Grilled Tomato Bruschetta (via Martha Stewart)
Grilled Tomato and Mozzarella Sandwiches (via Martha Stewart)
Orange & Thyme Grilled Shrimp (via Martha Stewart)
Chopped Veggie Salad with Watermelon & feta (via Epicurious)
Peach Cobbler Recipe (via FoodNetwork)
Cuervo Perfecto Margarita (via the bar)
Now it’s time to go enjoy the company of friends/family, eat great food and of course drink a {few} cocktail{s}! and repeat. Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!
Fact: First time making pancakes and as you can guess, I was determined to perfect them. again, again and again. My first attempt, pancake: one (via wit & vinegar), which looks nothing like her perfectly fluffy hotcakes. When they say, “don’t overmix”, what they really mean is ONE gentle stir and then set.the.spoon.down. Although they were a bit flat, they tasted great especially topped with my homemade strawberry jam – yum! Lesson learned: don’t overmix the batter! Moving on to pancake: two (via Trader Joe’s pancake mix). That’s right, I couldn’t resist the prepackaged mix, it was calling my {perfectionist} name. Determined to get those beautiful airy pancakes, all I had to worry about now was not overmixing. Perfecto! Overall, pancake: two earned a 10 in my {& my in-laws} book – delish! Last, but certainly not least of my pancake cook-off, my whole wheat pancakes: three (via Momma Hen’s Kitchen). I’m going out on a limb and say I forgot the one thing I supposedly learned, don’t overmix. Or maybe they came out flat because they’re whole wheat? Either way, they tasted like ‘ish. However, my husband didn’t seem to mind them, but then again anything tastes good when you add butter & strawberry jam. So, there are one of three takeaways here, 1) stick with the prepackaged pancake mix; 2) keep practicing {homemade}; OR 3) just add butter, jam, syrup, or whatever your preference may be. Next on my list, gluten-free pancakes… don’t hold your breath for a picture & post.
If this were Facebook, I would have tagged my mother in these photo’s. This is her magic “green drink” that she so kindly offers to make anytime one of us is {was} feeling ill. Anyone familiar with the pH Miracle Diet? This drink is made with all alkaline foods, therefore helping to balance your body’s pH, which is a good thing considering that cancers and other diseases can only live in acidic bodies, not alkaline. Did I lose you? Ok, I’m done, moving on.
The reason for this post is because I (yes mom, capital I) made this yesterday. Unfortunately, that damn virus has been showing {small} signs over the past few weeks and today my husband practically put me on bed rest before the hospital does. again. Not to worry, miss optimistic over here says everything is going to be just fine. Anyways, I made a whole pitcher of what I like to call mom’s green shit drink and forgot just how easy & delicious it actually is. Don’t think you have to be sick {maybe mentally, but not physically} to drink this. Many people will drink this for breakfast as well as throughout the day. Go ahead, give it a try and let me know what you think.
Mom’s magic green drink recipe
Ingredients
1/2 english cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks
1 avocado
1 cup baby spinach
1 grapefruit, juiced (or peeled and cut up)
1/2 can light coconut milk
1-2 scoops green superfood powder (you can find this at any specialty store or your local Whole Foods)
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 lemon, juiced
1 lime, juiced
water (add small amounts at a time to help with the consistency)
ice
Directions
Toss all the ingredients into your blender and add ice for more of a milkshake consistency. Now taste it. Good? Feel free to tweak it, adding more of certain ingredients, making it how you like.
Cheers to good health!
Image: swissmiss
We tend to forget {or ignore} the obvious. Reminder: It’s Monday, *smile big*. no sarcasm, none.
Zucchini, in bread? Maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t grow up eating baked goods and have to admit, I hadn’t tasted zucchini bread until I decided to put my leftover zucchini to good use. Wondering what to do with your leftover zucchini? Or not. I highly recommend giving this zucchini bread recipe a try, it’s delicious! FYI, it may not be normal to add dried cranberries and not walnuts, but since when do I follow “normality”? Exactly. Either way, do what you like, I can almost guarantee – assuming you follow the directions, it will be a devoured.
Tip: If you can refrain from taste testing, this makes a great hostess gift. I packaged a loaf for some friends of ours {with new baby = no time to bake} and turned out to be a family favorite!
Ingredients
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups grated fresh zucchini
2/3 cup melted unsalted butter
2 teaspoons baking soda
Pinch salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts – didn’t have, didn’t include.
Directions
1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F). In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix in the grated zucchini and then the melted butter. Sprinkle baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour, a third at a time. Sprinkle in the cinnamon and nutmeg and mix. Fold in the nuts (optional) and dried cranberries (optional).
2 Divide the batter equally between 2 buttered 5 by 9 inch loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour (recommend checking it at 45 min) or until a wooden pick inserted in to the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks to cool thoroughly. Enjoy!
Makes 2 loaves (or 1 loaf depending on pan size)
Recipe adapted by Simply Recipes
Love the creative positioning of this photo. Think about it, you don’t have to worry about anyone closing their eyes or not smiling. Brilliant. That’s it, just felt the need to share that with you. Happy Wedding Wednesday!
Wedding featured on Style Me Pretty. Photographed by Mat & Ash.
My very first guest post, the Farmers Market Brunch was created and posted on Pizzazzerie last week. Thank you miss Courtney (my adorable twitter friend) for the wonderful feature!
Here’s how this all came to life…
A typical Sunday for me involves a trip to the Farmers Market, where I usually spend majority of our weekly grocery budget. I had a weak moment and ended up with several pounds of beautiful, mouth watering strawberries. I can’t be certain what my rationale was for purchasing a months worth of strawberries especially when our household consists of just my husband and I (& on a tight budget, might I remind you). In order to justify my purchase, I began testing various recipes (equals feeding others) and thought what better way to celebrate strawberry season then by hosting a strawberry themed event, such as a brunch with the girls.
Menu.
Serve this Strawberries and baby spinach salad (via Savory Sweet Life) with roasted chicken or prawns and toasted baguette accompanied with an assortment of cheeses.
Drinks.
For the adults, serve Strawberry champagne (via Jamie Oliver) and for the under aged, fill mason jars full of fresh strawberry lemonade.
Dessert.
Having access to the Sprinkles recipe (via Martha Stewart) recipe, why not whip up these delicious Strawberry cupcakes!
Takeaway.
It’s always nice to have a little something for your guest to take as a “thank you”. If you don’t want to go through the canning process, make this Strawberry jam (via Sophistimom), but make enough for yourself because I can guarantee you’re going to want a batch for yourself.
Monday, always on time.
I’m going to be optimistic and say it’s going to be a fabulous day. Nothing to lose, right?
Source: the Keep Calm Gallery
I’ll be traveling, yes via Alaska Airlines (loyal customer + we turned in miles) to Portland Oregon for a 3 day leadership course. I’d go into greater detail but truthfully it’s 1 am and my alarm is set to go off in 3 hours. Just hang tight, I will be back Monday.
Have a cocktail and enjoy your weekend!
In case you overlooked the email reminder, this design/lifestyle, all-amazing magazine just published their {online} Aug/Sept issue! Now, go grab a cup of coffee/tea, find a quiet place and dive into this months online issue of Lonny and get ready to be inspired! Happy reading.
