Candy Cane Cocoa

Candy canes are beautiful. But once the holidays are over, I'm left with a handful that I don't know what to do with. I usually save them for a while then get fed up with the clutter and throw them out around February. The other day, while the snow was falling outside, I finally put one to use.

Candy Cane Cocoa:

You need:

1 Candy Cane
Plastic Baggie
Hammer (!)
Chocolate Syrup
Cocoa (homemade or a mix)

1. Break up the candy cane in your hands and discard the wrapper. Place in plastic baggie that zips closed. Place the closed bag of candy cane on a pot holder (so your counter doesn't get wrecked).

2. Whack with the hammer! Repeat by aiming at the remaining chunks until you are left with small bits with some powder. Pour onto plate. (Does it have to be a holiday themed plate? Yes.)


3. On a separate plate draw a ring of chocolate syrup about the size of the circumference of your mug. Dip the rim of the mug into the syrup, then into the candy cane bits.

4. Carefully pour in hot cocoa.

Perfect for a cold January day! And for a cold January night, try this technique on a shot glass then fill with Baileys Irish Cream and peppermint schnapps. Just saying.

Watermelon Ice Cubes

This is a great one my mom taught me. For super summery drinks bring out watermelon ice cubes. So easy!


Scoop out a watermelon and put chunks in blender.
Blend until liquefied (only takes a few seconds).
Optional step: pour through wire strainer to get any chunks.
Pour juice into ice cube trays and freeze.
Once frozen, transfer to freezer bags and store for up to a few months.

Throw a couple of cubes into a glass of lemonade, or in your favorite combination of fruit juice and seltzer. Here's a great summer drink that's both pretty and yummy.

In a glass:
3 watermelon ice cubes
1 oz. light rum
1 oz. coconut rum
fill glass with equal parts orange juice and lime (or plain) seltzer
Garnish with a lime round or a wedge of watermelon.

Enjoy the last bits of a great summer!

Fresh Salsa

I've been so lucky this August because every time I see my parents they hand me a big bag of fresh tomatoes from their garden. They're great simply drizzled with balsamic dressing.

But my favorite thing to do is make salsa. I live for salsa. I dream about it. All of my favorite restaurants are Mexican because they serve chips and salsa. Because of this I know what I like. Also, I used both red and yellow tomatoes, which look fancy.


Lesley's Fresh Salsa

2 large tomatoes or 3 medium size ones diced
6 or so cherry tomatoes quartered
1/4 cup red onion chopped
1 jalapeno chopped
1 habanero finely chopped (try half first, if it's not too spicy, add the rest)
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
juice from half of one lime
a little salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for about an hour. Great with chips. Obvi.

Tomato Fest

Eric and I went to visit my parents this weekend on Cape Cod. They grow great tomatoes which are perfectly ripe right now. My mom made the most beautiful platter of green, yellow and red tomatoes, red onion, basil, and goat cheese. She covered it in plastic wrap and let it sit for about an hour to let the flavors really mingle. It was fantastic.


They also grow different kinds of hot peppers which we dared each other to eat. It, inevitably, ended with us all giggling and wincing in pain. I always have the best time when we visit.

Ginger Chicken Salad

It's summer time and cooking a chicken in the oven does not sound appealing. Luckily the Shaw's Market we go to has whole rotisserie chickens that cost about the same as the uncooked ones. Considering how many meals we get out of them it's a real deal.

One (or two or three*) of those meals is chicken salad. There's an infinite number of ways to make chicken salad. Here's one I've been making lately:

Ginger Chicken Salad

2 cups cooked chicken in small pieces, not packed (I like to pull it off the cooked chicken by hand)
Half cup chopped celery
Quarter cup chopped onion
Half teaspoon powered ginger
Two heaping tablespoons Hellmann's Mayonnaise (More or less to taste. Start with less and add more after it’s mixed.)
Chili Powder, Salt and Pepper to taste (The red chili powder looks pretty when sprinkled on top before serving.)

Mix together and serve or chill. It’s also great the next day or to bring to "Shakespeare on the Common." It's good for a picnic because the mayo actually preserves the chicken.

*Surpassed only by pulling the meat directly off of the chicken and eating will standing in the kitchen while saying, "ticken ticken ticken." Everybody does that, right?

Cookies! With Hershey's!

Since I was having some friends over last night I decide to see what I had in my pantry and whip up quick some cookies. (I will use any excuse to bake. TV show premier? Blondies! New hair cut? Snickerdoodles! Bad day? Carrot cake cupcakes! )

I was going to post the whole recipe but I'm not completely happy with the butter cookie recipe I used. Not bad, just a little blah. I'll tweak it in the future and put it up when it's just right. In the mean time here it is simplified:

Hershey's Butter Cookies:

Preheat oven to 375
Follow your favorite sugar or butter cookie recipe.
Roll dough into quarter size balls.
On baking paper lined baking sheet, press dough balls flat with your palm (fingers make ridges)
Sprinkle with chopped walnuts
Press a Hershey's chocolate square into the center of each cookie.
Bake for 12 minutes

Enjoy!

Flag Cupcakes

I'm not really the kind of person to wear my patriotism on my sleeve. I'm more apt to watch 14 hours of John Adams on t.v. (so good!) than wear a flag on a T-shirt. Still, since I was a little girl I've been in LOVE with the summer flag cake. I've never made one before, so for my friend Meera's 4th of July BBQ I knew I had my chance.

I decided to go with mini-cupcakes to make it a finger food. Plus I don't have a giant sheet cake pan....yet. I used a yellow cake mix and made the buttercream frosting. The recipe is on the box of confectioner's sugar and is totally worth it. I love the canned stuff, but homemade just tastes better.


I used blueberries for the stars.


And strawberries for the stripes. I'm pretty happy with it. If it was a sheet cake you could go really nuts with the berries.

Time to go celebrate. HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!!!

White Wine Sangria

I like the finer things. I like designer clothes. French food. Air conditioning. I also like plastic bendy straws, and fun boozy summer drinks. I’ve always loved the idea of white wine sangria so I did some research on the internet, made a few batches (which my friends have been kind enough to help me with), and came up with my own recipe. Serves 8.*

Lesley's White Wine Sangria

1 large bottle of white wine, cheap
½ cup brandy or apricot brandy
2 oz. peach schnapps
½ can (12 oz.) Goya apricot nectar
½ liter bottle sparkling lemon water (like Polar seltzer) or Sprite if you like things sweet
10 or so Strawberries, sliced with a few left over to garnish glasses.
1 or 2 peaches, sliced

Combine white wine, brandy, schnapps and apricot nectar in pitcher and chill. These may sit together over night or you can serve right away. Add fruit and sparking water (or soda) right before serving.

Fill glasses with ice and garnish with a strawberry. Pour into glasses. A spoon is helpful for getting the fruit out of the pitcher.

Tastes best outside.

*I find that it’s just the right amount for 3 friends to sit outside and keep refilling their glasses over increasingly boisterous conversation.