Monday, July 20, 2009

Tweak Cooking - Summertime!



Watermelon Lemonade on the deck works for me!



Meyer lemons, juiced and muddled with sugar and fresh mint

Watermelon Lemonade on the Deck!


Just the thing for a hot afternoon -- the right amount of sweetness, a bit of tart, and even the rich anti-oxidants found in watermelon. I found this recipe on Martha Stewart's blog and had to give it a try. Here's the recipe, tweaked a bit to add a bit more nutrition:


1-1/2 mini seedless watermelons
2 Meyer lemons
large handful of fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup packed brown sugar



Watermelon ready to blend 'til smooth


Slice open the watermelon and cut the flesh into chunks. Blend in a high-speed blender (like a Vita-Mix) in batches until it's blended smoothly. Quarter the lemons and squeeze the juice into a large pitcher. Throw the lemon rinds into the pitcher, add the mint leaves and the sugar and muddle them until the sugar dissolves into the lemon juice and the mint leaves are bruised. Stir in the blended watermelon. Serve over crushed ice.


Optional: Add 1.5 ounces of premium vodka to the glass with your crushed ice before pouring in the lemonade. Stir well.



see all my Tweak Cooking posts for more recipes



enjoy!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Favorite Things: Old Wood, Inspired by an Etsy Treasury

I love old wood. I collect old doors because I enjoy the patterns of blistered and cracked paint, the distressed wood and battered doorknobs, even the occasional splinter.



This photograph is being featured in a Treasury collection on Etsy.com. Check it out! The artist, Lisa of PaperBullet, who built this Treasury is extremely talented, and she's found a whole bunch of beautiful and interesting things, some of them old and distressed, to match my passion. Her own work shows a deep talent for using an array of materials with tons of creative imagination.
Here's just one of the items from her shop. I love it because she uses an old wood picture frame to create a beautiful painting.
She inspired me to add this photograph to my shop today. If you purchase it and mention you've seen it in my blog, I'll ship it to you for free.