Don't Forget...The Food Blogger Bake Sale!

Just a quick reminder that the Food Blogger Bake Sale is taking place all over the nation tomorrow, Saturday, May 14th!  


Here in San Diego the event will be at Great News Cooking School in Pacific Beach, and I would highly encourage you to drop by and: 
-pick up some sweet treats
-enter our raffle to win one of 3 Wilton baskets valued at $150 each
-meet some lovely and talented bloggers
-show your support for Share Our Strength - this fundraising event donates 100% of proceeds to end child hunger!  

If you missed my first post about this event, be sure to check out my Sweet Spring Sandwich Cookies and get all the details about Share Our Strength.  If you are not in San Diego, you can easily find the bake sale happening in your city by simply visiting Gaby's site.  And definitely visit Marie's site, because she was the wonder woman that organized this whole event in San Diego!  For more info, check out the flyer below.

Bittersweet Negroni

Some days, you just need a good stiff drink.  All the better if that day is Friday.

This past week has just been completely crazy - work has gone into overdrive and my mind has been swirling as I have been trying to make big life decisions at the same time.  I won't complicate matters even further by delving into all the details, but I will say this - Hallelujah for Friday.  Lord knows I desperately need a moment for my brain to take a rest and my body to relax so that I can get some clarity and focus on what is really important to me.   

As I have explained before, at my core I am not really a big drinker, but I do like a good cocktail now and then - especially when I want to kick back, put my feet up and relax or enjoy a really fun night with friends.  In this case, when I saw this Bittersweet Negroni in the latest issue of Bon Appetit, I knew it would be the perfect medicine for my aching, overworked brain.  I had actually never heard of a Negroni before, but I was intrigued by the short description:

'My first cocktail crush was the Negroni. It was the "adult" taste (slightly bitter, slightly sweet) but also its easy-to-memorize recipe that hooked me. Even today, no matter what bar I find myself in, I know I can get a consistently well-made one. It's all about the golden ingredients ratio: 1-1-1.' 

–Andrew Knowlton

The 'golden ingredients ratio' Andrew is referring to is a mixture of 1 part Gin, 1 part Sweet Vermouth, and 1 part Campari.  I love gin - a simple gin and tonic with extra lime is my boring, but favorite cocktail - and the yin and yang of sweet vermouth with bitter campari was strangely reminiscent of another treat I have been enjoying recently... Kumquats.