Enjoy the sunset on the Lakes of Kentucky at the Thirsty Turtle in Grand Rivers, KY featuring a cocktail made with a couple of different rums, fresh juice, and a splash of Blue Curacao. Slip away for a minute and feel the breeze. It's important to your health, spirit, and emotional wellness to take advantage of those freeing moments. The Thirsty Turtle located at Green Turtle Bay is a great place to listen to music, dine, and enjoy a summer cocktail.
The Thirsty Turtle is located in Green Turtle Bay Resort and Marina. The 'Turtle' has a full-service bar with ice-cold beer, a casual menu, and a backyard family atmosphere. They're open year-round for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The Turtle has live entertainment every weekend featuring new bands from across the region. For the fun of it, there are outdoor games such as corn hole and giant checkers and seating indoors or outdoors. Come by boat, car, golf cart...there are boat tie-ups. It's time to get away. Try the Mermaid Water Rum Punch
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Ginlicious: This summer's favorite cocktail
Summer just got more delicious. I’m always looking for a new way to create classic drinks. A drink that’s fresh with few ingredients and full of flavor. "Forget your troubles come on get happy. We're gonna wash all those blues away. A sprig of mint and some simple syrup. Fresh-squeezed juice, club soda, and Tanqueray." Gin cocktails have been around for a long time. Some of the classics: Gin and Tonic, Sloe Gin Fizz, Tom Collins, and Giblet, to name a few. I'm trusting my old friend Tanqueray for this cocktail because it rarely disappoints. I digress...back in the day, during the Bogeys' days, Gin & Tonic was one of my favorites. Bogeys was a downtown bar on Broadway between Water and Market Streets. It was a crazy, wild place that many frequented for an ice-cold beer, a headbanger band, or a game of quarters. Not a classy joint but a fun one! Class or no class, Gin & Tonic is still one of my all-time favorite drinks, however, it's time to shake it up. Ginlicious requires few ingredients. Sip it on the patio or deck and enjoy. Ginlicious Shot of Tanqueray ¼ of the juice from a whole grapefruit A teaspoon of simple sugar Club Soda Cocktail Shaker Sprig of fresh mint Add ice chips to the shaker. Add the gin, grapefruit juice, and sugar to the shaker and shake it. In a tall glass, pour the mixture over cubed ice. Finish filling with club soda. Add a sprig of mint and a twist of grapefruit rind. Enjoy the flavor. The most wonderful sip is the first when you breathe in the mint. Fantastic. There’s nothing better than the sense of accomplishment after a job well done, whether it’s professionally or personally. Then, there’s the accomplishment after winning a sporting event. ‘How sweet it is,’ said Comedian/Actor Jackie Gleason. This cocktail is to honor all the golfers out there that played their best game, sunk the 20 ft. putt or won their Senior Club Championship flight. Yes, a friend of mine from Paducah Tilghman High School in Paducah, Kentucky just accomplished a job well done. In honor of David Guess, I have made the perfect winner’s cocktail. It’s made with bourbon (my personal favorite - Woodford Reserve) and infused ginger simple sugar (simple sugar made with honey and fresh ginger slices). Ginger Bourbon Infusion recipe: Shot of bourbon Three slices of fresh ginger Honey simple sugar Lime for garnish Cocktail Shaker Recipe for ginger honey simple sugar Cup of water ¼ cup of honey Three slices of fresh ginger In a saucepan on the stovetop, steep together these three ingredients on low for five minutes, cover, and let it steep with the burner off for another five minutes. Set aside to cool. Add crushed ice to the cocktail shaker Pour a shot of bourbon Add a jigger of the simple sugar mixture Shake Add cocktail to glass with ice cubes Garnish with a lime and serve Summertime is for eating Popsicles, at least, that’s the way kids think. My grandchildren will choose a Popsicle above all things sweet and delicious. It’s never too early to teach children healthy habits. Too much sugar overtime will cause insulin issues which translate into a myriad of health problems.
Of course, children aren’t able to choose the kinds of treats available in the home, it’s the parents that make those decision. If you want healthy children, parents need to practice healthy eating too. The Lemon Lavender sugar-free Popsicle is a treat that tastes sweet without the sugar. Lemon Lavender Sugar-Free Popsicles Plastic popsicle holders (if unavailable, use small plastic cups) If using small plastic cups, you’ll need plastic wrap and wooden popsicle sticks Eight to 10 lemons Four or five sprigs of fresh lavender ¾ cup honey Two cups of water Steep water, honey, and lavender in a pot over the stop on medium low temperature. Tilt a lid over the pot (like you’re steeping brewed tea) Once the honey has dissolved and you can taste the lavender in the mixture(discard the lavender), remove from the heat and set aside until it cools (for faster cooling, set in the refrigerator or add a piece of ice). Squeeze the lemon juice from the lemons (should make approximately one cup). After the honey mixture has cooled, add the fresh, squeezed lemon juice Take the plastic molds for the Popsicle and evenly disperse. If you’re using small plastic cups, once you’ve added the liquid, place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top and stick a wooden popsicle stick through the plastic and into the liquid. Let the Popsicles freeze overnight. Next day, you have Lemon-Lavender Popsicles. The freezing method could be used for any flavor, as well as, the simple sugar method of using honey as opposed to pure cane sugar. When removing the Popsicle from the mold, simply run under warm water. Discovering new ways to create delicious food is a food lover's paradise. Years ago, I would spend hours making a meal and by the time I finished, I was no longer hungry. Today, I’m all about eating whole foods that are filling and take less than an hour to prepare, cook, and eat.
I wanted a garden this year. After several years of being without, it was time to reignite that fire and plant some seeds. There were some clunkers that didn’t ripen or flourish, but the spaghetti squash was crazy wild. The biggest vegetable in the garden became the survival of the fittest champion. ‘The champ’ needed a make-over. My friend Mindy owns a business in Paducah, KY. She has a brick-and-mortar location, a catering business, and meal-prep to go. A few days ago, she shared a Facebook post of spaghetti squash loaded with a lovely Italian-style filling. I’ve replaced flour noodles with spaghetti squash before to make Italian spaghetti but never filled the skin of the squash. How clever. I decided, it was time to try something new. As a rule, I enjoy cooking with the food already in the kitchen. I'm not sure if I'm being lazy or practical, regardless, this time of year I always have fresh vegetables around the house and my plan was to incorporate those into tonight’s dinner. The only protein I had available was frozen, so I decided to run a quick errand to the fish market just down the street. Typically, I'll pick up salmon, grouper, or mahi mahi. Today, I thought shrimp. Thanks to my husband’s friend, Michael Williams, I had some green chilies that quickly became the star of the dish. I hope you enjoy the recipe! Chile ‘licious’ shrimp squash scampi Ingredients: 1 ½ pounds of large shrimp (remove the shell) Teaspoon of paprika Salt and pepper Two tablespoons of unsalted butter Teaspoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) Whole shallot (chopped) Three carrots (chopped) 2 cloves of garlic (chopped) Two cups of kale (torn into medium size pieces) Whole lemon Three chilies (seeds and membrane removed, chopped) Grated Parmesan Large spaghetti squash Salt and pepper Tablespoon of unsalted butter Roasting spaghetti squash: Pierce the skin of the squash in a straight line with a sharp knife. Place in the microwave for five minutes. After removing from the microwave, cut the squash down the pierced line, clean out the seeds and guts of the squash. Place both squash halves in a baking dish skin side up with an inch of water and roast at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Let it rest. Take a fork and scrape out the spaghetti noodle-shaped squash. Go ahead and season with a pat of butter, salt and pepper. Set aside. Chile shrimp scampi In a large saute pan, prepare the shrimp with salt, pepper, squeeze of lemon and paprika, saute' in EVOO. Remove from the pan after the shrimp has turned pink (approximately three minutes). In the same large pan, add a pat of butter, then add the onion, carrots, and garlic cloves. Saute for three to five minutes. Next add the kale and saute until soft (not too soft) and add a squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper. Add the Chile Add the shrimp back into the pan along with the spaghetti squash. Heat until warm. Spoon the shrimp scampi into one of the spaghetti squash shells, top with Parmesan cheese. Add tomatoes (optional) and serve. My cousin enjoyed a cocktail at Burnett's Scottish pub while visiting ‘the homeland’ in Scotland. The Burnetts have a rich heritage that goes back many years, all the way to the 1300s when King Robert the Bruce gave the land to the Burnetts as a gift. Crathes Castle now sits on that land.
Crathes Castle is a 16th-century castle near Banchory in the Aberdeenshire region of Scotland. The castle was built by the Burnetts of Leys and was held by the family for almost 400 years. The castle and the ground are owned and managed by the National Trust of Scotland and are open to the public. This version of the Double-Bubble cocktail has infused rum and a few extras. The process of infusion and the cocktail are explained in this recipe. This is in honor of my cousin, Deb. Recipe for one cocktail. If you want to infuse more rum, add more Double Bubble. Jigger of Mount Gay Barbados Rum (this rum is light and low in gluten) Four pieces of Double Bubble Shot of light cranberry juice A teaspoon of simple sugar Big squeeze of fresh lime Big squeeze of fresh lemon Sprinkles Two pieces of bubble gum for garnish Crushed ice Cocktail shaker Martini glass The infusion process of the Double Bubble into the rum is easy. Simply pour the amount of rum into a container with a lid over the top of the bubble gum. Make sure the lid is secure. If necessary, use plastic wrap under the lid. Let it infuse for a couple of hours. Add the crushed ice to the cocktail shaker. Add all ingredients except the bubblegum that was infused with the rum. Shake the cocktail. For the martini glass, dip the rim in simple sugar then dip the top of the glass in sprinkles. Pour the cocktail into the martini glass. Top with the toothpick of bubblegum. The gum may be chewed after finishing the cocktail. It’s seriously delicious. Not too sweet with the added mixers yet still taste just like bubblegum. |
Written byLiz Latta Archives
April 2024
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