New review and art for KATANA DUET

The art above is by Apryl Eppinger.

A new review for KATANA DUET: Samurai's Forbidden Love

written by Wendy Koenigsmann ~ here ~.

Author Interview!

www.manlovewriters.com interview with Silapa Jarun

Some brainstorming sessions...

(A 19th century looking alternate cover for Katana Duet. The official cover may be seen here).

I sketched out some thoughts about two topics for Katana Duet: Samurai's Forbidden Love.

How much of Katana Duet is TRUE?

Katana Duet and "agri-gothic" literature. Read more here.

Next week I'll have a review for The Prince and the Nun and down the line I plan to read Venture.

Handmade Soap

The holidays are around the corner so if you are looking for a cute gift for friends and co-workers then I recommend homemade melt-n-pour soap. This craft is inexpensive and you can get the kids involved.

There are many ways of making soap but the easiest is the glycerin melt-n-pour (MP) which depends entirely on the quality of the base.
You can purchase soap base by the pound online or at craft stores. To choose the best base make sure the first ingredient is glycerin, with palm oil or other all natural products such as aloe vera. Good soap base also has a sweet taste and should not contain any animal products which is perfect for people seeking cruelty free beauty products.

Once you acquire a quality base then acquire molds online. If you want to make Christmas presents for a few people at a time then get a loaf mold or invest in a flexible silicone mold and a loaf cutter knife. Silicone molds are more expensive than plastic candy molds but more convenient to use and will last much longer. Generally, silicone molds will have more intricate designs.

Melt the chunks of glycerin in a double boiler and turn off the heat before adding essential oils, dyes or cosmetic glitter. Essential oils are the most expensive ingredient in soap making so do not add too much.

Overpowering scents should be used in moderation.

Some people set the microwave on low to melt the glycerin but I think cleaning up after spilled soap would be a hassle compared to the double boiler method.

Coat the soap mold with vaseline using a clothe or papertowel and pour in the liquid soap base. It's normal for air bubbles to form. While some people spray the bubbles with a mist of alcohol you can instead wait until the soap is thoroughly solid to “rub” the bubbles out with saran wrap.

Loaf soap allows you to embed soap curls, flower petals, herbs and toys just be sure that the soap has cooled enough for you to put in the pieces.
After gently popping out the soap or cutting slices of the loaf, preserve it in saran wrap and then cover in decorative handmade paper and twine to turn it into a gift.

Ideas
The “goldfish in a bag” soap is always popular and all you need are plastic goldfish or any other critter and clear soap base. You'll need very clear soap base which may be hard to find as all-natural coconut bases are a bit cloudy. If you can only find a cloudy base then simply add blue cosmetic grade dye to make it look like the fish is in water. Fun looking soap is a good way to encourage children to wash their hands however plastic toys can also be a choking hazard.

The best videos explaining the melt and pour process can be found here:
http://youtube.com/user/GoPlanetEarth

Silapa Jarun

please check out:

Katana Duet: Samurai's Forbidden Love

Saturdays With Silapa Podcast

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Katana Duet: Samurai’s Forbidden Love by Silapa Jarun

is now available as an ebook at Bookstrand.com

Credits

Konrad Lennartsson, Aki and Akeno Matsumoto performed by Vincent DePaul

Klara Lennartsson performed by Masae from www.samurai-on-samurai.com

Music

The Sweetest Poison and Enter the Calliope by Allison Curval The Clockwork Dolls

If the embedded podcast player above is not working or not appearing you may download the file directly here (wma) or here (mp3).

Shop Smart

Rising food prices due to energy costs has resulted in the adoption of shopping strategies by many people. Like everyone, I've had to pass up on snacks and desserts because they are simply too expensive due to the rising price of sugar and provide very few benefits for the body. So I did some snooping on the net to find the most highly recommended tips which will help you save now and guarantee a spectacular holiday season.

1. Don't shop on an empty stomach and plan ahead.

   Everyone knows you should maintain a list of must-have items but you can also prevent yourself from getting distracted in the aisles by mapping your way through the store.

   Here's how: http://www.davecheong.com/wp-content/simpletools/groceries/index.jsp

   The longer you spend strolling around the more likely you'll stray from your budget and pick up junk food.

2. Be a Spartan!
   You may not look like an escapee from the 300 production but you can be a financial Spartan. For people who consistently go over budget because they rely on credit or the convenient debit card. Take only cash to the store until you regain full control of your spending urges.

3. Shop on Sundays after you gathered your coupons from the net or cut them from the paper. Sundays are usually slow days at the store which will guarantee that you won't have to deal with a long line or limited parking.

4. Think outside the box and beyond the grocery store.
   Dried goods like pasta, cereal, canned goods, and even cleaning supplies are actually less expensive at pharmacies and dollar stores. You can also treat your grocery store as if it were a discount outlet by looking for “must sell now” items like two day old sour dough bread which is still safe to consume.

5. Stockpile goods by shopping as a team. College students who live in dorms and apartments can pool their resources to take advantage of club stores. This tip also works if you are part of a church or community which is likely to have a member who has club store privileges. So coordinate your shopping and split the costs. Such wholesale places sell five pound bags of flour, syrup by the gallon, boxes of butter, dozens of rolls of toilet paper and coffee at a greatly discounted cost. Students should stock up prior to moving back to their campus quarters rather than relying on nearby convenience stores.

6. Make the late summer BBQ count. As we count down the days to fall, take advantage of one last cook out to prepare meats for freezing to enjoy later on. Nothing beats defrosting and microwaving a meal for those occasions you don't have time to cook from scratch.

7. Discover the lost art of cooking. Perhaps the only good which has emerged from the recession is people are learning that the kitchen is more than just a place to store dishes. Cooking as a family is a great activity and a way to give the television and video systems a rest. There are many articles which mention that baking breads have come back into fashion because it is not very hard and doughs can be frozen. I've never made my own bread but if I ever get the urge then these are the links to consult:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html

http://www.baking911.com/howto/freeze.htm

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=13Ah9ES2yTU

See you next Saturday!

~Tiffany ~ Silapa Jarun

SilapaJarun.com
KATANA DUET: Samurai's Forbidden Love
Available at Bookstrand.com
http://tinyurl.com/6hqpog

FALLEN ANGEL REVIEWS ~ 5/5 Angels!
http://tinyurl.com/5dowxz

The Clockwork Dolls

I usually post blog entries on Saturday but I could not contain my excitement over this week's feature so here it is one day early!

It is my pleasure to introduce a spectacular new band who use their tunes to invite listeners into a whole new world beyond the clouds...

THE CLOCKWORK DOLLS

Their origins and adventures on their airship can be read at http://www.myspace.com/theclockworkdolls. I found the Clockwork Dolls on Myspace after looking high and low for a tune which could convey the dark themes of my novella Katana Duet: Samurai's Forbidden Love in a short book trailer.

After canvassing the net for tunes, I was still empty handed, frustrated, and very concerned about how to explain my historical fiction to musicians. I had heard of the growing Steampunk culture and eventually found The Clockwork Dolls, a crew consisting of Allison Curval and Helene De Fer. The group is constantly evolving and soaring to new heights so it is certainly difficult to confine their music to merely one genre.
I'd like to ask Allison Curval about how she would describe her music and where she plans on taking her crew in the future.
"The Clockwork Dolls really started as a simple idea: combine elements from traditional chamber music and merge it with modern electronic elements to create a mixture of classical tones with modern dance.
I later pitched the idea to Helene De Fer during rehearsal (both of us were in the same theater group) and we soon established a wonderful working relationship; thus The Clockwork Dolls was born.

First came the music: I wrote the Sweetest Poison not really knowing where the song was going but after one evening full of wine and dance, I wrote an intricate storyline in my mind which became a Myspace blurb. That has since exploded into a complex plot loaded with characters in their own colorful universe."

My attraction to their work came after listening to "The Maiden Voyage" performed and written by Helene De Fer with music by Allison Curval.

"You really thought I'd be content

A housewife in a gilded cage?

The sea, the sky, it's all the same;

Adventure being what I crave.

I'll never stop, I won't come down!

My passions here in whirring gears.

This triumph of my female soulI will not

spoil with useless tears."

Allison, can you tell me more about narrator of this song? She seems to be a restless soul who won't settle down.

"We realized at this point that our joint efforts would lead to a multimedia extravaganza involving visual and audio elements and thus the story of the Dame De Fer was born.

The song "The Maiden Voyage" (which is to be our title track) is the tale of a noble lady born into a society she despises and forced into a political marriage. She abandons her past and family and takes to the skies in search of adventure.

Our upcoming full length album (which will be entitled "Dame De Fer") will be the soundtrack to a graphic novel (or potentially an animation) surrounding this story. The tale will take our listeners into an epic world full of action, adventure, espionage, politics, and technology with the Dame De Fer stuck in the middle (did I mention time travel?)."

So what are your future plans for The Clockwork Dolls?

"We are currently working on a short EP consisting of 8 tracks to be released later this year which will be available for download on iTunes as well as for purchase on CD Baby for a reasonable price, and a full length two-CD set to be released at a later date. Accompanying these releases will be a web-based graphic novel (currently in the works), which will be available free of charge, along with streaming audio on our website (also . . .currently in the works).

Please visit our Myspace page at for a free demo of our music and do not hesitate to contact us should you have any feedback. We love hearing from you."

The song is exquisite on so many levels and I was struck by how it not only induced a vision of first flight by the Dame De Fer ship but that it captured the social condition of women in the 19th century. The Dame De Fer is an imaginary ship of course, but it can transport listeners to a different stratosphere within their imaginations.
"The Maiden Voyage" took me to a time where some women entered what were then considered to be masculine fields such as medicine, while many found their future in the world of education and nursing. Unfortunately, most young females became part of the machinery of the Industrial Revolution or remained confined to farms and vast fields with their children. Women today will no doubt empathize with their sisters from a bygone era during which the value of a female was based on her ability to care for a home and produce children.
Aside from my own social and historical interpretation of the song, the tune is a declaration of a woman' a s aboard.

Katana Duet: Samurai's Forbidden Love, takes place during the late 1860’s and 1870’s in feudal and modern Japan and then the small town of Madison, Wisconsin. It is a story of great racial and cultural contrasts.

The video, which can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/writersilapajarun or http://www.myspace.com/khuntiffany features "The Sweetest Poison" by Allison Curval. It has two different themes and was used to show the dramatic change within the lives of the Matsumoto twins, former Samurai, who are now foreigners in a strange land. I am very fond of the title for the song because the forbidden love in the novel is also "The Sweetest Poison" which affects the four young characters.

"In Vino Veritas--Enter the Calliope", also by Ms. Curval, gave the atmosphere of secrecy within the household and ends on a more hopeful note. After all, both pairs of siblings, the American Lennartsson brother and sister and the Japanese gentlemen, are engaged in a fight not only with one another but for their very survival. The Clockwork Dolls’ music was truly the soul for my book trailer but I assure you than these tunes on their own can give any fertile imagination new stories.

Images and designs pertaining to The Clockwork Dolls are all property of the band and used for this article with their consent.

See you all next Saturday!Silapa Jarun

Young Coconut

Ginger

Green Tea

Katana Duet, Review, Video and Links....

Click below so all the links go live (^_^)

Ginger

Ginger is an important ingredient in Asian cuisine due to its distinct taste and scent. The part of the ginger plant used in cooking is actually the rhizome, or underground stem, however young ginger leaves can be used the same way as sweet or hot basil in stir fried dishes. Aside from adding flavor to food, it has numerous beneficial qualities for maintaining good health.

People who live in warm climates can easily grow their own ginger and enjoy the beautiful flowers by following the directions mentioned on this page:
http://www.gardening-guides.com/novelties/ginger.php

Purchase only firm, smooth and light colored ginger for cooking. Cut off pieces of ginger at the joints and wrap the remaining portion tightly in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. You can also prevent oxidization by wrapping it with a dry paper towel and then placing it in a zip lock bag. If you want to store the entire unused piece, with the skin still intact, place it in a small brown paper bag and then the refrigerator.

Another clever way to store ginger is to grate the entire root into a piece of clear plastic, roll, wrap and freeze it in stick form which will allow you to break off pieces which can be melted into sauces or blend into fruit drinks. That nifty idea is from this site:
http://lunchinabox.net/2007/05/04/speed-technique-freezing-ginger/

Many Asian dishes begin with a mixture of chopped garlic and crushed ginger which are both used to flavor the hot cooking oil. I recommend first placing the garlic into the oil, adding meat, soy or fish sauce, vegetables and then grating the ginger over the cooking ingredients, turn off the heat, stir and serve. By grating the ginger into the dish near the end of the cooking process you are preserving the scent and taste of the plant rather than allow it to all evaporate due to excessive exposure to heat.

In closing I'd like to include a couple simple ways to incorporate ginger into your everyday cooking.

Chili Ginger Oil
This oil can be used in stir fried seafood dishes, poured over steamed vegetables, dumplings, pasta salads or even steaks and grilled chicken.

You'll need chopped garlic, ginger, whole dried chili, vegetable oil, sesame oil, sea salt thick or plain soy sauce.

Turn on the vent over your stove and open the windows. Warm the dried chili in a pan, then add vegetable oil. Once the oil is warm (not smoking) quickly add the garlic, sea salt and grated ginger. Turn off the heat before the garlic burns and stir in the sesame oil. Lastly you can add in soy sauce or thick soy sauce which will cause the mixture to sizzle.

Gari
Gari is thinly sliced preserved ginger which is usually eaten with sushi. You can pull out some gari and blend with olive oil, toasted sesame seeds or a small amount of peanut butter and soy sauce to create an exotic salad dressing.

As in all recipes for pickling you follow the two-two-three rule. Use two cups of salt to coat thinly sliced ginger for one hour or longer. You can either wipe off or shake off the salt with the aid of a strainer and place it into a clean glass jar. Melt two cups of sugar in three cups of rice vinegar in a pot and then pour the mixture on top of the ginger. You can cool the ginger quickly by placing the glass jar in a bowl of cool water, before placing it into a refrigerator. There is no need to add any red or pink food coloring as the ginger should turn pink naturally. Old ginger will not change its color however it does not seem to affect the taste of the gari at all.

Chrysanthemum and Ginger Iced Drink

Ginger is a "hot" ingredient however you can use it to cool off this summer I recommend combining ginger with dried chrysanthemum flowers which can be purchased at any Asian grocery store. Simply grate fresh ginger into boiling water (please use bottled water). You can add either plain sugar or brown sugar or even honey. Then turn off the heat and place the flowers into the liquid. Allow it to cool in the refrigerator for a few hours. You may leave a few flowers in the drink if you are serving it in a clear glass pitcher.

Grated ginger can also add a bit of zing to iced-teas.


~Tiffany ~ Silapa Jarun

SilapaJarun.com
KATANA DUET: Samurai's Forbidden Love
Available at Bookstrand.com
http://tinyurl.com/6hqpog

FALLEN ANGEL REVIEWS ~ 5/5 Angels!
http://tinyurl.com/5dowxz

Young Coconut

Since ancient times, entire cultures have thrived on the entire coconut tree for medicine, cooking, cosmetics and even housing. Nearly every part of the plant can be used for survival. Modern science will continue to pursue the value of coconuts but time has already proved that human ingenuity when applied to the entire plant reveals that it can help us sustain a more environmentally friendly way of life as well.

This article will explore how easy it is to open a young coconut to enjoy it as a healthy and exotic treat.

Some interesting facts about coconuts:

Due to it's same “electrolytic balance as human blood,” it was used as an IV drip during WWII when solutions were scarce.

The clear water found in young coconut is rich in minerals such as potassium and manganese.

The fats in coconut oil are similar to those found in mother's milk and according to Jon J. Kabara, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus from Michigan State University, have “similar nutriceutical effects.”

During my many trips to Thailand I always watched with both fascination and anxiety as the light green outer husk of coconut is peeled off to reveal the stringy white fibrous layer. After removing the fibers, the top of the nut was removed with a large knife which would be brought down on the “skull” of the nut expertly and accurately while it was still being held. If you ever become an expert at the more traditional method then I'm sure you can thrill your guests at a tropical theme party.

If you aren't a thrill seeker then you may prefer a more safe way of opening a coconut.

Asian and Latino/Hispanic markets usually carry nuts which are only covered with the white husk and usually plastic wrapped. Pick clean undamaged husks. Do not worry about the cleanliness of the sweet water inside the nut because the layers of outer skin provide a natural and safe barrier. In fact during times of flooding, storms, famine or war these nuts saved people's lives because they were the only source of clean water.

Remove the plastic wrap and set the nut on its side on a layer of newspapers or a cutting board and use a sharp cleaver to carefully remove the husk at the top. Remove enough of the husk to see the entire top of the brown skull. Then bring down the corner of the knife along half the perimeter of the top. Do not raise the knife very high or use too much force as it is both dangerous and unnecessary. The brown layer encasing the water and flesh is actually very thin and sometimes tapping it with the corner of the knife is adequate. Use your fingers to pry open the top of the nut carefully and you are done!

This video also explains the process: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPvhxeg_PUA

Sources used for this article:

http://www.vegparadise.com/highestperch58.html

http://www.coconutwaterdiet.com/coconut-water-facts.html

~Tiffany ~ Silapa Jarun

SilapaJarun.com
KATANA DUET: Samurai's Forbidden Love
Available at Bookstrand.com
http://tinyurl.com/6hqpog

FALLEN ANGEL REVIEWS ~ 5/5 Angels!
http://tinyurl.com/5dowxz

Green Tea

Tea is culture, art and history in liquid form. If the scientific studies, some impartial some biased, can be believed, green tea may also be the ultimate health drink.

Unfortunately “green tea” flavored goodies are starting to appear all over the place, mixed in with sugar and artificial coloring. These products are preying on consumers who have come to recognize green tea as a health term which can bring in the big bucks.

This short article will help you enjoy this drink in its pure form and more importantly take the mystery out of brewing the perfect cup.
The many benefits of green tea are enjoyed by the Japanese because they drink the brew in place of pure water. In other words, the lowered risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity among green tea drinkers is due to the fact that they consume several cups a day consistently over an entire life time.

One reason why tea has not caught on in the United States is because it is not “instant”. Green tea absolutely must be brewed carefully. Rather than carry a teapot and tea leaf container to the office you can cut some corners by acquiring high quality tea bags.


Here is a list of things to assure a fast and flavorful brew:
Look for an expiration date or packing date on the box.
The bags should be made of nylon mesh which do not add a paper “flavor”. If you must use paper bags you'll be able to assess quality if the bags are “yellow” and therefore old.
The tea should not be “dust” but fine leaves. If you want to spoil yourself, buy “sencha” grade tea which has a pleasant delicate taste. Good tea has a slight sweet and grassy taste and a light yellow or green color often compared to that of spinach water.

Green tea is very delicate and is best brewed at 175 degrees from 1.5 to 2 minutes maximum. If you don't have access to a kettle to boil water simply pour bottled water into your mug and microwave it. If you measure the water with a thermometer a few times you will be easily able to determine the exact number of minutes and seconds to set the microwave. You may do the finger test to be sure the water is not too hot nor too cool. Of course, this last technique requires cleanliness and some experience.

Although the tea may be a bit expensive just remember that each bag may be used more than once. After removing the bag from your mug you can place it in a tall thermos full of warm water and take it to your cubicle or you can place it in a tall glass pitcher full of cold water.

As mentioned earlier, green tea is not instant like most of the coffee we drink but perhaps the 2 minutes spent allowing the leaves to expand in the water is much needed time for you to close your eyes, relax and block out all the noise and electronic chatter pervasive in our daily lives. You can use this moment of quiet to count how many breaths you take, stretch your muscles or go through the motions to alleviate neck and back strain from sitting in front of the computer too long.

The last reason why green tea may not be promoted as much in the United States is that it cannot be paired up with the sugar industry nor flavored dry and liquid creamers. Green tea is always taken without sugar nor cream however people who are not used to the grassy taste may add small amounts of honey to the drink and gradually lessen the amount over time.
Many people have heard of the elaborate tea ceremony in Japan where people not only enjoy the simple brew but the serene space shared with friends. While we may not bring that ritual into our daily lives, it is still possible to enjoy green tea on the go.

Remember healthy living means great loving.

Silapa Jarun is the author of the mxm erotic work of historical fiction KATANA DUET: Samurai's Forbidden Love . The story is set in war torn Japan and in Wisconsin during the nineteenth century. The bond of brotherhood between the samurai grows into a forbidden relationship as they realize "Katana Duet" is not the only stage show they must perform for money but they must also play out an elaborate act to free themselves from a deadly game in a household full of secrets.