Miss Ginsu

Best. Amateur Cookbook. Ever.

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:37:59 PDT

"I think I need more," she said, with only the slightest trace of sheepish guilt in her expression. "If I give you money, can you see if they have more?"Tomorrow is my CSA pick-up day. But today, my coworker, a fellow local food devotee, is hitting...

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Strawberry-Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:31:30 PDT

Of all the fruits, rhubarb retains the most magical nostalgic quality for me. Back when I was very small, it grew gargantuan each spring around the farmhouse. My mom always made terrific rhubarb desserts. Sweet-tart. Spicy. Distinctly...

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Strawberry Fields 4Evah

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 19:42:57 PDT

At long last, sun emerged from behind a wall of clouds. Heartsick with cabin fever, we leaped at the chance to get out and about. Zipcar provided the wheels, Google provided the directions and PickYourOwn.Org offered up the berry farms.Truth be...

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A Salad to Greet the Springtime

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 19:45:48 PDT

How long has it been since I posted a recipe? Too long, clearly.Travel, work and a busy schedule of triathlon training have kept me from blogging, but today I come to you with a salad that celebrates one of the underrated wonders of the spring...

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Recycled Bird (or Squirrel) Feeder

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:06:56 PDT

Correct me if I'm wrong, because I don't buy a lot of juice, but I believe this image is showing off a clever way to reuse an old plastic juice container.Visiting in Minneapolis last weekend, mom and I stopped in at a roadside rest stop and found...

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Old World vs New World: a Ricotta Comparison

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Wed, 13 May 2009 05:34:54 PDT

As I mentioned in my last post, I was up at Coach Farm in Upstate New York last Friday. In the days since, I've been trying to wrangle all the video clips together into a watchable form. Thus far, I've got a quick video that illustrates how they're...

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I can haz cute now?

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Sat, 09 May 2009 15:32:33 PDT

Had a terrific trip to upstate New York yesterday to tour Ronnybrook Farm and nearby Coach Farm. I'll get into the dairy details and post some tasty video soon enough, but I wanted to get to the cream first: all the squishably adorable baby...

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Cinco de Mayo Whoopie Pies

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Tue, 05 May 2009 19:24:15 PDT

When I started writing this particular post last October (yes, it's been bounding around the lobes of my brain for a while) I wondered whether Whoopie Pies were poised to be the new Cupcakes. Back then, I wrote, "I feel like I'm seeing whoopie pies...

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A Beautiful Bean Salad at the Brooklyn Food Conference

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Sun, 03 May 2009 11:30:28 PDT

The call went out. And the foodies poured in.The people who pickle and the people who vend kitchenware. The people who grow community gardens and the people who grow kombucha. The Slow Food people and the Just Food people. The vegans and the...

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Attack of the Killer Waffle Batter

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:47:22 PDT

Just in case you were wondering... yes. The rumors are true. Our Bee Sweet Bake Sale for Earth Day last week was a sweet success (probably one of our biggest in-office bake sales to date) with a menu consisting of such treats as:Honey Raisin Oatmeal...

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Love is Sweet. (And Sometimes Crunchy.)

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:00:14 PDT

I've seen a few cake toppers in my time, but I just had to share these candy ones that were recently in the photo studio on the way to their cake-top destiny — they're just so supercute: That bouquet is particularly great, isn't it?They're made to...

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Bee Smart: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Honey

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:22:21 PDT

In honor of Earth Day this week, we'll be doing the Bee Sweet Bake Sale at work to benefit honey bee research. With that in mind, I thought it might be fun to review some fascinating facts about our favorite bee-stuff: honey. Bet there's at least a...

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Chow Chow Chow!

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:57:27 PDT

I'm willing to admit it: I'm a northern girl with southern envy. Having grown up on a parade of cream of mushroom soup casseroles, I've since discovered some of the flavorful, everyday delights my southern brethren took for granted... things like...

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A Dozen Ideas for Boiled Eggs

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 09:15:34 PDT

Ahh, Easter. Egg dying. Egg hiding. Egg finding. And then... a lot of hard-boiled eggs to use up in a hurry.I'm sure you know how to make a simple egg salad (dice boiled eggs, add chopped celery if you like and slather with enough mayo to moisten),...

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Regarding the Abuse of Peeps

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 06:13:33 PDT

I don't know what my coworker Suzy Hotrod has against marshmallow Peeps. For the past couple of years, we've done an Eastover potluck (Easter + Passover dishes), and this year, we made it a St. Eastover potluck, incorporating St. Pat's day in the...

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Bee Sweet: A Bake Sale to Benefit Bees

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:04:43 PDT

What: A bake sale to benefit bee research (items containing honey encouraged!)When: Earth Day: April 22, 2009Where: At work, at school, out on the streetWho: You, perhaps? And anyone else who'd like to contribute.Why: Thanks to dedicated research,...

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Food Horoscope: Aries

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:09:17 PDT

Happy birth-month, Aries folks!Aries, the Ram (March 20 - April 19)Now, I'm merely a cook, and not an astrologer, but here's my advice for your foodcast:You've heard the old cliches and expressions regarding patience? Of course you have. I'd bet...

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But You Can't Tuna Fish

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 13:41:28 PDT

When it comes to a surplus, some foods are easier to wrangle than others. Extra apples become applesauce and apple butter. Easy. Extra peaches become preserves. No problem. Extra cabbage becomes sauerkraut or kimchi. Cucumbers, beans, onions and...

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A Way with Les Conserves

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:18:42 PDT

On a trip to Paris a while back, I stopped in a bookshop on a quest for cookbooks. There were many fine volumes, but one in particular stood out as a must-have.Les Conserves is a glossy, photo-packed soft-cover (Produced by a French division of...

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The Unsinkable Miss Molly

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 05:19:03 PDT

This week, Miss Molly Del Monte is all over the New York press for heading up the newly renovated kitchen at Vutura, the restaurant at Williamsburg's Rose Live Music. But we knew her back in the day. Just a couple of years ago, this blog followed...

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The Missing Tooth & The Red Velvet Pig

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:12:09 PDT

My boss, let's call him Dr. Bacon, completely missed out on his birthday cake this week. If you're a longtime reader, you may recall that the one we did last year was the chocolate bacon cake. Well, this one wasn't half so crazy, but it was still...

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Recession-Proof Espresso: Become a Barista

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 07:44:19 PDT

I must say, I'm a little torn these days between supporting my local coffee shop and saving some money by making my own espresso drinks. They need the money. I need the money. I'll probably just split the difference.I love the community that local,...

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Inside Google with the Girl Geeks

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 18:20:01 PDT

Maybe this is just a crazy quirk I have, but I'm always curious about what it's like to eat in the cafeterias and restaurants that loom behind closed doors.For years, I've had great wonder about what it's like to dine at Google. A couple of my...

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On Bulding a Bombe

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 15:02:53 PDT

At culinary school, we spent one whole class period making bombes, and it was a wonderful experience, although I've noticed it's not polite to talk about that sort of thing in public. People can't hear the silent "e" at the end of bombe, so one...

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Pistachio Carrot Cake & Saffron Ice Cream

noreply@blogger.com (MissGinsu) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:47:04 PDT

I was planning to write on a different topic today, but when you're inspired, sometimes you have to go where the wind blows you.Today, the wind was blowing in the a pale green direction, and I'm not talking St. Patrick's Day here (although a person...

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