fruit bowls & rosy bourbon lemonade

Does this look delicious? I can’t really take any credit. It’s all Mark Bittman. I’m still obsessed with my Food Matters Cookbook, which seems to have the perfect meal for me every time I peruse it. I reworked the recipe for Mexican Fruit Salad with Grilled Fish and created a Coconut Rice, Shrimp, & Fruit Bowl. Check it out at Small Kitchen College.

This I can take credit for. In an attempt to pay homage to my mother on Mother’s Day, I created a summer drink using bourbon, her alcohol of choice. The Southern Belle, as I call it, is a twist on whiskey lemonade. I added strawberries to make it tangier and rose water, which imparts a distinctly nostalgic flavor. It really is delicious!

Southern Belle

3-4 strawberries

2 oz (1 1/2 shots) bourbon

1 tablespoon simple syrup

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon rose water

club soda

Muddle/macerate strawberries with a fork in a mason jar or high-ball glass. Add enough ice cubes to almost fill the glass. Add the bourbon, simple syrup, lemon juice, & rose water to a cocktail shaker filled with ice; immediately shake vigorously for 15 seconds and pour into glass. Top with club soda and mix slightly to stir up the strawberries.

monday cravings

I tend to do most of my weekly Internet browsing on Mondays. Today I’m craving:

• This warm cabbage, apple, & walnut salad from Inspired Taste.
• These gluten-free, healthy coconut banana blueberry pancakes from Green Kitchen Stories (might have to post about these soon, they are incredible)
• Fentiman’s Victorian Rose-scented Lemonade
• The delicious combination of ginger, vodka, & lime that is a Moscow Mule
• Grilled Peach Basil Caprese Sausage Skewers from the Slow Roasted Italian – peach & sausage? Yes please!

Happy Monday!

two spring spreads

Now is that time of year when my Facebook feed is full of photos and nostalgic statuses from my friends – yes, we’re the class of 2012 and it’s time for graduation. Each year I’ve silently cursed the fact that I don’t get out of school until June thanks to trimesters, but this year I am silently thanking my school for this same fact. I certainly don’t feel ready to graduate in June, much less this month like many of my friends. So I’ll take this extra month.

And what have I been doing with this extra month so far? Navigating the fine line between job searching, freaking out, enjoying these last sunny, relatively care-free days on the quad, committing as much as possible to memory.

These are the times when a bad economy and a liberal arts degree can lead to a certain amount of self-doubt, so sometimes you have to keep your self esteem afloat with little things. Yes, the little things. Such as, maybe I didn’t apply for a job today but I sure as hell made some damn good gazpacho. Cue tiny pat on my own back.

In honor of spring, and freaking out, I present two astonishingly easy spreads. They’ll elicit a great reaction from anybody you serve them to, and only you will know how easy they are to make. They complement each other well, and are delicious on pita bread or mini toasts. I served these as a side to said gazpacho. Together, it was a colorful, healthy meal. Breathe in, breathe out.

“mojito pea spread”

(Peas? Yes, peas. The gross, 50’s TV-dinner-esque food gets a refreshing here.)

1 bag frozen peas

2 large garlic cloves

Juice of one lime or two tablespoons

10 mint leaves, chopped 

two tablespoons olive oil

two teaspoons sea salt

Combine everything in a blender or food processor – puree until completely combined and spread-like in texture.

white bean hummus

1 can northern white beans, drained but not rinsed

2 cloves garlic

juice of 1/2 a lemon, or 1.5 tablespoons

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

Puree everything in a food processor or blender until completely combined. Serve with an extra dash cumin, a sprinkling of sea salt, and a drizzle of olive oil.