Things That Do Not Suck

Well now! I trust you have all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, if that's the kind of thing you and yours like to do around this time of year? Although we had our Canadian Thanksgiving way back in October, I took advantage of the occasion to have some Turducken. The only thing better than feasting on a bird at Thanksgiving? Feasting on THREE birds at once. And the only thing better than even that? OYSTER STUFFING. So yummy!


The only unfair thing is... while our friends south of the border get such marvellous things as Black Friday, I get... exams to mark. And essays. And presentations. And abstract submissions. This is going to be a crazy crazy week and a half, so I probably won't be around here much. But don't worry, I'll be back soon, and just in time to post a super-fab series on Perfect Presents, to get you all set for your holiday shopping!


Keeping with the theme of things that don't suck, I tried out a "recipe" for a white bean dip this weekend. I say "recipe" because it was mostly me throwing things together and hoping it would work, but it did, and it was super easy! Here is a photo of what it could look like, if I was a food blogger/artist:




What you'll need:

- 1 can White Kidney Beans (you could probably use any white bean, or dried beans if you want to go through all that soaking. Which I did not.)
- 1 TBS Olive Oil
- apx 3 strips of cooked bacon (I used the pre-cooked stuff, b/c this was all on a whim)
- 1 clove garlic, minced (If you don't love the bite of raw garlic, leave it out or use roasted garlic, or even garlic powder)
- 3 dashes of onion flakes
- Salt to taste

Throw all of that into a food processor, or my boyfriend's Magic Bullet in my case*, and whir until smooth. If you're trying to keep things low-fat, omit the olive oil and instead use a bit of water or chicken stock -- the point is just to thin the bean dip out a little until you get the consistency you like. And of course, you can omit the bacon if you want.

For being such a hack job, this turned out incredibly well. Really creamy and rich-tasting, but with relatively healthy ingredients, this is high fibre, high protein, and low in carbs and fat. Plus it took like, 10 minutes from start to finish**. If you have any fancy oils on hand, try blending them in for extra flavour goodness -- nutty, lemon, or cajun/tex-mex flavours would also be great. I can't wait to try this with a bottle of white truffle olive oil that I have sitting at home! Serve with pita chips, on baguette slices, crackers, or even spread on toast. By the end, you'll be just eating it by the spoonful like we were.


And finally, for things that are most definitely the opposite of sucky, the Weekly Beauty Read from the Beauty Blog Network!

Karen from Makeup and Beauty Blog interviews Paris Hilton and gets her top 5 beauty tips.

Bionic Beauty shares her mineral makeup look of the day: "Rockin' the Glow".

Lipsticks are Like Men: Makeup Moxie Reviews Guerlain KissKiss Lipstick.

Beauty and Fashion Tech has a list of makeup palettes that are perfect for holiday gifts.

The Muse shares her collection and reviews of Be Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful Perfumes.

Savvy Skin covets all of Oprah's Favorite Things 2007

Temptalia reviews MAC's Metal-X Collection with swatches!

Elke reviews the ColorPro stick on eye shadow stencils, with somewhat iffy results.

Stylish Opinion finds a new 'green' beauty skincare line, "Green By Nature".

The Beauty Blog Network welcomes newest member Scandalous Beauty to it's team.

Beauty Banter muses about the hot new trend: Cat Eyes... Who is wearing it and how you can achieve the look too!

15 Minute Beauty Fanatic checks out Prescriptive's Holiday 2007 Sets

A Touch of Blusher can't live without this hand cream!

Beauty and Personality Grooming - Herbal after shampoo hair rinses

SugarShock finds a bath and shower gel that's worthy of Cleopatra.

Makeup Loves Me is seduced by sunsilk' get hairapy commercials, but not it's shampoos.

Scandalous Beauty delivers an exclusive interview with Celebrity Make-Up Artist Sam Fine!

Face Candy gets a new holiday look and reviews Marc Jacob's newest scent- Daisy.




*Good LORD does that ever sound sketchy. I promise you that link is totally SFW.
** Including the time it took to whack the blender cup in an attempt to get all the ingredients to reach the blade... stupid lying infomercials...