Light and Fresh Archives - Page 11 of 13

Lemongrass Collins

December 27, 2024March 27, 2015 by Emily

A lemongrass collins takes a little time, but you will end up with a delicious, refreshing cocktail that will also knock you on your arse.

This unbelievably delicious Lemongrass Collins recipe comes from Barnum Cafe in Rome. Have Matt and I ever been to this darling-looking place? Um…no. But we know people.

Important people.

Our dear friends, Rickey and Barbara, went to Italy and, being the most fun people that ever lived, managed to convince the bartender from Barnum Cafe to give them the recipe. I then harassed them into giving it to me. And I am now giving it to you, the internet.

Quick aside: Matt and I recently spent the weekend with them, drinking these cocktails and watching a marathon of the first season of The Knick. For me, one of life’s greatest pleasures is spending time with people who make me laugh, cooking great food, drinking delicious drinks, and watching Clive Owen do creepy things to Bono’s daughter.

Caramelized Green Beans with Soy and Lemon

March 22, 2025February 6, 2015 by Emily

Caramelized green beans is a quick, healthy dish that would be an ideal vegan side for an Asian-style dinner.

Blackberry-Ginger Fizz

June 12, 2024August 29, 2014 by Emily

There are times in every person’s life when you have to make the hard decisions. When you find yourself at a crossroad. Do you turn left or right? Recently I was faced with one of those decisions. My own personal King Solomon’s choice, except if the baby was a blackberry. Here’s how it began. It was an ordinary Sunday morning. Matt and … Read more

Summer Pasta With Burst Cherry Tomatoes

January 9, 2025August 9, 2014 by Emily

A pasta salad with tomatoes, basil, olive oil and a little light seasoning. Couldn’t be easier!

Orzo Salad with Zucchini, Tomatoes, Olives and Feta

June 12, 2024July 5, 2014 by Emily

A simple orzo salad with tasty colorful summer produce of zucchini and tomatoes, tossed with olives and feta cheese. Delicious and healthy!

Happy July 4th! Of course, this blog post is pre-recorded, so you’re probably reading this on July 6th, (or August 23rd if you’ve just got around to cleaning out your spam folder. Not judging!), but as we write this, it is a wonderfully sunny and warm July 4th, and we’re all sitting in the garden, grilling burgers and drinking beers – the sound of laughter and ball games percolates across the neighborhood, fireworks are starting down by the Hudson River and … Okay, I can’t keep this up, it’s pissing down, it’s been storming heavily for two days straight, the garden is basically flooded, and the only people enjoying a ball game are the German World Cup team. We’re sitting in our living room eating dry crackers and watching a Star Trek: Next Generation marathon (in between World Cup matches, of course). We downloaded a firework app on our iPad. Wheeeee. Look, that one’s in the shape of a hot dog. Happy now? Are you? Are you happy? *Sobs*

Tomorrow (yesterday for you) will be (was) sunny and warm, so fireworks, grilling, drinking and general merriment has been postponed a day. But here’s the thing. Some dishes are better prepared the day before, and left to marinade for a day. And, lucky us, this orzo salad is one of them.

Orzo Salad with Zucchini, Olives and Feta

Chilled Cucumber & Avocado Soup

June 15, 2024June 28, 2014 by Emily

Healthy and refreshing, but oh so satisfying, our fresh and zesty Chilled Cucumber & Avocado Soup is what you want to eat when the weather turns hot. It puts the ahhhh in spa food.

SCENE 1. INTERIOR. DAY. It’s brutally hot outside. Matt and Emily (plus a dog, two cats and five chickens) are sprawled all over the living room, fanning themselves.

MATT: It’ll be July 4th soon! We should make something appropriately red, white, and blue, like you Americans (sniff)… enjoy.

EMILY: First, (waving citizenship papers) that’s *we* Americans, buddy, and second, what do we have in the pantry that’s red and blue?

MATT: I WILL FIND OUT. (Matt disappears into the pantry for several hours. Cue special effect of the hands of a wall clock spinning forward. Eventually he re-appears with a can of tomatoes and a ball of blue string.)

EMILY: (Long, long pause). What other colors do we have?

MATT: (Chews on the ball of blue string, thoughtfully, and looks out of window at the deck, where a Triffid-like mass of herbs threatens to destroy the house.) Green. Lots and lots of green.

EMILY: THAT GIVES ME AN IDEA. (Grabs sunglasses and a large pair of scissors, heads outside.) Get ready to be…(lowers sunglasses enough to peer over them)…REFRESHED.