the countdown is on till mother's day. and long gone are the days where the only ladies i am celebrating are my mother and grandmothers. 

these days, there are beautiful mommies all around me. many of my coworkers, best friends and family are now mommies. and i don't know a better way to celebrate all the lovely moms in my life than with a very pretty, very delicious cocktail. (especially for those new mommies & mommies of teenagers). 

the great thing about this cocktail is that while it is bright and tangy, you can easily adjust the sweetness of the drink to your liking. not a huge lavender fan? not a problem! you can easily tailor this drink to your taste by using whatever fresh herbs you love in your garden. the goal isn't necessarily a lavender cocktail, but one that reflects your favorite herb form your spring garden! all you need to do is sub the lavender for the same amount of your favorite herb. thyme, marjoram or basil would be great options. 

spring splash
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 3 minutes
active time: 2 minutes
total time: 5 minutes
*author's note* if you already have simple syrup on hand you can soak some of your simple syrup with the fresh herbs for thirty minutes to an hour. if you need to make simple syrup, add in an additional half hour to make the syrup and allow it to cool to room temp before use. you can store your simple syrup on hand in the fridge for a month. 

ingredients: 2 oz vodka. 1 oz fresh pink lemon juice. 1 oz lavender simple syrup (use this simple syrup recipe just add .25 cup fresh lavender leaves or any of your other favorite garden herbs, strain and use or store). .5 oz campari. club soda to taste. lavender sprig for garnish. shaker. 2 cups of ice divided. serving glass of choice. 

start by combining half your ice with the vodka, lemon juice and simple syrup in your shaker. if you know you like a sweater cocktail, i would recommend using 2 oz of the herb simple syrup. 

shake well till bubbly. about 10-15 seconds. fill your serving glass with the remaining ice. 

pour the contents of your shaker over ice. 

top with club soda till just sparkling. 

top with campari. 

garnish with lavender sprig and enjoy!

xo, a

spring splash
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 3 minutes
active time: 2 minutes
total time: 5 minutes
*author's note* if you already have simple syrup on hand you can soak some of your simple syrup with the fresh herbs for thirty minutes to an hour. if you need to make simple syrup, add in an additional half hour to make the syrup and allow it to cool to room temp before use. you can store your simple syrup on hand in the fridge for a month.
ingredients: 2 oz vodka. 1 oz fresh pink lemon juice. 1 oz lavender simple syrup (use this simple syrup recipe just add .25 cup fresh lavender leaves or any of your other favorite garden herbs, strain and use or store). .5 oz campari. club soda to taste. lavender sprig for garnish. shaker. 2 cups of ice divided. serving glass of choice.
tart by combining half your ice with the vodka, lemon juice and simple syrup in your shaker. if you know you like a sweater cocktail, i would recommend using 2 oz of the herb simple syrup. shake well till bubbly. about 10-15 seconds. fill your serving glass with the remaining ice. pour the contents of your shaker over ice. top with club soda till just sparkling. top with campari. garnish with lavender sprig and enjoy!

well, i'm wrapping up another week of craziness over here at la casita costa mesa. this week, i hosted the hardware house kitchen's first ever menu tasting for an upcoming wedding we are catering. 

naturally, wes was scheduled for a double he couldn't get out of. so it was just me, myself and i prepping a four course meal for two. oh, and our tasting space is our home. so on top of all the meal prep i had to whip my home into serious shape. after prepping all day (and teaching at six in the morning) i was just starting to feel like i had everything under control. until the client called and was arriving twenty minutes early. basically they had already parked and were about to walk in. 

but instead of getting crazy and freaking out like i probably would have done a year ago, i took a deep breath, slapped a big smile on my face and got to work. the tasting went flawlessly, the bride and her mother walked away feeling confident about the day, and it finally sunk in that i am living my dream. which is fabulous, but it doesn't change the fact that i'm still exhausted and i definitely need a drink to unwind from the crazy. 

cucumbers have an amazing way of cooling and relaxing. they make any cocktail feel a little extra soothing. and since i missed this weeks tips & tricks, here is how i get delicious cucumber juice with out too much muss, fuss or mess. micro planes are not just for zesting citrus. next week's tips & tricks is dedicated to it's great uses. but one of the best uses is for grating cucumbers to extract their juices. 

start with a hot house or english cucumber. slice off the tip of the cucumber and use the flat edge to grate the cucumber on your micro plane. for every ounce of cucumber juice you need, you will want to grate about 1 inch of cucumber. make sure to hold your micro plane at an angle, over a bowl so you capture any of the juices created while grating. 

strain your cucumber through a mesh strainer, making sure to press out any remaining juices left in the flesh of the cucumber. then use your cucumber juice as you like.

honey + cucumber margarita
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time: 3 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz tequila. 2 oz cucumber juice. 1 oz grand marnier. 1 tbs honey. 1 oz lime juice. 1 slice cucumber for garnish. kosher salt for garnish. 1 cup ice for shaker. shaker. 1 cup ice or 1 large ice cube for serving. glass of choice. 

start by making your honey cucumber garnish. dip one edge of your cucumber garnish into the honey just till it is lightly coated.

sprinkle the honey with kosher salt till lightly coated. 

make a small slice in your cucumber, gently place it onto your serving glass filled with ice. 

in your shaker with ice, combine the tequila, grand marnier, 1 tsp honey, lime juice, and cucumber juice. 

shake till well combined. 

strain over ice. 

serve & enjoy. 

xo, a

honey + cucumber margarita
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time: 3 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz tequila. 2 oz cucumber juice. 1 oz grand marnier. 1 tbs honey. 1 oz lime juice. 1 slice cucumber for garnish. kosher salt for garnish. 1 cup ice for shaker. shaker. 1 cup ice or 1 large ice cube for serving. glass of choice.
tart by making your honey cucumber garnish. dip one edge of your cucumber garnish into the honey just till it is lightly coated. sprinkle the honey with kosher salt till lightly coated. make a small slice in your cucumber, gently place it onto your serving glass filled with ice. in your shaker with ice, combine the tequila, grand marnier, 1 tsp honey, lime juice, and cucumber juice. shake till well combined. strain and serve.