Happy Pa's Day! I'm a lucky girl. I got a really great pa. He taught me to fish, swim, and ride a bike. He is responsible for my love of boy movies (I'm looking at you Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Lord of the Rings). Without him I'd be eating salads all the time with my ma instead of chili dogs and meatball subs. Here's to all the pa's out there--biological or otherwise. Life would be much harder without you.
And in honor of my pa, I'd like to share his favorite drink recipe. Now, before I was of drinking age my parents hardly had wine, so I must say I've probably influenced his drinking decisions a bit. I'm just gonna say I enhanced his awareness of all the good drinks out there.
Pop's Tequila Sunset
1 part orange juice
1 part pineapple juice
1 part cranberry juice
1/2 part tequila
Pour over ice. Stir. Enjoy! Courtesy of TBDE (The Best Dad Ever).
I've been perusing wedding blogs for a while now...and not for any particular occasion, because I am certainly not getting married anytime soon, nor do I have the desire to. And yet, there's just something about being a girl and seeing the pretty dresses and the interesting decorating ideas that is just captivating. So sue me. I like pretty stuff. Not so original, I fear.
Anyways, my sister recommended this blog to me and instantly I got to see this beautiful and interesting wedding. It's so colorful and has a bird theme (AH!). Anyways, I'll let it speak for itself.
I must give credit where credits is due (it wasn't me!): I found this off the blog Style Me Pretty. It was photographed by Arrow & Apple and the bride is Elsie who runs the blog A Beautiful Mess.
This week, with all the new peaches in season, I decided I wanted some peachy cobbler-like substance in my mouth. I think that's all I need to say about that. Now this recipe is kind of a mash-up of a few recipes combined with a few baking errors on my part, but the mini-cobblers turned out delicious, so I'm going to keep the errors in the recipe I write here. Now, I'm not sure I've ever written a recipe before, so if this is a little ragged, I apologize. I am like a toddler taking my first steps. Sometimes I will stumble. But NOT TODAY. Even if I do, this recipe is pretty fool-proof. Like I said, I messed it up, and they were still delicious.
So, here goes:
Lauren's Peach and Blueberry Extravaganza:
Ingredients for Peach and Blueberry Mix:
6 peaches
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp fresh nutmeg
2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup of fresh blueberries
Ingredients for Cobbler Topping:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt 1/2 cup oats
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter the interior of six individual-sized ramekins. Blanch peaches in a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds each. Run peaches under cool water after removal from the hot water. Peel the peaches with a knife (or your hands if they're really blanched and you're feeling wild).
Cut each peach into approximately 10 slices each (11 or 9 slices would be just fine. FINE I SAY.)
Transfer to a large bowl and toss with the lemon juice.
Whisk together sugar, flour, and nutmeg in a small bowl. Toss with peaches.
Add the blueberries and mix the whole mess together. Transfer the mix evenly into the 6 ramekins and dot evenly with the butter.
Now it's time for the topping. Mix together flour, baking soda, oats, and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients and mix until it thickens a bit into clumps. Sprinkle topping over the peach mixture. Bake 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Here is the finished product! Aren't they beautiful?! I'm a TOP CHEF.
Happy Sunday! Here's a little cup of joy for your day. The name alone makes me want to drink it, but it does look awfully refreshing. Plus, grapefruit is in season, so you can use all the fresh ones you get from the neighbor's yard.
Ingredients:
2 parts Grey Goose Vodka
3 wedges peeled and seeded grapefruit
Turbinado sugar for rimming the glass (can substitute a coarse-type sugar, no problem)
1/2 tsp sugar
1 part Triple Sec
To Assemble:
Rub the grapefruit around the outside of the glass and then roll around in the Turbinado sugar. Place the grapefruit and the sugar at the bottom of the shaker, and just muddle the heck out of it. Add the Vodka, Triple Sec, and ice. Shake like your life depended on it. Pour the drink--with the ice and grapefruit--into a lovely little glass with sugar around the rim.
On a lazy day like today when I'm lounging by the pool, wearing an old man sunhat, and listening to good music, I'm reminded of an exceptional band and a slightly slower time. In a good way. I'd like to take just a moment to highlight a band that everyone knows, but one I don't listen to enough. Here are a few of my favorite songs by Simon and Garfunkel. Oh, that mane.
I recognize that the last one is Simon minus Garfunkel, but I really enjoy it.
If I was really a professional, I would have a "Book of the Week" or "Book of the Month," but let's be real. My reading habits are slightly too erratic for something that consistent. I try to read every night before I go to bed, but drunken nights happen, and those put a wrench in my reading schedule. So anyway, I will try to recommend books as I get through them.
Therefore, I would like to present--drum roll please--the "Book of the Foreseeable Future": My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares.
I'll try to be brief about a description so as not to be a total spoiler, but this book is about love and relationships through time. It involves past lives and such, and that's all I'm gonna say. It's really good; I highly recommend it. There were a few nights I went to bed much too late and I have this book to blame if that gives it any credence.
