Lemon Cooler. Looking for some cool refreshment? Then look below, not to the “recipe” above. I found this little yellow post-it in the kitchen today after my husband made the boys breakfast. It seems my younger son did a bit of cooking (when dad went upstairs to take a shower) and has also apparently begun to create and record his own recipes. Unfortunately, I can’t really recommend this dish which I believe is called, “French Toast Scrambled Eggs.”
Of late, the boys have been leaving me many notes on post its and scraps of paper; I save each and every one of them. Conclusion has arrived on the baseball front; my older son (age 9) lost in the district tournament finals last night. In other news, it’s been rather hot here in Colorado and tomorrow is supposed to be a scorcher at close to 100 degrees. I hope everyone has a great weekend and stays cool! ↑ back to top. Sweet Peach Tea. I am back in Chicago after four days in the South, touring a small slice of Dixie (two nights in Nashville and one in Greenwood, Mississippi). As I said last week, I was with my friend Maggie, who grew up in Nashville and whose childhood best friend lives in Greenwood. Today’s recipe—peach sweet tea—is in honor of the trip, because I’m not quite ready to quit savoring my taste of the South just yet.
Like this tea, my hopes for the trip conjured visions of hot thick air; sprawling verandas, spilling over with greenery and dotted with porch swings; and out-of-the-ordinary (for me) tastes. Happily, neither the trip nor the tea disappointed. Our two days in Nashville were jam-packed with tour guides (led, expertly, by Maggie) and with as many glimpses of the Olympics coverage as possible. We saw downtown Nashville, along with its rows of bars [above, top row, left] that boast both stories of legends discovered on their stages as well as nightly line-dancing.
Sweet Peach Tea ShareThis. POM Fizz — Delish. This is a LONG over due post. Back in oh February(?) I was approached by the folks at POM Wonderful to see if I’d be interested in trying out a sample of their Pomegranate juice. Who says no to free samples?? I’m always up for trying new things although I haven’t actually blogged about any of them to date.
A few days later an entire case of POM showed up on my doorstep! I’d heard before that pomegranate juice is good for you but had no idea just how good it was for you until I read all about it in the flier they sent me along with my fabulous bottles of POM juice. So I had these grand ideas to make a bunch of different recipes with the POM juice and do a whole series on Pomegranate juice since they sent me a whole case of the stuff! POM Fizz 8 oz Pomegranate Juice 2 cans (24 oz) of Lemon-Lime Soda 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice Crushed Ice Combine juices & soda in a pitcher. Tagged as: Drinks. Peach Cooler Recipe. It’s week two for Summer Fest 2009 and this week’s theme is stone fruits! You name it, peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots, pluots and any variety associated with stone fruits is bursting at the seams today.
Margaret is continuing this cross-blog event every Tuesday for four weeks, which will be acelebration of fresh-from-the-garden food: recipes, growing tips, even tricks for storing and preserving summer’s best. Read more about how Summer Fest 2009 works on Margaret’s site at Away to Garden. When we started our first garden over 13 years ago, we knew exactly what we wanted to plant and dived head first into fruit trees.
The two most important categories that topped our list were citrus trees and stone fruit trees. We wanted the garden to burst with citrus glory in winter and sweet, nectary bounty in the summer with all the stone fruits. What to do with all the garden fruit? Don’t forget to make cocktails your fruit! Happy Summer fruit eating to you all! -diane and todd Yield: 1 Drink. DIY Sparkling Beverage. Although I don’t drink alcohol, I do enjoy indulging in a sparkling beverage at festive events. This little fruit based treat below is perfect for adults and children on special occasions. My boys love it, as do I. Here, I use pineapple juice, though feel free to use any juice of your choice and garnish with your favorite citrus or other fruits.
DIY Sparkling Beverage printer friendly 2-3 (32 ounce) bottles sparkling water (I use Apollinaris)1 (32oz) bottle fruit juice (I used pineapple, though anything would work) Partially fill some fancy glasses 2/3 full with sparkling waterTop with fruit juiceGarnish with lemon, lime or orange slicesServe Serves 4-8 Make sure to use organic fruit juice from a bottle or fresh from a juicer for better flavor and a more nutrient dense drink. ↑ back to top.
Mock Champagne — Delish. Pregnancy is an incredibly exciting time! Annie of Annie’s Eats is expecting her second child, a little girl. Courtney of Cook Like a Champion initiated a virtual baby shower for Annie, and a bunch of us have prepared recipes to “bring” to the virtual baby shower. I took advantage of the chance to try out some new beverage recipes. During my first trimester, I lived off lemonade but I am beyond tired of lemonade. Most beverages are too sweet for me these days so I’ve been struggling finding something I actually enjoy drinking! Since this is a baby shower (and I am pregnant), I needed to find a good non-alcoholic beverage But babies and showers in general are a great time of celebration so champagne based drinks kept coming to mind.
I’ve included instructions in the recipe for making ice cubs/ice ring to help keep the Mock Champagne cooled during a party, but I don’t put ice in my real Champagne, so opted not to for this recipe too. Mock ChampagneYields: 20 8 oz. servings Tagged as: Drinks. Foodbuzz 24×24: Picnic Party in the Park — Delish. Summer time is upon us! Well technically summer doesn’t begin until June 21st this year, but clearly that’s for places other than Texas as we’ve already regularly had 90-degree weather for weeks now. Memorial day weekend always kicks off summer in my mind! When Foodbuzz put out the call for submission’s for this month’s 24×24 event — I knew I wanted to have a picnic (before it gets too hot of course).
I knew that a picnic would be a great way to kick off our summer — good food & good company! I knew that I wanted a simple, portable, no-fuss menu for our Memorial Day weekend Picnic Party and this is what I came up with: Strawberry Lemonade Spritzers Vintage Soda Pop Water Spicy BLT Wraps Ham & Avocado Sandwiches Mustard Vinaigrette Potato Salad Chips Fresh Fruit Salad Pound Cake Want to plan a picnic yourself? Planning Tips Keep it simple — consider simple, easy, convenient foods. Packing Checklist The food was delicious and we had a great time relaxing and hanging out with friends! Avocado Shake. I’ve been wanting to try this Avocado Shake for some time now, but honestly, the weirdness of eating avocado in a sweet context kept me away. But last weekend, I was totally guacamole-ed out (a first for me!)
And needed to use a bunch of avocados stat.Figured it was the perfect time for this shake to have its moment. And holy avocado! Not sure what I was waiting for, but this shake has seriously confirmed what I’ve always suspected: avocado is perfect. When I took the first sip, I was in love with the combination of flavors.
Tagged as: Avocado. Mulled Apple Cider. Mmmm. Hot apple cider. ‘Tis so, so, so, so good. I always love it when I’m Christmas shopping somewhere and one of the stores has heated carafes of cider available. The smell is almost better than the taste. Raise your hand if you still haven’t bought one Christmas gift. I’ve made this apple cider recipe for years, and I’ve always loved the addition of maple syrup. Yum. (Adapted from this recipe on Allrecipes.) The Cast of Characters: apples (or unfiltered apple juice), orange, lemon, cinnamon sticks, ground or whole cloves, allspice berries, and maple syrup.
Slice the peel off the orange and lemon, avoiding as much of the white junk as possible. Throw in the cinnamon sticks… The allspice berries and the cloves (I was out of whole cloves so I had to use ground; either one is fine)… Then add the maple syrup. Next, either grab a jug of storebought apple cider OR your Jack LaLanne juicer. I cherish mine. Long live Jack. Juice those apples, then pour the juice into the saucepan! Mmmmmm. Ingredients. Chai Iced Tea. If we met in real life, like face-to-face, I might be kinda shy at first. Not like first grade shy, but a little shy. Like I’d probably smile a lot and not speak for a while.
I might study you a bit…might look at your shoes…I might even be jellz of your pretty hair cut…or think you look like this friend of mine from back home or something, but I won’t say any of this…until I get to know you a little more. I’m just kind of shy at first–it’s super annoying, mostly to me. Awkward encounters like that dampen my already introverted spirit. The sweetened condensed milk is major. Tagged as: Chai. Pomegranate Recipes | Pomegranate Spirtzer. It feels so wonderful to be back in the kitchen after being on the road, teaching workshops and shooting on location lately. When we were in the kitchen the other night preparing dinner, we both looked at one another with the same hungry, yet satisfied eyes. It feel so good to be back here in our home kitchen feeding our family and friends. Unfortunately we didn’t take the time to photograph any of it to share with you on the blog! The garden always look different in the time that we’re away.
When we return, one of the first things we do is to explore the backyard for new goodies that dropped, blossomed or got eaten by the squirrels. When we saw them last, they were still slightly young and green. Red orbs of pomegranates is definitely a sign that Fall has arrived and we’re ready for it. A favorite dish we make with the pomegranates is normally in salads. Until them, hope you enjoy an alcohol free pomegranate spritzer. What favorite pomegranate recipes do you have? Hugs, diane and todd. Passion Fruit Cooler | Passion Fruit Recipes. This recipe is a testament to why gardeners should never give up to quickly on their favorite plants. A couple years ago, we determined we had to grow passionfruit. As anxious gardeners and lovers of fresh passion fruit, we didn’t just invest in one vine.
After all, in addition to our own personal garden fruit greed and long list of passion fruit recipes we wanted to explore, we had an extensive list of friends who were equally devoted to fresh passion fruit. So, to satisfy our needs, as well as needs of friends who live in ass-cold weather climates, we bought 4 vines. During the first year, the vines were nurtured with organic fertilizer, consistent water, plenty of sunshine and lots of sweet talk. We waited with anticipation for signs of fruit. We felt defeated. What happened? When the second fruiting season rolled around, our fingers were crossed tightly, hoping that this was the year we’d be rolling in perfumed seeds and nectar. The moral to all this? Happy drinking, diane Directions: Homemade Eggnog + Winner | Cooking for Seven. I have been making this granola recipe for over five years. You know a recipe is gold when you keep going back to it after trying many others.
Sure, it's fun to try new recipes and flavors. But somehow I always return to this tried and true granola. It really can't be beat for its simple, hearty, wonderful flavor. Waaaay back in 2009 I first posted about this recipe on Cooking for Seven. And so I felt that I should share this recipe with ya'll again. And in the style of Top With Cinnamon, I had to share a gif of Reuben pouring milk over the granola. The Best Granola Recipe Ingredients: 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats1 cup of shredded or chipped coconut1 cup nuts of choice, coarsely chopped (I love pecans)1/4 teaspoon real salt1/2 cup (1 stick) butter1/4 cup honey1/4 cup pure maple syrup1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract1 cup dried fruits (cranberries, cherries, apricots, raisins, dates, etc.), optional (I usually leave these out) Directions: 1) Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 C).