Tag Archives: Recipes

Lavender French 75

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Before it got amazingly hot here in Los Angeles, I was really excited to find this lavender at the farmer’s market.

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The best part about lavender is that it is gorgeous as flowers around your house for a while, and then – once it’s dried – it also makes things floral and fancy in the kitchen.

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I had big plans for my bouquet of lavender. (i’ll be sharing with you some other projects very soon!)  I was going to put these tiny little flower buds to good use.

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I made myself a lavender simple syrup with the intention to jazz up some cocktails, but the syrup could also be used for all kinds of non-alcoholic things.  It would be delicious added to iced tea or coffee, or you could flavor your baked goods or icings with a subtle lavender taste. Continue reading →

The Pink Peppercorn Paloma

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This has been a very weird week for me.

I am not a cocktail maker.  I am not even much of a cocktail drinker, unless I am out at a bar that obviously doesn’t have an interesting wine list.  And even then, I hardly ever order those funky specialty cocktails.  Well, unless it is a bar known for their specialty cocktails…

You get the point.  I don’t usually drink cocktails.  I’m a wine drinker.

But with the crazy heat wave that overcame Los Angeles this weekend, I wanted something cold and fruity and refreshing.  So cocktails it was!  If you follow me on Instagram, you saw that I was hanging out with my friends who also like cocktails, and there wasn’t a vodka soda in sight.  No, no, no.  We did the heatwave cocktails up right.

So today, in honor of Cinco de Mayo, I thought I’d share a classic Mexican cocktail (other than the margarita!) with you.  Something that doesn’t require a whole lot of limes, since they are so darn expensive right now.  Something that helped me use up the rest of my leftover grapefruit juice.

A Pink Peppercorn Paloma!

Pink Peppercorn Paloma

The “Paloma” – meaning dove in Spanish – I can only assume got it’s name from being a majestic flash of relief from the heat.  The Paloma is actually the national drink of Mexico, not the Margarita, so whip up a few of these tonight and impress your friends! Continue reading →

Grapefruit Mint Julep

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It is summer in Santa Monica.

I don’t know how it happened, but we kind of skipped spring and went straight for the dog days.  And I’ve quickly realized that I’ve become so accustomed to the 70 degree and sunny norm that I have almost nothing to wear on days when its 95.

Not that I want to wear anything at all.  I’d be happy sitting in my underwear on our stoop with a iced down cocktail in my hand.

Which brings me to today’s cocktail recipe…

Tomorrow is the 140th Anniversary of the Kentucky Derby.  This means very little to me, except I know there are horses, hats and bourbon cocktails involved.  I grew up outside of Baltimore, where one of the other three horse races of the Triple Crown is held – Preakness – and one summer I went.  We didn’t wear hats, I think we were drinking Natty Lite (?!), and I can’t even tell you if I actually saw a horse.

Obviously we were doing it very, very wrong.

I still have never gotten into the “greatest two minutes in sports”, but I very much enjoy big hats and I also really enjoy fancy bourbon cocktails.  So to cool me down for the weekend, mint juleps it is, Kentucky!

I muddled the mint with the sugar. I cursed myself for not having crushed ice. I used the last of the true Kentucky Bourbon from my bar.

grapefruit mint julep recipe Continue reading →

Candied Grapefruit Peel

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Candied Grapefruit PeelLast week at the market, I wore my grapefruit shirt.  Therefore, I bought grapefruits.  Of course.

Not only was it a no-brainer to buy the fruit that I was advertising on my shirt, but I had been craving candied grapefruit peels ever since I had a greyhound a few weeks ago adorned with a little slice of the sugared candy.  The actual greyhound was kind of mediocre, but that candy!  The bartender ended up giving me a few extra pieces because I was raving so wildly about how much I loved it.

So this week I broke out the peeler and got to candying.

Candied Grapefruit Peel Candied Grapefruit PeelFor some reason, I thought the naked grapefruits were really entertaining.  It’s kind of weird how many pictures I took of them.  And posted to Twitter about them…Candied Grapefruit PeelAnyway, enough with the grapefruit porn.

I found a couple of different recipes and took the best of the feedback from both of them to come up with my method.  I wanted them to be sugary sweet, but to still have the bitterness that I love. Continue reading →

Homemade Butter With Your Kitchenaid Mixer

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Last week I stopped by the raw milk stand at the Santa Monica Farmer’s market, which is right next to our dear friend who sells pork and flowers.

(i have such a normal life)

I wanted to buy a gallon of raw milk so I could make myself another batch of delicious homemade mozzarella.  But when I stopped by, my raw milk lady had a mason jar out with her, and was showing the guy in front of me a funny yellow blob that was inside.

She had made her own butter!

So, naturally, I asked her all about it. It was something I’m sure I had done in kindergarden or girl scouts when I was young.  And I had been wanting to experiment with shortbread cookies ever since making those shortbread caramels, so homemade butter could take my next baking project over the top!

I bought a container of cream with my mozzarella milk and went on my way.

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A little nervous about the arm workout I was in for with all the mason-jar shaking in my future, I told Brad about my plan.  Of course he had a genius idea.

Skip the mason jar. Use the KitchenAid.

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Only halfway feeling like I was cheating (i was making homemade butter! that’s already the opposite of cheating!), I started up my stand mixer and let it go.  Brad only gave me one bit of advice: Continue reading →

Blood Orange Gin and Tonics

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Blood Orange Gin and Tonics @thekeyofkels

My March has been a little bit insane.

As of the beginning of February, I wasn’t going to be on the east coast even once this month.  We were watching what we spent.  We had family coming in town and birthdays coming up, so we were being responsible.

And now, as I’m unpacking my suitcase from my second trip east in 3 weeks, I am realizing I should really stock my body up on Vitamins before I get super, super sick from all of the traveling.

So Emergen-C it is!

Speaking of Vitamin C, it is coming up on the end of citrus season here in California, so I brought some blood oranges from the market all the way to Maryland with me this weekend.  I figured, along with the strawberries, raisins, and trail mix I smuggled from coast to coast, the blood oranges would be something fun and different to play around with.

blood orange gin and tonicsAnd the juice is just so pretty!

So on Friday night, after we had finished most of the preparations for everyone to come over to my parents’ house after the services for my grandfather on Saturday, we decided it was time to relax and catch up.

My mom’s favorite Friday night happy hour cocktail is the classic Gin & Tonic, so I decided to dress it up a little bit.

blood orange gin and tonics blood orange gin and tonicsBy just adding a little bit of that fiery blood orange juice, the classic G&T took on a whole new persona.

And also left the place looking like a bit of a crime scene when not poured just so…

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The citrus added just a little bit of bright red cheer to a somber occasion, a little bit of sweet citrus to a classic cocktail, and a little bit of Cali sunshine to a chilly, rainy (super jet lagged) day.

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I wish this counted as enough Vitamin C to keep me healthy until the weather really warms up, but for now, I’m drinking tea and stocking up on Emergen-C packets.

Cheers to another busy, busy week!

xoxo

Blood Orange Gin (or Vodka) & Tonics

1 part Gin (we used Bombay Sapphire, but it was also delicious with vodka!)

1 part fresh squeezed blood orange juice

1 part tonic water

Fill glass with ice.  Add equal parts gin(or vodka), blood orange juice and tonic water.  Stir and serve.  Cheers!

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