Have you heard of mezcal?  Mezcal was predicted to be one of the biggest food trends of 2018, yet despite it’s popularity, many still have not tired it.  Mezcal, which means “oven-cooked agave“, is known for it’s distinct smoky flavor, which is unlike any other spirt, but mezcal is actually much more than just that. […]

This beauty is a rosé wine slushy, a social media darling known more playfully as a “Frosé“. This fun, prep-ahead wine cocktail is made by blending and freezing fresh fruit, rosé wine, and sweetener is an absolute winner. These refreshing grown-up slushies come together in minutes and are perfect for warm summer days. There are […]

For as much as I love fruit, I have never loved grapefruit.  I’ve always wanted to, but it’s been a struggle.  When I was a little kid I thought that eating a halved, sectioned grapefruit, lightly sprinkled with sugar and topped with a maraschino cherry served with breakfast was considered an elegant side.  I never […]

It’s believed that the Blue Lagoon cocktail was created by Andy MacElhone, the son of famed bartender Harry MacElhone, at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris in the 1960s or early 1970s. So, despite what most think, the drink predates the 1980 coming-of-age film, starring Brook Shields, of the same name. Retro cocktails, as they’re […]

Close friends introduced my family to a special place in Hawaii we have come to adore. It was during our first visit there, years ago, that their signature kid “drink” won my children’s hearts, as we were told it would. The specialty frozen drink was simply called, “Ovaltine froth“. Ovaltine, for those unfamiliar (or too young…), […]

This matcha smoothie bowl is the recipe you should be making all summer long on repeat. The tropical flavors of pineapple and banana blended with almond milk and matcha ignite feelings of relaxation and good health. What is Matcha? In Japanese, the word “Matcha” is the combination of “ma“, meaning rubbed or ground,  and “cha“, […]

The days were long in lockdown. As a result, people drank substantially more than usual and I’m totally guilty of that. We were all just trying to get by. In many ways, we still are. But the reality is not everyone drinks alcoholic drinks. In fact, pre-Covid, the trend was showing that younger people (millennials) […]

Is called a Tommy Gun cocktail. This recipe is a slightly adapted version of San Francisco Mixologist Jacques Bezuindenhout’s brilliant signature creation which I’ve long admired. In my version, this sour, which references the iconic firearm wielded by Prohibition-era gangsters, gets its zing from a little ginger liquor, and a punch from a generous pour of […]

This Ruby cocktail is a drink made with many things I adore. I am also rather intrigued by it. While learning about it, I found several food and drink websites that claim this “fruit-centric drink”, which is at times referred to simply a “Ruby”, is made with vodka, Aperol, Saint Germain liqueur and ruby grapefruit, and […]

This simple drink oozes elegance. There is no fancy name, no long story behind it and no unusual ingredients, but this pear-thyme Prosecco cocktail is a tasty one and the fun seasonal cocktail for the cooler months. I have always been a fan of bubbles.  The trend of serving sparkling wines and campaigns with any meal […]

Hello fall! There are many things I love about the fall season, the warm days with cool nights, the crisp air, sweaters of any kind, fall vegetables, Thanksgiving, my birthday and almost anything involving apples. I also adore sangria. So that is how we got to this new fall favorite of mine, hard cider sangria. […]

The margarita is undoubtedly the most popular tequila cocktail the world over, followed by the Paloma. The Toromha cocktail is a close cousin of the margarita and is believed to have been invented by the Tequila Tezon company. Apparently the “Toronha” name comes from “toronja” (the Spanish word for grapefruit), and takes the extra ‘h’ from the […]

I remember when smoothie bowls became a thing. And I’ll admit it, I didn’t fully get them at first, but now I do. Smoothie bowls are often confused with açaí bowls, but they are not the same, in fact, they are completely different in origin. And to clarify, traditional smoothies, made of pureed fruit mixtures […]

Meet my new favorite summer drink, a Saint Germain cocktail. A blend of St. Germain, (pronounced san-jer-man), white wine and club soda, think wine spritzer, but better. Light, effervescent and refreshing, this is a cocktail I have been sipping on all summer long. And the best part about this time of year, you can bend the rules […]

Note: “By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by California Walnuts and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.” Here is a new summer smoothie I can’t seem to get enough of these days. This is my strawberry-plum walnut smoothie and it is […]