summer licks

First off, may I direct you to the mp3 blog, Shake Your Fist, where I was asked by the lovely Amy to write a guest post about music. I LOVE music but haven't written about it in ages, so it was a bit nerve-wracking and I was sure the moment that I finished the post I'd be hit with regret for not including this song or that song. But it was a fun post to write and thank you to Amy for asking!

iced coffee
It's summertime and the living is easy. I may drink my coffee hot in the morning, but by the afternoon, I take any leftover coffee out of the fridge and serve it up right. A little simple syrup (which is just equal parts water & sugar that have been boiled together), some milk and lots of ice and I've got a drink that Mr. Brown would be proud of.

strawberry-pineapple popsicles
Another thing I can't get enough of are popsicles. At all times, our fridge is stocked up with these homemade icy treats. I wrote about these last summer and I feel it's time again for a refresher, because they are beyond simple to make and so refreshing. Last time I added some vanilla yogurt for creaminess, this time I just blended up some frozen strawberries, pineapple juice and fresh lime juice, poured the mix into molds and into the freezer they went. Yum.

easy peasy snacks

Last night we had some friends over. They brought over the 1958 Newport Beach Jazz Festival dvd and the Monterrey Pop Festival dvd. We promised them snacks. Because it's been so hot, I didn't really want to do any serious cooking or baking, so I came up with 2 tasty and super-easy snacks.

Snack no.1: Popsicles
Start this one early in the day, so you can eat them by nightfall. In a blender, put in the following: a handful of frozen strawberries, homemade lemonade to cover berries and then some, and 2-3 tablespoons of vanilla yoghurt. Blend at high speed until mixed. You may have to add some more lemonade if it's too thick. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze. Ultra delicious.


*note: You can substitute any kind of berry or juice to this "recipe". I've made it with orange juice, cranberry juice, pineapple juice, etc. and have used blueberries, black berries, bananas (for cornelius only, cuz i hate them!), or peaches.

Snack no. 2: Lemony-Garlicy Green Beans
1 lb of fresh green beans, trimmed
2 cloves of garlic, minced (1 clove if you aren't among friends)
2 lemons, juiced
2-3 T of olive oil
rock salt

Steam the green beans until bright green and crisp. You don't want to over cook these. Crisp = delicous! Drain and rinse in cold-cold water. At this point, I put the beans in the freezer just to get extra cold while I mixed the dressing. For the dressing, mix the garlic, lemon juice and olive oil together. Transfer beans into a nice serving dish and pour dressing over top. I tossed the beans and the dressing together with my hands. Sprinkle generously with rock salt and serve. It's better than chips. Seriously.


* these are the left over beans from last night. the lemon juice "cooked" them so they aren't so crisp or green, but they still are tasty! also, you may find them too lemoney, and if so, cut down on the lemon juice.