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April 2011 - Page 2 of 3 - All The Single Girlfriends

Change Your Life – Clean Your Sock Drawer...

Apr 18, 2011 by

Change Your Life – Clean Your Sock Drawer

If you want to make changes to your life, begin by cleaning your sock drawer. I discovered the power in this simple act from a story I read about a psychologist who received an emergency call from one of her patients late one night. He was clearly panicked – ranting and raving and threatening to kill himself. She let him talk for a while, and then she quietly said, “Here’s what I want you to do right now. Go into your bedroom and clean your sock drawer.” Then she hung up. An hour later, the patient called back. “I don’t know how to thank you,” he said. “At first I though you were crazy to suggest that cleaning my sock drawer would help, but I was desperate to try anything. I have to tell...

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Chocolate Bisquit Cake Fit For A Royal Wedding...

Apr 15, 2011 by

Chocolate Bisquit Cake Fit For A Royal Wedding

It’s two weeks til the Royal wedding. If like me you never received your invitation, here’s a way you too can feel like you’re at Buckingham Palace. The prince has requested this as his “Groom Cake”. It’s pretty simple, no bake and can be made in advance. Add champagne and a large, overdecorated hat and it will be like you too are hanging with Will, Kate and the Queen!! Cake 1- 7 oz pkg butter tea bisquits Note: You can find tea bisquits on the cookie aisle near the British cookies 1 cup heavy cream 2 tbsp honey 1/2 stick butter 16 oz bittersweet chocolate(chopped) 1 tsp vanilla Glaze 2 tbsp butter 1/4 cup heavy cream 6 oz (1 cup) bitterswwet chocolate(chopped) Directions Break up bisquits, DON’T turn them into crumbs-you want chunks! Coat...

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White Trash Cocktail Parties

Apr 15, 2011 by

White Trash Cocktail Parties

Honey, where’s the Miracle Whip cookbook? Does the headline make you think of home brew with saltines and vienna sausages?  You may also wonder if I’ve been watching too much Justified. Nahhhh. No such thing as too much Justified. I’d buy those godawful sausage things for Raylan Givens and serve ‘em up with a smile.  I’d even get Mags to give me the recipe for Apple Pie (without the poison), if Raylan wanted to stop and sit for a spell. What the HELL are you talking about, Mary? This is supposed to be a Foodie Friday post! Oops, sorry. Where was I? Here’s a deep, dark secret of Southerners (and really, people everywhere) – some of the simplest and most unsophisticated recipes are the ones you can’t keep on the table.  They’re scoffed right...

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In the Kitchen with George and Joe...

Apr 15, 2011 by

In the Kitchen with George and Joe

I admit to a very un-feminist yearning.  I would love to have a man around the house who would cook for me.  Growing up, we were always thrilled when Daddy decided to cook.  He did something delicious with pork chops in gravy that I’ve never been able to equal. He was also a king of the barbecue grill and made a spectacular winter soup that used to simmer on the stovetop all weekend while he added meat and vegetables as needed to keep the pot full while we all helped ourselves.  (More on that as cold weather approaches.) Then I got married.  My husband never cooked.  (To be fair, neither did his mother, so he never learned.)  My daughters have been far cleverer.  Both of them have managed to find husbands and/or boyfriends who...

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Eggplant Putanesca – Honoring the Oldest Profession...

Apr 15, 2011 by

Eggplant Putanesca – Honoring the Oldest Profession

Most people know Pasta Putanesca – the spicy Italian sauce referring to the women who practice the oldest profession of all. There are a cluster of stories for the origin of the name and general agreement about the basic ingredients. And since you know I can’t resist garlicky, intensely flavored food, I developed a recipe using eggplant as the base and recombining the flavors for an easy to do- ahead side dish that could be served hot or warm. Eggplant Putanesca Two eggplants should feed four to six as a side dish. Feel free to adjust the ingredients to match your own taste for these strong flavors. Ingredients 2 medium size eggplants 1 C. pitted kalamata olives 3 T. capers 3-5 cloves garlic 1 T anchovy paste or ½ can anchovies (or the whole...

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Flea Markets Are Like Dating, or Maybe Not...

Apr 14, 2011 by

Flea Markets Are Like Dating, or Maybe Not

I enjoy flea markets. I love fleaing.  Ur, no, no – not fleeing. We’re not talking about dating when you’re 50+ today.  Or, maybe we are.  The quality rankings of fleaing could apply to dating.  But then we humans can make pretty much anything (Hey! Quantum physics!) apply to our mating rituals.  But I digress.  ANYHOO… I can spend hours and hours marveling that someone somewhere actually bought the turquoise/burnt orange/rusted/broken gizmoy thingie in the first place.  What the hell is it anyway; good lord is that really three zeros on the price tag!? WHAT is the dealer smoking? Now, that I’d buy – must be really good shit, man. For those of you who may be new to the fine art of fleaing, here are some basics: Fundamental law that applies to all...

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Decoupage with Favorite Children’s Books...

Apr 13, 2011 by

Decoupage with Favorite Children’s Books

We all have memories of our favorite children’s books… Winnie the Pooh, Strawberry Shortcake, Peanuts characters. A great way for us grown-ups to keep our childhood “friends” close is to use children’s book illustrations in craft projects. And did I mention how cool they look? You can use book pages and cutouts to make cards, wall art, or my favorite is to decoupage accessories.             The following are projects I crafted with craft paint or stain, thrift store acquired home accessories, children’s books (also found in thrift stores), and Mod Podge decoupage medium.                   Winnie the Pooh spice rack. I use it for tea accessories.             Detail of Winnie the Pooh spice rack.      ...

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Patty Azzarello’s New Book On Business Success: Destined To Become A Classic...

Apr 12, 2011 by

Patty Azzarello’s New Book On Business Success: Destined To Become A Classic

True confession. Although I regularly read business books – everything from building a personal brand to using social media to having successful virtual teams – I don’t really like business books. For me, most are too theoretical and tend to paint an overly rosy picture of the benefits the reader will get if they follow the advice in the book. A few years ago I read Who Moved My Cheese? According to the book’s website I am one of 24 million people who bought this book. You would think with that many people reading the book it would have a dramatic impact on my thinking about business. Here’s what I remember about it. Not much. Oh, I remember it was a quick,easy read. I remember thinking it was clever. But, I didn’t note or...

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Cotton Candy and Circus Peanuts...

Apr 11, 2011 by

Cotton Candy and Circus Peanuts

Over the years I have dated a bit and learned some valuable things about men that I sometimes feel compelled to share with other women who may not have connected the dots about certain man-things. I also occasionally share these pearls of wisdom with men so that they might be able to recognize certain aspects of their own personalities and adjust.  They rarely adjust, but it makes me feel better to think that I tried. One of the things that I’ve learned about men is that if they are awake, they feel their significant other should also be awake.  If they are sleeping, their significant other should also be sleeping. I don’t normally like to generalize, but I don’t feel that this is a generalization.  It’s a fact.  Something I have concluded after many...

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The Art of Eating

Apr 8, 2011 by

The Art of Eating

As M.F.K. Fisher said, in her introduction to The Art of Eating, “Let Thackeray provide our text: ‘Next to eating good dinners, a healthy man with a benevolent turn of mind, must like, I think, to read about them.’” She goes on to add, “I have been addicted to eating for half a century and to date show no sign of breaking the habit – or its kindred one of devouring food by courtesy of Gutenberg.” M.F.K. Fisher is one of my all-time favorite writers – for reasons you can infer from the above. The Art of Eating is a compilation of five of her books.  As one of her admirers noted, she writes about food, but she’s really writing about life.  Sadly, Ms. Fisher is no longer writing, having died in 1992.  However,...

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Feel Better Food

Apr 8, 2011 by

Feel Better Food

Yesterday I was watching the Food Network’s a Best Of .. Comfort Food. Comfort foods are usually food from our childhood that help get us over a little bump in the road.  For me it’s chocolate. For others it’s mac and cheese or grilled cheese or .. or .. or .. There’s a side step to comfort food that seems to be neglected. Let’s call it Sick Food. No Gf, not food that makes you sick! Hmm .. perhaps Feel Better Food is a better name. Food that wraps you in a big warm blanket when you’re not feeling physically well. For me this type of food is different than what we think of as “traditional” comfort food. Oh sure, home made chicken soup might have been for lunch; but in the morning, it was tea...

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Girls on the Grill – It Ain’t Just for Guys!...

Apr 8, 2011 by

Girls on the Grill – It Ain’t Just for Guys!

Have you ever been to Greece?  I love the people, countryside and the food. I was  looking for new ways to put a twist on an old favorite when my sister turned me onto this wonderful version of the hamburger.  The saltiness and earthiness of the feta makes a nice change from the usual hamburger accoutrements.  It’s easy to fix, can be prepared a day ahead, and on top of all that, it’s low in fat.  Serves 5 Greek-flavored Burgers with Feta Aioli. Aioli Ingredients: ½ cup crumbled feta cheese (about 2 ounces) 2 tablespoons light mayonnaise 2 tablespoons plain fat-free yogurt The Aioli will have the consistency of mayo. Burger Ingredients: 5 slices red onions, 1/2-inch thick Cooking spray 1 lb. lean ground beef (90% works best) 3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs (used unflavored...

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