Absolut Kurant Weekends
It’s a Monday, and memories of magic weekends still haunt me: particularly one when a tipsy friend came over at midnight, clutching a full bottle of Absolute Kurant to her chest like a lifeline. This fruity vodka is one of my favourites, and needless to say, that was one awesome night.
To deviate from our traditional Kurant Shots, wherein you simply mix a splash of vodka with some sprite in a shot glass and down it as is, here’s an excellent cocktail recipe from Absolutly Useful. This, coupled with a movie marathon or a long-running series involving beautiful people whom you can ogle, makes for a berry happy, albeit admittedly girly, party!
After a couple of these, everything somehow becomes basked in a warm, pink glow. :D
KURANT AFFAIR
40 ml Absolut Kurant
60 ml Cranberry Juice
Club Soda
Pour Absolut Kurant over ice in a tall glass. Fill most of the rest of the way with cranberry juice. Top off with a splash of soda. Garnish with a cherry or a wedge of lime/lemon.
There is another recipe there called “Absolutly Undecided,” which is simply screaming out my name. Maybe one of these weekends!
“Too Many Cooks” and Nero Wolfe
Because America’s greatest detective loves his beer. (Photo from bookscribbles)
I grew up on murder-mystery books, starting with the hardbound Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series back in grade school. Then when I was in High School, I discovered Perry Mason, Hercule Poirot, Miss Jane Marple and in college, the unbeatable tandem of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. It was this latter that really held a certain fascination for me, partly because meals at Nero Wolfe’s old brownstone (and everywhere else for that matter) were always described in such tantalizing details, such as this:
On Disney and Dinnerware
This week’s challenge, because I just spent the weekend having a Disney marathon, and I remember how rousing this song can be, is to count how many kinds of food come up in this particular Beauty & the Beast song.
Come on, it’s a candlestick, a clock and a teapot singing lyrics like, “We’ll prepare and serve with flair a culinary cabaret!” and “No one’s gloomy or complaining while the flatware’s entertaining,” backed by a choir composed of choreographed cutlery, crockery and cookware (gotta love alliteration)!
And because “After all, Miss, this is France, and a dinner here is never second best!”
“If you’re stressed, it’s fine dining we suggest!” -Lumiere (Amen to that)
Going Fried Bananas
Bananas, as I’ve been told since I was a kid, are one of the best fruits – an excellent source of potassium, plus banana peels are extremely useful (from WiseBread). When we were younger, both my mom and my grandmother used to make a dish of fried bananas to serve as a healthy snack, while lecturing us on the evils of junk food. This is a really easy, time-saving recipe to follow. And although frying them might be less of a nutritious option compared to eating them fresh, fried bananas are a good way to get children to eat their fruits. Trust me, I know.
The best bananas for frying are those that are not too ripe, as overripe bananas become too soft and floppy (there’s a green joke in here somewhere :p) when cooked. Bananas that have not fully ripened, on the other hand, have a tart, rather sour and unpleasant taste. For this recipe, you’ll want to use bananas that are light yellow in colour, and firm to touch. And as an aside, here are other ways you can enjoy ripe bananas.
Good Times: The Classic Apple Pie
I mentioned “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music in a recent post. Some of the lines in the song go, “Cream-coloured ponies and crisp apple strudel, doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles.”
Now, not being from that fair part of the planet, I know how to make neither apple strudel nor schnitzel. But my kin who are more abled in whipping up traditional recipes can make apple pie. There’s something quite comforting about a warm slice of apple pie, even more so when it’s topped with vanilla ice cream – “ala modie,” as Abigail Breslin said in Little Miss Sunshine. So, it is with a great deal of confidence that I present this recipe for apple pie, courtesy of the women in my family.
The world’s most notorious fruit could not have redeemed itself more.
A Crash Course on Picking Out Ripe Watermelons
Sometimes, the best way to tell if something is good is to crack it open.
Quite literally, picking out ripe watermelons from the unripe ones at your local farmer’s or at a supermarket can be quite tricky. This is especially true for ignorant shoppers like me who used to choose the watermelons with the stripes over the plain ones because…um, they look prettier, only to get home and find out that it tastes like…well, water. Fortunately, a few friends taught me the art of picking out ripe watermelons from a pile at the produce section of a grocery. I haven’t quite mastered the art yet, but I’ve had some success two out of three times. So in an effort to help others who may not know how to, here are a few tips on how to check if a watermelon is ripe enough for consumption: Continue Reading →
The Sound of My Favourite Things
Fine, I’ll admit it. I watch “The Sound of Music” at least once a year.
I remember having first seen it when I was eight, and I think Maria, the von Trapp family and all of those singing nuns were what hatched my current love for musicals (granted, I was in a school production of “The King & I” when I was in kindergarten, so that was probably its breeding ground). Until now, I know all the words to all the songs in that movie/musical. My favorite scene is when Maria and Captain von Trapp Continue Reading →
Time Gone By
I just watched “Casablanca” again last night. I’d forgotten just how heart-wrenching that movie is, and just how different Hollywood is now. There’s something about watching Ingrid Bergman’s beautiful, tearful face in black-and-white and listening to Humphrey Bogart’s tough-guy, world-weary voice that this modern era will never be able to capture, no matter how technologically-advanced today’s special effects and whatnot may be. When Ilsa hummed the first few bars of Continue Reading →
My Cup of Tea
There are those days when, for no particular reason, I feel like the stuff that bottom-feeders eat. Worse, I feel like the stuff that the stuff that bottom-feeders eat grow on. It’s these days when I just want to curl up in bed with the covers over my head, sulking and over-dramatizing my lack of a life in my head. When these episodes start, there are only a few, selected things that can lift me out of my blue funk somehow. And this is one of them:
A cup of hot tea, while watching “Roman Holiday” again. Perks me right up.
A Quick and Easy Recipe for Cake Pops
Cake pops from no other than Bakerella.
I’ve already said that I want to learn how to make cake pops for my niece. And since I figured it’d be rather tricky getting the decorating right, I’d start by practicing on simpler cake pop designs first, kind of like a warm-up.
Cake pops are very easy to make, and anyone with a box of cake mix, an oven and enough free time can whip up a batch of these treats in less than an hour. Here’s a basic recipe for the stuff, because anything that can be done without me having to hurl crockery in frustration has my vote! Continue Reading →
