The first time I made pasta from scratch, I was eight years old. I grew up in rural Connecticut at the end of a cul-de-sac, with my maternal Italian grandparents living in the house across the street. To tell you it was heaven would be an understatement.

One rainy afternoon, my grandmother called me over to help her make something. I ran across the street, with my black Labrador retriever named Sam in tow, feeling important because my grandmother, who I thought was a lot like Superwoman, needed me to help her with something important.

After I took off my shoes, careful to avoid the “Blue Room” or the formal living room that was always covered in plastic and never seemed to ever actually be used, I found my grandmother standing in front of her stove wearing her familiar Nonna’s apron with the pink flowers nearly washed out, as she stirred a pot of tomato sauce with her favorite wooden spoon and sipped Southern Comfort with a single ice cube from a Dixie cup.

On that rainy afternoon, I remember my grandmother showed me how to make a hole in the flour on the board where she dropped in the eggs, and how the dough stuck to my fingers as I helped her knead it. We rolled out sheets of pasta until my arms ached that we cut in many shapes like fettuccine, pappardelle, radiatori, trofie, pacheri, and spaghetti. Batch after batch, one after the other, we hung pasta to dry on the clothes drying rack and even covered my grandparents’ king size bed with towels before covering the entire bed with more pasta.

While we made pasta, we also worked on the sauce. Some Italians call it gravy, but we always called it sauce, and Sunday sauce was loaded with braciole, or thinly sliced sirloin rolled into a thick cigar shape around garlic, parsley and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. We also made meatballs with a mix of ground pork, ground veal, ground beef, garlic, basil, mozzarella cheese and stale bread soaked in milk. All of it made the house smell heavenly as the rain fell in sheets outside the window, as my beloved dog Sam dozed in front of the television with my grandfather as he pretended to watch M.A.S.H.

I don’t remember what we talked about, but I remember feeling so happy to spend time with my grandmother, and I recall feeling utterly content in the kitchen making food that I knew our extended family would enjoy at one of our weekly Sunday dinners. In hindsight, I believe this was the moment I fell in love with food and with cooking. It was the first time I understood what it felt like to take time and care with fresh ingredients to make something special for loved ones. As we cooked, I imagined the now quiet dining room filled with laughter and clanking of dishes and silverware, as we all enjoyed Sunday dinner with cousins and family. I knew exactly which stories would be told because they were the same stories that had been told over and over again for years. My heart filled with joy as I thought about watching everyone I loved savor the food we had prepared.

Years later, I still make Sunday sauce and often invite dear friends and family to sit around our table to enjoy a leisurely dinner together devoid of cell phones or conversations about politics. We still tell funny stories and laugh at each other’s lame jokes, but the point is that we spend time together as the seasons, and the world around us, changes. The act of cooking something special soothes me, calms me in a way Yoga or meditation never will.

All of this experience and joy in cooking led me to writing my third novel, A Recipe for Love. This time around, I knew I wanted to write a traditional lesbian romance, but I wanted to write a story about my love of Italian food, so I decided that the two main characters would meet and fall in love in an Italian cooking class.

When I finished writing the story, I decided to include a pretty lengthy cookbook section where I could share some of my favorite recipes. A few of these recipes are family favorites that I learned from my mother and grandmother, while others are pulled from various sources that I’ve tried and adjusted over time. Because for me, writing a novel is a lot like cooking a meal. I take time to create a story that I hope will help readers relax and escape from the stresses of everyday life for a little while. Cooking a meal is much the same. Both make me happy to share part of myself.

Buon appetito!

About Lucy J. Madison
Lucy J. Madison is an author, screenwriter, and home-cook who may still attend culinary school so she can own a supper club in Provincetown one day. She’s at work on her fifth novel when she’s not in the kitchen. LucyJMadison.com
Facebook, Instagram & Twitter @lucyjmadison

About A Recipe for Love: A Lesbian Culinary Romance
Available for Pre-Order Now. Available 10/10/18.

Piermont, New York. Danika Russo is 55, newly retired from a 30-year career as a mail carrier, and stuck in a rut. After putting her own needs on hold to care for her terminally ill partner and her unloving father, Danika is holed up the childhood home she inherited, a claustrophobic time warp from the 1970s complete with brown Formica and linoleum, and not sure what to do next.

Her best friend Natalie suggests making a list of things she has always wanted to do. Stepping outside her comfort zone, self-deprecating Danika opts for taking an Italian cooking class, not knowing that she will both impress the appreciative chef with her tasting skills and meet a mysterious younger woman there, Finn Gerard, who will capture her heart and teach her the recipe for love. But Finn is withholding a grim secret and, despite her initial passion, appears unable to commit to Danika fully. Will Danika allow herself to let go and fall in love for the first time in her life, even if there are no guarantees? Even if she must learn to let go?

This complex lesbian romance touches on themes of rediscovery and transformation, showing that while love can be the answer, real healing always starts from within.

Lucy Madison’s latest will appeal to fans of fine, well-crafted lesbian fiction and authors like Caren Werlinger. Readers will enjoy a bonus cookbook section at the back, featuring all the recipes mentioned in the book!

YouTube Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/m4jzY_gRtxc

The post Cooking up a lesbian romance first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Dear Femme, 

I’ve been with my girlfriend for a little over a year and everything is going really well. We moved in together a few months ago and it’s been great to live with my best friend and come home to her everyday. And I do come home to her, I work a little bit later than she does, so by the time i get home, she has dinner waiting for me. And that’s so nice and I’m so lucky. But the problem is that dinner is always terrible. It’s just so bad, I would rather just microwave leftovers or get takeout than eat it. I don’t understand what she does to it. She thinks she’s a really good cook and I don’t want to burst her bubble. 

How can I tell her her cooking is terrible without ruining our relationship? I’m afraid she will be hurt and resent me and I would do anything to avoid hurting her feelings, or putting our relationship in jeopardy. Please help. 

Hungry in Ohio

Dear Hungry,

Of all the problems in the world, this isn’t a bad problem to have. If you and your girlfriend have as strong of a relationship as it sounds, you should be able to talk to her about this. Talking to her about this small problem is really good practice for when you have to talk about the more important problems that will crop up if you end up spending your entire lives together.

Maybe say something like, “I really appreciate it when you make dinner for me, it’s so nice to come home to that after a long day at work. But, sometimes the food you make is too ___” Insert whatever adjective you need too. I kind of want to know how she ruins this food. Is it too salty? Burnt to a crisp? Does she put ketchup on everything?

You could also say something like, “This food needs a little something, I really like kale with garlic not kale with ketchup.” Or whatever it is she’s doing. Eventually she will start taking notice of what you like and don’t like, and incorporating that into the meals she cooks.

If you’re too scared to address the problem directly, there are more subtle steps you can take. You guys can take a cooking class together and maybe she can incorporate some of the lessons learned into her dinner repertoire. You could watch some Food Network shows together and try to recreate the recipes. Or even find some recipes you like and send them over to her to make for dinner. Give her a back rub for being so accommodating to your cravings.

Good luck, Hungry! Let us know how it goes.

Have a question for me? Email me at askafemme@yahoo.com

About the Artist: Lee Ely is a Brooklyn based illustrator. For more about Lee visit http://www.latewerks.com, follow on Instagram @latewerks, like on Facebook and purchase their work at https://society6.com/latewerks.

The post Ask the Femme: I love my girlfriend, but I hate her cooking! first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Chef Victoria Scroggins

Chef Victoria Scroggins recently proved her mettle on reality TV; braving the Gordon Ramsay joint “MasterChef” in it’s fifth season. The Texan native invited me to her Brooklyn home to tell me about her adventures on MasterChef, her catering company “Scout” and why queer women kick serious butt in the culinary world. Oh and! Lucky you, she decided to each us all how to cook perfectly seasoned, grilled pork chops, red cabbage cole slaw and Texas black eyed peas.

The final product! Watch the video for step by step instructions!

Need more Victoria? Follow her on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/mister_victoria or like her on Facebook!

The post Going Down in the Kitchen with Chef Victoria Scroggins first appeared on Lesbian.com.

No matter if you’re a master in the kitchen or your cooking skills are ho-hum, it’s likely your meals, preparation and eating habits shift with the different phases in your life.

For me, childhood was filled with homemade Texas-style meals made with love by my parents (yep, both of them). In college, it was heaps of creamy chicken ramen, grilled zucchini on the George Foreman, and too many Coors Lights. Shifting to being in a relationship for the past 4-and-a-half years, I became a ninja in our beautiful kitchen. Most meals were made with the help of Pinterest, my two hands and something that’d make my girlfriend happy (think mac & cheese, vanilla bean cake and enchiladas).

Now that I’m single, much has changed, including eating and cooking.

In my recent short-term sublet, I had trouble befriending my small kitchen. Although I made a crack pie and baked chicken, I wasn’t ready to get back into it again. The act of cooking had so many emotional strings attached to it that I wasn’t ready to face.

However, after too many Lean Cuisines, bowls of Special K Red Berries and bland salads, I grew bored. And thin.

Once I moved into my new place (with one sexy looking kitchen), I’m starting to re-learn the joy of cooking again.

So what does one eat when they’re single? Well, this is the part I’m slowly discovering. I’ve adjusted my recipes and portions to steer away from huge and extravagant meals, but I still aim to make something that makes me happy, satisfied and feeling good.

In my hunt for easy, wholesome recipes and ingredients (of course, this means getting lost in my new grocery store plenty) I’ve discovered and fallen in love with quinoa.

Yep, the grain that’s hard to pronounce.

In short, quinoa falls in the grain family, but are actually edible seeds that are packed with protein, fiber, iron and vitamin B2. Not only is it amazingly good for you, but it makes a great foundation for meals and can replace less healthy ingredients (processed carbs, white rice, etc).

Here are some easy creations I’m obsessing over at the moment that involve my (new) favorite supergrain:

Quinoa + red apple + dried cranberry + red onion + blue cheese + balsamic + pepper

Chopped kale + quinoa + hard-boiled egg + avocado + sun-dried tomato + almonds + goat cheese + oil + vinegar

Baby greens + quinoa + black beans + tomato + avocado + shredded cheddar + Catalina dressing + Greek yogurt + crushed blue corn chips

Quinoa + arugula + fresh corn + black beans + apple + pico de gallo + avocado + grated cheese (gouda is my favorite with this one) + Sriracha

Quinoa + banana + maple syrup + milk or butter

Greek yogurt + quinoa + fresh berries + honey

The discovery of creating meals just for me has been a learning process and something that I’ll look back on with a smile. Everyday, a new kitchen tool unearths, a new idea incorporates into my meal and my inner kitchen maven returns.

Born a true Texas girl, Bethany U-Hauled to the beautiful, history-drenched city of Richmond, Virginia, for long distance love that eventually ended. In addition to obsessing and writing about Richmond’s food scene (restaurants, festivals, and trends), she’s a connoisseur of painting, aromatherapy, indie music and English accents. Find her stuff at Grub Like A Girl and One Check Or Two.

The post Cooking for one: How I got my groove back first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Celebrity chef Michele Ragussis is perhaps best known for her runner-up performance on season eight of “Food Network Star” on the Food Network. Her experience as Executive Chef at the Pearl Seafood Restaurant & Raw Bar in Rockland propelled Ragussis to a final four finish on the show and had lesbians everywhere salivating – about her cooking, of course.

These days Ragussis’ career is booming with an upcoming appearance slated for NBC’s new summer show “Food Fighters” and a stint as judge on the Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay” which is scheduled to debut in March. Ragussis is also working on a line of gourmet butters which are sure to put a sizzle in every lesbian’s sauté pan.

In between meals, Ragussis agreed to play along with us for a Fast 5.

1. Tell us one thing about you that most people probably don’t know, but you’re willing to share.

I’m really a softie even though I look tough.

2. If you could wake up tomorrow with one talent or skill you don’t presently have, what would you want that to be?

I’d like to have the talent to be a tattoo artist.

3. Finish this sentence: “I think the key to being happy is…”

I think the key is in truly knowing who you are.

4. If you had to give up one of the following for an entire year, which would you choose to live without: cell phone, television, hair products or chocolate?

Chocolate.

5. What’s the last book you read?

The last book I read? Hmmm; I don’t remember. Does Bon appetite magazine count?

(Given your profession, we’ll let it count, Michele.)

Keep up with Ragussis at her “Chef on a Pier” blog or find her on Facebook and Twitter.

The post Fast 5 with celebrity chef Michele Ragussis first appeared on Lesbian.com.

A new lesbian chef is lighting up Hell’s Kitchen, the Fox TV reality series that features the world’s grumpiest chef, Gordon Ramsay — and he’s just one of the show’s many challenges. Christina Wilson not only made it into the final-round cook-off in Las Vegas but won it to come out on top of season 10. During the season, Wilson was reunited with her girlfriend, after five weeks of separation, in what was the first obvious display of lesbian affection in the show’s history. This curve reader, who says we gave her the inspiration to be out and proud, recently took time to tell us more about her rise through the ranks.

Where were you on September 10, when the show revealed that you were the winner?

Monday night, I was alongside Justin [Antiorio, the other finalist] at Fox’s Fall Junket party in Los Angeles. We had a grueling press day and actually had a private screening of the finale, which I watched alone and Justin watched with his mother and stepfather. My mother and my girlfriend, Sara, were aware of the results, but unfortunately I was unable to tell anyone else. The show’s success is slightly based on the surprise factor, so it’s important that no one reveal the outcome. Although I wasn’t able to be with friends and family, that didn’t stop them from having viewing parties — I was able to step away minutes before the show started to give a big thank-you to my hometown, where my mother had organized one. I was sent a video of the room’s reaction to me coming through the door [as the winner] and it was priceless! I wish I could’ve been there.

Read more at Curve

Curve, the nation’s best-selling lesbian magazine, spotlights all that is fresh, funny, exciting, controversial and cutting-edge in our community.

The post Lesbian chef Christina Wilson can take the heat first appeared on Lesbian.com.