Above freezing!

Wow... the last few days have been a ride, eh? What was interesting was how not only did it snow for almost a week solid, but when it DID stop, the temperature was so low that none of it melted... which meant that the next time it snowed, it was just more on top of all the existing snow. Crazy.

In case anyone out there hasn't watched the State of the Union, you can read it here, or watch it here. Be informed about what's going on in your country, because it WILL affect you - whether tomorrow, a few months from now, or even years from now.

Muffin-tops

I think Americans are funny. Yes, I include myself in that statement, obviously... despite my Sicilian descent, my family has been American since my grandparents settled in New York almost 100 years ago.

Anyhoo... I was about to write about something completely different when I happened to turn an eye toward the TV (right now I'm in the commuter lounge at Sage), and I caught a commercial for a weight-loss product composed of concentrated green tea (probably among other things). The commercial began with a shot of a woman's midsection, and a voice saying "Hey you! Your muffin-top is showing!"

I cracked up.

I couldn't help it! It's such a ridiculous phenomenon, but so common. I wonder what urbandictionary.com has to say about muffin-tops...

*5 minutes later*

"Muffin-Top is a word used to describe the strange and bizarre waist scrunching effect that results when females wear tight fitting, low-rise/hip-hugger pants along with small-sized, navel exposing, mid-riff tops.

Though, the effect is more extreme with heavier females, all females, with the exception of anorexic models, can fall victim to the muffin-top disaster. The reason for this, is that the design of low-rise/hip-hugger pants, originally popular during the late 60’s and early-to-mid 70’s, defies the natural shape and contours of the average females’ body; forcing the skin and fat around her waist, back and upper buttocks to spill out over her pants and through her tiny crop-top, causing a muffin-top effect.

Originally, the idea behind low-rise pants and mid-riff tops, which made their first reappearance during the mid-to-late 90’s, was to produce clothing that would make a woman’s torso appear longer, and possibly thinner, than it actually was. Normally, men’s pants are designed with lower waists, because of their naturally longer torsos, narrower hips and smaller pelvises. In order to recreate this “longer, thinner torso” appearance for women, clothing manufacturers adopted shorter-waist, men’s trousers, modified the design for the female market, resulting in the catastrophe that the word, “muffin-top” currently describes. The muffin-top’s legacy, if anything, describes the disaster that can result when the fashion industry goes terribly wrong. The existence of muffin-tops is currently quite common, which is a testament to the fact that women will buy and wear anything, regardless of how vulgar and ridiculous it looks, as long as it is popular."

Boy, what a stinging observation THAT is! Is it true? I like low-rider jeans well enough because I feel like my waist is a different size at any given time of day, but I hate short-cropped tops... I prefer my shirts to come down at least down as far as the butt-pockets on my jeans. I think that method is more effective in elongating/thinning the female torso, personally. Being of Mediterranean descent, I can tell you all that though we are not typically fat-- not even really overweight, due to our diets which are high in fresh vegetables, fruits and whole grains-- we are short. Being short, and therefore having short torsos, even a size 4 or 6 waist looks... well, not quite slender, anyways. Being resourceful, however, we have come up with ways to compensate for this.

Food for thought, I guess. Now, obviously I am in no way tying this to diet; I think weight-loss supplements are ridiculous and do absolutely nothing to help the people who take them to develop sustainable, healthy habits with regard to food. Food should be enjoyed but not in excess, and desserts should not be given the opportunity to be seen as "forbidden fruit", because this makes them all the more appealing, and the individual more likely to over-consume.

What I'm saying, in essence, is eat your fruits, veggies, lean proteins and whole grains... and then, once you have, treat yourself to a nice piece of cheesecake.

:-) The End!

Early morning surfing

Hello my beauties! It's a lovely, frigid morning in upstate NY, and I've been doing some browsing of the interweb... and LOOK what I found!

--> awesome article here! <--

Now, nutmeg is my favorite spice (closely followed by the chipotle chili, but that's not important right now), and I utilize fresh grated nutmeg in many of my treats. Guess I was onto something, huh? :-D

Have a super day!

Ahhh... a new year.

For those of you who have come to know me from Made With Love (out of which Co-Original Creations has, in essence, been born), you know how much I love experimenting with new and quirky flavor combinations... Lemon & Rosemary, Blackberry Bouquet (a lovely purple cheesecake bursting with fresh blackberry, accented by a hint of lavender), etc.

Well, this winter break has been no exception: a couple of weeks ago I tried another "flowery" cheesecake-- I call it Love from Lebanon, because it features Lebanese orange blossom essence, topped with a berry-wine reduction (syrup) made from a delicious local blueberry wine I obtained from the Troy Farmers' Market. Yes, it may sound a bit strange... but it is DELICIOUS. The orange blossom is a subtle, but intriguing, kiss of flavor that barely lingers; complemented very nicely by the sharp, fruity tang of the wine. Mmmmm...

Then, last week, I decided to do something new with tea. If anyone out there is not familiar with rooibos tea, you simply MUST try it; it's got a tang to it, but the flavor also has a distinctly "creamy" aspect to it... one that is absolutely phenomenal in cheesecake. I mean, this stuff rocks. I honestly don't know what else to say about it, except that you all must try it.

Aaaaaand that's it for me, everyone have a lovely weekend! :-D

Alright, here we go!

Welcome everybody!

My name is Beverly, and I loooooove to bake cheesecakes. Weird cheesecakes too, flavored with yummy, natural ingredients like organic essential oils, various teas, spices and herbal infusions, and crafted with creativity. I believe that cheesecake doesn't have to be a "guilty" pleasure, and I want to make all of you believers too!

That's not all: even though my cheesecake is my passion and my priority, I also love brownies! My brownies are the gooiest, fudgiest brownies you'll ever taste, and they're always made with unrefined, natural cane sugar and organic, fair-trade certified cocoa.

As for cookies, I give a new twist to some of the classics: chocolate chip of course, molasses (made with a generations-old family recipe) and not just peanut butter... try my almond or cashew butter cookies! Like some spice in your life? Try L'Ossa Morte-- a Sicilian cookie that's so clove-y, if you eat too many it'll make your mouth go numb! Homemade Oreos? You got it. Italian cookie platters for holiday parties or family get-togethers? No problem! I also love to learn new methods and recipes, so if there's a special product you'd like me to make, I'll take it on.

Got a delicious idea for a cheesecake I haven't done yet? You can sponsor it! You'll get a taste of each step in the cheesecake-development process (each tweak I make is approved by your taste buds), and you'll get the first complete finished product to share with your family and friends! (Or you could just keep it to yourself... but really, what fun is that??)

Keep your eyes here for more info to come, and email me for ordering info: cooriginalcreations@gmail.com