Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

Drunken lemonade.

by Filed Under: Beverages, No bake/cooking required!, Vegetarian 2 Comments

Another wonderful cocktail to prepare ahead of time in your beverage dispenser is this yummy concoction.  I used a 4 gallon dispenser for this recipe.  Refreshing and perfect for an evening party or barbecue.

Ingredients:

4 containers of frozen lemonade
10 c water
4 c of vodka
2 lemons, sliced for garnish

Directions:

In your beverage dispenser, add all 4 frozen lemonade containers.  Add the water & vodka and stir until combined.  Then add the lemon slices to the top (they will float).  We served ice on the side so the cocktails wouldn’t get watered down.

Feel free to use more or less vodka in this recipe, depending on your preference.  You can also garnish with fresh berries, mint, basil, rosemary etc.

— Knead to Cook

Sun tea.

by Filed Under: Beverages, No bake/cooking required!, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

Today was an undeniable taste of summer… 89 degrees and very sunny.  This to me meant brewing some yummy sun tea on my patio table.  This recipe is very versatile and works well with whatever tea (in bags) that you prefer.

Ingredients:

1 gallon of fresh purified water
8 -10 tea bags (I used Tazo Refresh – which is a mint tea that is caffeine-free.)
12 mint leaves (fresh from my garden)
1/4 c of sugar
1/4 c of water

Directions:

Fill your glass vessel with the water, tea bags and mint leaves, if using them.  Place it in a sunny spot for 6+ hours.

On the stove top, combine the sugar and water and bring to a boil.  Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved into the water and remove from the heat.  Let cool.

Once you bring the tea in, remove the tea bags.  Then add the simple syrup (sugar/water mixture) it. Give it a good stir and serve it in a tall glass with ice.  Refrigerate afterwards.

— Knead to Cook

Guava martini.

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Cocktail hour will be something special with this wonderful martini.  1 part vodka, 3 parts Guava and a splash of lemon juice. Shake in your cocktail shaker with 3 ice cubes and pour into your martini glass.  Cheers!

 

 

— Knead to Cook

Meyer Lemon Margarita.

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It’s National Margarita Day!!!  I LOVE margaritas!  My preference, of course, is to be sitting outside by my fire pit with friends sipping on a margarita but it’s a Wednesday and I’m honoring this special day winter style – inside, before dinner with my hubby sans friends being here.

I have a ton of Meyer lemons.  They are my favorite!!!  So I thought I would whip up a fun margarita using them 🙂

1/3 c of Meyer lemon juice
1/3 c of Tequila
1/3 c of Cointreau
3 ice cubes

Add everything to your cocktail shaker and shake away.  If you wish to rim  your glass with sea salt – take a sliced lemon and run it along the edge of the glass.  Pour the salt into a small plate and dip the glass into it.  The salt will stick to the rim where the juice is remaining.  Then pour your margarita into the glass and enjoy!

— Knead to Cook

Fresh Mango Banana Smoothie

by Filed Under: Beverages, Breakfast, Desserts, Fruit, Smoothies, Snacks, Vegetarian 2 Comments

My daughter had a herbst appliance put in her mouth today by our orthodontist & knowing how painful this must be, I decided to make her a liquid after-school snack to help.  I took my mango pitter – the best tool for removing a mango pit by far – & peeled the remaining flesh.  Toss that in your blender with 4 scoops of low or non-fat vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt, 1 ripe banana & 3/4 c of low fat milk or almond milk.  I also throw in some flaxseed meal (2 tbl).  Blend that in your blender (mine has a smoothie setting).  And pour into glasses with a straw.  This makes two large servings.

 

— Knead to Cook

Guava Martini.

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Guava Juice

Okay I love this drink.  Light, sweet & refreshing.  One part vodka (1 shot)  to three parts Guava juic (3 shots) .  I finish with a splash of fresh lemon juice and a few ice cubes.  Watch out – it will become one of your favorites!

Guava Martini.

 

— Knead to Cook

El Gringo II.

by Filed Under: Beverages 7 Comments

 

I had this amazing drink at The Standard in the Meatpacking District in NYC.  I fell in love with it.  It honestly seduced my thoughts from the time we left in September until we returned to NYC to celebrate my 40th birthday a week ago.  While we were there, we befriended the bartender to get a rough idea of what made up this lovely concoction.  Although my husband doesn’t remember the list of ingredients, he decided to make up his own version and it was quite good.  If you love spicy, you must give this a whirl!

Recipe:

Slice 1/4 inch piece of jalapeño and place in a cocktail glass.

In your cocktail shaker add the following:
1.5 shots of tequila
2 tsp of Cointreau or Triple Sec
3 tsp of simple syrup
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lime
Splash of water (according to taste).
Add several ice cubes and shake.  Pour into prepared glass & enjoy!

Now the original drink has a smoked salt rim.  We didn’t have any smoked salt to use but I’m on the hunt for some now because it does add to the flavor of the drink.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

— Knead to Cook