Strawberry-Lemonade

working in the garden

pulling weeds

and

picking fruit

can make a girl 

glisten

and

parched

i

like to wet my whistle

with 

a talk iced glass 

of

this

strawberry-lemonade

(printable recipe)

5 large lemons-sliced

1 1/2 cups strawberries-sliced in half

2 1/2 cups sugar

6-6 1/2 cups water

ice to serve

place lemons, strawberries and sugar in a crock or bowl. let sit for 30 minutes.  after the wait time, use a potato masher or muddle to crush the berries and the lemons to extract juice from the fruit and the oil from the lemons. really get in there and mash them up.  allow to sit for another 10 minutes and then give it another good mash.  leave all the bits in the crock (or bowl) and add water.  start with 6 cups and check for sweetness/flavor. add more water to your liking.  refrigerate until ready to drink.  serve over ice.

strawberry-balsamic shrub {beverage}

my childhood summers

had one constant

my grandparents

although maybe not the true reality
i remember

our

last day of school coincided

with their arrival

"the grandparents"

all 4 of them

(yes, both sets)

my grandma grace

oh how fitting that name was for this amazing woman

each and every summer night

wandered into the kitchen

pin curls in her hair

wearing a perfectly pressed house dress

served herself

a tablespoon of vinegar

with the flair

of pouring herself a night-cap

she passed a few years ago

well into her 90s

healthy as an ox

until the day she died

sturdy and strong

with

peaches and cream

wrinkle free

skin

she ate

fresh food

all of her life

it was all that she could afford

but 

i believe 

her nightly vinegar shooter

was her secret weapon

i.

really.

do.

i like vinegar

but

i take mine moderated

in a shrub

a shrub marries

sweetness of fruit and sugar

with the 

acidity and brightness of vinegar

in a way that makes

that little shot every night

very

palatable

a shrub is typically meant to be mixed with soda water

but

it is great in cocktails too

strawberry-balsamic shrub
(printable recipe)

2 cups ripe strawberries-cleaned, hulled & sliced

1 tsp fennel pollen (optional)

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

10 black peppercorns-slightly crushed

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup cider vinegar

place strawberries, sugar, fennel pollen (if using) and peppercorns into a glass crock or wide mouth jar.  allow to sit for about an hour, then macerate to break up the strawberries. cover and allow to sit 24 hours. (i let mine sit at room temperature, but if you are concerned, it is okay to put in the fridge).   after 24 hours macerate the mixture again, aiming to crush the strawberries.  you can move onto the next step, or allow to sit another 24 hours at this point.  add to the mixture the balsamic vinegar and the cider vinegar and stir well.  allow this to sit 7-9 days at room temperature, stirring daily.  the sugar should eventually "melt" into the liquid.  it is important that you tend to the mixture daily.  after 7-9 days.  strain the mixture using a fine mesh strainer (if you don't mind a few bits in it) or a strainer with cheesecloth (if you do) and bottle for use.  for longer shelf life, i recommend storing in the refrigerator.

Serves 4 Lusty Drinkers...{wine punch}

( drawing by jasper danckaert

via americangardenhistory.blogspot.com)

i have a large box

overflowing 

with collected recipes

ripped pages

yellowed cards

scribbled notes

occasionally

i grab a few recipes

to try

this weekend

 i'm going for the drink

not exactly sure where i got this recipe

 boy am i glad i did

upon reading the recipe

i laughed out loud

it reads

"Serves 4 lusty drinkers, or 8 bon vivants or 16 party drinkers"

teetotalers need not apply!

German Wine Punch

At 8 am, pour one bottle of average German wine and pour in a pitcher over 2 pints of strawberries.  Refrigerate.

3 hours prior to serving, place 2 bottles of wine and 1 bottle of champagne (or sparkling wine) in the freezer.  Immediately prior to serving, add the frozen wine to the strawberry wine mixture in a punch bowl. serve very cold--you may use dry ice for effect

strawberry cream soda

when i think of summer picnics

my mind wanders to

a scene from oklahoma

the one where they were raising money for the schoolhouse

the gals made picnic hampers

and

the pals bid on them

while we never actually saw the food

we were told

that under the kitchen cloth, the baskets overflowed with

ham

and 

biscuits

and 

pie

food. so. good.

it made people break out in song

i wish my picnics were as magical

i'm betting

if i whipped this cream soda out of my hamper

hubster would whisk me away

in a

surrey with  fringe on top

white horses and all

strawberry cream soda

(printable recipe)

makes 1 serving

1 Tbs mashed strawberries or strawberry puree

sugar *

1 Tbs cream

1/2 cup ice cold ginger ale

ice cubes

*summer strawberries are so sweet the don't need extra sugar, but if you like a really sweet soda, use at your discretion.

place the strawberries and cream in a glass and give it a good stir.  add several ice cubes and then pour ginger ale to fill the glass.  serve immediately.

watermelon cooler

i woke up 

this morning

in the pink

peonies

bubble gum

flamingoes

preppy handbook

PINK

this refreshing cocktail

made with 

vodka
although

more wonka than warsaw

will put you

in the PINK too!

NOTE:  this takes a bit of forethought as it uses "homemade" watermelon vodka

 watermelon cooler

(printable recipe)

3 TBS watermelon vodka (recipe follows)

1 tsp granulated sugar

1/4 cup watermelon dice
1/2 lime
2 mint leaves
tonic water
ice
place watermelon, mint, sugar and lime in the bottom of a highball or old fashioned glass.  muddle until the lime has been completely juiced, the mint has begun to give off scent, yet the watermelon has not been pulverized.  add a few ice cubes and pour the watermelon vodka over.  add enough tonic water to fill the glass. give a good stir and serve.
watermelon vodka
1 1/2 cups watermelon candies (i used these)--but i believe jolly ranchers would work well too
3 cups vodka
place the candies in the bottom of a large jar.  add the vodka. let sit in a cool dark place for about 3 days or until the candies are dissolved (may take less time).  Use as desired.

pumpkin spice cocoa on a broomstick

apparently, 

i live under a rock

or maybe

i don't go down the correct aisle at target

but

it took 2 different posts, from food blogging friends

for me to understand

that there is something in the store called

pumpkin pie spiced kisses

by hershey

and it got me thinking

my hot chocolate on a peppermint stick

was a huge crowd pleaser during the cold snap of winter

maybe

i should do something similar with the pumpkin pie kisses

so i present to you

pumpkin spice cocoa on a broomstick
(printable recipe)

this is great in a hot cup of milk, but also really lights up a strong cup of coffee

mmmm scrumptious

1 bag hershey pumpkin spice kisses--unwrapped

3/4 cup white chocolate

1/4 cup powdered sugar

additional white chocolate for dipping (optional)

melt the kisses and white chocolate in the microwave for 20 seconds. give it a good stir and then put in microwave for 10 seconds at a time until it is melted and smooth. do not overheat. you do not want the chocolate to get hot.  the heat of the bowl will eventually warm and melt the chocolate. have a bit of patience...it will serve you well in the taste and the set up of the chocolate.  add the powdered sugar and stir until smooth.  pour chocolate mixture into small molds, ice cube tray, mini-muffin tins, or paper cups, and insert a wooden stick, or candy stick, or straw. it is really up to you.  place in refrigerator to set up.  once firm, remove from refrigerator and molds and keep as is, or dip in chocolate.  stir into hot milk or strong coffee for a delightful pumpkin spice treat.

hot cocoa on a peppermint stick

while stalking around the internet late one night

i came across this

givers log

a great website with darling and wonderful ideas

 i knew immediately that I wanted to make these

and today i found the time 

which is silly

that i thought i needed to put aside time

because these are so very easy

and yet

so delightful

here's a gift idea

make some of these

and a batch of marshmallows

add a quart of milk in a bottle

and a couple of festive mugs

or not

and some christmas carols downloaded from here

and you have a really nice gift

that is also practical

because

you can't drink diamonds

Hot Chocolate on A Peppermint Stick
(printable recipe)

8 oz good bittersweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

pinch of salt

-sift the powdered sugar, cocoa powder and salt.  In a bowl over a double boiler melt the chocolate (for precise instructions click here).  It is important not to let the chocolate get too hot. It should be JUST melted--and not piping hot. Remove the bowl of chocolate well before the chocolate is completely melted.  This is important. What you are trying to do is keep the chocolate in "temper"--this will allow it to harden with a nice sheen--as well as easily pop out of whatever mold you will be using.

Add the sifted ingredients to the melted chocolate and stir until it is incorporated and has a nice sheen.

Use a pastry bag or spoon into your mold of choice.

I used a silicon canele mold...but you can use ice cube trays, shot glasses, tartlet tins, mini-muffin pans...lots of things.

Use anything you want for the stick...i used mini candy canes, but you can use spoons, lolly sticks, cinnamon sticks, fun vintage plastic stir sticks, funky skewers...

One cocoa on a stick will turn a steaming mug of milk 

into a delicious chocolate mustache-forming mug of cocoa

top with homemade marshmallows

and enter 

a place i like to call bliss

where diamonds

are 

just another unnecessary extravagance

Some Like it Caliente {limoncello margaritas}

One of the joys of facebook is that people whom you really like and were sorry to have lost, can now find you...or you them. Old friendships renewed, new friendships strengthened, hours and hours that you will never get back. But hey, at least you don't have to talk to them on the phone. I don't know how it was ever appealing to me to rush home from school and call the friends I had just left to tell them what so and so did on the bus....or how much I really loved my new "dorothy hammel".
Oh and I also like the "ignore" feature which is just the cowardice I thrive on. I once explained to someone why I wasn't going to "friend" them and they never wrote back acknowledging my very polite deed...so I don't do that anymore. Ignore/Gone/Moving On.
In college I was a bit of a humorist...or perhaps satirist. Sadly,I think the lay person would have quite simply labeled me obnoxious. Oh if only they had blogs in the 80's. I also enjoyed me a bit of the bubbly, which added to my keen sense of the hilarity. I don't drink nearly as much anymore, and I am not nearly as funny. My husband likes to say that my true Don Rickles doesn't appear until after a couple of stiff ones. I think my husband is a hockey puck.

Recently an old friend sent me a link to a great you-tube video called one semester of Spanish, Spanish love song. Yes it is funny, but somehow I think it may not be as hilarious as we think it is. Because, well you see... it brought back a memory that had long been hidden in the recesses of my brain; as just another ridiculous moment in a series of ridiculous moments, I have instigated. Who would have thought that a bad perm wasn't my only 80's party foul.

It was spring break and a group of friends and I were in California. My parents were very patient. I would always bring people, throngs of people home for various holidays and my mom never flinched. I guess when you already have 5 kids, a dozen or so more just get lost in the crowd. But this story is not about my mother...it's about a bunch of girls, going to the house of a friend for dinner...and his patient, very patient parents. Al's folks were gracious enough to invite us over for dinner. An authentic Mexican dinner. Platters and platters of food, and great company, presented with pride. This food was so good, it defines what I compare all other Mexican meals against. So good, the memory lingers more than 20 years later. And for every good memory, alas there is one that maybe should be shoved into a closet and never revisited.
So, let me explain. Alonso's dad was making these unbelievable margaritas. The kind that you can't really taste the alcohol, but proves that it is there by your subsequent behavior. We all had too many.
As I sat under the gorgeous and memorable photos of Al's sister's Quincera, I proceeded to start an espaNo-No. My friends and I thought it would be nice if we all spoke Spanish during our visit. Big mistake. How rude we were. I tend to think I was the worst. While my friends were giggling about their Spanish which was basically a rendition of a restaurant menu....I was gearing up for my debut. However, the only Spanish I could string together, besides Tijuana traveler's Spanish, were radio catch phrases "no tengo tiempo para ti", and what you might ask a domestic worker...please iron the shirts, don't forget to vacuum the dining room, do we need more detergent? Yeah, I know...you don't need to explain it to me. I get it. Should have stuck with machaca. Actually I think passing out drunk in the living room might have been a better choice.
I can only imagine what those wonderful, gracious hosts were thinking. I'm sure it went something like this. You are grounded young man...but first drive these borrachos home.
Just recently I was reminiscing with Al and Kathleen (another culprit) about that evening so many years ago. We were in my kitchen, laughing, talking, making too much noise--like old friends do. And Al was making margaritas. Not his dad's recipe, but off-spring margaritas...just as delicious and just as potent. And then we sat, eating great Mexican food, drinking margaritas; under mike and my wedding photos. We were 21 again, and back to our old antics.

Alonso's Second Generation Margaritas
2 parts tequila of choice
1 part Limoncello
3 parts Minute Maid Limeade concentrate (more or less to taste)
mix well in advance to let the flavors mingle
Serve with lots and lots of ice and salt on the rim.

Enjoy with friends and watch your tildes.

New Year, New Life

Don't you just hate them? Before you start listing people, I'm talking about New Year's Resolutions. they seem to indicate that you have no resolve what-so-ever at any other time of year...except for maybe Lent...which is very limited in time and then has option-out days...Sundays, your birthday, your neighbor's birthday...
Hey, I'm all for self-reflection and introspective analysis...but really...all the talk about making myself better, fitter, stronger, richer, nicer is just a potential for failure. I don't resolve, I crawl to the finish line eyes aloft, thanking God that I made it another year without major regret and with my gallbladder.

Remember the Millennium? How the computers were supposed to crash and we all were going to ring in 2000 without electricity, money, food and water? I was in London that year. And if any country (in my opinion) was going to miss the mark, it was England. So, I rushed around, on New Year's Eve making my preparations. I was having a little fete at my home, a top floor flat in an old abbey. A wonderful place that was said to be haunted by a monk, who offed himself right in my very dining room. I'm not so sure, it was a very serene place. It was a 5 story walk-up, so I didn't get much pop-in traffic, which was just to my liking. I'm not so much into "stopping by". I actually don't get it. How hard is it to call someone and mention you will be in the area, or are thinking about being in the area before you show up at their doorstep. It's kinda rude if you ask me. I'm sure my issue is with my inability to say at the door, this isn't really a good time. Or, oh, you should have called, I have a million things I am trying to get done and don't have 5 seconds to spend with you. Combine that with my totally crazy idea that if people come over, you need to have a cheese board, antipasto platter or cake at the ready...much less a tidy room to usher them into. I suppose if I had an upstairs and a downstairs, I could use only the upstairs for living and keep the downstairs for attending to unexpected company...but I don't, so I hate the pop-in. Take note.
So New Year's Eve 1999. I had gathered all my provisions for the party, and for the devastation. I bought about 100 quid worth of water and I pulled 3000 pounds from the bank. Yes, there's more. I bought the hype, hook, line and sinker. Furthermore, it always seems that when I am totally and completely prepared, it's always for naught. I lived in a small village and waled from the bank to my home, so what happened next, really freaked me out. No sooner had I walked up the 5 flights of stairs, stashed my loot in my sock drawer and began filling the tubs and sinks with water, my bell rang. My bell never rang. No one would just be stopping by...this was England. My party wouldn't start for 5 more hours, the mail had been delivered, my downstairs neighbor usually just tapped on the ceiling when he needed something...who would be ringing? I am suspicious of everyone...I grew up in LA. So I looked in the video monitor and there was a guy standing there. And he says to me, with a very thick (non-British) accent, I have a gift for you. "who are you?" I ask..and he says, I have a gift for you. And immediately I know...he saw me withdraw money, he is here to rob and kill me. And he says once more, a New Year's gift for you. I don't know if I had ever been so rude in my life but I said..."I don't want yor (explicative) gift...you need to go away. I know what you are up to. I have weapons here." He pleaded a bit more, but I'm not some little girl from the farms of Iowa, I lived through the LA riots, I was totally on to him.
Hours later my neighbor rang me, telling me there was a case of champagne on the doorstep with my name on it. Apparently my US boss has missed the delivery to our office and had the champagne for everyone delivered to my house. Ooops, my mistake. I really should have tipped that guy.

As expected with all the preparations, that New Year, as like most others, was pretty uneventful. Too much to eat by 9, too much to drink by 10, nod off until midnight...a few yahoos and yippees and off to bed. New Year, New Life.

I don't have much in the way of food traditions for New Years. Sometimes it's Thai food, sometimes pizza and other times a pot-luck of recipes I want to try. But tonight I will be toasting in the New Year with a fantastic cocktail....one that will keep me lit as well as wide awake. And it's legal in most states. Happy New Year! No resolutions, solutions.

Vanilla Coffee Martini
In a shaker with lots of ice mix 2 oz of vanilla vodka, 1 oz freshly brewed espresso, 1 oz Kahlua, splash of cream de noya (almond liqueur). Shake, shake, shake. Serve in a martini glass with 3 espresso beans.

update: This summer I made a "slimmed down" version of this drink. 2 oz vanilla vodka, 1 oz freshly brewed espresso and enough splenda to make it sweet for you. Add lots of ice and a splash of milk or cream. Delicious!

Lemony Snippet {homemade limoncello}

I was alone this morning...Mike is out practicing archery and I have the whole house to myself.
I was going to spend the day in my pajamas catching up on lost episodes of the Barefoot Contessa, whom I love. I mean it. Not the romantic kind of love, but the kind where you say to yourself...I don't care if she makes liver and onions, I would eat them because she has such good taste that I must be wrong about how utterly disgusting it seems.

But alas, I didn't wear pajamas last night (poor planning), and walking around the house in a long t-shirt seems somehow wrong and slightly unsanitary. Especially since most of our windows are picture, and face the common courtyard of our condo complex. I want to be a good neighbor.

So instead, I decided to tool around the kitchen (fully clothed mind you). I figured it was time for the next step of my beverage project. Now before you go rounding up a sponsor for me...this beverage project does not mean, sampling every one of the 30 or so bottles I keep in the cabinet. Which, by the way, are used mostly in my cooking and baking.
Except the Kahlua.

While Mike and I were honeymooning in Zihuatanejo, we dined almost every night at the same small restaurant on the beach. It is called Elvira. As in many of the beach restaurants, there was a small patio off what looked to be the proprietor's house, where the bar was staged as well as the essentials for a restaurant of its size. Where the magic was, was in the alfresco dining. Tables were pulled out each evening onto the beach. Always close enough to the sea that water would roll in and capture our attention, but not close enough to soak our shoes. Candles and fairy lights lit the tables, and the moon lit the rest. So romantic, so beautiful and so perfect.

Our waiter, nehum, made suggestions every night as to what we should eat. We followed his suggestion and ate the most wonderful and simply prepared fish. It's amazing what a bit of olive oil and lemon can do. Ahhh...the memory of it makes my mouth water.

Nehum became our pusher.

Each evening, as Mike and I would sit, bellies full, listening to the ocean and the sounds of mariachis strolling down the beach, Nehum would bring us an after dinner drink. Always the same, always delicious, always satisfying...Kahlua and cream. There is nothing like it. So now, when Mike and I want to transport ourselves back to our evenings on the beach in Zihua, we sip, okay drink, okay, okay, down K and C's. That bottle isn't for cooking, it is purely an elixir for our souls.

But that's not my beverage project, that's just a side-bar. Actually my beverage project has been going on for quite some time now. I am making homemade Limoncello. It's an Italian aperitivo, that is most popular on the Island of Capri...but can be found all over Itlay, and now the US as well. It is a delicious lemon liqueur, and has so many uses beyond drinking. Although making this takes passive time, it's really easy...and makes wonderful Christmas gifts. You still have time, if you start now.

You need lots of lemons, but just the peels. Don't want to be wasteful? Here's some ideas for the rest of the lemon. Cut in half, pour some salt on it and tame your elbows (Barbra Streisand does it and so should we). Juice the lemons and make the sugar syrup in advance (but keep it in the freezer, so it doesn't get weird). Make lemon curd...better yet, make lemon chicken...ooh what about lemon bars? Those ae my fave.

Back to the recipe. Wash and dry about 10-15 lemons. the lemons should be unwaxed. Remove the peels. Now, this is very important...you do not want the pith. That is the white stuff that hugs the peel like a preschooler hugs his mom on the first day of school. Remove it all...you only want the yellow part. The pith is bitter and is not good for your end result. Place all the peels in a large glass or ceramic jar with a tight fitting lid. Pour 1 bottle of vodka over it. You do not need expensive vodka for this, you want the alcohol content, but the theory is that you will be changing the flavor of it, so don't break the bank on this one.
Put the top on the jar, date it, and put it away in a cool dark place for a minimum of 2 weeks but as long as 3 or 4 months. Mine has been steeping since September 2nd. When you see that all of the lemon peels have lost their color and/or it's been 2 weeks you can move onto the next step. In a heavy saucepan place 3 cups of water, 1/2 cup of strained lemon juice, 3 cups sugar and 3 Tbs honey. Boil over low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved and mixture is clear. Don't let it go too long and get thick and gooey. Let cool.

Pour the syrup into your glass jar with the lemon peels and vodka. Cover and let steep for another week (or longer if you have the time). When you are ready to bottle your limoncello, strand the liquid using cheese cloth or fine sieve. Squeeze all that you can from the peels and then throw away. Bottle the liquid in clean jars and seal tightly.

Like revenge, this is best served cold...store it in the freezer.