Blog Posts by The_Stir

Fruitcake just sucks. It's filled with candied fruits and nuts that could break your teeth and tastes more like something that's good for you than a dessert.

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Which is why I have no idea how I found myself searching for a "delicious" fruitcake recipe, since I thought it as likely that I would find a unicorn.

But Martha Stewart brings it home (of course she does!) with this amazing recipe for Layered Fruitcake With Creme Fraiche Frosting.

The traditional fruitcake in America is a far cry from the original fruitcakes, which became extremely popular in the Victorian era. Those contained fruits preserved in alcohol, which I'm guessing the Puritanical founders of our country frowned upon. Another fantastic addition used today in a typical UK fruitcake recipe is icing. Martha gets it, and I approve.

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Of course this recipe is time-consuming, but so is a recipe for traditional fruit cake, but not nearly

lauren huttonTotal lady crush Lauren Hutton, very newly age 67, shows off some lovely outfits and her wrinkles in the new style feature on J.Crew. And those wrinkles are so beautiful.

Wrinkles, oh how I have missed you! I am so afraid of what we will become without them.

Let's take a peek at some of the photos from Hutton's J.Crew feature. We really want you to remember what a real face, a real and beautiful face, looks like.

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God, remember when aging actually meant something? It was highly respected because it meant that you'd been somewhere in your life, that you'd changed and grown, and quite possibly that the beauty on the inside had finally surpassed the beauty on the outside. It meant you had arrived and that you had finally earned the right to just be.

Oh, that sure sounds nice.

But what if we completely erase aging? First, in Hollywood, then out here in the real world? What will become of us?

When I saw

I'm not sure what I'm more insulted about -- the fact that the food that I eat could be the reason why I'm single or that our human mating habits are being compared to fruit flies.

Scientists have been closely monitoring a group of fruit flies and how they sexually respond to each other, based on their diets. Long story short, fruit flies preferred to mate with other flies who ate the same foods they did. So since the fruit flies were diet-picky, it sent the scientists into a whirlwind about evolution and blah, blah, blah, basically saying, according to the study, all of you vegetarian-meat eater couples are doomed.

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Okay, so there may not be any starch/sugar couplings amongst the insects, but flies aside, it does bring up the question if it's really possible for a mixed-diet couple to last?

Of course it's possible -- my aunt is a vegetarian and has been happy with her carnivore husband for years -- but it's hard as

380 million: The number of eggs in Colorado, California, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, and Wisconsin recalled by Wright County Egg Farms this August due to possible salmonella contamination.

143 million: Pounds of ground beef recalled from Westland Meat in 2008 because the company let sick animals into their system.

$152 million: How much the US spends on food-related illnesses each year.

1809: Estimated number of people who die from food pathogen-related illnesses each year according to Centers for Disease Control.

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This is why we were long overdue for new food safety regulation -- because apparently these companies are not run by grown ups. Hello 2010 Food Safety Modernization bill! I'm glad you're here.

The Senate passed the Food Safety bill just this Tuesday. The bill has sent the usual small government folks howling: Oh no, not more regulation!

OH YES! More regulation, whiners, more delicious

There was an editorial recently in the local paper about a woman who died, leaving behind a cat. She didn't leave any last wishes for the cat, and her family, not wanting the cat, called animal control to have it put down. People were incensed. Outraged! How could they just throw out their mother's beloved cat?

Of course what they did was horrible. That's why I'm with the late Donald Ellis, who before he died left explicit instructions that his beloved Yorkie be put down and buried with him.

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I'm taking my dogs with me. Even if they are still healthy. Even if they still have years to live. And here's why.

Once I'm gone, I cannot guarantee the kind of life they'll have. Who would keep them? Even if someone did take them, I can't guarantee them the kind of life they deserve. It's a little hard to pick a new home for your pets when you're dead.

It's totally selfish, but also the kindest thing I can

The holiday season's in full swing, and between all the shopping, baking, and cleaning on your To-Do list this month -- on top of work, kids, laundry, and all your other 365-day-a-year responsibilities -- you might find yourself reaching for that Chinese take-out menu a bit more often than usual.

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But never fear: holiday gatherings at restaurants and take-out on busy weeknights don't have to derail your healthy eating habits this season. While it's always ideal to prepare a nutritious home-cooked meal chock-full of grains and greens, who has the time when there are retail bargains to score, travel plans to arrange, and in-laws to entertain?

There's no need to feel guilty about letting someone else do the cooking (for a change). I'm living proof: I managed to lose 90 pounds while continuing to dine out -- or order in -- at least three times a week. Here's how you can do it, too.

1.) Do your homework.

As women, we are supposed to be perfect creatures. We do not burp, fart, or (gasp!) poo. We do pee, but it's kind of cute because we have to go so often (oh, our small little bladders).

At least that's what we think guys believe until we meet the man we will one day marry. After that, watch out. It eventually just becomes a battle of who can gross out who more.

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We go to great, sometimes ridiculous, lengths to hide our bodily functions from a boyfriend -- even if it means damage to our digestive tract (deal with the cramps to hold in the crap, am I right?). I'm talking full-fledge tactics here (Omg that bathroom line was sooo long!). I now get the urge to go nearly every time I hear water running because I've used the unnecessary shower method so many times.

Someone's boyfriend (who will probably be sleeping on the couch if she discovers he posted this) wrote the tactics that his girlfriend uses to avoid him seeing her

Even though this time of year is the most popular time for break-ups, the holidays are definitely pro-relationship. That's why dating websites' numbers skyrocket around the end of November -- people hate being single towards the end of the year.

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In fact, Match.com recently discovered that finding someone special is the #1 stress for singles -- not their finances which are slowly dwindling away because of shopping, not their electric bill which has gone way up due to the extra lights -- they just don't want to be alone. Plus there's that ever looming New Year's Eve kiss ...

I totally get it. You want a date for the holiday parties, you want someone to decorate a tree with and to shop for, to kiss under the mistletoe and, for the love of candy canes, be able to tell Aunt Marge that, yes, finally you met someone special.

But you know what, screw the mistletoe, the holidays actually aren't so bad solo. Here are ten