BOOZY Watermelon Agua Fresca

I have described it as my "summer cocktail spirit animal" and it might be yours too. What is more "summer" than watermelon?? The answer: nothing. Bienvendio a la Adult Watermelon Agua Fresca!

We are meal planners. We like to stretch dollars and know what to buy for the week so we're not wandering around the grocery like idiots, spending god knows how much on things that distract our attention. I usually go during the day, buy everything I can at Trader Joe's and buy the remainder of our items at Whole Foods. Yes, the 4 or 5 items at Whole Food are almost as much as my entire bill at Trader Joe's, thanks for asking.

If I make it through another week of grocery shopping I usually buy myself two treats at WF:
1. a tiny thing of mixed Greek olives from the olive bar
2. A watermelon juice drink

Both treats are devoured on the drive home as we are not WF/TJ-adjacent.

The juice drink runs like $5 for 12 or so ounces of juice. FIVE DOLLARS!!! I keep thinking 'you know, this shit can't be too hard to make...it's what? watermelon and agave or something??' so this week, when I went to this magical place called Larry's Produce in Suisun City and found a giant melon for $5, I decided to give it a go.

Let me tell you this: it was a piece of cake to make. First, I made the fresca. I did not add even an ounce of sweetener as the ripe melon required none of that nonsense. If it were out of season I'd recommend adding a tablespoon of honey or agave per blended pitcher.

To make the fresca:
- cut the melon up into chunks
- Fill your blender and then add a cup of cold water and blend
- Then, use cheesecloth or a colander or whatever you've got to filter the junk out of the melon-water.
If you have a large watermelon you might need to do this a few times (fill blender with melon, add a cup-o-water, blend, filter).

Once the juice is made, this drink comes together quickly.

Recipe:
In a cocktail shaker, put:
1 jigger of vodka (use the good stuff, people)
several ounces of watermelon juice, depending on how strong you take your cocktails
1 Tbs ginger syrup
4 ice cubes

Shake it, shake it, shake it.

Pour in a glass and maybe add a splash of lime.

Holy. Crap. It's really good. The kinda cocktail that really sneaks up on you!

Frozen Smoothies to Cool Your Face Off

It's getting hot up here and not like desert-hot, like humid, my-thighs-will-surely-start-a-fire hot. It's lovely and cool in the mornings and evenings but right around 3pm you are praying for something to cool you off. Well, here it is!

This recipe is adapted from a new cookbook designed by the Native Foods people. Side note: I cannot believe there isn't a Native Foods up here. I did a quick search and saw an article about how one was slated to open up here but I'm telling you, if it was here, I would know. East Bay is begging for a Native Foods Cafe, trust me. Maybe even Napa. Just sayin'. If you know the business development person for Native Foods, give them my digits. We need one in Northern CA! [still refusing to say NorCal or hella, fyi].

If you're panicked about finding exotic vegan ingredients, I guarantee you can find these things at any grocery store or heck, even Target. And you don't need a fancy food processor or juicer or some confounded contraption more complex than a blender. You need a blender and some simple ingredients and you'll be well on your way to delicious!

The first time I made them I added raspberries but the second round was just pineapple, banana and coconut and it was just as good, maybe better. I'd totally encourage you to try different ratios to find the right sweetness/fruit ratio for you.

Ingredients:
- 13.5oz can of coconut milk (I use unsweetened)
- 1 banana
- 3Tbs agave nectar (I used honey)
- 1-2c pineapple
- 1.5Tbs vanilla extract
- 1.5 Tbs shredded coconut

Blend it and freeze it!

If you have Popsicle molds, awesome! If not, you can find them on the cheap at discount store like TJ Maxx, Ross and Marshalls. I got one 6-pop set for $6.99 and its dishwasher safe, which is awesome. You can also use ice molds.

Fabric Garland

I made this little ditty after seeing something similar on Craftgawker.

Lately I have this affinity (OK, obsession) with party decor. It's all I've been buying at thrift stores and it's all I've been crafting. I think with the [insufferable] job all my little heart wanted to do was throw a party, get some glitter going, toast a friend and make it through. My heart feels lighter now and you can tell the stress has left my face. Belly laughs are back.

You could make this with any color theme. 4th of July would be a great opportunity to make one. I bought a bunch of fat quarters years ago thinking I'd make some funky yo-yo necklaces but after making one which took me FOREVER, I packed that fabric up and let it sit. Until now!

Here's the link to the tutorial I followed:
http://cleverthursday.com/2014/02/diy-scrap-fabric-garland-tutorial/

My two cents on making this:
- you can make one this big in about an hour - 30 minutes for making the fabric strips and 30 minutes for tying the knots
- you can cut or rip the strips
- pick a ribbon that's really thick. The one I chose was a different color palette and I think it actually worked out well since it's mostly covered by the fabric and it anchors the banner to the room. It's the Martha Stewart super-thick yarn found at Tuesday Morning
- you can make this as short or long as you like; you can make the fabric lengths longer or shorter - it's totally customizable