Ladies Blog

Halloween Brunch

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:03:48 +0000

A little late, I know! But here are a few very important photos from Amanda's Halloween Brunch. It was a brilliant affair, complete with pumpkin waffles, hot apple cider, and old school horror movies. It was just the way I wanted to pass my Halloween! Here's the menu and some photos:

Menu
Pumpkin Waffles
Fall Home Fries
Baked Egg Souffle
Fresh fruit
Hot Apple Cider (Trader Joe's spiced apple cider brand) flavored with Ginger Schnapps
Good coffee

That may or may not be paper plates adorned with an image of Edward and Bella.

by stacita

Great vegetarian recipe website

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:28:31 +0000

If you haven't already, have a look at 101 Cookbooks, a blog and travelogue with (mostly) vegetarian fare. She's also a photographer, so it's really fun.

by ClaireMere

The Ladies' Favorites

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:53:13 +0000

Check out the list of our favorite recipes after one year of sharing! The Ladies' Favorites

by stacita

Wanted: Winter Squash Recipes

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:11:11 +0000

Ladies!

We are poor. But winter squash are cheap! So I have determined to work our way through all of the varieties I've found at the market: turban, butternut, acorn, delicata, etc.

So I am soliciting any and all winter squash recipes you love! Any of the hard squashes are great and any recipe no matter how basic. I've done a bunch with butternut and some with spaghetti squash but the rest are all new to me. The basic roasting I have down, but need ideas for flavoring and so forth. Methods! Flavors! Whatever! Please post em to your kitchens and link them here. Thanks very much!

I will shortly weigh in with general favorites - my in-laws just left yesterday and we are all awash in missing them. And also doing laundry, etc, and catching up on the rest of life.

by ClaireMere

My Ricotta Experiment

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:51:31 +0000

Ladies,

So, Stacy knows that I purchased WAY too much milk last weekend for my halloween brunch. I have GALLONS in the fridge, and they're in danger of expiring in three days. So, tomorrow I'm going to make *gasp* fresh ricotta cheese. I will let you know what happens. But I'll take votes: if successful, do I make something sweet or savory? Suggestions?

Now I have to get off this wiki.

by AmandaCarr

Our First Birthday!

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:10:26 +0000

It's Ladies Recipes's first birthday! 365 days ago, Stacy first published her recipe for Eggless Tom and Jerry, a deluxe alcoholic drink reminiscent of eggnog. Since then, we have written 109 recipes, 62 blog posts, and 189 comments. We have made about 680 edits to the wiki. And there's no way of telling how many calories we have consumed!

In honor of our first birthday, would you submit the name of one or two recipes (other than your own) that have enriched your humble existence? These will then be considered our "all-star" recipes. If there are other honorable mentions, feel free to list them, too.

by stacita

Yellow Rice

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:43:00 +0000

Ok. Next time you are making rice, just splash in some turmeric. It tastes exactly the same but suddenly everyone thinks you're a genius. So easily fooled.

by stacita

A personal question about eggplant

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:06:03 +0000

Ladies!

When prepping eggplant for whatever, do you SALT it first?

Always? Never? Just for certain things?

What benefits or hazards does it produce? I know the science, but am curious about what you find it does to the flavor and/or consistency. I've never really done it (except for this moment when a new recipe I'm trying sternly forbade me to skip this step). Please weigh in! Thanks in advance for any who have time.

by ClaireMere

Roasted red peppers

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:32:15 +0000

I was at the Stop and Shop this week and a women and her man were buying a cart full of red peppers. Being the season for red peppers you can find them on sale for 99 cents a pound. She told me they roast them, jar them and cover them with olive oil. Great idea for sandwiches, omelettes, bruschetta or anything your heart desires. They are the only kind of peppers I grow. I had to bring them in early because of our crazy cold weather this month. They were green but soon turned red in the windowsill. They say that one red pepper contains the vitamins of three oranges. Bob hates when I say " They say" who is they ???
Stacy's grandfather, my Dad, fries a pan full of cut up green peppers in olive oil every week. He uses plenty of salt and pepper. He puts them in omelettes, to add moisture to sandwiches and topping for pizza.

by Paula Jeanne

Buy the brandy

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:34:48 +0000

It's finally chilly down here and we've had a week of rain. Autumn! And the baby and I have little colds. Boo!

But while he has to make do with TLC and steam, Mama gets to have a Hot Toddy! I suspect most of you could use one, too - it's perfect on a cold afternoon or evening when you need to unwind and particularly when you have a sore throat.

I made adult hot toddies earlier in the week after the baby went to bed and when my cold was coming on, but then decided to add a shot of brandy to the fresh apple cider we got. Wow! It was amazing. Brian took a day off today to let me sleep late and try to shake the cold, so this afternoon I thanked him with a mug of hot cider and brandy. Everyone is happy.

So I say go get the bottle of brandy! You'll use it for toddies, holiday punch, stews, even some baking! And all winter you'll be glad you can have a little nip in your hot tea or water or cider.

by ClaireMere

Make the Plum Torte INSTANTLY!

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:43:41 +0000

Ladies.

If you see prune plums in your stores right now (they're in season) BUY THEM (at least a pound) and make the most heavenly dessert you will ever have: John Scott's Plum Torte.

Do it! You will be infinitely rewarded for about 15 minutes in the kitchen.

That is all.

by ClaireMere

The "Gimbot" revealed!

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:27:14 +0000

Ladies.

As you know, Amanda makes a delicious vegetarian stew she learned from her mother, who called it "gimbot." Amanda knew this must be a corruption of an Italian word or dish, but had no idea what that would be.

Well, last night I was looking through my new copy of Gourmet Today, so far a very good cookbook. And in the Vegetarian Meals section was a dish called "Ciambotta!" And it was almost the SAME as Amanda's dish!

It has a few ingredients that her mother didn't include, mostly vegetables like eggplant and green beans, and the sauce may have a few additions. But that's the history!

I've since discovered that you can also find recipes under "giambotta" so Google it if you're interested in the zillions of variations the web has to offer.

Amanda suggested I post this moment of culinary historical research; I have to say that this was a really surprising and fun discovery!

So who's going to make this their diss topic???

by ClaireMere

Hip Hop Bittman

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:03:26 +0000

Check out Mark Bittman's video on how to make Sweet Potato Salad. Besides looking like a delicious fall recipe, with roasted sweet potatoes, red onion, beans, and cilantro, the opening song is hilarious. "Challah!"

by stacita

The Man Who Ate Everything

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:00:13 +0000

The Man Who Ate Everything
Jeffrey Steingarten

This is a really fun book. I have been reading a chapter before going to bed. This has led to some mixed results. For instance, the morning after I read the chapter "Salt," I made the saltiest breakfast potatoes of my life. And you know about me and salt!

Steingarten believes that any limitation on food intake, be they cultural, habitual, or ideological, is a grave sin; the health care establishment's 'war' on delicious food offers only marginal health benefits; and, of course, food is the most fascinating, endlessly enjoyable, provoking topic. His book is witty and light-hearted. I think you ladies will approve!

Some of his memorable chapters include:

"Salad the Silent Killer"
How eating raw vegetables is hazardous to your health—maybe even fatal! Many references to "the miracle of cooking."

"Salt"
Why the outcry over salt is overrated. It's what I want to hear, so I believe it!

"Pies from Paradise"
The author's uber-scientific foray into the art of making the perfect crust—and his terrible failure.

by stacita

Cheesy Fake Candles Good for Cooking!

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:43:18 +0000

Fall has arrived. The perfect season for cooking! So when I woke up this morning, it was chilly and rainy, a wee bit dark in the house I turned on a soft lamp but really wanted some candles. But I hesitate to light candles when I'm cooking because I can't keep track of them. I'm banging around, throwing oil about, mishandling the veggies. So I lit some of my cheesy fake candles (the ones rapidly taking over every restaurant, it seems) and stuck them around the stove and work space. At last! No worry "candle light" while I'm cooking.

by stacita

Site Change

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 23:57:27 +0000

Hey ladies, I shrunk the width of our website a little. What do you think?

by stacita

Salads!

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:49:48 +0000

I'm still looking for salads…here's 101 of them:

101 Simple Salads for the Season
Mark Bittman
The New York Times
July 21, 2009

by stacita

Minced Garlic: You're Amazing

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:15:18 +0000

So the quest to simplify my cooking process continues. Now, I have always utterly rejected minced garlic on the grounds that it doesn't taste like garlic. That seems reasonable. But no longer content merely with the entirely amazing Melissa's peeled garlic cloves in small vacuum-sealed packs, I wondered if any improvements had been made in the minced garlic arena. Turns out—I have made a discovery!

I turned my back on the major grocery chains for the search. Instead, I made immediately for Whole Foods and was rewarded for my efforts. I searched for 20 minutes in the spice aisle, which left me ample time to meet John Hodgman and chat with his son:

Nothing. Then I asked for help and was led to the dairy cooler, where only one brand resided:

Great Garlic.

That's it. That's the name of the company. When I got home, I opened it for a sniff. With pre-minced garlic, this means everything. I was perfectly ready to accept defeat. Actually, my greatest hope was that it be just slightly less weird than most minced garlic brands. But!! Are you ready??

IT SMELLED LIKE GARLIC.

Really. There may never be a need to peel and chop garlic again. There. I said it.

by stacita

Indian Night

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:10:30 +0000

Amanda invited me and another friend over last night for some impressive Indian delights. Upon tasting, I realized a debacle was in my immediate future and so prepared the others for my inevitable overeating, which I promptly made good on.

As is her wont, Amanda outdid herself, making black-eyed pea dal, spiced cauliflower, and a delicious peanut-enhanced cucumber salad from scratch. What! And we can't even discuss the chapati, the making of which scared me but the eating of which was amazing!

Here's the evidence:

by stacita

Boxed Wine!

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:01:26 +0000

I am drinking my very first glass of boxed wine! It is effective! It's the Black Box (made I think by Blackstone) Cab. $20/4 bottles. Hmmmmm. Also, no pressure to drink more than a glass—no guilt tomorrow! There it sits, waiting to be revisited. Or I can drink a bottle next time. And still the box will live bravely on. Loving it!

Here's an interesting article that chronicles a double-blind boxed/bottled wine taste test, with the results:
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=517615

Let me know of your own successful/terrible forays into this arena.

by stacita