March 18, 2009

Hello, everyone!  I hope you had a good St. Patrick’s Day, but not so good that you’re feeling a little green today due to the cocktail flu!

It seems like we were just gushing on and on about the MAC Hello Kitty Collection that purred into town and was gone before we could scoop the litterbox!  Well, MAC has come out with another new collection already. It’s called Sugarsweet and it’s precious!  Here is MAC’s description of it:

This spring, M·A·C is all temptation… frostings, finishes, fillings. Each of them whipped, creamy, deliciously stylish, as inspired by the world’s most popular sugar-sweet desserts. Never has a season looked so eat-me-up gorgeous!

Sounds tasty, doesn’t it?  The colors are pretty much pink and green with an accent of beigey/pewter/gold.  These shades definitely say SPRING to me!  My favorite product from the collection is this cool layered Tricolour Lipglass in Just Dessert.

MAC Sugarsweet Lipglass

I’ve never seen anything like this, and even though I’m not a huge lipglass fan because of the stickiness, I’m so tempted to order this, especially with free shipping on any purchase unil March 22.  Just use promo code SUGARSWEET.

And before I go, let me leave you with a reminder that the Hello Kitty Sweepstakes is still going on til March 31.  You still have a chance to win some of the goodies that sold out before we could “scoop” them up!

~BigSis

March 17, 2009

We’ve talked a lot this past week about St. Patrick’s Day, but mostly related to food and parties. I was talking to the kids last night about wearing green on St. Patrick”s Day and it made me wonder what started the tradition of ‘wearing the green’.

So, of course, I started googling. What did we do before we had the internet? (Oh, I remember, we pulled out the encyclopedias!)

I found this on Wikipedia and thought it was pretty interesting:

St. Patrick’s Blue, not green, was the color long-associated with St. Patrick. Green, the color most widely associated with Ireland, with Irish people, and with St. Patrick’s Day in modern times, may have gained its prominence through the phrase “the wearing of the green” meaning to wear a shamrock on one’s clothing. At many times in Irish history, to do so was seen as a sign of Irish nationalism or loyalty to the Roman Catholic faith. St. Patrick used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish. The wearing of and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs have become a ubiquitous feature of the saint’s holiday.  The change to Ireland’s association with green rather than blue probably began around the 1750s.

So, I decided to find out a little more about where the leprechaun came from.  Again, this is from Wikipedia:

In Irish mythology, a leprechaun (Irish: leipreachán) is a type of male faerie said to inhabit the island of Ireland. They are a class of “faerie folk” associated in Irish folklore with the Tuatha Dé Danann and other quasi-historical peoples said to have inhabited Ireland before the arrival of the Celts.

Leprechauns and other creatures of Irish folklore are often associated with “faerie forts” or “faerie rings” — often the sites of ancient (Celtic or pre-Celtic) earthworks or drumlins.

Leprechauns usually take the form of old men who enjoy partaking in mischief. Their trade is that of a cobbler or shoemaker. They are said to be very rich, having many treasure crocks buried during war-time. According to legend, if anyone keeps an eye fixed upon one, he cannot escape, but the moment the gaze is withdrawn, he vanishes.

So, as we partake in all the fun of this St. Patrick’s Day; we wear green, we eat green, and we even drink green. I think it’s nice to know a little more about how it all  began.  Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

~LilSis

March 16, 2009

We hope you all had a good weekend!  One of the things that LilSis and I talked about over the weekend was a list of ideas for potential revisions to BigSisLilSis.  We’ve been posting for almost 6 months already and have close to 200 posts published now, so it seems like a good time to evaluate where we’ve been and where we want to go.

What would be really helpful for us is to know what our readers are thinking.  We can see from our stats that we do have some readers (hallelujah), and that the number is increasing every month.  We’re very excited about that, and want to send a big THANK YOU to everyone who is reading what we’re writing!

When we started BigSisLilSis at the end of September, we had NO CLUE about what we were doing, and we’ve learned a lot.  We’ve also had a ton of fun, but we realize it isn’t all about us.  Everything that we do on BigSisLilSis is for our readers.

While we can see that we have some readers, we would love it if you could send us some feedback.  Here’s what you could do to help us determine if we’re on the right track:

• Leave a comment on a post
• Send us an email
• Subscribe to our feed via RSS or email

We want our content to be interesting and relevant, and we want to post on things that you want to read about and know about.  That’s where your input comes in.  Your comments, emails and subscriptions are the only way we have of knowing what you want.

So, if you have a few seconds to educate us, encourage us, reprimand us, or redirect us, we would greatly appreciate it!  What are we doing that you’d like to see more of?  What do we talk TOO much about that you don’t enjoy?  What could we do overall to make BigSisLilSis a better experience that is worth your time to read?  More recipes?  More cats in hats?  More product reviews?  More personal experiences?  More Sawyer photos?  I vote yes to that last one. 😀

Seriously, we thank you all so much for reading us, and for the input we’ve gotten.  It has been amazing to be part of this incredibly supportive blogging community!  Please stay with us, and help us make BigSisLilSis better!  We’d love to hear from you!  Have a good week, and don’t drink too much green beer!

~BigSis

March 15, 2009

As long as we’re talking about potatoes and St. Patrick’s Day, I decided to do one more Irish recipe before the holiday.  I’m making the Ham and Potato Pancakes that I just discussed in my St. Patrick’s Day Party Ideas post a few days ago. This comes from a little cookbook called Irish Food, Fun, and Crafts.

And, yes, I too am entering my recipe into the Potato Ho Down being hosted this month by Evil Chef Mom.

To participate in this fun event hosted the third Wednesday of each month, each entry must have a Potato Ho name. Since this is my first time to submit an entry, I’m making a big deal about announcing my Potato Ho name!

Drum roll, please… My Potato Ho name is Madame Potato Ho Frosty Gay. (And no, I didn’t just pull that out of a hat. There is a method to the madness.) You can read all the rules about this monthly blogging event on Potato Ho Down or on Noble Pig.

Now, for Madame Potato Ho Frosty Gay’s recipe.

Madame Potato Ho Frosty Gay Ham and Potato Pancakes

3/4 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, grated, and squeezed dry (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions, green parts only
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup finely chopped cooked ham (4 -5 ounces)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2 -3 T. vegetable oil

First, combine grated potatoes, green onions, and eggs in large bowl, mix well.  Add ham, flour, salt, and pepper; mix well.

Heat 2 T. oil in large heavy bottomed skillet. Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls and press with back of spoon to flatten. Cook over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Remove to paper towels to drain. Add remaining 1 T. of oil, if necessary, to cook remaining batter. Serve pancakes warm.

This is an easy recipe and the pancakes turned out really nice. It’s a great little appetizer to serve at your St. Patrick’s Day Party. And, my family loved them for breakfast. I made SirHoney one the size of the skillet!

Don’t forget to check Evil Chef Mom’s site on Wednesday, March 18th for the complete March Potato Ho Down Roundup!

~LilSis

March 14, 2009

You probably know that it’s almost St Patrick’s Day, but did you know that it’s also Potato Ho Down time too?  I bet you didn’t!

I was thinking about the two events, and two words came to mind:  green potatoes!  That’s right, you heard me correctly…green potatoes.  And no green food coloring is involved; just good edible ingredients.

I browsed my cookbook collection for an idea, and thumbed through “Savoring the Day: Recipes and Remedies to Enhance your Natural Rhythms” by Judith Benn Hurley.   It’s mostly vegetarian, and a little bit hippy-dippy, but it’ a pretty good cookbook, although it’s out of print now.  I found one of her lunch recipes called Dilled Potato Pie, which is supposed to be calming.  I figured we could all use more calm, and the recipe fit my criteria of green and potatoes so away I went.  I made a few changes and here’s what I came up with.  My entry in this month’s Potato Ho Down is Madame Potato Ho Wolfie Lee’s Dilled Potato Pie!

Green Potatoes with Pesto

Madame Potato Ho Wolfie Lee’s Dilled Potato Pie
(adapted from “Savoring the Day” by Judith Benn Hurley)

2 pounds red potatoes, peeled and sliced
1/2 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, pressed
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided usage
1/4 cup milk
1-1/2 cups watercress leaves, chopped
1/4 cup fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced
2 tablespoons fresh chives, snipped
3 eggs, lightly beaten
6 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the sliced potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water.  Add a big dash of salt, and boil until completely tender, about 15 minutes, depending on how thick the slices are.  While the potatoes are cooking, saute the onion and pressed garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil until translucent.

When the potatoes are tender, drain them and add them to a large bowl.  Mash them with the milk and 2 tablespoons olive oil.  Add the cooked onions and garlic, watercress, parsley, dill, chives, eggs, parmesan, salt and pepper. Mix until well combined.

Spray a pie dish with non-stick spray, and spoon the potato mixture evenly into the dish, smoothing the top.  Bake until hot throughout and beginning to brown, about 40-45 minutes.   Serve hot with pesto or a pat of butter.

Green Potatoes with Butter

I have to say I was skeptical about this recipe…I was afraid it would be too bland, or just look too “Kermit-the-Frog-in-a-blender”.  Sorry for that visual, Kermie fans.  I’m a fairly adventurous cook though, so I plowed through and resisted the temptation to substitute spinach for the watercress.  The only time I’ve ever had watercress was raw in the vegetarian chef salad at Cafe Express; I’ve never had it cooked or even bought it fresh.  I was very pleasantly surprised though.  I didn’t get a watercress flavor at all.  All of the flavors blended together very harmoniously, but mildly.

The pie was really delicious!  I liked it with a pat of real butter on top (you are dealing with mashed potatoes, after all), but it was equally good with a drizzle of pesto over it or sitting in a pool of pesto with more parmesan sprinkled around.  I think this recipe could be modified to accommodate any flavors you like: different cheeses, adding hot sauce, or substituting other herbs.  You could also play with adding other vegetables to the potatoes, including spinach, broccoli, asparagus, corn, whatever you like!  But do try the watercress!  And do remember it for your St Patrick’s Day menu if you need an unusual side dish.

Green Potatoes: Over the Top!

See the complete collection of March’s Potato Ho Down dishes hosted by Evil Chef Mom on March 18th.  For more info on the monthly Potato Ho event, get the scoop at Noble Pig.  And don’t be afraid of eating green potatoes!

~BigSis

March 13, 2009

I wanted to be sure to get this post up today in case anyone is having their St. Patrick’s Day celebration on Saturday. If you are hosting a party or just having a couple of friends over, these Reuben Sandwiches are easy and they’re a real crowd pleaser.

I mentioned the recipe for these sandwiches a couple of days ago in my St. Patrick’s Day Party Ideas post.  These are a little different since you bake them in the oven for a few minutes and serve them open faced.  If cut into smaller pieces, they made for excellent party appetizers.

I really love that you can put these together before the party. Whenever you’re ready to serve, you just pop them in the oven for five minutes to melt the cheese.

In hindsight, I wish that I hadn’t used Reduced Fat Swiss for this recipe. Full fat cheese probably would have gotten more browned and bubbly. I was trying to cut back a little bit on the fat considering the fat content in the mayo and the corned beef.

I’ve been thinking about these sandwiches so much that I decided not to wait until St. Patrick’s Day to serve them. We’re having them for dinner tonight!

~LilSis

March 12, 2009

Lean Mean Green Cuisine!

I really do eat this way.  While it’s true that LilSis and I are 1/8th Irish, I’m not having this green cuisine in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. This is how a too-tired-to-cook vegetarian can eat, and still get some nutrition.  I put this dinner together on the fly and then realized it was all green so I had to get a photo of it since March 17th is right around the corner!  It’s not a prize-winning photo, but you get the idea.

I’m obsessed with asparagus right now, it’s like vegetable crack to me.  I can’t get enough of it.  Same with hummus.  This version of my Healthy Hummus has a small handful of fresh chives thrown in.  I also have some delicious green beans that SisMama made, without bacon or ham, thank you very much!  Add a green salad, and my lean mean green cuisine is complete (OK, it’s just lettuce, but it’s all I had and I put dressing on it, so TA DA, it’s now salad).  St. Patrick’s Day or not, it was a scrumptious meal!  It’s funny how your palate can change.  The longer I eat clean, the more I crave pure unprocessed good foods that are fuel for the bod.  Now, if I could just lose my craving for Kettle Chips!

Happy Patrick’s Day everyone!  And don’t forget to eat your green stuff!

~BigSis

March 11, 2009

St. Patrick’s Day Party, anyone? I love St. Patrick’s Day! I think it’s because it’s just another good excuse for me to have friends over for some party food and beverages. One of the best things about a party is that you can drink at home and don’t need an ID to get into a bar. Although, you might need one of the best fake id cards you can find online to buy the alcohol in the first place. Still, it’s better than spending all night in a crowded bar. Since St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Tuesday this year, I’m undecided as to whether or not I’ll have a party or just invite a couple of friends and neighbors over.

Are you hosting a party or maybe just serving up some great Irish food for a small group of family or friends? If so, hopefully you’ll find something here that will help you plan your ‘get-together’.

I have a teensy bit of Irish in me, but SirHoney is half Irish, so I like to keep things festive for St. Patrick’s Day.

I like doing just a few decorations, maybe some green and white balloons, cute cocktail napkins and plates, and a nice centerpiece. But, I really love having a selection of fun hats, tiaras, and boas for guests to choose from as they enter the party. I think it creates a fun mood, like at a New Year’s Eve or Halloween Party. This year, I even considered having a fancy dress theme for my party. I found a cute yellow costume which would’ve been perfect, but I decided to stay with tradition and do my normal St Pat’s day theme.

Here are a few sites that are loaded with ideas and party supplies.

• Party City has a good selection of St. Patrick’s Day novelty items and decorations.

• Party411 has some fun St. Patrick’s Day Party Games and Party Supplies.

• There are several party theme ideas here on Celebrations.com.

To get this party started, here are a few ideas for cocktails. How about this Glowing Gecko? I actually served this at a St. Patty’s Day Party a few years ago and it was a big hit with those who like sweet drinks.

Fluorescent Green Gecko

If you’re not a big fan of the sweet drinks, how about a green beer? You can actually brew your own green beer at home, but it takes two weeks, so there’s not enough time to start that now. Supposedly, you can just add green food color to some light beer, but I don’t think I want to drink green food coloring.

If you want to skip the green beer, just serve up some authentic Irish beer like Guinness Stout or Murphy’s. If you’d still like a few more ideas for cocktails, check out this site for more St. Patrick’s Day Drinks.

When it comes to the menu, it obviously depends on how many people you’re having over and whether or not you just want to serve appetizers or have a sit down meal. I would normally prefer to serve more appetizers, but I’m trying to keep with the Irish theme and you can only eat so many potatoes! I don’t want anything else too heavy.

I found this Potted Beer and Cheddar recipe in the same Irish cookbook as the Potato Pancakes, but I discovered that the recipe came from Cabot Cheese. I haven’t made it yet, but it might be an option. It looks easy and it’s festive since it has beer and cheese in it!

For my last St. Patrick’s Day Party, I had about ten people and this was my menu.

• Ham and Potato Pancakes – This recipe was in a special little Irish cookbook I bought called Irish Food, Fun, and Crafts.

• Beer Potato Soup – This soup turned out so good! I found the recipe on Fabulous Foods, but it originated from Tapp’s Brewpub and Steakhouse in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.

• Reuben Sandwiches – This recipe was on Food Network, but it originally came from Gourmet Magazine. I loved how these could be put together a little bit before the party so all you had to do is pop them in the oven as the guests arrive. I actually cut some into smaller pieces and served as an appetizers. (Of course, the ‘manly men’ can eat a whole one.)

• Corned Beef and Cabbage – I didn’t follow a recipe when I made mine, but I like Martha Stewart’s recipe for classic Corned Beef and Cabbage.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

For dessert at my party, I think we just ended up have a little Bailey’s Irish Cream (I’m not real good about remembering to include a dessert).

If you want to include a dessert, here are a few that look great!

Check out this Irish Cream Bundt Cake from The Recipe Girl. I’d really want to try this recipe!

Irish Cream Bundt Cake

For the kids, I like these Shamrock Ice Cream Sandwiches.

Shamrock Ice Cream Sandwiches

And these St. Patrick’s Day Cupcakes from Taste of Home are simple but very cute.

St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes

I hope this helps to jump start your St. Patrick’s Day Party Planning!

Oh, and don’t forget; no St. Patrick’s Day Party is complete without some great Irish music! And one last thing, you’ve got to have a great Irish toast when raising your glasses to friends on St. Patrick’s Day. I love this one.

“May your neighbors respect you,

trouble neglect you,

the angels protect you,

and Heaven accept you.”

~LilSis

March 10, 2009

Thanks for the scoop on your favorite mascara, LilSis! I love mascara, and don’t leave the house without it. No mascara means skimpy lashes that don’t show up, but the right mascara means long, thick lashes. It may be the most important part of my morning face, so I’m not willing to compromise on it.

A long time ago, I used Lancome Definicils regularly, but it’s just too darn expensive for me ($24), especially when it seems to dry up fairly quickly. I’ve also used lots of the drugstore brands, and didn’t like any of the Cover Girl, Maybelline, Max Factor or Almay mascaras. The cult favorite in the pink and green tube smears and flakes like crazy on me.  At some point, I heard that the same company owns both Lancome and Loreal, and that many of their products are very similar; they’re just marketed differently under different company names to target a different consumer at a different price point.

I have two favorite mascaras now, both Loreal, and I use both of them every day. This may sound like overkill but let me splain; I’m not a high-maintenance girl but this method has worked for me for many years now. First I use two thin coats of Loreal Voluminous in black or carbon black.  It gives thickness and volume (hence the name) to the lashes. Next, I add a light coat of Loreal Lash Out. Lash Out is a thinner formula that won’t give me the volume I want, but it lengthens (without fibers) and helps preserve the curl I’ve gotten from my Shu Eumura eyelash curler. Without the Lash Out, the Voluminous would let the curl straighten out during the day.  I like both of these mascaras with the straight brush rather than the curved brush.

Loreal Voluminous Mascara

I love both of these formulas. I have oily skin, and neither of these smears, smudges or flakes AT ALL. They make waterproof formulas of both of these, but I only use them if I’m going to be in the water since the regular formulas wear so well. They whisk away cleanly with my favorite makeup remover; Lancome BiFacil.  As I’ve said before, BiFacil is definitely a product worth the higher price point!

If I need to spend extra money for a quality product, I will, but there is no need with mascara, which is great since you replace it so frequently. The Loreal mascaras run around $6 to $8 depending on where you buy them, and there are frequently $1 or $2 coupons in the Sunday paper for them. Unless there’s a new miracle mascara to hit the shelves, I’m pretty happy with my Loreal mascara duo!

~BigSis

March 9, 2009

Let’s talk about mascara, shall we? Aside from moisturizer, it’s probably the most important beauty product that I use.  Since I have blond eyelashes, I absolutely have to wear mascara.  I’m lucky enough to not have to curl my lashes, but without mascara, you can’t even tell that I have eyelashes.

I’ve definitely tried many different brands of mascara, from the cheapest to the priciest. I’ve never really found that the more expensive brands performed any better for me. I’ve been pretty happy with the Cover Girl LashExact for quite a while now. It doesn’t glob, it doesn’t smear, and it stays on all day without smudging. Recently, though, I’ve noticed that it dries up faster and doesn’t last very long at all. (And honestly, it’s starting to piss me off.)

Before I go back to my ole’ faithful Maybelline Great Lash, I’m wondering if anyone has any recommendations? Do you have a mascara that you absolutely love and couldn’t live without? If so, please leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you.

BigSis, show me your latest favorite mascara!

~LilSis