Food: Top Secret Recipes

Now most of the time we discuss wonderfully prepared food around Community Education. But, I know many of you are like me and enjoy fast food on occasion. I stumbled on a great website called Top Secret Recipes for everyone who wants to create some of those famous fast food tastes at home.
This site has recipes that mimic everything from the secret sauce on a Big Mac, directions for making Cherry Slurpees, and even the perfect recipe for Mrs Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies. This site has lots of great free recipes and some you have to pay for. All have user comments so you know what to expect before trying them yourselves.
So check this site out and take your culinary skills to a whole new....ummm... place.

Art: What Is Plein Air?

One of the art classes this summer at Community Education is a series of Plein Air Workshops taught by local artist Rebecca Meloy. The workshops sound really fun---each week the class goes to a different outdoor spot--but what does plein air mean?

According to askart.com, the translation is painfully obvious: it means "in plain air." In an art context, it means drawing things outside, and was embraced by Impressionists in the 19th century. It's similar to the Italian term al fresco, but according to one website that can also mean "in jail", so plein air might be the better term to use in art circles.

Drawing in plain air seems like the perfect idea for an artist in Whatcom County in the

summer---the weather will be balmy and pleasant to sit in, and the scenery is a perfect subject for a gauzy, colorful, plein air style painting that will make you feel like Seurat on a Sunday afternoon.

To read all about plein air, click here.

To read about Rebecca Meloy's workshops, click here.

Business: Lamest Water Products Ever!

OK, water is basically water. Most of us have a favorite brand, but, its mostly about trust and the slight taste differences (I also like to have a squirt top on the bottle)

These eleven water products push the "water envelope" to the extreme. Music infused water that will motivate you because water has memory? Water distilled from deep sea salt water? Water filtered through 100 1 carat diamonds? How about a water called Bling that's from a tap and it's biggest claim to fame is that famous people have been paid to drink it and the bottle has glass jewelery draped around it. That bling will set you back $40 bucks!

Anyway, pretty amazing what marketeers will come up with and what customers will buy. Checkout this Wired Magazine article as it has pictures of all the products.

Click here for complete article

Food and Wine: Keep Spills At Bay

I love picnics, but I somehow always manage to commit a "party foul" and spill my drink all over me, my friends, and the once-comfortable picnic blanket.

Now, with the help of Trendhunter magazine, I have found the perfect solution: Steady Sticks. Steady Sticks are bottle and glass holders that you can stick in the ground at a beach, campsite, or outdoor festival.

Now all I need to do is take Cindy McKinney's Gourmet Picnic Basket class on May 22nd and I'll be set for summer!

To read the full article, click here.

Health and Fitness: Yoga Can Help Cancer Patients Feel Better

People often take yoga to improve their health, whether it be to strengthen an injured body part or to increase flexibility for easier exercising. However, up until now there has been no research done on whether yoga can improve the health of cancer patients. In the first study of its kind, researchers have found that yoga can improve both health and quality of life when a patient is undergoing radiation treatments.

For the experiment, a collaboration between the University of Texas and a research institution in Bangalore, India, 61 breast cancer patients were divided into yoga and non-yoga groups for the duration of their radiation therapy. The women in the yoga group reported lower levels of fatigue, better general health, and improved social functioning, among other positive effects.

Researchers plan to collect more data on how yoga can improve the health of cancer patients, focusing on the levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, in the patients' bodies.

To read the full article, click here.