It's only 40 days, but when you're giving up something you love, the Lenten season can seem like forever. Did you give up a favorite food? As Lent comes to a close, it's time to gather recipes for your first indulgent meal. Whether it's caffeine, sugar, meat, cheese, or alcohol that you've been missing, we've rounded up 10 of the best recipes to help you reintroduce the tasty treats back into your diet.
Posts for April 6th 2012
Link Time: Make Speedy Spicy Pickled Celery
- Make spicy pickled celery that's ready before you know it — Food52
- Maya Rudolph recounts her waitressing experience — The Daily Meal
- Morels and fava beans sing of Spring — Saveur
- Trouble's brewing for the FDA — Food Republic
- Chipotle's given chef Nate Appleman a new lease on life — Grub Street NY
- Now casting: season three of The Great Food Truck Race — Eater
- What to sip for Passover seder — Gourmet Live
- Make spicy pickled celery that's ready before you know it — Food52
- Maya Rudolph recounts her waitressing experience — The Daily Meal
- Morels and fava beans sing of Spring — Saveur
- Trouble's brewing for the FDA — Food Republic
- Chipotle's given chef Nate Appleman a new lease on life — Grub Street NY
- Now casting: season three of The Great Food Truck Race — Eater
- What to sip for Passover seder — Gourmet Live
In Season: Stinging Nettles

Stinging nettle: the name might lead you to believe that this plant is (1) dangerous to touch and (2) a weed. And you would be right. But despite its name and repellent nature, stinging nettles are also edible and delicious and becoming increasingly popular among foraging chefs, thanks to its abundance in the wild. Now in season, nettles could be the perfect addition to your Spring kitchen endeavors. Want to learn more about this prickly plant? Just read on.
- The stinging nettle is abundant in North America, Europe, and Asia but can also be found in parts of Africa with moist soil.
- The plant gets its name from the tiny, prickly hairs on the leaves and stems that detach from the plant when it's touched and inject a painful chemical concoction.
- Stinging nettles have a long medicinal history with uses ranging from arthritis to rheumatism relief to dandruff prevention.
- With a flavor likened by some to spinach or broccoli, nettle has become a popular Spring vegetable. Fresh and dried leaves can be steeped in tea that supposedly fights off seasonal allergy symptoms.
- Look for stinging nettle at your local farmers market. Many home chefs forage for the weed, but it's important to pick the leaves before the plant begins to flower. Eating mature stinging nettle can cause urinary tract irritation and damage.
- The plant is rich in vitamins A, C, iron, potassium, manganese, and calcium and high in protein for a leafy green vegetable.
- The stinging hairs on the plant can be removed by soaking the leaves in water, drying, or cooking.

If you manage to track down a bag of stinging nettles, get ready for a treat! Here are a few of the many uses for this culinary weed:
- Process blanched leaves with pine nuts, garlic, parmesan cheese, and olive oil for delicious stinging nettle pesto.
- Top a Neapolitan-style pizza with pancetta and stinging nettles. Crack an egg in the center a few minutes before it's done.
- Replace spinach or asparagus with stinging nettle in a Spring frittata or quiche.
- Puree into a savory stinging nettle soup.
Savory Sight: Fat Elvis Cupcakes
Elvis didn't just leave behind a legacy of music; he also left behind a classic (and crave-worthy) food combination — something reflected in Gabi29's cupcakes below.
When you're craving something a little over the top, try these cupcakes based on one of Elvis's favorite sandwiches: peanut butter, banana, and bacon. These cupcakes start with a banana cake base and are topped with peanut butter frosting and candied bacon.
For the recipe, check out her blog, then be sure to share the wackiest food combinations with us in our Savory Sights community group.
Enter to Win $3,000 in Prizes and Master the Art of Brunching With Kahlúa®

For city dwellers and suburbanites, weekend mornings are reserved for brunch. No other get-together lends itself so well to catch-ups and recaps of the previous night's revelry. You and your girlfriends have brunch down to a science. From the moment you sit down until you're taking those last sips of your Kahlúa® and coffee, this meal is a well-designed dance of chatting and cheering.
To celebrate this tasty tradition, we're giving away $2,000 to put toward an afternoon spent brunching and shopping plus a $1,000 spa gift certificate to share with your best girlfriends. If you're 21 years of age or older, enter for your chance to win! Just let us know why you're counting down to your next weekend rendezvous by taking the poll below.
Must be 21 years of age or older to enter.
Click here for the official rules.

popsugar poll
Enter to Win $3,000 in Prizes and Master the Art of Brunching With Kahlúa<sup>®</sup>Definition: Brunch Giveaway
OFFICIAL CONTEST RULES
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. MAKING A PURCHASE DOES NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. Brunch Giveaway (the “Contest”) is sponsored and operated by Sugar Publishing, Inc. (owner and operator of YumSugar.com, CasaSugar and SavvySugar.com), having an address of 111 Sutter Street, Suite 850, San Francisco, CA 94104 (“Sponsor and Operator”).
ELIGIBILITY:
Open only to permanent legal U.S. residents physically residing in the fifty (50) United States of America and the District of Columbia (excluding Rhode Island). Must be 21 years of age or older. Employees of Sponsor and its respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, and advertising and promotion agencies and any other entity involved in the development or administration of this Contest, and their immediate family members or household members are not eligible to participate in or win the Contest. All prizes won by minors will be awarded to their parents or legal guardians on their behalf. Winners may be required to sign an Affidavit of Eligibility and complete relevant tax forms as a condition to the delivery of the applicable prize. Void where prohibited by law. All applicable federal, state and local laws apply.
HOW TO ENTER:
No purchase is necessary to participate in the Contest. To enter, you must log into your profile at any PopSugar Network site (or register for a profile at http://www.onsugar.com/user/register), navigate to Sponsor Post on YumSugar.com, CasaSugar.com or SavvySugar.com and take the poll as described on the entry page between 3:00 am PST on April 6, 2012 and 11:59pm PST on April 30, 2012 (the “Entry Period”). Entries generated by script, macro or other automated means are void. Normal time, toll, connection and usage rates, if any, charged by your Internet service provider will apply. All entries become the property of the Sponsor. One entry per person.
By registering and taking the poll, you will be agreeing that your registration and any other information collected in connection with the Contest may be used by Sponsor in accordance with Sugar Publishing, Inc.’s Privacy Policy and may be shared with Sponsor’s affiliated business entities, and that you automatically opt-in to receive email, text messages or other communications from Sponsor. You may subsequently opt-out of the receipt of such email or communications by following the directions in the email, communications or by contacting Sponsor directly.
All registrations must include entrant's valid email address. The email address provided by online entrants will be the identity of the entrant and, if selected for a prize, the identity of the winner. We expressly reserve the right to disqualify any entries that we believe in good faith are generated by an automated program or via scripts. By participating, all entrants agree to abide by these Official Contest Rules.
PRIZES:
At the end of the Entry Period, there will be one (1) drawing in which one (1) potential winner shall be selected from all eligible entries received during the Entry Period by employees or representatives of the Sponsor to receive the prize of a $2,000 Visa gift card and $1,000 spa gift certificate (retail value = $3,000). Decisions of the Sponsor are final and binding with respect to all matters related to the Contest. All prizes will be awarded. In no event shall the Sponsor be obligated to award more prizes than the number of prizes stated in these Official Contest Rules. No substitutions (including for cash) are permitted, except that Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater monetary value for any prize. All prizes won by minors will be awarded to their parents or legal guardians on their behalf. Winners shall be responsible and liable for all federal, state and local taxes on the value of their prize. To receive a complete list of winners or a copy of the Official Contest Rules, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Prize Fulfillment, Sugar Inc., 111 Sutter Street, Suite 850, San Francisco, CA 94104. Specify winner's list or rules on your request.
Please allow 6-8 weeks for prize delivery.
SELECTION:
The winning entry will be chosen at random. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of the person submitting the entry, the entry will be deemed to be submitted by the person in whose name the e-mail account is registered. The Contest will be conducted under the supervision of the Sponsor. The decisions of the Sponsor are final and binding in all matters relating to this Contest. The winners will be notified by email and/or by private message through the winner’s teamsugar.com account; Sponsor reserves the right to determine the method of notification. Winners must claim their prize within three (3) business days after the date of notification of such prize. A Contest winner's failure to respond to the prize notification within the specified three (3) business days will be considered such Contest winner's forfeiture of the prize and an alternate winner may be selected from the pool of eligible entries. If an entrant is found to be ineligible, an alternate winner may also be selected from the pool of eligible entries. Sponsor reserves the right to ship prizes directly to the email and/or mailing address provided by winners during their entry to the Contest. Each entry submitted in response to the Contest and in accordance with the rules will constitute an official entry. All entrants agree to abide by these Official Contest Rules. All entries become the property of the Sponsor.
General Conditions and Releases:
An entrant or winner may be disqualified from the Contest if he or she fails to comply with each provision of these Official Contest Rules, as determined in the sole discretion of the Sponsor. Participation in the Contest is at entrant’s own risk. Sponsor shall not be liable for 1) failed, returned or misdirected notifications based on inaccurate information provided by the winner on the contest entry form, 2) entries and responses to winner notifications which are lost, late, incomplete, illegible, unintelligible, postage-due, misdirected, damaged or otherwise not received by the intended recipient in whole or in part or for computer or technical error of any kind, 3) any electronic miscommunications or failures, technical hardware or software failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, or failed incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmissions which may limit an entrant's ability to participate in the Contest, 4) any technical malfunctions of the telephone network, computer on-line system, computer equipment, software, program malfunctions or other failures, delayed computer transactions or network connections that are human, mechanical or technical in nature, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to entrant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from downloading any part of this Contest or 5) any warranty of fitness or merchantability of any prize or the function or operation thereof, which shall be the sole responsibility of the manufacturer of the prize. Sponsor does not make any, and hereby disclaim any and all, representations or warranties of any kind regarding any prize. Unless prohibited by applicable law, your entry constitutes your permission to use your name, photograph, likeness, voice, address (city and state) and testimonials in all media, in perpetuity, in any manner Sponsor deems appropriate for publicity purposes without any further compensation to such entrant. By entering or accepting a prize in the Contest, winners agree to be bound by these Official Contest Rules and to conform to all federal, state and local laws and regulations. When applicable, the winner (or, if the winner is a minor, the winner's parent or legal guardian) may be required to execute and return to Sponsor within ten (10) business days an Affidavit of Eligibility and a Liability and Publicity Release to be eligible for the prize or an alternate winner will be selected. Winner may be required to furnish proof of identity, address and birth date in order to receive a prize.
By entering, an entrant agrees to release and hold harmless Sponsor and its respective parents, subsidiaries and affiliated entities, directors, officers, employees, attorneys, agents, and representatives from any damage, injury, death, loss, claim, action, demand, or other liability (collectively, “Claims”) that may arise from their acceptance, possession and/or use of any prize or their participation in this promotion, or from any misuse or malfunction of any prize awarded, regardless of whether such Claims, or knowledge of the facts constituting such Claims, exist at the time of entry or arise at any time thereafter. Any person attempting to defraud or in any way tamper with this Contest will be ineligible for prizes and may be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Sponsor reserves the right to modify these Official Contest Rules in any way or at any time. Sponsor reserves the right, in their sole discretion, to cancel or suspend this Contest should viruses, bugs or other causes beyond their control corrupt the administration, security or proper play of the Contest. In the event of cancellation or suspension, Sugar shall promptly post a notice on the Contest entry page to such effect. This Contest shall be governed by California law. By participating in this contest, entrants agree that California courts shall have jurisdiction over any dispute or litigation arising from or relating to this Contest and that venue shall be only in San Francisco, California.
