Ladles & Linens Kitchen Shoppe L & L Blog By: Fayeruz Regan blog: 4th of july, 4th of july party, al fresco, almond cracker recipe, alternatives to plastis and more

by Fayeruz ReganJun 05, 20250 comments

Pickles are having a moment - snack inspo here!

I blinked and pickles were everywhere. There's a pickle-themed menu at Popeye's right now, and it's impressive. The pickle lemonade was surprisingly refreshing! But pickles have been weasling their way into gastronomy for a while, and their Trojan horse? Fried pickles. First, this carnival favorite trickled into the app menu at family chain restaurants. The next thing you know, you're snacking on Vlasic's Pickle Ball chips in front of the tube. Yes, I can vouch for those too. Those corn puffs taste more like pickles than pickles do. The current craze has me discovering new and exciting ways to enjoy...

by Fayeruz ReganMay 22, 20250 comments

Strawberry fields forever (or at least until July)

As I stood gazing down the rows of strawberry plants on Mt. Olympus farm, I got a kick out of seeing families hunched over, their backs burning in the sun, to pick their own strawberries. Not only were we driving out of our way and picking fruit like farm laborers,...

by Fayeruz ReganMay 08, 20250 comments

Word to your mother: Mother's Day done right

I was at a Kentucky Derby party this weekend when the conversation wandered from horses to other beasts of burden: mothers. Let's face it, we do it all and as the years so by, we have become less coy about Mother's Day. We've worked hard, and feel we've earned the right...

by Fayeruz ReganApr 17, 20250 comments

Enjoying the simplicity of spring

My grandfather was an organic farmer before organic farming was cool. It wasn't his full-time job. Rather, he made the most out of his five acres of land after work and on weekends, hauling in giant bushels of crook-neck yellow squash, butter beans and tomatoes. One of my favorite summertime...

by Fayeruz ReganMar 20, 20250 comments

Sweet and salty toffee bars

I don't know what it is about snow days, but I always feel compelled to bake. Perhaps it's the comfort of coming in from the cold to the smell of warm sugar. Perhaps it's a warm kitchen with steam on the windows. I think it dates back to 2018, the...

by Fayeruz ReganFeb 06, 20250 comments

Sprouting into 2025

Anyone else notice how alfalfa spouts used to be everywhere, but have nearly disappeared in recent years? You can still find them in health food stores at a premium, but I miss the old availability, and the prices. Why did stores stop selling alfalfa sprouts? Grocery stores became less...

by Fayeruz ReganDec 19, 20240 comments

Things are about to get ugly!

Ladles and Linens owner Sarah Nicholas parnered up with her bestie Kathleen George to host an epic holiday party, and things got ugly! People were encouraged to wear their ugliest, tackiest holiday sweaters, and people went all out. Sarah's family had a feline theme. Co-host Kathleen had a beer pong...

by Fayeruz ReganDec 04, 20240 comments

The unspoken food rules in relationships

Some of my friends thought it risky that I chose not to live with my husband prior to marriage, but we went old school anyway. I'm not a very traditional person, I just loved being single and living on my own. I wanted to enjoy that era as long as...

by Fayeruz ReganNov 17, 20240 comments

Take your pleasure seriously

There are two times in a woman's life when society expects her to be a stressed out shell of herself. So much so, that if she isn't frazzled, one might think she isn't doing it right. When are these two times? During her wedding planning, and during the holidays. I...

by Fayeruz ReganNov 09, 20240 comments

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire

There were a lot of jangly nerves on election night, and we chose to avoid the fray and do something that required sitting back and being in the moment. Why not roast some chestnuts on an open fire? It was our first time, but what occasion could warrant it more?...

by Fayeruz ReganOct 22, 20240 comments

Thanksgiving for everyone

Tofurkey has been a running joke around the holidays since the 80s movies of my childhood. No one is shaming the product for being vegetarian. It's just that the product itself is so bleak. It jiggles like a jello mold of salty food additives. Why should vegetarians be punished for...

by Fayeruz ReganOct 17, 20240 comments

Making veggies the star, not the obligation

I remember when Jessica Seinfeld wrote a book called Deceptively Delicious, where parents were advised to "hide" the veggies into their meals, so that kids didn't know what they were eating. But that sets a weird precedent, doesn't it? It's posititioning vegetables as enemies right out the gate. At some...

by Fayeruz ReganOct 03, 20240 comments

The viral spiral

I've been hosting dinner parties since college, and while they've come a long way since then, one piece of advice runs throughout: presentation is everything. When I was too poor to afford a vast charcuterie selection, I grilled sausages, sliced them, and stuck fancy toothpicks through each disk. I'd toast...

by Fayeruz ReganSep 05, 20240 comments

The ultimate back to school breakfast trick

There's no way I haven't complained about this before. I am incredulous when I see the way weekday breakfasts are portrayed in movies and on TV. Both working parents look incredible in tailored suits, and the table is laden with fresh-squeezed orange juice, eggs and toast. The father has time...

by Fayeruz ReganAug 01, 20240 comments

In my chia pudding era

If you follow this blog, you know that TikTok and Instagram influence a LOT of the chances I take with cooking. My poor, sweet husband plies me with gorgeous cookbooks, but nothing compares to a sleek thirty-second video that moves so quickly you don't know how labor intensive the recipe...

by Fayeruz ReganJul 19, 20240 comments

Cruel summer cure: Seasonal cocktails

As I write this, the United States is in the midst of a heat wave. Here in "River City" we can't even cool off in the James because of the E. coli levels. Corn is literally popping off the stalks in corn fields, and D.C. broke a heat record on...