the point stuck

The other day at breakfast a good friend's husband described in great detail how he made ribs the night before. At the time I thought nothing of it. Later she sent me a text message saying:

"We got in the car and B said 'I tried to be very specific about the rib sauce so Melissa wouldn't get mad at me again'".

I couldn't help but laugh. Last year I wrote a post about a really good hamburger and how the host wouldn't share the recipe. Apparently, the point stuck.

I love people who share recipes.

Another friend has made an amazing cold raspberry soup for me a couple times this summer and she passed the recipe along so I could share it with you.

The last time we ate it with a few salads on the side but it would be amazing with cucumber sandwiches.

Andrea's Cold Raspberry Soup

1 package (20 ounces) frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed
1-1/4 cups water
1/4 cup whit tine, optional
1 cup cran-raspberry juice
1/2 cup sugar
1//1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 whole cloves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup (8 ounces) raspberry yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream

In a blender, puree raspberries, water and wine if desired. Transfer to a large  saucepan; add the cran-raspberry juice, sugar, cinnamon and cloves. Bring just to a boil over medium  heat. Remove from  the heat; strain and allow to cool.

Whisk in lemon juice and yogurt. Refrigerate. To serve, pour into small bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Or this

I’m brainstorming this post to you today from an Adirondack chair at Ste. Anne’s Spa in Grafton. My daily itinerary involves morning tea and biscotti, sun bathing, lunch, reading, hot tubing, afternoon tea and a massage. I may also throw in a swim and a little online shopping to buy this.

Although I am loving every second of mat leave and watching Sam become his own little person, today is a most welcome change of pace from what life has looked like lately (early morning wakeups, diaper changes, nursing, burping, spit ups, pumping, diaper changes, nursing, sleep and repeat). Today I will eat my meals while they are hot and simply linger in a state of relaxation.

You may recall last summer I wrote about Ste. Anne’s. With Sam only being 3 months old I wasn’t sure a trip this year would be possible but a last minute opportunity arose and it feels so good to have a day away.

If you can’t get away, my advice is unplug, unwind, make a pitcher of this lemonade and do a little of this

Or this

Lemonade

¾ cup sugar

1 cup room temperature water

4 cups cold water

Zest of one lemon

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (approx 8 lemons)

In a pot, make simple syrup by boiling lemon zest, sugar and 1 cup room temperature water over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool completely before using.

In a pitcher, stir together the cooled simple syrup, 4 cups chilled water and 1 cup lemon juice. Chill, strain and serve.