It is a new year and my fridge is somewhere between bare and simply stocked with the basics. It is winter so a bowl of citrus is sitting in the kitchen counter for my favourite winter indulgence: Fresh squeezed orange juice. Ingredients: 2 juice oranges a handful of blueberries a handful of baby kale Blend…
Category: Drinks: Cocktails, Wine, Beer
A votre santé. (aka Cheers!)
New England Sangria: Gold and Red Sparkling Sangria (Recipe)
I wanted to make a winter sangria that I could enjoy myself after a day of running around, baking, shopping, taxiing the kids here and there, but also fancy enough to serve at a dinner party or a casual gathering with friends. This is what I came up with. Aside from the Pomegranate and Moscato…
#MartiniMonday Is a Thing: Cranberry Orange Martini (Recipe)
Okay, so maybe Martini Monday doesn’t really exist but I think it could and probably should. I have talked about reviving the cocktail hour and this is just one more piece of the puzzle. Tonight I inaugurated, christened, kicked-off #MartiniMonday with a cranberry orange martini. 2 1/2 oz of Absolut Ruby Red ( or any…
30 Days of Comfort and Joy: Part 2 (#11-20)
In case you missed Part 1 of 3, begin at the beginning with 30 Days of Comfort and Joy: Boston Dining. I’m a fan of oysters, my father is a fan of oysters, my daughter is a fan of oysters and many of my friends are oyster lovers as well. As residents of the coast…
Join The Club: Beer-cause I Love You That Much
Beer is not just a passing trend. Beer in our fair city and country has grown up over the past decade. From pairings to offerings beer is no longer wine’s plaid wearing, “hoser” like, scraggly bearded younger sibling. She’s all grown up! But like wine, it’s not easy to know what you like and why…
Join The Club: Meet Me at Hopster’s
One thing that we don’t do nearly enough is go out with our friends. We are all too busy somehow. Newcomer, Hopster’s Brew and Boards will take care of that with their 99 Club. Every 3 months, you will gather with friends (the more the merrier) and up to a total of 20 other local…
Halloween Ready: Fun, Tasty, Healthy Pre-Halloween Feast
Okay I think I’m ready for Halloween. My priorities on this night are to: Gather with friends and neighbours so the kids can go out trick-or-treating as a group. This lets them see each other in costume and allows the more gregarious trick-or-treaters to support the quieter ones. Feed the adults and children something substantial,…
Don’t Get Spooked By all the Halloween Festivities
If your family life is anything like ours, then your child is probably invited to put on their Halloween costume and attend about a half dozen Halloween parties before Halloween actually arrives. The plus side of all that is that you get to dress your child in their fabulous Halloween costume that you either spent…
Ginger Pear Green Smoothie: A nod to Thanksgiving (Recipe )
Making your own cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving is easy and fun. You can make it now and can it for Thanksgiving or just make it at Thanksgiving and make this smoothie to recover from the feast after. The advantage of making your own is that it tastes amazing, you can siphon off some of he…
Rebranding Cocktails: From Amaretto Kiss to Vampire Bite
Every year we have a little Halloween party before heading out with the kids to go trick or treating. The goal of the evening is to keep the children’s trick or treating excitement manageable by gathering with friends until dusk. We do a few little activities, and feed them non-sugary foods so the night ends…
Apple Pie Green Smoothie (Recipe)
I am not usually a fan of taking one food and making it into a soup, a sandwich, a cocktail, a savory amuse bouche, a dessert, and a granola bar flavour. This week, though, the apples are plentiful, the air is cool and for some horribly mistaken reason Whole Foods is pumping fake cinnamon scent…
Rhode Island Green Kale Smoothie (Recipe)
Every year Wilson Farms has Rhode Island Greening apples and I love them for their clean sweet/tart flavour. This is a very kale-heavy smoothie so I add EmergenC and a bit more honey than usual to cut through the earthiness of the kale. I used honey from our CSA in Lincoln and some kale that…
Leah's Life: Pearls and Oysters 