cakedeco1

Cake Decorators Do you know how safe are food sweeteners?

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:53:10 GMT

Cake Decorators Do you know how safe are food additives?

Hi:

I like to thank you all for the emails sent during the holiday season, and for all those questions and comments about the food colors information.

Today, I will present you the new sweetener in the market. A product that according to Pure Circle, the largest supplier of Reb A (RebaudiosideA), derived from stevia plant is bake-stable.

Researching about stevia plant, I found that this plant has being historically used in South America to sweeten the tea. There is a lot of information about the controversial history of the sweet food additives that we use in our kitchen.

In the web site www.foodeducate.com/blog/2008/12/18/the-unnatural-history-of sweet-from sugar to stevia, you will find a very well done historical account of sweet food additives that had been approved by FDA and then banned some years after being determined to be dangerous to human. Stevia was banned in 1991 or considered unsafe for the use of humans. Although unresolved questions remain concerning whether metabolic processes can produce a mutagen from stevia in animals, the early studies prompted the European Commission to ban stevia’s use in food in the European Union, pending further research: Singapore and Hong Kong have banned it also. However, more recent data compiled in the safety evaluation released by the World Health Organization in 2006 suggest that policies may be obsolete. On December 2008, 18 years after the FDA deemed it unsafe, stevia is granted GRAS status (Generally Regarded as safe).

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, in their web site, under food safety/food additives link, you will find alphabetically listed additives today in the market. It will tell you, which are safe, which to cut back and the reason to do so, which avoid, and which not to use. Scroll down to stevia. I invite you to visit: www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm or www.cspinet.org/foodsafety/additives_stevia.html

One of the basic ingredients of our trade is sugar. It is our responsibility as bakers and cake decorators to be informed of the quality of the products we place in our cakes and cookies. I suggest you to search for the pros and cons of additives like saccharin, aspartame, sucralose and stevia and how they can affect the health of our customers and family.

I invite you to read carefully today information and visit the links, for you to be able to make the best decision of what type of additives to place in your food.

In the mean time, I will use sugar anytime. Happy Cake Decorating.

Marivi Bassabe

Cake Decorators and crafters: Conceptual awareness in a design.

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:11:13 GMT

Cake Decorators and crafters: Conceptual awareness in a design.

In any cake design, the most important consideration is conceptual awareness. All cake compositions begin with an artist’s conceptual awareness—“the idea” for the presentation of the specific occasion request.

Technically, conceptual awareness is “visual literacy.” Visual literacy is a competence in visual expression and communication. It involves insights and skill no less disciplined than those required for proficiency in engineering and construction.

A decorated cake is a composition, a structure composed of various materials. The manner in which the artist presents these materials creates a visual communication. Therefore, a decorated cake is a visual structure which communicates to the viewer.

Acquiring the professional skills to communicate through cake design is no different from learning how to communicate verbally. Cake decorating as a method of communication requires an artist to learn all the technical essentials of professional design. With this knowledge we develop and express our unique creative talents.

The creative foundation for every cake design is conceptual awareness. It is expressed in composition. Understanding composition and mastering the skill to present a persuasive creation is the mark of a professional cake decorator artist. If a cake design is not persuasive, it is no more than an obscure grouping of ingredients. A compelling composition is essential for a cake decorator to be distinctive, pleasing and remembered.

Simply stated, composition is the specific order in which an artist present all the visual components in a design. Composition includes the elements and principles of a design as well as the techniques used in deploying these ingredients.

In this times of uncertainty, when the global economic situation makes us wonder what is next. This is the time to make use of your conceptual awareness and get the materials needed for your creation that are available in the cake decorating market. Out there are very good sugar artist and suppliers of the sugar ornaments and flowers needed to suit your specific artistic need. It is the time to work together, and help each other to overcome these difficult times.

I am convinced that a cake decorator can function effectively in a commercial atmosphere if he respect and supports the creativity of others. I endorse the Gestalt theory of creativity which states that the whole is more that the sum of the parts. Collaborative design enables us to combine the talents of the finest artist for a product that is far better than any one artist could create on his own.

Best regards,

Marivi
www.marivis.com

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 18:20:35 GMT

Cake Decorators: Do you know How Safe are color additives?

It is very important for us, cake decorators and cold porcelain crafters, to know the importance of the request to the FDA by The Center of Science in the Public Interest to ban food dyes additives linked to children behavior problems.

Two things concern me about this request:

1. How this will impact our business, what colors can be used to tint the icing, gumpaste and fondant?.

The first is a problem that has an easy solution, search for natural food dyes. A growing number of natural food dyes are being commercially produced, partly due to consumer concerns surrounding synthetic dyes. Some examples include:

Caramel coloring, made from caramelized sugar, used in cola products and also in cosmetics.

Annatto, a reddish-orange dye made from the seed of the Achiote.

A green dye made from chlorella algae.

Cochineal, a red dye derived from the cochineal insect, Dactylopius coccus.

Beet juice

turmeric

saffron

paprika

To ensure reproducibility, the colored components of these substances are often provided in highly purified form, and for increased stability and convenience, they can be formulated in suitable carrier materials (solid and liquid).

In the USA, the following seven artificial colorings are permitted in food (the most common in bold) as of 2007:

FD&C Blue No. 1 - Brilliant Blue FCF, E133 (Blue shade)

FD&C Blue No. 2 - Indigotine, E132 (Dark Blue shade)

FD&C Green No. 3 - Fast Green FCF, E143 (Bluish green shade)

FD&C Red No. 40 - Allura Red AC, E129 (Red shade)

FD&C Red No. 3 - Erythrosine, E127 (Pink shade) ^[4]

FD&C Yellow No. 5 - Tartrazine, E102 (Yellow shade)

FD&C Yellow No. 6 - Sunset Yellow FCF, E110 (Orange shade)

2. What is more important for us, our children or greed?

The idea that food additives can cause hyperactivity in children was first proposed by allergy specialist Dr. Benjamin Feingold in 1975. This sparked international inquiry with mixed results. In a new study financed by Britain’s Food Standards Agency and published online by the British medical journal The Lancet researchers have conclusively confirmed this link. The study focused on a variety of food colorings in combination with sodium benzoate, a common preservative. In the six-week trial, researchers gave a randomly selected group of several hundred 3-year-olds and 8 and 9-year-olds drinks with color additives and sodium benzoate — a mix that mimicked children’s drinks that are commercially available. Their diet was otherwise controlled to avoid other sources of the additives.

A control group was given an additive-free placebo drink that looked and tasted the same.

All of the children were then evaluated for inattention and hyperactivity by parents, teachers and through a computer test. Neither the researchers nor the subject knew which drink any of the children had consumed.

The researchers discovered that children in both age groups were significantly more hyperactive and that they had shorter attention spans if they had consumed the drink containing the additives.

In response to the study, the Food Standards Agency advised parents to monitor their children’s activity and, if they noted a marked change with food containing additives, to adjust their diets accordingly, eliminating artificial colors and preservatives.

comprehensive 2004 meta-analysis of the medical literature concluded that artificial dyes affect children's behavior, and two recent studies funded by the British government found that dyes (as well as the preservative sodium benzoate) adversely affect kids' behavior. Unlike most previous studies, those British studies tested children in the general population, not children whose parents suspected they were sensitive to dyes. As a result, the British government is successfully pressuring food manufacturers to switch to safer colorings.

"We spent years trying to figure out the cause of our son's behavioral problems," said Judy Mann, of Silver Spring, Md. "For a long time, we thought the culprit was sugar. But when we started carefully monitoring everything he ate we were able to see that artificial dyes and preservatives were the problem. Since eliminating them the change has been positively stunning."

"The continued use of these unnecessary artificial dyes is the secret shame of the food industry and the regulators who watch over it," said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. "The purpose of these chemicals is often to mask the absence of real food, to increase the appeal of a low-nutrition product to children, or both. Who can tell the parents of kids with behavioral problems that this is truly worth the risk?"

Americans' exposure to artificial food dyes has risen sharply. According to the FDA, the amount of food dye certified for use was 12 milligrams per capita per day in 1955. In 2007, 59 mg per capita per day, or nearly five times as much, was certified for use. Dyes are used in countless foods and are sometimes used to simulate the color of fruits or vegetables

"The science shows that kids' behavior improves when these artificial colorings are removed from their diets and worsens when they’re added to the their diets," said Dr. David Schab, a psychiatrist at Columbia University Medical Center, who conducted the 2004 meta-analysis with his colleague Dr. Nhi-Ha T. Trinh. "While not all children seem to be sensitive to these chemicals, it's hard to justify their continued use in foods—especially those foods heavily marketed to young children.".

"It's almost impossible for parents to eliminate these chemicals from their kids' diets on their own. The FDA could make life a lot easier for parents and children by just getting rid of them."

"Banning these synthetic chemicals is certainly a far less drastic step than putting so many children on Ritalin or other potentially dangerous and sometimes-abused prescription stimulants," said Jacobson. "The food industry has known about this problem for 30 years, yet few companies have switched to safer colorings. We hope today is the beginning of the end for Yellow 5, Red 40, and these other dubious dyes."

CSPI's petition asks the FDA to require a warning label on foods with artificial dyes while it mulls CSPI's request to ban the dyes outright. CSPI also wants the FDA to correct the information it presents to parents on its web site about the impact of artificial food dyes on behavior. Joining CSPI's call are 19 prominent psychiatrists, toxicologists, and pediatricians who today co-signed letter urging members of Congress to hold hearings on artificial food dyes and behavior, and to fund an Institute of Medicine research project on the issue. Those doctors include L. Eugene Arnold, professor emeritus of psychiatry at Ohio State University; Bernard Weiss, professor of environmental medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry; and Stanley Greenspan, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at George Washington University Medical School.

Sources:

www.fda.gov

www.wikipedia.com

www.newstarget.com

www.medicalnewstoday.com

www.CSPI.org

Cake Decorators: The Law of Cause and Effect in our kitchen?

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 18:37:00 GMT

Cake Decorators: The Law of Cause and Effect in our kitchen?

How many times, when we decide to bake a cake, make a sugar flower or a special frosting, we end up frustrated because it does not come out as we expected? Why the frosting is runny or too stiff, either won/t stay in place or it grab big chunks of cake destroying it? Why the pastillage or gum paste flowers lose the shape or do not dry at all?

My friends, all these have an answer and it is in the way of The Law of Cause and Effect, because in this world, nothing happen by coincidence, everything has a reason to be.

For example: there are many reasons for the sinking of a cake. The causes can be too much butter, opening the oven and slamming the door to close it and this creates a change in temperature in the oven cavity, too much or too little baking powder, incorrect temperature, check for doneness too soon, and inserting a tester before the first 40 minutes lapse, any of these will make the cake sink.

If you get a big bump in the center, it its due to excess of temperature.. It is good to have an oven thermometer for cross reference. Too high temperature will cause the cake to rise in the center and many times burst like a volcano.

What about the frosting? Butter cream too runny needs more sugar. Eggs whites frosting (also know as Italian or Dominican) when it is runny probably the egg whites were not stiff enough or the syrup did not have the correct consistency (soft ball stage) about 240F degrees on the candy thermometer. If the rolled fondant is to brittle and cracks at the edges, it needs more kneading or you added to much glycerin. Glycerin is an emollient and too much will make the fondant brittle. If the fondant is too soft add more sugar and if it needs elasticity add 1 teaspoon of TyloseC or CMC.

When working with pastillage or gum paste, remember that sugar is hydroscopic, in other words, it absorb the humidity of the ambient. If the day is too humid, dry your work pieces inside the oven or the micro oven. Just turn on the oven light, but do not turn on the oven, pleaaase. If using the micro, just leave the door slightly open. The light inside the oven will dry the pieces, then once they are completely dry, place in a plastic box with a lid and close it.

Those are only some examples that things happen for a reason. If you do not follow instructions (the cause), you have to face the problems (the effect).

Same way in our daily life, the Law of Cause and Effect affect our lives. You may look for something more complex, by passing the law of cause and effect to explain the situation, it doesn’t matter how hard or long you look or how complicated you make it, at the end you will discover that you did something to wheel in motion sitting up the situation where you are at this moment.

The principle of cause and effect is an immutable Universal Principle encompassing the truth that nothing in the Universe can ever happen by chance, there is always a corresponding cause preceding it. Specially the way we live our life. The law of Universe is no respecter of persons in the sense that your own thoughts, decisions, and actions are the threads that create the fabric of your life, or in our own jargon, is the kind of ingredients we place in our cake. Knowing this, what are you putting out there? What sort of ingredients are mixing into our life? What type of energy will be greeting you in the not too distant future?

You can figure out where your life has been by the quality of your mental, emotional, physical and spiritual life today. What will you do to enhance your life?

Here is a simple and easy way to create always a positive cause and effect. All begins with our intentions;

If you love, praise, forgive, have compassion, respect others, have tolerance, find good in others, you will get love, praise, forgiveness, compassion, others will respect you, tolerate you and find good in you.

When you live with the intention of loving, giving, abundance, success and gratitude, the Universe, God, will create a future full of the same. Imagine your life being full of Love, Generosity, Abundance, Success and Gratitude. Because in this world nothing happen by coincidence and you get back what you give out.

God Bless you,

Marivi

How I let go of my sorrow

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:13:13 GMT

For the last 25 years, I have been planning, studying and learning different crafts with the inspiration of having someday my own business. Working full time with American Airlines and learning and practicing in my spare time, I discovered that my passion was to work with sugar, decorating cakes and making flowers and ornaments to decorate the cakes. Finally my hard work paid off and I was able to retire from the airline business and open my own, a cake decorating supply and craft store. Soon I discover that my mission in life was to teach the art of sugar craft and help others to make a living with their talents. Those that had the economic means to pay the classes did so. But those that were unable to afford the class also took them, through scholarships that I financed to make it possible for them to work from home and stay with their children. I was really happy with my store, because I had finally made my dream come true. People from South America and the Caribbean Islands came to the store to take special seminars. Others send their employees to my store to learn the art. The more people I helped, more customers show up at the store and the business flourished.

During the years 1996 to 2004 I was able to air a show in the local TV Station, teaching the art of sugar and the show became soon the back bone of my business.

On New Years Eve 2001, my husband was diagnosed with cancer, devastating news. Then in May, my son decided to marry an Italian girl and moved to Italy and in September 11 the Twin Towers were destroyed. On February 2004, my TV show was cancelled.

After the Twin Towers destruction, the national economy was shaken and so my little store. It was very difficult to make the ends meet. On February 2005 my store closed the doors. I decided to take the merchandise to a warehouse and prepared my home garage to set up a little store and the den, to give classes to small groups. I continued paying my taxes, employees reduced to only one and I continue struggling to survive. My husband bedridden was not able to help much.

During my ordeal, one of the teachers and good friend, that used to work in my store, decided to do the same I was doing. Hurt and full of greed because she did not succeed in the intent, call the authorities and denounced me having a business from my home. The authorities came to my house and demanded me to take everything out and forbid me to offer classes in my premises. They also fined me and gave 15 days to removed all items from my home.

In that precise moment, the dark night of my soul started. In my living room I had 18 pieces of art made in sugar. Each cake, showing different techniques, flowers and ornaments. They were my presentation card; it was my way of showing the people my knowledge and what they could learn from me. Each piece was done with meticulous care and love; many hours of hard labor were involved. Those exotics flowers, the innovative designs, with antique styles, both new and unique, were an integral part of me. Most of these show pieces were covered with transparent acrylic cases. What I was going to do with all that? Where could I place them? With no job, how could I survive and my family, my husband and my 87 years old mother?

I decided to call my students and friends and offer the display cases, all they needed to do was to take the show piece to the dump site and keep the acrylic display. Every show piece that left home felt like if a part of me was going with them.

But the worse is about to come, the four showpieces that did not had an acrylic cover.

What could I do with them? Silently I walk to the patio and sat behind the metal shack we had at the back of the house. Tears streamed down my face. The day was hot, a warm breeze touched my face, I raised my eyes and saw the blue sky and remembered the day I buried my father. I felt the same deep sorrow of breaking ties and the impotence of been unable to do anything to change the situation.

Slowly I enter the shack, grab a hammer and a black plastic bag and returned to my living room. I looked at them, solemnly, tears flooding my eyes. I noticed the beauty and perfection of the pieces, the top vase full of roses, orchids, exotics leaves and butterflies. Other with delicate filigrees, work that took me days to finish. The city of Jerusalem; with a manger, the wise men and the angel announcing the coming of Jesus, with a big shiny star at the top of the city. I don’t remember which was first. The tears did not let me distinguish one from another. I still remember the sound of the hammer against the sugar pieces, creating the sound of broken crystal hitting the ceramic floor. I don’t know how long it took me to destroy my pieces of art, I remember placing the black plastic bag in the van and driving to the dump site like a zombie. I returned home with that same feeling of the funeral of my father, feeling empty, destroyed, and inconsolable. Back home, I folded neatly the linen that covers the tables, swept the floor and placed my living room furniture in place. Then I realized that in the same way that my father was gone, after giving me an education and all his wisdom, he remained in my heart forever. These sugar structures already accomplished their mission. Now, with no classroom or students to teach, their value is practically non-existent. They only have an emotional, maybe egocentric value. I realized that their real value was in the knowledge pass on to

those who were able to see and learn the techniques they exhibited, a value that will prevail in their minds and memories. I had to dispose of my pieces of art, and the same hand that created it, also destroyed them.

Paradoxically in doing so, I got rid of a heavy burden from my shoulders; I realized that the material things are not the most important in this journey. I had to learn to travel light. This way I learned, How to Let go of so many material things that keep us from feeling light as a feather, happy as a bird and free like the wind.

Marivi Bassabe

www.marivis.com

How to make a Wild Rose in Sugarpaste or pastillage

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 22:49:00 GMT

Probably you all know that I recently relocated to Ocala
Central Florida. And, of course, there are a lot of new
things I never experienced before, like the change of
seasons, the nice temperature and also the cold mornings
and the frosted grass. I never lived by a horse farm, or
enjoy the presence of the squirrels running and chasing one
another around the oak trees. Behind is the hectic life
of the big cities, where many of us get so entangled in the
daily struggle to survive, that we forget to smell the
roses along the way.

Yesterday, looking through my kitchen window I saw in my
neighbor’s garden a beautiful small flower, what really
amazed me was to see such delicate flower enjoying the 40F
degrees of that cool morning. Later in the morning I asked
my neighbor the name of the brave flower and she told me,
“It is a Wild Rose”. It is such a beautiful flower that I
decided to tell you:

How to make a 5 petal open rose or Wild Rose

First, make the center of the rose. Wrap cotton thread
around two fingers about 16 times. Using a wire number 28,
twist both ends of cotton firmly to prevent cotton from
slipping out. Cut into two equal halves. Trim as required.
Cut a piece of wire gauge 24 about 4 inches long, bend
the tip. Make a small ball of pastillage tinted brown,
moist the bended tip of the wire and attach a small
pastillage ball. Let’s dry for a few hours. Once the
center is dry, paint cornmeal with yellow dust. Dip the
dried center in the gum glue and then into the yellow
dusted cornmeal. Paint some more cornmeal with brown dust
and dip the tip of the cotton stamen in the glue and then
into the brown cornmeal to make the brown pollen. Separate
the stamens with a pin. Let’s dry. Once the pieces are
dry, with floral tape, attach the stamen to the pastillage
center, making the center of the rose.

To make the petals of the Wild Rose

For this you will need a 5 petals cutter. Balling tool,
pad, wooden ball, and a round flower dryer. If you do not
have a flower dryer, cover the mouth of a glass or plastic
vase with aluminum foil. Leave it slightly loose to cup,
with a pin make a small hole in the center.

Tint a small ball of pastillage light pink. Roll out
leaving a thick center in the petals. This will form a
base to help secure the stamens. Work the edge of the
petals using the balling tool, then with the wooden ball
press the center of each petal. Lift the flower from the
pad. Place gum glue at the base of the stamen and insert
the stamen in the center and place to dry in the flower
dryer inserting the wire through the small hole you made
with
the pin. When the flower is dry, tint pastillage in moss
green and cut a calyx and attach at the back of the flower.

With a very fine brush, dust the edges of the flower with a
shade of dark pink. You will find a good set of
instructions
on how to make this flower in the book Wild Flowers by Alan
Dunn page 41. Visit
http://www.marivis.com/page/page/4995997.htm

I invite you to visit my site and look at the Sweet and Soul Library,
there you will virtually be able to browse through my
personal home library. The books you will find there are the
foundation of my cake decorating knowledge and my personal
growth.

Love,

Marivi
www.,marivis.com

New Years Eve 2007 Msg.

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 19:44:53 GMT

In our more difficult times we pray to the Superior Being,
Universal Energy, our Father God. We ask for help to
continue forward, we ask for strength and for guidance:
That is the way we pray. But we can use a more effective
way that never fails. When we give love, when giving
thanks for all we have. Infinite thanks for being in
balance with our family, our friends and ourselves. When
we pray giving thanks we change the drama; we change our
personal history with a real relation with the world at
God's level. The process is simple, in your prayers, in
your gratitude, in your respect, in your vision, in your
praying ceremony, the key is simply to thank God. The
best present is to have the opportunity of over and over
again in this season that celebrates the Birth of Jesus and
the coming of a New Year, to communicate with our spirit
and give thanks in our prayers for a rebirth in our lives,
a rebirth with love for all.

Happy New Year 2008

Marivi

Celebrating Christmas

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 20:02:10 GMT

During the Christmas time is important to celebrate the
peace and beauty of our lives. It is our responsibility
telling to all the news that our Mother Earth is in danger.
Today everybody knows that the glaciers are giving out and
the planet is in peril, and is time to accept our duty to
protect and heal the planet. We must accept that we create
our world with each thought we have for the future. Our
purpose should be to start every day with pleasant thoughts
and hope in our hearts. Tomorrow we celebrate the Birth of
Jesus and will be the perfect time to follow his example,
searching for the light of this planet. Praying together,
sharing our abundance of love, peace, forgiveness and
compassion. Helping Mother Earth to heal, because we are
the ones called to protect this planet earth. Our
ceremonies and prayers will make a big difference in the
quality of live and abundance of love that we will have in
year 2008.

Love

Marivi

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:29:19 GMT

Hi:

I hope you had an excellent Thanksgiving Day in company of your loved ones. I did enjoy the company of my family and Thanks God for the privilege of having them with me on that special day.

I also thank all your e-mails and questions. It gives me a clear idea of what is important to you and gives me opportunity to share with you my cake decorating experiences.

One of the question often asked is how to get a really bright red color, specially for the Christmas season that red and green are the most used colors. There are three ways to get really red color to make the holly and the poinsettia flowers.

First: To get deep red when using pastillage, tint the paste with burgundy or red. Do not use a lot of color, because then the paste become brittle. Use just a little bid or leave it white. (Yes, white). Make the petals and let dry. Then dilute red paste color in vodka, do not put too much red, the mix should be liquid. (If you place too much red the petals will not dry ever (unless, you can wait about 2 month for them to dry}. Once the petals are dry, dust them with red powder. You will be amazed of the bright red color you can get using this technique.

2^nd. In place of pastillage use tylose or flower paste. Flower paste can hold a lot of paste color in it, but beware, do not over do it, because then the paste will get hard to manage. Just add enough color to look light red; it will darken when it dries. Let the petals dry. Then apply the red powder.

3^rd. You can also use an air brush. Do not forget to use your gloves and wear a mask when using the airbrush, unless you want to look like Rudolf the reindeer with a red nose.

Have a wonderful week.

Marivi

Cake Decorator Thanksgiving Idea

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 16:04:45 GMT

Hi friends:

We, cake decorators, must be very grateful to the Universal
Energy/God, for all that we have. Through our talents we
are
able to help others celebrate their special occasions.
When we meet a possible customer or a friend that want to
celebrate a special day, usually they are full of ideas,
happy, dreaming with a beautiful day of gathering with
their friends and families. We are so lucky, to be the
representatives and creators of happy moments, delicious
cakes and candies.

We have so many reasons to celebrate Thanksgiving Day.
Thanks for our country, that represents the freedom for
million of people. A country I respect and love, I
personally Thanks God for giving me opportunity to be here.

And you? When you raise your eyes and see the clear blue
sky, close your eyes and feel the wind in your face, or
hear the music it makes blowing through the branches of
the trees. When you feel the warmth of the morning sun or
enjoy the colors of the sunset, do you Thanks God? Do you
realize that there is enough air for everybody to breath,
that the sun shines for every body, and the water that
cleans you is plenty TODAY for everybody? But that if we
do not take care of nature, for our children and
grandchildren, could be not enough?

The best way to Thanks God for all our blessings is
acknowledging that we must work together for the
preservation of the Planet. This planet was given to us
for our enjoyment and to care for it, and we are destroying
it. Let's give the opportunity to our children to enjoy
all that have be given to us, a magnificent Blue Planet
Earth.

And now to use our talents for a very special Thanksgiving
Celebration, a recipe for:

Pumpkin Caramel Custard

Caramel sauce: 1 cup sugar, 1/3cup water, 2 tablespoons
corn syrup, 1/4 teaspoon juice from one lemon

Procedure for caramel: In a medium nonreactive saucepan
and without stirring, bring sugar, water, corn syrup,and
lemon juice to simmer over medium-high heat, wiping sides
of pan with a wet brush to remove any sugar crystals that
might cause syrup to turn grainy. Continue to cook until
syrup turns from clear to golden, swirling pan gently to
ensure even browning, about 8 minutes. Continue to cook,
swirling pan gently and constantly,until large, slow
bubbles on mixture's surface turn honey-caramel in color, 4
to 5 minutes longer. Remove pan immediately from heat and
working quickly, but carefully (the caramel is above 300
degrees and will burn you if it touches your skin), pour
the
caramel into the 8x3 pan, tilting the mold, (with great
care, remember is very hot), to cover the sides of the pan.

Allow caramel to cool and harden before pouring the
custard.

Pumpkin Custard

1 pound can of mashed pumpkin
1 can evaporated milk
1 can condense milk
6 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 dash salt
1 dash nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Procedure: Place all ingredients in the blender and mix
for one minute. Pour the mix in an round 8x3 caramelized
pan. Half fill a 12 or 14 inches pan with water and place
the 8 inch pan inside. Place in the center of the oven and
bake at 350F for one hour and a half or until when
inserting a tooth pick comes out clean.
Take the pan way from the water bed. With great care, swirl
the pan in circular motion to release the custard from the
pan,but do not take it out of the pan yet. If you see that
the custard still attached to the pan, carefully slide a
paring knife around the entire mold circunference,
pressing knife against the side of the pan.
Let cool. Invert the custard in a serving dish (Keep
covered with the same pan) Refrigerate overnight, then have
the most happy, grateful thanksgiving day with your family
and friends.

Happy Thanksgiving

Marivi
In search of light

Inner Harmony

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 21:03:49 GMT

Overlooking the impressive mountains of Northern Italy,
Dulcinea and Don Quixote talked of how little we are in
this gigantic world, notwithstanding, how big the human
being can become using his intelligence and his innate
skills. Within our comparative smallness, we can reach the
highest mountain, explore the depths of the ocean or the
immensity of the universe. But to achieve it, we must
recognize the importance of harmony in the world that
surrounds us. We should live in harmony with nature, with
all human beings and especially within ourselves.

For example, if you are going to decorate a cake for a
wedding, there are a lot of details that have to be in
harmony with the occasion: like what flowers to use, which
color, the bride preferences,the time of the affair, the
place of the reception. To make this decisions we need to
have inner harmony within our self.

How are we going to discover our path, to decide what is
our mission in life, without having inner harmony? If we
hold in our mind a jungle full of darkness and wild
thoughts, we will never find our real inner self. To reach
harmony, we have to learn to love ourselves. Pull out of
our inner self all negative thoughts and negative
feelings, because they would not let us act with serenity.
Accept that there is a Supreme and eternal being that when
we accept it in our lives, will fill us with light and
peacefulness. Once we reach the light, will have the
harmony and will be able to develop our potential. We can
trace our goals and work toward them.

When we are in harmony with the Universe, we feel the most
noblest sentiments: love, compassion, friendship will
have important roles in our lives. When we do our job, it
is not a matter what do you do, when you do it with love
you will always succeed. When we have compassion in our
heart, we can help more effectively those in need. In this
way we will discover the beautiful present of
friendship,that help us to understand and accept others
with their mistakes and defects. When we live in harmony
with the Universe, there are not dangerous and negative
paths or destructive thoughts to harm us.

In harmony we will always have our mind clear, to make
effective and positive decisions for our personal growth.
We can develop our potential and reach our goals.

Let's search for our inner light, live in harmony in order
to be able to escalate the highest mountains, explore the
depths of the ocean or the immensity of the Universe.
Because when we are in communion with God, the eternal
love, everything can be accomplished.

Marivi Bassabe
In search of light