Tag

happy hour

Best Summer Cocktails

written by Ali

As we slide into the last month of summer, it’s not to late to take advantage of the season and make these best summer cocktails.

So I’m the first to admit that I’m not a huge fan of “clips” episodes – you know, those annoying t.v. episodes that just round up all the various events that happened over a season. I ran across one the other day in the most unexpected t.v. show – the 1990s and early 2000s version of The Outer Limits. It was a clip episode of all the alien encounters on the show – with some loosely affiliated story line surrounding it. We made it half way through before it dawned on me it was a clips episode…so we skipped the rest of it. And yes, it’s that time of year when there’s nothing new on, so we are diving at the bottom of the barrel on Hulu and Netflix trying to find something that has lots of seasons to watch. We’re both sci-fi fans, so The Outer Limits is mostly working.

But frankly, sometimes it’s better with a cocktail in hand. This time of year, it’s just warm and sunny enough, even here on the temperate Southern Oregon coast, to want a light and refreshing drink. These are five of the best summer cocktails on the blog (more or less as determined by statistics – with one or two thrown in because they are just my favorite).

First up is a Thyme Cucumber Martini. This is a great way to make use of both abundant thyme, but also abundant cucumbers. Personally, I’d make this with whatever kind of cucumber I have on hand, but wouldn’t it be adorable with a watermelon cucumber for garnish?

Next is The Storm Cocktail. This one takes advantage of generous usage of blue caracao, which kind of happens to be my favorite summer liqueur. I love Tiki style drinks with paper umbrellas – and even more so of they are served at a swim up bar, say, in Mexico.

As the temperatures sore into the 100s in some parts of the country, you may need a Limoncello Lemon Drop to cool off. Bonus points if you still have homemade limoncello hanging out in your fridge to use on this one.

One of my personal favorites is the Cherry Vanilla Vodka Cola Cocktail. This is a great cocktail for early afternoon imbibing (ok, so I’m old enough to avoid caffeine after sundown).

Last, but not least, whether you live on the coast or just dream about it, it’s always a good time for a Vitamin Sea Martini.

So kick back this weekend, relax, and enjoy one of these best summer cocktails.

July 21, 2017 0 comment

Beverages

Cilantro Cucumber Mojito

written by Ali

This past week’s CSA included a lovely bunch of cilantro, half of which formed the base for this cilantro cucumber mojito. I know that cilantro is a love it or hate it kind of herb. I just happen to absolutely love it. I got to thinking about how it might do in a cocktail. As it turns out, I love the combination. I would imagine this would be absolutely lovely with a lemon cucumber or an Armenian cucumber. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find some of these at the farmer’s market later in the season. I didn’t plant cucumbers this year, after last year’s Daisy disaster. Our then one year-old pup decided she loved cucumbers, so pulled up the entire plant and proceeded to run around with the plant and toss around the cucumbers like they were tennis balls.

This cilantro cucumber mojito uses a generous bunch of cilantro, gets muddled with a few cucumber slices and a wedge of lime and then gets drenched in white rum. I also used a bit of agave to sweeten up the lime. It was a great cocktail for lounging around on the patio and enjoying the sunshine.

Yum

Cilantro Cucumber Mojito

Ingredients

1 small bunch of cilantro
4 1/4 slices of lime
6 slices of cucumber
4 ounces of white rum
1 ounce agave
Club soda

Instructions

Divide the cilantro, lime, and cucumbers between two glasses. Muddle. Add 2 ounces of white rum to each, along with 1/2 ounce agave. Add ice and top with club soda.
Serves 2. Enjoy!

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes

https://fixmealittlelunch.com/cilantro-cucumber-mojito/

July 7, 2017 0 comment

Beverages Farmer's Market

Thyme Cucumber Martini

written by Ali

I have plenty of thyme to wrap up #CookoutWeek2017, so I’m celebrating with a thyme cucumber martini and trying so hard to resist all the possible thyme puns that have been running through my head all week. Yep, I have too much thyme on my hands.

Ok – now that I’ve gotten that out of my system. As I mentioned earlier this week, we’ve been getting herbs each week in our CSA basket. This week, we got a very full bunch of thyme. I decided that, rather than aiming for savory dishes with thyme, I was going for sweet. I’d done a little catch-up on one of my favorite podcasts last week (Martinis and Murder) and one of the martinis from the show included gin and St. Germain liqueur. St. Germain is one of my favorites – it’s a sweet liqueur made from elderflowers. It pairs so well with gin. I decided to mix it up with some cucumber and thyme simple syrup and just a touch of lemon juice.

This thyme cucumber martini is a perfect light cocktail that would go well with grilled salmon or chicken. It’s a great cocktail for sitting out on the patio and reading a book, too. Trust me, I’d know. I love the slight hint of cucumber – it pairs beautifully with both the gin and the St. Germain. The thyme isn’t an overwhelming flavor here – rather, it complements all the other flavors.

Yum

Thyme Cucumber Martini

Ingredients

Thyme Simple Syrup

10 or so thyme stems
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

Thyme Cucumber Martini

juice from 1/2 lemon
three slices of cucumber
2 ounces gin
1 ounce St. Germain
1/2 ounce thyme simple syrup

Instructions

Thyme simple syrup

Combine the thyme, sugar, and water in a small saucepan. Heat to a low simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Set aside to cool for two to three hours. Strain and refrigerate the simple syrup.

Thyme Cucumber Martini

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker over ice. Shake and strain. Enjoy!
Serves 1

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes

https://fixmealittlelunch.com/thyme-cucumber-martini/

It’s not too late to enter the fabulous giveaway featuring products from the brands who have made #CookoutWeek possible! You can enter below to win:

From blog host The PinterTest Kitchen: $100 Amazon gift card, to use to buy all the supplies you need for your next cookout
From our sponsor The French Farm: A gift pack of gourmet products hand-crafted by small businesses and using only the finest ingredients – La Favorita Genovese Pesto, Caprichos del Guadalquivir Cadenera Orange Marmalade, and L’Abeille Occitane Lavender Honey
From our sponsor Smokin’-Os: A sampler pack of their “smokin’-os” wood rings, to help you add wood-fired, smokey taste to your grilled foods, even if you don’t own a smoker
From our sponsor Primal Kitchen: $200 of Primal Kitchen goodies, including condiments made with avocado oil and bars and shakes with grass-fed collagen
From our sponsor Langers Juice Company: Your choice of 10 bottles of Langers Juice, with flavors including traditional Apple and Grape, as well as interesting mixes such as Pineapple Orange Coconut, Cranberry Blood Orange, and Mango Peach
From our sponsor True Made Foods: A 3-bottle sampler pack of sauces with real flavors made from real vegetables and less sugar – Ketchup, BBQ, and Veracha

This prize pack has an ARV of over $400! You have until July 1 at 11:59 PM to enter by following our sponsors and bloggers on social media:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An InLinkz Link-up

June 30, 2017 3 comments

Beverages

One Glass Gin Sangria

written by Ali

So I have to admit that I made this cocktail weeks ago and am just now getting around to blogging about it. This is important to know, because one component that I used is highly seasonally dependent. Fortunately, that one component is not absolutely necessary to enjoy this one glass gin sangria.

Let me back up for a minute. As you may know, if you follow me either here or on Instagram, we moved to coastal Southern Oregon about six weeks ago. One of the things I noticed during my first few weeks was that the evergreen trees were sprouting new growth. Many years of following various foraging oriented blogs has made me savvy enough to know that spruce, pine, and fir tree tips (the brand new growth in the spring) are edible. Trees + tips + desire to forage = a lunch break wandering around where I work, quietly slipping fir tree tips into my jacket. Mind you, this was my professional suit jacket, but who’s counting. Fortunately, I was able to get them transferred into a bag when I went back to my desk. From there, it was a logical step to toss the fir tips into some gin and let it steep for a few days.

From there, I stumbled onto this cocktail. I started out making a Spanish G&T with the fir tip infused gin. But then I still had the various bits from the Spanish G&T in my glass and tossed in a little fruity rose, plus some strawberries, and a mandarin orange. And then I tossed in a shot of the fir-tip gin. One glass gin sangria was born in that moment.

I’m pretty sure you could infuse the gin with other aromatics and get a similar result. I’ll definitely be trying this again with some lime basil a bit later in the season. I might even try out some of my ginger mint and infuse it with gin. In the meantime, I’ll just leave you with these pretty photos of infusing fir tips, plus my one glass gin sangria.

This was after the fir tips had infused for a few days -wish I’d gotten a photo when they were freshly harvested – they are so pretty!

Yum

One Glass Gin Sangria

Ingredients

1 ounce gin (infused with herbs of your choice, or fir tips, or just plain)
2 sliced strawberries
1 sectioned mandarin orange
3 - 4 juniper berries (optional)
Fruit forward rose or white wine to top

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a glass and enjoy!

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes

https://fixmealittlelunch.com/one-glass-gin-sangria/

June 16, 2017 0 comment

Beverages

Lilac Infused Spanish Gin and Tonic

written by Ali

This lilac infused Spanish gin and tonic is the first cocktail I’ve created in our new home. One of my favorite things about living in a place that’s a little bit more remote and has lots of gorgeous natural resources is the ability to do some backyard or neighborhood foraging. Ok – I confess, I have a pair of clippers in my car and just might have wandered around the place where I work to trim off a few fir sprouts to infuse recently. I waited until everyone was mostly gone for the day. It’s usually much easier when what I’m looking to forage is in my own backyard, like the lilacs I used for this lilac infused Spanish gin and tonic. We are really, really lucky that we have a beautifully landscaped yard at the house we are renting. The rhododendrons are absolutely going crazy and they are so colorful. We also have lilacs blooming.

Lilacs are an edible flower. I’ve seen them all decked out in sugar for cakes, but have also read they can be used to infuse spirits, like gin or vodka. I’ve got lilacs, so I didn’t want to waste this brief window of opportunity to try it out, so cut a couple of sprigs and infused away. I was pleasantly surprised by the end result. The gin becomes very floral, but not overwhelmingly so. In fact, I thought it gained a hint of vanilla flavor, which was lovely.

I kept this drink very simple: infused gin, a few strips of Meyer lemon peel, and about six juniper berries, all topped off with ice and tonic water. It was a perfect quick cocktail for a hectic week. This is also super easy to make, as the lilacs only need to infuse overnight (anything longer and I think they’d become too strong).

Yum

Lilac Infused Spanish Gin and Tonic

Ingredients

1/3 cup lilac flowers, gently washed and separated
6 ounces gin
6 juniper berries
several strips of peel from a Meyer lemon
Tonic water

Instructions

Combine the gin and lilac blossoms in a jar and cover. Refrigerate over night. Strain the gin before using.
Combine 2 ounces of the lilac infused gin, the juniper berries, and the Meyer lemon peel in a cocktail glass. Add ice and top with tonic water. Enjoy!

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes

https://fixmealittlelunch.com/lilac-infused-spanish-gin-tonic/

Sometimes, I get help. Daisy kept trying to drag off my lilac spray.

May 26, 2017 0 comment

Beverages Foodie Lists

S is for Sangria – A Roundup

written by Ali

S is for Sangria, making it one of my favorite letters in the alphabet. Check out these fifteen beautiful sangria recipes in my sangria roundup post for this Friday’s Happy Hour. Sangria is one of my top favorite ways to serve wine and fruit, plus, Mother’s Day is Sunday and (for those who are 21 and older) what a great treat to make and enjoy with mom!

I’m finally all moved and settled in (mostly). One of the things I’m loving best about my new spot is the great big wide patio. I can sit out here and have a glass of sangria and just be quiet. It’s a bonus of living in a small town – it’s really quiet. There’s very little traffic noise and the breeze from the bay is heavenly. I’d imagine this summer I’ll be taste testing most of these recipes (while saving the pomegranate persimmon sangria recipe for this fall).

First up is a yummy looking white peach sangria from Just a Little Bit of Bacon:

Next is a non-alcoholic sangria from Watch What U Eat that blends pineapple, strawberries, and sparkling water for a refreshing afternoon drink.

I particularly love a good rose wine, so really liked the look of this Rose Sangria from Bourbon and Honey.

Caroline’s Cooking shared this yummy sounding white sangria with whiskey, apple and peach. I’ve never put whiskey in my sangria before – can’t wait to try this one out!

Sparking fruit white sangria from Mommy’s Home Cooking looks so good and refreshing.

Strawberries and basil are two of my favorite things. I’ll definitely be making this sangria from Living Well Spending Less this summer.

Kiwis and raspberries and prosecco are a natural match. Check them out in this easy cocktail from Luci’s Morsels.

I always have a few pomegranate seeds lurking in the freezer this time of year. What a great way to use them up by making pomegranate red wine sangria from A Fork’s Tale.

This summer berry sangria from Cooking With Curls will be so perfect for when it’s berry season again.

You can’t ever have enough recipes for sangria with rose wine. This sangria from Lean, Clean and Brie is a luscious mix of strawberries, lemons, and rose.

One of the great things about sangria is that it’s so easy to make use of the best fruits of the season, like this peach melba sangria from Garlic and Zest.

If my pineapple plant ever takes root and produces pineapple, I think I’d use it to make this champagne sangria with pineapple and berries from Fried Dandelions.

Sometimes, I just want a good classic sangria, like this one from Curious Cuisiniere.

Sangria isn’t just a summer drink. Fall and winter fruits make awesome sangria, like this one from Salt and Lavender that features pomegranates and persimmon.

Finally, here’s a tropical moscato sangria from Living Sweet Moments, perfect for a warm summer night.

May 12, 2017 1 comment

Beverages

Thai Basil Gimlet

written by Ali

The last recipe this week for #Recipe Makeover is a Thai Basil Gimlet.We all know that I love to have a little cocktail on the weekend. I’m well aware that I’ve posted some really tasty, really beautiful, but really calorie intensive cocktails here on Fix Me a Little Lunch. This week, however, I’m offering up a cocktail that is cool and refreshing, but doesn’t break the calorie bank. The gimlet is very much a classic cocktail – my favorite literary reference for this cocktail is from Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye: “a real gimlet is half gin and half Rose’s lime juice and nothing else.”

The Thai Basil Gimlet is the perfect drink for a warm summer’s night. I combined a bit of Thai basil infused gin with lime juice and a Thai basil simple syrup. If this causes a bit too much pucker for your taste buds, feel free to adjust for sweetness. Personally, I like a sour drink to be sour.

The only bit of pre-planning this drink takes is a day or two to infuse the gin with the Thai basil. I recommend that the Thai basil infuse no longer than this or the gin will be thoroughly overpowered. Thai basil can come out swinging with flavor. The gin will turn a lovely pale gold color with the infusion, making this a positively sunny looking drink.

Yum

Thai Basil Gimlet

Ingredients

To infuse your gin

8 ounces gin
4 Thai Basil leaves, washed and gently crushed

4 ounces Thai Basil infused gin

Juice from two limes
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon sugar

Instructions

To infuse the gin, combine gin and Thai Basil leaves. Refrigerate for a day or two.
To make the cocktail, make a simple syrup with the water and sugar. Set aside to cool. Combine the gin, lime juice, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and distribute between two cocktail glasses. Serve with a few Thai basil leaves and a couple of slices of lime. Enjoy!

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes

https://fixmealittlelunch.com/thai-basil-gimlet/

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An InLinkz Link-up

April 28, 2017 0 comment

Beverages

Sweet Vermouth Martini

written by Ali

The last few weeks have been all about cleaning out the cupboards, which led me to make this sweet vermouth martini. You might ask – how does cleaning out a cupboard lead to a drink? Or maybe you don’t ask, because you already know. In addition to the sheer stress of moving, I’ve doing my best to use up what I have so I don’t have to move it. In this case, I had a nearly empty bottle of gin and a mostly empty bottle of sweet vermouth. Thus, a sweet vermouth martini.

I did a bit of research and this drink is actually a classic – not just a cocktail born out of desperation to clear out a couple of bottles and reduce my overall moving load. The addition of just a hint of bitters rounds out the flavors on this one. I experimented with both orange bitters and grapefruit bitters. And then I experimented with my own homemade blood orange bitters. Before I say which is the tastiest in this sweet vermouth martini, I have to digress and say that yes, I will be carefully bubble wrapping both the blood orange bitters and the blood-orange cello and the limoncello that I made back during the snowpocalypse in December. I consider these precious cargo. I’ll also be doing the same with the remaining blood orange marmalade and the several jars of pickles from two years ago that I need to eat before cucumber season starts up again. I would ditch most of our furniture before I would give up my pickles. My favorite bitters in this, by the way, are the grapefruit bitters. I’m not sure how I ever lived without grapefruit bitters – they are awesome!

My husband, who has been listening to me running around like the Muppets’ Beaker for the last three weeks, probably deserves one or two of these sweet vermouth martinis. I’ll share, but only once we are moved and I have a new bottle of gin in the cupboard. We are definitely going into the time period of moving where, if it runs out, forget it – we are not replacing it (with a few exceptions, like dog food or cat food – the important stuff).

Cheers to you my lovely readers. I hope you are all enjoying a peaceful day of not moving.

Yum

Sweet Vermouth Martini

Ingredients

2 ounces gin
1 ounce sweet vermouth
2 or 3 drops grapefruit or orange bitters

Instructions

Chill your martini glass for 15 -20 minutes in the freezer. Swirl the bitters in the chilled glass. Combine the gin and sweet vermouth with ice in a shaker; shake and then strain into the prepared martini glass and enjoy!

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes

https://fixmealittlelunch.com/sweet-vermouth-martini/

April 21, 2017 0 comment

Beverages

Sun is Shining Lemony Lemon Drop

written by Ali

To celebrate the fact that it’s April, I’m ringing in the month with a Sun is Shining Lemony Lemon Drop. Yes – I’m that excited that it’s finally spring. I got inspired to make a super sunny lemony lemon drop from one of my favorite things about Oregon. From mid to late March and into early April, daffodils are literally everywhere along the I-5 corridor. They pop up along the road side and in the grass in the divider between the interstate roads. If you look carefully, there’s even a group of daffodils that are arranged in a peace sign along I-5 going North near Eugene. You’ll also find them along Highway 101 along the coast, and of course, there are daffodils in everyone’s yards, too. The funny thing is, one day it’s as gloomy as it can possible get and then the next – explosion of yellow color everywhere. I love Oregon.

So, to honor all this pretty sunniness, I whipped up a Sun is Shining Lemony Lemon Drop. I was also looking for an excuse to use up some orangecello. If you’ll recall, back in December, a dear friend of mine sent me a gigantic box of blood oranges from her tree in Arizona. It’s now April, and I’m still working through all of the blood orange products I created. I have a half-quart jar left of blood orangecello, and I’m using it an ounce at a time, savoring it. The funny thing is, it didn’t turn out very orange – it actually looks nearly indistinguishable from the limoncello I made around the same time (good thing I labeled the jars). However, it has an absolutely distinct sweet orange flavor, which makes it a perfect complement to the gin and lemon juice. I threw in just a bit of super fine sugar to make it a super sweet lemon drop.

Whether it’s sunny or rainy where you are, I hope you enjoy this Sun is Shining Lemony Lemon Drop.

Me – enjoying my lemony lemon drop.

Yum

Auto Draft

Ingredients

2 ounces gin
1 ounce orangecello or triple sec
Juice from 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon super fine sugar

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and then strain into a chilled martini glass. Enjoy!

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes

https://fixmealittlelunch.com/sun-is-shining-lemony-lemon-drop/

April 14, 2017 1 comment

Beverages Holiday Recipes

Le Peep Easter Cocktail

written by Ali

I had so much fun creating and making my Le Peep Easter Cocktail. Honestly, every time I think of Peeps (the super garish and super sweet marshmallow Easter treats), I think of Le Peep – a breakfast chain in Denver. I loved Le Peep as they had the best strawberry pancakes. But beyond my mental association, Le Peep has nothing to do with this Le Peep Easter Cocktail. The Le Peep Easter Cocktail combines several liquors to make a Peep flavored cocktail, perfect for an Easter afternoon.

I realize there’s a lot of Peep bashing that goes on throughout the Internet. Peeps – apparently you either love them or hate them. I love them, in small doses. I can manage eating a couple of Peeps throughout the Easter season and that about does it for me for the year. I’m finding that I particularly love Peeps that have been dipped in chocolate. Maybe some year I’ll get ambitious and make some Peep like marshmallows of my own. Until then, I’m content to eat an occasional Peep and use a few for garnish on my Le Peep Easter Cocktail.

I have to say that I was pretty amused by the photos for this post. My peeps look a bit alarmed about the blue curacao bath that they are about to slide into. Since we don’t have kids and are pretty secular, our only real Easter engagement is the annual purchase of a couple of bags of mini-eggs, a box of Peeps, and an occasional effort on my part to die some hardboiled eggs, just because they are pretty. When I was looking for my Peeps for this post, I wanted to get some Easter basket grass. I was surprised not to find any at our local Target. It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten an Easter basket (30 years maybe?), so I wonder if the stringy plastic grass is a thing of the past. Or maybe I waited too long to buy it? Either way, I decided to go with edible Easter grass instead. Edible Easter grass is definitely new to me. I think the edible descriptor might be pushing it a bit – it’s definitely made of things you could eat if you were so inclined, but why would you want to? I did nibble a bit – it was flavorless and starchy. I tossed what I had left over in my blogging drawer and am pretty sure it will still be there this time next year.

In the meantime, when Easter comes, you’ll probably be able to find me sitting outside, sipping on a Le Peep Cocktail and biting the head off a chocolate dipped Peep.

Yum

Le Peep Easter Cocktail

Ingredients

1 1/2 ounces white creme de cacao
1 ounce blue curacao
1/2 ounce vanilla vodka
Peeps for garnish (if desired)

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with Peeps. Enjoy!
Serves One

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes

https://fixmealittlelunch.com/le-peep-easter-cocktail/

April 7, 2017 0 comment

Newer Posts

Older Posts