I like sangria a lot, but there's one massive problem with most sangria recipes that are circulating out there. They assume you: a) have an enormous number of people partaking with you, b) you're a lush, or c) you're okay with leftovers going flat. None of these options suit me. Oh sure, I have an enormous number of people at my house at most times, but five-sevenths of them are not of drinking age, and I'm not that kind of mom. Can I get an amen out there from someone? I have a solution. Raise your hand if you want a straw and a lounge chair and a glass of that right now. Yes? My hand is up, too. Way up. This solves all of my View Post
Eggnog Chai Latte {+eggnog coffee latte recipe} | Make Ahead Mondays
Update: I've received many emails asking where I got the mug. I aim to please, so here ya go! It's part of the MugTails Collection available on Amazon.com Every so often I drink a cup of coffee because somewhere deep down inside I feel like I SHOULD like coffee and it's a lot easier to find a mediocre coffee when you're out than an even passable tea. The thing is... I don't like coffee. I like tea. I love tea, in fact, and that's just the way it is. Like many tea drinkers, I've taken to carrying a few 'emergency' bags of a good portable brand of tea against the chance of finding myself in a place with no tea. It has happened. I View Post
Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte Recipe {real pumpkin}
This classic post was originally published in September of 2013. It's officially the first day of fall, so you KNOW you tea drinkers need to get in on the pumpkin spice latte train. Oh, and my kids are no longer sick. Hooray for the passage of time. Four out of five of my kids are sick. Snuffling, sneezing, sore throat, goobery, gloppy, walking-petri-dish, tissue-dropping sick. This comes at the end of a week that was so busy that I didn't know whether I was coming or going two-thirds of the time. There are five kids in this house, friends, you can imagine how many extra-curricular activities we have... To cap it off, my darling Evil View Post
Pumpkin Cheesecake Milkshake
Disclosure: This post brought to you by Kraft Foods. All opinions, recipes and photos are, as always, my own. Thanksgiving is drawing near so fast my head is almost spinning. I eagerly await it all year long and to think we're this close? It is far and away my favourite feast of the year. Food, family, gratefulness... it's like a wonderfulness bomb that explodes joy all over my heart. Is that too much? I can't help it. I love it so. And I love ALL of it: the planning, the lead up, the actual event, and the days following it. It makes me feel giddy. Is anyone else about ready to pop? In this season of togetherness, friends, and View Post
Watermelon Lime Sorbet, Frozen Watermelon Margaritas and a Mocktail
I love Independence Day. Maybe it has something to do with my ever so slight problem with authority. (I can hear my dad and mom laughing from here.) Maybe it's because the hair stands up on my arms and a chill runs down my spine every time I hear a snare drum and a patriotic song. Perhaps it's because I love to see the flash and colour of the fireworks reflected back from my kids' wide eyes. ...Or maybe it's the food. Okay. It's mostly the food. The truth is that this time of year is a food lover's heaven. Fresh berries, tender lettuce, grilled meats, herbs snatched and munched on from the garden... Good golly! I could eat from dawn View Post
Pure Sweet and Puckery Lime Sorbet and Summer Shandy Beer Floats
It's a not so tightly held secret that I adore ice cream. In fact, I eat it almost every day of the week. Two of the last five years I've given ice cream up for Lent and I do believe my children would tell you they hope I never make that sacrifice again. I'm going to throw a few ice cream or ice creamy posts your way in the next few weeks. Ice cream will always be my true love. Well, my husband first and then ice cream. Okay. God, my husband, and then ice cream. DANGIT. God, my husband, my kids, my family and then ice cream. But everyone other than God is on notice that ice cream is hot on their heels. I put sorbet in the ice cream View Post
Piña Colada Smoothies | Vegan and Dairy Free
Piña Colada Smoothies are my new go-to smoothie. They're kind of fabulous. You know how I've told you I was a picky eater when I was a kid? I was a total texture-phobe and I was dead picky about flavour combinations. My mom now says, "Hey, we just didn't know you were gourmet." My mom is the Queen of the Euphemism. I must've been a righteous pain in the rear to feed. The reason I'm confessing this (again) is that pineapple and coconut were both on my no-fly list. I didn't like pineapple because of the stringy texture. I didn't like coconut because the sum exposure I had to coconut in Northern Michigan in the 70s and 80s was View Post
Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher Clone (Starbucks Knockoff)
I got my dog fixed on my birthday. It's a glamorous life. Try not to be too jealous. Because Frijole is a rescue dog (although some folks would argue that his inclusion in the dog category is in doubt considering he's half daschund half chihuahua), we were invited to bring him to a free spay and neuter clinic about two hours from home. "Free" is one of my favourite words, so I grabbed the leash, the understandably unexcited dog, a cup of tea and set out at six in the morning on a Sunday to drop my pup off for ye olde snip-snip. After depositing the dog (and a surprise attack of tears when leaving my sweet wittle puppykins View Post
Spiced Orange Chai Concentrate
This is the time of year when I want nothing more than to traipse through the woods. The leaves have hit the deck and between the satisfying rustling sound they make, the scent of pine needles and apples, and the brisk air, a walk yields something that just might be the best feeling in the world. I'm getting ready to hunker down along with the bears, groundhogs, hobbits, squirrels, and other woodland creatures. With last week's snowfall, I feel a little like Robert Frost 'Stopping by Woods' on a snowy evening even though it has all melted. It's just something in the air. Coming back from those walks, we turn to warm fires, family, good View Post
Cucumber Gin Coolers
I'm not a very accomplished bartender. The sum of my barkeep experience was stalling the patrons at the restaurant where I worked on the late shift while the real, honest-to-goodness bartender ran into the back to make a personal phone call. When she returned to her post, I gratefully returned to mine; the deep-fryer and flat top pub-grub station in the kitchen. I'm also not much of a drinker. The first few sips of a glass of wine or a beer leave me pink-cheeked and the last couple sips leave me looking for a pillow on which to lay my sleepy head. For the most part, my indulgences are confined to a glass of red wine or home brewed beer. View Post