thesewoods

summer ice cubes

it's oh so hot in texas.  and in an attempt to make my required water consumption less boring, i decided to whip up some fancy ice cubes.  these need no explanation really, but i do have a few tips:

-boil your water first if you want clear cubes.  (obviously i care little about that and therefore, did not boil)

-use different sized ice trays.  i have a wide assortment for all my various ice needs.  haha.  my large king-cube trays can be found on amazon. 

-squeeze a little juice from the ends of the citrus into the tray as well for a stronger flavor.

-mix and match everything you can think of.  the bottom picture has prickly pear italian soda, top chico, a mint and lime cube, a blueberry cube and a lemon cube.  it was THE BEST.  

these work great in mixed drinks as well.  palomas, mojitos, moscow mules, etc. 

 

i mixed and matched mint, lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, blueberries and cucumbers.  any fruit will work and herbs such as basil and thyme are great as well. 

these are so great and i have already been so excited to drink more water today.  i think i am a little bit beverage-obsessed so i need something fancy or it's just not worth it to me.  

xo, emily

homemade pickles

i wanted to try my hand at refrigerator-pickling because i love anything pickled but i just don't think i am ready to try pickling the hard way.  i found a couple easy recipes here and here so i thought i would give it a go.  these are not meant to be stored more than a week or so in your refrigerator and the result is a crunchier, fresher vegetable (which i prefer). 

i decided to pickle cucumbers, radishes and carrots.  i added in peppercorn, mustard seed, garlic and dill.

add in:

1 cup of white vinegar

1 cup water

2 tablespoons sugar (you can use less or more, i used less for caloric reasons)

1 tablespoon salt

seal the jars and store 24 hours minimum in your refrigerator.  they should last around a week so make small batches or make enough to share. 

xo, emily

grapefruit, arugula, walnut & beet salad

this is my absolute, very-favorite, mixture of ingredients.  i could live off of pickled beets and arugula.  literally i will just shove handfuls of raw arugula in my mouth.  classy, as always.  

INGREDIENTS:

washed baby arugula leaves

pickled beets

walnuts

lemon zest

grapefruit sections

feta cheese

white balsamic vinaigrette (here is a recipe i love with honey and lemon)

toss, the end. 

enjoy!

xo, emily

watermelon lemonade

summer is just around the corner but in texas it's already here.  today we celebrate not dying of heat exhaustion with some watermelon lemonade. this stuff is so good but i'm sure i don't need to tell you that.  

i made a slightly less sweet version of lemonade as not to go over my daily allotted calories before 10:00am.

LEMONADE

1 cup raw sugar.

8 cups water

1 1/4 cup lemon juice

-in a small saucepan dissolve sugar and a small amount of your water.  allow to cool and add your sugar-water to the rest of your water and lemon juice.  i like to leave the lemon pulp, but be sure to remove any seeds that might have snuck in.  

in a medium sized bowl crush 2 cups of cubed watermelon with your hands (you can also pulse it in a food processor).  pour the contents of the bowl, including the juice, into your pitcher of lemonade.  add another two cups of cubed watermelon into the pitcher for style and flare.  (i used a seedless watermelon to save myself some trouble). 

enjoy!  

xo, emily