balsamic broiled citrus

so i'm minding my own business, grabbing lunch at the market,
 and end up in the express checkout lane.

a young man comes and stands right next to me and asks if i am in line.
i look up briefly to tell him that yes (obviously) i am in line
before looking back down at what was likely my instagram feed.

he proceeds to stand there for another minute or so
until he says 'will you go to prom with me?'
(wait, i'm sorry, WHAT???)
i look up and say 'ohhh, uh, are you in high school???'
(didn't know what to say obviously!)
before he says anything else i say 'i'm too old for you...'
he proceeds to ask how old i am - as if that's really the problem (LOL).
then i say 'oh, and i'm married!"
(first time i've used this line! perks of marriage - hello!)

at this point he runs off to some friends standing in the corner
waiting for him while i hear him say 'she's married!!!!!'

totally ridiculous and simultaneously made me feel SO old and SO young all at the same time.

in other news, my mom and i tried these balsamic broiled
grapefruits and oranges alongside our breakfast bake a couple weeks back.

they were decent. definitely had no complaints,
but i can't say they blew my socks off either.
next time i might increase the honey a bit and make sure i'm
drizzling the citrus right before placing them in the oven

recipe via simply real health

for other grapefruit recipes,
click here, here and here

ingredients

1 grapefruit, sliced in half
precut for easy scooping is best!

1 orange, sliced in half

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons honey

directions

1. set oven to broil.

2. add vinegar and honey to a small saucepan over low heat. whisk to combine.

(can also place in a microwave safe container and heat for 30 seconds)

3. place citrus face up on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
drizzle with warmed vinegar and honey mixture.

4. broil until browned and bubbly on top - about 1-2 minutes

after drizzling...

after broiling...

strawberry shortcake

at girl's night a couple weeks back one of my friends shared 

that her current pregnancy craving is strawberry shortcake. 

and that just sounded amazing. pregnant or not!

i'm usually a bit intimidated by anything that calls for a dough of sorts. 

not only was this recipe relatively simple, it came together exactly 

as the recipe suggested. and, most importantly, it was DELICIOUS.

the shortcakes were just perfection.

with the perfect amount of softness and chewiness. 

just sweet enough, but not too sweet. 

i decreased the amount of sugar in the strawberries, 

as good ripe strawberries don't need much!

perfect dessert for summer. i plan to make this again this coming weekend.

also: YES i made this from my new fave cooking blog

(see other recipes here and here)

and YES i totally cheated and DOUBLED the recipe.

ENJOY!

recipe below is doubled and serves four

shortcake ingredients

1 cup flour

4 teaspoons sugar, plus extra for topping

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 pinches of salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen

1/2 cup heavy cream, plus extra for topping

filling & topping ingredients

2+ cups small diced strawberries

2 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3/4 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

directions

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. line a baking sheet with parchment paper

3. in a food processor, add flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. pulse once to combine.

4. add frozen butter diced into small pieces. 

pulse 10-12 times, until the butter is the size of small peas.

5. add all the cream through the top and continue pulsing. 

the dough will not come together entirely - do not fret!

6. dump dough on to a floured surface and knead a few times until a dough forms. 

pat the dough into four evenly sized 1/4" thick circle or rectangle. 

move biscuits to prepared baking sheet and brush with extra cream and sprinkle with sugar.

7. bake 15-18 minutes until biscuits are lightly golden brown. 

let cool completely.

8. in a small bowl, stir together diced strawberries, lemon juice and sugar. 

allow to sit at least an hour, until he berries soften and red juice forms at the bottom of the bowl.

9. when ready to assemble, whip the cream with powdered sugar and vanilla.

10. slice each biscuit in half, spoon in whip cream and top with strawberries. 

serve immediately.

 not my best photos.
but seriously, these were amazing!

roche harbor

anacortes ferry

true blue

bocce

family time

'pi in the sky'

san juan distillery

general store

shrimp pots

margarita mashup

it's almost cinco de mayo!

instead of your normal monday morning mashup,
i'm coming to you with a MARGARITA mashup.
YOU ARE WELCOME!

my favorite margarita recipes...

1. the classic margarita

2. the agave margarita

3. the blackberry margarita

4. the whole fruit margarita

5. the st germain margarita

6. the grapefruit margarita

7. mexiprize (the beergarita)

8. the margarita mocktail

9. the best sangria
(for those of you who don't love margaritas)

AND

10. the best margaritas in seattle

the perfected old fashioned

this guest post via: Benjamin Somoza

An old fashioned is maybe America's oldest and most classic cocktails.
The year round sipper is a staple at my house and for any guy that loves bourbon.

I follow these directions exactly.

recipe via epicurious

ingredients

1 scant teaspoon simple syrup

2 dashes angostura bitters

2oz good quality whiskey

1 marashino cherry

1 twist of an orange

directions

1. in an old fashioned glass, combine simple syrup and bitters.

fill glass with ice and stir a dozen times.

2. squeeze orange peel over glass to extract oils, 

add peel to glass and add whiskey.

stir a dozen more times.

3. garnish with cherry