Becky’s Bloody Mary

Bloody Marys have always been a cocktail I like in theory, but never in practice (except for one time in New Orleans but I can’t remember where we were and I’ve never found it again). They’re typically thick and acidic and flat. But after reading my new favorite food book, How to Taste, and interviewing…

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HHH037 Drinking Beer with John Verive

Chilling out with cicerone John Verive (Beer of Tomorrow) talking about beer and tasting beers. We discuss IPAs, sour beers, wheat beers, cans versus bottles, surprising beer-food pairings, which beers age well (and which ones do NOT) and best beer service in LA. This podcast will put you in the mood to drink some beer.…

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Kumquat Margaritas

kumquat margarita

Still basking in the glow of kumquat season (and my everlasting love of tequila) I woke up Saturday morning on a mission to come up with a top-notch kumquat margarita recipe. That was a long day. But I was successful and here’s what I did for one kumquat margarita: If you like this margarita recipe,…

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Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

homemade hot chocolate mix

I’d forgotten about hot chocolate until recently. As a kid, my mom would make it sometimes by just stirring leftover chocolate frosting into hot milk. Or sometimes we’d just have Swiss Miss (the sugar-free variety after my dad was diagnosed with diabetes). I thought about that again when I was thinking of edible gift ideas.…

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Palomas

Paloma Cocktail Video – scroll down for recipe If you’ve seen any of the cooking videos I’ve made with Carlos — enchiladas, pollo al carbon, carne asada, choripanes, ponche navideño — you’ve seen us drinking Palomas. Palomas aren’t a new cocktail by any means, but they do seem to have recently been discovered by bartenders…

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Best Smoothie Recipes – The Ultimate Guide

Smoothies are great way to ingest all the food groups that your diet is lacking in one big gulp. Dairy group, vegetable group, fruit group, protein group, fat group, even whole grains — any and all can be crammed into a smoothie to make your body (and your cardiologist) happier. I must point out the distinction…

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Super Spirulina Smoothie

Spirulina is a blue-green algae (though that is a misnomer for cyanobacteria — a photosynthesizing bacteria) that can be found in healthy places like the ocean and Whole Foods. In dry, powdered form, it’s a deep, rich forest green and reminds me of a high-quality dry tempera paint. Once blended into a green spirulina smoothie,…

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Cherry Lemonade Recipe

I’ve always loved the concept of pink lemonade, though I don’t love the concept of artificially colored food and drink (except when it comes to Skittles and Starburst and Jelly Belly — then I am powerless over their bright and joyful colors!). And like any other red-blooded American I also love Sonic cherry limeade. But…

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Berry Banana Oat Smoothie

Since hitting the halfway point of pregnancy, a smoothie before “real breakfast” has turned out to be the easiest way (for me) to ensure I’m getting the extra 300 nutrient-dense calories I need per day to nourish the Ravenous Fetus. Not that I really count the calories in my pre-breakfast smoothies, but I’m guessing they work…

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