The Fresh Prince Special

It's the summa time

Summa, summa, summa time

Time to sit back and unwind

Just cleaned my porch and am AMPED about some summertime cocktails! Here's a twist on an old classic (I assume... I mean, it's simple enough). The fresh basil in this cocktail pulls the sweetness together so well you'll be sitting and sipping in your rocking chair, hollering at the honeys and flowing through every Fresh Prince lyric you never even knew you had in you. 

2 oz. coconut rum

1 oz. amaretto

2 oz. pineapple juice

1 oz. mango nectar

3 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

Combine all ingredients and shake with 3 ice cubes. Strain and pour. Garnish with a three-grape spear.

Best served on the porch, obviously.

Arrested Development Extravaganza!!

Oh guys. The time has come. This little lady has been waiting impatiently for FOUR YEARS (roughly the same amount of time it takes an "average" "college student" to finish a "bachelor's degree," apparently - which is a long time!) for new Arrested Development, and FINALLY the day has come. That cheeky little ballcapped Ron Howard, everyone's favorite ginger in Hollywood, has finally read my baker's dozen of threatening letters and has released Season Four of Arrested Development.

So what else is a hungry girl to do but THROW A PARTAY?! I am always looking for another excuse to feed people. This seemed like a no-brainer. I'll share with you the entire menu near the bottom of this post, but what I really want to discuss here today is my George Sr. SoCal Cornballs. These are easy, fast, and SO delicious. Omnivores devoured them and they fit the theme of the evening perfectly. So hunker down, find some frying oil, put on your favorite Jerky Boys record and let's get cornballing! No Rules, no boundaries, go ahead touch the cornballer you know best!

YO SOY LOCO POR LOS CORNBALLS!

Here's what you'll need:

1 1/2 Cups cornmeal
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 Cup flour
1 tsp salt
2 egg replacers
1 handful of pickled jalapenos
1/2 Cup canned corn
1/2 Cup Daiya cheddar style shreds
1/4 Cup almond milk

Start with your dry ingredients - whisk together well. Then add the remaining ingredients. If these come out a little dry, add a little milk to moisten them up. The important thing to keep in mind here is that you spend some time making these with the ones you love. These are good for premiere parties but they are even BETTER for a Saturday morning pre-bike-ride snack. Unless your son decides he has better things to do.

Wop wop.

The most important piece of this recipe is getting the frying down. Since The Cornballer hasn't yet reached Kentucky, here we must resort to tried-and-true methods of old fashioned frying in vegetable oil. Be careful though - it's still pretty damn hot if you touch the side.

Find yourself a small saucepan, and fill it about halfway up with vegetable oil. Turn on high and wait a few minutes. Here's where you need to do a test drop - pinch a teeny bit of cornabll mix and toss it in the oil. If it starts to fry, then your oil is ready. If not, then keep waiting. LISTEN guys - I am one impatient gal when it comes to fried treats like George Sr.'s SoCal Cornballs, but you MUST wait for the oil to be hot enough before tossing those suckers in. Once they're ready, turn your oil down to medium-high and throw them in a couple at a time.

Follow standard protocol for frying stuff (until golden brown), remove with a fork and let dry on a paper towel. 

I served these with a sweet mustard sauce, which was BOMB. Just whisk together some brown deli mustard, veganaise, maple syrup and a peeeench of brown sugar and voila! Delicious. 

And for the rest of the menu....

Vodka and Toast

"Get me a vodka rocks"

"Mom, it's breakfast."

"And toast."

Bangers and Mash

"Who'd like a banger in the mouth? Oh, right, I forgot, here in the states, you call it a *sausage* in the mouth."
"We just call it a sausage."

Skip's Scramble

Too many choices? Menu too big to swallow? Let Skip serve you up a scram that has something from every dish on the menu. It will knock you into next week! $47.95 a la carte.

Made this with kale hash browns, cheddar Daiya, smokey tempeh bacon,  and tofu scramble with mushrooms, peppers, spinach and carrots.

Frozen Bluth Bananas

These were frozen twice over and dipped in dark chocolate, rolled in almonds and cashews.

10 cents gets you nuts!

and finally...

Chick'n Fingers.. With Spicy Club Sauce

Also, not pictured:

boxed white zinfandel wine

ice cream sandwiches

Shaken Vanilla Chai

The sun is out and it is high time for midday cocktails!

One of the many perks of the Starbucks barista life is the plethora of markouts we are given. Each partner is allotted one pound of whole bean coffee, one box of K-cups, one tin of Tazo tea or one box of chai concentrate every week! Amazing. So you know imma whip up some springtime cocktails with my partner benefit. This is sweet, a little spicy and perfectly caffeinated. 

This has been my go-to the past few weeks. Here's how you make it.

1/2 Cup chai tea concentrate

1/2 Cup vanilla soymilk

2 oz. rum

1 scoop ice

Shake all ingredients. Strain and serve chilled over one cube of ice. Garnish with cinnamon and Annie Dillard.

Earl Grey Amaretto Palmer

Time for a little mixology - this is #veganista, after all.

This has been my favorite midday cocktail the past few days (my go-to changes every week). It's an earthy/sweet twist on an old classic. Here's how you make it:

1. Brew half a pitcher of Earl Grey tea using 5 tea bags to make it extra strong. When it's finished steeping (4 minutes), stir in half a cup of sugar until it's all dissolved. Next, water it down with ice until the pitcher is full.

2. Fresh homemade lemonade: mix together juice from roughly 5 lemons (1 cup juice), 1 cup simple syrup (heat 1 cup water with 3/4 cups sugar, let cool), and 3-4 cups cold water. 

3. 1 oz. amaretto

4. 1.5 oz. vodka

5. Mix all ingredients together in a shaker. Shake with ice and serve with a lemon wedge.

Bailey's Irish Cream

This is what I do when I am not in class: make vegan bailey’s.

This recipe is such a breeze. Whisk together in a saucepan the following ingredients: 1 can coconut milk, 1c almond milk, 1 capful of vanilla extract, 1tbl cocoa powder, 2tbl brown sugar, 1tbl white sugar, and 1/2c coffee brewed double strength. Whisk until all ingredients are melted/cool with each other, then stick in the fridge to chill.

Once cooled, spike with Irish whiskey (all I had on hand was bourbon) and rum (I used spiced rum and can definitely taste the difference).

Butterbeer

Harry Potter Night part 1!

We hosted a Harry Potter evening this past weekend. No particular significance in the timing of it all — my roommates have salary jobs and we do live in Bowling Green, after all. Since Toad in the Hole and Eccles cakes were already claimed by my non-vegan roommates, I figured butterbeer would be easy enough to pull off. This recipe, modified from Vegan Dad’s, got rave reviews from the girls. It’s tricky in that it requires mixing each individual drink, but I hardly think many folks will want a second round. It packs a punch.

Oh! And I spiked ours. Of course. This is totally optional, obviously, but spiced rum really balances the sweetness well.

1 cup brown sugar
2 tbl water
6 tbl Earth Balance, melted
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
3 tbl coconut milk
1/2 tsp rum extract
as much spiced rum as you please
1 liter bottle of cream soda

Heat brown sugar and water in a small saucepan, on medium, until it starts to bubble. Immediately remove from heat. Stir in the Earth Balance,salt, vinegar, and coconut milk. Transfer to a jar and place in fridge to cool, though I suppose you could also just leave it on the counter if you’re feeling really zen and you’re not in any hurry. Once your jar of sugary syrupy brown goo is cool, mix in the rum extract.

To serve, you’ll need to mix in 2 tablespoons or so of the syrup with as much cream soda as you wish. Mix well, add one shot of spiced rum, and top with more cream soda if you want to impress your guests with its fizziness. Which feels impressive to me, for reasons unknown.

We only got through 3 movies on HP movie marathon night, and I only made it through one of these cocktails. This is adult life as a Hufflepuff, y’all.