Decorating
When decorating cakes for a variety of occasions, you'll want to make sure that the colors you've chosen are delectable. Certain colors and color combinations may evoke a positive response from the taste buds of your cake-eating audience. Very intense colors are usually less appealing to the palate than are softer colors. Complimentary color schemes, which may work well in a striking graphic design, do not have much taste appeal. Finally, too many colors can create a hodgepodge of hues that compete with each other. Here are three sure-fire techniques selecting tasty color schemes that will appeal to the palate.
USE PASTEL COLORS The safest method for selecting colors is to use three pastel colors. Select the lightest color for the basic icing on the cake. If your colors are sufficiently pale, you can even combine complimentary colors without the jarring effect obtained complimentary colors at full strength. Note that you can increase the strength of one of the colors for a bit of contrast. For example, ice a birthday cake with white or pale ivory icing. Add pink roses (they can be shades of the same pink) with pale green leaves. The red and green on which the pastel colors are based would vibrate intensely if used at full strength, but they are both eye and appetite appealing when rendered in pastel hues. For a shower for a mom expecting a baby boy, ice the cake in pale blue. Add icing booties in pale yellow and white, or select pre-made decorations in the same colors.
Ideas for combining pastel colors are almost limitless, but here are some more suggestions for three-color pastel schemes:
* Pale yellow, delicate peach, and pale green
* Lavender, pale blue, and rose * White, pale blue, and pale blue violet
* Pale yellow, pink, and peach
USE A PASTEL BACKGROUND FOR INTENSE COLORS Clearly, there are occasions that call out for a cake with bright colors. Once again, using a pale icing as the background for brighter colors. This approach is often used for kid's birthday cakes, which may feature a cartoon character or other popular theme. For a clown cake, you'll want to use some bright primary colors. For the basic icing, use white or the palest of pinks. Then, you can use bright reds, blues, oranges, and even black icing or decorating gel to make the clowns features. Because the bright colors are used in small amounts against a light background, they provide both taste and eye appeal.
USE CHOCOLATE FOR A DARK BACKGROUND In general, dark colored icing is not very appealing. Most of us are not likely to greet an acid green, navy blue, or intense red cake with enthusiasm. Without fail, though, chocolate lovers will greet the dark brown color of a cake iced in chocolate or fudge icing with high expectations for the flavor. When you ice a cake with chocolate icing, decorate it with pastel colors. Once again, limit the color palette to two or three pastels. For Father's Day, make a rectangular cake and ice it with chocolate fudge icing. Turn the cake so that the narrower side is at the top. Near the top of the cake, with ivory icing create a shirt collar. Use pale orange to create a necktie below the collar. Add a design to the tie in a slightly deeper orange.
Other colors that look especially nice against a dark brown background are: * pale yellow, peach, and orange * pale yellow, pale green, and white * pale pink, peach, and white * white, pale turquoise, and peach * pale yellow and peach * white and pale orange Finally, as you choose colors for your cake, think about colors that occur naturally in the foods we eat every day. That will help you stay away from colors like chartreuse, intense blue greens, and intense purples, that appear particularly acid or poisonous. Pastel color schemes are the safest, but brighter colors can be used very successfully against a pale background.
Marla

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THE FOOD MOOD TANGLE

Sourced from The Navhind Times/Panorama 4/Sunday, December 24, 2006

Satisfying an occasional craving for comfort food is a great stress-buster because it leads to physical and mental satiety, which in turn triggers off the feel good factor. Occasional bingeing helps us detangle our emotions and focus more productively on the task at hand……..writes Neeta Lal.

Been resisting that gooey chocolate cake in the fridge for a while? Well, go on and indulge now. For research is increasingly supporting the view that occasional indulgence in ‘comfort foods’ directly and strongly impact our minds and body. Ergo, some foods send strong messages through neurotransmitters or ‘chemical messengers’ to our brain, influencing our emotions and moods.

“Calorie-dense foods – like chocolates, sweetmeats, deep-friend items, junk food and ice-cream – have pleasurable associations, which lead us to crave for them,” explains physician Dr. Ravinder K Tuli, Head of the Department of Holistic Healing, Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, Delhi. “Similarly, certain nutrients like fats and complex carbohydrates have physiological properties which act as mood elevators. These nutrients release endorphins, the feel-good hormones, in the body, thus heightening our sense of wellbeing”.

But what exactly are these “feel-good” foods? Comfort foods are those foods which address a person’s emotional needs more than a physical one,” explains psychologist Dr. Jitendra Nagpal, Senior Consultant, Vidyasagar Institute of Mental and Health and Neurological Studies (VIMHANS), New Delhi. “Physical satiation is usually not the agenda here. Since reaching out for comfort food signals an emotion-linked hunger, the reasons could vary from depression, stress at work and broken relationships to diet plans gone awry, anything”.

Hence dieticians advice that comfort food seekers should learn to distinguish between physical hunger – which builds up gradually and tells the brain clearly when to stop – and emotional eating, which is sporadic, sudden and often prolonged.’

Also, emotional eating is irrational, says Ishi Khosla, a Delhi-based clinical nutritionist. “You just don’t want it to end, you want to keep gorging on whatever is available, regardless of the food’s nutritive value. On the contrary, real and physical hunger sends an unambiguous signal to the brain to stop when our tummies are full”. Also, adds Khosla, emotional hunger riddles us with guilt while normal hunger seems “well-earned and, therefore, leads to no negative feelings”.

Another way to distinguish real hunger from emotional hunger, according to some dieticians, is that the latter invariably strikes when we’re depressed, bored or lonely”. And this is a really vicious circle because depression propels us to eat more, which in turn makes us put on weight,” says Khosla. “And added weight makes no one happy. So make sure that you’re not establishing a hard-to-break pattern for yourself”. Good advice, given that women, especially, are socialized to co-relating their self-image with current beauty norms.

According to Nagpal, pre-menopausal women need to be especially careful while reaching out for comfort foods because, at this age, their hormones are wreaking havoc, with their systems in any case. This makes many women overly emotional which, when combined with other factors like depression and lifestyle stress, could lead to frequent binge eating for comfort.

But is the craving for comfort foods gender or age specific? Are women truly more susceptible? While the jury is still out on this one, what’s definitely established is that gender and age do affect one’s taste in comfort foods. According to a survey done by the University of Illinois, Food and Brand Lab, in the us in 2000, men and older people “….prefer comfort foods that are warm, hearty and meal-related, such as steaks, soups and casseroles, while women and kids reach out for snacks or finger foods, such as chips, savouries, ice-cream and chocolate.”

So is consuming comfort food all bad then? “Not at all,” says Dr. Swati Chaddha, consultant dietician, Max Healthcare, New Delhi. “In fact, satisfying an occasional craving for comfort food is a great stress buster because it leads to physical and mental satiety, which in turn triggers off the feel good factor. Occasional bingeing helps us detangle our emotions and focums more productively on the task at hand. But the trick is to not give in to such binges too frequently.”

Also, while we are at it, Chaddha thinks it is a good idea to shun calorie-dense comfort foods, such as greasy burgers, deep-fried items and ice-creams, and opt for healthier alternatives like fresh fruits, herbal teas, salads, and antioxidant –rich product s like tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage and the beta carotene- rich carrots. Products rich in Omega-3 fatty acids – like fish, especially salmon, soya and pulses – also help satiate emotional eating binges. Ditto for items rich in Vitamin-C like lemons, citrus fruits and green chillies. “Vitamin C is a great antidote for stress,” advocates Chadda. “So, stock up on fresh juices. Vitamin C pills also work well, though it’s always more prudent to consume food produce directly.”

Apart from analyzing one’s food intake, one also needs to probe one’s emotional needs. Why is it that we are seeking comfort in food ? This brainstorming, say psychologists, really works because, over a period of time, the mind learns to divert itself effectively. In fact, as soon as emotional hunger strikes, specialists advise that we should try and funnel our energy into diversionary activities like gardening, going out for a walk, meeting up with friends, writing that long overdue letter, reading a good book or playing with pets.
“Also,” advises Nagpal, “keep your communication lines open. Half the problems in our society exist because we have stopped communicating with each other. Don’t bottle up emotions. Meaningful communication with our near and dear ones is the best antidote to stress.”

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