We took Jell-O Shots to a whole new level!

We’re talking Coconut rum with pineapple, Midori with melon, mango vodka with tropical fruit….,

You just can’t say no to a Jell-O shot. Even when you do say, “no” you really mean yes!

There is almost no better way to get a party started!

Mocktails allow me to induldge and celebrate without the guilt and, quite frankly, the exsessive calories.

This cocktail features organic pomegranate juice, some soda water and a squeeze of lime in a stemmed glass.

Half the calories and an antioxident pick me up!

I also tried my hand at Sofrito to go along with pinto beans and brown rice.

Sofrito

Ingredients

1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 onion
1 head of garlic
1 bunch cilanto
3 large tomatoes

I chopped everything and placed in the food processor.

I froze 2 cups in separate containers and worked with 2 cups: one for the rice and one for the beans.

I sauteed the softened beans in the sofrito and cooked the rice in it also.

Salt and pepper to taste.

This recipe need some work. And maybe some added oil to the rice and beans to give it a richer flavor.

I do like having this powerful flavor ingredient on hand and can see using it in soups and crock pot meals.

This healthy snack is not just nutritious but makes for sexy, tasty cocktails as well!

Gaea award winning Olive oil is “Purely Greece and Purely Gaea”. Try all the varieties of high quality certified Carbon Neurtral Extra Virgin Olive Oils.

The truth is in the taste!

Gaea Organic Olive Oil and Olives are a treat for the palate and way fun at parties! The garlic stuffed green olives make the best dirty martini’s.

2 oz. Vodka or Gin
3/4 oz. Dirty Martini Olive Juice
1/2 oz. Dry Vermouth

We were sopping up the oil with focaccia bread and making fast work of the Kalamata olives. (my personal favorite).

Olives are my go to snack for a salty low-cal treat.

The Gaea Organic Olive Oil tastes great on its own with bread and makes a great salad dressing with your favorite balsamic vinegar or lemon juice and herbs.

Not all olive oils are created equal. Make sure that yours is 100% olive oil and organic.

…….Once the dog started drinking, the party really started…!

Just when you thought there was nothing new in cupcakes! Red Velvet Lounge is opening in New York’s Lower East side.

The lounge will feature alcohol infused confections with specialty cocktails to compliment the dainty desserts!

Potatoes fried in Duck fat with garlic and rosemary. These are quite possibly the best French fries ever.

These fries are hardy food. They come with spicy mayo dipping sauces and stand alone with rich Cabernets or Belgian wheats.

Be forewarned; these fries are addictive and will leave you craving more, every time!

The wine and beer list at Bar Cento in Cleveland, OH is excellent and is rivaled by few.

Come for the fries and beer and stay for an inspired menu of ecclectic, innovative comfort food with a sophistcated twist.

What a great way to spend a rainy Friday afternoon. My bff M and I drove all over town sofa shopping. M just bought a pied-a-terre in Chicago and decorating it is half the fun.

A comfy yet stylish sleeper sofa is a must so I have the feeling that this may take a few trips. I am hoping that I get a chance to sleep on it few times, myself!

In the meantime we were having fun listening to Barbra Streisand’s new CD, Love is the Answer . Bette, Madonna and Celine were also along for the ride which made for an afternoon of Divas and dishing! Streisand’s latest album is a collection of smooth, super mellow standards that will slowly melt you into sublime submission and have you wishing for love and romance.

We ended up at a gorgeous Irish Pub that looks as though it was plucked out of the middle ages. The food was anything but medieval.

The seafood linguine at Stone Mad was light and fresh with a delicate lemon butter sauce.

The food was better than expected, since Irish Pub food has never been a huge favorite fof mine. They also have great beer and nice wine selections. M had the burger and said that it is one of the best he’s ever had.

The waiter offered to make us a Guiness float and as intriguing as that sounded at the time, I am quite sure that my stomach would protest!

Saved by my bff! Welcome relief following an afternoon of a crabby teenager and Fall yard cleanup, I end up at M’s house where he created an elixir to ease my pain!

A little alcohol alchemy led to this lovely Red Velvet Martini, which tastes like a chocolate covered raspberry jelly stick!

Three Olives Chocolate Vodka, some frozen raspberries, some ice in a shaker, and two pretty Martini glasses!

I don’t know about you but I like to feel as though I am on the cutting edge; “edgy”.
I don’t know how realistic that is living in the Midwest, I mean, no matter how new it is here it is surely falling out of favor already in the trendy parts of the world. In any case I have decided that it is all relative. If it’s new to me, it’s new. And if nobody I know knows about it yet, well then, now I’m edgy!

Now, for a town of no more than 18,000 people we have, within a half mile radius, 4 wine stores. This does not count the extensive wine selections at the small chain and boutique grocery stores within the same distance.

I feel that the proprietors and sommeliers in my town are on top of things and there is always a wine tasting going on somewhere. Wine distributors and suppliers frequently seem to be coming back from a trip to Napa, Argentina, or the Veuve Clicquot Champagne house in France.

So, here I am at one of my favorite stores looking for a Malbec; a wine which I enjoy greatly which is from Argentina, something I “discovered” about 2 years ago, and I get a hot tip from the wine guy that Carmenere is the new one to watch. It is a revival of an old varietal that is very much like a Malbec and similar to the popular Merlot grape.

Like the Malbec, Carmenere was popular in France in the mid 1800’s and was used to produce the Bordeaux blend. The finicky Carmenere grape took too long to ripen and fell out of favor with winemakers. The grape found its way to Chile and is making a comeback after being mistaken for Merlot for decades. Vintners are sorting through their vines and rediscovering the Carmenere.

It is nice to have new choices and to enjoy a bit of history. Although, not everyone is enthusiastic about the Carmenere and consider it at most to be no more than a good table wine, that’s ok with me. I like knowing that I am enjoying the craftsmanship of those who have given special time and attention to coax the best out of a long forgotten fussy little grape.

I am planning to hang in with this grape, which much like me needs a lot of sun and a little extra time to develop to its fullest potential.

This is what happens when you get an unusually hot and muggy day at the end of a Midwest summer, you have a large watermelon on your kitchen counter, mint in your garden, and an almost full bottle of vodka in the freezer:

Accidental Watermelon and Vodka Fruit cocktails!

Recipe

Chop enough watermelon to fill a Martini glass
add 1 shot of Vodka
squeeze lime to taste
garnish with mint
grab the nearest spoon and dig in!