticky residue).
1/2 large white onion
2 serano peppers, halved, deveined/seeded. (Leave veins in if you prefer more heat)
2 garlic cloves, halved

Toss tomatillos, onions, peppers & garlic in good olive oil with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until tomatillos begin to blister.

Remove from oven. Transfer all veggies with any pan juice to a blender. To that, add:

Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp cumin
Handful cilantro
Handful flat leaf parsley

Puree. Test for seasoning. If happy, set aside till ready to plate.

For the orange droplets, that sauce was actually made from red tomatoes! Here’s how:

2 medium sized tomatoes, halved and sliced
1/2 large white onion, sliced
1 tbsp. good olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
pinch cumin
pinch sage
pinch red pepper flakes

Sweat onions and tomatoes. Saute till cooked down and juicy. Remove to blender and puree. Allow to cool a bit. Then, strain through sieve and/or cheesecloth. You will stay with the prettiest, silkiest sauce. Reserve till time to plate.

Next, let’s talk about mushrooms! I served a saute of baby portabellos (baby bellas) and sliced shallots beneath the goat. That was prepared like this:

8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, thick sliced
1 large shallot, halved and sliced
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp olive oil

Heat olive oil in skillet. Add shallots and mushrooms together and cover, instantly. Keep heat medium-ish to low and allow nature to do her thing. The veggies will sweat under that lid. After 5 minutes, uncover and check their progress. Agitate a bit but try not to stir everything too much. Just move it around a bit. Recover. Rinse/repeat till mushrooms and shallots are cooked down and surrounded in their own juice. Remove from heat and reserve till time to plate.

As for those white flecks! Those are a mixed dice medley of turnip and chayote squash!.

1/2 Chayote Squash
1 small turnip

Fine dice each. For presentation in this recipe, I mix-matched the fine dice to give plating an abstract art effect.

Steam dice for 30 minutes with fresh tarragon, dried summer savory and finish with a spray of lime to balance the culmination of the recipe with some acidity and tartness. Remove from steam and reserve till time to plate.

Garnish all this with some fresh, lemon sprayed alfalfa sprouts. Plate, serve, enjoy!

For dessert, I made a Prickly Pear infused Flan, topped with toasted coconut & toasted walnuts! I’ll post the recipe for this at a later date.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fun cooking for a fun friend. :) Thanks so much for being who you are, Debs! Happy Birthday!

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Sardinas a la Mexicana

August 4, 2011

Here’s a quick, no-cook way to enjoy canned sardines an old Mexican way. Of course, this technique is not specific to Mexico. There are a variety of cultures that mash up sardines with veggies, especially in countries where means are thin and meals must be stretched to their greatest extents. Good thing about them sardines is they’re JAM PACKED with calcium! With these fresh vegetables, this is a very healthy dish.

My great grandparents (on both sides) were Mexican immigrants. On my mother’s side, her grandfather LOVED making this! He especially loved making it with her. As a little girl, no older than 8 or 9, she remembers peeking over the kitchen counter to watch her granddaddy, Tomas Zertuche, mash up a can of sardines and mix it up with fresh, vibrant vegetables. As I grew up, mom always made this for us as a snack. We just had this yesterday (hence, the pictures) and it brought back fond memories, as all “family recipes” do. :p No mater if it’s made from scratch or compiled like this, anything we share with people we love is special!

Mash up a can of sardines in tomato sauce. Dump a heap of diced cilantro, serano peppers, red onion over your mush. Additionally, you may add diced tomato, garlic, avocado and lemon or lime juice. But we like it just like this. And you may adjust the heat by adding or taking away serano peppers (or using different peppers. Your call). I used two — one green, one red because it was aged a bit.

Tomato sauce!

Dump that sauce alllllll over your mush! :p

Mix it all up w/ additional powdered comino (cumin) and freshly ground black pepper.

You can see the char marks on my tortillas. I love heating up a corn tortilla over the open stove flame. But you can heat them on an iron skillet, too. An outdoor grill rocks, too! Roll into fire roasted corn tortillas (or whatever tortilla you prefer) or use as chip dip and enjoy!

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Autumn Blues – Sasha Pivovarova, Hugo by Hugo Boss, A/W 2011-2012

July 6, 2011

 

Sasha Pivovarova & James Dornan in “Autumn Blues,” for Hugo by Hugo Boss, Autumn/Winter 2011-2012.

Images sourced from Fashion Gone Rogue.

Sasha — as always — is flawless here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Doro, Norgie & Katrin!

July 6, 2011

A minimalist, sensual spread featuring some of my very favourite girls — Amanda Nørgaard, Dorothea Barth Jörgensen, and Katrin Thormann. I just about died when I saw this in my e-mail this morning. :)

Stockholm A/W 11
Photography: Kai Z. Feng
Styling: James Valeri

Sourced from TFS: Dorothea Barth Jörgensen – Page 18 – the Fashion Spot http://forums.thefashionspot.com/f52/dorothea-barth-j-rgensen-125457-18.html#ixzz1RL0BxG7m

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lunch At Formosa Garden!

June 21, 2011

Had a delightful lunch at Formosa Garden in San Antonio, Texas, with my brother and best friend today! Everything was quite good so I felt compelled to blog about it. Good excuse for a “return to this blog” post, I think.

Going in!

Crazy Roll ($7.95) – 8 pieces of Tuna, Salmon, Hamachi, Tai, Masago, and spicy green onion — deep fried. I really loved the fishy scent and taste. The light batter creates perfect texture; bit crispy but not crunchy. Delicate and delightful!

The Uzura (Quail Egg) ($1.95) was soooo lush and silky. Of course, if you’re a runny yolk kinda person (like me!) this is something you’d enjoy and I recommend it but the lack of nori wrap and no masago (smelt roe) was disheartening. Still quite good!

 

Hokkigai (Surf Clam) ($3.95)! Chewy, oceany. Love these. :)

:)

Lunch entree of Formosa Pad Thai (Tofu & Shrimp only) w/ fried rice, egg roll ($7.75) & a munched-on crab flavoured cheese puff (4 for $2.00). Pad Thai really needed more peanuts but they were good enough to hold the chicken in my dish so that was cool. Egg roll went to my best friend. So did my brother’s egg roll. Our best friend, The Rhino, is the boss of all egg rolls. :o

Spirits! Long Island Iced Tea (6.50)! They even put me a maraschino cherry. :p

Chocolatini ($6.50)! This was really good. Strong, chocolaty, even butterscotchy.

My brother had the Three Delight. Rhino had the Emperor’s Fish and three Long Island Iced Teas. Unfortunately, he dropped the third one and broke the glass! :p

If you’re in town and looking for some good Asian cuisine, stop in for lunch or dinner. They have a full bar, sushi bar & some full blown Hibachi fun. Visit them on the web at http://www.formosagarden.com/index.html to browse their full menu and get directions. Located at 1011 N.E. Loop 410, they’re really easy to find.

Enjoy!

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I’M PUBLISHED! MOONGLOW, A Sci-Fi Lesbian Romance Set In A Future Fashion World, OUT NOW for All eReaders!

June 3, 2011

 

THIS IS SURREAL!

My novel has been 8 years in the making. It brings me all sorts of glee to finally be able to release the world and characters of MOONGLOW onto the world! I self published via Smashwords.com and can’t thank them enough for their excellent, comprehensive service.

Please visit its official site/blog at: http://moonglownovel.wordpress.com

Please LIKE my novel on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/MoonglowRomance

Follow MOONGLOW on Twitter & Tumblr and — most importantly — BUY IT AT A SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICE OF $2.99! Hurry, though! It will rise to its regular price of $6.99 soon! MOONGLOW is available for all eReaders, (Kindle, Nook, Sony eReader, iPhone, iPad, etc).

Smashwords Purchase link: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/62372

Amazon Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0054GZ794

I’m pleased to announce that I’ve signed up for Operation eBook Drop so all deployed service women and men who are part of the program will receive a coupon to download MOONGLOW from Smashwords.com FREE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Happy Birthday, Jesica Hurst!

May 4, 2011

I’m beyond excited to put the shine on an incredible, talented, fascinating friend of mine! To make a long story short, it was about two years ago that one of my best friends from Berlin turned me onto A Day To Remember‘s “If It Means A Lot To You.” Heard the song, loved it. I always enjoy hearing covers so I paid attention to the videos in the side bar on YouTube and noticed this black & white video of a girl covering it. FYI, 99.9% of the music I love is girl-sung so I clicked that first video and was absolutely blown away! It was Jes’ cover. :) The rest is history!

Since then, she’s turned me onto some of my favourite music on the planet, including my favourite band of all time, Tegan & Sara. The first time I heard T&S was on Jes’ Facebook page. There was a video link to “The Con” that I could not get over. Also, “Call It Off” which remains my favourite T&S song of all time. Jes is also responsible for my infatuation with Alison Sudol and A Fine Frenzy. Her dancing to “Electric Twist” is probably one of the most fabulous things on Earth. Most recently? OH LAND, who is miraculous. Needless to say, Jes is the best damn jukebox I’ve ever come across.

What I love most about Jes’ music is she sings soul-to-mouth direct, no filter. If it’s a cover, she makes it her own. If it’s an original, we’re gripped with curiosity as to why she wrote what she did. I like to think that the best way to get to know an artist is to absorb what they create. With Jes’ music, we can hear and admire all we want but if we REALLY listen — just listen — we have the pleasure of learning so much. I consider myself among the fortunate who have gotten to know Jes before she’s all ultra famous with tons of records and tours and tear-sheets and editorials and whatever else she feels like conquering. :p

She was also a huge inspiration and muse over the past two years that I’ve worked on my novel. Ohhhh, how I wish I could elaborate for all of you but at this stage of the game, it’s best I say little else. Jes knows what I mean, though! So that’s well enough. :D

A native Canadian, Jes is a model, a musician and writer for her university paper, The Gazette (at Western). She’s also ultra radiant, cupcake-sweet & blindingly bright. How fortunate are we to have a friend like this in our lives? Oh, she’s also Vegan! Sooooooooooo~

~I decided to shoot a spread of 100% Vegan yummies for this special occasion! (I’ll fill in the recipes later. If I typed those out, I’d never get this posted! So stay tuned!)

Asparagus soup with Crispy Fried Wontons & Caramelized Shallots, Celery Leaf & Sea Salt Garnish

Lentil & Sweet Potato Sauté with Caramelized Shallots

Garlic Hummus Tostadas with Lettuce & Radicchio Chiffonade, Black Olive Rounds, Diced Tomato & Lemon Zest. Served w/ Tomato Slices & Lemon Wedge

Spread shots!

Banana Cupcakes with Lemon-Banana Glaze, Sifted Powdered Sugar & Sweet Banana Chips Garnish (Made these with an awesome fruity organic Olive Oil!!!)

Peanut Butter & Banana Chia Pudding made with plain soy milk, garnished with Grapefruit Zest & Agave Nectar

Jes doesn’t drink so I made a yummy virgin refreshment! This is Hibiscus Tea sweetened with Agave Nectar & Freshly Squeezed Grapefruit Juice, Sprinkled with Grapefruit Zest. Perfect tartness!

Dessert spread!

Lookie! Lilies! ;p (Get it, Jes? hehe!)

Also, I took the liberty of commissioning my artist friend, Virginia Hilton, to put together some Jes-inspired portraits:

This world is full of amazing people; among them, those that leave an impact on others. Jes, you’ve had a profound impact on me — often, without you knowing it — and I appreciate the quality of you more than you know. Many thanks for the dazzling ride your life has been thus far and to many, many more decades to come! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUGAR! CHEERS!

Keep up with everything Jes is doing at these links:

http://jesicahurst.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/JesicaAtGazette
http://westerngazette.ca/author/jesica-hurst/
http://youtube.com/jeshurst

And DO check out her song “Save Me” — (a personal favourite) — at her MySpace here: http://www.myspace.com/jesshurstmusic

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Freja Rocks!

April 22, 2011

Clawing the walls over  how awesome this spread is! Called “Diva.” Styled by Melanie Ward. Shot by Inez & Vinoodh for Vogue Paris, May 2011. I’m speechless; reduced to pure staring mode. Photos sourced from Fashion Gone Rogue.

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Happy Birthday, Rebecca & Beth!

April 10, 2011

I feel awful for getting to this a bit late but here’s a spread I shot for my friends’ 17th Birthdays on April 6th, 2011! Happy Birthday, Rebecca & Beth Hackfath! Two of the coolest, sweetest English twins on the planet!

Stay sweet, forever! :)

These are White Orange & Lemon Citrus Cupcakes w/Strawberry Buttercream Icing & Filling, Wrapped in Strawberry Slices, garnished w/ Sliced Strawberries, Orange Zest, Chocolate Mint & Pink/Lavender/Light Green Sprinkles!

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It’s a Freja Kinda Day

April 1, 2011

Freja on the brains today! Not sure why. She’s amazing and fabulous in every way so a perfect daily obsession!

Here she is in a recent campaign for Santa Lolla‘s Fall 2011 Accessories line, shot by Henrique Gendre.

Making-Of Videos from the Campaign:

Breath thief!  Sign me up for some Freja overdose any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Photos sourced from Fashion Gone Rogue.

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St. Patrick’s Day Vegan Cobbler

March 19, 2011

Of course, had to make green things for St. Patrick’s Day 2011! :)

Here’s a super easy cobbler; recipe jacked off Paula Dean. It doesn’t get more simple than this and the results are exquisite! Comforting, sweet, fruity; rather reminiscent of what we call, in Spanish, Capirotada.

Also, building off the principles of Vegan baking, I subbed in some of these ingredients (via LIVESTRONG). (Sorry, Paula! :p)

Ingredients

1 Cup Self-Rising flour
1/2 cup + 1/2 cup raw cane sugar
1/2 cup diced peaches
1 cup diced pears
1/2 stick vegan butter
1 cup water
Pinch Cardamom
3-4 Pinches Cinnamon
2 Pinches powdered ginger
All Natural Green Food Dye (I use Seelect or make my own.)
Mint leaf for garnish
Coloured Sanding Sugars for Garnish (I made yellow and green). I don’t think India Tree Sanding Sugars are Vegan so make your own this way. I do!

For Pudding:

1 cup plain (or vanilla, your call) Almond Milk. (You may use Coconut Milk or Soy, as well.)
1 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp arrowroot powder
1 tsp extract of your choice. I used Pistachio Extract).
1 tsp Agave Nectar
Pinch of salt
Minced pears, peaches, sweetened dried cranberries
1-2 drops green food dye

Here we go!

Slice up Vegan Butter, place in 9×7 baking dish (I use one of my favourite pyrex vessels). Place in oven to melt completely. (Baking dish is not set in stone. You may bake this in something similar sized and feel free to adjust ingredients to bake larger batches in larger vessels).

Meanwhile, combine peaches, pears, water & half-cup cane sugar in sauce pan. Simmer, allow to reduce by half. The water, fruits and sugar will make a nice syrup.

While that’s working its magic, combine flour, cane sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and salt in bowl and stir to combine. LISTEN TO YOUR ELDERS & BETTERS! JUST LIKE MISS PAULA SAID, YOU WILL RUIN THIS RECIPE WITH THE WRONG FLOUR! If you don’t have self-rising flour, add a few teaspoons of baking powder and a pinch of salt to whatever you’re using. 2 or 3 tsps of baking powder should do the trick.

Slowly pour milk into dry ingredients and stir as you go. Stir with a spoon or whisk, your preference, till lumps are gone but don’t beat it to death.

Carefully remove baking dish from oven. Pour batter directly onto the butter. DO NOT STIR!

Next, ladle fruit directly onto batter in a bit of a scatter. ONCE AGAIN, DO NOT STIR! (It’s good to get a good amount of syrup in there, too, so your cobbler will be nice and juicy if you prefer it hot. Personally, I don’t use too much of the syrup but feel free to play with the ratio and find your comfort zone with baking this dish).

Sprinkle some coloured sanding sugar over the top for a bit of drama on the finished product.

Bake at 375-400 F (190-200 C) for 45 minutes. May be served piping hot, warm, room temperature or cold. In the pictures below, I chilled mine in the fridge and served it cold. I love the set state’s appearance. :p ~Also, serve with whatever you like; ice cream, whipped topping, fruit compote, jam, drizzles, plain. I served it with pudding!

For Pudding:

COMPLETELY dissolve cornstarch in bowl with 1 cup of milk.

Combine arrowroot, other cup of milk, agave nectar & salt in sauce pan. Stir to dissolve arrowroot powder. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.

Stir in cornstarch slurry and continue to simmer until thickened. It’s gonna happen fast so watch for it!

Remove from heat, add extract, cranberries, pears, peaches and a few drops of green food dye. Stir to combine. Pour into dish and cover lightly with plastic wrap so that the plastic touches the surface of the pudding. This prevents a film from forming on the top. Put in fridge to cool.

You can cool till the cobbler is done and top with semi-set pudding or wait till later and top fully set, cold pudding on a cooled cobbler. If, when you remove your pudding from the fridge and it seems it separated in any way, just stir it up again and it’ll be fine.

ADDITIONALLY, YOU MAY USE ANY STORE BOUGHT VEGAN PUDDING, such as Zen Soy. It will save you a lot of time. Vanilla is a good flavour to build on for this but Banana works awesome, too. Just dump your pudding in a bowl, add minced fruit, food dye, stir to combine, reserve till ready to serve.

Plate Cobbler. Top with pudding. Garnish with a mint leaf.

Post-Bake:

Plated & Ready for Face-Stuffing:


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Freja Beha Erichsen & Arizona Muse ~ R.I.P. Charlie Romo, 1980-2011

March 15, 2011

I’ve officially died and gone to Heaven. Here are two of the most fascinating and beautiful women on Earth for Numéro #121, March 2011, in “Bal de la Couture,” shot by Karl Lagerfeld. Beyond representing how flawless the human race can really be, the styling by Capucine Safyurtlu recreates a classic glamour that invokes body-wide goosebumps. Unreal, alluring — perfection. :D

Hair by Sam McKnight, make-up by Peter Philips & nails by Anny Errandonea.
Sourced from Noir As Night.
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I’ve Been Assimilated!

March 3, 2011

I joined Tumblr! I had a long-standing issue where, if I clicked to join, I’d be served a “Not Found” error. To my glee, (and the chagrin of my productivity, no doubt), it’s working now.

http://moonglowlounge.tumblr.com/

Come out! Come out! Wherever you are! ~ Follow! Follow! Follow! Follow! Follow the. . . etc., etc.

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Fashion Week Yummy Treats – Lunch on Day 1 of Milan Fashion Week

February 23, 2011

I’ve been taking a bunch of pictures of goodies I’ve been making since Fashion Season (Autumn/Winter 2011-2012) began but I haven’t blogged any of it! So! Here’s what I made today, the first day of Milan Fashion Week:

Blueberry, Wheatgrass, Tangerine, Apple, Mango, Almond Milk Smoothie

Super easy here!

Handful freshly clipped Wheatgrass
1/2 pint blueberriees
2 red apples
2 mangoes
2 tangerines
2 cups almond milk

Combine almond milk, blueberries and wheatgrass in a blender. Blend about 30 seconds. Strain. Reserve juice, dispose of pulp.
Next, juice apples, mangoes, tangerines and reserve pulp for use in anything, really! Cakes, breads, pies, fritters, empanadas, even a fruity vegan burger of some kind.
Pour blueberry/wheatgrass/almond milk into glass. Fill with mango/apple/tangerine juice. It will make that cool looking orange-ish effect at the frothy top. Garnish with a tangerine round and tangerine zest and enjoy!

Alternatively, you can make your wheatgrass juice and blend it with everything else in a Vitamix. But I wanted more of a juicy-juice w/ the only “smooth” component being the almond milk, (which itself is actually a juice. Just… milky!)

Now, I say to strain out the wheatgrass/blueberry because the wheatgrass itself is non-digestible by humans. I didn’t know that when I first started messing with it and chewed it up, no problem AND never had any stomach or digestive issues. I still like to nibble on the blades sometimes but I’ll take the advice of elders and betters and not gobble down the grass itself. :p Only juice!

Spring/Summer Sauté

This was a super fast and super delicious saute to toss together, especially if you’re cramped on time or just don’t feel like a multi-hour ritual in the kitchen.

1 yellow zucchini
1 cup fresh green beans, ends trimmed, cut in half (or not, your call. French them if you want!)
1/2 purple onion, sliced
handful cilantro
Juice of 1 tangerine
sprig of rosemary (run your fingers down the sprig to remove the rosemary. No need to chop it but you can if you want).
pinch of cardamom
2-3 pinches regular or Hungarian paprika
1-2 grinds of red pepper flake mill
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste (or grains of paradise instead of pepper)
Tangerine zest
Good olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic, sliced (dice, mince, even add whole and remove at the end if you prefer. Depends on how strong a garlic flavour you enjoy but I like it hearty so used fresh, sliced garlic).

We want to work quickly here.

First, heat olive oil in a skillet. Sauté onion 1 minute. Add pinch of sea salt. Add garlic and sauté an additional minute.
Add green beans, squash, rosemary, cilantro, all the spices and sauté aggressively for 5-6 minutes. Keep things moving so it all cooks evenly.
Add tangerine juice and sauté another 3 minutes, aggressively. Check for seasoning. If no further salting or peppering is necessary, move on.
Plate. Garnish with fresh tangerine zest, bushel of cilantro and rosemary sprig. Serves 2.

I was starving so I ate the whole thing. :p

This is a yummy seasonal dish! Feel free to add nuts when the spices go in, if you like. Macadamias would be really good. Or almonds! Anything you enjoy, really. :)

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Fakery Swings Around Again!

February 8, 2011

If you follow me on Twitter, you know how religious I am about my #ModelMonday lists. I spam you lot with that list because I feel it’s rather important to showcase AUTHENTIC model accounts considering the prevalence of fakes that slither around cyberspace. I’ve been fooled myself! it’s true. I ALWAYS appreciate anyone who has input on this subject so if you see me carrying on with someone you suspect or know is invalid, plz let me know! I enjoy keeping up with this list so that we know we’re getting on with the real deal — not posers. I think it’s unfortunate for some out there to pretend to be people so many admire. It’s rather cruel, especially when their followers look up to the model or celebrity they are pretending to be. Beside all that, I absolutely adore these women who work so diligently at what they do. They don’t deserve to be misrepresented.

That said, just wanted to bring another fake to your attention:

http://www.twitter.com/NataliePack

Folks, this is NOT Natalie Pack, contestant on America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 12. This person has built a bit of a social network out of pretending to be her, which you can find here.

It was a couple of weeks ago that this account began Tweeting to me in response to my #ModelMonday lists. I didn’t notice anything fishy at first and spoke back and forth with it for a bit.  One day, it was uploading some of Natalie’s sexier pix w/ suggestive messages which raised a red flag with a friend of mine. “Something isn’t right. What’s with all those ‘do-me’ uploads?” she asked and it inspired some research!

I began by looking at her followers. You know there aren’t ANY industry professionals in there? A scant few have trickled in VERY RECENTLY but if one goes back to the very begging of that account, its followers consist of a plethora of Indonesian and other Asia-Pacific rooted accounts. One would suspect her co-stars from ANTM would follow her but they don’t. Granted, not all of them follow each other but it raised some curiosities. That said, I wanted to look at the folks this account converses with back and forth. It was no surprise that I found a hive of fakery, including the notorious fake @ImLilyDonaldson.

Here she is carrying on with Lily-Monster (July 28, 2010):

As if Jess Stam blowing that fake’s cover weren’t enough, here’s an example of the trickery it has been up to recently:

Visit @VSAngelsNation, please, and look at Tweets for Feb. 4th, 2011. This RT does not exist.

Lookie here:

Firstly, look at that. Bugging Coco Rocha if she knows the “real accounts” of other models? Really? Other industry professional girls do that? Not the ones I know. Young fangirls are some of the more prominent members of society up to that. Additionally, I see it A LOT with young Asian-Pacific users so that linked something familiar in my brains. ~Anyway, Natalie-Monster KNEW of the proof that Lily-Monster is, indeed, a monster (Aug. 3rd [sorry for the photo .jpg name, I mistyped "9"]) yet wished it a Happy Birthday on:

Jan. 27th, I told it that that Lily account is fake and that’s the response it gave. I can’t link or photo the Birthday message because it deleted it that day but, considering it had a clue back in August, why be jolly to Lily-Monster now? Monsters (Fakes) have each other’s backs, I guess.

Here is Natalie-Monster getting on with Eniko-Monster. That account – @EnikoMihalik – no longer exists because it was a grand fake, (outed by Ford  & Marilyn not too long ago). Oh, and that @Santiago_Jess? Fake, too. @BUILT4theRUNWAY, same, and no longer exists.

Let’s have a wee peek at other accounts that “no longer exist” circulating around Natalie-Monster


@MeaghanWaller no longer exists.


@AngeleaPreston no longer exists. And that particular account is a revolving door of name-changes:

@TheRealAngelea does not exist.

I imagine those fake accounts refer to this person:

http://twitter.com/IamAngelea

I think that account is legit. Much back & forth between Angelea and her agency, (and other industry contacts). I DO recall Natalie Monster getting some responses out of her, and when matters of Natalie’s cell number came up, Natalie Monster said it was using a friend’s phone and would get back to Angelea at a later time. Can’t find the screenshot but, suffice it to say, Angelea doesn’t follow Natalie Monster and I saw no further exchanges after that.


@CrissyWright does not exist. And check out that #FF lol. Telling.


Oh, look! A Fake All-Star!


@jenniferan_antm does not exist.


@awnie does not exist.

@KatarzynaANTM10 does not exist. And THIS is the one I found most profane. Notice Natalie-Monster mentions a funeral. Here’s where that came from:

Shame on this person for exploiting a tragedy in Natalie’s life for the sake of looking authentic. That is horrid, parasitic behaviour. Shame on them!

You guessed it! @marianne__m does not exist. I’d like you to pay close mind to something, though:

Note the use of the word “stuffs.”

In reguards to walking for David Alexander. “Stuffs.”

Tweeting to @teyona_anderson: More “stuffs!” And, really? Slapping Ford in the face saying something like that in public (albeit digital)? Also, real Natalie is a Cali girl. I know Cali girls; models, party girls, book worms, etc. I’ve never heard any of them say “stuffs” the way these people do. So, any suggestion that it’s “Cali-talk” can walk the plank. ALSO! Note the date on this exchange. Dec 20th, 2010. We will revisit this later.

Love this bit about moving to New York. Pity we never really heard much about it after this date. Once this impostor got a hold of Vacationing in Bali and Jakarta and carrying on about other Pan-Asian destinations, that fantasy fluttered off.

Contract extended, huh? :D According to this: http://www.facebook.com/OfficialNataliePack?v=wall

…we are to assume she means Ford. Also note, this Facebook seems to have been founded in Mid-January, 2011.

How droll the things one can learn if one just asks. :) According to Damien at Ford — (he’s ace and needs to be followed!) — real Natalie Pack was dropped in October. It seems Natalie-Monster wasn’t aware of this. Pity that. :p

If all this doesn’t paint a fairly clear picture of the tomfoolery at play, there’s more! Let’s have a look at some Tweets and you tell me if this sounds like a professional of any kind:

Slamming Teyona Anderson AND musing on … theft of an Armenian Bible? O_o

Then nice to her. I’m sure Teyona didn’t know she was on with a hot air balloon but perhaps she has a clue now. If that’s her at all. Seems like it is, though.

Name of an old fake account.

Professionals just don’t do this. Castings/Campaigns are not for the public domain oh-s0-brazenly. #GiveAway

Of all the rampant, juvenile ways to carry on. . .  It’s no secret real Natalie and Tyra Banks butted heads but Natalie’s public comments were suggestive but tasteful. She even mused that Tyra may show favouritism because the young African American girls remind her of herself when she was young. THIS above is light years away from that sentiment. In fact, it sounds like a pissed off fan hell-bent & godsmacked that their favourite contestant lost.

Then, calm to Tyra!

More juvenile harpings. And more “stuffs”!!!

Slams French Vogue. Because that’s what we do when we work in Fashion. We blast highly reguarded, potential employers because we’re rebels. #GimmeABreak.

:) #Mmhmm.

Jesus take the wheel… how old IS this person?!

Really? “Mom: There’s something you need to learn more. Me: which is? Mom: Repressing and keep smiling. Me: oookay

What does that even mean?! Natalie and — I would assume — her mother are college educated adults and Natalie is rather well-spoken. Are we REALLY to believe an exchange as erroneous as that took place? I’d marry a penguin if so.

OK! Now that we have all that. . . I was curious as to who this person carries on with the most. I found a fairly distinct jacket, one of which is this:

http://www.twitter.com/haileymonarch

Visit that account page and you will find the MAIN person, (nearly only peson), this account converses with is Natalie-Monster. Also note the inception date — April 13, 2010. Well, guess who else established an account in April!

Account established April 8th, 2010. And bothering poor Jared, no less!

These two sure go on and on and on and on and back and forth and sideways from Sunday about Bali and Jakarta and things associated with that region. We never read Natalie-Monster more abreast on the subject matter as we do here. Wonder why. :p

When looking at other accounts circulating around these two, I found:

http://twitter.com/#!/lauren_kitson

I find it oh so curious that the ONLY interview on Miss Lauren’s blog – http://lkfashionroll.blogspot.com/ — is a plug, patter and promotion for @NataliePack.


http://twitter.com/#!/haileymonarch/status/29541988940390400

So entertained by how this is promoted by Hailey and RT’d by Natalie-Monster. We’re swimming in red flags here! And, then, it gets better!

Let’s start with Hailey’s Twitpics:

Her babies, Bee & Penn, eh?

http://community.livejournal.com/dragonsooc/47588.html (found here among over a hundred other places. Either Bee & Penn are jetsetters or this is stock photography).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maltese.jpg Found here and on a dozen other sites.

With that, let’s move on to Lauren Kitson!

Erica the Amazing Photographer took these, huh?

http://www.spoki.lv/foto-izlases/crossfire/214543 – Maybe not. :p Found a few other places, too, including WeHeartit.com - http://weheartit.com/entry/4371241

http://weheartit.com/entry/2744069 – Swinging on a star over at WeHeartIt.com. Here again: http://weheartit.com/entry/4783224

One would THINK it ends there! Look what other mischief they’re up to! - http://twitter.com/#!/adaddario

That’s the bottom of Lauren’s following list. @adaddario is the first person it followed, huh?

And new, celebrated young actress follows back! Above is a shot of Lauren’s followers. See anyone else familiar up above?

This makes sense? What business would Alexandra Daddario have RT’ing and promoting someone who only has ONE article uploaded, and further, an article based on one we’ve already established as a grand fake.

Actually, I was going to let all this slide until I received this DM from Natalie-Monster:

Remember how we discussed the ‘do me” Tweets? Well I received a personal one! Sealed with a kiss! Instead of kissing back, though, I responded thusly:

After this, it blocked me. :p TELLING! ~Natalie doesn’t even HAVE an accent. . .

One thing I will mention but not detail out of respect for my friends and the friends of my friends is that I discovered who I believe to be the real Natalie pack and I have some mutual friends! Through poking through the who-is-who of it all, I can say with some devout certainty that this @NataliePack is NOT Natalie Pack. I think it’s an Indonesian fan that went into a tailspin. I tried to reach out. It would have been great to talk about all this because I believe people who pretend to be others online are doing so to fill some sort of void in themselves. I would have liked to help but the way this person is behaving:

How randy does it have to be? Jeez.

As an aside, let’s look at what others have to say:

I think this guy hit the nail on the head.

Now, I can’t speak to the validity of this post but — assuming it’s genuine — that is OCEANS apart from the salacious, mood-swinging rambles this hot mess has been Tweeting.

These images are screenshots of posts from RTVGames.com. Thanks to qwerty & fantaisie! Also, the vast majority of Natalie’s seemingly-personal pix can be found fluttering around in that forum’s thread and scattered about elsewhere. Once one sees enough, the photos one hasn’t found yet matter very little.

I think that’s QUITE enough! There’s more to all this skullduggery but if this doesn’t ring the bell for @NataliePack, I dunno what else could. If THAT is Natalie Pack, I’m Donald Duck.

In closing, I really hope this post was informative and enlightening.  All it takes is a bit of research and bravado to unearth the trickery that prevails online. I would encourage everyone to RT, re-post this write-up and unfollow/report @NataliePack because the real Natalie doesn’t deserve to be misrepresented that way. No one does.

To quote the late, great George Sanders as Addison DeWitt in All About Eve, “. . . I’m nobody’s fool. Least of all, yours.” Neither are you wonderful people who have been fooled by all this.

Thanks for reading! Spread the word!

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It Was a Taylor Swift Holiday!

January 16, 2011

This post is a long time coming. I feel bad for not having it up for 1) Taylor Swift‘s Birthday (Dec. 13th) 2) Christmas (Dec. 24-25th) 3) New Year (Dec. 31st-Jan. 1st). BUT! Let me just say, these holidays were celebrations to shame all celebrations previous! When I say I partied, I can’t even TELL YOU the celebratory levels reached here. One of my favourite people on the PLANET does not turn 21 without a legendary bash. Take that as you will but, rest assured, no expense or inhibition was spared. :D

I’ll skip the gory swinging-from-chandeliers & hanging-out-windows details and get to:

MY TAYLOR SWIFT CHRISTMAS TREE!

You can tell by the date on the first video, things were INTENDED for timely posting but well. . . :p ~Better late than never! Now, this tree was insanely fun to shop and compose. It’s a standard inexpensive pink artificial tree (Wal-Mart! ♥), decorated in pink faux roses, tulle & organza (casual wrap & hand-sewn organza fans), authentic Ostrich & mixed feathers, solid white & pink lights as well as dancing white LED & purple rose lights. AND OF COURSE! a SINGING TAYLOR SWIFT DOLL adorned in feathers & feathered-Angel wings I attached to her myself ON TOP! It does NOT get more fabulous than Taylor Swift singing her heart out atop your Christmas Tree. I love this whole setup so much, I may NEVER take it down!

Taylor was an easy choice for a holiday theme. Anyone who knows me (even for less than five minutes) knows I absolutely worship her! She’s so authentic and inspiring. For me, Taylor embodies the idea that dreams really do come true. So she brought my little dream-tree to life. :)

The styling in this Lady Dior short by the amazing John Cameron Mitchell helped inspire my tree’s crown. The feathers, the glam of it all. Yeah.

And, now, for some of my Christmas presents!

I love this bear. :p She’s wearing a sweet “T-Party” t-shirt!

Pretty sure I inhaled that signature for a solid hour when it arrived. The Taylor Swift store on her official website had a 24 (or was it 48?) hour promotion. Buy “Speak Now” packaged w/ the holiday album and receive Taylor’s autograph! Hand-signed, no copies or anything. Like I WOULDN’T jump through hoops for that? It was a no-brainer. Instant order!

Via another web-promotion, picked up her “Speak Now” vinyl.

The Love Love Love! hat. :D A necessity, you betcha.

Group Shot!

I’m not done, either! I won’t rest till I have one of everything in her store, (including that guitar!)

So, overall, these were some of the best holidays I’ve ever had. The food was amazing, friends & family were amazing, the Taylor Swift gifts improved the quality of my life!

To wrap it up, HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, TAYLOR! Thx for everything! :D  ♥

Oh, and by the way, here’s her new “Back to December” video: (Love!)

And her spot for Cover Girl NatureLuxe: (Werq!)

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Dorothea Barth-Jörgensen by Hugh Lippe – The London Hang-Up – Exit Magazine

January 15, 2011

Sometimes I think things like this are done on purpose to shorten my life! It’s no secret that I adore Dorothea Barth-Jörgensen but the aura in this spread is like the split millisecond between a match being struck and it actually catching fire. I’m DYING for Doro here! ~I wonder what the character she plays is waiting for. . . or who? ;)

Photography by Hugh Lippe. Hair by Jeff Francis. Makeup by Kristin Gallegos.  Styling by Farah Pidgeon. Photos sourced from Fashion Gone Rogue.

Also, be sure to follow Doro’s blog, DISPLACED BONES, and follow her on Twitter here: http://www.twitter.com/DisplacedBones ~ NECESSARY!!!

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Julia Nobis & Melissa Tammerijn for Proenza Schouler, Spring 2011 Campaign

January 13, 2011

Absolutely NEEDED this campaign on this blog. So ethereal, calm & sensual. Julia Nobis and Melissa Tammerijn radiate in Proenza Schouler’s Spring 2011 shots by Willy Vanderparre. Photos sourced from TFS.

I just lose my ability to breathe or speak over this campaign. DEF recommend reading Julia Frakes‘ write-up on it over on her Tumblr here.

Oh, and for the curious and/or clueless: How to pronounce “Proenza Schouler!” :p

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Freja Beha Erichsen, Caroline Brasch-Nielsen & Julia Saner – Valentino S/S 2011 Campaign

January 11, 2011

One can never have too much Freja! Here she is w/ Caroline Brasch-Nielsen & Julia Saner, featured in Valentino‘s Spring/Summer 2011 Campaign in delicate, delightful black & white! I’m beside myself over the shot of Freja in those sunnies… Shot by David Sims. Photos sourced from Fashion Gone Rogue.

Happy 1-11-11 Day, btw! Perfect time to make some wishes & put everything you’ve got into making them come true!

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