happy friyay friends! you made it!!! i still have some work to do tonight and tomorrow for a charity event we are catering, but i'm feeling extra grateful today. 

wes has some changes and transitions happening, so he was home three days in a row this week. it is always a sweet treat to get a glimpse into what working with him every day will be like. we even got to spend some time with my brother and parents at a delicious sushi dinner at our favorite local spot. we had a bomb evening full of tasty fresh fish, japanese bar snacks and smooth sake. by some miracle, we had a little of our sake bottle left to take home. so it was a natural ingredient for today's friyay cocktail. 

honey lemon saketini
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time: 3 minutes
ingredients: 3 oz sake. 1.5 oz lemon juice. .5 tsp honey. 2 sage leaves, finally chopped. 1 cup ice. 1 pretty ice cube for garnish. 3 mandarine slices for garnish. martini glass for serving. shaker. strainer. 

fill your shaker with ice.

over the ice, combine the sake, lemon juice, sage and honey.

shake well to combine.

place your pretty ice cube in the martini glass with the mandarine slices.

strain the liquid into the martini glass.

serve and enjoy!

xo, a

honey lemon saketini
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time: 3 minutes
ingredients: 3 oz sake. 1.5 oz lemon juice. .5 tsp honey. 2 sage leaves, finally chopped. 1 cup ice. 1 pretty ice cube for garnish. 3 mandarine slices for garnish. martini glass for serving. shaker. strainer.
fill your shaker with ice.
over the ice, combine the sake, lemon juice, sage and honey.
shake well to combine.
place your pretty ice cube in the martini glass with the mandarine slices.
strain the liquid into the martini glass. serve and enjoy!

eating is about so much more than just the sense of taste. the way something looks or smells can make a huge impression long before a single bite passes your lips. 

as long as you cook your food properly, the delicious aroma should follow, but presentation can be a little more challenging. some foods like a bolognese or a lavender tea cake aren't necessarily pretty on their own. foods that are one color or a mash up of multiple bland colors may need a little help in the visual department. 

that's where some items growing your spring garden come into play. thank you to the heavy california rains, my garden is starting to produce big time. here are a few flowers you can plant in your garden or in your windowsill to brighten up your late winter/early spring meals and cocktails. 

viola
they may be small, but boy are they stunning. violas come in all the colors of the rainbow in multiple different sizes and markings. they are perfect for decorating a bland plate, topping your cakes or frozen in an ice cube to spruce up your lemonade or cocktail. 

nasturtium
these are some of my go to color fillers. nasturtiums come in a variety of colors (red, pink, orange, yellow) and have not only delicious flowers, but tasty leaves as well. i often use the petals in a salad to add a pop of color.

i do not currently have any flowers blooming, but i use their leaves just as much. they are great as a salad filler, a plate garnish or chopped up as a garnish for pastas or meats. 

lavender
technically this is also an herb, but lavender flowers are gorgeous. not only that, there leaves are amazingly delicious. the flowers are beautiful dried or sprinkled on cakes, in cocktails or in ice. the leaves are great as a sub for anything you use rosemary for. 

xo, a