A recipe for gingerade (aka ginger tea) that’s my go-to drink for beating the heat.
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Tagged: Easy
What I Learned From My Mom: Jazz Hands and Fisticuffs
by Aida Mollenkamp — Share
My Mom has a language all her own. Well, for all the etymology geeks out there, it’s not so much a language as a vernacular or even a jargon. No matter how you categorize it, it’s a sort of word pizzazz that’s distinctly hers.
Over the years, we’ve collected these terms with the goal of someday making a bound thesaurus — a Mom-saurus if you will. (Though, on second thought, that may sound more like something from the Paleolithic era than a word reference). Semantics aside, it’d be packed with turns of phrase, idioms, and sayings that just might be on an endangered words list were it not for my mother.
A few of the real gems include terms like: ravs instead of ravioli; sconces for, well, sconces but used at a rate higher than that of true sconce sightings; fisticuffs for any sort of run-in, but, when said, it must be accompanied by the action of spinning clenched fists under your chin in the manner of the Fighting Irish mascot; and excessive use of the word traipsing, as in, “the cat was traipsing about the garden with no regard for the orchids I had just planted.”
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Tiny Hats and Tons of Avocados
by Aida Mollenkamp — Share
The one where I discuss my recent obsession with tiny hats, avocados, and avocado toast with soft boiled eggs.
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Let’s Stay In Bed Waffles And Lazy Sundays
by Aida Mollenkamp — Share
A classic waffle recipe goes savory with the addition of prosciutto, parmesan, and black pepper maple syrup.
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40 Plus 365!
by Aida Mollenkamp — Share
For this year’s birthday cocktail, I’m doing a twist on the classic Paloma with tequila, thyme, and blood orange soda.
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Honeyed Pink Strawberry Lemonade Bars
by Aida Mollenkamp — Share
This recipe is a twist on the classic lemon bars but made with pureed strawberries, lemons, and coconut.
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The Three Amigas On Repeat
by Aida Mollenkamp — Share
“I’m going on a road trip, I’m going on a road trip, X marks the spot!”
Ok, I know that’s not really how that grade school rhyme goes but this last weekend I was playing with my niece and nephews and I taught them the original game. Ever since then I can’t help but change it to “road trip” as I prepare for the trip I’m about to take.
But before I tell you what I’ll be eating while on the road (spoiler alert: it just might be this very recipe), let’s talk about the whos, what, wheres, and whys. Do you recall the Los Angeles-to-Texas road trip I took a few years back that I took with my friends, Lillian and Gaby where we proclaimed ourselves the Three Amigas? Well, we’re at it again and this time we’re heading from Los Angeles to San Francisco while en route to the IACP Annual Conference.
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Road Rage And Other Little Things
by Aida Mollenkamp — Share
It’s the little things. Like, say, no traffic on the way across town.
In a city like Los Angeles, that only comes a few times a year and means that gridlocked commutes become breezes. This last weekend was a kismet intersection of Passover, Easter, and Spring Break that allowed the traffic gods to look kindly upon those of us who stayed in town. And I’m not complaining about staying in LA because this city is a whole other animal when you have it to yourself (or you and only 1 million other people, but who’s counting).
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Bringing It Back 80s Style
by Aida Mollenkamp — Share
This salad is at its most simple a great big excuse for me to make Green Goddess Dressing. I’m a California girl through and through and Green Goddess is too.
Though this dressing is just a tad bit older than me — it has been around, by some accounts, since the 1920s when a chef at the Palace Hotel made his West Coast version of the classic French sauce verte. If you grew up out west, you probably remember that Green Goddess was all the rage right about the time Madonna came out with Material Girl and Regan was our commander in chief. But, with time, this dressing went the way of shoulder pads and scrunchies and became all but obsolete.
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The Dental Hygienist And Her Sugar Stash
by Aida Mollenkamp — Share
My mother loves Peeps. And cheap white cake. And candy corn. Which is totally ironic because she was a dental hygienist and rarely had sugar in the house when we were growing up (that we knew of).
Her sweet tooth goes into overdrive during the Easter season when she can be found diving into her stash of Chocolate-Peanut Butter eggs with abandon. But those over-the-counter eggs are loaded with all sorts of subpar ingredients never mind the fact that they could just be so much better with a few tweaks. So, this year I made her homemade chocolate eggs.
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