Lavinia at Home

It’s February – out with the January blues and in with reds Hearts Chocolates, fudge and roses, wine and red lingerie. The month for romance and chocolate lovers.

I love February. It’s not just a month for lovers, it’s a time to be nice to yourself. Don’t wait for someone to buy you flowers, when you are passing the flowers stand or in the market buy yourself some flowers, put them on your desk at work or in your kitchen, it’s a great pick me up. A drop of bleach in the vase will keep your roses fresh a little longer.

Here are a few helpful hints:
If you are planning a meal for that special someone and you don’t want an unpleasant odor in the room, simmer a small pan of vinegar, or add vinegar in the water. If its fish make sure you wash the cooking implements with vinegar.

If you light candles and the wax gets on a wood surface, you can soften it with a hairdryer. Once softened, remove the wax with a paper towel and wash with vinegar and water. If the wax gets on your linen, remove as much as you can with a butter knife and place fabric between two blotters, such as a paper towel or napkin and press it with a warm iron. If the color from the candle stains the fabric, try some dry cleaning solvent and wash immediately.

If you spill red wine on your linen, you can pour some white wine over the stain immediately or later. You can also make a paste of baking soda and water and leave on to absorbed, while spraying with a little water intermediately.

I am concluding my note with a chocolate lover’ delight – my favorite recipe for rich fudge brownies:

Brownies:

4 eggs
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of butter (2 sticks of butter)
4 squares of unsweetened chocolate
1 cup of flour

Fudge Topping:

2 cups of sugar
1/3 cup of butter
1 can of condensed milk (12oz)
1 cup (8oz) semisweet special dark chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, prepare a 13×9 inch pan, buttering pan thoroughly. Beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Melt butter and chocolate in saucepan, let cool, and gently fold into egg and sugar mixture. Slowly add flour, mixing thoroughly. Pour into pan and bake for 25 mins, do not over bake as brownie should remain moist. In a separate pan, melt your butter slowly adding sugar and condensed milk stirring constantly over low heat for about 5 mins ,add chocolate chips mix thoroughly and beat until smooth, it should be a nice smooth consistency and not thick. Remove from heat pouring (should pour easily) over the brownie immediately. Time the cake to come out of the oven just seconds before the fudge mix is done. Allow to cool. Put in the freezer to set. Cut into one inch squares and enjoy!

Remember … if you are one egg shy for a recipe, substitute I teaspoon of cornstarch.

Don’t forget to check out our website at LaviniaLingerie.com for that someone special you!

Amore!

It’s the start of the holiday season, and here we are at home, making our lists for family and friends.
What would be more delightful for that special loved one, than an elegant present from Lavinia Lingerie or Lavinia’s very selective and stylish Activewear. They would make an excellent holiday present or stocking stuffer. And as my list grows, I remember that I have to clean the brass and silverware before I have company over. On that note, I would like to share with you a helpful tip I received from an old friend many years ago. She told me to clean my brass with lemon juice. After, wash it with hot soapy water and polish with a chamois cloth. Believe me, it works beautifully. Your brass will twinkle right through the holidays, Don’t forget the silverware, baking soda works like magic.

For that special evening you’re planning, I thought I would share with you my favorite holiday Yule Log recipe.

Serves 6 to 8
6 ounces ( 175 g ) dark chocolate
3-4 tablespoons water or strong black coffee
5 large eggs, separated
8 ounces ( 225 g ) granulated sugar
11 fluid ounces (300 ml) heavy cream

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Line a 10 x 12 inch baking tray with baking parchment paper. Break chocolate into a bowl. Add water or coffee and melt over simmering water, then cool. Beat egg yolks with sugar until thick, then mix with the chocolate. Beat egg whites until stiff, then fold through the chocolate mixture. Pour into the baking tray. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until firm to touch. Remove it from the oven and cover with a damp towel; this will make it easier to roll. Let stand for several hours or overnight, then place a sheet of baking parchment paper on your work area and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Remove towel and place the thin chocolate cake (cake side face down) on top of the sugar, then remove your lining paper very carefully. Whip the cream and flavour it to your taste by adding vanilla, Tia Maria or Kahlua. Spread over chocolate cake and roll it up carefully so that it resembles a log. Slip it onto your favorite serving dish and dust with confectioner sugar.

In the event you have any problems with your cream, here are a few tips.

A quick way to whip cream is to add a pinch of salt to the cream before whipping; it strengthens the fat cells and makes them more elastic. This helps the cream stiffen much more quickly. If your cream will not thicken, chill the cream and bowl. That is, set your bowl of cream into a bowl of ice water while you are ready to begin whipping it. Add the white of an egg, chill and then whip. If the cream still does not stiffen, gradually whip in 3 or 4 drops of lemon juice. Cream whipped ahead of time will not separate if you add a touch of unflavoured gelatin (1/4 teaspoon per cup of cream). To eliminate a lot of mess when whipping cream with an electric beater, try this: cut 2 holes in the middle of a piece of wax paper then slip the stems of the beaters through the holes and attach the beaters to the machine. Simply place paper and beaters over the bowl and whip.

Until next time, have a wonderful holiday season with your family and friends.

Don’t forget to visit my website at www.LaviniaLingerie.com

It’s October and the signs of fall are here. Trees are beginning to change color and lose their leaves. It’s a great time of year. Pumpkins and mums are all around, adding a beautiful splash of color. Halloween is beckoning and children are all excited as they try to decide what costume to wear for this festive time of year.

In Scotland where this began, there are no pumpkins and the tradition is to carve out a turnip. It’s not easy carving the turnip, but the result is very interesting. After you carve the face make a hole on each side and tie a rope on each end. Hang it by your front door, placing a lit candle inside. As the candle heats up the turnip, you will eventually have an old crumpled face – perfect for Halloween and trick or treaters.

(By the way, the inside of the turnip can be used to make soup)

If you are making a pumpkin pie, here are a few tips! If your brown sugar is very hard, place a slice of bread in the bag and leave it for a few hours; the sugar will then be soft. If you are in a hurry, grate the sugar. To prevent this from happening, store your newly purchased brown sugar in the freezer and defrost it whet you need it.

Before using your measuring cup, put a rubber band around the measurement you need. It’s a great help. When you’ve finished it all, relax and check out LaviniaLingerie.com. Decide what you would like to wear for personal pleasure – from a seductive sheer bra to playful thongs and boy shorts. Lavinia’s Active Wear line of camisoles, tank tops, leggings and yoga shorts will give you performance and comfort perfect for your yoga, pilates or dance class.

Enjoy!

It’s September and most of us are enjoying the last few days of summer vacation.

Summer was very hot this year, and it was difficult to stay completely out of the heat of the sun. However, I found an article which offered a great tip for the season. It was about topical vitamin C, namely the use of moisturizer with vitamin C, and its ability to prevent UV skin damage. I am extremely light and burn very easily, so this caught my attention. I took a chance and just used a body moisturizer with vitamin C, and I could not believe the results; I did not burn. I mentioned my experience to one of my neighbors and when she returned from her vacation, she was excited. It had worked for her too. So needless to say, I take my moisturizer with vitamin C with me everywhere.

This month it seems as though everyone is getting ready to go back to school, whether it’s teenagers off to college or mothers getting the little ones ready for school. It’s an exciting time for parents and one of anticipation for students. For some young mothers, it means a few hours for themselves. Maybe you’ll get back to the gym or take a yoga class. For those rejoining a routine of exercise, check out our exercise wear at Lavinia Lingerie.

Before I go, I would like to leave you with a few helpful kitchen tips:

Until next time,
Lavinia

If you’re feeling a little chill and plan to make soup or stew, you can eliminate fat from the pot by dropping in two ice cubes; the fat will cling to the ice cube. Remember, you should remove the ice cubes quickly before they melt.

A small amount of baking soda added to gravy will eliminate excess grease.

Of course if you have the time, the best method is to refrigerate the soup or stew until the fat hardens and can be easily removed. A piece of wax paper placed over the dish can also help. You would then peel the wax paper off with the hardened fat attached.

You will have lumpless gravy if you add a pinch of salt to the flour before mixing it with water.

A teaspoon of cider vinegar and sugar added to salty soup will remedy the situation.

Pita Bread Salad (Fattoush salad)
3 medium Tomatoes diced small
1 cucumber peeled and diced small
large bunch parsley chopped fine
1 loaf pita bread (lightly toasted)
1 clove crushed garlic or 1 tsp. garlic salt
2 scallions or small onions chopped
1 head romaine lettuce chopped fine
6-8 black or alfonso olives
4 tbsp. olive oil
juice of a lemon
2 tsp. of dried mint (chopped fresh mint in season)
Open pita bread into 2 flat pieces, sprinkle garlic salt and toast lightly break into pieces and put into salad bowl, add tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, parsley, add oil, lemon, mint, mix & add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with olives. ENJOY

Enjoy the salads and don’t forget to check out our new line of lingerie at LaviniaLingerie.com. It’s time for a new you, out with the old in with the new.

Until next time, Bon appetite!