Archive for May, 2010
Best BBQ Marinade Contest-Vote
May 31st, 2010 | 4 Comments
Tags: Contests, Food & Spirits
On our Facebook page we asked for your favorite BBQ marinade for summer grilling. We’ve narrowed the recipes to three. Vote for your favorite in the comments section and we’ll tally the votes and let you know the winner.
#1. From Sherry Epperly Hall: For steaks (easy & cheap, made with ingredients most of us have in the house already):
2-3 c. red wine, 2-3 TBSP fresh minced garlic, 1/4 c. worcestershire sauce,2-3 TBS soy sauce, couple TBSP Montreal Steak Seasoning, 1 TBSP. dried thyme, or Herbs d’ Provence, just a little vinegar. (You can also add a bit of water or more wine to cover the steaks and 1/2 cup or so of bottled BBQ sauce)
Whisk, marinate steaks for a few hours (I’ve even done it overnight) and grill. Tenderizes & flavor infuses cheaper meat, but particularly good for Rib eyes!
#2. From Stanley Gans: This one has officially been credited to Wolfgang Puck, but I first got this exact recipe (read: exact) in 1978 from a duck purveyor on Mott Street in NYC:
Chicken
6 chicken breasts (with the bone in)1 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons chile flakes
2 tablespoons ginger, finely chopped
2 tablespoons scallions, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic, chopped
1/2 cup peanut oil
(more…)
Sweet Potato Fries. Sweet.
May 27th, 2010 | 20 Comments
Tags: Food & Spirits, Health & Fitness, healthy food
Healthy, delicious, easy. Sweet.
Not only have we have given up old fashioned fried fries, but our potato of choice is sweet potato*. So what could be better than simple to make, yummy to eat, baked sweet potato fries?
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Wash and completely dry one large sweet potato (we buy organic whenever possible). This should be enough for two people.
If you like wedges, cut the potato in half the long way. Place the flat side down on your cutting board and slice each half into 4- 6 wedges (you determine how thin or thick you want them, just remember to check on them as they cook). If you prefer a real ‘fry’ look, slice the potato into 1/3-inch long slices, then 1/3-wide inch strips.
Before baking, lightly coat them with olive oil, sea salt and loads of freshly ground pepper . Get creative and vary your seasonings: cumin, curry, paprika, truffle oil…
Place on baking sheet lined with parchment (easy clean-up) and cook from 20-30 minutes until crispy on the outside and soft inside. Add salt and pepper to taste.
*We were wondering about the difference between yams and sweet potatoes and did a little research. In the US almost all potatoes labelled as yams are in fact sweet potatoes. The Texas Cooperative Extension Aggie Horticulture Network, advises buying sweet potatoes with a deep color for the best food value. For best food flavor they advise storing them in an environment between 55-60 degrees–not the refrigerator.
Root cellars anyone?
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Secret little pleasures…
May 24th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: Travel & Entertainment
Okay, admit it you have more than one secret guilty pleasure. Maybe you double dip at parties when no one is looking. Or you’re a closet soap opera fanatic and watch the DVR recordings when everyone is reliably out of the house. While we’ll never divulge our really deep secrets, we’ll come clean with a few hidden gems. We Wurdle on our iPhone whenever we are waiting for whoever it is that thinks their time is more important than ours. We’re working on memorizing the right answers to Cheese or Font, an ingenious little game that asks important questions like: is Rudelsberg a cheese or a font? We’re interested in keeping up with the Kardashians and watch under the pretense of researching reality television shows for our book.
What are your little secrets?
(And, no, we don’t need details about the toys in your night table drawer.)
Einstein, Mascara and Chicken Wings
May 21st, 2010 | Comments
Tags: Beauty & Grooming, make-up, Shopping
The truth of the matter is we’ve been inside writing for far too long and are looking kind of pasty. So we got a little over excited when we popped into Sephora for a little afternoon pick-me-up. Since we’re only human, we waaaaaay overbought. You know how that cosmetics candy rush feels—so many products, so many colors, so many forms to play with: brush on, roll on, schmear-on, hard, soft, foaming…
We went in for a new blush and found ourselves overwhelmed searching for the right color, the right viscosity, the right whatever-it-is that would make us happy (okay we know a tall order for any modern woman let alone a bitch on a budget). In short, we needed help. (BTW, only ask for help from people whose makeup looks good on them; some of the salespeople looked ready for Halloween). Since we haven’t been out much and were feeling kind of bumpy and gray, we were very vulnerable. (more…)
A Little Housekeeping Pick-Me-Up
May 20th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: Decorating, design
Have you picked up our book yet? What are you waiting for?
OK, OK, right, you’re on a budget. We’re with you, ladies. But think of it this way: for the price of one overpriced cosmo, or a quarter tank of gas, or two greasy meals at McDonalds, you get so much: a reference guide you’ll return to again and again, a shopping tutorial, product tips, entertainment. And most importantly? A community. 67,000 and growing! Join us!
Here’s a teaser from Chapter 4 (Home Remedies to Get You Out of Recession Depression), all about updating your  home on a shoestring. We give you the lowdown on to toss, how to re-purpose, where to buy, and when to splurge.
On linens:
Bitch, you spend more time in the bed and bath than anywhere else. Outside of your toothbrush, which objects gets more up close and personal? Do you need reminding of a few basic facts? OK, here goes. Things suck. Life is short, wars rage, money’s tight, jobs are sparse. These days, the only legitimate way to pamper yourself is with everyday objects—the things you use constantly. The things that know your skin and curves better than any man ever could…
On the Mid-Century Modern Craze:
Mid-century modern became hot by skipping a generation. No one wanted the old furniture from those 50’s ranch houses, so it was cheap, cheap, cheap. All the very cool hipster, creative types who couldn’t afford pricy antiques bought it because they could afford it…. Be a contrarian and think of the rush to modern as your opportunity to get back in touch (a little) with the frippery and finery of another era. A bitch is nothing if not in touch with her paradoxes…
On Mirrors:
Think Grandma’s place in Miami: the walls of mirror, the gold furnishings, the plastic cover on the sofa…. We can go without the plastic, but those mirrors? Love ‘em. They’re a perfect, simple, and cheap way to enhance any room. We’re not talking Poconos ceiling mirrors (although we like your thinking) but well-placed, space-enhancing, light-reflecting mirrors…
We’re available at booksellers everyone—pick us up! Then tell us what you think!
With Oil Spilling in the Gulf It’s Time to Grease the Wheels: May is National Bike Month
May 19th, 2010 | Comments
Now that the weather is warmer we are back to cruising around town on our bike. This morning, as we took our life in our hands on a busy urban street dodging buses, car doors and other cyclists, we pedaled past a local service station and noticed for the first time the BP sign. Like most people we usually pay closer attention to the price per gallon on top of the pump than to the name of the gas supplier.
The contrast between the eco-sunny sentiment of the green and yellow BP logo, and the sludgy reality of what is happening in the Gulf made us feel positively hostile. Well, our uncomfortable bike pants, getting cut off by a taxi and the looming mountains ahead of us – okay, more like a series of hills – didn’t help. Anyway, it’s amazing how fury can fuel you, and we swished up and down the hills with ease; by the end of the ride our exercising endorphins had kicked in and calm reason briefly prevailed. (more…)
B’s Give Back: Dining Diva
May 16th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: B's Give Back
A modern woman knows what she needs and knows how to get it. She also knows that other people need things, too–that we’ve got to look out for one another. Every weekend we bring you examples of women who find creative, meaningful ways to give to others, even when money and time are tight. We write in our book that you should find an activity that you love to do and find friends you love volunteering with –
Heidi, has this all figured out:
“I started a group called “Dining Divas”. We eat out together once a month at a locally owned restaurant to contribute to our local economy. Every dinner participants donate $5 to our Philanthropy Pot which is used to help local women who are struggling financially. We also walk as a team for chartible events throughout the summer to raise money and awareness. There is nothing more powerful than a group of women…we support one another and we support our neighbors. Currently we have 75 members and are going strong!”
Heidi L.
Remember to send us your stories. Leave them in the comment box above or email us at info@bitchesonabudget.com.
Chapter 9: Bitches on a Budget
May 13th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: Food & Spirits
In Chapter 9, Eating In: Rethinking the Daily Grind, we tour our favorite food meccas and offer tips for finding the best for less. Our motto is never stop drinking and we give you a primer on the best teas and coffees (it’s the little luxuries that a girl needs to focus on to get her satisfaction). We give you the low down whiskey (or is it whisky –we’ll fill you in on the difference) the official drink of any recession/depression. We offer up a whole new set of rules about how and when to use take out. And, best of all we share a few of our favorite recipes.
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……no reason to be a masochist and deprive yourself of the right to a nice, long, stiff one (drink, that is). In fact spirits are just what you need during tough times—real spirits, not mediocre cocktails with sex names (pomegranate coconut orgasm) that leave you overspent and underbuzzed.
On the perils of food shopping on your way home from work:
You missed lunch, and now your stomach is growling, your head is pounding, and all you want is something big, hot and satisfying to fill you up. You enter your local market and…it’s as if you haven’t gotten it in months and you’re in a room of Brad Pitt lookalikes …everything looks so good you would hop into bed with any crisp, long cucumber! Wait…
Bitches on a Budget published by the New American Library of Penguin Books. Ask for it at your local bookshop.
Spa Free
May 11th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: Beauty & Grooming, Decorating, Shopping
 No more nasty aerosols or overpriced faux- scented potpourri for us! A thrifty bitch brews up her own home scents. Mix herbs and spices with a cup or two of water. Bring to a boil , turn to a slow simmer and release the delicious fragrance. We love a mixture of cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon. Make your own combinations using rosemary, lavender, peppercorns, juniper berries, star anise, orange peels… Spa for free.
Try it and send us your favorite home brews.
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