Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants!

Photo Hunt - Fast

This week's Photo Hunt theme is fast. I had to post a picture of my favourite fast food - In-N-Out Burger. I haven't had fast food since last January (well, except for one slip up in the spring when I was on the road . . . . starving and an evil colleague insisted that we stop at a fast food joint for a late lunch - at least I had a grilled chicken breast on a whole wheat bun with a salad . . . nonetheless, I was a failure at the 'no fast food' resolution. However, I digress).

In-N-Out Burger is amazing fast food. The ingredients are fresh. Everything is made in the shop. The menu choices are limited so you don't have to wait long for your food.

Mind you, those in the know are aware of the In-N-Out burger 'secret menu' that provides a whole host of other options.

Oh wow - suddenly I am hungry. Guess where I'll be going when I'm in California in the spring? Just guess? LOL

---

Lots of the slow travel  community members also photo hunt when they aren't traveling. You can find their posts by clicking the links below. 

• Old Shoes, New Trip
• Eden's Wanderings and Wonderings
• My Place in the Sun
• Churches in Venice – Mosaics, Marble, and Miracle-Working Madonnas
• Palmabella's Passions
• What I Really Think
• shave Ice and Gelato
• Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants!
• Keep your Feet in the Street
• Baked Alaska
• That's my story...and I'm stickin' to it!
• Postcards from the Trail
• Cooking at the Whistlestop Cafe
• Candi's Corner
• Trekcapri's Blog
• Destination Anywhere  
    

Mistletoe Cosmo

This recipe comes to you from the LCBO - Ontario's famous liquour monopoly. About 10 years ago they realized that food and drink go well together and started publishing a magazine that highlights the two. The Mistletoe Cosmo was featured it he 2008 Holiday (AKA Christmas) edition.

They wrote:

For a cocktail party with style, this fruity Martini is also gorgeous; deep red with the green accent of mint. Make up trays to pass around the room, keep a pitcher in the fridge for a quick and easy top-up, and get ready for the mistletoe!

Style - yes, Taste - yes. Easy - yes! Clearly a recipe to keep.

Mistletoe Cosmo

For one drink:

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add 1 oz vodka, 1 oz Chambord, ½ oz lime juice, 2 oz cranberry juice and 4 mint leaves, torn. Shake and strain into a Martini glass and garnish with a mint sprig.

For a 'happening' party . . .

Entertaining Size: Serves 8 People

1 cup vodka
1 cup Chambord
½ cup lime juice
2 cups cranberry juice
4 stalks mint leaves

Add all ingredients except mint to a pitcher and stir well to mix. Chill in fridge, or add ice cubes to chill quickly. Pour into Martini glasses and garnish each with a mint sprig.

Ginger Martini

I can not believe that it has been since July that I have featured a martini recipe on the blog. I have slipped to the point that I may never catch up. Yes, I am hanging my head in shame.

Shame, I say!

As I thought about what to make for a ginger appetizer on Sunday I decided to go all out and make a ginger martini. The tangy combination of ginger and vodka would be just the thing to rock my world, so to speak.

This martini can be made with a store bought ginger syrup - if you can find some in the store. I decided to use the recipe and make my own syrup. I am glad that I did because the depth of flavour from the fresh ginger was far superior to anything else that one could try and buy.

This is not a martini for the 'fruit-punch' martini lover - those who like a juice filled martini glass with a splash of vodka poured in for good measure. This martini will knock your socks off with the potent combination of vodka and spice fresh ginger. MMMMMMMM

Ginger Martini

Ice
3 ounces vodka
1/2 to 1 ounce ginger syrup
1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
Twist of lemon or lime

Fill a cocktail shaker or small pitcher with ice.

Add the vodka, ginger syrup, and lime juice.

Cover and shake vigorously, or stir, until combined and chilled, about 30 seconds (In general, by the time the shaker mists up the drink is ready).

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add twist and serve. 

Ginger Syrup

1 lemon
2 cups coarsely chopped fresh ginger with peel, about 8 ounces
1 cup sugar
2 cups water

Remove the outer peel of the lemon with a vegetable peeler, taking care not to include too much of the bitter white pith.

Finely chop the lemon peel and ginger in a food processor.

Transfer the lemon-ginger mixture to a medium saucepan, add the sugar and water and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, for 15 minutes.

Strain the mixture and cool.

Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week. 

The Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner

My friends south of the border are busy planning their Thanksgiving dinners. I, on the other hand, am busy thinking about my Black Friday shopping spree . . .

I found this article on the San Francisco Chronicle site and it made me think:

Introducing the $20 Turkey Day

Every year, the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) releases its estimate for how much a Thanksgiving dinner for ten should cost. Their definition of "dinner" is:

Turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of carrots and celery, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and beverages of coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10

And according to them, you can pick that up this year for $42.91. Or, for those of you planning on splitting the Thanksgiving check ten ways, $4.29 per person.

Wal-Mart's got that beat. A recent news release promised a way to provide a turkey dinner for eight for a measly sawbuck. It includes:

• One 12-pound Grade A turkey
• Three 11 to 15.5-ounce cans Green Giant vegetables
• Two 14-ounce cans Ocean Spray cranberry sauce
• Three 6-ounce boxes of Stove Top stuffing
• One 5-pound bag of red potatoes
• One 12-count package of Sara Lee dinner rolls
• One 22-ounce pumpkin roll cake

All that for only $2.50 per person.

These kinds of Thanksgiving-dinner figures point out a huge cost difference between a meal that relies on canned and processed food versus one that cooked from scratch with fresh ingredients.

Just to give you all an example: Last year, I made apple-sausage cornbread dressing for our nine-person dinner. The ingredients are fairly basic -- homemade cornbread, apples, onions, chicken stock, sweet Italian sausage, butter and thyme. Baking two 9"x11" pans of dressing cost me approximately $14, and that was with using the free thyme I grow in my yard.

Or I could have just bought three boxes of Stove Top's cornbread stuffing for $3 apiece and knocked 35% off the cost of that particular side dish. Sure, it would have been a different side dish, but in families where stuffing is stuffing is stuffing, what justifies paying up for from-scratch ingredients? That might be a question more families ask themselves this season.

 . . . is it worth it to serve a $ 20 Thanksgiving Dinner? I know what the answer in my family would be!

Sunday Small Bites - Ginger

The cooks on the slowtravel community forums have a new challenge - instead of each of us preparing the same recipe each week, we are preparing our own appetizer - or Small Bite - that uses a specific main ingredient. So far we have tackled shrimp, crab, sun-dried tomatoes, avocado, goat cheese, smoked salmon, pecans, pumpkin, olives, and mushrooms. This week Palma selected our ingredient. Her pick? Ginger

I LOVE ginger and the market had fresh ginger on sale this week so I went all out (ever the overachiever here).

I made Open Shrimp and Ginger Wontons and served them with a Ginger Soy Dipping Sauce. Remembering Sandi's conversation about martinis I made a Fresh Ginger Martini to serve with the small bites! Then for our main course I made a Lime and Ginger Beef Stir Fry.

Thanks for picking ginger Palma! One really can't get enough of the stuff!

I found the wonton recipe online at the Photo Kitchen Blog which is a great visit because you can see the pictures of what you're making to know if you are on the right track.

Traditional wonton recipes usually call for closed wrappers with the typical half-moon fold. I think this open version is a nice variation. It looks nice because you can see the colorful filling inside, and you can drizzle your dipping sauce into the wonton.

The wontons were quite simple to pull together and tasted WONDERFUL! On the blog they were served with a Tamarind Dipping Sauce but I was out of tamarind. I googled a bit more and combined two recipes I found online to create a my Ginger Soy Dipping Saucewhich was great with these wontons.

Open Shrimp and Ginger Wontons

1/2 lb of shrimp (deveined)
1 pack of wonton wrappers (available at large supermarkets)
2-3 spring onions (green onion)
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
crushed chili pepper
2-3 tablespoons of fresh ginger
1 teaspoon Thai fish sauce

Finely chop the shrimp, the cilantro, the ginger and the spring onion. Combine everything in bowl, add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of fish sauce and some crushed chili, mix well.

Place the wonton skins on a flat working surface. Place a little of the shrimp mixture on each skin (if you use too much the skins will be difficult to close). This needs to be done relatively fast, so the skins don’t dry out. When done, fill a little cup or bowl with some cold water . For each wonton, dip your finger into the water and moisten the edges of the wonton. This will help to glue the skin together at the edges. Then fold and pinch the edges together (by bringing the corners together as if you were wrapping a gift), leaving an opening on top.

In a large fry pan or skillet heat up 2 tablespoons of canola oil, medium heat.

Place the wontons in the pan and fry them for about 2-3 minutes. Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan and cover the pan closely with a lid. Steam wontons for about 5-8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the skins. You may have to add a little more liquid after a few minutes.

Arrange on a plate with the dipping sauce on the side.

Ginger Soy Dipping Sauce

4 tablespoons soy sauce (I used low sodium)
1/4 cup chopped ginger
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
3 tablespoons honey

Mix all ingredients in a bowl about 2 hours before serving to allow the flavours to combine.

4 Days in Athens . . . Still no Acropolis

We set out this morning with the best of intentions. Honest we did.

I should have known that our quest to see the acropolis was doomed to failure. The one common piece of advice for touring in Athens is to get to the Acropolis early. It gets crowded and hot the closer you get to noon.

We headed out at 11 (it opened at 8 am). Oops

I didn't have the heart to wake Paul in his slightly feverish state so he slept in while I blogged away on the terrace.

Of course, once we set out I got sidetracked by the juggler who stands in the middle of the intersection by the apartment and juggles for money. What a concept - far better than the guys I see in the city who just hold up a badly spelled sign and expect me to pass over cash. I would be happy to give juggler guy some cash - he was entertaining!

We got to the acropolis on the subway without any major challenges (well except for the fact that it was the fullest subway I've ever been on - I had no trouble shoving my way on but I thought I'd lose 'Mr. Timid' Paolo).

Again, I was fascinated by the displays of historical artifacts in the subway.

More delays. . . .

Anyway.

We got about half way up the steep hill and noticed a HUGE line up of cruise ship hordes and school groups (apparently this is a popular destination for Dutch and German high school students - lucky them).

It was hot.

Paolo was sweating.

I asked if he'd rather go and see the museum now.  . . . perhaps we could visit the acropolis later in the afternoon.

He jumped at the offer!

The museum was originally planned to be completed in 2004 to accompany the return of the Olympic Games to their spiritual home. Of course the inevitable construction setbacks and various outbreaks of controversy along the way (I gather that this is the 'Greek' way, although it sounds a lot like the Italian way too . . . ) meant that it did not finally open until this past June.

The long-awaited €130m Acropolis Museum is a modern glass and concrete tour de force at the foot of the ancient hill. It is the new home to sculptures from the golden age of Athenian democracy. Unlike any other museum in the world this one has been designed to exhibit something it doesn’t own - the marble frieze that was carved off of the parthenon by Lord Elgin in the early 1800s and now on display in the British Museum in London.

The Greek Culture minister has said that he hopes that the new museum will be the catalyst for the return of the disputed marbles from England. The gloves are now off and the battle is now on between this, the new state-of-the-art Acropolis Museum, and the British Museum for the right to permanently exhibit them.

Outside the museum and also within the cavernous entrance hall there are glass floors with views of the archaeological finds that were discovered during the construction of the building. Of course we took the ever-popular slowtravel foot shot standing over the ruins.

Once inside we paid our 1 euro admission (it is supposed to rise to 5 euro in 2010) and hung out in the lobby while overheated Paul cooled down. There was an interesting film that showed the museum being constructed - the effort taken to move the 2500 year old sculptures from the top of the acropolis down to the new museum down below was incredible.

Once he had recovered, Paul and I headed up into the museum. There is a steady incline through seven centuries of history and an impressive series of displays along a wide gallery that provides sufficient space for everyone to stop and enjoy the exhibits without feeling hurried or under pressure to move on.

On the second floor archaic and early classical statues are scattered across a big gallery like a crowd in an agora. The specific display selection caused some curatorial dispute apparently, as some were concerned that the visitors might miss many important statues, such as the “calf bearer”  and other landmarks of archaic and classical sculptures because of the manne rin which they were displayed.

However, while wandering around one cannot help noticing the interaction between the public and the statues. The three-dimensional exhibits that can be seen from all sides create a sense of an ongoing dialog between the people mingling with the statues like in a promenade; visitors are pausing, admiring, and walking back and forth while following no specific predetermined museum course. It worked for us.

A bit further down, the five Caryatids, the exquisite sculpted female figures from the Erechtheion’s temple porch, seem a bit incomplete without the sixth member of their “family”. The empty statue base is a reminder of the sixth Caryatid, displayed at the British Museum in London. We were amazed at the impact that pollution had had on the sculptures before they were finally moved indoors. When, or if, the British ever return the sixth Caryatid it will stand out because it would have been protected from the Athenian pollution.

The highlight for us was the top floor Gallery, which is designed to eventually hold and display all of the Parthenon sculptures in a massive recreation of the temple. For the time being it has less than 50% of the originals on display, the rest are plaster casts of the remaining treasures 'temporarily' remaining in London. In fairness, it isn't just the Brits who have some of the treasure, often there were comments where the body of a god might be on display and the sign said: 'Hermes' head on display in the Louvre'. The point was made.

Nonetheless, it is truly impressive and with the acropolis hill and the Parthenon looming large outside I can only explain it rather inadequately as a wonderfully memorable experience. The top floor is designed to provide a full 360º panoramic of the building and how the sculptures would have looked when they were originally commissioned and sculptured in the fifth century BC.

Paul was wiped by the end of the museum touring so we decided pass on climbing up the acropolis. Instead the plan changed so we walked back to the apartment. Along the way we passed yet another bakery (honestly, they see to be everywhere) where we stopped for more cheese pies (I was daring this time and had one with spinach! MMMMM) which we ate sitting in the next grassy park we came across.

A quick stop in a grocery store for some breakfast provisions and we were back at the apartment. It wasn't long at all until Paul was asleep . . . until 6:30!

By then I was a tad stir crazy and wanted/needed to get out.

We went to another of the restaurants located on the square nearby the apartment - Oroscopo - which is an Italian restaurant. We thought that it would be interesting to see what Greek 'Italian' food would taste like. We were early so we thought we'd be safe sitting on the outdoor terrace (later it would be full of locals smoking).

We had an amazing meal there - Paul ordered a Greek salad and a ham and cheese crepe . . . me the popular Greek zucchini fritters and a slow roasted lamb shank. The food was delicious. Paul had panna cotta with cherries for dessert. The bill came to 53 euro - our most expensive meal in the city  . . . so far, but worth it for the level of the cooking and attentive service.

We spoke a bit to the waiter and asked him how to say certain things in Greek. It is amazing how his face lit up when we demonstrated that we wanted to learn some Greek phrases. Really, there are few things that will make you more popular as a tourist than to try a bit to talk like a local . . .

Now on to bed . . . perhaps we might get all the way up the acropolis tomorrow . . .

Visiting the National Archaeological Museum

When Paul finally woke up this morning he was tired - he hadn't had a good night sleep and his cold was back with a vengeance. Poor boy! He still had the necessary energy to clean off the terrace though . . . 

Excess energy or not, we decided to take it easy . . .

I think it was about 11 when we headed out - I LOVE traveling slowly. We managed to find the subway (3 euro for a 24 hour pass) and headed off to the Victoria station. This involved switching lines but we managed to find our way without any mishap. Imagine building a subway in a place with 5000 years of history buried beneath the soil. In many of the newer subway stops you can find displays of artifacts found when they were digging the tunnels.

The museum doesn't open until 1:30 on Mondays in the off-season so we wandered about the neighbourhood. We happened upon this statue outside of the Polytechnical Institute that commemorates the students killed in the 1973 uprising. In November 1973, a group of students barricaded themselves in the Athens Polytechnic and sent out radio broadcasts in protest of the dictatorial military rule which had begun in 1967 and which had taken away civil rights and democracy from the citizens of Greece. On November 17, a tank crashed through the gates of the Polytechnic, and police killed 24 civilians outside the campus.

Apparently this is still a popular spot for rebelious student expression. I believe that the riots last December started in this area as well.

We hung outside the museum waiting for it to open . . . just us, the pigeons, and 100s of school kids awaiting a day at the museum. I remember escorting those trips well!

The National Archaeological Museum of Athens houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety of archaeological locations around Greece from prehistory to late antiquity. It is considered one of the great museums in the world and contains the richest collection of artifacts from the Greek antiquity worldwide . The entrance to the museum was 7 euro.

The initial name for the museum was The Central Museum and it was renamed to its current name in 1881 by prime minister of Greece Charilaos Trikoupis . During the World War II the museum was closed and the antiquities were sealed in special protective boxes and buried, in order to avoid their destruction. In 1945 exhibits were again displayed under the direction of Christos Karouzos.

The south wing of the museum houses the Epigraphic Museum with the richest collection of inscriptions in the world. While it was no where near as large as the Egyptian museum in Torino that we visited last spring it was still a fascinating display. 

The museum has an imposing neo-classical design which was very popular in Europe at the time and is in full accordance with the classical style artifacts that it houses.  At the front of the museum there is a large neo-classic design garden which is decorated with sculptures.

The museum's collections are organized in sections:

• Prehistoric collection (Neolithic, Cycladic, Mycenaean)
• Sculptures collection
• Vase and Minor Objects Collection
• Santorini findings
• Metallurgy Collection
• Stathatos Collection
• Vlastos Collection
• Egyptian Art collection donated by Demetrios Ioannou and Alexander Rostovich
• Near Eastern Antiquities Collection

Some of the ancient artists whose work is presented in the museum are Myron, Scopas, Euthymides, Lydos, Agoracritus, Agasias, Cimon of Cleonae, Damophon, Aison (vase painter), Polygnotos (vase painter).

Artifacts derive from archaeological excavations in Santorini, Mycenae, Tiryns, Dodona, Vaphio, Rhamnous, Lycosura, Aegean islands, Delos, the Temple of Aphaea in Aegina, the Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia in Sparta, Pylos, Thebes, Athens, the Antikythera wreck and from various other places across Greece.

Two of the newest exhibits of the museum include a 4th century BC golden funerary wreath and a 6th century BC marble statue of a woman, which were returned as stolen artifacts to Greece in 2007 by the Getty Museum in California, after a 10 year-old legal dispute between the Getty Center and the Greek Government . One year earlier, the Los Angeles foundation agreed to return a 4th century BC tombstone from near Thebes and a 6th century BC votive relief from the island of Thassos.

Eventually all of the glorious artifacts were overwhelming. We went to the basement where we found the cafe overlooking the lush courtyard garden. For 15 euro we purchased two Mythos beers, a ham and cheese croissant, and a ham and cheese phyllo pie. It was a nice spot to relax and ignore the crowds up above . . . particularly the hordes from the cruise ships.

After our break we visited the gift shop and headed back up into the museum to see the rest of the exhibits. By now it was 2:30 and more of the crowds had left. In most rooms we had these spectacular exhibits to ourselves. What a stunning experience it was.

Our favourite statue was a 3000 year old statue of a young child carrying a small dog (which was almost as big as the child themself!) It wasn't the most brilliantly executed nor was the marble a high quality but the simple emotion of the piece tugged at us. It was nice to see a more 'human' scene than the gods and goddesses, warriors and funeral markers, that filled much of the museum.

We left the museum at 4:30 and headed back to the Victoria metro stop (of course we had to stop at a pie shop close to the metro and purchase an apple and a cheese pie to enjoy back at the apartment - we had had the savoury cheese pies but this was the first sweet one we tried. MMMM)

Back in the apartment Paul decided it was time for a nap. I so LOVE taking our time on vacation. No schedule, no agenda, just doing what we want to od, when we want to do it!

We woke up at 7:30 and decided to head out for some Greek 'fast food'. I know that one should always eat where the locals eat - well they were lined up at this spot - Pita Pan. We ordered a mixed grill platter, chicken souvlaki in a pitta, beer, two wines (hic), and an order of fries for 16.50 euros. Delicious food for a cheap price. I like that! Fast food Greek style . . .

 Tomorrow we finally will visit the acropolis!

Good Bye Summer . . .

For a family of teachers the Labour Day weekend has a special emotion. For most other families it means a happy return to established routines. For many frazzled parents these renewed routines bring comfort and stability. For us educators this new beginning brings new potential, challenges, but also a marked decrease in freedom.

I used to feel this most strongly when it came to traveling. The majority of the work force has the ability to travel at times of their choosing - teachers don't. I use to resent only being able to travel when most of the places I wanted to go to were overrun with other tourists or blazing hot. I never got to enjoy the crush in Napa, the poppy fields in Italy, spring flowers in the Alps . . .

The return of school also means that you have a routine imposed upon you. Sure most jobs have start times, end times, and some sort of defined breaks. In education there are bells that tell us when we have recess (thus can visit the bathroom or get a coffee), we eat lunch at a time selected by someone from the busing department.

So Labour Day is somewhat bittersweet.

Don't get me wrong - there are few careers that I can imagine are as rewarding as teaching. . . . but Labour Day is bittersweet nonetheless.

For the past few years we have had a special dinner with mom to mark the passing of the summer.

This year we started with a cheese board.

With the cheese we served cured meats from Spain, spicy cured olives, and some cheddar, bacon, and green onion scones that I made.

For the main course we had rapini sauteed with garlic, olive oil, and chili peppers.

Paul pulled together an heirloom tomato salad.

I grilled a pork rib roast on the BBQ that was both stuffed and marinated in a rosemary, sage, garlic, and olive oil mixture - MMMMMM

We also made some delicious smashed fingerling potatoes (an old favourite from the good folks at Fine Cooking Magazine)

Then for dessert we had peach crumble pie. Paul and mom had homemade ice cream with it - I had low-fat frozen vanilla yoghurt. Given the vast spread of food I don't know why I tied to cut calories THERE but I suppose that every bit counts.

National Chicken Wing Festival

One of the many things we adore about Italy is the sagra. A sagra is a local fair, usually a celebration of the bounties of the earth--meaning food, as in a preparation (sagra di torta di erbe) or a raw ingredient (sagra di pesce [fish]).

Attending a sagra is a way to get a taste of Italian country life. You order food to be cooked by locals with a passion for the local cuisine, then sit at communal tables to eat. Often there is music or some other sort of performance.

On the weekend we attended a sagra of a different sort - one where more than 30-tons of chicken wings were fried to a crisp, sauced, and served up to sweating fans.

The Buffalo, NY event stretches back to 1992, when Wing King Drew Cerza was inspired to start it by Bill Murray's junk food addicted character in "Osmosis Jones." Over the years, it's grown from a small competitive eating spectacle to a full-blown convention--hosting over 400,000 total people, generating over $125,000 for New York charities, and even serving as the site of a wedding.

God help me.

Buffalo Wing Festival organizers are fond of describing the spectrum of sauces as stretching from the mild to the suicidal, with dozens upon dozens of stands serving their specialties. The "Official Wing Sauce of the National Buffalo Wing Festival," Frank's RedHot, will be given away from a booth at the festival. There are also a variety of eating contests, including one that involves bobbing for chicken wings in a vat of blue cheese.

I am sad that I missed that display of excess.

Once you get inside ($ 5 entrance fee) food tickets are $1 each, with two tickets entitling you to 3 chicken wings. Soda and bottled water can be purchased for cash, as can beer.

We tried wings from a variety of vendors - discovering that a medium sauce at one booth was flaming hot at the next. We enjoyed the chicken wing aracini (an aracini is a fried rice ball stuffed with cheese - these were stuffed with bits of chicken wings). We also had some of the famous chicken wing mac and cheese.

If this wasn't enough Paul OD'd on peanut butter pie and ice cream.

How was it?

You could smell the grease as soon as you exited the highway. It was HOT. It was crowded. It was loud. There were people wearing huge hats shaped like chicken wings. It was brash.

 I was a wee bit shocked by the excess.

Sadly, the wings were mediocre - in fact, had we wanted to we could have had far better wings by going to Duffs. The worst wings we tried were from the Anchor Bar - BLECH

I can now say I've attended the National Chicken Wing Festival.

I'd far rather have been sitting around a communal table in a small Tuscan village toasting the local specialty under the stars.

Summer Breeze

Thank goodness we finally got some summer-like weather here last week - if there had been more rain and cool weather I thought that my head would explode. Of course, after two days of heat and humidity I was whining about THAT. This just proves the oft quoted commented about me 'there is no pleasing Jerry'. Those who quote this would be right when it comes to the weather.

Anyway. This did not start out as a critical discourse on my fickle weather views.

As we were sweltering in the humidity that reminded us of our visit to Savannah last spring, Paul and I craved a cool beverage.

We ended up with this drink suggestion that was made by the LCBO - Ontario's amazing booze monopoly. Generally I abhor a monopoly but I'll fight any attempt to destroy THIS one!

This drink was amazing - my favourite rum mixed with OJ and cranberry juice. I do believe that with all of this juice it qualifies as a health beverage. If you're searching for something to help you beat the heat . . . look no further!

Enjoy!

Summer Breeze

1 1/2 oz Appleton Estate V/X Jamaica Rum
3 oz cranberry juice
1 oz orange juice

Fill a shaker with ice.

Measure rum, cranberry juice, and orange juice into the shaker.

Shake and pour over ice into glasses.

Garnish with a wedge of lime.