I am a cooking machine

So I have had a fascination with Julia Childs since seeing the movie "Julie & Julia", and it inspired me to get her 2 volume set of Mastering The Art of French Cooking. That woman knew what she was talking about!! Not to mention, the recipes are laid out in such a way that anyone who can read can cook like this. Just like Julie said in the movie, it's like she's in the kitchen with me.

I experimented first with the Boeuf  Bourguignonne (Beef stew in Red Wine, with Bacon, Onions & Mushrooms). I admit to omitting the mushrooms because I cannot stand them , but otherwise completely stuck to the recipe and after 3 hours in the oven, simmering slowly, it turned out BEAUTIFULLY!! Now, I unfortunately cannot use Jason as a taster due to his vegetarianism, however, Dawn & Andy happened to be here and they were happy to test the recipe and I am glad to say they had 2 servings and complimented me up & down. It was all Julia though, I just followed the recipe.

Last night I decided to make her Gratin Jurassien (Scalloped potatos w/cream & cheese) along with Carottes Glaces (Glazed carrots) and a filet mignon. The 2 side dishes are vegetarian so Jason was happy to try them both (along with the rigatoni & vodka sauce he had for dinner) and then  proceeding to fall into a carb coma on the couch. SUCCESS!! The potatos turned out perfect!! I had no idea that for this type of recipe you use what is called a "boiling" potato (ie., red potato or yukon gold) because they are less starchy and hold their shape better when cooked versus a russet potato which is very starchy and gets mushy - hence why they are perfect for baking!!  The carrots also turned out great, and I had no idea that a little vegetable broth, butter & a touch of sugar could make a cooked carrot sooo tasty.

So I took a few photos to show the process (all of which was quite easy). *Can I recommend  for slicing the potatoes that if you have a food processor that has a slicing blade, use that instead of trying to hand slice all the potatoes. It saves a good deal of time.*

My cooking bible

Before

Putting her in the oven...

After - YUM!!

All this yummy food in my MULTH







Wonder what recipe I'll try next....

The beginning of the Brow & Lash gallery

Well this marks the beginning of what will be the brow & lash gallery. I will be updating photos from time to time of before & after brows & lashes (waxing & tinting) showing some skills !!! Here's the first to be seen - ME!

BEFORE Tint & wax

AFTER brow tint & wax & lash tint

LEFT EYE before

LEFT EYE after

RIGHT EYE before

RIGHT EYE after










I know I know, it's subtle. But the last thing we all want is someone coming up to us and saying "Wow, your eyebrow & lash tint looks great!" Always want to keep them guessing. So much for me keeping it a secret...

Ciao for now!!!
~January

Pics of the mini spa

Ahh, the mini spa! Thanks to Amy for having such RAD decorating skills!! This place feels great. The perfect place to come unwind and relieve the stresses of the day.

Miss Jan has opened her own business & now I am going to be a blogging machine!

So as it turns out, I LOVE being married to my Jason and being a happy housewife, but it seems that I wanted to add something to my repertoire, so I decided to get back to work. However, since I am picky as anything, I didn't want to work for someone else unless they could give me the kind of freedom I wanted in my line of work, so I decided to just open my own place! I am sharing space with a dear friend who does massage, and she offered the place up to me when she isn't there- VOILA, Pure Skin Esthetic Studio was born!

I am happy to report that all is going well at the studio, or mini spa as we like to call it. I am offering facials, waxing, chemical peels & more!

My super awesome friend, Aurora, came by to get a facial and took some photos which I will be posting up here as soon as I get them - thank you for that Miss Aurora. You can check out her blog, Recycle Fashionably, here on Blogger.

Stay tuned for new posts, specials, related topics & unrelated topics!

Ciao for now!