I am a Honey Bee

All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel

drink

My afternoon pick me up

dark-dog-drink

I have always been the kind of person to hit a wall in the afternoon and need a pick me up. Sometimes it can be as simple as getting up from my desk and taking a quick walk, or grabbing a cup of coffee. It all depends on how much sleep I got the night before. #toddlers

With the caffeine equivalency of your average cup of coffee, I have been recently been grabbing a Dark Dog Organic Energy Drink instead of making a coffee.

I love how refreshing it is to grab one of those chilling in the fridge. The cool drink is a great alternative to grabbing a seltzer but it has the energy to get me through the rest of the day and until dinner. Plus, it helps me save money from swinging by the local Sbucks for an iced cold brew.

Dark Dog offers 4 kinds- Original, Blood Orange, with Coconut Water, and 50 Calorie- that are sure to give you some pep and refresh you. All are made with out any artificial colors, preservatives, or artificial flavors. Everything in there is natural and organic when possible, like the cane sugar, coconut water, fruit juices, and teas.

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Their Original is just 130 cal and has a nice tropical flavor from the tea, juices, and coconut sugar. It’s light a bubble and gives you a nice pick me up without a crash afterwards. And I think it goes so well with some dried pineapple as an accompanying snack.

The 50 Calorie variety is my favorite since it has a nice bright flavor from the green tea and yerba mate blend with the finishing touch from the Elderberries. The berry flavor is subtle and tastes real, unlike some other fruity drinks. Plus, it’s just 50 calories so that is a big win for me.

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Coconut Water has a nice refreshing pina colada taste from the coconut water in there. It also packs a flavor punch from the Green Tea & Yerba Mate in there. All of that flavor and vitamins for just 50 calories.

Blood Orange at just 140 calories is packed with 100% of you daily Vitamin C needs. Plus, the citrus flavor is

I love opening up one of these drinks and grabbing a light snack like popcorn or fruit so I can get over the afternoon lull that typically grabs hold of me.

What are your favorite ways to give yourself an energy boost in the afternoon?

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This post is sponsored by Dark Dog Organic Drinks but all opinions are my own.

 

 

Thirsty Thursday: Watermelon Agua Fresca

 Watermelon Agua Fresca

Ahh summer…

What is your favorite drink to enjoy during the summer? Is it a beer? A glass of sangria? A glass of icy cold lemonade? Well, I love it all. I had such a hard time picking a drink to share for this week’s “Summer Time Favorites” themed Thirsty Thursday post. I wanted to share something that I find really refreshing and is simple to prepare because you don’t want to be stuck inside making a drink, you want to be outside enjoying it!

Watermelon Agua Fresca is a perfect summer time drink. I can’t get enough of it at this point. I’m really missing beer, chilled white wines, and sangria now but this Watermelon Agua Fresca is really hitting the spot right now.

 Watermelon Agua Fresca_01 Watermelon Agua Fresca_02

I keep buying watermelons like they are going out of style. I don’t think I’ve ever eating so much watermelon in my life this summer. And now I’m drinking it. It’s just hard to resist it since it is at its peak freshness for such a short period of time.

Oh, and on the plus side I don’t have a watermelon sized bump… yet.

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And Amanda has shared a Sonic favorite because you just can’t resist Happy Hour in the summer. But if you miss Happy Hour don’t fret since you can now make your own Ocean Water at home. Soooo good!!!

Watermelon Agua Fresca

Serves: 4

Ingredients

  • 5 cups fresh, seedless watermelon, cut into cubes
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 T. sugar or agave, or to taste (optional)
  • Juice of 2 fresh limes or to taste
  • Lime slices, for garnish

  • Optional add-ons: fresh mint or basil, sparkling water, champagne, or vodka

Instructions

  1. Puree together the watermelon, water, sugar, and lime juice in a blender.
  2. Pour into glasses and garnish with lime slices.

Sourced from Playing with my Food

Thirsty Thursday: Michelada Marias

Michelada Marias

The Superbowl is just a few days away so Amanda and I decided to make it our theme this week. My office has set up a Squares Board so I’ll probably get a square for $5. At least there is no thought involved at all like picking a winner or the score since I don’t know anything about these teams. Well, the only thing I know about the 49’s is that my brother used to deliver newspapers to Steve Young’s parents. 20 years ago. See, totally relevant.

Once Amanda told me she was making some awesome loaded up Texas Cheese Fries (seriously. omg.) I knew that I light drink wouldn’t do. Besides it’s a day about football so a beer really does have the spotlight. So I decided to make some Michelada Marias.

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I had seen Michelada Marias made before by Ingrid Hoffmann on Simply Delicioso and I had always wanted to try one. I love beer with a lot of lime so I figured this would be great with it’s extra kick of a salted rim and sauces added to the beer. And it really was great. Ingrid recommends Tabasco but I didn’t have that on hand do I used a cayenne pepper sauce and it was good as well. You might be able to take an extra dash or two of the hot sauce but go easy on the Worcestershire sauce as you are already salting the rim and you don’t want the beer to get to salty. weird.

Michelada Marias

Makes 4 drinks

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup kosher salt
  • 3 tablespoons chili powder
  • 4 limes, quartered
  • 4 (12-ounce) bottles beer
  • Red pepper sauce
  • Worcestershire sauce

Process

  1. On a small plate combine the salt and chili powder. Rub a wedge of lime around the rims of 4 (12-ounce) glasses and rub  the glasses into the chili/salt mixture.
  2. Squeeze the juice from the lime wedges into the glasses.
  3. Pour the beer into each glass and then add a dash each of the red pepper sauce and the Worcestershire sauce.

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Looking for more ideas for what to serve during the Superbowl? Then check out these perfect game day food and drinks!

Thirsty Thursday: Hot Chocolate Mix

hot chocolate mix

Do you know what you should not do? You shouldn’t forget about the hot chocolate you are making on the stove and then be utterly surprised when it overflows burning on your new glass top stove. yep, that’s happened… twice…

Well, you should totally make hot chocolate (and pay attention to it) and to do so you should mix up this hot chocolate mix. It’s great to enjoy snuggled up under a cozy blanket while watching a movie or RHofsomewhere. It also makes for a fantastic gift. It is quick to mix up, packages easily, and is so yummy.

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I made this basic hot chocolate mix to get things started. Not basic in being ‘meh’, but basic in that it is a great base for you to create specialty flavored hot chocolate. I love starting with one recipe and making some modifications to create something fun and different.

  • Swap out the semi- sweet chocolate chips for some peppermint chips for a peppermint hot chocolate.
  • You can use peanut butter chips instead of the semi-sweet chocolate chips. Awesome.
  • Or you can use caramel chips and triple the salt for a salted caramel cocoa.

But wait, there’s more! Amanda has flipped hot chocolate on it’s head with a Frozen Hot Chocolate. I’ve always wanted to try Frozen Hot Chocolate from Serendipity 3 in NYC but have never made it there so this is the perfect chance to make it at home myself! If you can’t get to the frozen hot chocolate, bring the frozen hot chocolate to you!

Hot Chocolate Mix

Fills 8 1/2 pint mason jars

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 3 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 10.5 oz package of mini marshmallow
  • 8 oz of semi sweet chocolate chips, mini is preferred

Process

  1. Combine all of the ingredients together in a very large mixing bowl. Divide the mix up in bags or air-tight containers.
  2. To make hot chocolate- in an medium sized sauce pan, combine 8 oz of milk with 3 tablespoons mix. Heat gently to warm and melt the chocolate chips. Stir occasionally so the milk and chocolate do not burn on the bottom. Top off with more marshmallows or whipped cream and sprinkles. Enjoy!

Thirsty Thursday: Cranberry Lime Cooler

So this little storm came through named Hurricane Sandy. Well, let me tell you Sandy it was a Bitch with a capital B. As anyone with a pulse knows, she has wrecked havoc on a whole hell of a lot of  the country. Prior to the storm’s arrival I was glued to the TV watching weather channel like my life depended on it. Dear Jim Cantore, you had me at millibars. Since I’m a weather channel junkie I knew this was going to be bad but in no way did I anticipate just how bad it would be. My little town of Chelsea MA lost 15% of power, obviously including us- hence the blogging hiatus and crazy back log I have to catch up on. But loosing power is nothing compared to what the people in NY and NJ are dealing with. It is heartbreaking. Please consider helping if you can, I can’t make a big financial contribution but I am donating blood next week since, according to Red Cross “Hurricane Sandy has affected blood collections in the Northeast, forcing the cancellation of more than 240 American Red Cross blood drives, resulting in a shortfall of more than 8,000 donations thus far.” That’s huge! I just think that if help in anyway you should try.

Anywho, this week Amanda and I bring you drinks centered around the ‘cranberry’ theme.  This is the season for cranberries so be sure to get ready for some cranberry sauce, cranberry jelly, dried cranberries in just about everything. It’s an awesome thing, esp in Massachusetts, where there are a crazy amount of bogs. My coworker’s family even has a bog and they are profiled on Ocean Spray bottles- she is in the back, on the right. Cranberries are great for you as they contain antioxidants, such as vitamin C, that will boost your immunity, which is great for the upcoming cold and flu season.

I made a Cranberry Lime Cooler that is really refreshing, so simple to make, and a great alternative to sugary soda. Amanda made a Frozen Cranberry Margarita that will just knock your socks off… there is a pretty cool ingredient in there!!

Cranberry Lime Cooler

makes 1

Ingredients

  • 3 oz cranberry juice (not cocktail)
  • juice of a lime
  • tablespoon of simple syrup
  • 4 oz of seltzer
  • 1 cup ice
  • wedge of lime and mint for garnish, optional

Process

  1. In a tall glass, combine the cranberry juice, lime juice, simple syrup, and seltzer over ice.
  2. Garnish is a wedge oflime and mint.

Blueberry Lemonade

As much as I love to curl up with my favorite mug in the winter with hot tea or hot chocolate, I love the refreshing drinks that go hand in hand with summer. I don’t count Labor Day as the end of summer. I enjoy every summer sip and bite until the first day of fall. I don’t necessarily wear summer things until then- I wore a  long sleeve shirt and sweater today- but I will fill my stomach with summer’s last bit of produce.

If you are like you realize that you have 15 days until the first day of fall. That includes 2 full weekends for you to kick back and relax with a lemonade before the full onslaught of pumpkins, cider, and Halloween candy. Don’t even get my started on how I keep seeing CHRISTMAS candy in the stories!!

 

The combination of blueberries and lemons go together very well. I love them in desserts so in a drink the same would be true, right? Correct! The blueberries add a nice naturally sweet flavor to offset the tart lemons.

 

I decided to incorporate the blueberries into the lemonade by making blueberry puree ice cubes. I love when making an icy cold drink and making ice cubes part of the drink, not just something that keeps the drink cold. Also, I don’t want to use just regular ice cubes that will water down the drink. The blueberry ice cubes came out very well, but one thing that I noticed was that they broke apart very quickly. This was fine since I was drinking the lemonade right away.  If you plan on letting the drink hang around for a bit, I suggest that you make the ice cubes out of store bought blueberry juice and adding some frozen blueberries to the glass.

edit– right after I tweeted this post I got a tweet mentioning that vodka should accompany this lemonade. Umm, how did I forget to mention that? Well, obviously, vodka would make this blueberry lemonade even more delightful. Plus it gives you options… a regular vodka or you can get creative and use a flavored one. have fun and enjoy.

 

Blueberry Lemonade

Serves 8

Ingredients

 

  • 1 pint of fresh blueberries
  • 7 lemons
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 7 cups of water
Steps

  1. Blend the blueberries and then strain the puree. Pour the puree into an ice cube tray and freeze until solid.
  2. Squeeze all the lemons. 
  3. Combine the sugar and the lemons into a large pitcher.
  4. Add water to pitcher and mix well. 
  5. Serve the glass of lemonade with blueberry ice cubes and a slice of lemon.
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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive. 

Cranberry Ginger Margarita

Poe’s Kitchen at the Rattlesnake Bar and Grill is one of my favorite places to eat. Chef Brian Poe has transformed this bar and restaurant into a place that I actually want to go to. Prior to coming to the Rattlesnake the only reason to go was because of it’s roof deck, and since that was it’s only positive thing the line to get up there was maddening. Now, I don’t give a crap about the patio, I just want the food and drinks. We have been there for several birthday’s now, and  several ‘just because’ times. Just because I would like corn bread time. Just because I would like to go there for brunch, but incorrectly assume it opens at 11, and wait outside for 30 minutes time. Just because it’s Tuesday. (swoon)

When I saw a drink contest posted on their Facebook page, I knew I had to give it a try. I’ve spent the night making Cranberry Ginger Margatias for Price to try and give me feedback on. Such a difficult task!! ‘ Too Sweet” “Not enough tequila” “Needs lime?” “The sugar works, but…” So, I’m hoping that this recipe will make it into the top 3 for voting. Fingers crossed.


The first thing that came to mind was to make a margarita with cranberry juice. Why? Well why the hell not? But really it had everything to do with the upcoming season. The fall just screens cider and cranberries to me. Ruling apple juice/cider out I moved forward with the cranberry base. The second thing that came to mind was ginger. I have been on a major ginger kick this year, mainly making a lot of ginger infused simple syrup for seltzer. Instead of a ginger simple syrup, I decided to use Domaine de Canton, a French ginger liqueur. The combination of cranberry and ginger worked well, so full steam ahead. The rest fell into place- a gingered sugar for the rim, and a squeeze of lime to add tang.

The result is a margarita that has bite, since the cranberry brings acidity, much like the normal margarita. However, the sugar and liqueur bring some sweetnes, to cut the tartness. The Cranberry Ginger Margarita makes for a great fall cocktail because of it’s seasonal flavors. It can even been accessorized with some fangs for Halloween- this margarita has bite!

Cranberry Ginger Margarita

4 oz of cranberry juice cocktail
1 1/2 oz of tequila
2 oz of Domaine De Canton (ginger liqueur)
wedge of lime
cranberries (for garnish)
Sugar for the Rim
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Prior to mixing the drink, combine the sugar and ginger on a plate to rim the glass. Wet the edge of the glass with water, drip into the sugar mixture, remove and let dry while mixing the drink.

Fill a glass half way with cubed ice, pour in the cranberry juice and add the cranberries. Add the tequila and Domaine De Canton. Squeeze the wedge of lime into the mix. Pour drink into rimmed glass.

Enjoy!