StyleNectar

In Celebration of Autumn

"Prelude to Fall on the Savage River" by Juliane Porter (30″ × 40″ oil on archival linen) Please click painting for BETTER LARGER VIEW.

Download 08 Symphony No 8 In F Major Op. 88 - 3rd Movement - Allegro Grazioso – Molto Vivace

Before you read on, first click the above music link!  

Autumn had just begun turning leaves copper and gold when I painted this scene of the Savage River last year.  I was hypnotized by the rhythm of leaves, sunshine and water skipping along boulders then smoothing into a deep ribbon along the calm, mossy bank.

A beautiful adventure of life leading life.  

Then, just last weekend, as my husband and I basked in our first indoor fire of the season, listening to Dvorak's 8th Symphony, I was instantly transported back to the scene of my painting.  

Take a listen to Dvorak's gorgeous symphony singing the emotion and adventure of life that so spoke to me when I painted "Prelude to Fall on the Savage River".

What pieces of music do you associate with Autumn? 

Dreamy Carrot-Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Dreamy Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

At StyleNectar I share only my favorite recipes with you- and these Dreamy Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting are no exception!  As with many of my recipes, you'll notice they're healthed up a bit-  yet they remain decadent as can be to the tastebuds!

Entertaining?  Dreamy Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting are perfect!  Whip these little darlings up the night before without sacraficing one iota of fresh, moistness.  The secret to  keeping them fresh?  Store them in an airtight container on the counter overnight, UNFROSTED.  Storing cupcakes in the fridge before serving is the quickest way to dry them out.  Mix the icing the night before also, stowing it covered in the fridge.  The next day, decorate your cakes with the icing in all of about 4 minutes and...  Ta da!  Moist, perfect cupcakes that taste as if made the hour before your guests arrived :)

Dreamy Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe (For 1 Dozen Dreams)

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 8 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, SIFTED (don't skip sifting unless you like lumpy frosting!) 
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Using a hand held mixer, starting out on the lowest speed, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon zest, until creamy and smooth.

Cupcakes:

• 3/4 cup whole-wheat PASTRY flour (it's gotta be whole wheat PASTRY not reg whole wheat)
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups finely shredded carrots
• 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons finely chopped, LIGHTLY TOASTED, walnuts; Separated

1. Position oven rack in middle of oven. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a standard muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.
2. Sift together the first 6 ingredients (whole wheat pastry flour through nutmeg). In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, brown sugar and eggs until combined. Next add in the applesauce, vanilla and carrots. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir gently with a spatula until just combined. Fold in 1/4 cup of the chopped walnuts.
3. Using a large ice-cream scoop, divide the batter evenly amongst the muffin cups. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Frost the cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining 3 tablespoons chopped walnuts.  Once the cupcakes are frosted they should be stored in the refrigerator.  

Make Ahead Note: To make cupcakes the night before, bake and cool cupcakes completely.  Then store UNFROSTED cakes in an airtight container on the counter overnight.  Stow the frosting, separately, in the refrigerator.  Frost the cupcakes the next day for perfectly moist, fresh cupcakes!

Dreamy Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

A Wrinkle in Time, Magic at the World Class Cleveland International Piano Competition

Fourth Prize Winner Kyu Yeon Kim; Third Prize Winner Eric Zuber; Second Prize Winner Alexey Chernov; First Prize Winner Alexander Schimpf, Photo by Roger Mastroianni

The Cleveland International Piano Competition is a ten-day marathon of musical performances in which 30 of the world’s greatest, young, concert pianists compete all day in front of live audiences and an international jury. Held each year at Severance Hall, one of the world’s most beautiful concert halls and home of the world renowned Cleveland Orchestra, the competition is the epitome of extreme challenge and competition. At the end of each round the jury votes, advancing a number of pianists until the final round of four competitors. The final four then perform with the Cleveland Orchestra, after which the $50,000 Grand Prize winner is announced. The Winner’s Recital, which I had the pleasure of attending with my family, is held the following day.

Watching the brilliant performances alongside my family, for whom music is a deeply woven bond, was an emotionally charged experience to say the least! I’d have equipped myself with a smart supply of tissues had I known each and every pianist would take me to the point of fighting back tears. However, it was the passion of Eric Zuber’s performance of Chopin’s Etudes, Op. 10 Nos. 1, 3, 5, 8 & 12 that had the power to bring those tears down my cheeks and seemed to suspend time itself.

I’m from a family of musicians. My parents are both amateur pianists. Both my grandmothers were also. Back in the late 1940’s you would have found my Grandma Hazel accompanying the Cleveland youth ballet at the piano in their studios at the top floor of the IBM building downtown. Meanwhile, halfway across the country, Grandma Orene, a third grade teacher, was teaching children piano lessons after school in her home.

It’s no surprise, decades later, the music of my parents playing the baby grand Steinway overflowed every room of my childhood home on a daily basis, reaching the far corners of the basement to the highest rooms in the attic. Mom, a highly disciplined person, (and phenomenal visual artist), practiced two hours each morning, while our father accompanied family sing-a-longs and joined in duets with my sister (violin) and me (flute). When he played alone, he often favored Chopin; and as an adult I’d never found anyone who came close to capturing the passion of Chopin like my father does. Until that is, I heard Mr. Eric Zuber’s performance…

My heart broke open, magically suspended on a wrinkle in time between those childhood memories, of listening to my father perform the very same pieces, and the present, seated beside him decades latter, that Sunday afternoon of the International Piano Competition Finale.

Please share with me, a taste of Eric Zuber performing Chopin below…

 

Summary of Top Award Winners 
First Prize: Mr. Alexander Schimpf of Germany $50,000
Second Prize: Mr. Alexey Chernov 
of Russia $25,000
Third Prize: Mr. Eric Zuber
of the United States $15,000
Fourth Prize: Ms. Kyu Yeon Kim of South Korea 
$10,000

Severance Hall, Gestural Pen & Ink on Lanaquarelle Paper by Juliane Porter

Vanishing Blueberry Ginger White Chocolate Cookies

Vanishing Blueberry Ginger White Chocolate Cookies

This is one of those recipes I've made so many times I've got it memorized by heart!  They're ALWAYS a huge hit! 

(Even the time during a power outage when I accidentally used corn starch instead of baking soda & they baked up into little rocks!  My guests were walking away with napkins full of them saying things like, "Oh no, I LOVE really crunchy cookies..." I just thought to myself - thank goodness!)  

In all seriousness though, Dried Blueberry Ginger White Chocolate Chunk Cookies are easy-peasy to make and take no time at all.  However, consider yourself warned; you'll forever be receiving requests for these after you've made them just once!

Recipe for Blueberry Ginger White Chocolate Cookies

 (Makes 2 Dozen)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup thick, old fashioned oats (NOT instant!)
• 2 ounces best quality white chocolate, chopped (I like Green & Black's)
• 1/3 cup dried blueberries (Not the tiny wild kind, they need to be the larger traditional size for the right mouth feel- I buy mine from www.Oh Nuts.com)
• 1/4 cup Crystalized Ginger, evenly chopped (I buy the kind that comes in 1/2" cubes & quarter the cubes into aproximately 1/4" cubed pieces)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Whisk the flour, wheat germ, baking soda, salt and ground ginger together in a medium bowl.  
3. Whisk egg, brown sugar, oil and vanilla in a larger bowl.  
4. Gently add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients using a spatula stirring until combined.  
5. Add oats, chocolate, blueberries and crystallized ginger; stirring just till combined. 
6. Arrange dough in rounded tablespoonfuls onto 2 ungreased cookie sheets (12 balls per sheet).  
7. Bake until puffed and golden around the edges, approximately 8 (softer cookies) to 10 (crispier cookies) minutes.
8. I'd tell you to allow them to cool for a couple minutes on the cookie sheets then transfer to wire racks to cool completely...but by this point everyone will have convened to the kitchen and be eating them HOT! Right out of the oven!

Adapted from recipe created by Anna Ginsberg

How many hours did your cookies last?  Do share!

Vanishing Blueberry Ginger White Chocolate Cookies ~ this batch of FOUR DOZEN was gone in a weekend!

Olive Oil Exfoliating Facial Wash Recipe

My favorite brand for both cooking & beauty: Frantoia Extra Virgin Olive Oil

With the onset of chilly, humidity-free weather, I'll be making some adjustments to my skin care regime - providing a perfect opportunity to share a favorite Fall/Winter beauty secret, my

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Gentle Exfoliating Facial Wash!

Your skin will glow as if you’ve had microdermabrasion - however this method is much gentler - enough so that I'll use it daily in the driest winter months.

Olive oil skin care is nothing new. In fact, this ancient beauty secret was discovered over 5000 years ago when it became an essential component of skin care. So take a hint from the beautiful Mediterraneans of today and long ago and try it for yourself! This anti-aging, antioxidant-rich oil can be YOUR personal beauty secret, too!

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Gentle Exfoliating Facial Wash:

• 1 Tbsp. or so EVOO
• 1 1/2 Tsp. or so Baking Soda 
• 1 or 2 Droplets Warm Water

1. Pour a little EVOO into the palm of your hand (or you may prefer to mix in a small dish the first couple of times). 
2. Next add a bit of baking soda to the oil in your palm. The baking soda serves as the exfoliating component.
3. Add a few droplets of water.  
4. Gently mix in your palm with a fingertip to form a loose paste.
5. With slightly moist finger tips, gently massage the paste over your skin in a circular motion, avoiding the delicate eye area.
6. Rinse gently with warm water and a soft wash cloth. 

PS. EVOO is also an excellent eye-makeup remover.

What is your favorite beauty secret?