This is not Mike’s Hard Lemonade. It’s Mel’s Hard Lemonade. It’s been making an appearance at 5:00 for some time now. With a smooth, round lemon flavor served in a wine glass, not a beer bottle, it’s elegant and classy and quick. Along with a glass, you’ll reach for your brimmed hat, linen pants, and wicker picnic basket. Or maybe you’ll just reach for the wooden spoon to stir together dinner. I usually (always) do the latter. At 5:00. Read more
I’ve never been a huge macaroon fan. Not to be confused with the french confection, macarons—the tiny footed, usually bright, meringues held together by a pastry cream or jam. I’ve never had a problem eating those. A couple weeks ago, the co-op was sampling lemon poppyseed macaroons (with two Os). I grabbed a bite of one at the tail end of my trip. I was pleasantly surprised with the lemon poppyseed macaroon flavor when I found myself nestled into the check-out line, too late to go back and grab one. But, these little lemon poppyseed macaroon morsels piqued my interest enough to think about a recipe of my own. Read more
We’re squeezing in a thousand dates in 30 days, or however many days we have left as just the two of us. It’s new ground for us. We’ve never been the best at dating—the kind of dating that requires reservations and plans. We’re far too last minute and, truth be told, cheap. The cost of a date seems to add up quickly, where all I can seem to see are dollar signs above every doorstep. We’ve been on a grad school budget for too many years. I’m not sure that we’ll ever lose that mentality. Nor do I want to. Read more
