My Thanksgiving Recap
I pulled off my first and most likely last Thanksgiving meal. The food is fun, but everything else is stressful and I can do without it.
All posts filed under: Food and recipes
The Best Thanksgiving Guide
If you’ve never fixed a Thanksgiving dinner, you might be wondering what you should do.
Thankfully, there are so many sites out there that can tell you so many things, you aren’t lost for material, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to give you more. The first thing you need to do, and I think you probably should’ve started this last week, was gathering up your recipes.
7 Reasons Why I Stopped Drinking & Why it’s Been Better for My Health
I was talking to a friend of mine who was expecting his first child. He told me he was doing Dry January because he had drunk enough in December, not to mention he wanted to be prepared and always ready since his wife was going to be due in the coming weeks. I told him, I probably wasn’t going to stop drinking this year in January because I’ve done it in the past and I wasn’t drinking that much in general, so I didn’t see a point. Once I said that and thought about it, I thought, “Why not just stop for a month?” That was the middle of January, now it’s April, which means I’ve done 30 days of not drinking, along with not drinking during lent, I’m not a real religious person, but it is a date to keep up with during the season.
The Best Gin Watermelon Basil Smash
Wait, it’s September, which means summer is coming to an end? Even though the summer might be coming to a close, it doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy a great summer cocktail. During the summer I generally have two things around, some watermelon in my frig and some fresh basil that I’m growing on my balcony or somewhere in my apartment.
Stuttgart’s Best Burgers
In my 7 years of living in Germany, mainly here in Stuttgart, there are various meals I really do miss from the states. Now I can easily cook these things myself, but as we all know, there is a time, when you don’t want to have to go and buy the ingredients for whatever. You don’t want to have to go and have that random jar of this or that, then a month later think, “What am I going to do with this?” Over the years I have become resourceful. That big bottle of tahini, well you can make a dressing, use it for a crumble topping, even make a dessert, I should say desserts. I digress, those meals I really miss are those things that even though I can fix it, you want someone else to make it for you because that’s how you learn to taste food differently, figure out how something was made, then go back home, make it myself. That, in turn, saves me about €20 ($23), when I really want …
Peach Moscow Mule
It’s all coming to an end. Sadly, it always comes to an end. You look at reports, you look outside, things just aren’t the same anymore. You know it has to end, but why? Can’t it last forever? Unfortunately, nothing last forever, so yes. We have to say goodbye to summer. Oh, I can only wonder what you might have thought I was talking about. Anyhow, yes, it is Labor day weekend. The unofficial end to summer, well, for America that is. Here in Germany, labor day was several months ago. This week we have seen various temperature swings. A glorious 80℉ (27℃) plus day, with a few days on the outside, where I’ve seen people wearing heavier than normal jackets. Yes, it is coming to an end. I, however, will not allow summer to leave without a nice seasonal cocktail or two, maybe three. Say hello to the Peach Moscow Mule. A lot of us think of the peach being the star of your peach cobbler, peaches and cream of course too, maybe even a …
Gin Blackberry Smash
Oh look, it’s the weekend again. I have to say, when I get up to start my Monday, I kind of think how fast or slow will this week go? Next thing you know, it’s Thursday and I’m trying to figure out the weekend plans, praying that Monday doesn’t come too quickly. With all of that, just like I wrote about a few weeks ago, a cocktail has to be in the mix. This week I got to go to the farmers market, where I saw some awesome looking blackberries. Over the years I have learned to enjoy various berries. The one issue I always run into is finding ripe, sweet berries. Finding strawberries, not a problem, while blueberries, raspberries, leave a lot to be desired. However, these blackberries were good to go. Along with the love for berries, I have also found a love for gin, not to mention my girlfriends help too. The variations that are available really mix well with a lot of different cocktails. Just like my Gin Blackberry Smash. A …
Cherry Jam Margarita
It’s the weekend! The weather here in Stuttgart has had its moments. a few moments of sun, followed by it going away for a while, then you get some rain mixed in there. With the weather being nice at points, here Stuttgart, that is anything over 72 °f (22 °c), I start going out for more walks in my neighborhood, as well as to the farmers market. Not to mention you see really nice seasonal fruits and vegetables come about. When I start seeing strawberries, blueberries, cherries, etc. I can’t help but just want to make a nice cocktail. Normally, if you follow my instagram, you know I love a Friday cocktail. I come home after work, hit my liquor cabinet and decide what I’m in the mood for. My Friday rule is pretty clear, nothing too simple, because I deserve something tasty as a reward for finishing a week of work. This time I was in the mood for a margarita. I enjoy the taste of a margarita, if you can find a nice tequila …
Tasty Carrot and Banana Bars
It’s been an interesting time with February rolling in, here in Stuttgart, the weather always leaves you wondering what will come next. For instance, take last Sunday, I was sitting here in my living room, look outside and there are nice fat snowflakes. I should probably mention a few days before if I wanted, a nice light jacket could’ve been worn. That’s just the weather you come to expect here. Can’t say I’ll ever get used to it, but it’s not something that going to stop me from really being active. I mean it’s just a little random weather, right? Other than the random flurries along with the seesaw of temperatures, an excellent bright side is the fact it’s staying brighter a little while longer. Everyone knows what that means? Cold temperatures are leaving, and longer days are on the horizon. However, we still have some colder days coming, which means you will probably want something that’s going to warm you up. Carrot and banana bars anyone? These bars have a lot going for them. …
Gooey Bacon Brownies Revisited
Several years ago I shared a recipe for gooey bacon brownies. I know the thought of bacon in something that is sweet is still odd to a lot of you. It was that way to me too, but I thought why not. The funny thing is that when I made these, then had friends try them, let me tell you something. To this day, people who have either heard about them or tried them, the first question is, “Do you have any of those bacon brownies?” There was a time when I made these things a lot. I really enjoyed trying out different ways of layering them, presenting them. Not to mention the fact of taking them to different parties is always fun for me to do. When I put this up this recipe in July of 2012, it was inspired thanks to an ebook called 21 Bacon Desserts Recipes That You’ll Wish You Would Have. Going back and looking to see if the author did anything or just to see what was happing with the …
Jacob Thomas 