Dessert for Holiday weekend - Rasberry and Mascarpone Fluff

Yesterday I had an early Thanksgiving dinner with the people I usually have dinner parties with. It was my time to do a dessert. As I am Estonian we have this thing called Kama, that you can use in desserts or everyday cooking. Kama is an mixture of various roasted and ground grains & pulses - usually peas, barley, rye and wheat. You can read from here about it KAMA and a tasty dessert,

Here I have you a different fluff dessert with berries. I know, I know - what am I thinking about posting a recipe for summer fruit dessert in the middle of the Christmas season?? You see, I craved a fruity dessert the other day, and came across this recipe for a blackberry fluff in the October 2006 issue of the British food magazine Olive. Unfortunately, neither one of the two nearby grocery stores had frozen blackberries that day, so I had to settle for frozen Estonian raspberries instead. Not a bad choice, I think - they're still tart and sweet at the same time, plus I love the colour.

Note that the dessert has much more character when it's been given a few hours' rest in the fridge - you can taste the mascarpone again then. I didn't bother to sieve the fruit pulp, but please do, if you think the small seeds will bother you.

Supereasy and rather nice.

Raspberry and Mascarpone Fluff
Serves six to eight

300 g frozen raspberries
1 Tbsp sugar
250 g mascarpone, at room temperature
200 ml whipping cream (35% fat content)
1 tsp vanilla sugar or extract

Heat the berries (keeping a few aside for decorating) gently with the sugar for a couple of minutes or until they give off juice. Whizz in a food processor until smooth, then push through a fine sieve, if you want to get rid of the seeds. Cool.
Beat the mascarpone with a spoon until it is softened, then fold in the berry purée and the vanilla extract. Loosely whip the cream and fold it in.
Spoon into small dessert bowls, decorate with extra berries. Place in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

In my yesterdays recipe I used fried rye bread as a garnish - You can use crumbled ginger cookies! 
In my yesterdays recipe I used ricotta cheese instead of mascarpone cheese and I also added cinnamon!!!


Here is a picture of yesterdays dessert (sorry about the blurriness) and main course. Main course has our last week recipe of butternut squash!

New to Bikram yoga?

In next two months we are expecting many new people in our studio. Here are some tips for you :)

Bikram Yoga Tips for Beginners:

1. Arrive early to your first few classes. The first time you go, you will have paper work to fill out. The next few times after, you want to get there about 15 minutes before class starts (at least) to acclimate to the heat in the room. Be careful though, it easy to doze off if you lay down on your back.

2. Where as little clothing as possible, but still be appropriate. A lot of girls tend to wear long yoga pants. I did that for over two years. I should have switched to shorts a lot sooner. I recommend yoga shorts for girls, and a yoga tank top or sports bra. Guys seem to be a little shy in their first few classes and don't want to take off their shirts. Big mistake. A loose t-shirt gets in the way. And to be quite honest, even if you are the hottest guy we've ever seen, chances are, the other people around you probably won't be checking you out during class. You get so focused on your practice that you don't often see the details on another person.

3. Remember to drink water; but only between postures. My sister (Red) and I had a similar experience in our first classes. We both felt so nauseated that we were afraid to drink water. We thought if we did, we would puke. But you need to sip water during the class. But sip it. Don't chug it. And remember to drink only between postures, as it is less distracting to other people around you.

4. If you feel like you are going to pass out, sit down on your knees. I've been so tired lately, I have had to sit down during a few poses myself yesterday. We almost had a girl faint in class a few Fridays back. The teacher gave her some coconut water. She was back in action a few minutes later. (Coconut water helps!)

5. Try not to talk during class. If you come with a friend or spouse its tempting to talk a little but try not to. It is very distracting for other people in the class who are trying to meditate . Thank you :)

6. Don't leave the classroom. It would be so easy to just leave when you feel very hot. But please don´t. You are doing yourself a favor by staying in the room and adapting. Soon your body will get used to the heat and make it more manageable!

7. Accept that even if you have done a different kind of yoga for years, Bikram yoga will still be hard the first time.  Bikram is a "hard-core" but "beginner-friendly" yoga. .

8. Don't eat three hours (at least) before class. Sometimes, I don't eat for for or five hours before class. If you have a heavy meal that you don't digest before class, you will regret it when you bend forward and feel like you're going to puke. And I have heard tales (recent ones) of people puking in class.

9. REST after final breathing. There are so many people I see (both new and experienced) that hop up after class as soon as the final breathing exercise is done. This is bad. You need to plan for time to rest on your back after class. Getting up too quickly just to get out of the hot room (or catch your train) means you're not taking advantage of all the hard work you just spent 90 minutes doing. Your body needs to rest. For at least two minutes. I prefer five minutes myself.

10. Don't be ashamed to cry. Bikram yoga can be very emotional. All that backwards bending opens up the heart chakra. Some people see "green stars" the first few times they do camel pose. That means their heart chakra is beginning to open. I tell them, "That's awesome! Good for you! You are making progress!" But some people cry when they open that heart chakra. I cried a little one time during locust pose. I don't why I cried, but it was just so emotional for me.

11. Come back to practice again soon. My first class was Monday, October 11, 2004. I came back the very next day for a second class. And for the past four, almost five, years I am glad to see my interest in practicing Bikram has stuck. If you come back the next day for your second class, maybe it will be the same for you?

(Modified Tips from http://oncommonground.blogspot.com/)

Roasted Butternut Squash

Its Thursday - time for a recipe of the week!   My favorite side dish for fall is Roasted butternut Squash!

This is a naturally low fat fall side dish that would make a great accompaniment to a Thanksgiving dinner. Sometimes squash are hard to cut, but you can make this task easier by piercing it with a fork, then popping it in the microwave for 60 seconds before cutting into it.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 small butternut squash (2 lbs)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup maple syrup

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using a sturdy knife, cut off the top of the butternut squash near the stem, then cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and membranes. Halve again, making four wedges.

Place wedges cut side up in a large glass baking dish. Sprinkle cinnamon on top. Combine orange juice and maple syrup and drizzle over squash wedges. Cover with foil and roast for 45 minutes. Spoon syrup over wedges before serving.
Serves 4
Per Serving: Calories 166, Calories from Fat 5, Total Fat 0.5g (Sat 0.1g), Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 11mg, Carbohydrate 35.3g, Fiber 3.8g, Protein 3.4g

This is why men should do yoga!

In our studio we have quite a many regulars who are guys..and they keep coming back! Tell your spouse about them and show him this article and ask him to give Bikram a try - he will not regret it!

- Tone your hamstrings
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Once upon a time, when you spoke to men about yoga, they almost immediately had images of Lululemon-clad women chanting verses of Sanskrit while bending their bodies into impossible positions. For the hockey-playing, basketball-watching, sports-obsessed male species, the practice of yoga was about as appealing as watching a Julia Roberts romantic comedy -- twice. However, times -- and old-standing stereotypes -- have changed thanks, in part, to the evolution of male-specific sport versus female-specific sport. More women are tackling the football field while more men are doing the downward dog. Yoga has become the new cross-training for men looking to increase their flexibility and improve their muscle conditioning so the next time they hit the field or the rink, their bodies will bend into nearly impossible positions -- willingly.

Paul McQuillan, a yoga instructor at Toronto's Bikram Yoga Centre, has been practising yoga -- specifically, Bikram or hot yoga, a style of yoga that takes place in rooms heated to about 40 C -- for three years. Yoga has improved both his physical and mental strength, he says, while revitalizing his energy levels. Here, he explains the advantages of yoga and how men can benefit from it.

1. Yoga works the entire body
In sports such as hockey, tennis or football, you tend to utilize only 10 to 15 per cent of the body, whereas yoga provides a workout that covers every muscle, joint and organ. The practice oxygenates the blood, creating more energy when you finish the exercise as opposed to depleting the body of it. You work every system: cardiovascular, skeletal, muscular and endocrine.

2. Yoga has benefits in the bedroom
Guarasana, or Eagle Pose, is a posture that sends fresh blood and oxygen to the sexual organs, so this is a particularly beneficial exercise for men in revitalizing their bedroom prowess! Trikonasana, or Triangle Pose, is a marriage of the heart and the lungs, two organs that don't usually interact. Not only does this posture increase cardiovascular endurance, but it is also the only known yoga posture that utilizes every organ, muscle and joint in the body.

3. Yoga works for every size
It does not matter how you look when you practise yoga. Whether you're a 250-pound linebacker or a 150-pound triathlete, yoga will push your personal boundaries by increasing your own flexibility, endurance and muscle strength.

4. Yoga decreases muscle soreness
Yoga is hugely beneficial in working out stiffness from other sports. When muscles are fatigued, they build with lactic acid, and yoga, which stretches and releases tension, helps flush that away. Runners in particular find yoga the best activity after a long endurance jog.

5. Yoga restores energy levels
Yoga practice doesn't deplete your body of all of your energy after a class -- like, say, a gym workout, where your body is entirely fatigued after your session. Instead, it actually increases your vigour, making you feel more aware and revitalized.

6. Yoga trains your focus
Athletes like Wayne Gretzky, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and John McEnroe have heightened their performance levels through practising Bikram yoga. By combining mental, physical and emotional strength, they became better athletes at their chosen sport. Men can't seem to let their egos go, and in yoga, you have to train your mind to shut down -- to stop thinking about work, what you're going to have for dinner or whether the Raptors are going to win the game. Traditionally, men have a more difficult time doing that than women, although, once they do let go, their focus on the positions -- and the difficulty in holding them -- improves vastly.

7. Yoga flushes your system
The practice of yoga is often referred to as "intense," especially in Bikram. When you are working in a room heated higher than your body temperature, you sweat a considerable amount. The pounds dramatically shed off your body and, more importantly, you rid yourself of all the pent-up toxins. Due to the heat in Bikram, it has been noted that you are essentially creating an artificial "fever" in the body, therefore enhancing the immune system.

8. Yoga balances the mind
Yoga has such a great sense of community to it and it really allows for mental clarity and focus. After you practise, you feel more grounded, less self-absorbed and calmer. This type of mental clarity really helps in other sports or activities you may be involved in.

Come to life with the challenge!

Here is a fun video we found. In this video people literally come to life with Yoga Challenge!

Fun video

Here is a fun video of "Yoga for Wine lovers" . But we all know that Wine and Bikram yoga doesn' t wanna always work together. Any tips?

Half Moon pose - Arda-Chandrasana

Ardha-Chandrasana or Half Moon pose is the first of the 26 postures in the Bikram series. Teachers will often say that this posture determines the fate of your entire 90 minute practice. This posture warms up your spine and activates the central nervous system, which certainly affects your performance in the other 25 postures that follow.

The scientific origins of Half Moon go back to the beginning of Hatha Yoga time. The word Hatha (meaning any series of postures), comes from combining the two Sanskrit terms. “Ha” meaning sun and “tha” meaning moon. When the two components of the word are placed together, “hatha” means “forceful”, implying that powerful work must be done to purify the body. Yoga means to yoke, or to join two things together, hence hatha yoga is meant to join together sun (masculine, active) energy with the moon (feminine, receptive) energy, thus producing balance and greater power in an individual. The sun is represented in the right side of the body and the moon in the left. This is also why almost all yoga postures are done from right to left (sun to moon or masculine to feminine). Have we lost you yet with all this yoga jargon?

So, back to Half Moon Pose. This idea of sun and moon is very evident in the Half Moon posture. First you bend to the right, moving circulation from right to left (ha to tha). Then you bend to the left, reversing the circulation. In the beginning you are struggling just for good form. Over time, as the body improves, you will be able to deepen the posture and therefore move even more blood circulation to each side of the body. Eventually, in the future, the side you are bending will only have about 4 inches distance from your shoulder blade/scapula to the hipbone.

This lateral bending is all in preparation for the amazing Half Moon backbend that takes place next. To do a good backbend, start by dropping your head back as far as it goes. Truly, look at the floor behind you and use your eyes to guide you deeper into the posture. When you are all the way back, contract your hip muscles and push them forward towards to mirror and you will find yourself even more rooted and further deepening your backbend. Keep your arms and elbows straight and keep reaching back….and breathe! Don’t be afraid if your back hurts or you feel weird. This is normal to experience.

Benefits

• Trims fat all over the body: thighs, hips, waist, buttocks, arms and abdomen.
• Improves and strengthens every muscle in the central part of the body, especially the back and abdomen.
• Increases flexibility of the spine
• Helps pigeon chest
• Helps release tension in the respiratory system
• Corrects bad posture
• Promotes proper kidney function
• Helps cure enlargement of the liver and the spleen
• Helps cure dyspepsia and constipation
• Helps to alleviate lower back pain, bronchial distress, scoliotic deformities, tennis elbow, frozen shoulder
• Realigns spine
• Stretches the lymph glands and is good for lymphoma
• Good for children to build will power and self-esteem

Energetic Benefits

Proper alignment of half-moon exercises and opens many of the chackras.

§  Aligning your hips opens the 1 (root), 2 (sexual) and 3rd (solar plexus) chackras. This breaks through issues of power, intimacy, sexuality, creativity and self-image.

§  Opening of the shoulders activates the 3 (solar plexus), 4th (heart) and 5th (throat) chackras. releasing of the shoulder area helps to balance the difference you feel between your inner and outer self : how you see yourself, and how you feel the world sees you

§  allows you to break free from taking yourself too seriously

Class Notes from the Pros

From Rajishree

§  You MUST use the hips. If you feel pain in the ribs or scapula, you are using your upper spine too much and not enough of your hips.

From Craig

According to Craig, the two biggest mistakes in Half-Moon are holding the body up to avoid the pain of stretching and flopping down using only flexibility. Here are his tips to avoid these mistakes and improve your pose:

§  Stretch up first as much as possible to open up the intervertebral disks [soft tissue between your vertebra]

§  Your hips should initiate the movement because they are both your centre of gravity and prana [energetic center]

§  Exhale as you stretch, gravity will help you. This applies to all poses that use gravity.

§  Think ‘stretch’ instead of ‘come down’ so that the static arc of the posture will hold you up

§  If you feel pain in your lower back, you have failed to stretch

§  Instead of focusing on bringing the palms together, focus on stretchingand lengthening which will automatically force the elbows to straighten and the palms to touch

Tips for Teachers

§  Hold the first set at least 30 seconds, 1 minute is better. If the room is not hot enough, hold it approximately 1 minute – Craig

§  Pay close attention to the order of the dialogue. “The dialogue is a set of variables executed in a sequence, each one must exist in order to allow the next to happen.” – Craig

§  Say the dialogue once, make the students see themselves and repeat, repeat, repeat until they understand the pose - Bikram

§  The first dialogue of half-moon is important because it establishes yourauthority in the class, and sets the stage for the students to surrenderto  the instructions. If you can make a beginner understand half-moon by second set, you can make them surrender. – Bikram

§  Half-Moon is a very diagnostic posture, use your knowledge of the form to diagnose and anatomical inconsistencies affecting your students – Craig

Half Moon from Sara Curry on Vimeo.