It’s been a little over a month and I have been working hard at my exercise routine. Trying my hardest to be as active as possible at least 5 times a week. I am very fortunate that I have a great support team behind me. My fiance joins me most of the time for a serious hike or a walk/run/jog/walk, and then I have my pilates class which my best friend A-dre (who recently moved next door to me, I know I’m lucky to have my best gal living a few steps away) likes to join me for. I must admit this wellness/exercise thing is a serious commitment. I tell myself as I’m sweating buckets in the California heat “it is all for the greater good of my health.”  Of course I’m doing it for vanity (I need to lose some lbs.), but I’m also doing it for sanity. I love the feeling of an accomplished workout at the beginning of my day.

Lately I have been making a refreshing “agua de pepino y yerba buena” that I like to keep on tap chilled in the fridge. It’s my reward when I come back home with a complete overheated RED face from a thorough workout. Walmart makes it easy to keep it handy and with low prices on both cucumber and mint, why wouldn’t I make it often? This is the way I’m staying hydrated this spring/summer, with the people I love most drinking a glass beside me. Cheers to cucumber mint water.

Ingredients for agua de pepino y yerba buena:

• 3 – large cucumbers (cut into big pieces)
• 1 – lemon peeled
• 1/2 – cup mint leaves (stems removed/leaves only – I used Melissa’s Produce)
• 1/2 – cup sugar
• 10 – cups water

Directions:

1. Place cucumbers, lemon, mint leaves, sugar in a blender, and then add a cup of water. Blend until smooth.
2. Pour the mixture through a sieve that pours into a pitcher.
3. Add the remaining water to the pitcher and give it a stir.
4. Place the pitcher in the fridge and allow to chill.
5. Pour agua into a cup and garnish with a mint sprig.
6. Enjoy!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Whole Foods Market. The recipe and opinions are 100% my own. 

There is no other way to describe this drink other than “Mmmmm, that’s good.” Those were the first words out of my fiances mouth as I poured him a tall sip. Let me rewind a little and tell you the back story. It starts with Muscat grapes. Have you ever tried a Muscat grape? The Muscat Grape is a pink seedless grape, with a very sweet and rich flavor. These grapes come all the way from Chile and range in color from light green to deeply blushed with pink (the ripest and best), with a softer succulent texture. Basically they are a dreamy grape that need to be adored. The tricky part is they are only available for a short time at Whole Foods Market in my lovely California, from now thru late mid-April. Okay, with those facts in mind I know that I am only able to appreciate their beautiful-ness for a short period of time. SO, the other day I was at Whole Foods Market buying some mangos and a pile of cheese when I spotted the muscat grapes. I made a serious bee-line for them and started to stock up. My fiance says “What? Why are you buying so many grapes?” I come back at him with “Well my Tia Brilla is in town and what if she wants grapes, and maybe we can freeze some and have as a healthy late night snack, and they taste great in salads, and I’ve been wanting to make agua de uvas.” He shook his head, and gave me a look like I was CRAZY! Until he tried them himself of course. Isn’t it always like that? I definitely threw some in the freezer, add a few to a salad I made over the weekend, served my Tia Brilla some during her visit, and made a big jug of agua de uvas y sandía. YUM! I highly suggest you stock up now, before it’s way too late.

Ingredients for grape and watermelon water:

• 2 – pounds muscat grapes (seedless) (stem removed)
• 8 – cups of chopped up watermelon (peeling removed)
• 6 – cups water
• 1/2 – cup sugar
• 2 – limes (juiced)

Directions:

1. Place grapes in blender with 1 cup water. You may have to do this step several times depending on the size of your blender.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour grape blend through sieve and allow all liquid to pass through and fall into a pitcher. This step will collect all the skin from the grapes. You may have to scrape the inside of the sieve with a spoon to allow any remaining liquid to pass through. 
4. Next blend all the watermelon. Again add a cup of water to the blender and this time add in the sugar. Blend till smooth.
5. Pour watermelon blend through the sieve and allow it to fall into the same pitcher as the grape blend.
6. Add in remaining water and lime juice. Mix to combine.
7. Chill in fridge until super cold.
8. Serve and enjoy!

If you read my blog, then you know how much I adore my grandfather. He has made such a huge impact on my everyday character, and who I am in general. Without him as a role model, I don’t think I would have the joie de vie attitude mixed with I don’t care what people say or think about me…. I’m just happy. It is his love for family and survival that has molded my disposition and  sunny outlook on life.

Recently my grandfather had a doctor’s appointment for no reason other then he goes to the Dr. every few months because he’ll be 90 years old soon and we have to keep a close eye on our favorite guy. As usual the doctor gave him shining results and said he is healthy as can be. Lucky me! The only thing the Dr. did say is he should slow down and hold back a little on his sugar intake. What? Right before Easter? He didn’t say he couldn’t have sugar, he just said it shouldn’t be so often. Well here’s the thing, my beautiful old grandpa just loves a tall glass of juice in the morning, and I can’t deprive him of that.

The other day I was at Walmart and found a juice in the frozen section made by Old Orchard. What caught my attention was the fact that it read clear as day “No sugar added.” That already was better than the sugar loaded juice my grandpa drinks in the morning. I reached for a can of Old Orchard to investigate it further, and to my delight it has  no artificial flavors and no preservatives. Each 8-oz glass equals two servings of fruit and contains 120% of the daily recommended value of Vitamin C. Thumbs up! Plus it ONLY cost $1.47 at Walmart– say what? And my grandfather gets to still have his juice in the morning…. Love it! I brought a few plastic cans of juice home and put them to the test. We found a winner. Grandpa liked the natural sweetness from the juice and I liked serving him something his Dr. wouldn’t frown upon. I love my Grandpa, god bless his soon to be 90 year old soul. The whole family will raise a glass with him.

         Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Mama Francesca Cheese. However all opinions and the recipe are 100% my own.

I never seem to tire of cheese.  The thought of cheese excites me.  It makes me want to plan an entire meal around it or just slice it up with a cracker.  I run the gamut on the types I like and usually will hunt high and low for a specialty cheese.  Come on, does this really need explaining?  My logo to this blog is a little mouse.  That didn’t happen on accident.  I say it loud and proud,  “I’m a cheese girl!”

You can only imagine my utter delight when I happened to come across the premium Mama Francesca Cheese (available in a variety of flavors) at my local Walmart.  I nearly jumped for joy.  I adore parmesan cheese and it can sometimes be a little bit of a pain to find a nice one at an everyday market that’s affordable.  For some reason most people only think of parmesan cheese as a spaghetti topper, and forget to explore all the other wonderful things you can do with it.  I like to mix it into my mashed potatoes or make it into a pesto or encrust my chicken in it and fry it to a crisp, or simply make parmesan crisps out of it for soup or salad.  It doesn’t matter what you do it, as long as you buy it and eat it right away.

Ingredients for parmesan crisps and creamy zucchini soup:

• 5 – tablespoons Mama Francesca cheese ( I used Perfetto flavor)
• 1 – tablespoon olive oil 
  
• 6 – garlic cloves
• 1/3 – cup leeks (chopped)
• 9 – zucchini (chopped in rounds)
• 1 – tablespoon dried basil
• 1 – teaspoon chile flakes (the kind you use on pizza)
• 1 – teaspoons Lawry’s seasoning salt
• 1/2 – teaspoon black pepper
• 1 – bay leaf
• 4 – cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 3/4 – cup 1/2 and 1/2

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Line a cookie sheet with a baking mat.
3. Pour 1/2 tablespoons of Mama Francesca cheese into little circle on the mat. Make sure they do not touch. 
4. Bake the cheese for 5 to 6 minutes or until golden crisp. 
5. Set to the side to cool on baking sheet until ready to use.
6. In a large pan over a medium flame add in olive oil and allow to get hot.
7. Add in leeks and garlic and saute for about 2 minutes.
8. Cut zucchini into rounds. I used a variety of zucchini. 
9. Then add in zucchini, dried basil, chile flakes, Lawry’s, black pepper, and bay leaf. Mix to combine. Continue to saute for about 5 to 10 minutes, or until the center of the zucchini starts to become translucent.
10. Pour in the broth and bring to a boil.
11. Boil the zucchini until fork tender for about 10 to 15 minutes.
12. Then remove bay leaf from soup.
13. Working in batches, pour 1/3 of the zucchini soup into a blender with 1/2 and 1/2. Blend until completely smooth/pureed.
14. Pour smooth/pureed zucchini mixture into a bowl, and continue with the rest of the zucchini soup until all is pureed.
15. Serve in a bowl hot and top with parmesan crisp and EAT IT!

Are you getting ready for the holidays? I like to cozy up to a nice cup of hot chocolate every time the moment presents itself. Just got home from holiday shopping at Walmart? A cup of hot chocolate. Gonna decorate the tree? A cup of hot chocolate. Baking cookies? A cup of hot chocolate. Christmas morning? You get the picture. My grandfather always sipped on a cup of hot chocolate during the holidays growing up and I followed suit, except this year I wanted to make it more interactive for my son, and possibly give my hot chocolate away as a gift. I thought “how can I transform that holiday magic from my cup into gifts for my family and friends?”  I decided to make hot chocolate cubes, that could be stirred into a cup of hot milk, and or be eaten as a lollipop. Wrap them up and tie them with a bow.

Ingredients for hot chocolate cubes:

• Chocolate chips or pieces (semi sweet, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white)
• Silicone ice cube tray
• mini marshmallows
• candy cane sticks
• christmas sprinkles
• lollipop sticks

Directions:

1. In a double boiler melt chocolate. (If you don’t have a double boiler: place water in a pot over a high flame then place a metal bowl over the boiling water in the pot and put the chocolate in there, stir till melted.)
2. Pour melted chocolate into silicone ice trays (fill 3/4 of the way up) and place in the fridge for 25 minutes. 
3. Remove from fridge and insert candy cane sticks, decorate with marshmallows, sprinkles, and for the cubes without a candy cane stick insert a lollipop stick. 
4. Place back in the fridge for 2 hours.
5. Remove from fridge and let sit for 5 minutes, then carefully push them out of the silicone ice cube tray. 
6. If you wrap them up they work great…
7. Or stir one into a cup of hot milk and embrace the warm chocolate beverage.  They’re great for coffee as well. 
8. Enjoy!

Do you ever make things in advance to try them out? You know, like try a recipe a few weeks in advance before a party. I’m a little crazy like that. Well I don’t know if you can call it crazy…. I like to think of it as uber prepared. That happened this past weekend. It had been a year since the last time I made ponche, I make it annually but like to change little things here and there each year.  I think the truth of the matter is I was looking for a reason to make ponche, and Walmart tempted  me further by having everything I needed to make it right there in the store. As I walked down the isles I filled my cart up with apples, prunes, raisins, sugar cane, and tamarindo. I told myself as I pushed the cart that I was gonna have my Christmas party / posada in a few weeks and I had to give my ponche recipe a spin. That was enough to convince me, as everyone knows you can not have a posada without a good pot of ponche. Next thing I knew I was home peeling my tamarindo pods and coring my apples. A few hours later my house smelled of Christmas…. the weather was cold outside and my hands warm wrapped around my gorgeous ponche.

Ingredients for ponche:

• 2 – gallons water
• 15 – tamarindo pods (peeled and devein)
• 18 – dried hibicus flowers
• 4 – cinnamon sticks
• 20 – tejocote
• 5 – apples (cut in half and cored)
• 15 – guavas
• 1/2 – cup raisins
• 20 – prunes (pitted)
• 3 – piloncillo cones

Directions:

1. Peel and devein tamarindo. 
2. Cut apples in half and core.
3. Place all ingredients in a large pot over a high flame and bring to a boil. 
4. When the mixture starts to boil,  lower flame to low/simmer and cover with a lid.
5. Cook for 3 hours. 
6. Remove from flame and serve hot. 
7. Enjoy!

Here is a little snippet of how to devein a tamarindo pod.

I love grilled fruit and having it in a sparkling punch is twice the fun. I made the above recipe with ginger ale for an all ages version, but this recipe would work just as well with some moscato or sparkling wine. I figure my Mom’s birthday is around the corner and I want to celebrate her with something delightful….. I think this sparkling grilled fruit punch is the answer. Get the recipe over on Babble, where I created it as a sponsored post for Target!