At what age did you start thinking about your wrinkles? If you
ask a man, he’ll probably say,
”
What wrinkles?
”
And he could be right
… I mean, either he doesn’t have any (aaargh!) or he never
really thought about it. Ask a woman, however, and she’ll no doubt
have an answer, just like that.
At what age did you start thinking about your wrinkles? If you ask a man, he’ll probably say, “What wrinkles?” And he could be right … I mean, either he doesn’t have any (aaargh!) or he never really thought about it. Ask a woman, however, and she’ll no doubt have an answer, just like that.
My answer: 33. As I stood squinting at my dad’s horses in the blinding sun, he said, “Wow, you sure are getting a lot of wrinkles.” Honesty. Brutal, sometimes. But you’ve got to take the good with the bad. That night, I scrutinized my face in the mirror, squinting my eyes like I had in the sun.
“He’s right,” I said to myself, with not a little surprise. “When did this happen?” Well, who knows. But believe me, that was the day I started really wearing my sunglasses … and religiously using that emollient night cream and oil. My esthetician who recommends my wonder creams told me there’s really no way for me to avoid wrinkles, since I smile a lot. I think there could be worse things, like frowning all the time, which I don’t want to add to my regimen.
There are other ways, however, of keeping your face “fresh” at any age, and here are the basics that I’ve compiled from more than 20 years of reading, among others, Seventeen magazine, Health, Healthy Living, Cosmo, Vogue, Prevention, every pamphlet at my dermatologist’s office, and the Mambo Sprouts Messenger, a health food store newsletter.
• Get enough sleep. Your face really does look better when you get enough sleep. The day after a late St. Patrick’s Day, for instance, probably isn’t your face’s best day.
• Don’t smoke. Study after study confirms that smoking dries the skin and brings on fine lines and wrinkles, especially around the eyes and the lips. Not to mention the havoc it’s wreaking on your lungs, heart and family. If this is you, please stop.
• Feed your skin with healthy foods: Everyone agrees – skin does not like junk food. It just can’t harvest anything worthwhile from a Twinkie or a bowl of Captain Crunch. It needs, according to the American Association of Dermatology: beta carotene (carrots, squash), vitamin C (many fruits and veggies), Vitamin E (vegetable oils, seeds and nuts), selenium (garlic, onions) and essential fatty acids (olive oil, tuna and salmon). Now, my 14-year-old’s birthday cake doesn’t fit any of those categories, but as part of a balanced life, I’ve got to have a slice.
• Limit sun exposure; wear a sunscreen. Squinting into the blazing sun doesn’t seem to fit well here. Ditto any misguided effort I may have to actually try to get tan with my freckles and reddish-blonde hair. I go from white to reddish and back again. I remember reading a quote from a Southern belle once that said, “Blondes can take the sun, but only with a wide-brimmed hat.” Note to self: find a better self-tanner and a glam hat.
• Limit stress, which can lead to wrinkles. I think this includes not frowning at our daughter as she leans on a white wall with both dirty hands while taking off her muddy shoes which she plans to leave in the middle of the hallway. It also includes more scented, candlelit baths, which I plan to fit in somewhere on Friday night when I don’t cook.
On the other hand, you could just do your best every day, work on your inner beauty, continue to smile despite the laugh lines, and follow Lucille Ball’s tips on aging gracefully: “Eat sparingly. Stand up straight. And lie like hell.”
• Try this on for size: Many grocery stores are carrying “Almond Accents,” flavored, sliced and toasted almonds. They’d be great for rice pilafs or salads. Here’s one suggested recipe, but feel free to use plain almonds, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, as well.
Almond Spinach Salad
3 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
1 large orange, peeled and cut into segments
1/4 cup Ranch Style or Garlic Teriyaki Almond Accents
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 T. balsalmic vinaigrette
Toss all ingredients in salad bowl. Makes one large salad or two small salads.
• Spicy greens: I used this recipe one St. Patrick’s Day. Greens and beans is a great combination. Make sure to heat the combo through so the flavors meld a little. And feel free to substitute your favorite greens, such as mustard greens. Spinach doesn’t do as well in this recipe; it gets too slimy.
Spicy Swiss Chard and Beans
2 large bunches Swiss chard
2 T. olive oil
1 (15 oz.) can butter beans or white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 T. Tabasco sauce
1 tsp. salt
Remove stems from Swiss chard; coarsely chop Swiss chard.
Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot. Add Swiss chard. Cook until wilted, but still bright green, stirring frequently.
Stir in beans, Tabasco sauce and salt. Cook over medium heat until mixture is heated through. Makes 6 servings.
• Comfort food: Cassoulet is often thought of as a complicated dish. It has a lot of ingredients, but most are probably already in your pantry. This is Bon Appetit’s version, best made a few days ahead of time. The flavors get better after a day or two of melding in the refrigerator.
Contemporary Cassoulet
4 bacon slices, coarsely chopped
3 pounds fully cooked smoked sausages (such as kielbasa), cut crosswise into
3/4-inch-thick rounds
2 medium onions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 T. chopped fresh rosemary
1 T. chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. dried crushed red pepper
1/2 cup brandy
3 15-ounce cans Great Northern beans, drained
2 14 1/2-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice
1 10-ounce package frozen baby lima beans, thawed
1 cup (or more) canned low-salt chicken broth
3 T. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cups coarse fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French bread
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook bacon in heavy large ovenproof pot over medium-high heat until brown and crisp, about 4 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to bowl. Add sausages to drippings in pot; sauté until brown, about 15 minutes.
Transfer to bowl with bacon. Pour off all but 1/4 cup drippings from pot. Add onions and garlic to pot and sauté until beginning to soften, about 10 minutes. Stir in rosemary, thyme, and crushed red pepper. Add brandy and simmer until almost evaporated, about 3 minutes. Stir in canned beans, tomatoes with juices, lima beans, 1 cup broth, tomato paste, and allspice.
Return sausages and bacon to pot. Season cassoulet with salt and pepper. Bring to boil.
Cover pot and transfer to preheated oven; bake 30 minutes. (Can be made up to 2 days ahead. Uncover; cool 1 hour. Refrigerate uncovered until cold; cover and keep refrigerated. Before continuing, cover and rewarm in 350°F oven 40 minutes, adding more broth if dry.)
Increase oven temperature to 400°F. Heat oil in large non-stick skillet over medium heat.
Add breadcrumbs and sauté until light golden, about 4 minutes. Transfer to small bowl. Mix in Parmesan cheese; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle over warm cassoulet. Bake until breadcrumb topping is deep golden, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle cassoulet with parsley and serve.
Jenny’s kitchen notes
This week’s tip
Cut up tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers for a summer salad, sprinkle with salt, and leave them in the bowl half an hour to give up their delicious juices. Blend these juices with the dressing for extra flavor. – Barbara Kafka
Notes
• Comfort Foods: Taste of Home magazine surveyed readers about their favorite “comfort foods”: 35 percent favored chocolate and desserts; 13 percent preferred ice cream; 12 percent wanted salty snacks; and 29 percent listed pizza, macaroni and cheese, or meatloaf.
• Beef up your chicken broth: If your homemade chicken broth seems wimpy, it may be the bird. Today’s battery-raised poultry lacks flavor, so begin with an over-the-hill free-range hen. Load the pot with chunked vegetables: 2 large carrots (no need to peel), 2 large celery ribs (include tops), 2 large leeks (white part only), 1 quartered large yellow onion (no need to peel), 1/2 cup diced celery root, 2 to 3 large sprigs flat-leaf parsley. Add enough cold water to cover all by 1 inch. Simmer gently, uncovered, about 2 hours. Remove and reserve chicken for another use. Strain everything else through a colander lined with cheesecloth; discard solids. Skim off fat and season broth to taste with salt and freshly ground white or black pepper. Makes about 6 cups. Note: If the broth still seems insipid, simmer uncovered until reduced by about a third. Or even easier, add a couple of chicken bouillon cubes. – Jean Anderson formula.
• Steak and wine: Family Wineries of Santa Clara Valley are gearing up for one of their most famous parties – the New York Steak BBQ & Wine Party. The event will be held on Saturday, April 24, from noon to 5 p.m. The $37.50 ticket price includes a thick delicious steak BBQ lunch with all the trimmings and free wine tasting. Participating wineries are: Cooper Garrod, Fortino, Guglielmo, Hecker Pass, J Lohr, Kirigin, La Rochelle, Pedrizetti Picchetti, Rapazzini, Sarah’s, Savanah-Chanelle, Thomas Kruse and Zanger Winemakers will be there to meet, pour and cook lunch for guests. Live dance music, wine barrel races, dance contests and more will be held for entertainment. The event will be held rain or shine and you must be 21 to attend. Purchase tickets at participating wineries or by calling (800) 548-3813.
End notes: “We were made to enjoy music, to enjoy beautiful sunsets, to enjoy looking at the billows of the sea, and to be thrilled with a rose that is bedecked with dew … Human beings are actually created for the transcendent, for the sublime, for the beautiful, for the truthful … and all of us are given the task of trying to make this world a little more hospitable to these beautiful things.” ~ Desmond Tutu, National Public Radio, 1994
