What’s the best thing you ate this week? Dana: Fidel Gastro whipped up these amazing hot n’ chili turkey drumsticks and Alabama Tailgaters: smoked bacon wrapped beef carpaccio with cheese and kimchi at Toronto’s Festival of Beer. Absolutely amazing!
Sometimes we need to loosen the apron straps and write about some of our influences outside of food. Don’t worry, it always comes back to food. This is a recap of our weekly Apronite adventures devouring the interwebs.
Its been another busy fortnight for the apronites (are we ever NOT busy I ask you?). It’s this time of year that you realise that it is totally worth having a vegetable patch in the garden – here’s how to get started if you’ve never had one before. Strawberries are just going out of season, but the raspberry plants are all starting to fruit, and now is the perfect time of year to get the freshest, sweetest green peas. Don’t believe me? Get yourself down to a local greengrocers and taste the results!
With that in mind, Caitlin has been hard at work taming her back garden, and dealing with an overgrowth of mint. You could of course use this surplus in mint jelly or sauce and roast it with some juicy lamb… or you could make cocktails. We know which we prefer.
This being the season of weddings, babies being born (and the pizza portraits that come with), garden parties and such, Dana also polled the rest of us on what foodie gifts we are giving at the moment. Suggestions on the back of a postcard please! (or in the comments box, we’re good with either 😉 )
Finally, here’s our wrap up of everything that’s awesome on t’internet.
What we’re reading:
Amanda: It is my birthday at the end of the month, and my mum gets me the latest Terry Pratchett book every year, so I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of The Long War. It’s a collaboration with Stephen Baxter, and it’s very good. If you like a bit of witty sci-fi, go read the first book, The Long Earth.
Dana: Possibly our slightly older rebellious cousin, the food mag site Foodbeast. I want to waste a day eating ice cream and sriracha like a boss with these gents.
Caitlin: I’m utterly obsessed with the comics of Gabrielle Bell right now. She posts a lot of her work for free on her website, and you can also find them in print compilations–I just finished her latest collection, The Voyeurs. I’m a sucker for autobiographical comics, and Bell’s mix of heady introspection and cute delight at the random weirdnesses of life strikes a perfect balance.
Ship: I’m gonna let y’all know about a solid site called ‘WTFveganfood: traveling 50 states in a year in search of best vegan food’. I’ve been a fan on Instagram for a long while & our gal Terry Walters interviewed Kristen recently too. http://wtfveganfood.com/
What we’re drinking:
Caitlin: Woodchuck Hard Cider, from Vermont, which I picked up at the liquor store near the cottage I was staying at last week. I always like to try new brands of craft cider, and luckily this one didn’t disappoint. It’s not too sweet and also free of added sugar, and the adorable animals on the label are a great bonus. The only problem is I’ve never seen it at any other liquor stores in my area–if you see it around, hollaback!
What we’re listening to:
Amanda: I’m reliving my undergraduate love of Regina Spektor with this barmy track. Gotta lotta love for this lady.
Dana: It is so hard to believe that 2 years has already passed since the devastating death of Amy Winehouse. I am a very, very big Winehouse fan so had to mark the anniversary this week with my Winehouse Trifle and finishing the bottle of Jameson Whiskey to a Back to Black soundtrack.
What we’re watching:
Dana: I’m kinda in love with comicbookgirl19 on YouTube. For months I’ve heard people say, “You could totally do a comicbookgirl19 style show for HPA”. I finally tuned in and am accepting the compliments but feeling way out of my league. She’s relaxed, knowledgeable and fun – everything a YouTube host should be. It certainly doesn’t hurt that we share an obsession interest in Game of Thrones and I have a lady boner for all things Tank Girl.
Caitlin: I cannot get enough of Orange Is The New Black, the new Netflix series about an average woman sent to prison for a crime she committed ten years earlier. It’s got an amazing cast of hilarious, talented, diverse women, and since it’s produced by the same woman who brought us the wonderful series Weeds, you know it’s gonna be saucy and sexy as heck as well. Also, don’t hate, but it is totally making me rekindle my weird crush on Jason Biggs, whom I’ve had an embarrassing thing for since Saving Silverman (I have issues, and also a thing for Neil Diamond).
Things we love:
Amanda: Dominion. As in the card game. Once a week I go to my sister-in-law’s place for a geeky meetup and we are totally addicted to this game at the moment. If you like deck-building card games, (Pokémon never got old for me) you’ll love this.
Kristina: So our very own Ms Jackson (ooooh ah am for reeeeaaaal) turned me onto Gizoogle.net with thug-ifies existing websites. AS IF I didn’t need more distractions from work, I’m now taking in EVERYTHING from personal banking, to news, to government websites through this glorious online invention.
Check out our very own site, gizoogled: http://www.gizoogle.net/index.php?search=hotpinkapron.com&se=Gizoogle+Dis+Shiznit
What we’re up to next:
Reagan: Guys, I could have sworn I’m not some granola-crunching hippie. Yeah, I like my household cleaners natural (yay vinegar and baking soda!) and I find Birkenstocks to be incredibly comfortable, but I shower regularly, occasionally indulge in McDonalds and happen to drive a car that’s not so good on gas. So imagine my surprise when I found myself not only making my own deodorant, but loving it so much I was willing to admit it to my even less crunchy friends!
Edible deodorant coming up next week.
Dana: My name is Dana and it has been 5 weeks since my last rising crust…
I am still digesting my doctor’s recommendation to practice a gluten free diet but, truthfully, I do feel a helluva lot better without. And thanks to Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Flour I have been perfecting my favourite baked goodies sans gluten without too much hassle. The gluten free basic pie crust, BEST chocolate chip cookies and a delicious apple cherry crumble will be posted soon.
Phase 2: Create my own gluten free flour blend and rewrite the recipes again. Recommendations are always welcome – share in the comments below.
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love this post! 🙂