Well Valentine’s Day is coming up this week. I thought I would mention the fact that last week I made homemade rolled sugar cookies and used my new Wilton Cookie cutter set to make heart shaped cookies which had the words “LOVE” and “BE MINE” in the center. I tweaked the recipe I found online for the “best rolled sugar cookies” and added several magical ingredients. I couldn’t believe the recipe called for only 1 teaspoon of Vanilla. I doubled that and then added lemon rind, orange flower water and Moroccan Rose water. The end result is a magical taste that is just right. Several of the ingredients I added to tweak the recipe have love properities in them. I photographed a few of them on a red glitter heart shaped plate ( see photo). I think I gained several pounds- God they were good!
Speaking of love cookies , I have found several recipes on the internet for a Sri Lanka Love Cake. Here is one link:
http://www.asiafood.org/recipe_list_link.cfm?recipeid=126&startno=1&endno=1&keyword=test&dish=
I haven’t tried this out yet, but this recipe is bursting with love ingredients. I would probably alter it some more by adding cinnamon and crystalized ginger instead of Pineapple. Also A cake which has coconut, cherries and lemon is good for love. So many possibilities. I’m thinking of a lemon pound cake with a coconut and Maraschino cherry frosting or a coconut cake with dried cherries and a lemon glaze. I discovered Whole Foods sells maraschino cherries without the horrible & toxic red dye no.2 and they also sell love tea ( name and brand) in the tea section. A quick look at the ingredients show even more herbs and ingredients in the love tea that have historical love drawing properities- orange peel, licorice etc.
Within in the last two weeks, I have discovered two fascinating people both with the first name Florence ( a coincidence?). The first I read about in the Philadelphia Inquirer is Florence Foster Jenkins. Whose life was made into a documentary called “A WORLD OF HER OWN” ( the DVD is available on AMAZON) and a play written about her life in 2001 called “SOUVENIR” . Florence Foster Jenkins (1868–November 26, 1944) was an American soprano who became famous for her complete lack of rhythm, pitch, tone, and overall singing ability. I wonder if her fame was the result of being somewhat of a “joke” or was she mentally ill ? ( delusions of grandeur). I emailed Netflix and asked them to carry this DVD for rental. I hope they will buy it. It would make a great double feature with ” GREY GARDENS”.
The second Florence I discovered is Florence Broadhurst. ( 1899- 1977) She was a famous AUstralian wallpaper and fabric designer who didn’t start her designing career until she was in her 60s. I just saw the documentary on her life by Australian director Gillian Armstrong (“MY BRILLIANT CAREER”) called “UNFOLDING FLORENCE” on the IFC channel. I felt an immediate connection because I lived in Australia for a year and did an apprenticeship in fabric silk screen and design. Both these women led fascinating lives. The DVD of Florence Broadhurst is not available in U.S. format yet. You can find it on eBAY for the U.K. region and if you have a DVD player that is code free, you can get it. Netflix has ordered the DVD on Florence Broadhurst .
The last Florence I am mentioning in this blog is someone I consider to be a teacher; Florence Scovel Shinn. She was an artist ( trained at the Pennsylvania Academy) who later became a famous metaphysics ( New thought) teacher. She was married to Ashcan painter Everett Shinn . They divorced because she did not want children but had a very close life long friendship. She wrote several books on spirituality and dealing with life. Her most famous book – “THE GAME OF LIFE AND HOW TO PLAY IT” is a must own for everyone on the planet. I have seen some of her artwork in books and she possessed equal talent as an artist and a metaphysics teacher. In a future blog I will be writing about my favorite books which deal with “new thought”, creative visualization and positive thinking.
I would like to end this blog with a dvd suggestion. There is a connection to Valentine’s Day. To me, Valentine’s Day is about celebrating love. However, without self love- really loving and accepting yourself how can you expect others to love you? This is why I strongly recommend BUYING Louise Hay’s ” HEAL YOUR LIFE” the movie. It is available on at www.hayhouse.com The extended version which is about $25 comes with 2 DVDs and includes affirmations and extra interviews. Louise Hay has been called the mother of positive thinking but that title is misleading. Ms. Hay is really an advocate of affirmations and mirror work to change one’s thinking and develop self love so you can heal your life. I highly recommend her book ” HEAL YOUR LIFE” or anything else she has written or spoken. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Tashi Delek,
Katie
