Archive for April 2012

Last week, I got my hair cut for the first time since August. A haircut should be a fun, pampering activity, but I always treat it like an unfortunate task, akin to a pedicure (another necessary evil I’ve heard some people also enjoy). I always feel like I’m losing something, watching my discarded curls fall to the ground and get swept away. Those are curls I’ve spent years growing! Curls that remind me of college, or high school, or childhood.

After the haircut, I want to be soothed, even though I’m happy to feel lighter curls bouncing around my neck.

That’s where these decadent, nostalgic brownies come in. They remind me of college, or childhood, but in a good way.

Saturday is Cinco de Mayo! While I can’t vouch for the authenticity of any of these dishes-I actually can’t vouch for the authenticity of the Cinco de Mayo celebration itself-if you’re celebrating this weekend, you’ll want to check out some of the Mexican/Tex-Mex/California Mex dishes below.

1. Fish Tacos

2. Creamy Chorizo-Chicken Casserole

3. Huevos Rancheros

Since the day we founded Big Girls, Small Kitchen, cooking and entertaining questions have arrived in our inbox and our comments section. At first we were like, “who? us? advice?” But after more than three years of solving culinary problems, we can honestly say we’re here for you. And since you might want to know the answer to other quarter-life cooks’ questions, we’re unveiling this new, ongoing q&a section to highlight your queries and share our responses.

If you’d like to ask us anything about quarter-life cooking, shoot an email with your question to bgsk [at] biggirlssmallkitchen [dot] com!

**Ask Us Anything: Why Are My Cookies So Thick?**

First of all, thank you so much for all of your fabulous recipes. I received In the Small Kitchen for my birthday last fall and have made so many delicious things from it over the last few months! It’s one of few books where I KNOW that pretty much anything I make from it is going to be both affordable and amazing. I love it!

I did run into a little bit of difficulty making the Butterscotch Pecan Cookies this afternoon, though. The cookies in your picture look very thin, but mine stayed pretty thick and big when I made them-their shape barely changed from the ball shape they were in on the baking sheet. They also took a little longer to cook.

I know that using butter at room temp. vs melted butter changes the crispiness of cooking. Could the butter have been the culprit here? How creamy is the sugar/butter mixture supposed to get?

The grilled cheese sandwich is not some idle obsession or Pinterest fantasy. It plays a valuable role in my life.

The grilled cheese sandwich always delivers. There are foods, like soup or yogurt, that automatically lead to a craving for more: dessert, steak, whatever. Technically, the yogurt and the soup provide plenty of calories to satiate a sedentary blogger, but in reality, they’re somehow not enough.

My mom once gave me a piece of advice: only eat what you like. (I’ve written more about staying healthy as a food lover in this post.) That applies both to unhealthful food and healthful food: I avoid yogurt and donuts with the same passion. When I eat food I really like, I feel great, whether it’s ice cream or quinoa.

You’re looking at two Coconut Budinos, the sweetest little individualized desserts ever to be beloved by everybody. They’re gluten-free, dairy-free, and require no skill to make. They’re universal, unless you’re a coconut hater. Democratic, if you will.

A democratic dessert fits perfectly in with what’s going on today, because I want to share some plans with you and ask for your opinions: What are you looking for when you come to BGSK? What are your favorite parts of the site?

I talked on Friday with Rachel, our WordPress designer, about getting into gear to make design changes I’ve been envisioning for a long, long time. They revolve mainly around reorganizing the homepage so it feels less like a magazine and more like, well, a blog. To me, that’s a more honest and fun way to present my posts to you: I can show you what I’m actually cooking right now, rather than fashioning a slideshow out of old posts that I guessed you might like to see.

I’ll still find a way to highlight old recipes from the archives, because, well, there’s some great stuff there I wouldn’t want you to miss.

I’m also planning to add a Print feature and a Pin It button to take you right to Pinterest, and to make the header smaller and the photos and text more prominent so you can jump right into content. I’ll be leaving the recipe index as is, and keeping the sections for menus and guides-unless you tell me not to.

This giveaway is now closed.

Because I’ve embraced Earth Day in a big way this year-green pizza and a round up of how foodies stay green in the kitchen-I figured I’d round it all out with a giveaway, thanks to our friends over at Full Circle Home.

Anything that makes cleaning a little more pleasant sounds good in my book. (Cleaning’s not my favorite job.) Full Circle uses only sustainable and renewable resources-scrub brushes made with sleek bamboo and sponges from cellulose-so today’s giveaway is an awesome way to pick up on my Earth Day obsession in a clean, green way.

I promised on Wednesday that I wouldn’t get preachy about staying green in the kitchen. In a way, that was because putting together an authoritative guide to environmentally friendly practices sounded daunting — everyone’s lifestyle and priorities are so different.

So, I asked around, on twitter and facebook and by email.

Here’s what some of my favorite food writers, photographers, bloggers, chefs, and eaters do in their own kitchens to keep them on track as environmentally aware food lovers. Read on to be inspired by diligent composters, green cleaners, and the many uses of coffee grounds.

With Earth Day approaching (it’s this Sunday, the 22nd), I racked my brain for a recipe to share with you guys that felt, well, green. That emphasized saving the planet, or at least eating local.

It took me a few minutes before I felt as dumb as I deserved to for approaching Earth Day totally wrong. Environmental stances are the kinds of beliefs that all of us have to arrive at on our own, like viewpoints on eating meat or strategies for staying healthy. Preachiness just kind of sucks.

A friend once bragged to me that she never used paper towels-if she bought a roll, it languished in her apartment for months, and when she finally finished it, she could go months without buying a new one. But I love paper towels. Nothing beats them for patting meat dray before you brown it, or for wiping your mouth when you’ve just taken a greasy bite of bacon and eggs and don’t want to soil a cloth napkin you know you won’t have time to wash before three Tuesdays from now. In other words, guilt also sucks.

INDIAN-INSPIRED: Chicken Tikka Masala; Chai Tea Latte; Carrot-Raisin Raita; Saag Paratha; Coconut-Vegetable Rice Pilaf

There are many culprits for the internet-onset A.D.D. many of us suffer. Some blame twitter, Others gchat. Still others think it’s Cabin Porn’s fault.

I blame tabbed browsing.

For about 10 days, I had this recipe for Purnima Garg’s Eggplant and Tomato Curry up in not one but two tabs: on Food52, where it originally appeared, and on my Everyday Dinners pinboard, which is one of the places I go these days to search for meal inspiration.

For me, tabs hover in an in-between space between my full attention and total oblivion. I very rarely revisit my bookmarks, so saving a page is as good as clicking a window closed permanently. To keep a tab open is to promise myself that I’ll get back to it, soon. But it also lingers on the side of my attention, a distraction from whatever else I’m trying to accomplish. If the tab includes a spectacular recipe and I’m not in my kitchen, the recipe tab stays open til I’m ready to cook, tempting me and making my mouth water while I type.

MORE BROWN BAG LUNCHES: Curry Chicken Wraps; Cous Cous with Pears and Blue Cheese; Creamy Gazpacho; Crunchy Spicy Hummus Wraps; Slow-Cooker Tomato Basil Soup; Roasted Beet Salad with Ricotta Salata and Pistachios;

I’m a devotee of the brown bag lunch, and eventually this post is going to wind around and tell you about a new favorite meal I’ve been packing. But, on the days when I find myself walking the streets of Manhattan at noontime without lunch in my bag, you will find me playing Draw Something on my iPhone while snaking through the line at a joint like Just Salad. I justify spending time and $12 on an awesome salad by explaining that ingesting my entire fruit and vegetable quota in one meal permits me to have a low-cost pantry dinner at home that night.

The gist at Just Salad is that it’s all about choice. You pick a salad bowl or wrap; mesclun, kale, spinach, arugula, or romaine; and toppings galore.There are plenty of pre-designed salads that I’m sure are wonderful. But obviously, as a cook, I can’t resist creating my own combination.

This is where most of my fellow line-standers go wrong. They either freeze up, slowing traffic and embarrassing themselves in front of all of Midtown and the super-efficient salad choppers. Or they overload their poor greens, lumping in pesto chicken with fried chicken or tortilla strips with croutons. Too much! Both fates can be overcome by focusing on a single, salad-changing strategy: