I was watching Louis CK’s 2011 comedy special, Live at the Beacon Theater, the other night and was cracking up at his rant about how he believes humans are aliens because we are constantly complaining about how uncomfortable we are here on Earth.  We use air conditioning and heating units and fans to make everything juuuuuuust right.  Louis notes that it just doesn’t make sense that we were meant to be on this planet.  If we were, we would just be able to deal with the extreme highs and lows without freaking out.  I’ll admit that I’m one of those complainers. While I can handle winter weather alright, the heat and sweat and that stickiness that takes over from June to August is unbearable.

This weather we’ve been having recently, however, has been perfect… and I feel the need to say that out-loud to myself that at least once a day. “This is fantastic! It needs to stay like this forever. Ah, yes… seventy degrees and sunny with a slight breeze.”  I know it won’t last long, but I’m taking as much of it in as I can before it gets warmer.

You may have noticed a lot of beverages on here recently and I’ve been enjoying playing around with some fun cocktail recipes for you (Hope you’ve been enjoying consuming some of them too!).  Over the last few weeks, Eric and I have switched from whiskey drinks to gin and vodka and tequila. Just like food, our bodies crave different libations as the seasons change. So, here is a vodka “refresher” for you to all enjoy that utilizes some of Honest Tea‘s Honey Green Tea, which the company generously sent over for me to try.  I was thrilled with the subtle sweetness of the tea, especially since I had planned on including a little simple syrup in the cocktail.

In addition, they’re offering one lucky A Thought For Food reader a chance to win a month’s supply of their tea (30 drinks)!   Woo hoo!

See below for details on how to enter the giveaway:

A word from the folks at Honest Tea:

“Honest Tea would like to keep you refreshed for 30 days, on us. Brewed with organic tea leaves and half the calories and sugar of other bottled teas, we hope you’ll find it a sip in the right direction.  ”

To Enter the Honest Tea Givaway:  Leave a comment here telling me what your favorite warm-weather beverage is (alcoholic or non-alcoholic).

Giveaway Disclaimer: No purchase necessary. Open to US residents only . Giveaway will end on May 27th 2013 at 12:00 pm EST. One winner with a valid entry will be selected at random using random.org. Winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be selected. Samples of Honest Tea products and the giveaway items were provided to me by Honest Tea through the NoshOnIt Publisher Partner Program. 

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I’ve been on the road a lot recently.  Well, not just the road, in the air as well.  It makes writing a bit challenging, so I usually get most of my posts down on my iPhone. Whenever I mention this to people, they always shake their heads… they can’t imagine typing that much with their thumbs. I find it freeing though. Grammar and spelling become less important and I’m able to focus on my thoughts. I’m not a natural writer and often struggle to find the words to convey what I’m feeling. But this little keyboard allows me to get it out without over-thinking it.

As I mentioned, I’ve been traveling a lot these last few weeks. It started at the end of April with a whirlwind trip out to Los Angeles by way of New Jersey. After a long weekend out west for the Big Traveling Potluck, I returned to my parents house to help out as my mom recovered from an operation.  It was nice to be there… to be with my family and the daily routine of things, even though it was obviously a very hard time for my mother.

When I returned to Boston, things didn’t slow down. I’ve been fortunate enough to work on some great projects that have kept me pretty busy.  There were a few slow days this last week where I got to create some recipes that have been stewing in my brain for a bit.  One was this bowl of grits topped with two of my favorite seasonal ingredients: fiddlehead ferns and ramps.  I kept the dish fairly rustic.  My goal was to create a comforting dinner for a rainy spring night that would stick to your ribs a little.  With a bit of brown butter and cheese mixed into the grits, I would call this one a huge success.

Now my thumbs are tired. I’m going to give them a little rest.

Enjoy!

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We drank a lot that Monday night.  More than we normally do.  More than we should have on any weekday, but, hell, we were doing it as a part of our mixology education.  The class was with Domingo-martin Barreres, the head bartender at Market by Jean-Georges and he had provided a number of recipes to try that night. Besides the six cocktails we were also given free reign to play with the ingredients purchased for the class. That led to another four or five beverages.  Oh, and we hadn’t eaten dinner yet.

Two things I took away from that evening were 1) that cocktails incorporating egg whites are da bomb and 2) that shrubs are going to be used in every one of our cocktails this summer.  Shrubs, for those of you who aren’t familiar with them, are vinegar based syrups.  These shrubs are made by mashing fresh fruit with sugar and then soaking the fruit in vinegar for a week.  The result is a slightly acidic, sweet, and fruity liquid that can be added to a cocktail to give it a little zip.  There are basic shrubs (mango, strawberry, apple), but you can also play around with them to create some fun pairings (mango sriracha, strawberry basil, apple ginger).  Here, though, I wanted to go seasonal, so I went straight for the classic strawberry-rhubarb combo.

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It’s hard to believe that it was almost a year ago that I met Gaby for the first time.  The introduction occurred at the Big Summer Potluck last July but it was in the car ride there that Lisa first mentioned her name.

“Who are you rooming with?” I asked her.

“Her name is Gaby, pronounced GOB-ee not GAB-ee. She’s a blogger from LA.”

“Do you know anything else about her?”

“Nope.”

“Well, hopefully she’s not a weirdo!”

Ok… I may have made up that last line. If I didn’t say it out loud, I was definitely thinking it.  But as I got acquainted with Gaby, I quickly learned that she wasn’t a wacko.  In fact, she was immediately welcoming and completely open and honest (even going so far as to express her love for colonics.  Sorry Gaby, I had to say it). We spent hours drinking wine together in the hotel room that night. Instant bonding.

I also got to hear about the book she was working on about avocados. Now, I must admit that I rarely purchase cookbooks that focus on a single ingredient. But, hell, who doesn’t like avocados? They’re damn expensive here in the Northeast and this makes me even more jealous of the plentiful supply of beautiful (and cheap!!!) avocados that West Coasters get to enjoy.   Then again we do have $4 lobsters here, so I guess I can’t complain too much.

Back to Gaby. Well, what else is there to say except that I adore her.  She’s kind-hearted and incredibly talented and I’m honored to call her my friend.  We spent this last weekend together… she picked me up at LAX when I was there for The Big Traveling Potluck and rushed us off to her favorite restaurant for lunch, followed by a fun-filled car ride to the event. Let’s just say that I almost peed myself because I was laughing so hard.

Anyway, the book is out and I recommend that everyone orders it right away… especially if they want to get it in time for Cinco de Mayo.  With that being said, Gaby and the publishers of Absolutely Avocados have graciously offered to do a giveaway of the book here!  Details on how to enter follow, but if you’re anxious to get your hands on it, head on over to Amazon and buy a copy. Here are the details:

To enter this giveaway, leave a comment on this post telling us how you like to eat avocados (on their own, in a dish)?

Official Rules: No purchase necessary. Open to US residents only . Giveaway will end on May 6th 2013 at 12:00 pm EST. One winner with a valid entry will be selected at random using random.org. Winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be selected.

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Opening the Cape house involves very little work.  We take the furniture outside, we wipe away some cobwebs and air out the rooms, which can get a bit musty during the six months we’re away.  Since the house isn’t insulated very well, we utilize the fireplace as much as possible. Eric and his brother Andy went out to chop some firewood. They were so proud of themselves and had a nice bonding moment.

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I stepped into the kitchen after spending hours in front of the television.  I just couldn’t take it anymore.  I needed a break.  From the fridge I pulled ingredients for dinner.  I hovered over the stove and stirred, staring into a pot of stew. My thoughts brought me back to where I was when the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center occurred and the years it took before it felt normal to go into the City again.  I wondered if it’d be that way here in Boston; if I’d do all I could to avoid Copley Square so I wouldn’t have to be reminded of what happened.  And would we see a change in people?  Maybe a bit more camaraderie and compassion?  Is it possible for us to take something out of this that will make our lives a little brighter?

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