BuzzSugar

Buzz In: What's Your Favorite Soothing Music?

BuzzSugar — Sat, 31 May 2008 13:30:19 PDT

Music is a very personal thing. What's pleasing to the ears of one person can be nails on a chalkboard to another. Even iPod playlists are like snowflakes: no two alike. But I find that people can be most varied when it comes to what they listen to when they need to be soothed.

The very definition of the word "soothe" is "to tranquilize or calm." Think auditory Xanax. A quick Amazon search of "soothing music" leads to mostly instrumental compilations meant to lull you to sleep. For me, these Enya-eque tunes are more boring than calming.

So, what mellows me? Well, a little Sade goes a long way. Her voice is sensually raspy, and I instantly get transported to whatever perfect-love scenario she's currently crooning about. The Beatles have a similar calming effect. It probably has something to do with growing up listening to their albums, back when I had no adult responsibilities. I asked Bella this question and she says calms the ol' nerves with The Sea and Cake.

What about you? What CD or artists do you listen to when you just want to kick back and relax?

Song of the Day: The Sea and Cake, "Crossing Line"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 08 May 2007 05:02:00 PDT

For some reason, the jaunty, breezy, and jazz-inspired pop of jazzy The Sea and Cake has always sounded like summer to me. So it's fitting that the band's first full-length album in four years is coming out right as we're having an unseasonably warm and wonderful week of San Francisco weather.

The new CD, titled Everybody and hitting stores today, will sound comforting to fans of the Chicago indie-scene supergroup, which includes Sam Prekop, Archer Prewitt, and Tortoise drummer John McEntire. After all, these guys save the radical departures for their side projects, keeping the Sea and Cake's sound relatively uniform but consistently lovely over the years. "Crossing Line" is unexpectedly more rockin' than some of the band's other stuff but still oozing with the sound of summer. To listen,

Food For the Seoul: A Korean Cuisine Primer

Sara Yoo — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 06:40:04 PDT

Source: Flickr User aemosion

The Korean Peninsula's position between China and Japan might lead you to believe that the cuisine is heavily influenced by both countries, but over the centuries, Korean food has developed into a genre quite distinct from its neighbors. Perhaps best known for smoky barbecue and spicy pickled cabbage kimchi, the cuisine actually is heavy on seafood and vegetables with plenty of nonspicy options. Of course, we'll never turn down piping hot charcoal barbecue or bubbling, peppery stews, but we're happy to sample any of the region's deliciously diverse dishes and soulful seasonings. For some popular dishes and ingredients keep reading

Get Smart About Soy

Health — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 04:48:14 PST

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Health.com here on our site.

There are so many ways to get this good-for-you protein into your daily diet. Here's how to do it - and why you absolutely should.

By Sally Kuzemchak, RD

If you bypass tofu at salad bars, skip the meatless dishes at Chinese restaurants, and avoid edamame when you're out for sushi, well, it's time to give soy-based foods a second look. "Whole soy foods are a great substitute for meat," says Christine Gerbstadt, MD, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Their healthy protein content makes them a good option even if you're not one of the growing number of people going "flexitarian" or opting to eat less meat.

Here's your guide to making this legume a regular and great-tasting part of your diet.

Soy 101
All soy products are made from soybeans, mostly grown here in the United States. You can buy whole soybeans dried or canned, or in the produce section or freezer aisle as edamame, the common name for soybeans picked before they're fully mature. (Edamame can be purchased either in pods or shelled.)

Health.com: The 10 best foods for your heart

Beyond whole beans, soy takes on a number of different guises. Roasted soybeans are sold as soy nuts or ground into soy nut butter. Soybeans can be soaked in water, cooked, and filtered to make soy milk and soy yogurt. Adding a coagulant to soy milk curdles it, producing tofu, which ranges in texture from "silken" (very soft) to "extra firm," depending on how much liquid is removed.

Soybeans can also be fermented into a paste called miso (the base for miso soup) or a cake or patty called tempeh, which is often used in place of meat in sandwiches or grilled and eaten on its own. Finally, soy can be found in many packaged foods - such as frozen meatless burgers, cereals, and energy bars - often in the form of "soy protein isolate," meaning it's mostly the protein from soybeans you're getting.

Keep reading for more on soy.

Savory Sight: Flourless Orange and Sea Salt Chocolate Cake

Yum Community — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:22:41 PST

If the description of this cake doesn't get your mouth watering, then I'm afraid I don't know what will. Gabriela Une Vie Saine gives us a truly decadent dessert.

Warning: For serious chocoholics ONLY!
This rich, bittersweet chocolate cake is made with only five ingredients and yields a seriously impressive result. More chocolatey than sweet, it's the perfect dense dessert for a sophisticated dinner party.

If you're ready for this recipe, visit her blog. And don't forget to share your recipes in our YumSugar community.

Chocolate Fondue Dippers to Try This Valentine's Day

Susannah Chen — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:30:36 PST

There's no dessert that screams Valentine's Day more than a pot of bubbling chocolate fondue. To make your fondue experience super memorable, serve the melted chocolate with an exciting array of dippers. Think outside the box and offer chunks of bananas, toasted bread slices sprinkled with sea salt, or heart-shaped pound cake bites. For all of these great ideas and more delicious dipping suggestions, check out our video now!

OnSugar Blog: An Under-the-Sea Castle Cake For a Lil Cake Boss Fan

OnSugar Blog — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 03:15:08 PDT

Lots of moms like to think out loud and heatherkorn26 is one of them. The BelleStyleFamily blogger recently showed off her lil one's fantastic birthday.

Happy Birthday Morgan-Rose Marie Matthews! July 30, 2011 She turned four and together with four other young Cake Bosses in the making, we created the most amazing "Under the Sea" Castle Cake fit for Ariel, Flounder and all her fellow mermaids!

Our five professional child decorators: Maddie, Zoe, Macy, Morgan, and Lily worked diligently painting icing on cones with selected sprinkle toppings and iced a leaning castle cake full of blue, green, pink, and purple icing! The Cake Bosses finished the creation with Starburts, jelly fish, lemon drops, and jelly beans to create the appearance of the cake being under the water.

Great job girls!

Want to see more? Start following BelleStyleFamily or start your own OnSugar blog. It's easy, it's free, and we just may feature your content on our site!

Wheat-Free Pumpkin Dog Biscuits

Pet Community — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:01:08 PST

For a delicious and seasonal doggie birthday treat, Yoo Eatz baked up some wheat-free pumpkin dog biscuits for her lucky pooch.

Disclaimer: Before we go any further, please take note that these are dog biscuits, not people biscuits. No harm will befall you if ingested, but I guarantee that your dog will enjoy them more that you will.

I'm a terrible parent. In fact, it makes me wonder sometimes what will happen when we have human children running around the house rather than the four-legged variety. So here it is: I forgot my dog's birthday. The real date is October 25th, and Lily reached a regal 13 years of age this year on that late Tuesday in October. But here we are one month later, and I have provided no gifts, no birthday cake, only a belated couple of pats on the head and maybe a few more toy tosses.

Of course, the truth is, she hasn't noticed. And she has no idea (nor sympathy) for the guilt that I feel. She's just worried about where her next meal is coming from, which is exactly the sentiment that helped me land on her birthday present.

This Thanksgiving, we're off to my parents' house which now goes by the code name "Disneyland" because the term "Grandma and Grandpa's house" now makes Lily so excited, she leaves puddles on the floor. And since we will be partaking of our own pumpkin-flavored treats, I thought it only fitting that the dog have her own. So I tracked down this wonderful recipe (and cute post) at Simmer Till Done for wheat-free pumpkin dog biscuits that are easy to make and also easy on an aging canine's tummy. This should serve to assuage my guilt, at least until I forget next year. For the recipe, read on.

5 Ways With Mochi

Susannah Chen — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:21:10 PDT

You may have heard of mochi, the Japanese cake made with sweet, glutinous rice. You may have even enjoyed it as the shell of mochi ice cream, a frozen dessert popular at Japanese restaurants. But do you know that mochi can be a sweet or savory component in just about any meal?

I recently discovered this when I spotted bake-and-serve packs of mochi next to tofu in the refrigerated section of Whole Foods. I did a little research and some experimentation in the kitchen with what I found and quickly learned that mochi lends a totally different textural component to a meal than, say, bread, potatoes, or even rice. There are a ton of simple ways to start out experimenting with this lesser-known product. Here are five of my favorite ways to do it.

What's Your Favorite Shellfish?

Susannah Chen — Mon, 16 May 2011 06:09:44 PDT

Yay for seafood! Pacific salmon season's just started, and incidentally, the rising temperatures are also ideal for that warm-weather selection from the sea that I like to call shore food. In light of the lobster rolls and crab cakes that we'll soon be enjoying, I'd like to ask: what's your favorite kind of shellfish?