sangria granitas

hello sunshine :)

thank you for coming out to play!

to help you all enjoy this gorgeous summer weekend,

i thought i'd share my current favorite recipe....

for SANGRIA GRANITAS!

let's be honest, you know it already sounds amazing.

try it! i almost ate this whole bowl :)

recipe adapted from cooking light

ingredients

1 cup 100% concord grape juice

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons finely grated orange rind

+ juice of half the orange

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind

+ juice of half the lemon

1 3/4 cups fruity red wine

directions

1. combine juice and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat;

bring to a boil. cook 1 minute, stirring until sugar dissolves.

remove from heat. stir in rinds; cool completely.

2. strain mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl; discard solids.

stir in wine. pour into a glass bowl or baking dish.

3. cover and freeze for about 45 minutes; scrape with a fork. freeze.

scrape mixture every 45 minutes until completely frozen (about 5 hours).

remove mixture from freezer; scrape entire mixture with a fork until fluffy.

(okay, obviously i didn't sit around scraping my granita mix every 45 minutes,

but if you do it a few times before it's completely frozen - you'll be good) :)

4. serve on a hot day and rejoice! :)

chocolate covered gummy bears

i don't know about you, but my summer has been filled with trips.

trips to the best places with my best friends.

you can see some of them here, here and here :)

and what do all those trips require? an easy little snack.

so i decided why not break out the gummy bears and dip them in chocolate?

see other things i've dipped in chocolate here, here and here :)

totally an obvious choice :)

ingredients

gummy bears
(haribo are the best, hands down)

1 cup chocolate (milk, semi-sweet, or dark)

small wooden skewers

directions

1. place 2-3 gummy bears on each skewer

2. melt chocolate in a microwave safe container,

stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted

3. dip gummies into the choclate, covering completely,

and letting excess chocolate drip off

4. let chocolate covered gummies cool on wax paper.

pop into the freezer for about 10 minutes.

5. enjoy :)



olympics top ten

i'm just going to acknowledge right now that this is a total cop-out post. :)

but, since i have been living vicariously through my parents travel

 over the past week, i wanted to let you do the same :)

you can follow my parents and their adventures here and here.

(all pictures courtesy of glenn)

1. soccer/football

2. cycling

3. holding the real olympic torch (crazy!)

4. wimbledon

5. federer

6. the williams sisters

 7. beach volleyball

 8. trying to find will & kate

9. enjoying london

10. oh, and they went to iceland

HAPPY FRIDAY! :)

tomato herb salad

as mentioned here, my old passport in now en route

to be renewed at some processing center in georgia.

i am passport-less.

did i have any international trips planned for the next two weeks? no

nonetheless, i feel trapped in this country called america.

good thing, it's a great country to be trapped in.

GO USA!

SPOILER ALERT: you'll want to check back tomorrow for live coverage

of the olympics from my parents trip... including volleyball, tennis,

bike racing, the olympic torch, and MORE! :)

recipe via food network

ingredients

2 pounds mixed tomatoes

1 tablespoon each chopped herbs of your choice

(i used basil and chives)

1 lemon

2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard

2 teaspoons mayonnaise

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon honey

salt and pepper

directions

1. cut tomatoes into wedges

2. whisk all remaining ingredients together.

3. toss with the tomatoes. top with more herbs.

4. enjoy :) 

 a couple of notes about this salad...

1. if you don't LOVE mustard, i would use about half the suggest amount

2. if you LOVE fresh herbs, i would double the amount suggested

3. let your tomatoes drain for a bit after cutting,

otherwise you're salad will quickly get too juicy and soggy

4. i thought this was even better after it was chilled!

zucchini muffins

bakers of all kinds have tried to tell me

secrets for getting rid of a muffin top.

of course, i am referring to the top 1/4 of your

cupcake or muffin that puffs out on the top and sides.

(no, not this kind...)

but i have a confession... i love a muffin top

i purposely fill my muffin and cupcake tins with slightly too much batter,

just so that they will have the perfect muffin top. not too much, not too little.

recipe via simply recipes

ingredients

3 cups grated fresh zucchini

(about 2 large)

2/3 cup melted unsalted butter

1 1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons baking soda

Pinch salt

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup walnuts (optional)

1 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2. in a large bowl combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. 

stir in the grated zucchini and then the melted butter. 

3. in a separate bowl, mix together the flour,

baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon. 

stir these dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture.

4. stir in walnuts, raisins or cranberries if using.

5. coat each muffin cup with a little baking spray. 

use a spoon to distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups,

filling the cups up completely.

6. bake on the middle rack until muffins are golden brown,

and the top of the muffins bounce back when you press on them, about 25 minutes.

test with a long toothpick to make sure the center of the muffins are done.

set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.

remove muffins from the tin let cool another 20 minutes.

7. enjoy!!! :)

these were awesome. wouldn't change a thing :)