Creativity in the local Brew Pubs Catches the Wall Street Journal's attention

This past Christmas Eve the Wall Street Journal gave some Bend, Oregon restaurants the holiday gift of an endorsement.  Reporter Adam Thompson wrote a piece for Off the Beaten Path on what to do, where to stay and where to try Deschutes County's local brews.

Among the list are some of my personal favorites including two businesses for whom I've created art: Deschutes Brewery and Jen's Garden. Though it's not a brew pub, Jen's Garden made the list, an accomplishment it fully has earned.

Many years ago I created the holiday Jubilale label for Deschutes Brewery (the second year of their annual artist label).

The painting "Jen's Garden" is in the restaurant above the fireplace.

It's been an honor to be involved with these two very creative companies. I recommend you visit both restaurants when visiting Bend.

Can Color Change Your Mood?

Do you feel like no matter what goes on around you, even if you're not in control you at least know what's going on? Well, you do and you don't. The senses we rely on to understand the world around us aren't always accurate. Shapes and colors manipulate how you perceive the world around you -- along with texture, temperature, scent, sound and more.

Think about bright colors and food. Vitamin rich fruits and vegetables are mostly colorful. Fast food restaurants don't serve colorful fruits and vegetables, so instead they put strong colors in the decor of the restaurant, the pictures on the menu and the packaging. Candy is almost always manipulated to be artificially brightly colored to appeal to the human impulse to eat brightly colored healthy food.

As obvious as the manipulation of food colors are, colors in our homes and business offices manipulate where our attention goes as we move through the space and how we feel about the space. A red door on a brown house focuses our attention on the door.

But don't feel that colors have one note, like the keys on a piano. Though many studies of colors have outcomes that insist yellow is happy or red is stimulating, those studies can only address that color in one environment. Colors interact with each other to create a melody line, just as the keys of the piano can combine to create a tune.

The bottom line is yes, color affects your mood. But don't get caught up in creating a rigid identity for every hue. The interaction of a color with other colors and the cultural viewpoint(s) of the people experiencing the colors is the ultimate arbitrator. Assigning one emotional response to a color is like insisting that each note of the musical scale has an immutable meaning. Like insisting that the note of middle C is always happy and F minor is always sad.

Pay attention to the interaction of colors and strive to be aware of the meanings you've assigned to colors and you will begin to use colors more creatively in all aspects of your life.


Photos: I took these photos in Oaxaca, Mexico. The gorgeous colors of flowers mixed into the salad greens and vegetables (it tasted as delicious as it looks) are mimicked in the colors of the candies and other sweets this woman was selling at her snack stand.


See my color consulting work for residences and public buildings on my website at www.CristinaAcosta.com

See examples of my color consulting portfolio and articles on my website.

www.CristinaAcosta.com Call me to schedule a color consulting appointment in Bend, Oregon or a phone appointment if you don't live in Oregon.

Recipe: Creamsicle Flan

By Cristina Acosta ©2007, 08, 09 Read more of my recipes on my website, www.CristinaAcosta.com

Creamy orange custard with a caramel topping is my variation of the traditional flan. Oranges are one of my favorite fruits and like the citrus flavors of lemon and lime, oranges are great with dense creamy dairy flavors. Read this recipe through before you make it, so you have an idea of what to expect. It's not difficult, it just has some steps that can be intimidating the first time (like making the caramel).
Growing up in Southern California there was always someone we knew who had an orange tree growing in their yard. I remember traveling through Redlands along roads bordering orchards of orange trees in full blossom. The fragrance seemed to brighten every molecule of air. This flan tastes like the scent of orange blossoms early in morning when the air is fresh.

Tools: 1 ½ qt. saucepan. Ramekins – 4 soup (10 oz) size or 8 small (5 oz) dishes; OR a 9" glass or ceramic pie pan; blender / Vitamix or food processor (or by hand with a whisk); stovetop; oven; large pan to hold water bath for ramekins or pie pan.

Time: About 15 minutes to assemble. 25-30 minutes to cook and 4 to 6 hours to cool. (Cool in refrigerator.)

Ingredients:

Caramel:

• 3 T. water
• ¾ cup sugar
• Apx. 1 T of fresh orange zest*
  

Custard:

• 6 eggs
• 1 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup orange juice
• ¼ cup orange juice concentrate (from the frozen cans)
• 1 to 2 heaping T. of orange zest * (You’ll need 2 to 3 oranges to get enough zest for this recipe.)
  

Directions:
Caramel:

1. Sprinkle orange zest on the bottom of each ramekin
2. Combine sugar and water in saucepan.
3. Over medium-high heat cook mixture, swirling occasionally until mixture is a clear, light to medium amber color.

Tips to Make Caramel:

• Don’t stir it. When I stir it I more easily burn the mixture.
• The mixture will go through stages of being foamy, then crusty. Keep swirling pan. (Swirl – Pick up pan off the stove and gently swirl mixture side to side and in circles)
• When the sugar mixture flattens down and becomes clear amber immediately pour into the ramekins. Swirl the mixture around the bottom and ½ way up the sides of the dishes.
• Set aside to cool.
  

Preheat oven to 350. Put in a large pan for the water bath. Start a pot of water boiling that will fill the pan with enough water so that when you set the ramekins in the pan the water is ½ way up the sides of the ramekin.


Custard: (I use a blender, adjust these directions for your tool of choice)

1. Crack eggs into blender and turn on low to mix well (15-30 seconds). Don’t get them frothy.
2. Add all other ingredients. Mix till well blended, but not foamy.
3. Pour into the caramel coated ramekins and put them in the water-filled baking pan.
   

Bake for 25-30 minutes. With smaller size ramekins cook for lesser time. Note: custard will appear loose in the center when the time is up. Don't worry it will be solid by the time the dessert is completely chilled. Don't overcook or the final result will be rubbery.
Remove from oven and cool for 4 to 6 (or more) hours.


To un-mold the dessert:

1. Set chilled ramikens in a shallow dish of warm water for a few minutes. The idea is to have the warmth of the water re-liquefy the caramel. Loosen the edge of the flan with a knife and flip the flan onto a dessert plate. Pour the caramel on top.
2. Return the ramiken to warm water to re-liquefy as much of the topping as you can and pour over the flan.
   

Serve alone or with Hot Chocolate Cookies for a delicious contrast in flavors.

*Note: Fresh orange zest is essential to the flavor of this flan. If you don’t have a zest tool, use a cheese grater on the small-hole side. Be very careful to only get the orange part of the peel. The white part is bitter and will ruin your flan.

I Love Using My Vitamix! Vitamix is more than just a big blender. It's a powerful tool in the kitchen and a powerful tool for a healthy diet. Vitamix recipes and techniques enable you to eat up to 10 fruits and vegetables along with whole grains that are recommended by experts and you'll love the ease and simplicity of the Vitamix. I use my Vitamix several times a day to make whole food juice, soups from scratch, sauces. smoothies and more. If you're a foodie, you'll love how the Vitamix emulsifies sauces and gravies, grinds grains, purees vegetables & fruits and even mixes a mean margarita or frappuccino! Read more about why I recommend buying a Vitamix. Start your 30-day no-risk in-home trial today and you'll get FREE Standard Ground Shipping when you click this link! https://secure.vitamix.com/redirect.aspx?index.aspx?COUPON=06-003174 OR Call Brenda at Vitamix 1-800-848-2649 x 2305 code 06-003174

Choosing Paint Colors Home Decor Licensing Who is Cristina Press Philanthropy Hand Painted Ceramics

Two Top Health Foods are Southwest Favorites. Try My Mexican Slaw

The New York Times ran a piece titled, "The 11 Best Foods You Aren't Eating" by Tara Parker-Pope. The author details nutrition lists from noted nutritionist and author Jonny Bowden who wrote The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth.

Cabbage and pumpkin seeds are 2 of the foods making the list of the "11 Best. . . " If your thoughts of cabbage stop at coleslaw, I have a recipe you'll love if Mexican food is a favorite. Not only is my Southwest Slaw nutritious, it tastes wonderful and it's beautiful! Serve it as a side dish or salad, or put it on tacos and tostadas (my favorite!) or even hamburgers. Be sure to stop by my website and try some of my other recipes.

Southwest Slaw

Time: About 15 minutes
Tools: knives & whisk or fork, salad bowl, (optional) Food Processor or blender such as Vitamix
Yield: 1/2 Cup per serving. Approx. 6 servings Yield depends on how much you put in the bowl.

Dressing Ingredients & Instructions:

• 1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 crushed fresh garlic clove
• fresh squeezed juice of 2 limes
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  

Mix ingredients in the Blender or Vitamix on medium, increasing to high for apx. 20 - 30 seconds. Or, mix by hand with a whisk or fork. Pour into salad bowl.

Salad Ingredients & Instructions: (Salad amounts are very approximate)

• 1/2 head (or more) of red cabbage (or mix red and green cabbage), chopped for slaw.
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup or so of chopped green onion or finely chopped white or yellow onion.
• 1 to 4 fresh serrano or jalepeno peppers finely chopped. Use fresh mild anaheim chilis if you don't want much heat.
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup roasted and salted pumpkin seeds
• Optional: 1 ripe avocado (another food on the list), peeled and chopped

With a knife or using your food processor or Vitamix, chop the cabbage, cilantro, onion and peppers until they are the size you want for your salad (smaller pieces, like a chop-salad are best).

If you use a Vitamix, put the variable speed on 4 and after twice quartering the cabbage, drop it in chunks of 2 into the machine. Scrape out the chopped vegetables before adding more. Chop the cilantro into 1 or 2 inch pieces before adding to the Vitamix so that the stems won't wrap up.

Put the chopped vegetables into the salad bowl and toss with the dressing. Add avocados (optional) and sprinkle with Pumpkin seeds. Serve immediately. ¡Que rica!


For more of my recipes see my website.

Breakfast Scone Recipe

Are you home for the holidays or ready for a leisurely breakfast? Try making my scone master recipe. Scones are quick to make for a special morning breakfast. These scones are beautiful to look at, they taste wonderful and the scent of baking scones filling the house is enough to get most anybody to the breakfast table.

If you want to make dairy free scones, substitute non-hydrogenated shortening or lard for the butter and plain or vanilla soy milk (or other type of milk) for the cow milk. You can alter the ingredients to make a variety of scones.

Some of my favorite scone variations are: Cherry Pecan (with dried tart cherries), Wild Blueberry, Cranberry Orange Scones (orange zest & dried cranberries), Lemon Poppyseed (with lemon zest), Chocolate Orange Nut (with orange zest, chocolate drops & nuts). Experiment and have fun with this recipe.

Time: 10 - 15 minutes to prepare, 15 minutes to bake Yield: About 8 - 10 scones (depending on how you cut the dough)
Tools: Hand held pastry cutter, OR a food processor OR 2 dinner forks
standard size flat baking pan (one that fits in your oven), oven, spatula, 2 bowls. Optional: Vitamix

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour (I use unbleached white mostly, sometimes I'll substitute 1/2 cup of whole grain flour -- more than 1/2 cup makes for a very heavy scone)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 cup brown or white sugar
• 1/2 sea salt
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• OPTIONAL:
  
• • 1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries (wild are best as they are small)
    
  • 1/2 cup dried fruits such as: raisins, chopped apricots, pitted cherries, sweetened cranberries, etc.
  • 1/2 cup chopped nuts such as: pecans, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon (more or less to taste) of spice such as: cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, coriander, ginger
  • 2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh orange or lemon peel zest (don't scrape off the white part of the rind as it will be bitter).

Optional Topping: Mix 1/2 cup powdered sugar with 1 Tablespoon of liquid to make a glaze. Suggested liquids are: espresso, orange juice, fruit / chocolate / or maple syrup, milk, water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Spray a baking pan with release or grease it with butter/shortening.
3. In a Vitamix or by hand using a fork and a bowl: beat together until frothy - eggs, milk
4. In a large dry bowl mix together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, sugar, sea salt.
5. Using a pastry cutter, food processor or 2 dinner forks, cut the butter into the dry mix until the mix resembles coarse meal and there aren't any chunks of butter much larger than 1 grain of rice.
6. Add any fruits, nuts and/or spices to this mix.

Then. . . .

1. All at once add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir just until the dry mix is saturated. Don't over mix or the scones won't rise.
2. Dust a little flour onto a clean counter and after flouring your hands, pour the batter on to the counter (it should be almost like a very wet biscuit dough).
3. Sprinkle a little flour on the dough and knead it for about 5 - 10 strokes. To knead the dough, pat it down til it's easy to grab the far edge. Bring that edge over the front edge of the dough (by your belly) and make push it together hard with both hands. Do this a few more times, turning it until the dough is easy to pat into a shape.(Sprinkle on more flour if dough is too sticky).
   
4. Pat dough into a circle about 1" thick.
5. Just like you'd cut a pie, cut the dough into wedges.
6. Transfer the dough to the pan (with a pancake spatula) and spread them on the baking pan at least 1/2" apart so they won't grow into each other as they cook.

Bake the scones at 425 until browned. About 15 minutes.

Pour glaze on when the scones are cool enough to eat. (optional)

The Frugal Creative: How to Make Mint Tea, Dry Mint on a Window Screen

What plant tolerates drought, loves water, is generally deer and rabbit proof, and grows most places without much effort, AND you can eat it? Mint! And, even better, mint plants are available in varieties including chocolate mint, peppermint and spearmint (among the 2 dozen or so varieties of mint, many of which are available as seed or plants in most plant nurseries). Save money and ask a gardener for a few stalks and you can grow mint from a cutting by rooting it in water for a few weeks.

For the frugal creative person with a lavish streak, making your own tea and better yet, giving it away as gifts will save you . . . a mint! (Sorry, couldn't resist the pun!)

So grow some mint and you'll soon have an abundant harvest that will make you feel lavish. Make tea, mix the mint into food or scent a bathtub. Mint is easy to dry. Though I do have a food dehydrator, I live in a dry climate so I usually dry the mint outside. Here are some photos from my garden that will show you what to expect when drying mint.

Here's how to dry mint at home using window screens:

• Hose the mint down (while it's in the ground) to be sure it's clean. Let it dry.
• Clip the plant stalks at the bottom -- a few inches from the ground.
• Spread the stalks across a clean window screen propped across 2 chairs.
• Turn the mint during the day.
• Don't let the mint get rained on or otherwise wet.
• When dry, run your hand down the stalk from the tip to remove dry leaves. Discard stems.
  
• Save the leaves on a platter and let them dry again for at least the day. Put mint leaves in baggies or glass jars and store in a dark, cool cupboard.

Dry mint will be crackly and easily crush to powder under your fingers.

Uses for fresh or dried mint: The strength of flavor varies between varieties, so I did not include amounts. Taste as you add mint to your food.

• Tea, potatoes, lamb, carrots, yogurt, ice cream, chocolate, oranges and other citrus fruits, salsa, vegetables.
• If you love the flavor of fresh mint during the off-season, chop it and freeze it into ice cubes. As it thaws it will subtly flavor the beverage while looking gorgeous. You can also add the mint ice cubes to vegetable water (great with peas) or soups.
  
• Bury a few fresh mint stalks in a couple cups of white sugar for a few days to flavor the sugar. Remove the mint so it won't decay.

Save more money and follow my recipe to make your own bath scrub using mint. Try this and other recipes on my website.

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Farm Direct Foods: California Olives and Organic Olive Oil

I love buying food directly from farmers and ranchers, especially when I'm traveling. Local foods represent the culture and climate of their origin. When I meet the farmers and ranchers and buy their products I feel a better understanding for the area AND I get some really great food. It's a win - win!

I spent the past 2 weeks traveling and want to share with you my 2 favorite food stops on the I-5 freeway in Northern California. The Olive Pit and Heath Ranch.

• The Olive Pit in Corning, California (north of Redding, CA) is a 40+ year old family owned enterprise selling all things olive along with touristy gifts including jams, candy and nuts. You aren't meeting any farmers, but you can buy local olives and nuts. Sited in a old Denny's type of building, it's not a visually interesting store, though it is clean and neat. Order an ice cream or hamburger at the snack cafe, enjoy the very clean restrooms and a huge parking lot with RV spaces. Ask and the staff will show you the local olives and products, including organic olives and organic olive oils. There is also a selection of imported olive products. My favorite product is the Olive Muffuleta, an Italian style olive salad that includes bits of cauliflower, carrot, garlic, capers, peppers, onions and spices. It comes packed in either brine or olive oil (my favorite). Pour the Olive oil packed Muffuleta on pasta for an instant head-start on a pasta salad or hot entre. You can order online from them if you aren't up for a drive.

• Heath Ranch (south of the Olive Pit). 4814 County Road 99w, Orland, CA. 530-865-3472. This is a small ranch owned by Ron and Melanie Heath. From the barn behind their home the Heaths sell organic olive oil, oranges, local honey and whatever else they or their neighbors might be growing that time of year. This is a very small operation -- they don't have bathrooms (they do offer a porta-potty) or air-conditioning. They do have DELICIOUS homemade olives, fresh olive oil, oranges and honey that is well-priced. They don't have a website. Here's how to get there: From I-5 take Road 7 exit #671. Go East on Road 7 to Hwy 99w. Go South on Hwy 99W - 200 yards.

My grandmother, Catalina Ortiz Acosta, was a strong proponent of olive oil. Despite living alone, she bought olive oil in a 2 liter can (and would use them up regularly). I love to dip my fresh artisan bread into the oil. If you're not up to baking your own loaves buy a good artisan bakery loaf.

www.CristinaAcosta.com