Lavender... not just for Bath and Body Works anymore.

During the summertime in the south, there is the feeling that you should be on a porch somewhere drinking a refreshing, but clearly alcoholic, drink and strolling through a conversation with your friends. As I am not a mint julep girl, I'm always on the lookout for a new warm weather beverage. Yesterday, my friend Jenna was perusing my spice rack and found a canister of lavender. Well, when you find an interesting ingredient, you have to use it. So we started perusing the web for ideas and came across several variations on lavender lemonade. After picking our favorite bits from different ones and a surprisingly long grocery store trip, we (and by "we" I mean "Jenna") started juicing lemons. Lots of lemons. 15 lemons. Admittedly, they were rather small and not as juicy as one would like, but still.

After various preparations (to be detailed below), we decided to try the finished product with vodka in one glass and tequila in the other. The vodka just tasted like the lavender lemonade, hardly even added a kick. The tequila, however, blended perfectly with the tangy sweetness of the underlying drink, and we both decided to stick to that version for the rest of the night. I'm writing this the following morning and I still think that was a good idea. Of course, you can go with whichever suits your tastes better (or any fear of tequila you may have developed after particularly interesting nights).

Tasty beverage recipe after the jump...

Little Rascals

I have found that, when you reach a certain age, from time to time you will invite friends over for dinner and a few of these little monsters end up tagging along as well.



As I have a kid-friendly policy, I'm happy to have them along, but trying to cook a meal that will keep both adults and children happy is a bit trixy. Basically, you have two options: (1) make a real meal for the adults and mac & cheese or the like for the kids or (2) dream the impossible dream and attempt to put together a single meal that is both interesting to adults and, at a minimum, tolerable to children. Not being one to shy away from a challenge, I picked option #2. Of course. I suspect that even though this is my third entry, you aren't surprised.

The solution? Thai food. Wait! Before you make that face, think about it. Thai food has a lot of peanut dishes or, more accurately a lot of peanut butter dishes. And, aside from children with violent peanut allergies, peanut butter is loved by all. Actually, I'll even argue that such children would love it, were they able to try it.

Recipe for child-friendly food after the jump!

Caramel Cake

Let us take a moment to discuss one of the most perfect cakes in existence (I say "one of" because I've developed a weakness for coconut cream cakes): the caramel cake. It's a bit of a misnomer because the cake itself can be just about anything, the icing is the key. The traditional combination is with a pound cake, but even I can only eat a tiny bit of that at a time, so I tend to pair it with a lighter, mildly vanilla cake.

When I was a child, my grandmother would always bring a four layer caramel cake made by, I can only assume, the gods themselves when she came to visit and it was an act of extreme fatherly devotion and restraint that I ever managed to get a piece. My aunt, who doesn't even eat sweets, always managed to appear at our house 15 minutes after the cake did. Unfortunately, the woman responsible for this magical confection retired and I've been trying to find an acceptable substitute ever since. Well, today I have. As a warning: I do not recommend making this icing if you live alone and are not planning on taking it to a party immediately... you will eat the whole cake.

I present to you caramel icing that does not require a candy thermometer!

It Starts

Despite what the header to this blog may imply, I am not an empty shell of a woman, crushed by the wicked fates into a tiny ball of hopelessness (swoon). In fact, though I am single, unemployed, and generally without any idea as to what is next, I'm pretty much ok. Perhaps I should explain?

About two and a half years ago, my five year relationship ended... badly... as they do. I was almost done with law school and I decided that it was time to move somewhere completely different. Being born, raised, and educated all over the south, naturally, I chose Boston. The following fall I got a job at a swanky giant firm, settled in, made a bunch of friends, and proceeded to ride out the first waves of the collapsing economy in style. After all, I was safe! I had good reviews, billed out plenty of hours, and was very good about not making waves.

I'm an idiot (I know, you're shocked).

No one is safe. Just over a year after I started work, the firm held yet another layoff and this time, it was my turn. Mind you, this is November 2009... right before things started to improve again. Literally a month later the firm was so understaffed that the remaining associates started quitting, but I digress. In my new-found downtime, after an appropriate wallowing period, I started picking back up some of my old hobbies that had fallen victim to the billable hour. I took a few cooking classes to force myself out of my rut, practically moved into my yoga studio, and started reading again.

One day, the subscription to Southern Living ordered for me as a Christmas present from AuntieM showed up in my mailbox and I have bordered on obsession ever since. I just cannot help it. I love throwing dinner parties, and now I'm finally good at piecing together a real, coherent menu. I love reading about places I've lived or visited (like a multi-article feature on Nashville they did right before the flood) or getting ideas about possible day trips. And, ok, I do not have a garden, but I want one, eventually, and someone is going to have to tell me what to put in it as I have no idea.

Did I mention the recipes? Oh yes. Every issue has a new cocktail begging to be drunk on a porch or by the pool and at least a half-dozen recipes that I actually cut out and cook some variation of before the next issue arrives. So, yes, as a 27 year old lawyer with no accent, I am now trying my absolute best to epitomize the Southern Living image, or at least my (quite probably skewed) interpretation of it. As I do this, I'm creating my own recipes and compiling themed dinner party menus that will, in all likelihood, end up on this blog; along with whatever other stories or nifty tricks I happen to come across.

Obviously I do more than cook and drink, though clearly those are very important parts of my life, but the important thing is, I'm having fun. Yes, I need a new job and will keep looking for one and yes, there have been more ideal periods of my life, but that's fine. All of my diversions have really proven entertaining and sometimes, that's just what you need.