August Afternoon Cocktail

Need a drink? More cocktail recipes here!

There aren’t many August Afternoons left. Use them wisely.

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Last week we had a pile of ripe Colorado peaches sitting on the counter. With that as my inspiration, I wanted to come up with a cocktail highlighting the ripe fruit and evoking the pleasure of a late summer afternoon. I think you’ll agree that this is it. <3

August Afternoon Cocktail

The creaminess for this cocktail comes from the addition of an egg white. You can read more about my love affair with egg white cocktails along with a bit of information about how to make them in this post.

  • 2 oz vodka
  • 1 oz ginger simple syrup
  • 1 oz fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 to 1/2 of a peach, chopped
  • 1 egg white
  • splash of ginger beer
  • dash of bitters, optional
  • ice

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  • Place the vodka, simple syrup, lemon juice, and peach in a blender. Blend for a couple of seconds to break up the peach.
  • Add the egg white and blend again.
  • Pour the blended ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake to chill.
  • Pour into a glass over ice. Add a splash of ginger beer, garnish with a peach slice, and add a splash of fancy floral bitters.

Normally you would just see a layer of foam over the cocktail, but in this case you’ll see any extra bit of layering/separation due to the blended peach fruit. It may look a bit funny, but it’s definitely worth it. You could always serve this some fancy textured tumblers… but maybe those should be reserved for piña coladas?!

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Cheers to august afternoons and juicy peaches. <3

tomato jam

Ginger is our ingredient of the season. So far we’ve shared a super simple ginger dessert and a savory shepherd’s pie minus the mash. You can find our archive of previous featured ingredients here.
*We originally published this post in 2018.*
This week, while visiting PA, I put up a few batches of tomato jam. The farm garden was overrun with tomatoes, and my jam supply was precariously low. If your counters are overrun with tomatoes, there’s nothing better than a batch of this jam. It’s absurdly easy to make, which is perfect for anyone new to canning.

Tomato jam is the jam! Bet you didn’t see that coming.

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I do find that many people are surprised at the idea of a tomato-based jam. This isn’t something to pair with your peanut butter. This is a savory and slightly spicy jam that’s serves as an amazing condiment. I like to pair it with cheese, but it’s also amazing as a spread on savory sandwiches. Think of a grilled cheese with caramelized onions and a thin spread of this amazing concentrated tomato+spice flavor. Or imagine a pulled pork sandwich with a spread of jam. Do we have your attention? This stuff is amazing.

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Make with Me : Embroidery Kits

If you’re looking for a new project or hobby, we have a lot of great ideas in our Make with Me and DIY archives.

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I’m so excited about these little embroidered pictures.It’s been a long time since I’ve done any embroidery, and the two small shops mentioned in this post made jumping into this craft super easy.

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Catching Blue Crabs

If you’re following along on Instagram, you know that we’re on our annual trip to the Eastern Shore. These posts contain postcards from previous visits.

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When we were getting ready for this year’s trip, I asked the boys what they were most excited about. Of course, they love every moment of these big adventures, but both of them mentioned crabbing, in particular, as something that they couldn’t wait to do again. Continue reading

Capital Reef Hike : Cassidy Arch

If you’d like to see more Utah adventures, click here! When we’re in Utah, we often camp on BLM land (it’s free and vast!). You can learn more about camping on BLM land in this post.

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In early July, after camping near the Fremont River, we visited Capital Reef and hiked to Cassidy Arch. Want to see more pics and details from that hike? Continue reading

Trees!

You can find more of our nature books recs for kids here (and for adults here!). This link will take you to some of our favorite camping gear for kids.

Trees! Right now trees are all the rage at our house. I just finished reading The Overstory (more on that soon), and it left me feeling all sorts of feelings about trees. At the same time, I found myself playing a tree-centered game with the boys, reading them a few great books about trees, and we’ve been doing all sorts of playing IN the trees. Read on to see our latest tree-related recommendations.  Continue reading

Cooking with Kids: Dandelion Cake

ETA: This was a previously-scheduled post that we forgot to delay in the midst of our shared national turmoil. By all means, if you need a bit of comfort and distraction, bake this cake. But at this time, we still think that finding your lane and taking action is important. xo

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If you haven’t introduced your kids to eating dandelions yet, this cake is a great place to start! And if YOU haven’t eaten dandelions yet, well then this will be a truly beautiful treat for everyone.

Start by sending the kids out to pick a bowl full of open dandelion flowers.

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Do Something.

Hi there. It’s still not too late to do something.

I saw a great tweet this week reminding everyone that there’s more than one way to act. Think of the PROTESTs as a highway, and you just have to find your lane. Maybe you have funds to DONATE. Maybe you can CALL your representatives and ask for police reform and justice. Maybe you can take up the conversation with friends, and CHALLENGE their racist beliefs. Just do something.

There are many great resources out there. Here are a few links that we’ve found helpful.