Did you know we try and transcribe all of our episodes to help everyone join in the slashy fun? We need some help making this a reality.

All the transcripts are in this journal: sc_transcripts. There’s a sticky post where you can find introductions to each episode and links for the rest of the transcripts for the episode. Plus we just added in section tags. So if you just want to read the Meta chats, or the LGBT News you can do that.

The problem is we’re short on transcribers so we’re a tiny bit behind. So could you help us out?

What we need: temporary or permanent transcribers and/or transcription betas.

What you’d need:

- Spare time, either to help us every month, or to help us get caught up. A 30 minute segment would take around 3 hours from start to a completed post.
- Word processing software and a way to listen to the episodes.
- If you want to beta: a good eye for mistakes and SPaG. (Speech tends to make me (angelbabe_cj) give into flagrant comma misuse, for example.)
- Enthusiasm
- To check in with other transcribers so you know where everyone’s up to

Honestly it’s pretty straightforward. If you have the time, think about giving it a go.

What to do now:

Email islashdoyou @ gmail.com if you want to help. Make sure you check your email regularly.

Ask any questions you’d like in the comments below.

Boost the signal:

I always forget how much I hate packing. I love moving into a new place - figuring out where everything needs to go, finding places on the walls for all our stuff, etc., but packing up the old place? Sucks.

Especially when it comes to my kitchen. Inevitably, right after I pack away the big, non-essential kitchen stuff, I get cravings for food that requires it! For example, the blender and food processor were packed up and taped shut in one of maaaany boxes yesterday and today I would LOVE to make some sort of Palak-based curry which requires both. Of course. In lieu of making it, I'll share it with you - not sure if this will make the craving better or worse...



Palak Channa & Makai (Spinach curry with chickpeas and sweet corn)
Spinach base from this recipe via Indian Simmer

I am more than a little in love with Indian food, all the more so now that I've started making it at home. It can be a little time intensive, but with some short cuts here and there, it's easy to throw together for a weekday dinner.

( See? Told you it was easy...Collapse )

I've used this spinach base with everything from chickpeas, to the paneer in the original recipe linked above, to shredded chicken and other meats. Use whatever strikes your fancy! And you can serve this with rice, naan, or both. Me? I'll never turn down an excuse to make homemade naan ;)

I've apparently been better about taking pictures of things than I realized. The boy's off gaming, so I've spent the day cleaning things up on the laptop and lo and behold! A whole slew of pictures that I don't even remember taking!

So, uh, how about a little irish soda bread?



( Mom's recipe, for more than just the nostalgia factor...Collapse )

Every once in a while, I grab a snapshot of what we're having for dinner. Sometimes it's because I was particularly proud of what I had made; sometimes I just thought it looked pretty :) In all cases, I try to post a link to the recipe that I followed or was inspired by, so that I can in turn inspire someone else!

Anyone who's found me on Facebook has seen these before, but for the rest of you here's some random dinner ideas...

Like this:


Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry served over bulgur wheat

( Dumplings and Carnitas and Quesadillas, oh my!Collapse )

It strikes me that I need to keep my actual camera more handy. You can definitely tell which pictures I took with my Nikon and which I took with my cell phone! XD

I was a little spoiled this Christmas - not insomuch that I received gobs of gifts, but that the gifts I did receive were perfect. It probably won't surprise you at this point that most of them had something to do with the kitchen ;)

One of the cookbooks that I received was featured on my favorite foodie website a couple of weeks ago - and immediately made its way onto my wishlist.


Amazon Link

Interesting factoid: the region of Mexico that my sister volunteered in for 9 months after highschool (and visited multiple times after that) is the same region that the boy's family is from (his father's side). Between the two of them, I heard lots and lots about the amazing sweets they have and how one of these days they're going to drag me down there :)

Since a trip to Oaxaca isn't in the immediate future for us, this book will have to do. It's full of amazing recipes that had both my sister and the boy reminiscing and some really interesting dialog from the author about her travels while she was collecting as many authentic recipes as she could. I've been picking it up and reading a recipe and story or two every evening and really enjoying it!

Last night we decided to try something easy - one of the MANY chocolate and/or corn based drinks that Mexico is known for. I would have loved to have made this:


Atole de Zarzamoras (Blackberry Corn Beverage)

But alas, I had no fresh blackberries. Rest assured that it will pop up on here someday soon, though. Instead, we decided to made Champurrado - a chocolate and corn based "porridge", or thick drink.



( According to the author, it's one of the oldest beverages in Mexico...Collapse )

Champurrado is apparently a popular street vendor drink, but is also had during celebrations and matched with sweet tamales. We stopped at a Mexican market during our errands today where I picked up a bunch of traditional ingredients, including some dried corn husks, so I may have to see for myself how well they go together!

Merry Christmas friends!

I hope everyone had a wonderful day - or at least managed not to strangle any family members ;)

I figured I'd keep it simple today and share a Christmas tradition from my family:


Homemade Irish Cream

So you like Bailey's? Oh just wait til you taste this. It's infinitely more creamy and can be as strong or as weak as you like it, since you're making it yourself. And easy! So very easy. Well, so long as you have a blender ;) Enjoy!


Ingredients:

3 eggs
1+ cup of whiskey
1 can (14 oz) of sweetened condensed milk
1 pint of heavy cream
3 Tbsp chocolate syrup
1/4 tsp coconut extract (optional)


Directions:

Blend the eggs with the whiskey until combined. With blender still on, slowly add condensed milk, heavy cream, chocolate syrup, and extract (if using). Taste and adjust flavors as preferred (personally, I use closer to 1.5 cups of whiskey >.>). Will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks - if it lasts that long...

These days, turning 30 doesn't seem to be as big a deal as it used to be (at least, this is what I'm told...). But it's still a nice, round number so when they boy had his 30th birthday last weekend (well, last weekend when I first wrote this - now two weekends ago... >.>), I wanted to do something a little more than the usual small get together. So we headed out with around 25 other people to dinner at one of his favorite brew pubs followed by a round of desserts and drinks back at our apartment. Not all of them ended up coming to the second half of the party (*whew* - fitting that many people in our apartment comfortably would have been not a small feat), but I still wanted to have a selection of desserts, including some for our vegan friends.

The following wasn't vegan, but what birthday is complete without a decadent birthday cake?


Guinness and Baileys Cake
Smitten Kitchen

( Otherwise known as a Car Bomb cake, in non P.C. terms...Collapse )

Nothing says "Fall" in New England like fresh Apple Cider Doughnuts. Generally because procuring some means you get the whole fall experience: having to bundle up against the chill in the air, hop into the car and drive out into the country passing all the trees that are slowly changing colors, find a local and/or favorite apple farm and get in the looooong line for some fresh cider and doughnuts.

Not to take away from that road to nostalgia land, but there are times that I just want a doughnut without the hassle. You can buy them at the local grocery store or bakery usually, but since they're rarely fresh, it's just not the same. And while it's a bit more work to make them at home, let me tell you - it's SO worth it :)


Recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen

( I mean, just look at those. How can you say no?Collapse )

And now, of course, I have a hankering for these doughnuts. A cup of warm apple cider should do the trick...

Quinoa! (pronounced KEEN-wah, at least primarily)

I've been playing around with whole grains a lot lately. Buckwheat, wheat berries, barley - but especially quinoa. I love it because unlike most whole grains, it doesn't have to simmer for an hour or more: 15 mins and it's done. It's also really good at absorbing flavors if you choose to cook it in such a manner. Hot or cold, as a side or a main dish, it's just a wonderful thing to have around.

I knew I wanted to have it somehow included in dinner tonight, but it being a Friday, I had just spend 3+ hours in the car getting home and knew I wasn't going to be in the mood for anything fancy. So I chose to go with an easy-peasy one skillet meal: Mexican Ground Beef & Quinoa Skillet.



( So simple, so tasty...Collapse )

Now, I'm lazy on nights other than Friday, so I tend to get Bob's Red Mill Quinoa since it's pre-rinsed and ready to go. If you're buying quinoa in bulk, make sure you rinse it well! Quinoa grows with an outer coating that can lend a bitter taste to your food if you don't remove it prior to cooking. If you're buying pre-packaged quinoa, make sure the rinsing process the company used didn't remove the protein-packed germ (quinoa's claim to fame!).

Here are some of my other favorite quinoa recipes:

Spinach Quinoa Cakes are basically individual sized quiches - they freeze really well, so I'll make a bunch and then heat them up for breakfast during the week.

Lemon-Scented Quinoa Salad is a delicious cold dish perfect for a light lunch or as a side dish.

Tomato Basil Quinoa Stuffing can be used to stuff zucchini's as shown or any other vegetable of your choosing. Eggplant? Sweet pepper? All far game.

Vacation was fabulous! Dragon*Con was fun (though probably not a yearly event for me and the boy) and our jaunt down to Orlando was HOT, but fun nonetheless. Of course, I spent a week prepping for all of that, followed it with a week prepping for my BFF's baby shower, and spent last week playing with my new toy (Android phones are SHINY *.*)

But there was much food involved in the baby shower (I was in charge of munchies and the dessert table), so I have something to share!

It was a small party, so I had to be careful not to over do it too much (something I have trouble doing when it comes to food prep... >.>). Along with the veggie/meat/cheese platter, I cooked up one of my new favorite appetizers: empanadas.


http://www.recipegirl.com/2007/04/15/beef-empanadas/

( Mmmmm, meat pies...Collapse )

There's more from the shower for later, but there's been some discussion of quinoa lately and I've promised to share some of my favorite recipes - of which there are plenty! So stayed tuned for those next ;)