happy memorial day weekend friends. nothing says summer kick off like memorial day.

and my favorite summer fruit is watermelon. it has basically been baby’s number one craving since the beginning of my second trimester. for a while there i was eating one fourth of a watermelon A DAY. i suffered a few months of bad watermelon season but we have official turned that corner towards summer and the watermelon pickings are GOOOOOOD.

fresh, crisp, sweet watermelon is a special experience. but once your watermelon goes a little bit past its freshest or if the watermelon texture is mealy, blending it up for the juice is the PERFECT solution. with baby on board, i have been drinking watermelon juice straight. but for wesley, i’ve been whipping up this delicious vodka + watermelon cocktail for him to enjoy.

watermelon + rosemary cooler

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 3 minutes

active time: 1 minute

total time: 4 minutes

ingredients: 5 oz watermelon juice (i blended 1 cup watermelon and strained the juice from the pulp). 2 oz vodka. 1 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice. 3-5 oz club soda. 1 rosemary sprig. 2 cups ice. tall serving glass. shaker/strainer. optional: borage flowers or other blue edible flowers for garnish.

start by combining the watermelon juice, vodka and lemon juice in the base of your shaker with half the ice. remove the bottom two thirds of leaves from the rosemary sprig. smash and tear up the rosemary leaves and add them to the shaker.

shake vigorously for 30 seconds to combine everything and to release the oils from the rosemary. fill your serving glass with the remaining ice. strain the contents of your shaker over ice.

top the cocktail off with club soda.

stir well and garnish with the rosemary sprig and edible flowers. serve and enjoy.

xo, a

watermelon + rosemary cooler

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 3 minutes

active time: 1 minute

total time: 4 minutes

ingredients: 5 oz watermelon juice (i blended 1 cup watermelon and strained the juice from the pulp). 2 oz vodka. 1 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice. 3-5 oz club soda. 1 rosemary sprig. 2 cups ice. tall serving glass. shaker/strainer. optional: borage flowers or other blue edible flowers for garnish.

start by combining the watermelon juice, vodka and lemon juice in the base of your shaker with half the ice. remove the bottom two thirds of leaves from the rosemary sprig. smash and tear up the rosemary leaves and add them to the shaker. shake vigorously for 30 seconds to combine everything and to release the oils from the rosemary. fill your serving glass with the remaining ice. strain the contents of your shaker over ice. top the cocktail off with club soda. stir well and garnish with the rosemary sprig and edible flowers. serve and enjoy.

before i left for my canadian vacation, my friend lish and i got together to brainstorm about our summer events and to celebrate spring.

we set up a beautiful outdoor lunch complete with blooming eucalyptus table runners and lavender + grapefruit cocktails. all the food we cooked up was inspired by jenni kayne’s new book, pacific natural. and my favorite dish was a version of her mushroom and ricotta crostini.

i LOVE using lavender (if my logo wasn’t a dead giveaway) as a replacement for most dishes with rosemary. that light, floral herb is the perfect compliment to zesty red wine vinegar mushrooms and my creamy homemade ricotta cheese.

ricotta + lavender mushroom crostini

serves: 8 crostini

prep time: 10 minutes

active time: 10 minutes

total time: 20 minutes

ingredients: 8 slices of your favorite baguette. .5 cup homemade ricotta. 1 cup slice cremini mushrooms. 2 tbs butter. 1 tbs chopped lavender (you can sub rosemary if you don’t have any lavender). 2 garlic cloves minced + one extra clove to rub your bread. .25 cup red wine vinegar. .5 tsp kosher salt. .25 tsp freshly ground pepper. edible flowers for garnish, optional. baking sheet.

start by toasting your bread. place your baguette slices on your baking sheet and either toast them in toaster oven or baking them in the oven at 375 degrees F for 7-10 minutes. you want your toast to be a light golden brown.

while your bread slices are toasting, heat your butter over medium high heat until the butter is bubbly. add in your mushrooms and season with half the salt and pepper. toss everything well till the mushrooms are lightly butter coated. cook until the mushrooms get a nice brown, about 5-7 minutes, stirring about halfway through.

add in the garlic, lavender and the red wine vinegar. season with the rest of the salt and pepper and stir everything well.

cook until the liquid has completely cooked down. about 3 minutes.

once your baguette pieces of toasted, brush each piece of baguette with your garlic clove.

spread each piece with a nice layer of ricotta.

top the ricotta with your cooked mushrooms.

garnish with your edible flowers and serve.

xo, a

ricotta + lavender mushroom crostini

serves: 8 crostini

prep time: 10 minutes

active time: 10 minutes

total time: 20 minutes

ingredients: 8 slices of your favorite baguette. .5 cup homemade ricotta. 1 cup slice cremini mushrooms. 2 tbs butter. 1 tbs chopped lavender (you can sub rosemary if you don’t have any lavender). 2 garlic cloves minced + one extra clove to rub your bread. .25 cup red wine vinegar. .5 tsp kosher salt. .25 tsp freshly ground pepper. edible flowers for garnish, optional. baking sheet.

start by toasting your bread. place your baguette slices on your baking sheet and either toast them in toaster oven or baking them in the oven at 375 degrees F for 7-10 minutes. you want your toast to be a light golden brown. while your bread slices are toasting, heat your butter over medium high heat until the butter is bubbly. add in your mushrooms and season with half the salt and pepper. toss everything well till the mushrooms are lightly butter coated. cook until the mushrooms get a nice brown, about 5-7 minutes, stirring about halfway through. add in the garlic, lavender and the red wine vinegar. season with the rest of the salt and pepper and stir everything well. cook until the liquid has completely cooked down. about 3 minutes. once your baguette pieces of toasted, brush each piece of baguette with your garlic clove. spread each piece with a nice layer of ricotta. top the ricotta with your cooked mushrooms. garnish with your edible flowers and serve.