this week was the calm before the storm. i took a little "spring break" along with all the kiddos i teach and gave myself the week off from cooking. next week is the beginning of what i'm hoping will be a very busy spring and summer season for our businesses. 

so i'm going to be hitting easter weekend with the family hard. i have to soak up every last second of freedom before i'm back in the kitchen for hours on end. it is a dream job, but still a job. 

with spring in full force and easter this weekend, i was feeling something, light, bright and fruity for cocktail time. wes and i found this delicious blood orange soda at our local produce store and i knew just what to do with it. 

sun kissed cooler
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time 3 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz vodka. .5 cup citrus juice (i used a mixture of orange and blood orange). .25 cup citrus soda (or club soda if you don't like the extra sweetness). 1 tbs grenadine. 1 cup ice. start by filling your serving glass with ice. make sure you pour this drink in order and don't stir it. otherwise it will become one color before serving. 

start by combining your citrus juice and vodka. stir well to combine. 

pour your juice over the ice. 

then pour in your soda. 

finally add in your grenadine.

 garnish with an edible flower or citrus wheel and serve. 

xo, a

sun kissed cooler s
erves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time 3 minutes
ngredients: 2 oz vodka. .5 cup citrus juice (i used a mixture of orange and blood orange). .25 cup citrus soda (or club soda if you don't like the extra sweetness). 1 tbs grenadine. 1 cup ice. start by filling your serving glass with ice. make sure you pour this drink in order and don't stir it. otherwise it will become one color before serving. start by combining your citrus juice and vodka. stir well to combine. pour your juice over the ice. then pour in your soda. finally add in your grenadine. garnish with an edible flower or citrus wheel and serve.

today was a great day. i'm just going to lead with that. nothing crazy got accomplished. i didn't earn a bunch of money. no jobs were secured. but, it was a great day. 

after teaching my usual tuesday morning class, i headed to a swim lesson with two of my favorite little boys. we just started back up now that it is warming up and they pretty much have me in stitches for a solid hour. i followed that up with a few hours at the beach with wesley (who has a rare day off now that nobu is open) which lead into a really solid beach nap. there aren't too many things better in life than a beach nap. my nap was followed up with some really great news about a job we have coming up and finished off with one of my all time favorite dishes in the garden. with rose. mic drop. 

if you are like me, and don't give a shit about garlic breath, this is a great meal to serve for date night. it is light, zesty and delicious. not to mention, it cooks up quickly so you have plenty of time to actually enjoy yourself. 

shrimp scampi
serves: 2
prep time: 10 minutes
active time: 10 minutes
total time: 20 minutes
ingredients: .5lb peeled and deveined shrimp (i found and argentinian red shrimp at my local fish guy that was delicious). .5lb spaghetti pasta (fresh if you can get your hands on some). 4 garlic cloves, minced. .25 cup grated parmesan cheese. zest of 1 lemon. 4 lemon slices. 2 tbs lemon juice. 2 tbs butter. 2 tbs olive oil. 1 tbs parsley, chopped. 1 tsp oregano, finely chopped. 1 tsp red pepper flakes. 1 tsp kosher salt. .5 tsp pepper. 

start by bringing a pot of salted water to a boil. cook your pasta to the package instructions. try to time the completion of the pasta around the time you complete your shrimp (pay attention to the cook time on your pasta) while your water is boiling and you are cooking your pasta, work on the rest of your dish. pat your shrimp dry and season it well with half the salt and pepper. 

in a large pan, heat you butter and oil with the garlic and red pepper flakes over medium high heat. you want the butter to start to sizzle, but not burn. be careful as garlic can burn quickly. 

once the garlic is fragrant and the butter is bubbling, about 2 minutes, add in the shrimp. cook until the shrimp is cooked through (slightly firm to the touch) about 5 minutes. 

add in your lemon wedges, juice, lemon zest, oregano and the rest of the salt and pepper. stir well to combine. cook until the liquid starts to bubble. 

toss in half the parsley and the cheese. stir well to combine. 

toss in the cooked pasta and toss everything together. 

serve on a platter or plated topped with the rest of the parsley and cheese. 

xo, a

shrimp scampi
serves: 2
prep time: 10 minutes
active time: 10 minutes
total time: 20 minutes
ingredients: .5lb peeled and deveined shrimp (i found and argentinian red shrimp at my local fish guy that was delicious). .5lb spaghetti pasta (fresh if you can get your hands on some). 4 garlic cloves, minced. .25 cup grated parmesan cheese. zest of 1 lemon. 4 lemon slices. 2 tbs lemon juice. 2 tbs butter. 2 tbs olive oil. 1 tbs parsley, chopped. 1 tsp oregano, finely chopped. 1 tsp red pepper flakes. 1 tsp kosher salt. .5 tsp pepper.
start by bringing a pot of salted water to a boil. cook your pasta to the package instructions. try to time the completion of the pasta around the time you complete your shrimp (pay attention to the cook time on your pasta) while your water is boiling and you are cooking your pasta, work on the rest of your dish. pat your shrimp dry and season it well with half the salt and pepper. in a large pan, heat you butter and oil with the garlic and red pepper flakes over medium high heat. you want the butter to start to sizzle, but not burn. be careful as garlic can burn quickly. once the garlic is fragrant and the butter is bubbling, about 2 minutes, add in the shrimp. cook until the shrimp is cooked through (slightly firm to the touch) about 5 minutes. add in your lemon wedges, juice, lemon zest, oregano and the rest of the salt and pepper. stir well to combine. cook until the liquid starts to bubble. toss in half the parsley and the cheese. stir well to combine. toss in the cooked pasta and toss everything together. serve on a platter or plated topped with the rest of the parsley and cheese.