Seriously, why am I not posting a cocktail recipe every Friday?!? While we’re all staying home, classic cocktails with new names, like the Quarentini are popping up all over the place.

This cocktail is my spin on the classic Zombie, tweaked and swirled to become a Zoombie. If you’re not on the phone with friends and family in FaceTime, you’re on your computer with friends and family in Zoom. Zoom Happy Hours have been the thing to do for weeks now. So please feel free to forward this recipe to your friends so that y’all can mix up a batch in your own kitchens and enjoy it together.

I enjoyed the Zoombie earlier this week with two dear friends who came by for a much-needed Social Distancing Happy Hour. By the way, the appetizer you see in the photos above is Zucchini Crostini. It is always a hit!

Kim sent me a video on Instagram from The Food Network. The video showed how to make a Watermelon Tiki Drink. Since Marissa was in town over the weekend for her best friend’s wedding shower, I thought it would be the perfect time to give the cocktail a try.

I’m calling it The Watermelon Crawl Cooler and I call it absolutely adorable and perfect for a summer pool party! I’ve even made a little movie for you. It’s at the end of the post. Oh, and be sure to turn on your volume – the song is awesome!

You’ll need an immersion blender. The one in the video from Kim was fancier than mine. The edge was wavy and sharp and it cut into the watermelon.

Mine doesn’t have that ability, so I just pressed the hand blender hard onto the center of the watermelon to score it.

Next, I used a paring knife to cut around the score…

… and cut out the top of the watermelon.

Oh, and before you do any of that, check to see if your watermelon will stand or roll. If it rolls, slice a little off the bottom so that it will stand and be steady.

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Yes, it’s true, I’m finally putting a recipe on this recipe blog!

Miracles can and do happen. As evidenced by the sunset photos below!

But before I get to that, I need to do a little housekeeping on some final miscellaneous Hawaii  happenings.

I hope you won’t mind  But if you do … scroll down to “read more” and skip ahead to the cocktail.

My feelings won’t be hurt, only because I won’t know you’re doing it. But be careful, there could be a quiz at the end, and if you do poorly … yeah, then I will know and … whatever… do what you must.

I mean if these gorgeous photos aren’t doing the trick to keep you right here, nothing will!

The first thing I want to share with you are photos of Punalu’u Beach, also known as Black Sand Beach.

It is located on the southeast side of the Big Island.

We drove out of our way just so I could collect some black sand.

I collected sand from all of the islands we visited. I had expected most, if not all, of the sand on the Big Island to be black, but no, only at this beach.

The texture is completely foreign from any sand I’ve seen or touched before. (Special thanks to Connor for being my hand model – sand holder!)

Here is a sample of my sweet little “Sands of Hawaii” collection. Crazy how different the sands of the various islands are. It may not be apparent in this photo, but the sands from Maui and Kauai are vastly different from each other too.

Next up, I forgot to show and tell you about the awesome collection of vintage Hawaiian  signs that were all over the exterior breezeway walls at the B&B we stayed while on the east side of Hawaii.

I am still coveting the Laupahoehoe Sugar Company sign. It was so long, that I had to use the panoramic feature on my iPhone to get it all in one shot! Then I discovered the sad history of Laupahoehoe … heartbreaking.

And this fabulous C and H Sugar sign! Sigh… if I could have figured how to pry it off the wall and fit it in my suitcase… it was tempting! I may have to begin an eBay search for such a treasure.

I was intrigued by the “C and H” instead of the “C&H” that we’re used to today. I did a little research and was surprised to find that 107 year old company didn’t switch over to the ampersand in their iconic logo until the early nineteen-seventies. Do you know what “C and H” stand for?

California and Hawaiian. Now you know.

Each Friday night at the Beach Tree Restaurant at the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, there is a the beachside barbeque. The Friday we were there… fresh Mahi Mahi…

… cooked on an open grill, in the sand, on the beach, waves rolling in only steps away. Outstanding!

Finally, I have to show you a souvenir I bought myself from the resort. It’s the beach bag that awaits you in your closet. You are encouraged to use it during your stay. I did not, I wanted it to be pristine when I brought it home.

This adorable burlap coffee bag turned into a chic beach bag, lined with vintage Hawaiian fabric. Now you are privy to my plans for the burlap sacks I purchased at the store at the Kauai Coffee Company while we were on Kauai.  All I have to do now is find vintage Hawaiian fabric and then learn how to sew.

Thanks for sticking with me through all the Hawaii posts, I hope you enjoyed it half as much as I enjoyed reliving it. Now it’s time for your reward, a Hawaiian cocktail recipe…

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You didn’t really think I would do the “12 Kitchen Gifts of Christmas” without adding at least one sweet baked treat, did you?

I didn’t think you would think that! Today is the day … Rum Glazed Eggnog Bread… it’s a keeper!

If you want to get a jump on your Christmas baking, these loaves freeze beautifully. Just don’t make or add the glaze until you’ve taken them out of the freezer and allowed them to thaw overnight in your refrigerator.

Although the amount of rum is minimal if you want or need to avoid alcohol, substitute orange juice in its place.

I found the adorable German paper baking pans at Home Goods and I also saw them at T. J. Max. Undoubtedly, they are at Marshall’s as well. They are half the size of standard mini loaf pans, so I am calling these  *ultra-mini loaves. It’s all good – this way, there are twice as many loaves for giving.

On the ninth day of Christmas
My true love gave to me:

Rum Glazed Eggnog Bread
Fennel Cured Salmon
Spicy Guinness Mustard
Two Jars of Mustard
Pumpkin Pie Spice
Homemade Kahlua Liqueur
Lemon-Sugar Hand Scrub
Cranberry Citrus Vodka
and a bottle of Tomato Dust

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Every week for the last couple of months there has been a watermelon in my CSA bounty. I pray last weeks was the last one! I am watermeloned out! Isn’t it time for pumpkins instead? Anyhow, I did the only thing left to do with another huge watermelon… I made cocktails!

My new motto: When in doubt – Make a Cocktail!

I found the inspiration for a watermelon mai tai from Ted Allen on the Food Network website. After tasting his version, I changed the quantities of his original recipe so I could use more watermelon. We ended up liking the end product even more than the original.

If you’re not familiar with St. Germaine Liqueur, it is one of the “big deals” in the cocktail world at the moment. It is not new though, it has been made in Paris since 1884, it’s just the new hot thing. St. Germain is a sweet liqueur made in the artisanal French style from elderberry flowers. Personally, I would not drink it on its own, but it is delicious in this mai tai. If you want to give it a try without buying a big bottle, do as I did, and buy the “airplane” size bottle from a well-stocked liquor store. I found mine at Total Wine.

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