Hot hot hot!!! If you immediately thought of the Cure song, you and I are obviously of the same era. I’m not here to wax nostalgic over great 80’s bands, though- just to share with you one of my favorite beverages for hot weather. It contains fresh, juicy Apples, crunchy Celery, ice and milk. Sounds good, doesn’t it? It is good- taste-wise, and for you.

If, like my mother, you’re lactose intolerant, feel free to substitute the regular milk with soy milk, rice milk, or no milk at all! That’s right, this still tastes awesome with just the Apples and Celery.

If, like my husband, you’re diabetic, go ahead and use Splenda or Stevia in place of the sugar. Or, again, none at all! When our apples are particularly sweet, my husband prefers his smoothie without any sweetener. He likes the tartness.

Apple Celery Smoothie

4 green apples, peeled and cored
4 stalks celery, peeled
4 tablespoons sugar
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups ice
1 cup water

Chop apples and celery up into little pieces, and pulse to blend a few seconds in your blender. Add sugar, milk, ice, and water. Blend, blend, blend- and pour into tall glasses.

Serve with thick straws (or none, if you like milk moustaches)

I’m a sucker for Valentine’s Day. Yes, I buy into all the commercialism, the heart-shaped chocolate boxes, the teddies with t-shirts that say “I Luuuuv You”, the flowers. That said, my husband and I make it a point every year to spend Valentine’s Day at home. For me, there’s nothing less romantic than being stuck in two hours of traffic while trying to get to a fancy restaurant.

This means, of course, that we prepare our Valentine’s Day lunch and dinner at home- and let me tell you, when I’m doing the preparing, everything is pink. Pink napkins, pink lemonade, pink frosted cupcakes- and this, which I love to serve in the afternoon as part of our pinkstravaganza.

I use maraschino cherries, because I like them, but feel free to use fresh cherries. The same goes for frozen strawberries- use fresh if you have them.

Cherry Strawberry Milkshake

8 maraschino cherries
8 frozen strawberries
4 scoops vanilla ice cream
3/4 cup cold milk
1/4 cup strawberry syrup (I use Hershey’s)

Put everything in a blender. Blend until nice and thick and oh so pink.
Serve in 2 tall glasses.

Because my last post was mostly for the boys (it’s just something about guys and wings, no?), today I want to share a recipe for the girls. This martini, which gets its pink from pomegranate juice, is something my husband and his buddies wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole. It’s just too… pink.

To that, I say: more for me!

Seriously, I’ve posted before about my love for martinis, and this one must be my favorite kind right now. It’s sweet but not overly so, with a hint of orange from the Cointreau, and that unmistakable pomegranate flavor that’s just bursting with goodness.

It’s perfect for your next girls night in, or for the ladies on Superbowl Sunday.

Pomegranate Martinis
Makes 3 servings

3 oz good vodka (I’m partial to Ketel One, but use whatever floats your boat- or whatever’s in your bar!)
1.5 oz Cointreau orange liqueur
9 oz pomegranate juice
Fresh lemon, optional

Combine vodka, Cointreau and pomegranate juice in a cocktail shaker. Add about a half cup of ice chips. Shake well, and strain into a cocktail glass. A squeeze of lemon is optional.

One of my favorite childhood memories is drinking creamy hot chocolate with some buttered toast on the side on rainy days. Now that the weather’s turning cool, cup of thick, dark cocoa is what I want on most nights- and would have, if it wasn’t so calorie-filled and decadent.

Because, believe me, this recipe is extremely decadent. If you like milky, watery hot cocoa, stop now and look elsewhere. This is seriously thick, heavy stuff.

Thick Hot Chocolate

1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup (generous) superfine (or caster) granulated sugar
1 100-gm bar (3-1/2 ounces) dark bittersweet chocolate, finely sliced or given a couple of whirls in the food processor
1/4 cup (1 ounce or 28 gm) cocoa powder, loosely packed, preferably Valrhona, Callebaut or Ghirardelli

In a medium saucepan, stir together the milk, cream, and sugar- bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the chopped chocolate and cocoa powder, and bring to a boil again, all the time whisking with a good whisk. You want the chocolate and cocoa to dissolve, and the mixture to thicken.

Serve immediately, and optionally with a side of whipped cream.

I mean Yellow Gold Oolong Tea, which my husband and I have been enjoying every day. It’s excellent piping hot, of course- but we’ve also been making pitchers of it and storing it in the fridge, the perfect refreshment to accompany us while we work.

Oolong (also known as Wu Long) Tea’s nutritional properties lie somewhere in between Green tea and Black tea. It’s said to be “anti-aging” because it lowers high blood pressure, prevents heart disease, and is awesome for digestion- something I can certainly attest to. Best of all, though, is its taste.

Nothing tastes like Oolong Tea. The Yellow Gold we’ve been enjoying is unbelievably fragrant, a little caramelly, with a touch of citrus tang. Because it’s similar to Green tea, it’s great on its own- and because it’s similar to Black tea, it’s also wonderful with cream and sugar. Mmm.