White Wine Sangria

We will be sampling this honey sweetened sangria at our Local Honey Tasting on Saturday, July 12th!

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle (750 ml) dry white wine- we're using Art of Earth's Organic Pinot Grigio

• 1/4 cup honey

• 1/4 cup boiling water

• 1/4 cup Santa Cruz lemon juice (or fresh)

• 1/2 cup brandy or white rum (optional, but adds depth)

• 1 lemon, thinly sliced

• 1 lime, thinly sliced

• 1 apple, diced or thinly sliced

• 1 peach or pear, sliced (or a handful of berries)

• A few sprigs of fresh mint (optional)

• 1–2 cups sparkling water or club soda, to top off

• Ice, for serving
  

Note: The fruits can be changed to what you have on hand and your personal tastes, sangria is an art, not a science!

Instructions:

Make the honey syrup:

In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine 1/4 cup honey with 1/4 cup boiling water. Stir until fully dissolved and let cool slightly.

Mix the base:

In a large pitcher, combine the white wine, lemon juice, brandy (if using), and the cooled honey syrup. Stir well.

Add fruit:

Stir in the sliced lemon, lime, apple, peach (or berries), and mint if using.

Chill:

Refrigerate for at least 2–4 hours, or overnight for best flavor.

Serve:

Pour over ice, top with sparkling water for fizz, and include a few pieces of the infused fruit in each glass.

Healthy Watermelon Shushie

This is the perfect summer drink, for kids and adults alike!

INGREDIENTS:

10 cups Seedless Watermelon Cubes, frozen for at least 24 hours

2–4 tbsp Maple Syrup to taste, or use liquid stevia

Juice of 1 large Lime

1/4 cup Fresh Mint or Basil leaves, loosely packed (Optional, but recommended)

1 1/2 cup Filtered Water (or seltzer water!)

See the entire recipe and directions at From My Bowl.

Grilled Veggies with Lemon-Basil Dressing

This is an absolutely delicious recipe for a warm summer night, plus the leftover vegetables are amazing on sandwiches or in pasta!

2 sweet bell peppers, cut in half, cored and halves cut in half
2 medium zucchini, trimmed and sliced lengthwise in half or into thirds or sliced on a diagonal into ½-inch slices.
1 medium eggplant, trimmed and sliced crosswise into ½-inch slices
1 red onion, cut cross-wise into ¼-inch slices

Lemon-Basil Dressing: (this makes a lot of dressing, but if you cut it in half the blender doesn't have enough stuff to blend well):
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2-3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
¾ teaspoon sea salt
2 small garlic cloves
¾ cup basil leaves
½ cup unrefined, cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
Unrefined, cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Read the entire recipe and directions at Pamela Salzman's Blog.

Grilled Summer Vegetable Salad

This salad is perfect for an evening out on the patio enjoying an early summer evening!

1 medium eggplant
3 ears corn
2 medium zucchini
2 small or one medium summer squash
1 whole red onion
1 bunch asparagus
1 red pepper
¼ cup herb infused oil, for grilling
2 pounds mixed grape, cherry and mini sunglow tomatoes (or any of your own favorite varieties)
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, cut into a thin chiffonade
4 ounces Gorgonzola or blue cheese, crumbled

For the Dressing:

¼ cup herb infused oil
Zest of half a lemon
Juice from one lemon (1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon salt
Few grinds black pepper

See the entire recipe and directions at A Family Feast.

Strawberry, Spinach, and Asparagus Salad

All three of these ingredients can be found at our local farmer's markets! The Palos Heights Farmer's Market is on Wednesday mornings at the municipal lot at 122nd and Harlem!

2 cups fresh asparagus cut into 1-inch pieces
2 heaping cups fresh spinach
2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced in half
1 large spring onion, chopped
1/2 cup pea shoots
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
1 ounce goat cheese, crumbled
juice from 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

See the entire recipe and directions at Spoonful of Flavor.

Easiest Watermelon Smoothie

This smoothie is perfect for summer- for adults and kids alike! We have been drinking this ALL THE TIME- my daughter is a huge fan. The nice thing is that it's so easy to make- every time you cut a fresh watermelon, put a few ziplock bags of watermelon chunks in the freezer and you'll be good to go!

Ingredients:

2 cups frozen cubed watermelon
1 cup water
2 tablespoon of raw honey

optional: stevia to taste (it's definitely tastier for kids with a bit of added stevia)
optional: a few leaves or fresh mint, or any herb in your garden 

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.  

Add stevia to taste if desired (stevia is an all natural sugar-free sweetener that has become my new secret weapon in convincing my daughter to drink "healthy smoothies"). It changes this recipe from being moderately tasty to something that tastes like it came from Starbucks.

Add a straw and enjoy, preferably sitting outside in the sun!