Food: Dumpling Soup To Fight a Cold

This is the time of year when it's pretty easy to catch a cold with the swing in temperatures and particularly if you're flying for the holidays. I love airplanes and travelling, but not the germs the cabin air spreads. I caught a cold after flying for Thanksgiving weekend and my poor husband caught the cold from me. I wanted to make him soup to help him feel better (and to soothe my guilt for spreading my germs to him) but the typical chicken noodle soup from a can has so much sodium and preservatives and is so boring. I wanted something that would soothe his cold, tasted great, and didn't include sodium or preservatives. My solution was dumpling soup! This recipe is super easy and the broth from the soup soothes a scratchy throat and the little spicyness helps clear out the sinuses. I made it for my husband last night and it was a big hit!

The recipe uses frozen dumplings from Big Bowl. They have vegetable dumplings or chicken dumplings. The dumplings are filled with bok choy, cabbage, carrots, bamboo shoots and peanuts. You can buy them in the frozen food section at your local specialty grocery store or directly from Big Bowl.  

Recipe for Dumpling Soup



Ingredients:

(Serves 2)

• 6 Big Bowl Frozen Dumplings
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• Salt
• 4 oz. of whole wheat fusilli pasta
• 1 small can of corn
• 1 carrot peeled, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• Sriracha Sauce (optional)
• Soy Sauce (optional)
• green onions, diced (optional)

Directions:

1. Steam the frozen dumplings for about 10 minutes until they are warm but still hold their shape.
2. Bring the chicken broth, water and a pinch of salt to a rapid boil in a large saucepan.
3. Boil the pasta, corn, carrot and celery until the pasta is al dente (about 10 minutes) in the chicken broth solution.
4. Ladle the soup into bowls and place 3 steamed dumplings on top.
5. Add a touch of sriracha sauce for spicyness and soy sauce for a little saltiness to help bring out the flavors.
6. Top off with green onions.
7. Enjoy and feel better!



Dumpling Soup

Fashion: Alexis Bittar Sample Sale

I don't usually run after sales and I'm not the kind of girl that wants to fight crowds or dig through bins for a discount. I'm much more deliberate about my purchases and even stalk my items for weeks for a discount. However, when I heard that Alexis Bittar is running a sample sale with around a 50% discount, I ran to my nearest Alexis Bittar store to take a look. And I'm sure glad I did! They have quite a few pieces on sale for a significant price cut.  Here is the pair of earrings that I snatched up (no fighting was involved).

Alexis Bittar Bud Earring with Ombre Pave Black

Here are some more of my favorites:

Alexis Bittar Filigree Onyx Earrings $80

Alexis Bittar Gold Infinity Drop Earrings $75

Go check out their selection at your nearest Alexis Bittar boutique store or online. Happy Shopping! 





Fashion: Peter Pan Collar Necklaces

Let me first apologize for not writing in months, life got in the way and my love for fashion had to take a temporary back seat. But, fall fashion is now here and so duty called.

As the holiday season gets closer and closer, clothes start to become shinier and more embellished. But, since we're still recovering from a recession, we're not always in a position to buy new clothes to follow every trend. This is why I love the new peter pan collar necklaces. You can add them to any top or dress with a crew neckline and completely change its look. Now, you can wear them with other types of necklines but I just think they look best with crew necklines. The new peter pan collar necklaces come in a lot of varieties, such as lace, jewels or stones, you can pick whichever one strikes your fancy. Trust me no one will even be able to tell that you've worn that dress before. Here are a few of my favorite looks that you can create.

(Blouse available at Kate Spade New York)

I love this look! Wear the bright yellow cheerful top to work and then for a night out just pop on a jeweled collar necklace.

I actually recreated this look with this sweater from Theory and this Cara collar necklace...

(Sweater available from Theory)

(Collar Necklace available from Cara at Nordstrom)

Already own a LBD (who doesn't)? Just pop on a lace or jeweled peter pan necklace and all of a sudden it's a completely different look.

(Dress available at Kate Spade New York)



Here are some more of my favorites...

(Rachel Faux Pearl Collar Necklace, $20)

(Top Shop Chunky Box Collar Necklace, $70)

(Tarnish Sequin Collar Necklace, $38)

How are you going to wear this trend?