Fresh Blueberries for Blueberry Lemonade

Although House Cook is located firmly in suburbia, this area near Atlanta is a bit odd. It grew so fast that in some ways the landscape never had time to catch up. Down the street from House Cook is a tangle of trees that hides a fantastic blueberry patch. Many of our neighbors like to tromp into the woods and pick fresh blueberries, and a few days ago we joined them.

Grabbing tupperware and boots, we trooped out into the undergrowth to hunt for delicious, ripe berries.

It was fantastic! Many of the bushes still had berries that weren't yet ripe, but we found plenty that were.

Looking for something delicious to do with the berries besides just gobble them all up before getting home, we've decided to bring you fresh blueberry lemonade.

 Fresh Blueberry Lemonade Recipe

Ingredients

3/4 c hot water

3/4 c sugar

1 c fresh lemon juice

1 c fresh blueberries

4 c cold water (or sparkling water)

Step 1: Puree together your hot water, sugar, lemon juice, and blueberries until everything is thoroughly mixed. 

Step 2: Pour your mixture into a pitcher through a fine mesh strainer (unless, of course, you like the pulp in which case just dump it all in). 

Step 3: Stir in your cold or sparkling water, serve over ice and enjoy! 

Old Fashioned Float with a Rum and Coke Twist

Following the 4th of July, all we can really think of is relaxing with something old fashioned. No, this doesn't have much to do with dragons, but it does have a lot to do with being fans of delicious flavor. Today, we bring you rum and coke ice cream floats. 

Yes, we do have root beer. No, it does not taste very good with rum. In fact, it's downright yuck. 

This tasty treat is perfect for enjoying in the afternoon while everyone relaxes. Best of all, you can make it family friendly by simply nixing the rum in the glasses for the kiddies. 

To make your Rum and Coke float...

Mix 1 1/2 oz of rum (one shot) and about 6-7 oz of Coke into a small cup. Add several scoops of  vanilla ice cream* to a tall glass and pour your rum and Coke mix to the glass. Yay! You just made a super delicious and crazy easy beverage to enjoy with everyone. 

*We recommend Breyer's Natural Vanilla ice cream

Champagne Julep: a classic drink to celebrate us all being back together

Huzzah! The sisters of House Cook are all together for the first time in several months! To celebrate all being together...and since we're here in the South...we're toasting the day with Champagne Mint Juleps  These delicious, fresh drinks are perfect for the hot weather and a sweet way to celebrate in the humid heat. 

Champagne Julep Recipe

Ingredients:

Makes 4 cocktails

fresh mint leaves

4 oz aged rum

6 tsp powdered sugar

3 cups champagne 

cracked ice

Bruise your mint leaves by crushing them between your fingers and mix your leaves, sugar, and rum with the ice until the sugar is thoroughly dissolved. Pour in your champagne and stir. Once all of your ingredients are mixed, pour into glasses and serve cold. I added an extra sprig of mint leaves to each glass as a garnish. 

Dragon's Breath Dawn: an iced drink for the hot summer

This week has felt dragon-filled for us in House Cook. Our Khalee-C, Julianne, and one of her dragons have been traveling across the country with the oldest in our bunch, Sarah-Lambert. We'll share more about their travels later, but for now we introduce you to the tasty drink they enjoyed last night. 

Yesterday was a hot Kansas day for our two wanderers and today promises to be hotter with temperatures topping 100 degrees. Still, it's not as bad as the Texas heat which felt like having a hair dryer on high pointed at your face. To cool down, we've created a delicious and pretty drink that's like an Orange Julius meets an Hawaiian Sunrise: our very own Dragon's Breath Dawn. 

This tasty drink is cool and refreshingly sweet with a hint of lime to give it a nice bite. 

Dragon's Breath Dawn Recipe

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

3/4 cup vanilla ice cream

3/4 cup orange sherbet 

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 1/2  cups orange juice 

dash of maraschino cherry juice (per glass)

1 cup crushed ice

Blend together ice cream, sherbet, orange juice, and lime juice. Once they are totally mixed, mix in the crushed ice. Pour into glasses and drizzle no more than a teaspoon of maraschino cherry juice in each glass.  Drink right away for a nice, cold treat! 

The Kingslayer: A Whiskey Drink

This Sunday marks the finale of 'Game of Thrones' season three. It's almost hard to believe that last week's startling episode 'The Rains of Castamere' wasn't the cliff-hanger ending simply because of how shocking it was. What more could happen?! We're not sure we're ready to find out! To help steel our nerves, we're going to need a little more than a tasty wine smoothie or delicious limeade to sooth us. This week, we turn to a character for inspiration who is at once likable and loathsome, but most of all incredibly interesting: Jaime Lannister, the Kingslayer.

On the one hand, the drink we've prepared is somewhat sweet, but is ever willing to stab you in the back and has a bite to it to watch out for. Perfect and refreshing for enjoying with friends 

Kingslayer Drink Recipe: 

Mix 1/2 oz sour mix, 2 oz cranberry juice, and 2 oz Jameson Whiskey. Pour over ice.

Tequila Cherry Limeade: The best Memorial Day weekend drink to cool down with

Yesterday, we brought you the best guacamole recipe we know created by Anna-Lara, so for today's Friday drink, I thought it would be great to find something delicious to go with it. If you're looking for a good way to cool down this Memorial Day weekend, then consider mixing up this cool, tasty treat: Tequila Cherry Limeade.

This drink is pure tastiness. It's refreshing and perfect for relaxing in the warm afternoon with--an excellent way to kick off summer. 

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

3-6oz of Jose Cuervo Gold (depending on how strong you'd like it. I used 6oz)

12 oz of limeade concentrate

12 oz of cherry 7Up

1 lime

maraschino cherries

Step 1: Pour the Cuervo into a pitcher. One shot glass is 1.5oz, so if you're adding 6 oz then pour in 4 shots. Add the limeade concentrate and cherry 7Up and stir it all together. 

Step 2: Pour over ice into your glasses (my Mason Jar glass pictured here holds 15oz. I filled about 1/3 of my cup with ice before pouring the limeade over to make certain there was plenty to share). 

Step 3: Slice your lime into 4 wedges and add each wedge to the glasses along with one maraschino cherry. 

Prepare to experience delicious flavor. 

Hope you all have safe travels over Memorial Day weekend! 

Wondering where our cool dishes came from? Find these awesome ceramics at LeeWolfePottery.com

Toasting the Hand of the Kitchen with a Red Wine Smoothie

Just as every king needs his castle and his Hand of the King to manage his affairs, so the kitchen of House Cook needs a sous chef--or, in our case, Hand of the Kitchen--to do most of the actual baking.

House Cook is, sadly, divided between two estates. One is where most of the sisters live in Georgia, and the other is where the oldest, Sarah-Lambert, lives in Texas. Most of our cooking is done in Georgia by the sisters there, but every Friday we will be introducing a new drink--some alcoholic, some not--from the kitchen of Sarah-Lambert.

Today, we toast the introduction of the Hand of the Kitchen, Katy-Lynn. You'll be able to spot who the Hand is at all times in our pictures because she'll be wearing her Hand of the Kitchen spoon brooch:

And now (drum roll, please)... meet the Hand of the Kitchen:

What should we toast her with, you ask? How about a delicious red wine smoothie! Yuuuuummy! 

This is an absolutely delicious drink. Perfect for the hot weather, but not out of place when the cool seasons return, this red wine smoothie is fabulous. Here's how to make your own: 

1 1/2 c red wine 

1/2 c frozen blueberries

1/2 c frozen raspberries

1/2 c frozen blackberries 

1 c Greek yogurt

1 tsp sugar *

Blend it all together and voilá, you have your smoothie! 

 Perfect with smoked Gouda cheese. I also enjoyed some Muenster cheese with mine. 

*I prefer mine a little more bitter, so 1 tsp of sugar is fine for me, but if you prefer sweeter simply add a tablespoon instead

**If you feel like 3 types of berries is too many then sacrifice the blackberries