autumn is coming!

i love hot chocolate. i am lactose intolerant. most just-add-water hot chocolate mixes have at least a bit of dairy stuff in them. so, i went from chocolate soy milk to vanilla almond milk with cocoa powder & lackluster results to almond milk with tj's mint cocoa powder & still lackluster results . . . then i remembered heidi swanson's recipe for coconut chocolate pudding. & i was like, "yoooooo, maybe i can pull this off."

no measurements, just ingredients & instructions:

1 bar of 70% scharffen berger chocolate
coconut milk (i used the cheapest brand they have in my supermarket, and it's totally FAT & tasty)
chocolate almond breeze
vanilla hemp milk
cayenne pepper
cinnamon
sea salt
fresh cracked black pepper
chili powder

liquids go into the saucepan, chocolate goes in after the liquids, completely optional spices go in (to taste)
the whole thing gets sexy and kinda boils, you remove the pot from heat (and turn the damn burner off, too)

you pour some into a mug and sip your life away.

for all you summer sippers:

ginger limeade.

since limes seem to be the oft-neglected (unless you're preparing mexican, south asian, or maybe indian food) citrus fruit, i decided that instead of making a ginger lemonade (shoutout to naked chocolate) i'd do a ginger limeade. limes are really plentiful and super duper cheap at this time of year, and it doesn't take much to get me to put some ginger to work. so, here goes . . .

ingredients:

the juice of 10 limes
3/4 lbs ginger root, scrubbed and sliced (peeling optional)
about 3 quarts of cold water
honey and turbinado sugar to taste (enough to make a syrup with the lime juice)

add 2 quarts of water and the sliced ginger in a saucepan. bring to a boil; reduce the heat to a simmer.
in the pitcher you're serving, combine the honey and sugar with the lime juice
when the ginger tea has the color of ginger ale or weak tea, remove from heat. allow the tea to cool to room temperature; remove the ginger slices if desired.
mix the ginger tea with lime-honey-sugar mix.
refrigerate or serve immediately over ice. a splash of club soda may be added to each glassful.

** mixes well with extra-dry gin, peach rum, or vodka.

i'm a lightweight lush.

this cannot be denied.
i'm a teetotaler; a sipper of alcoholic beverages, if you will.

and, because of that, i'm always looking for new/ different ways to enjoy booze.

today's recipe is for something totally warm-weather inspired and awfully tasty: red wine sorbet.

3/4 cup raspberry sorbet
1/4 cup lemon sorbet
red wine (i used cabernet sauvignon) to taste

you can blend the ingredients in a blender if you'd like -- i was lazy and used a spoon inside the wine glass.

it's good.

i'm enjoying it despite having taken some allergy meds earlier today (i forgot!). . .

happy sippin!

it's hot toddy season!

here's my own recipe:

8 oz boiling hot water
1 shot southern comfort 100 proof (that's the black label)
the juice of 1 lemon, fresh squeezed
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 dash cayenne pepper (optional)
honey, to taste
1 bag tazo wild sweet orange tea
1 bag tazo calm tea

brew the tea; allow it to steep for about 3 minutes.
add southern comfort, lemon juice, ginger, cayenne, & honey.
nuke the tea for about 30 seconds or add more hot water to it, to ensure that it's hot enough.

enjoy!

also, feel free to add a dash of black seed oil to make it extra serious for those colds & other winter ickies.

the pb & jam smoothie

this smoothie could be a dessert, uber-sweet breakfast, afternoon snack, etc. it can be altered to satisfy most dietary restrictions.


3 bananas, medium sized (ripeness to your liking)
4 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey
about 2.5 cups of vanilla almond, soy, or rice milk
1 cup frozen (or fresh) strawberries
blend together honey, milk, & bananas until smooth.
add peanut butter and blend until almost whipped.
while the mixture is blending, add strawberries.

serve chilled.
add more milk or ice for a thinner smoothie.

enjoy,

lenée