Welcome friends! Here let me take your coats, hats and pocketbooks. Please go on in, there’s plenty to eat and Don will whip you up a Martini or an Old Fashioned — you know how Mr. Draper is.
Oh, and I brought the tastiest shredded pork and shrimp egg rolls — you just have to give them a try.
You see, this Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook has got me thinking I’m on the set or better yet — back in time. Like I needed another reason to fantasize about being Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks), in her snug sweaters, fitted dresses and pencil skirts and that gorgeous head of fiery red hair. (A girl can dream, right?) (more…)
When Virtual Potluck was approached to work with True Lemon, I was hesitant.
As a native Californian (only transplanted in the Pacific Northwest) citrus is like home to me. The idea of NOT grabbing a fresh lemon or lime for a recipe seemed, frankly, a little nuts to me.
I grew up with a lemon tree in my Granny Jason’s backyard in sunny southern California, from which she would make the most insanely delicious lemon meringue pie. (No, I won’t be trying it with True Lemon– granny’s pie is sacred!) (more…)
What? Wait? Did I say, “corn dog muffins?” OK, I did — but did I really say, “Gluten-Free?” (Yes!)
“No way,” you say, “there’s all kinds of fillers in hot dogs and usually that means wheat.”
Not when you use hot dogs that are filler and preservative-free (no nitrates or nitrites and no MSG — YAY!) and the great thing is these corn dog muffins taste every bit as decadent as their recipe title sounds (sans the gluten-free moniker.) I made them as something a little different for lunch one day and with a hubby and a young son in the house, for whom hot dogs are always a welcome sight, it felt like a no-brainer. (more…)
The REAL Chia plant (not its imposter Salvia carduacea)
I love a good lemon poppy seed cake. Not all the time and not all lemon poppy seed cakes, but when I find a good one– I’ll certainly dig in. So when I was trying to think up a recipe for Bob’s Red Mill’s Chia Seeds (which remind me of poppy seeds when they’re in food, at least in looks, if not flavor) my favorite poppy seed dish sprung to mind. To make the challenge all the more difficult, I have been abstaining from gluten recently (and seeing great results energetically and in terms of digestion) so I needed to come up with a recipe that would be gluten-free, delicious and taste similar to a lemon poppy seed cake but with the added health benefits of Chia seeds. (more…)
I’m in the midst of building a better me (gluten-free and lower sugar) — but that is a hard road most days, because I’m a chocoholic. Luckily the VP gang and I all received big boxes, chock full of avocados from So Cal Avocados. Delicious good-for-you-fat, avocados, that help lower blood pressure and bad cholesterol, while boosting your good cholesterol.
That extra creamy fat-feel on your tongue can also translate into less fat on your thighs too, because when you replace other fatty food cravings during a dietary change, with avocado, your body feels more satiated — leaving you less likely to binge. And avocados are fiber-licious, helping you to feel fuller and aiding in your body’s digestion. Not only that, but these little alligator-skinned beauties are like nutrition bombs —packed withpotassium andvitamins A, C, E, and K. (more…)
