DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

   This recipe comes from www.foodologie.com .   Can you just smell those different aromas seeping through the house with this cake is almost ready to come out of the oven! It feels like fall. That’s probably because it is. Lately, we’ve had daytime highs of 43F. To most Californians that would sound like winter. Most mornings it’s below 30F. Most Californians (including my former self) don’t even know what that feels like. Regardless of what fall looks and feels like, I generally have a vague idea of how fall tastes. At work, there is a cake called the Fall Collection. I’ve never tasted it in it’s full glory, but I’ve tried pretty much all the component parts: Gingerbread Cake, Pumpkin Ginger Cheesecake, Caramel Pecans and Vanilla Buttercream. Sounds like fall. I was inspired to recreate it. I won’t lie. This was sort of a process. It pretty much requires two days since the cheesecake has to cool completely and set. BUT totally worth it. Start

    Myths and legends are a part of virtually every culture. One of the most interesting legends of Russian culture is that of Baba Yaga. She is, however, not unique to Russia. There are similar stories about her, under other names, in Poland as well as in the Czech Republic.     The figure of Baba Yaga is most often pictured as that of an old hag on a broomstick, reminiscent of the kitchen witches we often see today. Some believe that she might have been the precursor for the ugly, old crones that most often represent witches at Halloween.     In truth, however, Baba Yaga is a complicated creature associated as much with fertility and fate as she is with death. Some believed that she also had the gift of prophecy and great wisdom. However, for reasons never understood, she seldom chose to use those skills without exacting a gruesome payment. Anyone wishing to partake of Baba Yaga's wisdom had to take on a challenge, which began with a trip to her home hidden deep w

    Obon or just Bon is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the departed (deceased) spirits of one's ancestors . This Buddhist custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their ancestors' graves, and when the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the household altars. It has been celebrated in Japan for more than 500 years and traditionally includes a dance, known as Bon-Odori.     The festival of Obon lasts for three days; however its starting date varies within different regions of Japan. When the lunar calendar was changed to the Gregorian calendar at the beginning of the Meiji era , the localities in Japan reacted differently and this resulted in three different times of Obon. "Shichigatsu Bon" (Bon in July) is based on the solar calendar and is celebrated around 15 July in eastern Japan ( Kantō : areas such as Tokyo , Yokohama and the Tohoku region ), coinciding