Easy Orange & Ginger Beer Cranberry Sauce

Several years ago my husband (then boyfriend–how casual, right?) illegally sold our mattress on craigslist (shhhh), packed up everything we owned into a U-haul and left our home in Los Angeles to make a new one in the SF Bay Area. We had a cushy beginning to our new chapter, and were blessed with a ridiculously nice house to stay in. My parents had converted the house I grew up in, into my Dad’s music studio. There was still plenty of house to be lived in above the music studio. Too much house for us, actually. We were just a couple of kids with a really cheap coffee table that moved into a very nice house on a very nice hill in a very nice neighborhood. My dad would work downstairs, and bass would pulse through the floorboards. Artists would come to work and occasionally stay. It was our job to make them feel at home since we were living there. I have stories, guys. So many stories. But, this post isn’t for those–this post is to lament about the year that I really started cooking. This was the year that I discovered that I could make my own cranberry sauce.  […]

Ginger Berry Lime Ice Pops | It’s POPSICLE WEEK!

Fun facts: 
1) It’s POPSICLE WEEK! That’s right. All week there are bloggers around the net popping off popsicle recipes and helping you get some of that sticky-end-of-the-popsicle-juice all over your chins. Who declared it Popsicle Week? Well, that would be Billy of Wit & Vinegar. There are 37 of us throwing recipes your way this week! You can find all of them HERE on Billy’s blog  as they go up throughout the week.

If you’ve never been to his blog, I suggest you go. He’s hilarious and I kinda wish that we could get together and dunk some of these popsicles all up in some booze and just see what happens. We can talk about Mariah Carey  and sing a lot of Vision of Love (um, yeah, so..that’s my Dad playing keyboards in that video–not kidding). There are lots of snacks, and sometimes we high five. At some point in the evening there are talks of learning all the choreography from Single Ladies, but after realizing we’ve had too many booze+ popsicle mash-ups, we just call it a day and play Scrabble. We show each other pictures of our dogs and tell stories about them like they’re our kids. The usual friendship things.  Note: none of this has happened, it’s just a really weird fantasy that I happen to be sharing on the internet in front of all the people. Meh. Oh, well… […]

The Heatwave | A Whiskey Cocktail

You guys!
It’s Tuesday and it’s totally almost a long four day weekend! It’s almost Fourth of July, people. Or in grown-up world “America is cool, but it’s even cooler that I can BBQ these ribs in my underwear while enjoying the sweet freedom of a whiskey cocktail on a Thursday” Day. God Bless America.
Pete and I have been gearing up by trying to find the perfect summery cocktail combo. It’s hard work, but someone has to do it.  Let us do that heavy lifting for you. We’ve come up with something pretty great. Muddled raspberries mixed with lime, ginger beer and whiskey. Summery magic? Yes indeed.
We sat around sipping guzzling our creation trying to come up with a name. Since we were both sweating semi-profusely, draping our bodies carefully in juxtaposition to an AC vent,we decided to call it The Heatwave. It’s hot. I know, I’ve mentioned this. But, really. Complain, complain. We need cocktails. […]