Summertime Lemonade

Living in California means that we are fortunate to always have such beautiful weather (ok, yes we have the Santa Ana Winds and the occasional Winter "storm" but overall, we have gorgeous weather)!

Now that Summer is officially here, we thought we'd share one of our favorite drinks, Summertime Lemonade.  After weekly purchases from the lemonade stand at our Farmers Market (Redlands Market Night-we sell cupcakes there weekly), we decided to make our own lemonade from the many lemon trees at our home.

We started with a strawberry lemonade (my personal favorite).  It was tangy and sweet- but with the inconsistency of the sweetness from strawberries in season, this was not something that we can always get the same taste from.

Regular old fashioned lemonade was the thought when we created our recipe.  We wanted something we can keep at home for our families and something that we can jar up and take to the summer picnics, bbq's, and the beach.

After a few recipes tried, we were inspired to create our own.

Here is our Summertime Lemonade recipe // we hope you enjoy it as much as we do!!

cheers

.......

Summertime Lemonade

Ingredients:

-8 lemons (squeezed, we prefer no pulp) approx 1 1/2 C of juice

-7 Cups cold water

-2 Cups Granulated Sugar

-Simple Syrup (recipe follows)

Directions: 

step 1: create Simple Syrup.  Heat sugar & 1 C of water in a saucepan and stir.  Combine just until sugar is dissolved and remove from heat immediately.  Cool to room temperature by chilling in the fridge or leaving on counter.

step 2: juice lemons.  you need approx 1 1/2 cups of lemon juice (feel free to add more after if wanting a tangier lemonade)

step 3: in a large pitcher or serving container, combine chilled simply syrup, lemon juice, and 7 cups of water.  Stir until combined and chill until ready to be served, or serve over ice if you like a cooler lemonade.

note: lemonade can be store for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.  I prefer to made my lemonade a few hours in advance to allow flavors to blend.  Add your favorite syrup for a new lemonade taste.  Tip: I LOVE Monin syrup in my lemonade for the special flavor, I choose Pomegranate (I add 1 Tablespoon to each 8 oz glass).

Holy Guacamole

I have a snack addiction // GUACAMOLE

Being from an Italian family, we always had the usual; Prosciutto, Mortadella, Salami, Cheese & Bread for antipasto before the meal.  However, my Zia Paula (my Great Aunt) would always bring Guacamole to our family gatherings-no matter what the menu was.

It was a HIT-a must have-the recipe we all wanted

I asked if she would share it with me & she said it was so easy-just a few ingredients (and it was!)

So the basics she told me was avocados, cilantro, onion, & jalapeno.

After a few tries of recipes, I came up with my own version & now I am asked to bring it to our family gatherings.

Therefore, I needed to share my Holy Guacamole recipe + tips with you!

make this a few hours ahead of time to share + make sure to make plenty as if goes FAST!

Desi’s Holy Guacamole

Ingredients:

-6 Avocados (I suggest 1 large avocado per person) // TIP: follow this LINKon how to pick the best avocado!

-1 medium tomato

-1/2 Jalapeno (take our the seeds & chop small pieces, I use a Mezzaluna for my cutting of onion & jalapeno)

-1/2 medium red onion

-2 limes

-salt & pepper to taste

note: you can add cilantro if you like the taste // totally to you.

Directions:

1. Prepare your ingredients by chopping the onion and jalapeno using the Mezzaluna luna or knife

2. Chop tomato into small bite size pieces

3. Peel & core avocado & place into a medium size mixing bowl

4. Smash the avocado ( I LOVE to use a potato smasher to get the consistency I like)

5. Add in to jalapeno, onion & tomato

6. Squeeze the juice of 1 lime into the mixture and stir with a spoon

7. Add in salt & pepper to taste (approx 1 tsp salt & 1/2 tsp pepper)

Once all added & mixed, spoon mixture into your serving or traveling dish.  Put the pit of 2 avocados into the mixture until ready to serve.  Adding the pits will help your Holy Guacamole to stay fresh & green.  Once in dish, squeeze juice of remaining lime on top & chill until ready to serve.

& there you have it, HOLY GUACAMOLE!

Pasta Party // Happy 80th Birthday Grandpa!

My Grandpa turned 80 this year, & we decided to throw him a PASTA PARTY.

Our Grandpa was born in Lucca, Italy and came to America when he was in his 20’s-on a boat.

Since this was a big birthday, we decided to invite his brothers and sister over for a backyard party, featuring a pasta bar along with his homemade wine and delicious dessert.

When it came to the invitations, I reached out on a facebook blog I belong to.  I got an immediate response from Elena of World Wide Party by Elena that she was able to design a custom invitation PLUS a banner and amazing menu cards to match!  Elena is amazing-her work is impeccable and all of the work was perfect for our party.  She used a chalkboard inspired background with custom Italian references to match including pasta, chili peppers, and wooden spatulas-perfect for the event!

The theme was inspired by his favorite food-pasta of course.

First Course was an appetizer course featured antipasto from our favorite Italian Deli, Claro’s Italian Market in Upland, CA.  On top of my Grandma’s homemade bread we placed Mortadella, Prosciutto, & Buon Gusto Salami.  On the side we had giandiniera, pesto and feta dip, and wine.

Our main course menu featured spaghetti and rotini with guests choice of marinara, meat sauce, & pesto-all made by my Grandma, Mom & I.  We added a side of fresh meatballs to the table as well so you could top your pasta with as many meatballs as you’d like.  My aunt brought a delicious & crisp Caesar salad with fresh Parmesan cheese.

The beverages included San Pellegrino Sparkling water, San Pellegrino Sparkling Aranciata Rossa, & Peroni Beer.  We also had bottles of wine of each table along with water (it was a million degrees that day) and sodas.

After the main course there was a cheese and fresh fruit spread that as passed around the tables filled with cherries, grapes, nectarines, gouda, and Parmesan.

Now my favorite, the dessert table!  I made the cake which was inspired by the party theme itself.  The cake was a a 2 tiered cake featuring vanilla cake with a butter cream frosting.  The bottom tier was decorated in an avocado green color and the top was a pasta dish.  The half dome cake was turned upside down and topped with fondant “spaghetti” that we made with our hand rolled pasta machine.  On top we placed a fondant meatball and red icing for sauce.  Grated white chocolate was used for the “cheese” accents.  The wooden “80” cake topper was handcrafted by my boyfriend for the occasion.  It was stained with an Oak color to match the decor around the rest of the party.

Also included on the dessert table was my Grandma’s cookie assortment of Biscotti, Savorardi, & Lemon Cookies.  I just purchased a new Pizelle Iron and made fresh pizelles from a family recipe.  My Great Aunt brought Apple Turnovers and Rolled Cookies filled with her fresh Fig jam.

Now for the decor:

The tables were placed under the patio and an easy up lined with white table linens from Italy and were set with my Grandmas fine dining set and wine glasses for guests.  The centerpieces were wild flowers from our local farmers market placed inside wine bottles in the center of the table.

Lighting came from outdoor tea lights which adorned the easy up and the focal point-a handcrafted winebottle chandelier which hung from the center of the patio.  It was a birthday present from my boyfriend and I (he made the chandelier from a pine circle and used a light brown tinted bottle from our home collection.  The chandelier featured 12 bottles and had a center lighting kit from Lowes.

My Grandpa enjoyed his party-the family staying outside all night chatting and listening to our Mambo Italiano station on Pandora-reminiscing of their childhood and catching up.

Happy Birthday, Gramps!! We all love you so very much!