Springtime Smoothie

Hello all!

It's been a long time between postings... again :( I apologize. Time is just flying though! Can you believe it's already May?? I have a few fun updates to give then have a refreshing and delicious smoothie recipe to share in celebration of the fantastic sunny weather that most of the country is experiencing, on and off at least.

Exciting news! I got my first (big) freelancing job last week! Redoing the site for an actor/comedian/musician who I'd met eons ago (as in during the summer) and just got into contact with me again asking if I'd still be interested in the job. Of course! I'm super excited for this chance not only because it's, like, a job but because New York is FULL of actors and dancers and bands and singers who will need sites at some point in their career and if I can get started and into that niche now... fantastic!

I met with the guy today (that sounds unprofessional... my client?) and got a starting plan and outline figured out, now I just need to buckle down and get to work! Which is really what I should be doing instead of blogging... but it's been too long since I've posted... so here I am :)

I went to pilates again on Monday. It was a rainy day, the type where you were too warm with a coat on but chilly without one. I woke up and wasn't sure I'd been going but after a perky text from Summer (having her as both my friend and my instructor works great for accountability!) I knew the class would be well worth the money and trip. Sure enough, it was a great time with Ebony and I being the only students that day. It was great with just two, although there's so much talk now in the restaurant about the classes I expect it to be blown up with people next time. Afterwards we went out for frozen yogurt, which may have cancelled out the workout, but was absolutely delicious!

I have some big events coming up that I'm also really looking forward to.  Next weekend, one of my closest friends from college is coming for a visit. One of the choirs from our college is coming out to perform at Carnegie Hall and she's coming out with them. Her dad is head of alumni relations and often travels with the choir, which works out really well for us not only in that she's able to come with them as well, but we get to tag along with them for a Broadway show and to watch their Carnegie Hall performance. Some sweet bonuses in addition to seeing my lovely Kara :)

The next weekend is my aunt's wedding so I'll be going home for that, just for a few days. I'm happy to be going back already though.

Now for this smoothie. It stemmed from a random seeming assortment of fruits I had lying around and turned into a lovely combination. This is a very sweet smoothie, I'll warn, but also refreshing light. To turn down the sweet, you could use water as the base and add some lemon juice, rather than the pre-made lemonade. I think it's a great springtime smoothie, since it's not tropical, and is aesthetically pleasing even before being blended up. It's perfect for sipping on while you're reading a book in the back yard to sneak in some outside-time.

 Grearberry Smoothie

(Grape, pear, strawberry)

1/2 cup prepared lemonade

6-7 strawberries

1/2 cup green grapes

4 oz Dole fruit cup of pears, drained (or about 1/3 cup chopped pears)

Place all ingredients in your blender in the order they're listed. Blend until smooth. You could also add ice if you prefer a slushier or colder smoothie. Pour into a pretty glass and enjoy in the sunshine! Or on a rainy day when you wish there was sunshine...

**I have a single-serving sized blender which is super handy since I'm just one person :) Just don't get thrown off by the blender being full of liquid and thinking this recipe makes a ton of drinkage. It seems to be right around 16 ounces.

I'm a Paid Artist!

Hello all!

I've had some excitement this week starting with friends visiting this weekend. As usual, we had crazy-full days but had some awesome experiences! From strolling through Central Park to eating noodles from a street vendor in Chinatown, from walking on the beach at Coney Island to having a drunk guy ask to sit with my friend and telling her he just wanted to bite her... it was a classic NYC experience :)

It was great to see my friend from college again as well as meet new friends and make memories. We watched Pitch Perfect every night and listened to its soundtrack every morning - I hadn't seen it before and I'm now obsessed! Overall it was a lovely weekend and I couldn't have asked for better house guests :)

It's so fun to have extra people around! Having visitors helps me remember how fun and exciting this city I'm living in can be!

In other news, I am now a paid artist! In college, I had drawn a picture of a sunflower in a storm which actually turned out pretty good. One of my professors saw it and said it would be prefect for an award he sends out in the winter and wondered if I'd be interested in selling him the rights (he offered to buy the drawing also but I couldn't bear to part with it just yet). I said of course and today in the mail I received a sample of the award as well as a check.

It's so exciting to have your work out there, even if drawing isn't my forte or target area. I do still love it and it feels awesome to have something I've created be recognized and appreciated. And worth money :) I feel honored to have been asked to offer up my work and feel so blessed for the opportunity. And am as excited as ever to see what else God has in store for me!

A Good English Cuppa

It's been a crazy last few weeks, first travelling home for the weekend which turned into a week then returning to New York for 5 days before heading out to Kansas for Thanksgiving and to be reunited with my college friends in what is a big visitation weekend at Hesston. My days and body are very confused on the ever changing schedules but I'm pretty sure that today is Monday which can only mean one thing: it's recipe time!

I'm not going to get all fancy this week, this isn't even going to be a recipe for food (although I do have some great dessert recipes I've discovered... stay posted!). This may be cheating since it's a drink and drinks are commonly made in mugs... but my recipe for the week is simple English tea in a mug.

Yes it's simple and maybe this version of tea is cheating on another level because it doesn't involve a kettle and stove and whistle but tea means a lot to me. You see, my granny was born in England and although she moved to America at just 6 months of age, she was very English, her mother having grown up and living in England until that point. And what is more English than tea?

Grannie passed on the tea-loving gene to my mom who also raised my sister and I on it. Our coffee maker was even turned into a hot tea maker as my dad slowly gave up on anyone else in the house liking coffee.

Growing up, I might be greeted in the morning with a hot cup of tea to 'help me wake up slowly'. Whenever I was sick or feeling down, a cup of hot tea was always the answer and would be quickly delivered by my mom or my grannie. Before school started each fall, my grannie would host a tea party for the girls in the family, my sister and I, Mom, my youngest aunt, and my younger cousins. Whenever we would stop by Grannie's house after school, have a sleepover, or after a big family meal, a nice cup of hot tea was offered. At our tea parties, Grannie would educate us on the etiquitte of tea and always have a few different choices of tea. Sugar cubes were always on hand because that was the best way to sweeten tea.

Back-to-school tea party - many years ago

My wonderful Grannie passed away almost a month ago. It's hard to believe it's been that much time already.  It's been a crazy, surreal, emotional few weeks. I don't want to dwell on all that though. The important thing is her life, I know she's in a far better place now and all we can do is remember the good times and happy memories. It is also important to keep her memory alive through the little things and, for me, one thing that will always remind me of my grannie is hot, English tea.

I don't use a kettle and stovetop. And I don't have sugar cubes on hand or beautiful china teacups. But the taste is the same and that is one of comfort and warmth and love.

Hot English Tea

Fill a mug almost full with water. Microwave 1 1/2 minutes. Place 1 teaspoon loose-leaf basic black tea (I like English Breakfast) in a tea ball, tea bag, or tea infuser of some sort (or use a pre-made, storebought tea bag, of a basic black tea such as English Breakfast. But PLEASE don't use Lipton :P ) 

Place the tea bag into the hot water and steep 3-4 minutes, depending how strong you like it. Remove the tea bag and squeeze out the bag with a spoon. Add sugar to taste (1 Tablespoon if you're a lady in my family ;) ) Add a splash of milk (about 1/2 Tablespoon) and stir. 

*Tea etiquette: Only add milk to basic, black, English tea.

Curl up with a good book, sit and look out the window, use it in the morning to "wake up slowly," or invite a friend over to join you, set out some cookies and sweet bread and enjoy your tea.

<3 Ashley

Weekend Visits and Apple Upside Down Cake

Hey All!

It seems like forever since I've posted. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I've had a lot of excitement the last few days! Over the weekend, a couple of my friends going to school in Virginia drove up for a visit. They brought a guy friend who had two friends from Germany who were on holiday in NYC. It was a fun weekend of seeing old friends as well as making new ones!

We packed a ton of stuff into Saturday: Central Park, Times Square, lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, Grand Central Station, snacks from Crumbs bakery, Staten Island Ferry, Little Italy, supper at Puglia's, the Brooklyn Bridge... And that's not even including all the extra things we saw/did on the way to those places--street performers, street fairs, we even stumbled across the Pagan Pride Day gathering in Battery Park!

Getting a great view of the Manhattan nighttime skyline
from the Brooklyn Bridge

It was a busy, wonderful day followed by a relaxing Sunday brunch at Argo Tea on 58th Street, before they headed back to college.

I'll talk more about the other exciting stuff tomorrow! Because tonight, it's Mug Monday.

Inspired by the fall weather and the fact that I was going to have guests, I bought a bag of locally grown, gala apples and yum! My inspiration has carried through to finding tasty fall recipes using these apples.

Today I'd like to share a recipe I found for Coffee Cup Upside Down Cake. This recipe originally came from The Wichita Eagle (which made me like it all the more as I went to college 45 minutes from Wichita) and appeared in an article featuring four mug recipes, all of which look pretty delicious.

When I think of Upside Down Cake, I always think of pineapple but I thought that using apple would be a nice tribute to fall and that, likewise, the caramel-y topping would pay a nice tribute to the apples :) I was not disappointed.

Apple Upside Down Mug Cake

2 Tablespoons butter, divided

3 Tablespoons brown sugar, divided

1/2 apple, thinly sliced

1/2 egg

2 Tablespoons milk

Few drops vanilla

1/4 cup flour + 1/4 teaspoon baking powder + 2 shakes salt 

(or 1/4 cup self-rising flour)

2 pinches cinnamon

Lay apple slices, 1 tablespoon of the butter, 2 tablespoons brown sugar in the bottom of a coffee mug. Microwave for 1 minute. Using a fork, mix remaining butter with sugar until creamy. Add egg, milk, and vanilla. Add flour and cinnamon and stir until smooth. 

Swirl the coffee mug to coat all the apples with the sugary butter mixture. Sprinkle with cinnamon.  Pour batter into cup and microwave for 1 minute or until the cake is done. 

If you want to actually see the apples and prettiness of this cake, take a small plate and place it upside down on the top of the mug. Holding the plate to the mug, flip them over so that the cake falls onto the plate, apples up. 

Yum! Happy Fall, happy Monday, happy baking, happy eating :)

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2012/04/17/2301171/coffee-cup-cooking.html#storylink=cpy