Spritzer Cocktails – The Many Flavors of Deep Eddy

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Club Soda, cocktail, Cranberry, Deep Eddy, Drink, Food, Fresca, lemon, low calorie, vodka

  
We were having lunch at our local golf course patio (see ealier blog post on Champions Bar and Grill) and our server, who we know really well, asks me if I like Fresca. Yes! I love the soda Fresca! That grapefruit flavor is so crisp, clean and refreshing. He goes on to tell me that he has a drink I need to try. I told him to bring it on!

He introduced us to a new product called Deep Eddy. Deep Eddy is a line of flavored vodka’s. And when I say flavored vodka’s, I mean FLAVORED vodka’s. These don’t just have the essence of lemon, it has the bold, bright taste of lemon. And that’s just one of the flavors! Luckiy, our local grocery store carries their Cranberry, Lemon and Ruby Red Grapefruit flavors. In looking at their website, I see they also have a plain vodka and a sweet tea flavor. 

You can drink it straight over ice, but that is pretty intense. We were introduced to this in the form of a spritzer. This cuts the sweetness and actually makes it into a fairly low-cal cocktail that’s not overly strong. They are delicious! The pink grapefruit flavor, when mixed with club soda, does indeed taste just like a Fresca! Very crisp and refreshing on a hot summer (or in California, a hot autumn) day!

Deep Eddy Spritzer

1 part Deep Eddy flavored vodka – Pick your flavor!

2 parts club soda

Fill a glass with ice, add the two ingredients and stir well. Enjoy!

Cold Water Brewery and Grill – Great New Restaurant in South Lake Tahoe!

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beer, dining out, Fish Tacos, Food, pork, restaurant, South Lake Tahoe, tostados, travel

  
If you’ve spent much time at South Lake Tahoe, you’ll remember the Swiss Chalet restaurant. It was a very distinctive building and was pretty much an institution. I’m not sure how long it was open, but for most of my 49 years! Unfortunately, they couldn’t keep up with the times and closed a few years ago. On a happy note though, a new, updated restaurant has opened in it’s place. We had the opportunity to visit the new Cold Water Brewery & Grill for lunch and we were pleasantly suprised with this new dining option.

I’m not a beer drinker, but my husband is on occcasion and decided to try their Mr. Toad’s Wild Rye. He really enjoyed it. I had a sip and did as well. He doesn’t like beers that have that overly hoppy taste and this one didn’t have that.

The food was also incredibly enjoyable! I was happy to see a casual menu that you would expect to find in a brewery. I hate brewery restaurants that try to be hoy paloy!!! To me, a brewery menu should include rustic, down home foods; burgers, tacos, fries, great sandwiches, and lots of fried foods! Cold Water did not disappoint! While I didn’t have a burger, I did enjoy their South Lake Fish Tacos filled with beer-battered, fried Alaskan Cod. They also had a generous serving of avocado and this fantastic watermelon, jicama and cucumber slaw. Simply delicious and fresh tasting!!! My husband ordered the BBQ Pork Tostados. These were also served with watermelon. This combination was surprisingly wonderful and one that we decided to try at home this summer!

This is a restaurant that I would recommend. It’s fairly new, but solid. They don’t have it available yet, but they are working on an outdoor patio and we did see significant progrress during our week in Tahoe.

Give this place a shot! I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

  

White Wine Spritzer – A Refreshing, Low-cal Cocktail Choice

Tags

cocktail, Cooking, Drink, drinks, eating, Food, low calorie, spritzer, summer, weight loss, white wine, white wine spritzer, Wine

  
I had always heard of a white wine spritzer and Weight Watchers always mentioned them as a good lower calorie drink choice, but I never tried one until recently. What on earth was I waiting for??? On a hot summer day, this is such a refreshing drink choice and it doesn’t weigh you down like straight wine can. We recently enjoyed these at my birthday picnic (see previous post). They are especially great for people that aren’t big drinkers. My inlaws don’t drink much, but they really enjoyed these!

These are a commonly made drink, so you can easily order them when you’re out on the town. They are also super easy to make, so they’re perfect for home parties or picnics. The other great thing about spritzers is that you can make them to suit your tastes and desires. Below I’ll share a suggested recipe, but if you want to lower calories or alcohol content just increase the amount of club soda to wine ratio. Club soda has zero calories so you  get the bubbly without the alcohol calories!

If you’re like me and are late to the spritzer game, I hope you’ll give this refreshing beverage a try!

White Wine Spritzer

1/3 part club soda

2/3 part white wine (I really like to use Sequin – Delicately Bubbled Pinot Grigio)

1 lime wedge – squeeze into spritzer and then drop in

Just add all ingredients to glass and gently mix. I guess you could make it by the pitcher for a party, but it might go flat over time. I also like to start with ice cold ingredients, so I don’t have to add ice, which will water it down when it melts.

Cheers!

Hannah Nicole Vineyards and Winery

Tags

Contra Costa County, Food, Food Pairing, Party, Wine, winery

 

So today we went to the Member’s Summer Release Party at Hannah Nicole Vineyard and Winery in Brentwood, CA. What a nice way to spend an afternoon with my husband!

 

That’s my man!

The winery put out an awesome food spread and the wine was flowing freely! Bacon wrapped figs, fresh meats and cheeses, bruchetta to die for, fresh fruits and sauteed veggies, and just Oohhhhh!!!!

   

If you’re fortunate enough to live in or visit the San Francisco East Bay Area, I highly recommend a visit to Hannah Nicole. The wine is wonderful and they are so hospitable! I did an earlier post about my birthday picnic and it was at the same winery. They took such good care of us! They made sure we had a table with plenty of shade, brought us ice cold bottled water and even gave us a free bottle wine. The grounds are spectacularly beautiful! Who wouldn’t want to lounge in an aiderondack chair overlooking vineyards leading up to a view of Mount Diablo.  The best of Contra Costa County!

   
   

Huli Huli Sauce and POG: Aloha! We’re Going Hawaiian Today!

Tags

Cooking, Drink, Food, hawaii, hawaiian, huli huli, ingredients, juice, mai tai, marinade, sauce

Yes, folks! This is a peek inside my house! I swear! Now our whole house doesn’t look like this, just the tiki bar tucked in the corner of our family room. Our family has been blessed with the opportunity to visit Hawaii a few times and we have fallen in love with the culture there! Not only is the landscape gorgeous and the food delicious, but the people are so warm and welcoming. They proudly share their culture with visitors and as they should! They have a lot to be proud of! So as you can see, our family has chosen to insert bits and pieces of that culture into our lives. The flavors of Hawaii are something we incorporate on a very regular basis!

The two products shown in the picture are staples in our house. We were originally introduced to both of these items in Hawaii. As I type this, there are two cartons of POG in our fridge and 5 bottles of Huli Huli sauce in my pantry (Overkill on the sauce, I know, but if you knew my husband’s shopping habits you would understand!).

So what are these tropical delights you ask and where can you get them???

POG

POG is actually an acronym for Passion Fruit, Orange, Guava, the three juices that combined make POG. Our whole family loves this juice, young and old alike! The adults have been known to sneak a little rum in theirs on occasion to make a wonderful mai tai. We live in Northern California and have found POG to be available at Fresh and Easy markets and at the Nob Hill/Raley’s chain stores with the other refrigerated juices. If you can’t find it in your store, ask and maybe they can order it.

Huli Huli

This is a soy sauce based sauce that is very versatile. It can be used with chicken (it’s most well known use!), beef, pork or fish. We use it frequently to marinate chicken prior to barbecuing. You can also use Huli Huli as a stir fry sauce, to make gravy sauce or on baked meats. There are various recipes on the bottle. We used to have to bring the sauce back with us from trips to Hawaii, but then I was in Cost Plus one day and low and behold, there it was!!! Score! Now we’ve had a regular, mainland source for one of our favorite ingredients! If you don’t have Cost Plus markets near you, check with other stores carrying international foods and you might find it there or again just ask at your local market.

I hope you’re able to find these items and give them a try. They are both really delicious and bring a refreshing, tropical spice to life! Aloha!

Non-alcoholic Sangria – Our New Favorite Party Drink!

Tags

Drink, drinks, Food, fruit, healthy, juice, low calorie, non-alcoholic, non-alcoholic sangria, sangria, summer

Between Easter, Mother’s Day and family birthdays, we have had a few warm weather get togethers at our house lately. I concocted this non-alcoholic sangria that everyone just loves!!! My young nephew was trying to figure out how he could take every remaining ounce home with him!

It’s such a pretty drink with the colorful juices and cut up fruit floating in it and it’s incredibly refreshing! I usually serve it in a clear beverage dispenser that has a serving spigot. You know the type! This way you can see all the fruit. This does prevent people from getting the fruit in the dispenser into their cup, but I usually set out a bowl with all the same type of fruit, so people can add some to their glass of they choose. Another great thing about this recipe, is it’s family friendly and suitable for all ages. If you want to spike it, that’s completely possible too! We usually have a bottle of wine open and available for adults that might want to add a splash of that! You can use either a white or a red wine.

So here’s the recipe! Party on!!!

• 1 part club soda
• 1 part pomegranate juice
• 1 part white grape juice
• 1 part cranberry juice
• Sliced fruit: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, lemons, limes, oranges, etc. Go crazy!!!

Healthy note: To lower the calories in the recipe, you can use the light versions of the juices mentioned above.

Tip: I want to keep it cold, but ice would just dilute it and my dispenser doesn’t have one of those handy ice compartments. I put some of the sangria mixture with fruit in it, in a plastic cup and freeze it. Keep in mind that your frozen juice needs to be small enough to fit through the opening of whatever dispenser you are serving from. As the frozen juice melts, it doesn’t dilute the sangria, but it does keep it cold. I also recommend starting with cold bottles of juice. If everything is room temperature to start, your frozen juice won’t last very long and your sangria won’t stay cold very long. Also, feel free to try different types of juices; experiment and have fun with it! You can also substitute sparkling lemonade for the club soda if you like your sangria on the sweeter side.