Drinks

Two years ago I started making more green smoothies and found out it was a delicious way to add greens to my diet. I like smoothies better than juicing because I also get the fiber from the fruit- smoothies keep me fuller a lot longer!

As I bring home box upon box of California Strawberries this season, I inevitably end up with a lot of hulls. What to do? Figure out how to make strawberry wine!

I love sweet iced tea in the summer. Sitting on the porch with a sunset streaming through my tumbler, a lazy dog at my feet and kids playing around the chicken coop. This is my idea of heaven, right outside my doorstep.

I don’t drink all that often, so when I do I like to make it something really special. Hot cocktails in the winter are one of my favorite indulgences. Warm spiced cocoa, mulled wine or Irish coffee are some of my favorites when we go out scoping for Christmas sights or watching the lighted boats go by in one of our west coast celebrations. Whether it’s rum or bourbon or Bailey’s, hot cocktails are hard to beat on a chilly night.

I stumble out of bed in the morning and instantly mutter the same words over and over again. "Butter. Coffee. Need butter coffee. Butter coffee now."

We’re about a month away from Halloween, and I’m over here fantasizing about all the cool party drinks I can concoct for this particular holiday! You’ve all shown a surprising enthusiasm for our holiday drinks and white sangria in the past, so I figured we may as well keep em coming.

As you can see, we drink coffee a lot of different ways around here. We buy pre-ground and whole beans. We make big carafes for the whole day or when we have company, and little French press pots when Nate and I have time together before the kids get up.

'You put it to your lips and you sip!' I will never forget Papa’s hilariously simple advice when I asked him, years ago, how to drink an unfamiliar beverage. Many alcohols are like that. Wine, on the other hand, can be finicky. The more I learn about it, the more fascinated I become. Plucked from vines, aged in beautiful barrels throughout mysterious caves. Delicately paired. When someone asks how to drink Moscato or Merlot, there actually is a right answer.

I know the holiday season is traditionally the time to gorge on wine and eggnog in order to tolerate your family. However, there ARE those of us who don’t drink or actually enjoy seeing our closest kin gathered in one place (and not just for the sheer entertainment value of watching the dysfunction take over). Weird, right? Just bear with me here.

We all know that pomegranate is a super fruit. It also pairs well with a fancy meal when you’re looking for the pretty crimson hue and antioxidant power of wine, without the alcohol. This pomegranate drink recipe can be done completely from scratch, or you pick up store bought pomegranate juice and lime juice for an easy concoction.

Back in college, girls’ night was ALL about Margarita Monday or Wine Wednesday. We studied hard and partied harder at UCLA! Now, though, it seems like every gal I know is pregnant or trying to get pregnant. Seriously. I think there’s been something in the water (or the wine, rather). As a result, girls’ night drinks these days are a little more tame and a little less tequila. Because I was one of the first of the group to have kids, I have a bit of an edge on everyone else in that I’ve become quite the expert on mixing up some delicious non-alcoholic girls’ night drinks along with fun preggo-friendly appetizers. I’m working with Trop50 and Foodie to bring you all a roundup of my favorite girls’ night drinks, minus the alcohol!

It’s summer, which to me means cold brew coffee time!

Now, I know this is a heated subject. Before I get a bunch of "informative" emails, allow me to say that I am well aware that Labor Day technically is not about the military or service members. This day is dedicated to the achievements of ALL American workers. Today stands as a tribute to the contributions that we have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of the nation. I can totally drink to that. Cheers to the United States!