Martha Meets Lucy

Confessions

Somethings I would like to get off my chest that I am reasonably confident ya'll won't judge me for. But if you do, its okay. I would judge me too.

I had a dream about a tomato sandwich last week. I almost cried when I realized a homegrown beefsteak tomato is still a few weeks away.

Speaking of crying, I really, REALLY needed coffee which of course means that of the three people sitting at the table, I got the mug with the lipstick still on it. The other 2 people weren't even planning on having coffee and their cups were fine. I probably would have kept my cup and just drank from the non-lipstick side* if the waitress hadn't noticed. I think the tears welling up in my eyes (no exaggeration) prompted both of my companions to offer me their mugs. I finished a cup before the waitress came back then stared at it, willing it to refill itself.

The aforementioned diner coffee did nothing by the way. It was really, really weak. And I like my coffee as dark and as black as Satan's heart. One of my teachers in high school referred to my coffee brewing style as "making jet fuel".

Speaking of coffee, did you know its iced coffee season? And did you know that the ONLY way to make iced coffee is to cold brew it? Cold brewed iced coffee is such a showoff. CBIC is like just grind me and forget about me***, strain, and have the most amazing iced coffee experience of your life. Its all smokey and chocolatey and smooth as all get out. Its like the Tom Selleck of coffees. (1/3 cup finely ground coffee:1.5 cups water. Let sit covered overnight. Strain through coffee filter. Fill glass with ice, add enough coffee to come 1/2 way up the glass. Add water to fill the glass. For more thorough instructions click here.)

Know what goes great with your iced coffee in the morning? Banana bread. Want to know what's even better than banana bread? Brown Butter Bourbon Banana Bread with Streusel. Recipe coming soon. I promise. Otherwise this one might kill me.

*Definitely would have**. Commercial dishwashers suck. That glass went through the dishwasher, but lipstick never comes off. I know this from lots of time spent working in restaurants.

**Judge away. Clearly I have a problem

***Hehehe. Get your mind out of the gutter Deanna. No one else thought that was dirty and you're still laughing at it 5 minutes later. And you neglected to mention adding water to the coffee, but you're not going to fix that part because you're STILL laughing about it. God, grow up.

Grapefruit Jalapeno Sangria

“So what should I bring?”

“Nothing.”

“Are you sure?”

“BYOB. And yes I’m sure. We have plenty of food.”

You guys, I went to my first BBQ/pool party of the year and I didn’t bring anything to eat. No dips (crack or otherwise), no sides, no desserts. Nothing. Except my beverage of choice.

Apparently I have awesome friends who want me to be able to show up and just relax. I know. I know. Its rough being me. Sometimes I forget that the majority of my friends are actually good cooks. And maybe sometimes they want to show off their skills.

*I would NEVER show off in the kitchen.*

I should have known that the girl who introduced me to the Breakfast Sandwich burger would have a BBQ covered.

But if she thought I was showing up with beer, she was sorely mistaken. You won’t let me bring food? Fine. I’ll bring the best sangria you’ve ever tasted then force you to drink it with me.

Ok, maybe I didn't force them to drink it. I encouraged everyone to try it, then watched them down their beers so they could switch drinks.

I think its safe to say that sangria is the perfect summer beverage. Especially when you’re floating in a pool. Its a drink and a snack. And it tastes best in the summer when all those practically overripe berries are begging to be used. As much as I love a traditional red sangria, I knew that I wanted to do something a little different for this party. I started off with my approximation of the sangria this restaurant serves at brunch. They start with elderflower syrup, cucumber, blueberries, raspberries, mint and grapefruit juice then they add a bottle of champagne. Let me tell you, it is heaven.

But the true genius (modest as always) was my decision to add a thinly sliced jalapeno.

Oh em gee. Jalapeno takes sangria from normal to out of this world. No one will confuse this sangria with the sangria from a family friendly restaurant.

If a sassy, gay Latin man was turned into a drink, he would be this sangria. Its fruity, sassy, and slightly shocking. 

So I guess its a good thing I didn’t get to bring food. If I had I never would have made my new favorite sangria.