Let it Flow

Summer is the perfect time for many things; Vacations, swimming, picnics, and the like. To me though, summer represents an opportunity to take advantage of some of the freshest produce you can get your hands on. Sometimes this is a necessity to escape the heat, while others it's the perfect excuse to heat up your gatherings.

Case in point: Sangria, one of my favorite adult beverages. Why? Well, because with many of my other favorites, it's easy to make ahead, looks amazing, and is always a huge hit with friends. When you pair all of this with some incredibly fresh fruit, you've got the makings of quite the crowd-pleasing cocktail. Be it a Traditional sangria or something more inventive (Read: try making a spiced sangria with sliced pears, etc) people never seem to lose the intrigue that comes along with such a beautiful drink.

Now as you may already know, Sangria is a Spanish word meaning bleeding. This is because traditionally, sangria is made with red wine and citrus fruits. Nowadays though, it has come to mean any wine based drink that is infused by soaking pieces of fruit in it. I always encourage breaking with tradition and so, you can see that the end result is not deep red, but rather a nice pale yellow. In this version, I've used a decent but not overly complex white wine. Try to pick something that lends itself nicely to the flavors of the fruit you're using. White wine is almost synonymous with summertime because of it's clean, crisp flavors and often the fact that it's served chilled. It's for this reason that it was the obvious choice for my end of summer soirée.


Even moreso here than with my other recipes, sangria can be tweaked to meet the specific needs of your party. Therefore, I'm generalizing on some of the specific portions in the recipe.


Summer Sangria:


1.5L of Semi-dry White Wine.
2c Sliced fruit (Take free license here, but I used: White Grapes, Nectarines, Strawberries, and Mango)
3T Fresh Lemon Juice
3T Triple Sec
1/3c St. Germain (if unavailable, use 1/4c more Triple Sec)
1/4c sugar (optional)


Preparation couldn't be simpler. In a large airtight container, mix the wine, sugar, triple sec, st. germain and lemon juice until sugar is dissolved. Add the fruit and seal the container. Allow to sit in the fridge overnight, at least 3 hours to allow all the flavors to infuse.


When it's time to serve, use your favorite punch bowl or pitcher, and just watch how fast it disappears.

The Simple Things

There are certain things that they say are tied very closely to memories. I believe food is definitely one of those things. If you've read my recently posted autobiography (yes, with all it's typos) you'll see that I truly believe this. Lately I have a tendency to be making some rather complex and diverse foods, but these are not the ones I tend to remember as fondly. What does tend to be tied more closely to my memories are the ones steeped in simplicity.

One of the best examples of these is Sunday morning Tea with my father. On many a Sunday morning, while waiting to get ready for church, I can remember sitting on my fathers lap, wearing an oversized tee-shirt that I slept in the night before reclined in a chair in the living room and sharing a cup of strong Lipton Tea with lots of Milk and sugar(a tradition that originates with my Grandma Margie). My favorite part of this though was the Cinnamon-sugar toast that dad would make to have with the tea.
I can remember making the tea in the microwave, I didn't even realize that normally the tea would be made in a kettle until later when I would share the same tradition with my grandmother. My father would save the teabag on the sill behind the sink to brew another cup later. I remember ignoring the television (which was invariably set to CBS sunday morning, a show no 5 year old in his or her right mind would be interested in), and I remember the sweet and savory taste of the buttered cinnamon toast being the best breakfast I could have.
Nowadays, I find that life can be pretty stressful, it can be depressing, it can seem downright overwhelming. Now I understand why my father, and my grandmother, continued these traditions. Now when I find my world to be a little overwhelming, or if I find that I miss my dad or grandma, that such a simple treat can bring back so many of the things that made me so happy as a kid. It never ceases to amaze me how happy it can still make me now.

Tea:
1 Bag strong pekoe Tea (Lipton or PG Tips works best)
2-3T of Milk
2t Sugar (at least)
8oz boiling water
Steep Briskly for 4 minutes to get a very strong brew. Grandma would always retrieve the teabag with a spoon and wrap the string around it to squeeze the bitter stuff out. stir in the remaining ingredients.

Toast:
2 slices white bread toasted to a rich golden brown and generously buttered.
2T White Sugar
3/4t Cinnamon.
mix the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle liberally on the buttered toast as the butter is melting. Enjoy with Tea.