I don’t recall if I’ve ever shared this before but I will now confess…

… I don’t drink coffee. I’ve never liked it. I love the smell, and I adore coffee ice cream, but I knew that if I was to become a coffee drinker, I’d need to load that bitter liquid up with sugar and cream and I don’t see the point of starting each day off with that!

Most mornings I start my day with water, now and then with juice and if someone offers, I’ll have hot tea. Not in the summer, but at other times of the year. That’s the other thing I don’t get, how can people drink steaming hot coffee when it’s 100 degrees out? It is often 100 degrees out by 9 AM here in AZ!

Iced Coffee – that has sounded like something I might enjoy, once in a while, when I need a kick-start. Not too often, since it too, is loaded with cream and sugar.

Today is that day, I’ve been up since 4:15 and I am already dragging. I can’t be dragging today, I have too much to do. Iced Coffee! I’m gonna give it a try.

I’m going with the simplest recipe possible for this first try. One thing I do know is that it is best to start with cold-brewed coffee. Since I don’t drink coffee, I don’t make the best-tasting coffee, so I bought a bottle of cold-brewed coffee at Trader Joe’s.

My verdict?  It was OK, maybe a person who likes coffee would like it more. I’m going back to the drawing board and I’m going to make something more exciting. I’ll keep you posted. Until then, here is my simple iced coffee “recipe.”

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My dear friend and former neighbor, Lori, sent me a recipe request all the way from Tokyo, Japan. Here is a condensed version of her email.

“Last night we took friends to our favorite restaurant here – Ivy Place. They have a drink that blows me away-it is lemongrass lemonade. Everyone was wondering, “How do you think they make this?!?” I said the only person in the world besides this restaurant who could possibly figure it out is Miss Linda! Ever heard of lemongrass lemonade? Here is a picture of what they serve.

It seriously is the most delicious, refreshing drink I have ever had (and I am a lemonade freak-so all the better). In all your spare time, 🙂 can you help us with this mystery and how to make this concoction? You may get a better idea though if you could just jump on a plane and get over here already!”

Now I’m pretty good at deciphering recipes and recreating them at home … once I’ve TASTED them! But to try to recreate something I’ve never tried – that’s a serious challenge! Quite honestly, it’s impossible. I can only make a guess, and not even an educated guess, as to what the bartender or mixologist at Ivy Place in Tokyo uses to make their Lemongrass Lemonade.

Otherwise, it wasn’t difficult to come up with a recipe. I have lemongrass growing in my exceedingly overgrown herb garden. I am going to clean all that excessive oregano and rosemary out of there and start over, soon, very soon … maybe this weekend!

At the end of the post, you’ll find directions on trimming garden lemongrass. If you don’t have lemongrass growing in your yard and you aren’t close enough to come over and get some of mine, you can often find it with the herbs in the grocery store.

One thing I did figure out after I made several attempts, Ivy Place makes the drink differently than I do! I can see that from the fact that their drink is clear and garnished with mint and mine is yellow and garnished with lemongrass. The yellow in my drink comes from the use of lemon zest. I don’t want to leave that out because the oils in the peel give you the most intense lemon flavor. I like my lemonade to be really lemony!

All that being said – Lori, here is my version of Lemongrass Lemonade. I’ve named it after you. Please make a batch, taste it and then give me some feedback about what you think and what might be added or taken away to make it most like the concoction that Ivy Place serves.

One last thought – Lori claims that this makes a seriously tasty cocktail when you add vodka. Strangely enough – I believe her!

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The pretty Christmas beverage dispenser below was given to me several years ago, as a gift, from Peggy. Everyone at the Christmas Craft Party loved it, as do I!

I had two cocktails available for guests at the party.

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A Pear-Thyme Mimosa (pear juice,  fresh thyme sprigs, and champagne) and an autumn apple punch.

The punch was the most popular, by far!

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This is stone fruit season. Are you ready for a week’s worth of stone fruit recipes? Yes? OK, let’s get to it.

According to the Cook’s Thesaurus –

“The family of stone fruits includes cherries, plums, apricots, nectarines, and peaches.   They all arrive in the summer, though you can sometimes find pricey imports during the off-season.  Stone fruits don’t become sweeter after they’re picked, but growers often harvest them while they’re still a bit underripe so that they won’t bruise during transit.  At the market, select specimens that have the color, if not the softness, of fully ripened fruit, then take them home and let them soften at room temperature for a few days.”

How about we start off with a cool refreshing drink on this hot summer day?

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This is a recipe I posted nearly four years ago, very soon after the birth of this blog.

Since it’s been so long and is buried deep in the archives, I feel it’s time to remind you about the summertime goodness and refreshment of my cucumber martini.

Cool cucumber, tart lime, luscious lime-simple syrup, herbal gin, and a boat full of ice  …  what more could a parched girl living in a sweltering, arid, suffocatingly hot, dry, scorched, oven-like desert want?

OK, honestly, maybe a bowl of ice cream … but even without the ice cream, this cocktail will do just fine!

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After our luxurious and relaxing day at the Willow Spring Spa at the Scottsdale Princess Resort on Friday, the very first thing I wanted to do when I got back home was to make a huge pitcher of spa water. You know what I’m talking about – the glorious fruit and herb-infused waters they always have available to you at a luxury spa.

My absolute favorite flavor is one that I call “Summer’s Splendor”.  To make it –  find as huge a pitcher or dispenser as will fit in your refrigerator. Throw in several handfuls of fresh basil leaves, peel and then thinly slice one English cucumber and add it to the basil. Then take 1 or 2 lemons, wash really well, thinly slice, and add to the mix. Fill the picture with cold water and refrigerate.

I like to make this just before I go to bed and then enjoy it for the next day or two. Be sure to give it a good 12 to 18 hours to macerate and let the flavors blend.

Below you’ll find another 12 flavor blends to give you a nice baker’s dozen.

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For our Easter dinner yesterday, I served my favorite spring/summertime beverage. So light and refreshing.

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Easter is a week away, so to help get you in the spirit and begin planning your Easter dinner menu… how about a little cocktail!?  I’m not fond of Peeps, but this is too cute to not do. Vanilla, coconut, and raspberry jelly beans, that is. If it’s a bit too sweet for your taste, use half as much cream of coconut and add a splash of fresh lemon juice.

Tip: When you want to try a new variety or brand of liqueur or alcohol, an inexpensive way to go is to buy the sample or “airplane” size bottles. That’s what I did with the coconut rum I used here. Total Wine has a great selection to choose from.

And although this recipe is vegetarian… it hardly counts as the Meatless Monday Meal I promised to begin posting on weekends. For that, you’ll need to go back to Friday’s post, and instead of cutting the baguette into slices to make crostini, cut it into four equal portions, cut open each of those pieces horizontally, almost through, as though you’re opening a book and make Grilled Vegetable Sandwiches with the toasted bread, herbed goat cheese, and veggies.  Super-Duper Yummy!

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I’m gearing up for a demonstration cooking class in the garden next weekend.  In that garden spirit, I made myself a delicious breakfast gazpacho drink this morning, what a way to get the day started!

I hope you’ll come out to see me at Berridge Nurseries (4647 E. Camelback in Phoenix) next Saturday, April 16th, at noon.

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On Friday, I was buzzing around and feeling very accomplished and happy with myself, getting all sorts of errands and housecleaning done.  And suddenly it hit me – I’m so stinking hot! Even though I had my A/C on (ugh!) and it was set to 75 degrees, which is ridiculous, I know! It was 96 degrees outside and that’s what it felt like inside the house to me.  What to do? I’d been drinking water all day, in fact, I was counting and I’d already drank five 16-ounces glasses.  I needed something more.  I don’t drink soda or coffee (iced or otherwise) and I was already up to my eyeballs in iced tea, which I drank like a horse the day before, as the temps were rising. Finally, it dawned on me, that I’d make myself an agua fresca.  Agua frescas are popular fruit beverages in Central America and the Caribbean. Depending on the natural sweetness of the fruit, sugar or simple syrup may be added as a sweetener.  I wasn’t looking for anything sweet, just something more refreshing and satisfying than water. Trust me, this hit the spot, I plan on making agua frescas with ripe summer fruits all summer long.

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