“This is SO good! You can’t even taste the alcohol!”
You know you’re in trouble when you find yourself saying this…especially when the beverage is served by the pitcher! I do love to relax with an icy tumbler of sangria, it’s so fruity and refreshing. This Red Tea Sangria recipe from inside the Mighty Leaf Sangria Tea Collection box has wonderful herbal notes as well from – you guessed it – the addition of brewed red tea. This sangria tasted great with the Organic African Nectar tea but you could easily substitute other rooibos, hibiscus or tropical herbal teas. The box actually contains pouches of three different tea blends, each with corresponding sangria recipes. Brilliant, right?
Win Mighty Leaf teas and an iced tea pitcher! Read on for giveaway details and the Red Tea Sangria recipe.
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>> How many times have you pored over a restaurant menu, identified a few possibilities and then craned your neck to see what other patrons were eating to help make your decision? That’s me most of the time. So I was pretty excited when I heard about a new location-based app called Foodspotting. It’s like Foursquare or Facebook Places for foodies. You check in at a restaurant on your iPhone (they’re developing a version for Android) and snap photos of what you’re eating to share with others who are planning to dine there. Or, if you’re on the Foodspotting website, you can just browse the photos that others have already shared.
>> Here’s another one for the social networking category – have you heard about the new 4Food restaurant concept that’s opening next month in New York City? The one that doubles as a social networking game? I read about it in The New York Times. The article describes how it all works rather succinctly: “I create a burger, call it ‘The Bits Burger’ and broadcast it to Twitter or Facebook. Each time someone orders my special creation, I get 25 cents credit in the restaurant and my burger rises up the leaderboard. The more customers order my burger, the higher it goes and the more credits I get, until I’m eating free.” Pretty cutting edge!
>> Despite their recent surge in popularity, I still have never tried a whoopie pie. I would change that in a nanosecond if I could get my hands on one of these Boston Cream Whoopie Pies from Annie’s Eats. How incredible are those?!
>> Dora the Explorer’s #1 absolute biggest fan happens to live in my house. I’m not sure what she’ll think when she sees these Dora cakes on Cake Wrecks. Lucky for all of us who aren’t professional decorators, kids can appreciate a little “artistic license”.
Yes, it’s unofficially “Zucchini Week” on Cooking On the Side. The other day I brought you a sweet treat – Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Bread. Today we’ll step over to the savory side, with Zucchini with Walnuts & Chives.
Evidently when you plant zucchini in your garden it grows like crazy (you have to see the size of the one my friend Karen grew!), or so I’ve gathered from the many food blog posts I’ve read with suggestions for how to use it up. As you already know, I’m not much of a gardener. However, I’m pleased to report that I did manage to grow a plant this summer! Yes, those lovely little sprouts you see in the photo to the left actually germinated on my watch. My daughter received a little flower seed kit as a birthday party favor so I had to at least give it a try for her sake. Fortunately, it’s basically a Chia – it may have grown on its own whether I watered it or not. Still, I’m basking in some combination of pride and relief.
Even if you don’t have a garden that’s bursting with zucchini right now, the farmers in your area most likely do. I saved this Zucchini with Walnuts & Chives recipe, which I found inside a package of fresh chives, for just this occasion. It’s a super-easy, flavorful side dish, with a pleasant crunch from the bread crumbs and walnuts. Now’s the time of year to give it a try!
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It's the recipe collection I didn't realize I had - the recipes printed right on the food packages in my kitchen. It's time for me to finally give them a try, and hopefully I'll find some hidden gems along the way.
Cookies and Cream Cheesecake
The Best Fudge Brownies Ever
Homemade Popcorn Trio
7-Layer Dip