Summer Shandy Cocktail

Beer cocktails are one of my favorite drinks, and the possibilities are pretty endless when it comes to them. Since it is Labor Day Weekend I thought I would share my favorite summer beer cocktail with you!

Shandy's are a citrus based beer that is super popular during the summertime. There are tons of different kinds (you will be hearing about my favorites in an upcoming post!) but new to the shandy world this year is Narragansett Beer's  Dells Lemonade. I used this as the base for this yummy cocktail. 

Ingredients 

Shandy Beer

A white whine

Club Soda (you can also use sprite, ginger ale, or in my case all I had in my fridge — Mountain Dew) 

Frozen Raspberries 

Add equal parts shandy and white wine into the glass. Top with fizzy soda and garnish with frozen raspberries. I love adding frozen raspberries to my cocktails, they add a nice tartness to the drink without being over powering. Orange slices would also be an awesome addition. 

I am trying to savor the last couple days of of summer, and this drink is the perfect accompaniment to a lazy summer afternoon. 

xo. Casey

Saturday Caturday

I know that technically the summer is not over until the middle of September, but for me once August is over I am in all out fall mode. So I am spending this weekend with this sweet guy hanging out on our balcony taking in the last few warm days in the sunshine. I am going to spend this weekend having drinks by the water, picnicking by the lake, kayaking, fishing, and completely taking advantage of this holiday weekend. 

Before you know it I will be sippin pumpkin spice lattes bundled up in a comfy sweater and scarf enjoying the leaves change. But this weekend it is all about the summer time- I am taking full advantage and living in the moment. George agrees. 

xo. Casey

Friday Five, August Favorites

I can not believe that August is practically over. This summer absolutely flew by. It feels like I was just moving into my apartment yesterday. Cray.

Here is what I was loving in the month of August. 

1. Starbucks Iced Coffee with one pump of the cinnamon dolce syrup. Super simple and super delicious. 

2. Canva. This is a free graphics site where you can make totally awesome customizable banners. What up to my new banner up there! 

3. Heart of Dixie. Most of the shows that I watch have me saying "OMG!" and "Who are they going to kill of next?!" all the time (I'm lookin at you the walking dead and dexter). But sometimes I just want to watch something totally lighthearted and I found that in the Heart of Dixie. It is the absolute perfect show to put on and fall asleep to. (but is that girls name really lemon?)

4.  Divergent. I finally got to sit down and watch this show and oh man, now I understand what all the hype was about! It is very similar to the Hunger Games so if you loved those books/movies I think you will really like this one. Unlike the Hunger Games I did not read the books before the movie and I am totally cool with just enjoying the film for what it is - and I am super excited for the next one! I think my boyfriend will enjoy this movie way more than he enjoyed the Hunger Games movies. (Oh, and Tris is a way less dramatic version of Katnis). 

5. Haircut! My hair may or may not have been two drastically different lengths for over a month. This past weekend I finally got off my lazy butt and went to the salon. After the stylist said "Oh this no good" I knew they were going to cut a decent amount off. It is a little shorter than I hoped but I am actually growing to really like this length, and it feels super healthy. Worth it.

xo. Casey

Garden Fresh Tomato Sauce

We have an overabundance of tomatoes in our garden.  We pick them and then they seem to multiply tenfold. As delicious as it is, I do not think my stomach can handle any more fresh tomato toast. We decided to make and jar our own tomato sauce to enjoy ourselves or give away as gifts. It came out awesome, so I wanted to share our simple recipe here with you, in case you have a million tomatoes just like us. 

We made a quick pit stop at Target to get a couple of things that we needed: mason jars, a pot, and one onion. The rest of the staff was hand picked from our garden or already on hand. 

What went into the sauce: 

tomatoes

one onion

two shallots

an entire small container of chopped garlic

tons of basil

thyme 

oregano 

white wine

olive oil 

salt & pepper

Method of Prep:

Chop the onion, shallot, and garlic and then sautee in a large pot with olive oil. Next you can remove the skins doing a tomato concasse which would involve cutting a small x on the bottom of the tomato, boiling them until the skin starts to peel, placing in an ice bath, and then removing the skin. Because of time however, James just removed the skins with a paring knife. 

Slice and dice the tomatoes and add them to the sauteed vegetables. And now you wait. Let the tomatoes simmer and reduce down into a sauce. Chop the herbs and add them to the sauce. To speed up the process James used an immersion blender to combine everything together. Continue to taste, and add salt and pepper as necessary.

In another pot, bring water to a boil. Place mason jars in boiling water to sterilize. Do this just as you are about to jar the sauce. We filled each jar until they were just about full, then put the tops on and placed the jars upside down. This helps with the sealing process. Make sure that you fill the jars straight out of the boiling water - this is a critical step in sealing the jars. 

And there we have it! Our very own absolutely delicious sauce. It is super simple - the fresh ingredients do all the work, all you need is the time and patience to let it do its thing. The longer you reduce it the thicker your sauce is going to be. 

You can now store your jars in the fridge or at room temperature. I am excited to give a couple of these away as gifts, and enjoy the rest with some nice fresh pasta and crusty bread. A perfect Sunday night dinner. 

xo. Casey

Saturday Caturday

James was in Vermont this week and George and I were missing him a lot. He doesn't go into work until three today so we are spending this lazy Saturday morning watching Masterchef, drinking coffee, and enjoying our time together. These are some of my absolute favorite moments. 

After he leaves for work I want to get to work organizing and decorating some spots in the apartment I have been ignoring. I will be stepping into the vortex that is Target and probably leave with a million things I do not need and be totally happy about it. I will also finally check "get a haircut" off my list of things to do. It is way over due (it may be two different lengths right now because I tried to cut it myself..maybe). 

How are you spending this breezy Saturday afternoon? 

xo. Casey