his favorite drink

if you need a drink first thing this monday morning, i’m not judging. so let’s start off this week with a doozy, lou’s favorite drink the sazerac. i consider this a “man’s drink” but it’s not JUST for men. it’s not got the fruit or fizz to make me fall in love with it, but i have girlfriends that drink these and i’m always a little jealous, i would love to be a girl who can sip on a sazerac with the guys. lou loves this drink like i love shopping for shoes. so i thought it might make a cute valentine’s day present for those of you that are starting to prepare for the most candy coated of all holidays. buying all the ingredients and perfecting a sazerac for your whiskey loving man might just be the best present he gets all year. i think lou would have married me two years earlier if i had pulled that trick out of my hat. happy monday, and happy mixing my friends!

the what:

rye whiskey (lou prefers jefferson’s)

absinthe 

peychaud’s bitters

angostura bitters

sugar cubes

lemon

ice

shaker

chilled rocks glass

drink stirrer

the how:

1.place sugar cube into the shaker and saturate the sugar cube with peychaud’s bitters (just enough of it to make the cube turn red)

2.  add two drops of angostura bitters and muddle the sugar cube until it is fully dissolved

3. add 2 oz of jefferson’s rye whiskey and mix

4. fill shaker halfway with ice and stir vigorously. let sit 

5. pour 1 tablespoons (roughly) absinthe into the chilled glass and swirl it around to coat the glass.  dump out liquid.

6. return to shaker, stir vigorously again and let sit.

7. cut an inch or so of lemon rind and bend/roll to release flavor. place lemon in chilled rocks glass.

8. stir liquid in shaker once again and then strain into chilled glass. 

enjoy!

photo and recipe by lou!

sisters from another mister

lately i’ve been finding these two all sorts of cozied up together. it makes me so happy when i realize that they’ve become friends (it was not always a love affair, i definitely broke up a few scraps when the nugget first joined our family). i’m not sure there’s much cuter in the world than animals cuddling. if there is, someone introduce me, pronto!

guy style

i met this fellow at the movie colony hotel in palm springs when i was there for a wedding for birds of a feather. isn’t he adorable? i love his worn in boat shoes and glasses. might have to find a way to make a girl version of this look for spring.  i have some skinny navy pants and a few tee shirts that would be perfect…now to find the boat shoes.  do you ever steal style from guys?  i’m into it.

these salted peanut butter cups are where it’s at

it’s not all kale and cucumbers around here my friends, these *vegan* peanut butter cups have also become a staple in this house. they win every contest my mouth has ever held, hands down. sweet, salty, peanut butter & chocolately goodness, a batch of these cures my sweet tooth for weeks days. the recipe was adapted from one in alicia silverstone’s book the kind diet. i’m on a dessert kick my friends, let’s enjoy it! i’ll be back with some meals to balance these out with soon, i promise.

the what:

1/2 cup earth balance vegan butter

3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter (organic, unsalted, no added sugar)

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (i found an organic, naturally sweetened kind at whole foods that did the trick)

1/4 cup turbinado raw sugar or other granulated sweetener

1 cup vegan chocolate chips (preferably the kind that are naturally sweetened)

1/4 cup rice, soy or nut milk

sea salt to sprinkle on top

the how:

- line a  muffin tin with papers. i used a mini-muffin tin and filled it up twice- 24 cups of heaven!

-melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat and then stir in the peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs and sugar.  when it’s melted/mixed, spoon the mixture into the muffin tins. you can play around with the peanut butter to chocolate ratio. i prefer more peanut butter with a thin layer of chocolate, and lou prefers them to be equally peanut butter and chocolate.  we’re so complex.

-in a separate pan combine the chocolate and milk. stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted.

-spoon the chocolate over the peanut butter, filling the papers almost to the top.

-sprinkle with sea salt and then refrigerate *if you are using the mini muffin tin, i recommend sticking the first batch into the freezer for 10 minutes or so to get them to harden up so that you can remove them and make another batch. i also melted a little more chocolate/milk to satisfy lou’s ratio preference. ok, i doubled the chocolate. he made me.

-there are two schools of thought on how these are best eaten: 1. taken from the refrigerator one at a time, thawed and savored- a classy approach 2. eaten straight from the freezer by the handful, with the occassional bit of wrapper stuck to the cup {mine}.

bon appetit my friends!

if willy wonka made cauliflower

i’m pretty sure it would look like this. but alas, it wasn’t willy that came up with this purple delight, it was mother nature herself. the antioxidant group anthocyanin, {also found in red cabbage and red wine} turned these pretties this punchy color. and you can bet your hot ass i’ll be cooking up something tasty with this beaut! stay tuned….