OK, so we just posted Mojito Madness, but had to get these recipes over to you guys right away – well ok at least before we move on to a new topic.

I’ve done some experimenting with the Mojito because I am bound and determined to be able to mix a decent drink at home.  Nothing is better than a lazy Sunday at home with Husband and Cat just hanging out and making drinks.  Not that we do this often, but it is nice when we do!

Here’s what we’ve tried of the Mojito variety lately…

Traditional Mojito

¼ quarter of a lime, cut into wedges
5-6 mint leaves, whole without stems
1 tablespoon of superfine sugar (or simple syrup)
1-2 ounces of club soda
1-2 ounces of white rum
Ice – crushed or cubes

Throw the limes, mint, and sugar (or syrup) into a cocktail shaker and muddle well.  You really want to juice those limes and dissolve the sugar.  Next, add the club soda, rum, ice, and give it all a good shake.  Pour into a fun glass.  Garnish with a sugar along the rim or a simple lime wedge and sprig of mint.  This makes one drink.

Watermelon Mojito

¼ – ½ of a lime, cut into wedges
5-6 mint leaves, whole without stems
1 tablespoon of superfine sugar (or simple syrup)
¾ – 1 cup of watermelon, without seeds and cubed
2 ounces of white rum
Ice – crushed or cubes

In your cocktail shaker muddle the lime, mint, and sugar (or syrup).  If you’re using sugar, make sure it dissolves.  Then, add the club soda, rum, and ice.  Give everything a good shake.  Garnish with sugar along the rim and/or a wedge of watermelon and some mint.  This makes one drink.

Note on Ginger Watermelon Mojitos…

There’s also a ginger watermelon Mojito that we tried.  Use the same ingredients as above, but with a twist…ginger simple syrup!

I have always thought that watermelon goes really nicely with ginger.  If you’re so inclined, make a batch of ginger simple syrup (see our recipe for simple syrup and just infuse it with ginger), and use that instead of the plain superfine sugar or simple syrup.

Alright, this one really isn’t a Mojito in the most traditional sense of the drink, but it’s a fun variation.  I was in Florida for almost a month back in May and while I was down there, I came across 4 Orange Vodka.  While I was watching the local news with my parents, they featured a story on this spirit.  It’s vodka made WITH oranges – not with orange flavoring.  Nifty!  So, of course I had to get my hands on it.  This is what I did.

Orange Mojito

¼ – ½ an orange, cut into wedges
5-6 mint leaves, whole without stems
1 tablespoon of superfine sugar (or simple syrup)
2 ounces of club soda
2 ounces of 4 Orange Vodka
Ice – crushed or cubes

In your cocktail shaker muddle the lime, mint, and sugar.  Once the oranges are really juiced and the sugar is dissolved, add the club soda, vodka, and ice.  Give everything a good shake.  Garnish with an orange slice and sprig of mint.  This makes one drink.

Oh, and if you want to serve your drinks in chilled glasses, don’t forget to put them in the freeze for a bit (this is something I always forget.)

Let us know if you try any and what you like best!

After a long, much-needed break including a make-over of the hair kind, a quick getaway, and some easy, laid back days at home, I’m baack!  Thanks to those of you that left comments and emails asking of our return.  We love you, too.

Let’s jump right into the heart of this post…Mojitos.

When you want to kick back and relax with a cool drink in your hand on the summer weekends, what do you think of?  A lot of us think of Mojitos, charming little drinks they are.  Of course you love the refreshing lime flavor and kick of rum, but do you know anything else about them?  Maybe other than they taste delicious and were a favorite of Ernest Hemingway?

Mojitos as we know them today were born in Cuba, though the true origin is debated among food scholars.  Some believe that the original Mojito was actually the “El Draque” which was made with tafia, a primitive form of rum, and named for Sir Francis Drake.  The mint, lime, and sugar were most likely meant to hide the harsh taste of the alcohol.  Mind you, this is only one theory.

There are also debates over the origin of the name.  Many believe that it relates to mojo, a seasoning made from lime and prevalent in Cuba.  This makes sense to me.  Plus, if you think you’ve lost your Mojo, just have a Mojito!

OK, so getting back to the basics…

The Mojito is a traditional Cuban highball cocktail.  The basic five ingredients are white rum, sugar, lime, sparkling water, and mint.  There are many variations of this drink, including those made with fruit-flavored vodkas, spiced rum instead of white, and even different fruits!  Let’s get the party started!

Recipes will be shared in a separate post – we’ve got a few!

I went into the pantry to see if I had any left. I figured I could always just stash a few into her hubby’s suitcase, just in case I forget to make it to the store. And if I make it to the store that still requires me to remember why I am there.

Mmmm honey…. I am a particular fan of honey. Maybe because my name means honey bee. There I was, in the pantry, looking at the honey section on the shelf, between the coffee/teas and the olive oils. Big jars, little jars, bears, tins. I realized at that moment I may have a few more honeys in my pantry than normal. Bold honeys, mild honeys, sage honey, avocado honey, orange honey, lavender honey, honey combs, french honey, local honey. Those for cooking and those for teas. I have eight different types of honeys. And I had to laugh because I had been standing there dipping my paws in for a lick as though I was Pooh. It was so so sweet and good.

I do have a favorite, even though it is not local - I love Le Grand Miel.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Honey tidbits:

• Because of the low water holding capacity, bacteria doesn’t easily grow in honey
• If a jar of honey crystallizes, place it outside – an afternoon in the sun is the perfect remedy
• Local honeys give you great protection against allergy causing pollen ailments

So, the weekend of July 4^th this year brought several new adventures for me – I learned to make simple syrup and I learned how to freeze fresh cherries.  Freezing cherries was completely an accidental discovery.  Here’s the backstory.

The summer is a great time for fresh fruits and vegetables; we all know that!  The cherries we had been getting were particularly good and as such we bought a few more packages.  My mistake was that I assumed each was going to be as sweet as the last.  Well, that last package just wasn’t sweet enough to eat, but definitely good to cook with.  What to do?  A little quick research told me I could freeze them for later use – fabulous idea!  I could then figure out what to do with them later.

So, I thought I’d share what I learned – it’s not everyday you learn to freeze cherries, right?

You will definitely need a cherry pitter – one of the greatest inventions of all time!  You can pit most olives, cherries, and just about anything else that fits inside!  Caution: Keep your fingers OUT of the way – we learned the hard way.

How to Freeze Cherries:

1 – Wash the cherries carefully, removing any debris.  Remove the stems while you wash them.  Rubbing them gently with your fingers will usually suffice.

2 – Remove the pits.  You can freeze cherries with the pits, but they often take on a nutty, almond-like flavor, so you may want to avoid that.

3 – Lay the washed, pitted cherries in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in the freezer until frozen.  This will prevent them from clumping together and will retain their shape.  They will remain round and colorful.  After they are frozen, place them in a freezer bag, removing all the air.  They will last about a year.

Tips & Tricks for Storing and Freezing Cherries:

• Allow the cherries to dry thoroughly before you freeze them.  This will reduce the likelihood of them all sticking together when you freeze them.
• When shopping for cherries you should look for cherries that are bright, shiny, and plump.  The darker the cherry, the sweeter the taste.
• Cherries with their stems have a longer shelf life.
• When pitting cherries you may want to don an apron – the juice stains everything!
• If you aren’t freezing your cherries, store them unwashed in plastic bags in the fridge.  Before eating, let them come to room temperature for the best flavor.
• Some cooks like to freeze cherries in a syrup (40% – 4 parts water to 3 cups sugar) and ascorbic acid or citrus juice.  I skipped this because I am not sure what I will use the cherries for.
• Sour cherries are best for freezing for pie filling.  You stir in sugar (measurements depend on how many cherries, etc.) and pack in rigid airtight containers for this purpose.

Our cherries are sweetly nestled in the freezer, waiting for me to decide what to do with them.

Does anyone have any ideas?  Make a compote?  A pie, perhaps?  Some cherry sauce for sundaes?  Would love some suggestions!

The journey began with oysters for breakfast actually. Well sort of, we had an early lunch at Matunuck Oyster Bar in Rhode Island as a pit-stop as we drove from Massachusetts to Connecticut after taking the red-eye in from Cali. But oh the oysters were so good – and fresh!! Some were even plucked right out of the waters behind the restaurant.  We definitely recommend eating outside, but it is worth peeking your head in to check out the bountiful oyster selection on ice.

After settling in, next up was for dinner at Abbott’s lobster in the rough in Noank, CT. Is a seasonal BYOB diamond in the rough sort of joint. Steamed lobsters, mussels & clams, huge steamers, clam chowder. You get your elbows dirty and have a perfect picnic table feast. Note – you will definitely need to map to find this place, it is sort off of the beaten path, but worth the scenic drive.

Just recently we were reading an article about breakfast spots state by state, and heard about a tiny place in Mystic, CT. Since we were to be in the area we thought we’d check it out. Kitchen Little is the name, and that pretty well describes the restaurant as well. Its a tiny little peanut of a place, but that’s all it needed to be. The view of the seaport from the outside patio was kinda perfect for an early morn. Hubby ordered their claim to fame dish – the Portuguese fisherman (spicy hot chourico and linguica from Fall River, scrambled together with eggs, peppers, onions, and jalapeño cheese in a lightly spiced sauce served with a Portuguese English muffin). I had scrambled eggs with cream cheese and crab. We definitely recommend asking if they have any specials. And if in season get an order of blueberries and creme.

Oh yeah, for a bit on silly tourist fun, we went to Mystic Pizza!

And finally, to complete our weekend in New England, we embarked on a hay ride. I’ll admit, that part of the afternoon nerved me, but the rest of the day was beautiful. Buttonwood Farm participated in a sunflower festival fundraiser for the Make a Wish foundation. The hay ride took us through 4 of the 14 acres of sunflowers, sold sunflower bouquets, and their farm fresh ice cream. And so, to wind down our weekend, we delighted in caramel ice cream with sunflower seeds.

Versatile Blogger Award, Anyone?

Yesterday afternoon, we made a very fantastic discovery!  We found out that our friends over at Just Food Snobs had chosen us for the Versatile Blogger Award!  Yippee!

This was a most welcome surprise for a lazy Saturday afternoon.  It was so super exciting, in fact, that I called Husband up during a business meeting just to tell him!

We are extremely honored to have received this award, especially since it is given out by peers.  So, we humbly, and happily, thank Just Food Snobs for thinking of us!  Thank you!

The Guidelines for accepting this award are:

- Thank the person who gave it to you.
- Tell 7 things about yourself.
- Pass the award on to 15 bloggers whom you have recently discovered, and think are fantastic!

7 Things about Queen Bee:

1 – The bees are Melissa and Melissa.

2 – We met in college and have been a part of each others lives for all the major events – our weddings, big moves to new cities, babies, etc.

3 – Queen Bee’s awesome husband takes most of our pictures. Thank you, my sweet!

4 – Thanksgiving is our traditional Bee holiday – we get together and make a fabulous meal.

5 – We’re honorary members of the haters club.  Our husbands are the founders.  Long story.

6 – Both bees are the oldest children in their families.

7 – We both love a really delicious Bloody Mary.

15 Fantastico Blogs That We Recently Discovered, In No Particular Order:

1 – Just Food Snobs – http://justfoodsnobs.blogspot.com/

2 – Simply Maren – http://www.simplymaren.com/

3 – lollcakes – http://lollcakes.wordpress.com/

4 – Mother Rimmy’s Cooking Light Done Right – http://motherrimmy.com/wordpress/

5 – Vintage Sugercube – http://www.vintagesugarcube.com/

6 – Island Vittles – http://islandvittles.com/

7 – The Manly Housewife – http://www.themanlyhousewife.com/blog/

8 – Bakerwanabe – http://bakerwanabe.com/

9 – Cookin’ Canuck – http://cookincanuck.blogspot.com/

10 – Pittsburgh Hot Plate – http://www.pittsburghhotplate.com/

11 – The Merry Gourmet – http://www.merrygourmet.com/

12 – The Dirty Oven – http://thedirtyoven.blogspot.com/

13 – All Day I Dream About Food – http://dreamaboutfood.blogspot.com/

14 – The Diary of A displaced HouseWife – http://thediaryofadisplacedhousewife.blogspot.com/

15 – More Than A Mount Full – A Culinary Journey – http://www.morethanamountfull.blogspot.com/

Thanks again, Just Food Snobs, for including us in this award!

Because this is such a great time for produce, it’s also a great time for making a really good stir-fry, which I am all about.  It’s healthy, it’s quick, and it’s something Husband will eat!  In fact, I’ve heard that a stir-fry is a great way to get the kids to eat their vegetables as well!

So, a couple of weeks ago I found a recipe for a simple stir-fry and jazzed it up a bit.  And  even if you’ve never made a stir-fry in your life, this is so easy to do (and easy on the wallet as well.)

The Ingredients:

• Fresh ginger, minced – 1 tablespoon
• Fresh lemon juice – 1 teaspoon
• Vegetable oil (though you could use Peanut) – 3 tablespoons
• Asian sesame oil – 1 teaspoon
• Salt – ½ teaspoon
• Fresh ground pepper – ¼ teaspoon
• 3 Cloves of garlic, minced
• 2-3 heads of baby bok choy, stalks cut into ½-inch pieces and leaves shredded, separate
• ½ pound of snow peas
• 5-10 radishes, depending on size
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 medium yellow squash
• ½ pound of spinach (without the stems and washed well – baby spinach is great, too)
• ½ pound of tofu (firm), chicken, shrimp, or beef (depending on your preference)
• Soy sauce – 4 teaspoons

The Process:

1. Combine the ginger, fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil, sesame oil, ¼ a teaspoon of salt, and the pepper.  Whisk well and set aside to allow the flavors to mingle.
2. In a wok, heat the rest of the cooking oil over medium-high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the garlic and stir until it’s fragrant, about 10-15 seconds.  Don’t let it burn!
3. Next, add the bok choy stalks and cook for about 1-2 minutes, just until it starts to soften.  Throw in the snow peas and cook for another minute or two.
4. Add the radishes, zucchini, squash, and soy sauce cooking and stirring for another minute.
5. Now, add the bok choy leaves and spinach plus the remainder of the salt.  Cook and toss until the leaves begin to wilt; this should take about 2 minutes.  Add a tablespoon of the stir-fry sauce you made earlier – just enough to coat the contents of the wok.  Then, remove the vegetables from the wok.
6. Add the rest of the stir-fry sauce to the hot wok and heat it over medium-high heat.  Add the tofu, chicken, shrimp, or beef.  If you’re using tofu, cook until it’s just warmed through, for about two minutes.  With chicken and shrimp, make sure the meat is cooked through.  Cook the beef to your preferred temperature.
7. Put the vegetables back into the wok and toss everything together.

We served this dish over plain white rice, at Husband’s request.  But for a fun twist we thought you could try some Asian noodles.  I love picking at stir-fry as-is, so I often leave out the rice.

Frozen fruit or ice cream pops have been all the rage this summer, and for good reason. There is something so quintessentially summer about licking that frozen bar of goodness… and best of all, its on a stick. Frozen ice pops, better known as popsicles are enjoyed around the world. Actually, Popsicle is a brand name for this type of frozen ice dessert, and the most popular type of such. I think I am a fan of the UK pseudonym… ice lolly – like an ice cream lollipop. That is what it is in deed.

While visiting home (Florida) this summer we stopped into a new little gourmet popsicle shop in St. Augustine. They offered a variety of popsicles in delicious fruit flavors. I couldn’t think of a better moment for a popsicle, either. Hot summer day; sticky with humidity. There was a nice selection, so we chose banilla vanana (banana vanilla), strawberries n’ creme, and key lime. The were all yummy – the key lime tasted just like a slice of key lime pie. (Which by the way you can also get frozen and on a stick in Key West, but that is another story for another day).

We all enjoyed, but by far the youngest member of our party was most delighted. First a hesitant lick… then chomp!

We decided to take the memory home with us. Here’s how we made our baby girl’s simple banana popsicles: 1 cup whole milk vanilla yogurt and three ripe bananas. Combine and blend. Pour/scoop into molds and freeze overnight. Best enjoyed outside in the sun.

Independence Day 2010 included not only fireworks and simple syrup but plans with some Brooklyn-based friends who love good food, good times, and good drinks. They were doing the fantastic menu (corn salad, potatoes, tomato & mozzarella, coffee rubbed steak, and brownies for dessert) so we offered to bring the cocktails. Then I got to thinking, what’s the best outdoor, summery drink for the 4th of July?

Mojitos. Of course!

It was the perfect solution. They’re cool, refreshing, fruity, and sweet. They go down easy. And some recipes require simple syrup so I bit the bullet, pulled out my saucepans, sugar, and water.

I’m going to tell you a secret. They don’t call it “simple syrup” for nothing.

Here’s what you need – 1 part sugar, 1 part water, a stove, and a pot. That’s it!

Here’s what you do – Put the water and sugar into the saucepan and bring it to a boil. You can stir it once or twice, but just keep an eye on it until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Then, remove it from the heat, let it cool, and refrigerate for later use.

Here’s a hint or two – You know you’re on the right track as the liquid in the saucepan thickens and drips off your spoon or whisk in a stream. If it acts like syrup you’ve done good! For sweeter syrup, you can do 1 part water, 2 parts sugar. Oh, and simple syrup usually stays good for about a month in the fridge.

You can flavor the syrup with a couple of pieces of peeled ginger, lemon zest, or just about anything else to give it an extra kick.

That’s it. Super simple. Simple syrup.

Keep your eyes out for the upcoming post, Mojito Madness, to get your drink on.

The other day my hubby and I went to our local Sprinkles cupcake shop and noticed something new and inclusive to all. They now carry the popular red velvet cupcake in both vegan and gluten free options. (now I must pause for a moment and add that I am really a fan of Sprinkles and I know many people have varying preferences… I have tried Magnolia in NYC, Crumbs in Beverly Hills, Suzie Cakes in Costa Mesa, Luli’s in St. Augustine just to name a few. And I am really a fan of Sprinkles, not too much frosting and a moist delicious cupcake. But that does not mean that I am not in favor of the others, I just really happen to enjoy a Sprinkles cupcake, hype and all.)

So we did a taste test comparison of both the GF and regular red velvet. And although the GF had a ever so slightly different aftertaste (of maybe…mmm…garbanzo bean flour), it was a nearly perfect match. And for someone that hasn’t had a red velvet cup cake in years, it would be a piece of heaven. And so… when Mama B. was visiting last, we swung by Sprinkles, grabbed a few cupcakes and head to Crystal Cove for a hike down the cliff to sit by the tide pools.

This one’s for you, Cupcake…the pictures surely show how much she enjoyed!