Beef Over Rice

Beef Over Rice was a really quick and easy dish to make.  It was especially scrumptious! At the first bite I thought the dish to be too salty, but after I stirred it a little more it was just right. I did not have any onions at the time. So I only used leeks. Also instead of using thin strips of beef I used ground beef.

Almay, Rimmel, and Palladio

Recent Foundation and Powder Reviews
(All reviews are based solely on my opinion)

Palladio Rice Powder in shade RP02 Translucent 787302.
It has a puff enclosed with light to medium coverage. Also it is loose powder; which I am not quite fond of. I am very clumsy and when I use loose powder I always make a mess. It also has a faint scent. To me it smells exactly like baby powder. A scent I do not care for. This product is not that pricey and is good for those who are on a budget. Overall I would say it is an average product.

Almay TLC Truly Lasting Color 16 hour Pressed Powder in shade 100 Light.

This product has SPF 12. It is unscented and one of my favorite powders. It has medium coverage and is very long lasting. The compact has a mirror and a puff enclosed. In my opinion it is best paired with Almay TLC Truly Lasting Color foundation or Almay Clear Complexion Makeup foundation.

Almay TLC Truly Lasting Color Foundation 16 hour skin nourishing long wear makeup in shade 120 Ivory 01.

It has SPF 15. It has a faint scent. However it is so faint that I cannot pinpoint what the scent is. The foundation bottle has a pump; which I really like. The pump allows me to measure the amount of foundation I use. In addition I do not need to worry about accidentally pouring too much foundation on my fingers. It is very long lasting and smudge proof. This is a very good product for me since I have a bad habit of touching my face.

Almay Clear Complexion Makeup Foundation in shade 120 Ivory.

I truly liked the other Almay products I had tried. Thus I decided to try their Clear Complexion Makeup. It has medium coverage. In my opinion this product smells similar to Olay body lotion. It claims to “heal and conceal blemishes with salicylic acid”. In addition it is “infused with meadow-sweet to help purify and clear skin”. Personally I did not see any improvement to my skin nor did it become worse. It was not as long lasting as the TLC foundation, but still was long lasting.

Almay Nearly Naked Makeup Foundation in shade 120 Ivory.

It has SPF 15. The scent smells similar to Almay Clear Complexion Makeup foundation, but stronger. I typically avoid products that promise to be “Nearly Naked”. They typically do not have very good coverage and this product was no exception. The coverage is extremely light. It is not very long lasting nor is it smudge proof. By the end of the day my face looked awfully oily. When I attempted to apply powder over this foundation the powder wound clump. I tried several different powders over this foundation but each one would still clump. It was very time-consuming trying to smooth these clumps every morning; therefore, I stopped using this product. I know when you purchase a new product it is basically a gamble. It could turn out to be good or bad. However, no matter the outcome I try my best to use a product until its container is empty. This allows the product plenty of time to do what it promises to do. Though I had to make an exception with this product.

Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 hour Foundation in shade 100 Ivory.

This product has a ”naturally flawless hydrating and lightweight feel”. Moreover it is “sweat, heat, and humidity proof for up to 25 hours”. The scent is slightly strong, but I like it. However I am unable to pinpoint the scent. This product is wonderful and inexpensive! It has great coverage. In addition it is very long lasting and does not smudge. I was caught in rain without an umbrella and this makeup did not fail! The only negative aspect I have with this product is it’s too dark. I always buy the lightest shade (I have fair skin) and did the same with this product. Yet it still was too dark. It has a slight brownish tint; which did not suit my skin tone. I used Rimmel Compact Powder to pair with this foundation. The powder is lighter than the foundation; therefore, I was able to make it work. However the powder was not that long lasting. Consequently, by the end of the day it was be obvious that my foundation did not match my skin tone.

Rimmel Stay Matte + Skin Pure Complex Clarifying Matte Foundation in shade 100 Ivory.

This product has a “shine control formula for 12 hours matte coverage”. The coverage for this product is very light. When it dries it does have a matte look. However it dries very rapidly and leaves streaks if not blended in time. It does have a good shine control and lasts for a reasonable amount of time. Even though it is a matte look, I still applied powder over it since it only has light coverage. The shade is still too dark (again using the lightest shade). Seeing as it dries so rapidly I would not repurchase this product. There were many mornings I would have to wash the foundation off. Then reapply the foundation again because I was not swift and thorough enough the first time.

Raising Awareness About Japan/How You Can Help

An 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit Northeastern Japan on Friday as a result triggered a tsunami. Aftershocks continued on Saturday, two at 6.1 and 6.4 magnitude (source: http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/12/japan.quake/index.html) . I am sure most of you have heard about this disaster on the news. If not CNN is broadcasting about the disaster and has information about it on their website. Over 900 people have been killed and an estimated 700 are still missing (source: http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/12/japan.quake/index.html). Many have lost their homes, vehicles, and basically every thing dear to them. Roads, trains, and cell phone towers have been taken out. In addition they are also experiencing Internet blackouts. For those of you who would like to know how you could help here is a link: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/11/tsunami-aid-and-relief-how-you-can-help/?on.cnn=1. This link will take you to cnn.com and offers several different organizations you can donate money to. You can donate online or via text message. I personally donated to Global Giving. For more information about this disaster and what others are doing to help you can visit http://www.japantimes.co.jp/ or http://www.cnn.com/.

Three dishes :-)

Eggplant Sautéed with Miso is the first dish. Compared to all of the other dishes I have prepared so far this is my favorite. I absolutely adore the Miso sauce that is added. Red Miso is used for this dish; which has a little bite to it. You combine it with other ingredients to create a slight (very slight) sweet flavor. It is 100% mouth-watering! In addition you are eating vegetables!

In the book Japanese Women Don’t Get Old or Fat you are encouraged to make art with your dessert. The dessert typically is fresh fruit. I thought it to be a great idea to make something with my dessert. So I removed the core of an apple and added grapes inside. I then made small holes in a somewhat zigzag pattern. Finally I placed toothpicks through grapes as I inserted them diagonally into the holes. In addition I inserted them around the top opening where the core had been removed.

Chilled Tofu with Bonito Flakes (and Chopped Scallions) is the last dish. Again the only scallions I can find are the pickled ones (Yuck!). I was not a fan of this dish. I think I did not allow it to thaw long enough. The recipe instructs you to only have the tofu slightly chilled so that you can enjoy the flavor and texture. Since the tofu I have was already in the refrigerator it was considered over-chilled. When I took a bite it was still very cold. Not even the delicious flavor of the roasted sesame seeds, bonito flakes, and reduce sodium soy sauce could over-power the very cold tofu flavor. Well if at first you don’t succeed, try again.

With parsley and reduce soduim soy sauce