Hurricane Irene in New York !!!

Here's the latest on Hurricane Irene. It is still a Category 1 hurricane centered about 300 miles south of the city and moving this way at about 13 mph. The first rain band from the storm reached the city early this evening. While the maximum intensity of Irene has diminished somewhat it will still be a large and dangerous hurricane when it makes landfall.

Wind and rain are usually the media stars when it comes to hurricanes but it is the storm surge that typically causes the most damage. While the peak winds of Irene may weaken before it reaches the city the storm surge will not. The high tides will be unusually high and the storm surge is going to be on top of them. There is a small chance that the surge will be high enough to flow over the not very high seawall in lower Manhattan.

The area of hurricane force winds is about 85 miles across and tropical storm force winds cover an area several hundred miles in diameter. This, coupled with Irene's slow northward movement means we are in for many hours of high winds. The National Weather Service expects the winds to pick up to 25-30 mph soon and increase to 35-45 mph, with gusts to 60 mph overnight. Peak winds will occur tomorrow morning, when they will be blowing at a sustained 50-70 mph with gusts to 80 mph. Irene's winds increase sharply with height above the ground. The winds will be roughly 20 percent faster at 30 stories above ground and 30 percent faster at 80 stories and above.

The rain that occurred earlier today was enough to make this month the rainiest August ever recorded at Central Park. Yay? The Weather Service expects another 6-10 inches of rain from the rest of the storm.

Bananas Foster Recipe

"Bananas Foster" Recipe

Recipe from the "Last Holiday" movie with Queen Latifah!

Bananas Foster (dessert made from bananas and vanilla ice cream)

 

For The Bananas:

• 4 ripe bananas, peeled
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup banana liqueur
• 1/2 cup dark rum
• 1 pint Vanilla Ice Cream, recipe follows, or good quality store bought vanilla ice cream

Vanilla Ice Cream:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, split in 1/2 lengthwise
• 6 large egg yolks

Method: 

For the bananas:  

• Cut the bananas in half across and then lengthwise.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Add the bananas and turning, cook on both sides until the bananas start to soften and brown, about 3 minutes. Add the banana liqueur and stir to blend into the caramel sauce. Carefully add the rum and shake the pan back and forth to warm the rum and flame the pan. (Or, off the heat, carefully ignite the pan with a match and return to the heat.) Shake the pan back and forth, basting the bananas, until the flame dies.
• Divide the ice cream among 4 dessert plates. Gently lift the bananas from the pan and place 4 pieces on each scoop of ice cream. Spoon the sauce over the ice cream and bananas, and serve immediately.

For the vanilla ice cream: 

• Combine the cream, milk, sugar, and vanilla seeds and bean in a medium heavy saucepan and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat.
• Beat the egg yolks in a medium bowl until frothy and lemon colored, about 2 minutes. Whisk 1 cup of the hot cream into the egg yolks in a slow, steady stream. Gradually add the egg mixture to the hot cream, whisking constantly. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly against the surface of the mixture to keep a skin from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled, about 2 hours.
• Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.

Yield: 1 quart

Disclaimer: All the recipes from "Last Holiday" belong to the Food Network. ;)

If you try any of the recipes shown in "Last Holiday", do let me know. I look forward to your feedback.

Hello Kitty Manicures (part2)

it seems that i'm not the only girl who wants a kittyfied nails! there have been tons of visitors from my last hello kitty nail art post so i might as well share you beautiful pictures of hello kitty nails :)

enjoy! if i would have my nails done right now.. this would definitely be it!

Hello Kitty

It can be seen everywhere: on clothes, jewelry, accessories, in notebooks in school, on the underwear, even on machines. Hello Kitty, Footnote cat without a mouth, has ever been obsessed with girls and teenagers (not to mention the girls grew up a small that before an earring on Hello Kitty yet can not resist regardless having passed childhood and adolescence for a long time!). The white kitten could not miss out on the nails of his fans, do not you think? And here is a Nail Art devoted to her. Merely for Hello Kitty addicted!

Make a Candleholder Out of Ice !!

Brighten up the outdoors with easy and inexpensive votive holders made from ice, cranberries and a few household items.

Tools and Materials:
plastic bucket
tall glass
rocks or other heavy items to weight down the glass
cranberries
freezer
votive candle

Steps:

1. Fill the bucket with water a couple inches below the desired height, make sure you allow for displacement.

2. Place rocks inside the glass. Place the glass in the center of the bucket. The glass will create a void where you will later place the candle.

3. Drop fresh cranberries into the water, they will float.

4. Freeze the bucket until the water turns to ice.

5. Hold the outside of bucket under hot water to loosen the glass then pop it out of the center.

6. Place candle in the center hole where the glass used to be and light.

(my new fav show ) MTV’s “Awkward”

Awkward is a comedy-drama about a story of the various personalities found in high school students, including the popular girls, the cute boys, and the outcasts who go unnoticed by both. The story is told from the point of view of Hamilton as she writes about her struggles of being a teenager in an online blog journal.

The show begins after the “accident” that is soon rumored to be a suicide attempt for Jenna and draws the concern of her misunderstanding parents. Her best friend, Tamara, is there for Jenna as a defense against the mean girls, all the while she strives to get the attention of the boy of her dreams, Matty McKibben.

Although I am starting to feel like we already have one too many shows that premise around high school students and their dramatic “troubles” in life, the show seems like it may offer a sense of realism that we can all relate to from our troubled teenage days.