Archive for August, 2009

a minor rant

Friday, August 28th, 2009

So you know I just really wanted to keep my site about useful information reciepes, prodcut and resturaunt reviews and the like. For some reason I just need to get this one off my chest and to be honest it’s not a big deal more like a splinter under my skin.  Lately I have started increasing the number of people I am following on Twitter to include more of my hobbies and more of my work skills and that has brought on lost of new things to read.  Most would find the information helpful, validating and new; I however have not.  I really don’t mean to toot my own horn here but I am just so stinking tired of reading things being presented as OMG NEW!  OMG NEW TRENDS in photography.  I watched a video clip about the TOP 10 new trends in Photography.  That was what pushed me over the edge.  I watched the entire clip and loudly proclaimed HELLO AND WELCOME TO 4 YEARS AGO!  Then I started reliving things and rememberd something to the effect of how to take good wedding photos and it was really mostly lame. 

So I guess there is a market for all the usless knowledge I am carring around in my head.  SO if you have seen my site and have any questions regarding any of the things I dable in please send me a line.

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Blackberry Lemon Shake-Ups

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

I was watching a local station while visiting Nashville last week and over the lunch hour saw some recipes for summer time beverages.  Well it’s been hot down there for a while but it was perfect timing for this Indiana girl. 

What normally happens is they use crazy ingredients you don’t have, expensive ones you won’t buy or they leave out some sort of detail.  Of course here it was the details.   So after some testing, I know such a sucky job to have here is what I came up with.

Ingredients
3       oz of Vodka
3.5   oz of sweet and sour -see below  (store bought is good too)
1       oz of Blackberry Sangria -see below
4 mint leaves and 1 for a garnish

Pour ingredients into a shaker, SHAKE and pour into tall ice filled glass. 

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Take the garnish mint leaf and spank it (you know place it in your palm and smack with the other hand) now lay it on top of your drink. You could asd a splash of diet 7UP.  ENJOY!!!  *This is a revision.  At first I was making 1/2 as much, straining and serving in a chilled martini glass.  VERY elegant but difficult to balance and it was to good to sip. 

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Blackberry Sangria
1 cup frozen blackberries
1/2 cup of boiling water
1/4 cup sugar – this can be adjusted to your sweetness likings

Place blackberries and sugar in heat safe container add boiling water.  Let sit until dissolved.  Place in blender and liquefy. I also used this same recipe with frozen strawberries, KLT enjoyed it. 

Sweet and Sour
1 part simple syrup (2 parts water &  3 part sugar)
1 part lemon juice

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ahhh the Mojito

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

Well the Mojito is a special drink and many are confused when I tell them what is in mine but let me explain.  A while back we were at the Venetian in glorious Las Vegas Nevada, it was FREAKING HOT.  I don’t care how many times you tell me it’s a dry heat 110 degrees is TERRIBLE and when you are 5’4.5″ like me you are close to the black pavement and the heat being bounced back at you.  We decided to go sit by the pool for a bit one afternoon.  Armed with a wad of cash I ordered a Mediterranean Mojito like the girl next to me just had delivered.  We spoke about it and I fell more in love with it, so much so I could hardly wait for it’s delivery!  KLT was mortified that I would spend FIFTEEN dollars on a drink.  But let me tell you it was worth every penny.  My culinary and bartender skills let me sip, savor and detail every taste in that glass.  So much so I was able to quickly recreate the drink at home.  ENJOY!

10 medium mint leaves (you be the judge it is all about how you like it)
1/2 a small – regular sized lime in two slices
1.5 ounces of Captain Morgan (or Sailor Jerry if you are a fan)
diet 7 up (regular if that is your wish) This beats adding sugar and tyring to get it dissolved.
OJ

Mash the mint leaves (I choose stem and all)  – the technical term is bruise add the lime slices and squish with our muddler. Place this mash into the bottom of your glass, fill with ice (this helps keep the leaves down), add your rum.

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Fill with 7 up and splash with orange juice. Now the organge juice is a nice touch but you can totally leave it out if it’s not available. You won’t miss it after a couple.

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Now let me tell you about mint. It is a weed. You should not plant it direcetly in the yard or else you will end up wit a yard full of mint. Plant it in a bucket with the bottom cut out and then plant that in your landscape. Keep it trimmed. My mint is in pots, however they did not survive the harsh Indiana weather. Let’s hope things work out better this year. Mint propgates easily, just clip some off and place in water, it will root in a matter of days.

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