I did the “Curl Keeper Challenge”- check out my curls!

Thanks to Tryazon, the great sampling program I belong to that enables me to try and review excellent products (and you should join, too! Go to www.tryazon.com to sign up), I recently had the opportunity to take part in the 3-day #CurlKeeperChallenge using two Curl Keeper Products: The Original Curl Keeper Liquid Styler, and their new Refresh with Hold Styling Spray, and host a Facebook Live Party to show off my results! I was sent Curl Keeper's “Style & Refresh” Kit, which includes the Original Liquid Styler, Refresh with Hold Styling Spray, a water mist spray bottle, a Flexy Brush, and samples of the Original Liquid Styler for my Party attendees!

I started the Curl Keeper Challenge by washing my hair on Friday as I usually do, and then combing the Original Liquid Styler thru my hair using the Flexy Brush. Then I “scrunched” my hair into curls, and styled it as usual, which, for me, meant simply “plopping” it in a Turbi Twist and sleeping on it! And yes, I woke up the next morning to curls!

For the next three days, all I did was spray my hair with water and Refresh Spray, comb it thru with the Flexy Brush, and scrunch it back into curls... and yes, as you can see from the photos below of my Facebook Live Party on Sunday, my curls lasted for 3 days, without my having to shampoo again!

The water and Refresh sprays reactivate the Curl Keeper Liquid Styler, and enable you to keep those curls going without having your hair turn into a mass of unruly frizz!

I have always been a pretty “low maintenance” gal with regards to hair styling: Even in my “heyday”, when I had an art gallery in NYC in the mid-1990s, and had to be pretty darn chic every single day, I had my curly hair cut short and chic so I could literally wake up, shake my head, and dash out the door! And although I have Lots of hair styling tools, including blow-dryers, a curling iron, a flat iron, and a straightening brush, I almost never use them... because 1) I am lazy as sin, and 2) I stink at using them. LOL I have friends who have been blow-drying their hair since 1975 and can do it in their sleep, but I stank at it in 1975 and I still stink at it. LOL I am convinced that you have to be double-jointed to be able to properly blow-dry or iron the hair at the back of your head. LOL When I go to a salon I always ask for a cut that can be worn curly AND straight, and I always have them blow and iron my hair into glass-like smoothness, as I know I will almost never do that at home. LOL

How I got my Naturally Curly Hair is another Story... I was not born with curly hair. My hair was always straight as a board and fine, and wouldn't even hold a curl set with rollers and Dippity-Do. So when I hit my teens in the 1970s, I did what my mom had been doing since she was a child in the 1920s and Shirley Temple's curls were all the rage: I got it permed. If you are my age (61) you will well-recall that Big Curly Hair was very “in” ca. 1975: everyone from Disco Queen Donna Summer to Barbra Streisand had Big Curly Hair- and so did I! 

And then when I was 29, in 1988, I got really sick with Pancreatitis and almost died... and lost my hair. All of it. I had no hair, no eyelashes, no eyebrows, nothing- for 6 truly ghastly months. For 6 months I wore a wig and penciled in my eyebrows and prayed my hair would grow back... And when it grew back- which, thank G-d, it did- it grew in CURLY! I was over the moon! I felt like the little girl in the Peanuts cartoon boasting about her Naturally Curly Hair! I didn't have to ever even Think about getting a perm again! I called this “G-d's Thank You Present” for my having survived that mess...

And I loved my curls... most of the time. 

For, as all curlies know, curly hair has a Mind of Its Own, and is not always the easiest thing to live with and deal with. The slightest hint of dampness made it frizz to the point where I looked like I'd stuck my finger in a light socket. If it got even a little bit too long it went flat and limp, and wouldn't curl properly. And it changed back and forth from Wavy to Curly to Something In-Between to Totally Out Of Control... So, for the most part, for the next 20 years, I kept it fairly short, and easy-to-manage curly. 

But, as you know, you always want what you don't have, and so, when I let it grow out a bit, I often got it blown and ironed into silky-straight, glass-like smoothness- which lasted for a day or two at most, and for a minute or two if it was damp outside, or- heaven forbid- raining. 

When my husband met me in NYC in 2001 I was a Seriously High Maintenance Double-Process Blonde, which I often wore in a salon-done, blow-dried bob... But when we moved to West Virginia in 2002 and opened our Inn, Low Maintenance Hair became a necessity. The nearest good salon to us was over an hour away, and I almost never got there... and, as I have stated, I am definitely no hairstylist. But I had to look good for our guests! So I went back to my Naturally Curly (usually short) Hair- and my natural Mousy Brown color... periodically augmented with highlights or lowlights... and remained forever on the internet lookout for the Holy Grail Product(s) that would enable me to keep the ringlet curls I love, and stop them from turning into a mass of OOC frizz.

I have thus tried LOTS of curl styling products over the years, and my bathroom looks like a Sephora Outlet, LOL. I have also had several very expensive “curl cuts” at various salons, but wasn't particularly impressed by any of them. I had used Curl Keeper Original Liquid Styler, and Tweak, their cream hairspray, and I liked them, which is why I applied to do this "Curl Keeper Challenge"- I had never tried their “Refresh with Hold” Spray, and I wanted to see if these two products, used together, would be my “Holy Grail” hair duo for lasting curls- and it actually is!

I no longer have to use tons of hairspray to lacquer my curls into permanency in between shampoos!

The Facebook Live Party was a lot of fun to do, as I got to "see" some of my Curl Friends who I haven't seen in person in years!

I got to demonstrate the products and how I use them, we shared "curly hair horror stories", LOL, and then I sent off samples of Curl Keeper Original Liquid Styler to them so they can try it! 

You can watch it here:

https://www.facebook.com/ElkhornInn/posts/10158731937889730

I ordered the Curl Keeper Treatment Shampoo, as it has "ColorKeeper Technology" and is safe for colored and chemically treated hair, and it strengthens hair, and I want to use it in conjunction with the Liquid Styler and Refresh Spray, as I continue on my "Learning to Love My Curls" journey!

Curly Hair Solutions has a lot of great products, both for adults and kids, which you can check out here: www.frizzoff.com 

Have you tried Curl Keeper products? What are your faves? 

Do you have any styling tips for curly hair?

Any hilarious horror stories?

Tell me in the comments!

#CurlKeeperChallenge #tryazon #curlkeeper

Foodie Fun with the Vasta Vegetable & Fruit Sheet Slicer- and RECIPES!

Thanks to being a member of Tryazon, the great sampling program, I was selected to do a Facebook Live Party for the Vasta Vegetable and Fruit Sheet & Noodle Slicer! The Vasta is an inexpensive, fun, and easy-to-use kitchen tool that enables you to make “sheets” from both fruits and vegetables, as well as “Fettuccine”-style noodles, and Chef Dan and I have been having a lot of fun making some delicious dishes with it for dinner guests at the Elkhorn Inn, as well as ourselves! 

RECIPES BELOW!

Here is a link to my Facebook Live Vasta Cuisine Party, where you can see me demonstrating the Vasta, and showing some of the things we made with it, including Cucumber “Maki” rolls filled with Tuna Ceviche, Apple and Potato Puff Pastry Roses, and Zucchini "Fettuccine" Agli Olio! At the end of my presentation I did a giveaway, and raffled off a Vasta to one lucky attendee!  https://www.facebook.com/ElkhornInn/videos/10158563561804730/

The Vasta is different from a Mandoline or a Spiralizer, in that it makes thin sheets of your fruits and veggies, not slices, and it makes flat “fettuccine” style veggie noodles, rather than spirals. So if you're on a Keto or Vegan or Vegetarian diet, and looking for new foodie ideas, or just trying to get your kids or grandkids to eat more veggies, the Vasta gives you lots of new ways to enjoy your fruits and veggies! 

With the Vasta you can make fruit and vegetable crepes, burritos, lasagna, noodles- all sorts of things! So far, we've used it with cucumbers, zucchini, apples, and potatoes, but you can use it with pears, squash, and lots of other things, too! I love to make Apple Roses for Rosh Hashonna (Jewish New Year) which is coming up shortly, and the Vasta makes it fun and easy to do!

As you can see in my Facebook Party Video, the Vasta is really easy to use, and SAFE, too, as the blade is protected. If I can demonstrate it live while watching Facebook at the same time, you know it's REALLY easy and a safe to use!

 

There are lots of recipes on the Vasta website: https://www.getvasta.com/

Vasta also has tutorials on YouTube: How to make Veggie Noodles with the Vasta Veggie Slicer: https://youtu.be/fOblP2NHYXI 

How to make veggie sheet noodles using the Vasta Veggie Slicer: https://youtu.be/GGsbfvzrVlI

My step-by-step on making Cucumber Roll Appetizers with the Vasta:

https://www.facebook.com/events/677509623110760/permalink/685631542298568/

     

First you cut the cucumber to size, using the guide notch on the skewer. TIP: You want cucumbers or zucchini that are as straight and even as possible, so you get even sheets. Then you place the cucumber on the Vasta, insert the skewer in the top, and push it down through the cucumber until it locks into place. 

  

Then you turn the Vasta on its side and snap in the handle. Then you start turning the handle...

  

  

And out comes your thin sheet of cucumber!!  You can then used the smaller pieces of cucumber you cut to make additional strips. 

 Here you see the two sheets of cucumber I was able to get from one cucumber. I then cut the sheets into 1" strips, approx. 5" long, and rolled them around circles of Mozzarella cheese and secured them with toothpicks. I then topped each one with a dab of Basil Pesto and a small roll of Prosciutto. I used this same technique to make the cucumber rolls I filled with Tuna Ceviche - recipe below.
 

My Vasta Recipes:

Vasta Cucumber Rolls filled with Tuna Ceviche, served with a spicy Asian-Style Dipping Sauce  (Adapted from Chef Ruth Van Waerebeek, Mapuyampay Gastronomic Hotel, Chile)

Ingredients:

6 cucumbers, as straight as possible

Kosher Salt

Paper towels

¼ cup red union, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely grated

½ lb. sushi-quality fresh tuna

½ cup pink grapefruit juice (approx. one grapefruit, squeezed)

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely minced

Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Toothpicks

Dipping Sauce:

2 tablespoons hot chili sauce (Chinese chili sauce, Sriracha, or similar)

3 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons dark sesame Oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon black sesame seeds

1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, toasted

¼ cup red, green and yellow bell peppers, very finely diced

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Directions:

Slice the cucumbers into sheets using the Vasta.

Lay the cucumber strips on paper towels and sprinkle with Kosher Salt, and let sit for a max. of 30 minutes.

Prepare the Ceviche: Dice the tuna into ¼ inch cubes and place in a non reactive bowl (glass or ceramic). Add all the other ingredients. Mix to combine, and place the bowl in the refrigerator to marinate. (The lime juice "cooks" the tuna, so it has the taste and texture of cooked tuna!)

Make the Dipping Sauce: Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.

Rinse the salt off the cucumber sheets and dry them with paper towels.

Cut the cucumber sheets into strips approx. 1” wide and 5 inches long, and roll them, securing each one with a toothpick.

Set the rolls on a serving plate. Fill each roll with the Tuna Ceviche.

Spoon the dipping sauce on top & drizzle it around the rolls, or serve it in a bowl on the side.

Appetizer: Cucumber Rolls with Mozzarella, Basil Pesto, & Prosciutto

Ingredients:

Cucumber - as straight as possible

Mozzarella Cheese - the good stuff! 

Basil Pesto

Prosciutto, cut into small pieces and rolled, as in the photo

Toothpicks

Directions:

Use the Vasta to make cucumber sheets. Cut into strips into pieces approx 1” wide and 5” long.

Cut the mozzarella into 2” circles.

Roll the cucumber strips around the mozzarella circles and secure each with a toothpick.

Top each one with a dab of pesto, and then a small roll of prosciutto.

Vasta Apple (or Potato) Roses in Puff Pastry - 12

I love to make Apple Roses for Rosh Hashonna (Jewish New Year) which is coming up shortly, and the Vasta makes it fun and easy to do!

Ingredients:

One package of Frozen Puff Pastry (Pepperidge Farm)

3 Apples or 3 Potatoes (I used Adirondack Blue Potatoes, and they came out great!)

Apricot or other fruit preserves if you are making Apple Roses

Pesto or other savory spread if you are making Potato Roses (or you don't have use anything)

2 tablespoons of lemon juice if you are making Apple Roses

Melted butter or vegetable oil and a brush, or vegetable oil spray

Cinnamon-Nutmeg Sugar for Apple Roses

Chopped herbs of your choice for Potato Roses

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Butter 12 porcelain baking ramekins or a muffin pan. (Or spray them with vegetable oil spray).

Remove Puff Pastry from the freezer and thaw according to package directions. It should be cold.

Use the Vasta to slice the apples or the potatoes into long strips:

 

If you are using apples, put the apple sheets into a bowl of water with the lemon juice, so they don't turn brown.

I then used the Vasta to slice an Adirondack Blue Potato into long sheets for potato roses.

Place one sheet of puff pastry dough on a floured surface and roll it out a little thinner with a floured rolling pin.

Cut the dough into 6 even strips.

Spoon the apricot preserves or pesto onto the bottom half of each dough strip.

If you are making apple roses, remove the apples from the lemon-water and bot them dry with paper towels.

    

 

Place the apple (or potato) strips on the dough, sticking up above the edge of the dough:

  

You can fold the bottom over the edge of the apple or potato strip if you like. I didn't here, and they turned out fine. Then roll each strip up into a “rose” and place into the buttered ramekins or muffin pan.

Do the same with the other sheet of puff pastry dough.

Brush each one with melted butter or vegetable oil spray. You can sprinkle the apple roses with cinnamon-nutmeg sugar if you like. 

Place a pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven so the bottom of the pastries don't burn.

Bake for 40-50 minutes at 375 F until the pastry is golden brown.

Sprinkle the apple roses with cinnamon-nutmeg sugar, and the potato roses with chopped herbs, and serve!

Zucchini Fettuccine Agli Olio (with Garlic and Oil)

Make “fettuccine” noodles from zucchini using the Vasta!

Heat olive oil in a pan with chopped fresh garlic.

Saute the zucchini “noodles” in the oil for a max. of 2 minutes and serve!

These “zoodles” are delicious served with shrimp scampi, or with Asian sauces as pictured above- or 100 other things!! I tossed them with tomato sauce, sausage, and minced, fresh herbs, and they were delicious! Pasta without the carbs!

Have you tried the Vasta yet?

 Have any great recipe ideas for the Vasta? 

Please share them in the comments!

Elkhorn Inn's new Contest & Sweeps- enter now!

Yes, the Sweepstakes Queen of Landgraff, WV has finally launched OUR sweeps- AND a great contest, too! We have some really great prizes from the Elkhorn Inn Gift Shop, & the Contest has a Grand Prize of a $320 gift certificate to the Elkhorn Inn Inn for a two-night stay with a Chef Dan Dinner at the Inn for two on one night! In order to enter the Sweepstakes, you have to be a "fan" of the Elkhorn Inn on Facebook, so the first thing you need to do is click
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eckman-WV/Elkhorn-Inn-Theatre/53453051478?ref=mf and become a fan! Just by being a "fan" of the Elkhorn Inn you're entered in the Sweeps, but you get an EXTRA entry for each new "fan" you get us- so get us lots of new fans to increase your chance of winning! The Contest is to find (and suitably reward) the most creative and enthusiastic "fan" of the Elkhorn Inn for the most successful marketing and promotion of the Inn using "social networking" and other media... You can read all the details for both the Contest and the Sweepstakes in the "Notes" on the Elkhorn Inn's Facebook fan page. Both the Sweepstakes and the Contest end Dec.1, 2009 at midnight EST, so you've got 2 1/2 months to build up your entries! The key is: you MUST LET US KNOW that you've sent us fans, or guests who've made reservations, or if you got us media coverage, or Tweeted or Facebooked or MySpaced or YouTubed about us- we have to know what you did in order for it to count! You can email us at elisse@elkhorninnwv.com, leave a message on our Facebook fan page, or "tweet" us @elkhorninn on www.Twitter.com.

The Best news this week was the article on the Elkhorn Inn in TRAINS magazine, and that another article on the Inn is coming out in the WV State Journal. The wonderful TRAINS article by Alan Byers has resulted in tons of calls & a number of bookings, and even a radio interview on the Tom & Judy & Dan Mid-Morning Show on WMST in Mt. Sterling, KY on Sept 1- Tom is a Big-Time Railfan! Click on: http://www.gatewayradio.net/grwcommon/audiofeeds/TJ/TJ-09-01-2009.ram (You will need RealPlayer, which is a free download), go to 1:31 (a bit after the 10a.m. news) and you'll hear the train music & then my interview with Tom! I talked about Alan Johnston, Stacy Grubb, & South 52 playing at our Theatre, trains, and other things! :-)

I also had a small (humorous) piece that I wrote about my dad published on The Sweet With The Bitter blog about caring for loved ones with Alzheimer's and memory loss: http://thesweetwiththebitteralzheimersblog.blogspot.com/ Those of you who think there couldn't Possibly be anything funny about dealing Alzheimer's should read it. (Those of who are dealing with or dealt with it Know what I'm talking about...) I sent Ms. Diederich a number of funny stories about things that happened during the years my father was losing his memory, and she used one in her latest post. Yes, these stories are all funny in a sad & bittersweet way, but they are funny nonetheless. Alzheimer's & memory loss are so deeply tragic and painful to live with, that if you don't find things to laugh about you'll go mad... I remember late nights playing Scrabble w/my mom & telling "Alzheimer's jokes" to each other until the tears literally ran down our faces from laughing so hard... What else can you do? :-)

It's September, & I'm trying to (sadly) make peace with the fact that summer is just about over, but this does Not make me happy. I am SICK & TIRED of having advertisements for fall & winter clothing rammed down my throat for the last 2 months, while it rained here & we waited for summer to magically & finally appear. Fortunately, the leaves here in the mountains of southern WV are still green, and the weather (finally) has been in the 80s, so I haven't packed away my summer togs just yet, but fall looms... I'd be Fine with fall if fall hung around long enough for me to really enjoy it, but fall is never long enough & segues all too rapidly into Winter, and we get about 6 months of Serious Winter here- & it's NOT my favorite season! I'm a "summer girl", through-and-through! Gimmee the dry, arid heat of the Israeli Dead Sea & Negev Desert any day!

Our garden did Not do great this year- too much rain perhaps- and the other day Dan harvested the last of the corn and a few more tomatoes; we ate the last of the corn tonight. The other night he made a Wonderful pepper/fennel-crusted pork loin with a wine-sage-cream sauce that was dee-vine! He got the idea from the CrazyCanukBlog that I follow- and you should, too (she's on Facebook, as well)- she has GREAT recipes! Last night Dan made his amazing crunchy-on-the-outside-tender-on-the-inside latkes- potato pancakes- and we had them with our sweet, summer garden corn & roast chicken...

At least we were able to freeze a lot of oregano pesto and tomato-basil sauce this summer, as well as some of the wild-blackberry sauce we made, so at least in the dead of winter we (and our guests ) will be able to taste a bit of summer...

As you know, we've added a Cat to our Animal Family at the Inn: Tiger-the-Pit-Bull & Lady-the-Lab now have Lucky Kitty, the tiny, brave kitten that walked into the Inn like he owned it, & got to stay! Lucky, all 2 lbs. of fuzzy, purring adorableness, has another Sibyl-like side, and that side managed to kill & eat 5 birds last week before I realized where he was getting them from & Dan was able to plug the opening in the chimney & so save the rest of the nest... Finding Lucky in the midst of his, uh, "meal" was none too pleasant, and proved to me that cats really Are different from dogs... Even the tiniest of tender fur-balls has a rather terrifying "killer" instinct within it.... (L is the first cat in my life...) When I called & called him & no cat appeared I got scared- something must have happened to poor, defenseless little Lucky! And then his tiny head popped out of the high chimney opening, with an almost-dead bird in his mouth, & I nearly had a fit. (Having him later mew twice & then puke bird down my computer printer & across desk didn't thrill me, either...) But little Lucky provides hours of amusement for Tiger, who has become "Kitty Daddy", and licks the kitten like a mommy cat would; Lucky whacks at T with his paw and bites him, & chews on Lady's tail- basically doing whatever he can to try and get a rise out of both dogs- but both T & L are so amazingly gentle w/him that it gladdens the heart to watch them play... Lucky's taken to sitting on my shoulder while I work at the computer, and to sleeping on my printer; when he wants attention he simply walks across the telephone, credit card machine, & my keyboard...

Fall brings with it the Jewish High Holidays, and that's my one bright spot. I'm planning a trip to Hair Studio, my fave Aveda Salon in Princeton, WV, & a suitably festive mani-pedi @ the Mercer Mall... & I've gone eBaying for holiday things: a lulav & an etrog, a Havdallah set for Shabbat, & Hanukkah candles for our many menorot, among other things... & then, of course, there are the irresistible "bargains" I stumble across late in the night in the process of looking for "needed" things, such as outrageous Vivienne Westwood shoes with hearts on them, or really expensive cosmetics and anti-aging potions at bargain-basement prices... As I've said before, out here in the 'boonies' eBay is a quasi-shopaholic's dream-store! I follow a gazillion things on eBay daily, sometimes for months at a time: everything from outrageously high-heeled Louboutin shoes (size 38 in case anyone's looking to gift me...) to Obagi Eye Cream, WV mining & railroad memorabilia, ATV supplies, and giant, inflatable outdoor decorations...

Last week I scored Dan a gorgeous new sheepskin coat (his Hanukkah present- don't tell!) for $100, & myself a full-face helmet for ATVing (dust in my eyes while riding drives me & my contact lenses NUTS) for 99 cents! And while I have eBay, feel not sad for Dan, for he has his fave thrift shops, and the other day he came home from Catholic Charities w/yet another one of his amazing deals: a brand-spanking-new 8-bottle wine cooler for the bar room that we hope to some day finish... We've been working on it sporadically now for 7 years, and it'sa bout 3/4 done, and I have high hopes that we both might live to see it open & operating... Anyone wanna help? You help, you get dibs on having that First Official Drink at the Elkhorn Inn Bar!