Browsing Tag

lime

Sip

Paloma

March 21, 2014

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To kick off a festive mood of fun in the sun – there is no better mix than lime juice and tequila.  And while I don’t believe it’s possible to get “sick of” (“sick on” maybe) margaritas, it is always nice to mix it up.

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Fresh Paloma

  • 1/4 cup fresh grapefruit juice
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon simple syrup
  • 1/4 cup tequila
  • 1/4 cup club soda
  1. Rim a highball glass with grapefruit juice and kosher salt.
  2. Mix grapefruit juice, lime juice and simple syrup in the glass.
  3. Stir in tequila.
  4. Add ice then top with club soda.

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Sip

I’ll Have A…

March 14, 2014

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As we all know I love a fun drink – the more involved the better.  Muddled cucumber? Check. Blood Orange Juice? Yes please. Unfortunately, my unique cocktail taste has most dive bar bartenders scratching their heads/hating me, so this drink is my go to when I am trying not to be high-maintenance.

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In honor of St. Patrick’s day I want to introduce you to an easy-to-order/easy-to-drink concoction – Jameson and Ginger.

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Jameson and Ginger

  • 1.5 oz Jameson Whiskey
  • Ginger Ale
  • Wedge of Lime
  1. Pour whiskey into an ice filled highball glass.
  2. Top with ginger ale.
  3. Finish with a squeeze of lime.
  4. Stir and enjoy!

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Sip

Blossom Breeze

March 7, 2014

IMG_7194 This past weekend, I had one of the tastiest drinks of my life – the Blossom Breeze.

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Considering one of my most popular posts is my Cucumber Mint Vodka Cocktail, I figured hitting up the bartender for his secret recipe was a necessity… here you go!

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Blossom Breeze

  • 2 oz Square One Cucumber vodka
  • 3/4 oz St. Germain Elderflower liqueur
  • 3/4 oz lime juice
  • 1/4 oz simple syrup
  • Soda Water
  • Edible flower blooms
  1. Shake vodka, Elderflower liqueur, lime juice and simple syrup in an ice filled shaker.
  2. Strain into an ice filled glass and top with soda water.
  3. Stir and garnish with edible flowers (or a slice of cucumber).

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Tasty

Coconut Carrot Soup

February 19, 2014

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Shutterbean is one of my favorite food blogs, and when Tracy posted a write up on “Meal Prep” a couple of weeks ago, I was transfixed.   Honestly, read it if you haven’t.  IMG_6318 I love planning meals ahead of time, but realized that sometimes that doesn’t work for my life.  On weeks where my husband is going to be working late, or the weather is really nice and I don’t want to spend it in the kitchen, following Tracy’s game plan is a no-brainer.  IMG_6325 I have had her Coconut Carrot Soup pinned for FOREVER, so when she mentioned making a batch on Sunday to have for lunch throughout the week, it re-sparked my interest.  I had just received a bunch of gorgeous carrots from my Farm Fresh to You box, and actually had ALL of the ingredients in my house (that NEVER happens).  IMG_6330 So, the next day before work, I chopped the carrots/onions and put them in a Ziplock bag, and laid out the (non refrigerated) ingredients for later that night. Once I got home from work, I followed the very short directions… and voila! Dinner and a few lunches were prepared with (hands on time) of 10 minutes!  AWESOME!!!

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Coconut Carrot Soup

Adapted from Shutterbean

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 lb. carrots, peeled & chopped
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1  14 oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoon sambal oelek (I used sriracha as a back-up)
  • 1 lime
  1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add carrots and onion, season with salt & pepper, and cook, stirring often, until carrots are softened, 15-20 minutes.
  2. Stir in broth, coconut milk, and sriracha.
  3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very tender and liquid is slightly reduced, 40-45 minutes.
  4. Let soup cool slightly, then puree with an immersion blender until smooth.
  5. Reheat in the saucepan if needed.
  6. Add the juice of one freshly squeezed lime and stir.
  7. Divide soup among bowls, and drizzle with sriracha and top with cilantro.

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Tasty

Thai Night

February 17, 2014

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I realized that with all of the sunny winter days California has had these past few months, slow cooking meals haven’t been on my radar.   When the weather took a turn a couple of weeks ago, I was excited to get back in my “winter groove” of crock-pot cooking!  Here as a Thai inspired menu I put together for Sunday dinner:

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Skinny Pina Coladas

  1. Pour rum into a low ball glass with 1 large ice cube.
  2. Top with lime juice, stir and enjoy!

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Crockpot Curried Thai Short Rib Tacos with Mango Salsa

Recipe via Half Baked Harvest 

Short Ribs

  • 3 lbs beef short ribs, seasoned with salt and pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
  • 1 cup sweet thai chili sauce
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon thai red curry paste
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce
  • 1 head butter lettuce and/or small tortillas

Mango Salsa

  • 1 mango, diced
  • 1/2 small jalapeño, seeded & diced
  • 1/2 lime, juiced
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 4 green onions, chopped

Thai Peanut Sauce

  • 1 (14 oz) can lite coconut milk
  • 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon thai red curry paste

Instructions:

  1. Heat olive oil in a heavy bottom pan and brown/sear short ribs over medium-high heat (about 1 minute for each side).
  2. Remove ribs and transfer to the crock-pot bowl.
  3. Add garlic, ginger, sweet thai chili sauce, soy sauce, thai red curry paste and fish sauce to crock-pot bowl/ribs.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours (5-6 on high). The key is to make sure the meat is falling off of the bones when you remove them.
  4. While the ribs are cooking, make the mango salsa but mixing all the ingredients listed about together in a bowl.  Season to your liking and store in the fridge until ready to serve (I recommend doing this in the morning as well… it will only taste better the longer the flavors can meld).
  5. Make the peanut sauce by heating coconut milk, peanut butter, brown sugar, soy sauce and thai red curry paste in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.  Bring to a low bowl and stir until sugar has dissolved, peanut butter has melted and you are left with a smooth peanut sauce.  Store until you are ready to eat.
  6. Once the ribs are fully cooked, remove from the crock-pot and shred with a fork.  Feel free to put meat back into crock-pot with sauce (if you aren’t a “sauce” person, or like your meat a little drier than you can skip this step).
  7. Serve meat with lettuce (for lettuce cups) or tortillas (for tacos), and top with mango salsa and peanut sauce.
  8. Garnish with chopped peanuts and cilantro.

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