by Ryker Suicide

I’m making these meatballs for a holiday party. I’m not making the figs this year, unfortunately, because they are expensive to make and I’m broke. But they are incredible! – Ryker Suicide

Prosciutto Wrapped Figs

Ingredients:

• Figs (dried work as well!)
• Cream cheese (go with regular cream cheese, low fat just isn’t as indulgent!)
• Fresh Basil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Sugar (as needed)
• Almond slivers
• Prosciutto (ab 8 oz will be good for 12-16 figs, depending on size).

Directions:

1. First make your balsamic reduction. For those of you unfamiliar with this delicious sauce recipe, it’s super easy! Simply pour desired amount of vinegar into pan (about a cup will do for, say, 16 figs since this is basically just a drizzle/garnish) and heat over high heat. Whisk vinegar constantly to prevent vinegar from burning until it starts to reduce, thicken, and glaze. Add sugar to taste. I usually like to add a TINY bit of sugar to this recipe just to sweeten it a bit, but keep in mind the figs are sweet on their own so you shouldn’t need too much.

2. Slice your figs in half length-wise and split open slightly. Stuff with cream cheese (I usually stir up the cream cheese and whip it a bit to get it softer. You can also add a bit of mascarpone if you are feeling fancy!). Add a fresh basil leaf (sizeable to fig, I usually end up using about a half of a basil leaf since they can be rather large) and then an almond sliver. Wrap fig in a thin slice of prosciutto.

3. Drizzle in balsamic reduction. Repeat for rest of figs.

4. Broil until just crisp on the outside (maybe 5 minutes? depending on your broiler). Keep an eye on them because you don’t want to burn the prosciutto.

Spicy Cocktail Meatballs

Ingredients for the meatballs:

• 1 pound ground turkey (or beef for a more traditional meatball)
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 eggs
• 2-3 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, finely chopped (obviously, the more you use the spicier they will turn out to be – I usually use around 3-4)
• 2 tablespoons adobo sauce (from can of chipotle peppers in adobo)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon canola oil

Ingredients for the sauce:

Directions for the meatballs:

In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients, except the canola oil. Shape heaping teaspoons of the mixture into 1-inch balls. In a Dutch oven (or heavy, heavy pan), heat a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, wiping pan in between, sauté the meatballs, turning frequently for even browning, until cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. (For those who prefer a lower fat option, meatballs also can be baked on 350 for about 25-30 minutes.) Place on a paper towel-lined plate.

Directions for the sauce:

Heat oil in the same Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add the crushed red pepper and cook 1 minute. Stir in the remaining ingredients and reduce heat to low.

Add the browned meatballs to the Dutch oven and toss gently to coat with sauce.

[..]

by Blogbot

SuicideGirls’ team of Bloggers and Agony Aunts share their suggestions on how you can give 2012 a kick-ass kick start.

1. There’s someone you haven’t spoken to in a long time. Too long. You fear by now you’ve procrastinated so long that it’s lame to reach out, so you’ve effectively paralyzed a valuable friendship that could easily re-blossom with a single call. You’re not paralyzed, it’s just a head trip. Guilt is useless. Make that call. Say Hi. Apologize. Laugh. Love. Life’s too short. Do it right now. “Happy New Year! I suck” is a great way to start a conversation! – Steve Altman

2. Cut off deadwood! Start by defriending, hiding or blocking the toxic individuals from your Facebook and Twitter feeds. – Dalila Suicide

3. Spend time with people that make you feel taller, brighter, and more capable than you did before. – Darrah de jour

4. Try dating someone you wouldn’t ordinarily date. Like, say, maybe an introverted writer-type that contributes to your favorite alt-beauty blog. Or an evangelical Christian. Those are your only two choices though: the writer or the evangelical. Choose wisely. – Matt Dunbar

5. Spend some time with a niece, nephew or cousin who are growing up and could use your advice. – Atlea Suicide

6. Talk to someone from your Facebook list face-to-face. – CoyoteMike

7. Come to terms with the fact that you mom has a Facebook. – Shotgun Suicide

8. Eating vegetarian style meals reduces the green house gas production. Try to incorporate this in to your lifestyle one day a week. It’s good for you and the earth. – Aadie Suicide

9. Eat lots and lots of cupcakes!!!! What? They’re epic and always put a smile on my face! – Kraven Suicide

10. Unfuck your habitat! There’s nothing like vastly improving your quality of life by having a clean, organized living space. Need tips and/or motivation? Visit unfuckyourhabitat.tumblr.com/, because “no matter what our situations are, we deserve better than to live in filth.” – Perdita Suicide

11. Clean your car and your house through and through. – Atlea Suicide

12. Rearrange a room to get a fresh perspective on life. – Rambo Suicide

13. Go through all your clothes and decide if someone could make better use of some of them. Drop the excess baggage off at a shelter or contributing organization in your area. – Atlea Suicide

14. Donate those holiday presents that you don’t like. – Shotgun Suicide

15. Shop local whenever possible. – Salome Suicide

16. Eat at your favorite mom & pop restaurant, before it goes bankrupt too. – Shotgun Suicide

17. Set up a computer backup plan. Be ready for World Backup Day. – Bob Suicide

18. Start and finish a project you’ve had in mind for a long time. Renovations, painting a vase, knitting, really anything. – Atlea Suicide

19. Set a stupid goal and accomplish it, to prove to yourself that you can. – Darrah de jour

20. Quit saying you will do something and actually do it. When tasks, errands, and commitments are followed through with you feel much more productive. – Kraven Suicide

21. Take a risk. – Darrah de jour

22. Spend an hour with a happy dog, scratching his or her ears. – CoyoteMike

23. Try to go outside each day. Go for a walk. Make sure you have at least 20 minutes of “me” time. This way you’re incorporating self-thought and exercise. It’s very important to get to know yourself. You could be pleasantly surprised. – Aadie Suicide

24. Learn a new skill: baking, crocheting, taxidermy, etc. – Rambo Suicide

25. Take a college class that you want to take, not one that you need. – Shotgun Suicide

26. Find a hobby you can dedicate some time to. Something you love and have passion for. It keeps us young at heart and sane when we can lose our selves in something. – Kraven Suicide

27. Splurge on some really fancy underwear. – Rambo Suicide

28. Add a little color to your life however you see fit. A colorful world is so much better than a black and white one. – Kraven Suicide

29. Make time for yourself. Seriously. Put it in your calendar. Whether it is daily, weekly or monthly, schedule some time and don’t cut out on it for anyone. You’re the only one looking out for you. – Smythe Suicide

30. Treat yourself to an energy renewal weekend, be it at the spa or simply just by unplugging the phone and reading a book. – Atlea Suicide

31. Set up an automatic transfer of money into a savings account each month. – Salome Suicide

32. Watch Fight Club. – Darrah de jour

33. Listen to Valleyheart by She Wants Revenge – Nicole Powers

34. Read Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (snag a free copy here) – EisMC2 and JackalAnon

35. See more live comedy and live music. – Squee Suicide

36. Support non-profit journalism – American Independent News Network, Truthout, GregPalast.com, BradBlog.com are all 501c3’s – donate to support the news that you read for free. Oh, and it’s tax deductible. – ZDRoberts

37. Protest the NDAA, unless you don’t care to plead the 5th. – Shotgun Suicide

38. Join the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) if you care about stopping SOPA. If you spend any time online, you should do. (For that matter, if you’re breathing, you should do!) – Nicole Powers

39. Protect your vote. The election is less than a year away, and you’ll need to start working now to make sure your vote actually counts. Find out why and how by downloading Steal Back Your Vote for free. SuicideGirls helped promote the project so you know it’s awesome and worth a read. – ZDRoberts

40. Get to know your presidential candidates. Look beyond the big social issues like abortion, and research their tax plans, health care ideas, and how they’ve voted in the past. You might find out they aren’t who you thought they were based on a few Facebook posts and Twitter campaigns. The election is coming soon. – Damon Martin

41. Stop by and say hi to your local Occupy. Shake someone’s hand and say “Thank you.” You’d be surprised how much it means to them. Oh, and give them a pair of mittens, it gets cold out there. – ZDRoberts

42. Write “Thank You” notes and post them to people who have helped you get through 2011. – Atlea Suicide

43. Send a letter to a friend, the kind with a stamp. – Shotgun Suicide

44. Create good karma. Treat others as you would want to be treated. In this day in age too many people are being hurtful towards one another in many forms. From anonymous hating via the internet, to being rude to a stranger just because your day didn’t go so well, to physical acts of hate out of spite, jealousy or lack of confidence. Think about how you can be a positive impact on others around you, from your family, friends, neighbors and strangers. Small gestures of kindness can go a long ways and karma will make its way back to you. – Dorsal Suicide

45. Pay for the next person in line at the coffee shop. – CoyoteMike

46. Find joy in the small things. It will help you appreciate the big things so much more. – Kraven Suicide

47. Make today count, because one day you will be nostalgic for it. – Shotgun Suicide

48. Spend more time living in the moment, and less time worrying about the past and the future. Neither of these exist – so live in the present! – Fabrizia Suicide

49. The past is over. Now move your ass. Welcome to 2012. – Darrah de jour

50. Have no regrets. It’s a New Year and that means progress. Do not look back, only forward to the happiness ahead! – Kraven Suicide

by Blogbot

Artist / SG Member Name: Voodou Suicide

Mission Statement: Art can be an escape, a personal thing, a social thing, a way to meet others. It has been all these things for me. I love making and doing things, so I don’t think I could ever stop. Art is a huge part of what makes me, me.

Medium: Mixed media, some favorites include Copic markers, acrylic, fineliners, water colors and my Wacom tablet for computer work.

Aesthetic: Fun, colorful, graphic, most likely containing robots and/or dinosaurs.

Notable Achievements: I won Sappi ThinkAhead Graphic Design Student of the Year. I have passed my ISTD (International Society of Typographic Design) exam, making me able to put MISTD after my name. I have been featured in House & Leisure magazine (South Africa) as a winner of their reusable packaging contest. I have also been an Emerging Creative at Design Indaba (South Africa) in 2009.

Why We Should Care: Cause everyone could do with more fun and robots.

I Want Me Some: Find more of my graphic design on Tumblr and my T-shirts via my Etsy store. I also do commissions. Message me on SG if interested. Or email robot.factory.design@gmail.com

[..]

by Glitch Suicide

A column which highlights Suicide Girls and their fave groups.

This week, Glitch Suicide gives us the specs on SG’s Robot Love Group.

Members: 426 / Comments: 741

WHY DO YOU LOVE IT?: Because I have a huge obsession with anything robotic.

DISCUSSION TIP: Check the threads before posting.

BEST RANDOM QUOTE:

Top 5 Reasons to Fear Robots:
1) Robots are evolving
2) Robots take our jobs
3) Robots steal our hearts
4) Humans & Robots are merging
5) Impending Robot Apocalypse

MOST HEATED DISCUSSION THREAD: It’s all love in the Robot Love group.

WHO’S WELCOME TO JOIN?: Anyone that loves robots, or anything relating to them.

[..]

by Blogbot

• INTO: Chocolate, playing with my mommy, and cats!
• NOT INTO: Carrots. I HATE carrots!
• MAKES ME HAPPY: When we go out and I stay on my mommy’s shoulder the whole time, looking around and seeing people shocked!
• MAKES ME SAD: When my mommy goes out without me.
• HOBBIES: I am a rat, so you know, rat stuff, like hiding from the world and playing the whole day with other ratties!
• 5 THINGS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT: Chocolate, hot blankets in winter, my toys, cuddles, my rat friends.
• VICES: I like to lay on my mom while she is watching a film.
• I SPEND MOST OF MY FREE TIME: Playing with my rat friends or my mom! It’s so hard living as a rat!

Get to know Chemio’s mistress, Ultima Suicide, over at SuicideGirls.com!

by SG’s Team Agony feat. Kraven

Let us answer life’s questions – because great advice is even better when it comes from SuicideGirls.

Q: I’m a 20-year old girl and I’ve been with my boyfriend for almost a year. Despite me being young, I am sure that I want to get married, but he’s said he doesn’t think he wants to. I’ve stayed because I love him. We’re only young (he’s 23), and I hope he might change his mind. The problem is, I think he sees our relationship as having an end point due to this. I don’t know if that’s because he thinks I’ll end it or he will due to not wanting marriage. I am quite paranoid and find it quite hurtful. He’s also completely against the idea of living together, and if I subtly suggest it’s due to his lack of commitment he gets quite angry/upset.

Thanks!

A: If I have learned anything out of my past two relationships it’s that you cannot rush anyone to the alter. Marriage is something that both people have to take incredibly seriously and have to both be ready for, since, ultimately, it is intended to be forever. This is an issue that has broken up many people. Some are quite simply ready, others are not.

You are not wrong in talking about marriage and wanting that as a goal to look forward to. Much like myself, you want to see progress, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, when the other person does not have a similar attitude towards marriage, bringing it up and talking about it can begin to sound like nagging to them. They may also feel you are resenting them because it’s something you want and they are holding you back. As for if you’re too young to get married, that is not something I can answer. But you yourself said you know you aren’t ready quite yet.

The issues you have with your relationship seem to go beyond marriage. More immediately you are just looking for him to show he is committed, and talking marriage at this stage may not be the right way to go about doing that. You want a sense of security, but what is scaring you or making you feel you need it? Especially when everyone tells you you are fantastic together and things are going good?

If there are issues now about this and things go sour when commitment is talked about, there may be underlying issues that need to be addressed. You certainly do not want to get married or pressure someone into staying with you through a marriage if there are these types of issues to begin with. I am not telling you this will end badly, I am just telling you from being in your exact shoes, you have to do what makes you happy, and while you love him and are willing to give him the world, he has to want and be willing to do the same. If he does not want to, then perhaps he’s not the man for you. You deserve better.

In terms of talking with him, you can let him know what you see in your future and ask him if he sees the same. He will tell you what he sees. If the goals are not the same, then it really is time to take stock and figure out what to do next. If the goals are the same, and in the future you both see marriage to one another, then you are on the right track. But do not pressure him into something that you admitted you are not ready for right this minute either. Live life, have fun, and be happy with one another. There’s a lot to be said for enjoying the moment (especially at your age), rather than concentrating so much on the future that you’re unable to enjoy the present.

When his is ready for marriage, he will let you know. You cannot pressure someone with regards to this type of issue, and if you do, you will more than likely push him away rather than bring him closer to you.

I really hope this helps as I have been in this same situation just recently. I know what you are going through. Stay strong and true to yourself and your values. And never settle. 🙂

Kraven

Got Problems? Let SuicideGirls’ team of Agony Aunts provide solutions. Email questions to: gotproblems@suicidegirls.com

by Jeckyl Suicide

This is an original recipe that I made for a Red Velvet sponge cake that’s perfect for the holidays. I hope you like it!

– Jeckyl

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 720ml castor sugar
• 120ml vegetable oil
• 120ml sour cream
• 20ml vinegar
• 20ml vanilla essence
• 120ml red food coloring
• 720ml flour
• 240ml cocoa powder
• 20ml baking powder
• 20ml salt
• 3 eggs

Icing / Filling:

• 250g thick cream cheese
• 160g butter
• 4x250ml sifted icing sugar
• 5ml vanilla extract

Garnish:

• 2 x egg whites
• 3 x fresh red roses
• 3 x toothpicks
• Castor sugar to dust
• Green food coloring
• 2 x rolls of ready to use soft icing

Preparation:

1. Start by washing your hands thoroughly.

2. Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F.

3. Place the 2 egg whites into a cup and whip lightly with a fork. Wash the roses thoroughly. Using a brush, paint the roses with the egg white. Make sure every petal is covered. Next, dust the roses with castor sugar. The result should be an iced looking rose. Place onto a baking tray and allow to dry for a minimum of 1 hour.

4. Sift all your dry ingredients into a bowl (flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, castor sugar).

5. In a separate bowl, cream together all your wet ingredients (sour cream, red food coloring, eggs, vinegar, vanilla essence, oil). Once fully combined, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring the whole time to avoid having lumps. In the end, your dough should be a deep rich red in color.

6. Grease a round cake tin and fill with around a quarter of the dough then place into the oven. This should take around 15-20 minutes to bake. When the top begins to brown a little, take it out and place onto a rack for cooling.

7. Once cooled, take out the cake tin, wash it, grease again, then place another quarter of the dough into the oven. Repeat this process until you have 4 cakes.

8. In another bowl, cream together all the icing/filling ingredients. The result should be a slightly yellow, very thick icing. Refrigerate.

9. Once the cakes have all cooled, separate them into pairs and stick one on top of the other using the icing/filling. Brush both stacks lightly with egg whites.

10. Using something round (e.g a small plate) cut one stack of cakes so that they’re slightly smaller than the other. Roll out the soft icing and cover both cakes. Be sure there are no bubbles. You can even use your hand to smoothen the surface. Do not discard leftover soft icing. Place the smaller stack on top of the bigger stack for a pyramid effect.

11. Now, color the leftover soft icing with the green food coloring and measure out the circumference of each cake. Cut a medium sized strip of green and, using egg white, stick it to the base of the cake.

12. Once this is done, stick a toothpick into each rose and arrange on the top of the cake then dust the entire cake with more egg white.

13. Refrigerate the cake overnight, and serve at room temperature.

Tada!!