Beaches & Peaches

Ah, summer. How I love you so.

Sure the warmth and sunshine is lovely - not to mention our annual trip to upstate New York to visit Scot's parents on the lake - but just the freshness of it all, if you know what I mean. Everything is so green, so lush, and so seasonable. I largely feel that it is so much easier for me to eat more healthily in the spring and summertime simply due to the increase in availability of several yummy fruits and veggies. And not only is there a wide variety that are "in season", but so much more of it is so incredibly local, as well. (And I'm a big local-food junkie!)

This is one of the reasons why I love that the winery I work at is located on a local family farm. They always have an interesting assortment of things that they grow and tend to on-site (apples, some peaches, egg-producing chickens, two greenhouses, an apiary, etc), but they do also get some produce from other regional farms. They will also occasionally have bananas, watermelons, and avocados from Mexico and other warm climate places - you know, some of people's staple pantry items in the summer that are simply not easy to grow in Maryland conditions. It's all about variety!

There are a few things that, without fail, get all the farm customers excited. First and foremost would be the farm's signature unpasteurized apple cider, made fresh on site. Then would come the cinnamon sugar donuts made fresh daily.. and then the fresh strawberries in early June and farm-grown peaches in early July. But for those of us who are just way too impatient, they do get some Harrow Diamond peaches in from South Carolina in late June. Which I discovered were just perfect for making some quick & easy peach froyo!

The idea came to me, shockingly, from Pinterest. The fact that this recipe only has a measly 4 ingredients and can be made in my food processor had me itching to try it out. Trust me, you'll want to run to your local grocery store or farmer's market and snatch up as many peaches as you can.. I can't think of a better or more refreshing treat on a hot summer day!

Oh, and the best part? It's good for you!!

*recipe originally seen on Just A Taste

Isn't it amazing how such simple, natural ingredients can produce something so yummy?? Now excuse me while I go bury my face in this deliciousness.

DC Delights

While I don't technically live in DC, pretty much everyone in my particular suburb of Maryland considers themselves a part of the DC metro area. (#wannabe's) I also have many a friend who actually does live within the city limits, and find myself trekking in there quite often despite our recent move a bit further north. I've definitely gotten to know certain parts of the city fairly well, but my general knowledge is extremely lacking - which I kind of hate! I love how much I can rattle off about Philly and NYC, how I know fun spots to go and don't look like a little lost puppy when walking around on my own. Not so much with DC. I mean.. have you seen their street system? It's obnoxious. All circles and diagonals and conspiracy theories of Illuminati and Freemasons (see: Dan Brown).

via TravelPod

All this is to say that I have fairly limited experiences with local DC culture. I know there's a ton of stuff that goes on, but it's not always feasible to explore everything I want to. While we are maybe a total of 15 miles from downtown, it will take a good hour or so to go anywhere of interest, especially depending on the time of day.

When we first moved into the area about six years ago, we did the whole touristy thing and walked around the Capitol, down Constitution Avenue, around the Smithsonian, etcetera. My favorite find that day - which I have since learned is a "thing" down here in the summers - was the Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery of Art. We meandered upon this randomly in the middle of the day, but apparently it's a fairly big  hotspot that hosts events such as live Jazz throughout the season. It's been on my list to go back for one of these events.. but have I? Of course not.

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A much more recent and local discovery I've made - that I have admittedly known about for the longest time, and even used to work a mere mile from - is the Sunday night drum circle at Meridian Hill (aka Malcom X) Park.

First off, the park itself is gorgeous. I totally want to have a photo shoot here.

via Time

Second, the drum circle? It's magical. It's crazy, fun, invigorating, and a quintessential DC experience. The premise is that every Sunday, a bunch of people come together and bang on drums, shake tambourines, and dance their booties off. There's no particular "group" - it's open to anyone and everyone. Some people take part in the action, some play frisbee or do yoga.

via Washingtonian

And others (me) sit back on the grass to just take in the scene with some noms and vino (it seems that the police often overlook the whole alcohol-in-public thing during the drum circle hours).

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I'm under the impression that this takes place mostly year round, and has actually been going on since the 1950's or so. It's definitely a local delight that I fully intend to enjoy more of this summer.. possibly tomorrow?!

Does your town have any local treasures that everyone else may or may not know about?

Must Try for July: Rosemary Gin Fizz

Happy July 1st! Otherwise commonly known 'round these parts as my birthday month. Since I'm not quite 30 just yet, I'm still claiming the right to have a birthday month, and not just week (or, heaven forbid, a mere day). Too bad I have nothing planned just yet.. pout.

But anyway, seeing as it's the beginning of July, it is also the official start of the 30 Day Blog Challenge - which I think calls for a cocktail. Don't you agree?!

See, my fantastic husband decided that he really loves gardening - a hobby that I 100% support. He started with a small indoor garden at our old place two years ago (which, honestly, with the grow lights,  made it look like we had a certain operation going on inside the house) (which we didn't, just to be clear). Once we moved to our current duplex - one with a beautiful yard that we know we will be at for at least a few years - he decided to build a more permanent garden outside.

Needless to say, it has grown immensely in the past couple of months. I'm actually kind of impressed at his green thumb.. Lord knows I certainly don't posses this trait.

There's zucchini, cucumbers (for pickling!), tomatoes, corn, lettuce, broccoli, bell peppers, jalapeño peppers, and.. a whole lotta of rosemary.

We've been using it here and there, but tend to veer more towards our fresh basil as herb of choice for most dishes. After contemplating our rosemary-related options with a few friends, we came up with the (genius) idea to use it as an accent to a delicious summery cocktail, a la an infused simple syrup. Hence, the Rosemary Gin Fizz was born.

If you like gin.. and you like rosemary.. this is a must try for July!

What other herbs do you think would make good cocktail mixers??