Dad & Ellen Go To The ACC

Just before Thanksgiving weekend (Canadian Thanksgiving is in October) my dad & stepmom came for a visit. I hadn't seen them in 6 years, so I was very excited. All kinds of planning went on behind the scenes to get Leafs tickets so we could take my dad to his very first NHL game. He's lived in New Brunswick and/or Nova Scotia his whole life, been a Leafs fan his whole life and the only time he's been to Ontario has been in the summertime. No hockey being played in the summer.

He knew nothing about it and was surprised with tickets at Thanksgiving dinner. The game was the next night.

He was very excited and didn't sleep that well. He said he kept waking up. Awww.
We caught the GO train and went into the city early in the day. We got the subway up to Maple Leaf Gardens to check it out.

When we walked by the front door, there was a security guy outside having a smoke. Inside, they were practicing for Battle of the Blades. I never did watch it, but it was like a 'Dancing with the Stars' competition, only on skates. World class figure skaters were paired up with hockey players and each week, they would do a figure skating routine and the pair with the lowest score would be eliminated. We chatted with the guy for a while, but in the end, he didn't let us in.
Oh holy shrine of hockey greatness. It was at one point going to be made into a freakin' grocery store! Outrage and protests put a halt to that. It is now going to be made into an athletic centre with the exterior remaining intact.

After a poke around there, we grabbed the subway back downtown and went for dinner at Ellen's favorite restaurant, The Keg. They do have veg options and it's possible to make a delicious meal with appetizers and side dishes. There is also a portobello entree available but it's not on the menu. All you have to do is ask. The staff was very cheery and accommodating. It made for a great dinner experience.

We made our 10 minute walk to the ACC and got there early so we could take Dad & Ellen in and let them have a look around. We muscled the doorman, roughed him up a bit and he finally consented to let us in. Actually, it wasn't that dramatic. We lied and said we had dinner reservations at the restaurant.

We met up with a security guy at ice level who loved the story of Dad coming to his first game and later brought him an official Leafs puck as a souvenir. He was also kind enough to take this picture of us at ice level.

While we were there chatting, John McDermott arrived. He quite often sings the national anthem(s) before the games. He was super nice, very friendly and when the security guard told him dad's story, he asked Dad where he was from. Then said he was doing a concert in Fredericton in November and would leave them 2 tickets at the box office. And he did!! Dad & Ellen said they really enjoyed his show and Mr. McDermott saw them after and remembered exactly who they were. My friend Michelle said it was the gift that just kept on giving. HA!

Even though the Leafs lost, I think Dad & Ellen really enjoyed their special day. They even went home with 2 free fleecy Leafs blankets.

The Urban Vegan

Is there anyone still checking in and reading my blog? If you are, please leave a message to let me know. It's been a long time since I've posted and I have a feeling I don't get much traffic here anymore. I have been very lax at updating, I know. It just seems like there is always so much going on. I was getting too long with my posts and it would take me hours to put one together. It got to the point that it seemed to be such a daunting task, that I just let it fall by the wayside. So, I'd like to get back at it, but keep the posts shorter and more frequent.

This is a post I've been meaning to do for a while - over a month now, YIKES! A year ago, I was lucky enough to participate in some recipe testing for my friend, Dynise Balcavage. She is an incredibly talented woman who put out a call for help for testing recipes for a new cookbook she was putting together. I was very eager to lend a helping hand. You may remember some of my previous posts showcased some of the dishes I tested. I even made guinea pigs of my friends & family last year at Christmas dinner by incorporating some of Dynise's recipes into the repitoire.

Finally, in October, after much hard work on Dynise's part and much anticipation on everyone else's part, the book was released!

Gorgeous cover! So bright, vibrant & cheery - much like Dynise herself. This cookbook is fantastic! The layout is fun & funky. Aside from traditional chapters like salads, soups, and dessert (oh my! the desserts!) Dynise has also given us chapters "All-Night Breakfast at the Diner", "Happy Hour" & "The Melting Pot". This book is hip, not the same ol' same ol'. There is a great introduction and a list of basics for an urban vegan pantry. Variations are included for a lot of the recipes, so you can make them according to what you have on hand and your own personal tastes. There are even menu ideas. Tidbits of interesting facts & wisdom are scattered throughout the book. But the best part....the end results!

Blueberry Banana Bread

Moist & delicious!

One of the recipes Jim listed as a favorite was this one -

Chickpeas with Tomatoes and Spinach

This was one of my very favorites and might even battle for top spot. Couscous Mosaic. OMG! This is sooo delicious!

Island Gumbo

Pumpkin Risotto with Sage and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Pear-Pepper Chutney which is yummy on it's own and is also used in this -

Elegant Lunch Sandwich. So fancy! Rich & delicious. This is sure to impress.

Farfalle with Fennel - different and so tasty.

This isn't the best picture, but what it's a picture of is the best - Dijon Vinaigrette. This was such a hit with Jim & I, that it is now our "house dressing".

It lifts a basic green salad to new heights! It's also good on green beans.

I have other scrumptious photos to show you, but I'm trying to keep these posts manageable for a quick-ish read. Watch this page for more! And please, if you're still keeping up with me, just a quick comment. Even a "hi" will suffice.

By the way, if you'd like to order Dynise's book, go here if you're in Canada

Go here if you're in United States.

I Haven't Forgotten

Salsa, Cookies & U2

Quite a few years ago, Michelle & I took a cooking class at a natural/health food store in Oakville. The store no longer exists - I think it went out of business when Whole Foods moved in which is really sad because this place was really nice and the classes were small, informative and a lot of fun and the take-home recipe sheets have been well used over the years.

One of the things made during that class was an avocado salsa. This is one of those recipes that is so simple, yet so good. I make it quite a lot and serve it with things like fajitas.

A bit of a blurry shot, but here we have a whole wheat tortilla with some sautéed seitan, onions & peppers. Add some salsa, sour cream, roll up and voilà! Yumminess.

I also made an un-authentic rice & beans dish. This is done in a casserole in the oven from a recipe I've had for so many years I don't even remember where I got it. It's full of veggies and just enough spice. I like it!

This meal gave us lots of energy for U2!

These were taken at Rogers Centre. What a great show!

The rice & beans recipe makes a lot so a few days later I used most of it as a filling for enchiladas.

Again, no where near authentic, but it was a good way to use up left overs.

A little bit of cheese and some salsa made it pretty tasty.

I haven't been baking much of anything for months and then, out of the blue, was craving oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Out came The Garden of Vegan and I whipped up a batch of "Maureen's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies".

These are amazing! The evenings have a bit of chill in the air and these are definitely comfort cookies.

Fast Food the Gordon Ramsay Way

Fast food doesn't have to be greasy take-out. You can use fresh, quality ingredients and make a delicious dish in a short amount of time.

That's the idea behind Gordon Ramsay's Fast Food cookbook. Yes, we're all busy, and although these recipes do take a little bit of time, they are relatively simple and don't require a ton of ingredients or hours of slaving to make a special meal.

This salad was really good. Green Bean, Red Onion & Romano Salad took maybe 10-15 minutes to make.

Now, who doesn't have 10-15 minutes to make a delicious side dish?

For our main dish, I made this -

Tomato & Pesto Tart. OMG! This was so freakin' delicious, I made another one a few days later.

The crust is made with frozen puff pastry which is topped with pesto, cherry tomatoes, green onions, some herbs and grated Parmesan cheese. YUM!

Doesn't it look absolutely, mouth-wateringly delicious?

We pulled out this bottle of wine. I'd been saving it for a special dinner and Jim & I home together on a lazy evening seemed special enough. Brunello di Montalcino (or just called Brunello for short) is a wonderfully delicious wine from the Tuscany region in Italy. Made from a Sangiovese clone, this is considered one of the best wines that Italy produces.

Since peaches & nectarines are everywhere right now, this seemed like a logical choice.

Roasting them softens the fruit and produces a delicious flavour.

Once topped with the amaretti cream and sprinkled with crushed amaretto cookies, these went to a whole new level. Simple, yet quite gourmet.

With everything ready before I started, and a thorough read of the recipes, this kitchen adventure in fast food proved to be a resounding success!

Mom At The Airport

On Tuesday, my Mom was flying from Fredericton to Vancouver and had a layover in Toronto, so we took the day off to go hang out with her.

We hadn't seen each other in a long, long time so it was so nice to get caught up in person rather than just on the phone. We had some lunch while we waited for her flight. Mom brought me some of my favorite candy from out east.

It's just not Christmas without Chicken Bones. Years ago, I think these were only really available at Christmas time, but now, you can get them year round. Lucky for me! These are sooo good! The candy part is bright pink with a spicy cinnamon flavour and in the middle is a strip of dark, dark chocolate. It might sound weird, but trust me - it is fabulous! The only problem I have with these is that I end up eating too many at once, and my mouth gets kind of numb from too much cinnamony candy.

Also made by Ganong, which is Canada's oldest candy manufacturer, and based still in New Brunswick and still family owned, are these super sweet chocolate bars. Just a bit of trivia for you...one of the Ganong brothers was the first to come up with a wrapped chocolate bar and they were the first to introduce heart-shaped boxes of chocolates to North America. These Pal-O-Mines are a sweet, brown sugary fudge with coconut, a sprinkling of peanuts on the outside, then covered in dark chocolate. Sounds sweet doesn't it? And sooooo good! So thanks to Mom, I can spend my evenings on the couch in sugar shock. And memories of home.

Our truck is too tall to fit into the airports parking garage, so we parked in the "reduced rate" lot which is blocks away and took the shuttle train back to the airport.

It just travels back and forth between the parking lots and the different airport terminals. I think the longest one has to wait is about 5 minutes.

It travels on this track which goes over the parking lot and the streets.

I think it's a great idea. For 3 hours of parking though, our "reduced rate" was $14. That is criminal!

Instant Indian

You know when you're working full time hours and have other projects & activities on the go, sometimes coming home at 6:30 or 7pm and starting a dinner from scratch seems like such a daunting task. I'd rather just pick up the phone and order in, but that can become costly. So, on occasion, I turn to conveniently canned or frozen items to help with making the night-time meal.

President's Choice came out with a neat frozen product line of ethic foods. The concept is that you buy one main dish, two sides and an appetizer and there's your meal! I decided to give the Indian ones a whirl.

I got Aloo Gobi which is a favorite of mine.

Some basmati rice with onions, peas & cashews. Yum! But the mains were all meaty. Hmm....

So this can came to the rescue. Patak's cooking sauces are made with authentic Indian spices, are easy to use and so delicious! They have quite an array of products with varying heats. One of our favorites is Rogan Josh that is traditionally made as a lamb dish, but we use it for tofu, faux chick or sometimes just vegetables. This Korma curry sauce sounded interesting, so I gave that a try. I used Quorn Chik'n Tenders and it worked perfectly!

The appetizer in this line are vegetable samosas. These cook up nice and crisp and as an added bonus, it comes with it's own little tub of PC Memories of Punjab dipping sauce, which is a sweet, slightly tangy tamarind sauce.

Gotta have Naan bread! No Indian meal is complete without it. This packaged bread is quite good. All one has to do, is set it in the oven for about 2 or 3 minutes. I just put it right on the rack, flip it, then take it out. It's soft, warm and smells delicious!

Since there wasn't much in the way of vegetables really, I steamed some broccoli and added that to the plate as well. What a feast!

The Korma sauce was rich, yet mild. The samosas were lightly spiced, the cashews in the rice added a nice little crunch. I couldn't finish my plate. It was piled high and even though everything was delicious, my tummy was full. We had lots leftover for a meal the next day. This was one night when frozen food wasn't so bad.

Simon's Baby

Simon has been quite the little father for the past couple of weeks. I bought him a new squeaky toy and fully expected it to be ripped apart inside of two minutes. Much to our surprise, he's been carrying it around almost all day, everyday. He even brings it to bed. At first, it was interupting our sleep because he'd randomly squeak it throughout the night. That has stopped, but still carts it around inside and out. He's always got a close eye on it and if we dare to try and take it, he's on top of us to get it back.



Below is my very amateur-ish video of Simon heading out with us to run some errands. He takes his "baby", but then almost forgot it in the grass. Being the good "dad", he retrieved it and took it with him.



(the beginning part is dark & a bit difficult to see. It's just in our hallway, waiting for the elevator)

Wine & Food, Food & Wine

I always have plans of posting more often than I do, but something always seems to get in the way. Then I end up with long posts that I'm not sure anyone ever reads to the end. In any event, here we go!

First of all, my friend Michelle was in town from Calgary! Her visit coincided with Fielding Winery's wine club members get together, so we spent our Saturday afternoon snacking, drinking and catching up.

It was pouring rain all morning, but by the time we were on our way, the sun came out. It ended up being a gorgeous day. We had a great weekend & I was so pre-occupied with everything, I never did take pictures of any of the food we made. So you'll have to settle for a few other tidbits.

First off, I've found the most delicious chip-type snack.

Riceworks are Dorito-like in shape and thickness, with a delicious taste and a terrific crunch. There are half a dozen or so different flavours so far I like the sweet chili the best.

The Sweet Chili is even vegan friendly! Not all of the flavours are, so, as always, be sure to read the label.

Remember those amazing wild blueberries?

Jim was back up north to finish the job he started and he came home with some more! We ate a lot just as is, but I did use some for our Sunday breakfast.

I loves me some blueberry pancakes - with maple syrup of course.

These were so yummy and just bursting with blueberries.

I've mentioned before that the LCBO puts out this amazing magazine called Food and Drink. It's published 6 times a year and is complementary at LCBO stores across Ontario. This year's summer issue had some focus on outdoor living & entertaining and they also included a trio of meatless grilling recipes that I may try in the future. One recipe, in a section called "Fit To Be Thai", I did make. The recipe, Grilled Vegetable Peanut Noodles, is vegetarian and with one small substitute, it becomes vegan.

I chose these noodles. The recipe called for Chinese noodles or linguini but I opted for rice noodles since this was supposed to be a Thai-inspired dish and these looked to be about linguini size. I quite often have trouble with rice noodles. They always seem so sticky and hard to work with after they've been softened. Maybe I'm cooking them too long? Maybe I should rinse them to remove some of the excess starch? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I love the taste of these noodles, but they usually end up in a tangled mess.

Unfortunately, I only have this picture of my bowl topped with the garnishes. I should have mixed it around so you could see more of what's underneath. The main components are visible, noodles, snow peas, red pepper, tofu. This turned out to be really good! It was a terrific meal-in-a-bowl and after both of us eating HUGE portions for dinner, there was still enough left over for lunches and then some. It heated up in the microwave pretty well. I'll include the recipe at the end of this post since it's not yet available on-line.

Remember these sausages? We ate two off the grill so I still had two left over and they were just screaming to be added to a pasta dish of some sort. I was craving sausage and peppers, so a quick little search via Google gave me this recipe. It was so easy! I used vegetable stock instead of chicken stock, and cut the amount of red pepper flakes in half just in case it would be too spicy for me.

Man, oh man was this good!! I could have easily used all of the red pepper flakes and will the next time I make this. Jim said it was a little too sweet for him, but that's easy enough to rectify. The Marsala gave the sauce such a delicious flavour. Very nice indeed.

We had a nice salad on the side of mixed greens and bocconcini with a balsamic vinaigrette. It was a light & lively contrast to the richness of the pasta.

To complement all of it, we opened this delicious California Zinfandel that came in through Vintages.

This was a terrific wine to have with this pasta. With it's little bit of spice & berry flavours, it made our meal all that more enjoyable.

Did you make it all the way to the end of this post? Great! Thanks for hanging in and reading the whole thing. Now here's that recipe I promised for the Thai noodle dish above.

GRILLED VEGETABLE PEANUT NOODLES

Dressing:
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup natural smooth peanut butter
2 tbsp. honey (I used agave syrup)
2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp. grated ginger
1 tbsp. grated garlic
1 tsp. Asian chili sauce

1 pkg. Extra-firm tofu, cut into ½-inch thick slices
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 Asian eggplant, halved lengthwise (I used a zucchini)
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
Salt
1 red pepper, halved, seeded
1 pkg. Dried Chinese noodles, 12 oz. (375g), or linguini
8 oz. (250 g) snow pea pods, stem end trimmed, halved on the bias
¼ cup sesame oil
¾ cup thinly sliced green onions
¼ cup coriander leaves (cilantro)
¼ cup chopped salted peanuts

1. Combine soy sauce, peanut butter, honey (or agave syrup), vinegar, ginger, garlic and chilli sauce in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Reserve.

2. Blot tofu with paper towels and brush with soy sauce. Brush cut side of eggplant with oil and season with salt.

3. Heat grill to medium-high. Grill tofu, eggplant and red pepper for about 4 minutes a side or until tofu is browned, eggplant is tender and red pepper is softened with charred skin. Place pepper in a paper bag to sweat for 5 minutes or until skin has loosened. Peel away charred skin and cut peppers into strips. Cut tofu into 2-inch-ling thin slices and cut eggplant on the bias. Reserve.

4. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add noodles and cook according to package directions. When noodles are about 1 minute short of their cooking time add snow pea pods and cook 1 minute or until tender and bright green. Drain and toss noodles and snow peas with sesame oil.

5. When ready to serve, toss noodles with reserved dressing, tofu and vegetables. Place on a serving platter and sprinkle with onions, coriander and peanuts.

Serves 6

New Barbeque

Jim had a job about 2 hours north of Toronto and on his way home, he saw a roadside stand selling wild blueberries. He knows how much I love wild blueberries, so he paid an exorbitant amount of money and brought me home a pint.

It's random things like this that make a day like Valentine's Day seem ridiculous to me. This is more meaningful than roses on Feb. 14. I know he got me these blueberries because he was thinking of me. He knew it was something I would like and that would make me happy. No special occasion, no pressure - just because. Gifts on Valentine's Day would make me wonder if the giver wanted to or felt they had to. So when I say "everyday is Valentine's Day at our house" and people roll their eyes....I bet they're not getting wild blueberries on a Thursday in July. So there!

Earlier this month, Jim got himself something that made hime very happy. A new barbeque.

He got a ridiculously good deal on this at Canadian Tire.

The first thing he did on it was grill some vegetables. They were then transformed into this -

I used this recipe as a guideline, leaving out the eggplant and substituting red onions for the green onions. I probably could have used a bit more oil and a little less lemon rind & now know for next time. It was pretty good and super easy to make.

Of course, a big boy with a new toy equals lots of BBQ-ing.

Here we have Presdent's Choice Meatless Chicken Breast, corn-on-the-cob, both done on the 'cue. Jim cooks the chik to perfection! Corn on the BBQ is the best! It turns out so sweet and delicious. If you've never had it, try it. You'll never have boiled again. I also had some green beans on the plate and I did something new with them.

Way back in March, we went to the Food and Drink Fest in Hamilton. That was a blast in itself, but one of the exhibitors that I stopped at and actually bought some things from was Victorian Epicure. I first heard of this company a few years ago via Sarah Kramer who had a give away on her blog and I was lucky enough to win it! Anyway, Victorian Epicure is a Canadian company that sells gourmet food products, spice blends, vinegars, rubs, etc. You can buy on-line here, but I think it's mostly sold through in-home parties much like Pampered Chef or Tupperware. There were some ladies at the booth who had made up veggie dips and fruit dips to try. They were very tasty. I bought a special 3 pack of "popular" spice blends and used one of the recipes that came in the package for the beans.

Basically, I steamed the beans until they were tender-crisp, then tossed them with some olive oil, lemon juice and Lemon Dilly Dip Mix.

These turned out really yum. The lemon & dill are balanced nicely. Not one flavour was too overpowering.
I pulled out one of the bottles of wine we brought back from our most recent trip to the States.

I've never seen this bottle available at the LCBO which is why I picked it up. That and the fact that it was only $7.99. I have found from my cross border alcohol buying experiences that the prices on California wine in New York are about half of what it costs in Ontario. Using that as a guideline I figure this would be a $15 bottle if sold here.

(Click this picture to read in larger size)


This was a nice Bordeaux-type blend. Jim & I both quite liked it. Worth picking up for a weeknight meal.

New Product Alert! I was looking at Yves spicy italian sausages and noticed this package that said 'sweet'. I thought "Sweeeet!" and bought one. Barbeque Man said he'd cook them on his new grill. As we browsed around the store I noticed couscous on sale.

This would be great on the side with the sausages. I pulled out a cookbook I was given years ago by my friend, Michelle. It's by Jeanne Lemlin and it's a collection of 3 of her cookbooks in one. There is a tasty couscous recipe in the Quick Vegetarian Pleasures section of the book that is a snap to make.

So here we have sausage on a bun - with fried onions of course.

That's all I ever put on veggie dogs or sausages. Maybe sauerkraut if it's available, but usually, just onions - plain & simple.

Here's the couscous. This was delicately delicious! The recipe called for dill, but I used the Lemon Dilly Mix. It worked very well. If you're interested in this couscous recipe, here it is: -

COUSCOUS PILAF WITH PEAS

(From Quick Vegetarian Pleasures by Jeanne Lemlin)

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup couscous (I used whole wheat)

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 tbsp. minced fresh dill or 1 tsp. dried

1/4 tsp. salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1½ cups vegetable stock

1 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into bits (I didn't use this at all)

Heath the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the onion and garlic, stirring often, until very tender, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the coucous, peas, dill, salt pepper and vegetable stock. Cover, bring to a boil and remove from the heat. Let sit until all of the broth is absorbed, about 5 minutes.

Fluff with a fork, then stir in the butter bits. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

Finer Than Diner

I was at Whole Foods the other day just browsing around and when I passed the salad bar, it called out to me. I had to answer. I scooped out a little bit of a few different kinds of ready-made salads and figured I could have those with dinner.

We both love chickpeas, so this was a no-brainer. Mixed in were peppers, onions, spinach -yum!

This one had no label, but it looked like some kind of Greek pasta salad. Crunchy peppers, cucumbers, olives and little cubes of feta cheese.

I loves me some coleslaw! This looked similar to Asian-type one I make, so I got some of this too.

I got home and didn't know what to have for dinner to go with the salads. Then I remembered someone at work talking about clubhouse sandwiches. I haven't had one of those in YEARS and had a massive craving. I set out to make a veggie version, which was really very simple.

I grilled up some Naked Quorn Cutlets just plain on my George Foreman Grill. While those were cooking, I fried some Morning Star Farms Bacon Strips until just a little crisp. Assembly was easy with some mayo & lettuce. I don't like raw tomatoes, so I skipped those. I used white bread just to make it more diner-like. Some fries on the side and I was saying "Mel, kiss my grits!"

I was very pleased with the taste too. Very authentic I thought. Jim agreed and ate his whole plate and said he'd have clubhouse sandwiches anytime. As for the salads, they were very tasty although the coleslaw one was a little flat. It needed more dressing.

Strawberries are here! You know what that means.....

Strawberry Shortcake! I made a sauce by just pureeing some berries with my hand blender. I then poured that on cake along with some whole berries and Cool Whip.

These strawberries are so sweet, no sugar needed. Delicious!

Just Add Spirit!

Strike Averted! The deadline was extended and thanks to an amazing bargaining team, we got an awesome contract. No complaints whatsoever. To celebrate, let's have a cocktail party!

LCBO's last promotion was spirits & cocktails.

They published this nifty little cocktail recipe book, so I had to make some of them. It was all for work of course, so I can offer better customer service Here are some of the drinks we tried. If you'd like to try some of these, click the picture of the recipe, it should enlarge for you. (Bear in mind, these were made and tasted over the course of a few weeks, not all in one day!)











First up - Whiskey Sour. This is a simple, classic drink.

I loves me some rye, so this was the first drink we tried. Delicious!









This one sounded interesting. Blueberries were on sale, so this one was next.

This is a terrific summer drink. So refreshing!

Jamaican Mule - a twist on the famous Moscow Mule only this time using rum instead of vodka.

Quite a nice tasting cocktail.

Berry Batida

Very fruity! This tasted like juice. There was a demo in my store and the girl making this drink used frozen berries. I used fresh.








Golden Sunrise which is basically a Tequila Sunrise.

This picture isn't very good. The drink on the right is unmixed so you can see the grenadine on the bottom. The colour bleeds a bit up into the juice hence the name sunrise. The drink on the left has been mixed - cool colour!

Spiced Daiquiri. The recipe called for Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, but I used this -

I much prefer Sailor Jerry. It's one of my new favorite spirits. It is really yummy.

What a refreshing, flavourful cocktail. This was my second favourite from the book.










Tangerine Sidecar

There are many variations of the classic drink. I very much liked this one.








The Lychee Buck was my favourite of all of the drinks I made from this book.


Again, a twist on the Gin Buck, this added lychee liqueur for a fabulous flavour combination. Very delicious.

With summer's heat upon us, cocktails are a great refresher after a hard work day or to sip in the backyard while lounging on the weekend. I hope you'll try one or all of these. Cheers!