Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Summer Fruit Sangria


Ingredients
* 6 cups assorted fruits (such as mango, pineapple, cantaloupe, and apricot), sliced or cut into chunks
* 1/4 cup thinly sliced peeled fresh ginger
* 1 to 1 1/2 cups fresh basil or mint leaves
* 1/2 cup orange liqueur, such as Cointreau
* 1 bottle crisp white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio
* 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
* Ice

Directions
1. In a large bowl or pitcher, combine fruit, ginger, basil or mint, and orange liqueur.
2. Mash gently with the back of a wooden spoon until basil is bruised and fruit releases juices. 3. Add wine and lemon juice and stir to combine.
4. Refrigerate 1 hour (or up to 1 day). To serve, fill glasses with ice and top with sangria.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Dessert: Lemon Sorbet with Prosecco


This is how I ended my long lunch today...!! It's extremely refreshing and I love the taste of sparkling wine against the tart flavor of lemon sorbet! Always a fav of summer fetes and so easy to make!!

Ingredients
1 pint lemon sorbet
1 bottle (750 ml) Prosecco or other sparkling white wine

Directions
Scoop 1/4 cup sorbet into each of 4 glasses. Top each with 1/3 cup Prosecco. Serve immediately.

What is your summer dessert of choice?

Friday, May 6, 2011

Sweet Cherry Pie


  • Ingredients

  • 2 pounds Bing cherries, pitted and halved
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • All-purpose flour, for rolling
  • 1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
  • 1 tablespoon turbinado or granulated sugar, for sprinkling
  • Basic Pie Dough for Sweet Cherry Pie
Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with rack in lowest position. On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll one disk of dough to a 14-inch round. Wrap dough around rolling pin; unroll over a 9-inch pie plate. Gently fit into bottom and sides of plate (do not stretch dough). Using kitchen shears, trim dough to a 1-inch overhand all around. In a large bowl, combine cherries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice; toss until cherries are coated. Pour into prepared bottom crust.

  2. On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll second disk of dough to a 14-inch round. Cut into eight 1 1/2-inch-wide strips; discard the shortest two. Weave strips over filling to form a lattice (see photo, page 28). Using kitchen shears, trim strips so they hang over rim by 1 inch. Tuck strips under rim of bottom crust; press to seal. Crimp with a fork all around the edge.

    3. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush lattice with egg wash, and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

  3. Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until filling is bubbling rapidly all over, 60 to 70 minutes (tent with aluminum foil when crust starts to brown, about 40 minutes). Transfer pie to a wire rack, and let cool to room temperature, at least 3 hours.

    via www.marthastewart.com


Thursday, May 5, 2011

Spike a Melon


Watermelon always tastes so good in the heat, and it you spike it with some lime flavored vodka its even better. You make a hole in the watermelon all the way into the meat. Place a funnel in the hole and pour in the vodka. It takes a long time for the watermelon to soak it up. 2 cups takes about 2 days, so do it in the fridge.

The result is awesome. Cut the melon into wedges and serve.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Tents

MAR Y SOL

Joy fair trade clutch is fun, chic and summery, the perfect accessory for any occasion.

Foot Scrub Recipe


3 limes
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoons sweet almond oil
15 fresh mint leaves (chopped)
5 drops lime essential oil

Cut limes into quarters. In a food processor, pulse pieces to a chunky pulp. Mix limes and remaining ingredients in a small bowl.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Magazine Tear-out

Scanned image from Lucky Magazine

The Invitation

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,
for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain! I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic,
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul;
If you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine,
and still stand on the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!"

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after a night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone,
and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the center
of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you,
from the inside, when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you
truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.