Drinks

Tart Cherry Margaritas

July 2, 2014 by Erica

It is definitely cherry season! Have you noticed huge displays of cherries popping up all over the place?

I am a sucker for big, beautiful displays of fruit. But even better, I recently realized that there are quite a few cherry trees in Salt Lake. Last week, multiple co-workers brought cherries into the office to share. And I couldn’t believe my luck on a neighborhood walk the other night when we happened upon a neighbor’s tree full of the ripest, juiciest cherries I’ve ever laid eyes on!

When do I get to move into a house with a cherry tree?! Based on the price of these little guys, I think I could pay June and July’s rent by selling one tree’s harvest alone.

Despite what you may be thinking, this recipe was not made with stolen cherries. I mean, I had to sample one from our neighbor’s tree, but I stopped there. As to whether or not I’m above taking a little walk back to accidentally shake down a branch… well, that’s still up for debate.

Sooo what do you do when a friend shares her cherry harvest with you? Well, you make margs, of course!

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Paloma Cocktails

April 30, 2014 by Erica

Paloma Cocktails
I’ll be honest, I went into this cocktail recipe with a bad attitude.

Mixology is not my specialty. I’ve never been too interested in booze, and pouring a glass of wine is just so much easier. Or a beer? Great, I don’t even have to mess with the cork! Nate shares my preference for wine and beer, and so there you have it. A very skimpy “drinks” section on the recipe page of this blog.

However. There was a little something called the 2013 fail post. And believe it or not, the jalapeno grapefruit margarita fail was the one I was most disappointed about. Margaritas are my cocktail of choice, and seriously, how hard can they be to make? All you have to is like… stir fruit juices together in a glass. Why can I not mix a cocktail to save my life? I needed some serious redemption after those failed margs.

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Chipotle Bloody Marys

October 17, 2013 by Erica

Chipotle Bloody Marys

It seems like forever ago that I promised you my co-worker’s Bloody Mary recipe. I hope you’ll forgive me for taking a while to get around to sharing, but I finally am! And I’m super excited about it, since I don’t often post anything boozy here. It’s always fun to shake things up a bit, right? And yes, having a brunch cocktail totally counts as shaking things up in my book. Number one partier right here!

Chipotle Bloody Marys

Not really.

If you know me, you know I’m not much of a hard alcohol lover. Though I mostly stick to beer and wine, I’ve broadened my horizons over the years, and the list of cocktails that I no longer find offensive is as follows: margaritas, mojitos, Bloody Marys. You can probably guess, given the fact that those three cocktails use three different liquors, that the alcohol is not what draws me in. Although I will say that a weak cocktail is pretty disappointing. Too bad I live in Utah, where there are laws that mixed drinks have no more than 1.5 oz of booze each. Don’t get me started on Utah liquor laws… That’s why we have to make our own Bloody Marys, people!

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Cold-Brewed Maple Almond Iced Coffee

August 7, 2013 by Erica

Cold-Brewed Maple Almond Iced Coffee from Coffee & Quinoa

For having coffee as one of its namesakes, this little blog sure lacks anything coffee-related.

It’s with good reason: I love coffee (love love love), but my coffee consumption is very boring.

Here’s the routine: Nate and I split a pot of French press in the morning before work – Starbucks Caffe Verona or Italian Roast. And then…

Cold-Brewed Maple Almond Iced Coffee from Coffee & Quinoa

That’s just about it.

Well, I put milk in it (usually almond). But that’s really it.

If I have more than my one cup, my caffeine-to-food ratio is thrown off and I find myself desperate to eat something in order to stop shaking. Very unpleasant when you’re stuck behind a desk! I also have trouble sleeping deeply if I over-caffeinated the morning before. I reserve that second cup for special occasions/emergencies: weekend brunches where my caffeine-to-food intake is skewed in the opposite direction (special occasion), nights when I’d rather sleep than go out but find myself getting ready for the bar anyway (emergency), and workdays – usually Fridays or Mondays – when I’m feeling especially unenthusiastic about leaving the house (another emergency).

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Strawberry Spa Water

June 5, 2013 by Erica

Strawberry Spa Water

Yes, yes, a recipe for water. But one that I promise is worth your while.

Despite using no fruits or vegetables in Monday’s recipe, I really have been enjoying summer produce. Strawberries are right up there with brownies on my list of favorite foods, actually.

Strawberry Spa Water

And also up there on my list of most beautiful foods. Please excuse the dozens and dozens of photos that I am cramming into this post… I just can’t help myself.

So, strawberry spa water. I first learned about it during a fitness bootcamp at the Canyons Resort a few years ago. Some co-workers and I were getting our butts kicked by a crazy woman named Helen, who to date is still one of the fittest and also most enthusiastic people I’ve ever met. (I guess that’s how you get to be a fitness instructor.) She warned us, “You’ll be thinking of me this weekend!” And it was true… as I had to use my arms to lower myself down into every chair I wanted to sit in, I definitely thought of Helen… and cursed her name.

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