Blackberry Wine Slushies (for Tyrion) | Game of Thrones

Welcome to day 6 of the Game of Thrones inspired recipe challenge! Have you been keeping track of the recipes that Evelyne and I have been sharing this week? Are you ready for tomorrow (premiere day)!? I am beyond ready. I have been binging the entire series again, this time with my husband who is watching for the first time—he was hooked from episode 1, of course.

Baseball Nut Ice Cream (a copycat Baskin-Robbins recipe)

You know how certain foods, just like certain songs, can transport you back to a certain moment in time? For me, Baseball Nut ice cream is one of those foods. I didn't plan such a perfectly round number, but it was exactly 20 years ago this summer that I didn't go home from college for the summer for the first time. It was the summer after my sophomore year, and really, the next step in exercising my independence.

I rented the tiniest room known to man in a house rented by some of my friends who were already living out of the dorms. Seriously, it should have been a closet. My twin bed was just able to squeeze in between 3 of the walls, my other stuff in boxes stacked high against the fourth wall. I didn't have any room to walk, only enough room to open and close the door. After about a week or two, there was no hot water in the house and it was filthy (my housemates were all guys)—but I was on my own.

I didn't have a car, but it was the mid-90's, which meant that I rollerbladed everywhere. I lived in East Lansing, but worked in Okemos, which was about a 3 mile treck. I had pretty much the same meal every day: a sleeve of saltines, a tin of tuna fish, and an orange. Once a week I'd walk to Subway and order a Subway Club with light mayo and salt and pepper. And every once in a while I'd treat myself by popping in to Baskin-Robbins and ordering a double-scoop of Baseball Nut Ice Cream. Only that, never anything else.

Angel Biscuits and Tipsy Blackberry Jam inspired by The Godforsaken Daughter

The Godforsaken Daughter is the story of thirty-three year-old Ruby, and how her life is turned upside down and shaken after the death of the father that she was so close to. The story is set in Northern Ireland in the recent past (think IRA and bombings), mainly in a small farming town, with Belfast and the isle of Innisfree playing small roles, as well.

Ruby Clare is a bodacious red-head with a sturdy body and hands from working the fields with her beloved dad. Much reference is made to her size 16 as "fat", which was the one thing in the story that bothered me to no end. You'd think she was Cinderella the way she dealt graciously with a nasty mother and pair of sisters.

Without giving away too much, I'll say that after her father's death, Ruby discovers a mystical box that once belonged to her grandmother (her dad's mammy). Tucked inside was a crystal ball, a deck of tarot cards, a book, and a handful of things that worked with them. With these discoveries came a voice (literally), and a means for Ruby to connect with her spirit.

Blackberry Fritters

It's that time of year. The time when many people across the world set about using up the sugar, fat, and eggs they have stored in their pantry and fridge to prepare for a time of penance and sacrifice. Fat Tuesday, otherwise known by its French translation, Mardi Gras, falls in two days time. Traditionally, on the Tuesday before Lent, Catholics and other Anglicans have eaten rich, fatty foods both in order to use up the ingredients they had around, like I mentioned, but also to prepare for the ritual of fasting. One last hurrah, if you will.

Even though I don't practice either of those religions, learning the traditions and practices of any portion of a culture is important to understanding them. Respecting those traditions builds compassion, respect, and friendships. In my eyes, at least.

These days, I've run across many people who don't even know why they're celebrating Mardi Gras. To them, it's just a week-long party in New Orleans. In actuality, it's celebrated world wide. But yes, in many places it has turned into a week-long celebration culminating on the Tuesday before Lent.

Rum Runner Sangria #CaptainsTable

I'm tempted to tell you all about the 4-foot mounds of snow in my front yard. Or maybe the fact that if I sit at my computer without my slippers on, my feet don't unthaw for at least 3 hours - while under a blanket! But I know you're sick of hearing about the cold. And you  know what? So am I. So, let's think tropical!

There's not much that I wouldn't give to dig my toes into some sun-toasted sand right about now. Throw in my Jackie-O sunglasses, a good book, and a fruity cocktail and I may build a sandcastle and take up residence.  Enter the classic fruity cocktail: the Rum Runner.

The Rum Runner was developed in a Florida Tiki Bar (Holiday Isle in Islamorada) in the 1950's by a bartender looking to use up some of his inventory of rum and liqueurs in order to make room for a new delivery. So, a little bit of this, a little bit of that and ba-da-boom - the rest is history. It was named after the first rum runners who lived in the Florida Keys during the time of prohibition.

Blackberry Sage Whiskey Fizz + @NotSoSimpleSyrp giveaway

Snatch up the last of those blackberries hanging from the plants.  You know the ones I'm talking about; they're big and fat, and seedy.  They are also hauntingly sweet, as if summer's faint whisper was saying "don't forget me".  But they're also few and far between, so if you see 'em, grab 'em!  They are perfect for turning into jam, or for blending into cocktails.  I found a few husky scragglers the other day, and just knew that they were meant for me!

My plan was to incorporate them into a cocktail using this amazing new line of simple syrup's that was developed by Heidi (you may know her from  her blog, Young Grasshopper), and her catering-partner, Barbie.  Together, they came up with a line of all syrups that will "inspire and stimulate your pension for amazing mixed drinks...".  They use high quality ingredients and a local bottler, as well as testing each and every batch for quality.  These syrups flavored with lemon, mind, strawberry, blackberry, or orange may fall under the category of "simple syrups", but the care and thought put into each bottle makes them so much more, hence the name, Not So Simple Syrup.

Irish Cobbler Cocktail

Sometimes, you're just hangin' out, minding your own business, when innocently start flipping through your Instagram account and are assaulted with a gorgeous photograph.  A photograph that you just can't get out of your mind.  No matter how hard you try.

Isn't it funny, the emotion that a picture can invoke?

This happened to me last weekend when I saw this shot from my friend Gerry from Foodness Gracious in my Instagram stream.  It looks like it was torn straight from the pages of a magazine.  Or like it should immediately be plastered into one.  Don't you think?

photo by Gerry Speirs of Foodness Gracious via Instagram, used with permission

His caption: "Irish Cobbler" time #mixologist.  Ooooohhhhh, Irish Cobbler!?  I knew I had to have one right that instant. And short of hopping a plane to Cali, that wasn't going to happen unless I figured out how to make one myself.

So, that is exactly what I did.  Now this was my first time hearing of an Irish Cobbler, or a Cobbler of any sort - which it turns out is actually a fairly common type of drink.  Apparently not in my circles.  Of course, my circles consist mainly of my "home bar", so no surprise there.

I found a couple of different varieties.  Some as simple as muddled blackberries, Irish whiskey, and simple syrup shaken and strained over ice.  Another was basically the same, but added fresh sage and some cream sherry - it was also muddles, shaken, and strained over ice.  But that photo that Gerry took while he was waiting for his cocktail showed muddled blackberries sitting underneath a mountain of shaved ice.  And darn-it-all, that's what I wanted, too!

So, my version of an Irish Cobbler is a mash-up off all of those elements.  Fruity, slightly sweet, lightly spiced (Gerry's had cinnamon...but I used nutmeg), maybe even a tad complex with the addition of a good Irish whiskey and that splash of cream sherry.  Thirst quenched.

Irish Cobbler {cocktail}

by Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: n/a

Keywords: beverage vegan soy-free alcohol blackberries whisk(e)y summer

Ingredients (2 cocktails)

• 16 ripe blackberries
• 3 fluid ounces Irish Whiskey
• 3 fluid ounces simple syrup
• couple splashes of cream Sherry, optional
• freshly grated nutmeg
• crushed ice

Instructions

Divide the blackberries among 2 glasses and muddle until the beautiful juices have been mostly released from the berries (leave a few chunks).

Add crushed ice to fill both glasses, right on top of the muddled berries.

In a cocktail shaker, over an ice cube or two, shake whiskey, simple syrup, cream Sherry (if using), and a couple grates of nutmeg. Shake and pour over ice.

Stir with a long-handled spoon and finish with another grate of nutmeg, if you wish. Enjoy!

notes:

to make simple syrup: combine equal parts sugar and water in a pot, and bring them just to a simmer, stirring to dissolve syrup. Let cool completely. Store in refrigerator.

Alternately, you could muddle the berries in the cocktail shaker before adding everything else, and then pour cocktail in its entirety over the crushed ice. If you don't like chunks of berries in your cocktail, this is the way to go.

Midnight Margaritas (with a side of remembrance) | Practical Magic #FoodnFlix

There's some things though, I know for certain: always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder, keep rosemary by your garden gate, plant lavender for good luck, and fall in love whenever you can. 

Our food 'n flix pick for this month was an oldie, but a goodie: Practical Magic.  Sisters Sally and Gillian are raised by their quirky, lovable aunts after their father dies due to an age-old curse on the Owens women and their mother shortly after, of a broken heart.  The aunts serve chocolate cake for breakfast, they dose out love spells for the townsfolk, and they teach their nieces the importance of plants, herbs, and other magical properties.

Blackberry Lavender Popsicles

This week's Sunday Supper theme is Beat The Heat.  And just in case you breezed past the title of this post...or the first picture...I'll give you one guess as to how we beat the heat in our house.

Okay, I know you already know that I'm a little bit of a popsicle fanatic.  Little bit.  Unless, of course, this is your first visit to my little space.  In that case, I say welcome - pull up a lawn chair and have a popsicle!