It starts like a mojito; muddle lime juice, fresh mint and sugar (or splenda, if you prefer) in a tall glass. Then add your preferred amount of vodka and fill the rest of the glass with ginger beer. I think ginger beer is a little tricky to find so I went to Whole Foods (obvie) and bought two varietals in case one was weird. Turns out it was a good call because one of the ginger beers I got was kind of spicy so the other one balanced it out quite well. Add some ice and enjoy your delicious creation.

Corn Dip with Tomatoes and Basil

(p.s. I see lots of low fat dip recipes that call for silken tofu. have you tried it?)

Heirloom Tomato Salad

Grilled Corn with Feta & Lime Vinaigrette

Grilled Chicken Stuffed with Basil and Tomato

Chocolate and Puffed Grain Morsels

Strawberry Shortcakes

This place is right across the street from the office I’ve been freelancing at for over a month. They have the most delicious lemon and mint edamame salad. I’m so in love with it I decided to try to recreate it at home. I love cold salad because they are perfect for the warm weather. I also love the simplicity of recipes with only a few ingredients. This lovely salad only has edamame (I used frozen), lemon zest and juice, fresh mint, sea salt and olive oil.

-To thaw the edamame, drop into boiling water for 4-5 minutes. Drain and let cool.
-Mix edamame, lemon zest (about 1 tbsp), juice of one lemon, chopped fresh mint (about 2 tbsp), olive oil (1 tsp) and sea salt to taste.

Very delicious!

Oh and in case I haven’t mentioned it, I love vintage soda pop!

3 cup(s) uncooked quick oats
2 cup(s) ready-to-eat puffed rice cereal
6 Tbsp sweetener (I used 4/2 ration of agave nectar/honey but could also use maple syrup or molasses)
1 tsp canola oil
1/4 cup(s) apple juice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup(s) nuts (I used a mix of roughly chopped almonds and walnuts but could use any nuts or seeds)
1/2 cup(s) dried fruit (I used a mix of raisins, cranberries, papaya and pineapple and really the possibilities are endless)

-Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix uncooked oats and puffed rice cereal together and spread on a non-stick baking sheet with sides; bake for 10 minutes, stirring once.

-Meanwhile, mix sweetener, oil, apple juice, spices and vanilla together in a cup. When oats and puffed rice are done, spoon into a large bowl; set pan aside. Add nuts to cereal mixture and stir to combine. Pour liquid mixture over cereal mixture and mix thoroughly to distribute and coat completely; spread mixture back over pan.

-Return pan to oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes more, stirring every few minutes. Remove from oven and spoon back into bowl. (Note: Be careful that granola doesn’t burn – especially cereal along sides of pan.)

-Stir dried fruit into mixture; let cool. Store in an airtight container. Yields about a half cup per serving.

I’m also planning a bridal shower for a dear, old friend of mine. She’s getting married in August so the shower will be in just a few short weeks. I designed the invite, printed it at home and then mounted it to a piece of blue card stock. Simple, but sweet. What sort of fun did you get into this weekend?

It’s a super simple recipe with only a few ingredients. The hardest part is all the chopping which admittedly does get a little tedious but it’s worth it. Here’s the breakdown I used but this recipe is easy to play with and change:
-1 fresh pineapple, chopped into cute small lil’ squares
-2 jalapenos (maybe less if you don’t like spicy but I happen to love it), finely chopped
-1/2 mango, chopped into those cute lil’ squares
-1/2 red onion, chopped nice and small (you don’t want a big bite of onion)
-1 handful of cilantro, roughly chopped
-juice of 1 lime
-dash of salt