Vanilla or Chocolate? The best of both worlds....

I love to cook, I look forward to the arrival of my Cooking Light magazine each month, and I LOVE Angel Food Cake, mostly because it is always served with my favorite things: berries, ice cream, whipped cream, etc. If you're like me, and can't decide whether you are in the mood for light or decadent when it comes to dessert, this Black and White Angel Food Cake is perfect -- it has both! If you need a visual, just check out the cover of April’s issue. It is surprisingly simple to make, so do not be discouraged by the lengthy list of ingredients. Yum! fls

Cake:
1 cup cake flour (about 4 ounces)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 large egg whites
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsweetened dark cocoa (such as Hershey's Special Dark)
Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons tub light cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon 1% low-fat milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon unsweetened dark cocoa (such as Hershey's Special Dark)

Preheat oven to 325°.
To prepare cake, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and 3/4 cup granulated sugar, stirring with a whisk; set aside.
Place cream of tartar, salt, and egg whites in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Add remaining 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Beat in juice and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Sift flour mixture over egg white mixture, 1/4 cup at a time; fold in after each addition.
Spoon half of batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, spreading evenly. Break air pockets by cutting through batter with a knife. Sift 2 tablespoons cocoa over remaining batter; fold in. Spoon cocoa batter evenly over top of vanilla batter; break air pockets by cutting through cocoa layer with a knife. Bake at 325° for 55 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Invert pan; cool completely. Loosen cake from sides of pan using a narrow metal spatula. Invert cake onto a plate.
To prepare glaze, place powdered sugar, cream cheese, milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Drizzle half of glaze over cake.
Add 3/4 teaspoon cocoa to remaining glaze; stir well to combine. Drizzle cocoa glaze over cake. Refrigerate 5 minutes or until glaze is set. Garnish with sliced strawberries, if desired.

Worse than the dentist...

Packing has always been hard for me. In a very exciting turn of events, I have been traveling a lot over the past six months. This is both wonderful (when I travel) and awful (when I have to pack.) This week is going to be a particular challenge because I am going to New York on Thursday for a black tie event, and Miami on Friday for a bachelorette party. (And yes, I know this cool and I have no room to complain.) Because of this, I was particularly interested in Kimberly Cutter's article, "Pack Like a Pro" in the May issue of Harper's-Bazaar Magazine. One tip I already use and find very helpful is the strategy of picking either black or brown accessories and building your wardrobe about that. However, I was wondering if any of you have any ideas for packing, especially with the new regulations regarding liquids. At this point I always end up with a disaster on my hands, and a frazzled outlook before I even reach the airport! - LG

Flower Fridays: Tulips

I love tulips! They are my favorite flowers. Well, my favorites when displayed in a vase (I think they look kind of funny in their natural state outside.) And my favorites but not necessarily for a wedding. And my favorites but not when grouped with more than one kind of other flower.
Ok, well, tulips are in my top five. If you want a simple, elegant arrangement without a lot of fuss, these are always a great choice. I generally like them in very dense arrangements, but they also look pretty when the stems start to bend and they spill out over a vase.

Three fun facts about tulips:

1. Red tulips signify love. Purple tulips signify royalty. Yellow tulips (my favorite) signify either hopeless love or cheerful thoughts. (Hmmm, that is confusing.) White tulips signify either worthiness or forgiveness. Variegated tulips represent beautiful eyes.
2. Tulips continue to grow after they are cut.

3. Tulips are native to Turkey, not the Netherlands.

Now for some pictures. It is amazing to me that these are all tulips, even though they look so different. I have only shown a few, but to find more (you could look for hours) click here. - LG

The Black Parrot Tulip (not my favorite, but apparently Martha Stewart loves it.)

The Baby Doll (a double rather than single bloom.)

The Cilesta (love the colors.)

Sweet Dreams

One of the nicest things you can do for your guests (or yourself) is make sure that all your beds are welcoming and clean smelling. The easiest and most cost effective way to do this is to store soaps between the sheets and towels in your linen closet. However, if you want to get fancy, you can also use sachets. The ones from Hillhouse Naturals Farm in Kentucky are amazing. My mother and I are both very sensitive to fragrance, but these offer just the right touch. Fresh Linen is by far my favorite, but at $2.80 per sachet you can try them all.

Eco-Socialites

Teaorwine referenced an interesting article in The New York Times about so-called "eco-socialites." I am going to refrain from commenting other than to say that I might try the products mentioned and I find the article amusing, so check it out.

Wedding Wednesday: Be Our Guest?

So, our wedding invitations have been in the mail for two weeks now. I couldn’t have been more pleased with the invitations and calligraphy from Reaves Engraving. A friend referred me to them, and they just happened to have a line in the exact slate blue stock that I was looking for – at a fraction of the price of the Vera Wang’s that I had my eye on! Plus, the charming southern accents of the South Carolinians who answer the phone there are enough to make you want to order your invitations from them on the spot.
Getting the response cards in the mail is really the highlight of my mother’s day; each day around 3:30 pm, I get the call with the updates on the RSVPs. About a quarter of our guests have RSVPed so far – with only one regret in the bunch. I had no idea that so many invitees wait til the end of the response period to send their regrets! But, we know how I feel about RSVPing in general.
Anywho... while we are on response cards…I have had many a bride-to-be friend who had to deal with the sticky situation of someone who wasn’t invited with a guest responding with one. Luckily, we have not yet had to cross that bridge, which I have my own opinions on, but I would be interested in hearing how some of you out there handled that awkward scenario…
For anyone who is getting ready to mailing, wedding related or not, don’t forget that postage goes up mid-May!
fls

Coffee Table Reads

Until recently, I thought that coffee table books were incredibly boring and reminiscent of the Great PGA Golf Courses number that my dad liked to repeatedly display on our coffee table and my mother liked to repeatedly remove when I was growing up. Vicious cycle.
Au Contraire these days. I love going into homes and checking out what people have displayed. My personal favorites include Post Secret, which one of my close friends introduced me to a few years back. It is a thought-provoking and interesting collection of art where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard. Since Christmas, we have been displaying Annie Leibovitz's A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005. I will admit that I discovered this book after watching a particularly intriguing Oprah, and it has provided hours of entertainment and discussion, especially during one “Girls’ Night” that I hosted.
What’s on your coffee table?
fls

Extra Touches

My favorite items at Farrell's shower were the custom coasters from My Own Labels. I know there are a ton of these types of services on the web, but this company is helpful because they often don't require a minimum order. They have pretty much anything you might need to make a party more personalized, which is great for non-crafty types. Although the site is geared towards wedding needs, I think it is useful for all types of events. In particular, CD labels with funny pictures could be used for birthdays, anniverseries, get well visits, etc. - LG

Flower Friday: Organic Gardening

Ok, I promise I will actually write about flowers next week. However, Earth Day is still coming up, so I thought I would follow up on that and introduce you all to the idea of organic gardening.

Now, I know that some of you are already landscaping your own homes. Please keep in mind that any chemicals you use are likely to make their way into drains after it rains- and eventually into streams and rivers. That doesn't seem like a big deal until you order fish that has come out of those waters. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is a bit more graphic:

Stormwater carries a host of contaminants from the land into the water: sediment, phosphorus, nitrogen, toxic metals, herbicides and pesticides, organic material, oil compounds, and bacteria. Roadways, for example, release oil and grease, tailpipe emissions, and other toxics from motor vehicles. Lawns contribute fertilizer and animal waste. Construction sites release quantities of mud.

That is all the preaching I will do. However, next time you want a lush green lawn like your neighbors, think about the crabcakes you had for dinner last night. And then check out this site, Organic Gardening, for ideas. (It also has a lot of good tips for growing your own vegetablesand herbs- great for those of you who cook.)

Reader Request

One of our reader's requested more information about the silver zodiac. So here is it is (again, from The Southern Belle Primer by Maryln Schwartz):

Buttercup. Gorham. Belles who choose Buttercup are always cheerful...Buttercup girls have friends with every kind of pattern. They are usually followers rather than leaders, but they are just so upbeat it really doesn't matter.