Sangria! Sangria!

I'm looking through some sangria recipes trying to come up with my own version for an outdoor summer dinner party I'm throwing soon.

About two years ago I tried to make a pitcher of cherry mojitos. It was a BIG failure. My proportions were way off, I accidentally blended the mint leaves, and I ran out of frozen cherries. I remember finding the recipe on FoodNetwork (I think it was created by Giada, if anyone is interested in searching for it).

I promised myself that I would redeem my mixology skills this summer with a classic peach or orange sangria.

Here is the best one I found from allrecipes.com

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Ingredients

1/2 cup brandy

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/3 cup frozen lemonade concentrate
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1 (750 milliliter) bottle dry red wine
• 1/2 cup triple sec
• 1 lemon, sliced into rounds
• 1 orange, sliced into rounds
• 1 lime, sliced into rounds
• 1/4 cup white sugar (optional)
• 8 maraschino cherries
• 2 cups carbonated water (optional)

Directions

In a large pitcher or bowl, mix together the brandy, lemon juice, lemonade concentrate, orange juice, red wine, triple sec, and sugar. Float slices of lemon, orange and lime, and maraschino cherries in the mixture. Refrigerate overnight for best flavor. For a fizzy sangria, add club soda just before serving.

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I might take away the lemon concentrate and double the recipe. 

Can't wait for August to start my cooking, baking and having fun in the kitchen again. 

Stay tuned for more recipes!

Frozen Mango, Banana, Peach Smoothie

Ingredients
-a big handful of frozen mango chunks (3/4 - 1 cup)
(if you choose to use fresh mango, cut it in cubes and freeze or refrigerate for an hour or so) 
-one banana (1/2 cup)
-half a peach (1/4 cup)
-1 cup (6 oz.) of plain or peach flavored yogurt
-1 1/2 cups of milk
-2 tbs of sugar (optional)

These measurements are approximate and not exact. If one banana does not come out to half a cup, don't stress about making sure it does! Add more or less of each ingredient to your liking. This recipe is just a foundation to multiple possibilities. Have fun and enjoy.

Preparation
Combine the fruits, yogurt, and milk in a blender and blend for about 30 seconds or until smooth.

I noticed that if you add sugar with the rest of the ingredients while making frozen drinks, it sinks to the bottom of the blender and has a hard time combining. As an alternative, I add the sugar to each serving glass separately and mix with a spoon.

For best results, serve in tall chilled glasses. Enjoy immediately!

Makes 2 big servings.

(The boyfriend and I already drank some.)

It's a great energy booster and a perfect way to start the day.

Mangos are a good source of Fiber, Vitamin B6, Vitamin A and Vitamin C. 

One cup (165 g) of mango slices is around 107 calories.

Bananas are also high in Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6 and Potassium. 

One cup (225 g) of bananas is only 200 calories. 

Peaches are a good source of Fiber, Vitamin A, Niacin and Potassium, and of course Vitamin C. 

I absolutely love cooking and baking and trying new recipes. For some time now, I've been looking for the perfect blueberry pie recipe. I promised my boyfriend I would bake him a pie for his birthday. Blueberry is his favorite. It's been a month already since I've made my promise and I think it's time I finally make it true.

After going through Google's first three search results for "pie recipes" I was ready to cry. There was nothing that caught my eye or made the pie stand out.

Today I came across Nikole's "For The Love of Pie" series which featured a Blueberry Lemon Verbena Pie by Heidi Swanson from 101 Cookbooks.

 

Pictures are by Heidi Swanson.

I think this one is a winner!

I can't wait to start baking. I'm super excited!

Little Red Riding Hood

I found this amazing yarn in a thrift store. It’s hand spun, thick and thin, bright red and black wool yarn. Three skeins, $1 each. It was a steal!!

This is what I made. 

 

 

I improvised on the pattern, starting first with the width of the scarf. I used double crochet stitches and worked my way up. In total, it took about two weeks to make (1 hour a day) and one and a half of skeins. It is not an infinity scarf. I used a short metal chain to attach the ends together for a cape like look. 

Let me know what you think!