Lemony Greek Yogurt Pie

Graham Cracker Crust 

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs (6-8 whole cookies)

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup melted butter (plus 1-2 tsp for preparing pan)

Preheat oven to 300° F. Break cookies and place in food processor.* Pulse until ground into medium-fine crumbs. Put into medium mixing bowl, and stir in butter and sugar. Turn out into a buttered nine-inch springform pan and, using your fingers, press mixture into an even crust along the bottom. You can also use a buttered glass pie plate and form the crumbs into a traditional crust along the bottom and up the sides. Bake for 10-15 minutes until firm and dry. Remove from oven and set on a wire rack.

*Don't have a food processor? You can also make crumbs in the blender or by hand. Place crackers in a heavy duty plastic freezer bag and crush with a rolling pin.

Lemon Greek Yogurt Filling

4 eggs

¾ cup sugar

1 tbs. cornstarch

¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups plain Greek Yogurt (whole or 2%)

1 tbs. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon zest

If you used a food processor to make the crust, just wipe it out with a dry paper towel and clean off the blade. Pulse eggs a few times to beat (or use an electric mixer). Pulse in sugar, cornstarch, salt, vanilla, and yogurt until light and slightly bubbly. Add lemon and lemon zest and pulse or beat briefly to incorporate. Pour mixture into prepared crust (it's fine if the crust is still warm).

Place in center of oven. Start checking cheesecake after 50 minutes and then every 5-10 minutes after that. Shake pan gently. The filling should look creamy but firm at the edges, and still appear slightly jiggly in the center. It will firm up as it cools. Remove from oven and set on a wire rack. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or overnight) before serving.

Optional topping: 3 cups sliced strawberries, raspberries, blackberries or mixed berries tossed with two tablespoons sugar. Let mixture sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour so the berries get nice and juicy. Spoon desired amount of topping over a slice of cheesecake before serving.

How to be more creative

Be curious. Ask questions. Reflect on other points of view.

Jot down ideas. Document everything. Assimilate thoughts and observations. Review and implement.

Go flat (as opposed to hierarchies) - think like Silicon Valley companies. This is not the norm in the public sector where you are expected to "do as you are told", realize that that to be creative requires more than just one commander at the realm.

Stuck in a negative environment? Be an example of success. (Think of how many successful musicians have come out of slums.)

Be authentic - the new word for "true to yourself" - and stay consistently so.

Be daring. Throw your ideas all out there and see what survives.

Rules about being happy. Now.

"To be happier, you have to think about feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling right, in an atmosphere of growth."

One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy - and one of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself...  Therefore, I can build a happy life only on the foundation of my own nature. Happy people make people happy, but I can’t make someone be happy, and no one else can make me happy."

Source: Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project

 “Happiness,” wrote  William Butler Yeats,  “is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that, but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing.”

I love vintage clothes.

Carlyle lace dress.

1930s silk robe.

Conspiracy Theory or Truth?

Found this [funny] conspiracy theory: U.S. government workers are actually shapeshifters. Read more here.

I found the following quote on the web:

“are their really US officials who are aliens dressed as humans. i mean i have eyewitnessed a news castor blinking very fast then his eyes went completely black then back to normal. so are aliens really walking amongst us now to monitor us”   - source unknown

A new conspiracy video claims the Secret Service assigned a shapeshifting alien to President Obama's security detail, but the White House dismisses the claim, adding that even if they did have such a program, it would likely be cut due to the sequester.
I watched the video here. (I can alter any video in Adobe Premiere Pro, too, BTW.)

I find many of these theories amusing - and I think that Hollywood is making too much of aliens invading the earth. And I'm really sick of zombie games. I cannot figure out why are people attracted to horror. 

p.s. I am a federal employee and I am not an alien from another planet despite being an artist.

Soundtracks that synchronize your heart rate and brainwaves

"Weightless" soundtrack is the most biologically relaxing sound, causing your heart rate and brainwaves to synchronize. The next ten soundtracks for relaxing are:

Have you ever how Americans sound and seem like to foreigners? Watch/hear this...

Not a single word in Adriano Celentano’s song, “Prisencolinensinanciusol,” means anything. 

It doesn’t make a lick of sense, but it sure does sound a lot like English. Released as a single on November 3, 1972, the song was designed to seem like American English. A satirical parody, it was written to highlight the fact that many Italian artists were singing American pop classics without knowing a single word of the language.  

The result is a hysterical glimpse into just how Americans sound to foreigners. Spoiler alert: we sound awesome. We're not bad dancers either. Sort of sexy warriors...   

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2013/05/06/what-does-english-sound-like-to-foreigners/?intcmp=obinsite#ixzz2T26jpI7k

Best Pie in America - contest winner!

Sittin' on a Sandbar Key Lime Pie 

Crust 

2 cups crushed vanilla wafers
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 tablespoons melted butter

Filling 8 ounces Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1-15 ounce can Eagle Brand condensed milk
¾ cup Coco Lopez (Cream of Coconut)
¾ cup key lime juice

Whipped Cream Layer 1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup powdered sugar

Garnish Lime slices & white chocolate sea shells 

Directions: 1. In a bowl, combine vanilla wafer crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press into a 9- inch deep dish pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Allow to cool to the touch before filling.

2. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs & egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add condensed milk and beat well. Add key lime juice and Coco Lopez and beat well. Pour into crust. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes or until center is set to the touch. Allow to cool before refrigerating.

3. In a cold bowl, beat whipping cream and powdered sugar until stiff. Pipe large rosettes around edges.

*To make white chocolate sea shells, melt white chocolate almond bark or white chocolate pieces in microwave. Pour into seashell molds. Chill until set.

Desserts for Summer

Banana-Blueberry Buttermilk Bread 

3/4 cup nonfat or low-fat buttermilk 
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar 
1/4 cup canola oil 
2 large eggs 
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium) 
11/4 cups whole-wheat pastry flour 
1 cup all-purpose flour 
11/2 teaspoons baking powder 
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
11/4 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. 
2. Whisk buttermilk, brown sugar, oil and eggs in a large bowl. Stir in mashed bananas. 
3. Whisk whole-wheat pastry flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl. 
4. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in blueberries. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. 
5. Bake until the top is golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. 5. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Let cool for about 2 hours before slicing.

Make Ahead Tip: Wrap and store at room temperatre for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Ingredient note: Whole-wheat pastry flour, lower in protein than regular whole-wheat flour, has less gluten-forming potential, making it a better choice for tender baked goods. You can find it in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets and natural-foods stores. Store in the freezer. 
Muffin Variation: Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 12 (1/2 cup) muffin cups with cooking spray or line with paper liners. Divide the batter among the muffin cups (they will be full). Bake until the tops are golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and let cool on a wire rack for at least 5 minutes more before serving.

Creamy Lemon Squares

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting

1/4 teaspoon salt

 1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)

4 large egg yolks

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 3 lemons)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line bottom with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides; butter paper.

2. Make crust: Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy. Add flour, and mix on low just until combined. Press dough into the bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of prepared pan; prick all over with a fork. Bake until lightly golden, 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Make filling: In a large bowl, whisk together yolks, condensed milk, and lemon juice until smooth. Pour over hot crust in pan; return to oven, and bake until filling is set, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan.

4. Refrigerate until filling is firm, about 2 hours or up to 3 days. Using paper overhang, lift cake onto a work surface; cut into 16 squares, and dust with confectioners sugar.

Thoughts of the day.

Escape the Prison of Past Conditioning
That is my "thought of the day": to escape the prison of past conditioning. In every thing i do. In every decision i make. Of course, this doesn't mean i turn radical, or spend money i don't have - it simply means that I become less assuming, that I allow uncertainty to exist. To be fearlessly uncertain and step into the unknown.
1. Allow life to flow by being detached.
2. Accept that uncertainty is the path to freedom.
3. Anticipate the excitement of stepping into the field of all possibilities.
Source: The Chopra Center (for a daily inspiration)
__________________
My Creativity is always in demand. I am infinitely creative. 
__________________
Today I claim my power.
Source: Louise Hayes

How to attract upscale consumers? Print marketing.

I notice that there is a growing gap between consumers, the Have-Nots and the Have-It-Alls: the Have-Nots have very little discretionary income and shop at discount stores and the Have-It-Alls who are spoiled for choice seek experiences (for example, think about the Chopra Center for Wellbeing in Sedona, AZ where you can "manifest your dreams"). And who wants an oppressive inventory of tangible goods that add to clutter or become an ostentatious display of wealth in our bad economy (so uncool)? Yet there is something that still catches the eye of the upscale consumer - beautifully designed marketing collateral - print collateral to be exact. How novel. Despite the convenience of the internet to promote ideas and services, there is a sophistication in printed marketing that adds glamour to marketing efforts. And no other medium can target as well as direct mail with  its sophistication, especially since it differentiates itself from competitors as being so, well, untechy. It is indeed a total conquest vehicle to target empty nesters (boomers). Printed marketing collateral speaks to a more affluent audience by drawing them in with a short message which then leads them to the product website to learn more. 

There are only 4 jobs in the world

"Everything starts with an idea. This is the first of the four jobs – the Thinkers. Builders convert these ideas into reality. This the second job. Improvers make this reality better. This is the third job. Producers do the work over and over again, delivering quality goods and services to the company’s customers in a repeatable manner. This is the fourth job. And then the process begins again with new ideas and new ways of doing business being developed as the old ones become stale."

As a company grows and reaches maturity, more of the work gets done by the Producers and Improvers. However, without a culture of consistent improvement, the Producers soon take over and implementing change becomes slower and slower until it stops. Long before this the Thinkers and Builders have left for some new venture. Improvers soon follow to join their former co-workers and hire new Producers to add some order to the newly created chaos. The old Producers who aren’t continually evolving, learning new skills and processes, are left behind to fend for themselves. Maintaining balance across all four work types is a constant, but a necessary struggle for a company to continue to grow, adapt, and survive...every person is comprised of a mix of each work type, with one or two dominant."

Source: Lou Adler

I am an Improver first and Thinker second in my place of employment; yet I am a Thinker first and all the other "jobs" second in my personal creative endeavors. Now, it makes total sense that my place of work is closing - "without a culture of consistent improvement, the Producers soon take over and implementing change becomes slower and slower until it stops" - without change there is nothing new to improve.