Blog Posts by Oprah.com

Photo: Jason LoweBy Lynn Andriani

Me, I like to reach for a cold bottle of iced tea mixed with lemonade when I'm feeling wilted by the summer heat. If I were Spanish, though, after waking from my afternoon siesta, I'd probably reach for a bottle of... gazpacho?

RELATED: Recipes from Oprah's Summer Get-Togethers

Yes. Though technically a soup, gazpacho is thirst-quenching enough--and, if you puree it finely, liquid enough--to be drunk straight from the bottle, which is how many Spaniards enjoy it, says Claudia Roden, who spent years researching her new 624-page doorstopper, The Food of Spain. Roden told me gazpacho is so popular in Spain, even supermarkets sell it by the bottle. For the rest of us, though, it's easy enough to make at home. And if you're so inclined, I've found the perfect gazpacho containers (funnel required).

RELATED: How About a Charred Spanish Ham and Cheese to Go With Your Gazpacho

Roden says:

1. Use very ripe tomatoes
2. For the bread that helps thicken the soup, use a hearty

Read More »from 3 Secrets to Making Great Gazpacho

Photo: Thinkstock"The best thing for being sad...is to learn something," said T.H. White in The Once and Future King. This has nothing to do with academic drudgery and everything to do with the fact that mastering a technique, sharpening a skill, doing something you didn't know how to do before, proves anything is possible. Here are 25 ways to brighten up those little gray cells.

RELATED: 9 Homegrown Tricks for Cheering Yourself Up

1. Memorize one good joke.

2. Learn how to land a triple lutz...or maybe just how to skate backward.

3. Teach yourself not to take the bait the next time a loved one starts pestering you.

4. Master Italian (or American Sign Language, German, Spanish, French, Pig Latin...)

5. Have a kid show you one foolproof magic trick.

RELATED: 10 Ways to Find Happiness

6. Perfect your margarita-making technique.

7. Enroll in a bookbinding course.

8. Read everything by a single author whom you've been meaning to get to for years. Faulkner? Melville? Auden? Colette?

9. Knit yourself or

Read More »from 25 Proven Ways to Beat the Blues

Photo: Roger NeveBy Jenny Bailly

Trust us: It's way too hot to wear pants. Here's how to get your legs (and arms, and chest) ready for the season's skin-baring outfits.

A Spotless Décolletage
A retinoid cream-either prescription, like Retin-A, or over-the-counter (look for retinol in the ingredient list)-will lighten discoloration and soften rough patches caused by sun damage. Two to four treatments with a KTP laser or intense pulsed light (IPL) can more dramatically minimize both the brown spots and redness caused by UV exposure. (Cost: At least $500 per session.) A fractional nonablative laser, like the Fraxel Dual, greatly improves not just the color but also the texture of the skin. You'll probably need at least two treatments. (Cost: Around $1,000 each.)

RELATED: 13 Beauty Treats That Will Keep You Cool All Summer

Silky Legs
A rich shaving cream and a four-blade razor (try Bic Soleil Bella, $7) are all you need to get smooth legs for at least a day or two. Laser treatments can drastically

Read More »from Quick Fixes for All Your Summer Skin Issues

Photo: ThinkstockBy Lynn Andriani

Maybe you follow baseball. Or maybe you find yourself following someone you love--who happens to love baseball--to the nearest stadium. If so, you might have noticed that Major League ballpark food has left the traditional peanuts and Cracker Jacks in the dust.

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I kept hearing that the gourmet offerings at many of the country's newer stadiums threaten to steal the show, so I asked around and found six foods baseball fans can't get enough of. Even if your interest in America's pastime is limited to the endearing if ragtag group of dogs named for the Yankee shortstop, you'll want to try these recipes and make a playoff-worthy version of them at home.

RELATED: Stay Healthy in the Bleachers

Ballpark: AT&T Park
Team: San Francisco Giants
Must-try concession: Crazy Crab'z, center field
What to order: Dungeness crab sandwich with mayonnaise and tomato, served in a grilled garlic butter sourdough baguette.
Make it at home:

Read More »from Ballpark Food That Outshines the Game

Illustration: Marisa MarchettoBy Suzy Welch

About a year ago, I bumped into a friend whose daughter, Amanda, used to drive me a little crazy when she was in high school. Not because she committed any of the typical teenage transgressions but because she was perfect. She got great grades, made captain of two teams, played violin in the school orchestra, and was completely down-to-earth and cheerful to boot. So it was with trepidation, as the mother of mere mortals, that I asked after this girl-by then a college graduate working at a well-known company.

"Oh my God, she is terrible," came the grief-stricken reply. "Her life is in ruins. She has a bad boss."

RELATED: Setting Boundaries at the Office

Instantly, my heart broke for Amanda. She had joined the ranks of humankind.

"Well, it happens to all of us," I told her mother sadly.

"I know-I went through it," she said with a sigh. "But I just quit and married Bill. Amanda doesn't have a Bill. She has only herself."

Exactly. Some of the most successful careers

Read More »from How to Deal With the Boss from Hell

Illustration: Christopher Silas NealBy Catherine Price

What do you most want to know about your mom but would never ask? When psychoanalyst Joyce McFadden posed this question to hundreds of women in an online survey that began in 2006, she was surprised by their answers: Half of the respondents wanted to know more about their mothers' sexuality.

The queries ranged from the seemingly straightforward to the profound: "Did she date other men before my dad?" "Had she had an abortion?" "Why did she have an affair?" In her new book, Your Daughter's Bedroom, McFadden explores the great value in sharing these kinds of intimate secrets-even when it's awkward to do so. Understanding our mothers, she says, is vital to understanding ourselves. We asked McFadden how to get the conversation started.

RELATED: 4 Tips for Talking to Your Daughter About Sex

Q: Why are these discussions so hard?
It's not easy to blurt out the private details of your life to anyone. But moms often don't discuss their sexual pasts because they're

Read More »from How to Talk to Your Daughter (or Your Mother!) About Sex

Photo: Dan SaelingerBy Dr. Mehmet Oz

From the Japanese to the Russians, the Greeks to the Kuna Indians of Panama, every culture has its own secrets to better health and longer life. These traditional remedies and practices-like drinking a calming herbal tea or cooking with a particular spice-might seem inconsequential, but researchers are discovering that these little things can make a world of difference. Try importing these six habits, all worth bringing home.

RELATED: 6 Health Myths, Busted








Photo: ThinkstockPanama

The Secret
Harvard professor Norman Hollenberg, MD, PhD, has spent years studying the Kuna, an indigenous tribe on the San Blas Islands who drink five cups or more of unprocessed cocoa a day. He discovered that compared with residents of mainland Panama, who generally drink nutrient-poor grocery store cocoa, the islanders' risk of cancer, diabetes, stroke, and heart disease is reduced to less than 10 percent. They can likely thank cocoa's flavonoids, powerful antioxidants with a host of

Read More »from 6 Health Secrets from Around the Globe

Illustration: Kagan McLeodFrom old-fashioned ink and paper to the crystal clear screen of an iPad, here's the best way to enjoy 4 of our favorite titles.

Ink and Paper (a.k.a. the old-fashioned way)

Jennifer Egan's A Visit From the Good Squad is a winner any way you can get it, but the tried-and-true book version (Anchor) doesn't distort the PowerPoint chapter the way some e-readers do.

RELATED: Oprah's Summer 2011 Reading List

Illustration: Kagan McLeodiPad or Nook

Everybody loves Keith Richards's edgy voice, which echoes through his Rolling Stones memoir, Life, but admit it: What we also want is a good look at the spectacular photo inserts. Any e-reader will reproduce them, but even the old black-and-white images look better on a color device.

RELATED: More Memoirs You Won't Want to Miss







Illustration: Kagan McLeodKindle

Unless you have a very big tote bag (and Michelle Obama arms), save your strength and read Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1 on your Amazon device: 760 pages and $22 as a book, it costs $10 in digital form and increases

Read More »from E-reader? Audiobook? The Best Format for 4 Summer Must-Reads