BEST WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT IN 1 WEEK

The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Book of Desserts

Here comes the most scrumptious collection of delectable desserts ever from the Good Housekeeping kitchens. They bring you more than 200 mouthwatering cakes, cookies, and sweets so good you’ll want to make every one. As always, the chefs at Good Housekeeping triple-test each recipe, so you know they will be delicious and fail-safe. In addition, the Good Housekeeping pros offer useful preparation tips on everything from assembling cake layers to testing for doneness. Top off a meal with an absolutely irresistible rich chocolate cake with pink sugar roses. Don’t tell anyone how simple it is to whip up the Florentine Cream Cake known as Zucotto—just enjoy the applause. Want a festive holiday treat? White Chocolate and Cranberry Trifle will do the trick; prepare it in advance and keep it in the refrigerator for easy entertaining. (There are tips for decorating the trifle top, too.) Plus: individual chocolate souffles, creme caramel, strawberry-orange charlotte, apple turnovers, and other temptations.

Notebook entry 12-23-07 (shortly before the photo above was taken):

"Nueve Vallarta, Riu Vallarta Hotel, pool side. The spirit of the moment is one of discontent with a frustration chaser. There is a water bar, the sky is overcast but bright and hot. We are crabby. Bad sleep, aggressive locals and pushy travel agents who won't answer our questions but do try to sell us things we don't want. The food is overly plentiful but completely flavorless. We seem to be the only ones who notice the lack of flavor. Our fellow guests are rude to the wait staff and to each other in equal portions. Plates piled high with food that is as flavorless as it is hard won in the battlefield of the all-you-can-eat buffet arena. The desserts look fabulous but they all taste the same; as if, somehow, the chef learned to cook dishes he'd never tasted, from magazine photos.

There is something about this oasis of tooth rotting opulence smack in the middle of soul crushing poverty that seems to bring out the worst in everyone. The few of us who have are like fat cows being herded through a field infested with mosquitoes, the have-nots. Do mosquitoes even bite cows? Anyway... If you frame your shot just right, you get paradise. Pan to the left or right and the disparity of wealth vs. poverty ruins the illusion. Once again, I'm seeing myself on the fat side of the divide and I'm sickened but trying to be grateful. They keep us fed on bland, fattening food, the mid shelf booze is free flowing and, let's face it, this fantasy doesn't come cheap. Here, the staff work themselves ragged to keep us fed and liquored as we fight amongst ourselves for our pool chairs and the bottomless trays of of forgettable meals. I can't help but feel that the reason people come to a resort like this is not bask in the opulence and enjoy the weather but to enjoy the feel of someone else under *their* thumb, for a change.

The alternative to this lap of luxury is to take a taxi or the bus (if you can figure out when and where it'll pick you up) into Bucerias or Puerto Vallarta to be assaulted by the mosquitoes who are so damned hungry, they'll scream at you from across the street and down the block on the slim change you'll part with a few of your favorite pesos. There is a lot in town to photograph, although it is impossible to be invisible. We are the target, so also the center of attention. Take out a camera and you become the prize winning cow. I've taken to photographing the men, women and children who accost us with their wares. It pisses them off because I'm taking something but not giving back. I can't say I blame them.

The trusty Lomo is slipping and jamming film and I'm not totally sure the shutter is firing every time. The Olympus OM2n won't successfully wind the Fuji Velvia but seems okay on the rest of the film. The shutter in auto exposure mode started failing the first night, locking open until I turn the camera off again. Which, of course, ruins the shot. Is this irony? I left the Canonet behind, for which I am still kicking myself. Moral: ALWAYS bring a backup camera. Second moral: Always pack for the destination, NOT the journey. Having a slightly lighter load is doing me NO good at all, now that I'm here.

I came here to witness and photograph someone else’s Christmas. I just realized that. I came here, to this very Catholic country, to find Christmas. So far, they hide their Christmas from us tourist cows. Instead of an authentic holiday, they offer us cheap lights and wire snowmen with sunglasses on but the posadas and parades (ie, the good stuff), I guess they keep those to themselves. I can't say I blame them. We left our Christmas and all the pain associated with the family betrayal and drama behind. We left the friendships that fell apart, behind. And now, we’re in Mexico, it’s 80 degrees in December and the song blaring out from the water bar stereo system is a woman singing ‘Dontchu wish your girlfriend was fine.. bald (?)… a freak… hot… fun… like me?’
I feel like I should be doing something with my life. And being a middle aged, middle class suburban IT professional at a Mexican resort for fat, middle aged, middle class suburbanites, isn’t it. A bee was attracted to the sugar in my drink glass. It probably seemed easier pickings than foraging a thousand flowers. Fearing it might sting me, I’ve trapped the bee in the glass. Now it can have all the sugar it can eat or want but it can’t ever leave. Is this irony?

I’m realizing that the photography isn’t really any different than the music. It’s all me, filtering the world through my own sensibilities and my biases and putting it back into the world. The world, by the way, is a mess. I feel like I should be doing something, anything to make it better. Singing songs about it is no solution. Working on computers, writing budgets, managing an IT division is no solution. Writing is no solution. Bloging, talking, and whining about i

The Islands Cafe dining area offers a variety of contemporary menu formats for students, faculty, staff and campus visitors to choose from throughout the day. Choices available include grilled items, deli sandwiches, Mexican and Italian food, and daily specials that range from favorite comfort foods like fried chicken to vegetarian dishes. Grab-and-go sandwiches and salads, yogurt parfaits, fat free and low sugar puddings and desserts by the slice are packaged and ready to go as well.

But apparently it's closed on Sundays :o)

Satisfy the sweet cravings of your family and friends over and over again with more than 300 luscious desserts for every occasion, from family meals and celebrations to elegant dinner parties and buffet spreads.

Dessert does not have to be just "American as Apple Pie" any longer. This special collection of recipes, from an international team of food writers, is a mixture of time- tested classics, as well as modern desserts that appeal to the taste buds, budgets, and busy schedules of today's cooks. Scattered throughout are 30 recipes that cater to specific health and diet needs such as diabetic, gluten-intolerant, low carb, and low- calorie. You'll also find more than 150 full-color photographs that highlight many of the mouthwatering recipes.

The book is divided into 19 chapters, including Cookies; Cupcakes; Simple Cakes and Tortes; Layer Cakes, Rolls, and Gateaux; Pies and Tarts; Pastries and Yeast Cakes; Crisps, Cobblers, and Strudels; Meringues, Pavolas, Dacquiose, Vacherin, and Macaroons ; Baked Custards; Mousses, Gelatin Creams, and Charlottes; Puddings and Sweet Souffles; Sweet Pancakes, Crepes, and Blintzes; Ice Creams and Sorbets, Fritters; Candy; and much more.

All recipes include preparation and cooking times, step-by-step instructions, and approximate number of servings. A short appendix shows many basic cooking utensils, as well as useful charts with conversion tables for weights and measures, equivalent ingredients, halving or doubling recipes, plus expert baking hints and tips.