Watermelon Summer Cocktail

While in Miami last month I was craving a light summer cocktail. In a great cafe on Lincoln Road I ordered this delicious and refreshing cocktail.

I have had the urge to try to reproduce this cocktail at home. Today I had the opportunity. I am attending a BBQ this evening and this drink would be great to drink in the heat.
The drink menu at the restaurant only lists ingredients but no amounts. After some web searching I came up with my own recipe and I have to say it seems pretty darn close to what I experienced in Miami.
And if someone asks me, I will deny that I sampled this cocktail at 8:30 am on a Sunday morning.

For 1 serving:
1/2 ounce of Aperol
1 ounce of St. Germain
1 ounce sparkling water (or club soda)
2 ounce Prosecco
1/4 cup pureed watermelon (seeds removed)

As a little side story, the bottle of Aperol is not the first one I purchased for this drink concoction. The first bottle was purchased at a large Florida liquor chain store. Most times when you buy more than one bottle, they place one in a paper bag so they will separated from each other. This is so the bottles do not hit each other. The brilliant guy at this store did not do this time and I heard my bottles go “clang clang” as I walked to the car. I started my car, blasted the air conditioner and started to drive home. I soon began to smell a musty bar. I dismissed this smell; the bottles probably just had an odor from the liquor store. Then I heard liquid running; I dismissed this to be the sound of the liquid moving within the bottles. When I arrived home I found a bottle, empty of liquor, and the bottom had fallen completely off. Red-ish orange booze spread from the plastic bags all onto my car mats. My car now smells like a boozer car. Lesson learned kiddos, make sure your liquor is paper bagged and if you suspect it has leaked, it probably has.

Mothers Day Beef

For mother’s day this year, I gathered with my mom, two of my aunts, and my cousin. We had a pot luck lunch. For the lunch I made a Zinfandel-Braised Beef Brisket with Onions and Potatoes. I followed the recipe for the most part but I ended up cooking with both beef brisket and stewed beef (I wanted to make sure there was enough meat for all). The beef brisket was a bit overcooked for my taste but the stewed beef melted away in my mouth. I also substituted the Walla Walla onions and used Sweet Cipolline Onions.

Guaco de Mayo

I spent most of my childhood as a picky eater. I would throw temper tantrums when faced with something I thought was disgusting. I distinctly remembering passing broccoli under the table to my friend at dinner who enjoyed eating broccoli.
I have no idea where all my food aversions came from; but I am still amazed when my friend’s kids will eat anything put in front of them.
Today my food aversions are limited, only celery and anise seasoned items are still on the permanent list.
One may think that I regret spending many years missing out on so many good foods but it is quite the opposite.
I was enriched by my experience of having a colorful beet salad for the first time years ago. I was delighted that I discovered that not only did I like pineapple, but that I loved it. Most recently I discovered that I love guacamole, even I after refusing it for so many years because I thought it was “disgusting”.
Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo, the US marketing party “holiday”. At our local grocery store, I was able to sample their guacamole. I loved it. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. But for some reason I wanted to spend the day at home, relaxing, instead of partying with the masses. I almost gave up that idea at the thought that I could get some more guacamole. Haas avocados were in stock at home and my husband suggested we try to make our own. And I did. I didn’t have to leave the house!

1 ripe Haas avocado
4 cloves garlic minced (use fresh garlic)
1/2 teaspoon each cumin, onion powder, cilantro (add more spices to taste)
1/2 key lime juice (juice it well, include some pulp in there)
1 tomato chopped
1/2 orange bell pepper chopped in small pieces (red bell will work as well)
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Mix it up and enjoy.

Note: I would have used fresh onion instead of powder but we had none in the house. I would have used fresh cilantro as well but cilantro is all dead in the garden

Easing into the Green Smoothie

From Photo Challenge

Smoothies can be incredibly healthy things for you to drink. I have a very healthy co-worker who swears by them. As part of my weight-loss-slash-get-healthy journey I have decided to give green smoothies a try. But before I give you the recipe that I used, I want to give you a number of disclaimers so I don’t hear you complaining about my recipe.

Disclaimers:

My smoothies are typically assembled with yogurt, greens, banana, and whatever fruit (frozen or fresh) that I have available in my house. The fruit provides some nutritents but I add it mostly to sweeten the drink.
This smoothie is not low in calories. In time less fruit should be added and more veggies should appear. My last recipe came out to almost 550 calories (maybe 1.5 servings though).
My blender is a high quality blender from the 1980’s (I am proud of my blender that I acquired from my mom years ago). It made of glass (not plastic) and is still kicking; but even it is not idea for green smoothies. It is highly recommended if you are serious about this smoothie thing that you invest in a blender that handles greens well like a Blendtec or a Vitamix. If you don’t, it is very likely that there will be little chunks of spinach or kale floating around in your smoothie; floaters are bothersome to most people.
Some people have issues with mixing the dairy in the yogurt with all the other ingredients (stomach doesn’t like it). I have no issues with it (even though I have a slight lactose intolerance) but you should monitoring this for yourself. I like how the yogurt makes the shake creamy. Down the road I will be adding less of this though to cut back on calories (maybe add only 1/2 cup).
There is a debate about the type of protein powder that is best for the smoothie. I use whey protein but I know someone who swears by a expensive hemp protein. This is another topic where you have to do the research and decide what is right for your smoothie.
Finally, this is the first go around for me. It is heavy on the fruit. The goal ultimately is to get as green as you can. I mean you are drinking a green smoothie because you are obviously interested in improving your health….why else would you do it?

Recipe:

Very Important: A good quality blender is needed.
Applesauce, unsweetened, 0.25 cup
Banana, fresh, 1 medium (7″ to 7-7/8″ long)
2 large leaves of Kale chopped, stalk removed
1 cup Spinach frozen
1 cup Stonyfield Farm Lowfat Plain Yogurt
1 cup Ocean Spray fresh Cranberries (I had them sitting in the freezer)
1 scoop of protein powder

Blend it!

All By Myself

From Photo Challenge

Today I am alone. My husband is off visiting his best friend. My dog is staying with her grandparents. All that is left is me, one cool cat, and one cat that insists on waking me up each morning (each day earlier and earlier: 6:30, 6:00, 5:30, 4:30 and now 3:30 am!!!). I managed to do the dishes, take out the trash and make my own dinner.
Tonight is Spaghetti Squash with Tomato Basil Soup. For this simple recipe I cooked one spaghetti squash and warmed up some tomato basil soup. I cut the squash in half and scooped the seeds out (I may save the seeds and try to ~~kill~~ grow them in the yard some time later). I baked the squash in the convection toaster oven at 350 around 70 minutes or until it is easy to tear apart. I warmed up the soup according to the instructions on the can and topped it off with some shredded hard cheddar cheese.
If you leave the cheese off, it is a vegan recipe. Isn’t that fun!

From Photo Challenge