Delicious

A beautiful guest blog by Angela Gargano, co-founder of the Yoga + Wine experience and creator of Bliss Flow Yoga.  Visit here for more

Have you ever been attracted to your cousin? Don’t lie. A recent NY Times article shared an increasing trend taking place all across our great nation. The marriage of first cousins.

Should you be pondering having kids with your first cousin, the article mentions chances are slim your children will be born with genetic deformities common to incest such as spina bifida and cystic fibrosis. Thank God!  You don’t need to feel so badly about the fact that on Thanksgiving you asked your 28 year old cousin to sit on your lap while watching football at Granny’s house. Breathe a sigh of relief. This behavior is happening everywhere. Let go of the guilt you might have been feeling for adding a little tongue to your cousin’s holiday feast. According to the NY Times, you’re actually not a twisted, repulsive, redneck scumbag.

So many strange things happen during Thanksgiving. When around family, our darkest issues, fears, and doubts tend to erupt.  The tumult of puberty, thought to be extinct, rears its ugly head. Insecurities, thought to be locked away for good, bust loose. Is it so far-fetched in the swirling mess of emotion that is Thanksgiving dinner, one might just find their cousin to be attractive?

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Family-driven emotional chaos is not exclusive to Thanksgiving. Each and everyone us has a part of our being snagged in childhood. It’s called infantilism. Best described by Anais Nin, “We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.”

So if you have lingering frustrations from last week’s familial Thanksgiving encounters, go easy on yourself. Hinder and shame that childish part of you, and it will act like the crankiest baby on the longest night. Embrace and nurture that part of you, and the fire of youth, while at times with a bite, nonetheless will forever burn bright.

For more twisted info with inspirational endings, check out my book Yeah Dave’s Guide to Livin’ the Moment

YOGA + CHOCOLATE WEEK IN L.A.!

To celebrate the 5 year anniversary of Yoga + Chocolate, I have 3 exciting events to share each of which is followed by a tasting of exotic so amazing I promise it will be the single best thing you’ve ever tasted. Why Yoga + Chocolate? When relaxed as you are after yoga, a piece of chocolate changes from a note of flavor to a symphony of pleasure. Everything is sweeter in the moment!

1. Tuesday September 8   4:15pm–5:45pm    at Yogis Anonymous in Santa Monica

Cost: Donation Only

A 60 minute flowing vinyasa yoga class followed by a tasting of the amazing Barcelona Bar from Vosges Haut-Chocolat.   Here’s a little description on this incredible treat:  “Deep milk chocolate melts into the mineral and sumptuous taste of sea salt and roasted almonds, reminiscent of Marcona, Spain.”

2. Thursday September 10   4:15pm–5:45pm    at Yogis Anonymous in Santa Monica

Cost: Donation only

A 60 minute flowing yoga class followed by a tasting of the Funk & Disco truffle from Vosges Haut-Chocolat. Here’s more on this singularly incredible chocolate: “Visit the Southeastern United States and you will likely encounter various incarnations of banana pudding, ubiquitous in local markets and five star restaurants alike.  Banana pudding seems to be America’s answer to the English trifle—with just a box of vanilla wafers, sliced bananas, custard and whipped cream, dessert is done.”

3. GRAND FINALE  Thursday September 10  7:30-9pm    at Topo Ranch in Venice

Cost: Free!

If you really really really love chocolate, then come on down to Topo Ranch on Abbot Kinney in Venice at 7:30pm. The evening will start with a reading from my book Yeah Dave’s Guide to Livin’ the Moment followed by a reading of brand new material including a piece about the oddity of “mustache on female.”  You can pick up a copy of my book and get it signed. The mantra woven through my book: Everyday, if you can find one funny moment, one delicious moment, and one beautiful moment, it’s a way of slowing down and enjoying life before it slips through your fingertips. After some insight and laughter, what better way to celebrate a late summer evening than a guided tasting of several exotic and mysterious treats from Vosges Haut-Chocolat.

Yoga + Chocolate has been featured in Newsweek, O Magazine, and The NY Times. For more...

I love to eat (that’s the Italian in me) but am embarrassed to say that I barely know how to cook & let alone bake.  So when my good friend Lilian said I HAD to try this nectarine tart I knew the only way that would happen is if she made it for me.  She adapted the recipe from Food & Wine by substituting peaches for perfectly ripe nectarines & made the crust out of ginger snaps.  I know it may sounds feminine for a guy to be raving about a tart but it was delicious & something I definitely recommend all foodies out there to give a try.

The original recipe is in Food & Wine magazine (Sept. 2009)
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/white-peach-tart

As described by Lillian Sizemore:

I used organic yellow nectarines because they looked and smelled the best at the market.

For the tart dough, I had the idea to add crispy ginger thin cookies (Anna’s Ginger Thins) to the flour. I pulsed the thin cookies in the food processor until fine, and replaced 1/4 cup of the flour with the ginger cookies. I also added a dash of cinnamon. The hint of spice paired perfectly with the nectarines.

I didn’t have peach preserves, so I used apricot-orange marmalade (Trader Joe’s brand).

Technical notes:
The dough is really loose, so work quickly as you knead. I dusted with flour as I worked or it sticks to the counter, your hands, everything. I did follow the instructions and used firm fruit. With firm stone fruit, it doesn’t want to fall away from the pit so easily, so be patient as you slice it or you’ll bruise the fruit and it won’t look so good.

My final note:  Hold love in your heart as you work. Delicious!!!