Fresh Grapefruit Pomegranate Margarita

A seasonal winter holiday cocktail--fresh grapefruit blended in a margarita and finished with a splash of pomegranate juice. It's tart and refreshing while using the fruits of the season.

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I had an idea to try a winter holiday version of my Cheater Margarita Smoothie using some of the Band Fruit Fundraiser grapefruit. It stands to reason that grapefruit and lime, both being tart citrus fruits, ought to play nicely together. On a whim I picked up a bottle of pomegranate juice and decided to add a splash of that for color (and additional tartness). I really liked the result.

Then my friend gave me a margarita glass for my birthday (because my friends rock) and I decided I'd throw the recipe up on the blog while grapefruit and pomegranates are still in season and did some day drinking to have good light for the photos. Oh, the things I do to provide free recipes using seasonal ingredients! Unfortunately for my photos, but fortunately for me, a friend called to tell me the good news of her impending move back here and I pretty much lost the light. I'm sharing the recipe anyway, and if I feel like taking more photos I will.

In the past I have put up a Year In Review post (please enjoy last year's post and the 2013 post) and then taken time off over the holidays.  This year will be a little different--I enjoy sharing muffin recipes and participating in Muffin Monday, which happens the last Monday of the month, so I will be back to share a muffin recipe on December 28th. I'm not sure if it will be Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Butter Muffins or something citrus-y that has yet to be made. When I have the mental energy I'll assemble a year in Review post.  But for now, because I'm still recovering from (and sharing around social media) #ChristmasWeek -- have you entered the $800 Amazon gift card giveaway? There's still time -- for now, though, please join me in raising a glass to celebrate the season.

Cheers.

Caramel Pumpkin Butter Stuffed Bread

This lightly sweet braided bread is stuffed with caramel pumpkin butter and makes a terrific addition to a brunch or served with morning coffee or tea.

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I'll get to the recipe in a moment, but first I've got something else on my mind. I'm sharing this photo of the dogs for 2 reasons. First, I want to remind at least 3 people who've been thinking they ought to take a bag down to their local food drive to JUST DO IT. If 1 out of 3 people follows through, that'd be terrific. Second, I post this to illustrate the fact that despite holiday food drives THERE ARE HUNGRY PEOPLE IN YOUR COMMUNITY 12 MONTHS OF THE YEAR. Scroll below the recipe for ways you can reduce hunger in your town.

Orange & Beet Smoothie with Cranberries and Maple Syrup

This is a vegan smoothie that combines seasonal citrus, beets, and cranberries with a generous splash of maple syrup to make it go down smooth nice and easy. Overwhelmed with cookies? Haven't started the wrapping yet? Whip up one of these babies and power through your to do list without plowing through the cookie tray.

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To be honest I really wasn't feeling a post for today. I'm still a bit worn out from doubling my workload and sharing 6 recipes in a row for #ChristmasWeek. [As an aside, the Amazon Gift Card Giveaway is happening for another week or so, have you entered? I'd sure like to have a connection to the winner. Go to this post for all the details.] However, seeing that it is citrus season (we got our Band Fundraiser Citrus a week ago) and as this recipe kept me going all through last week's craziness, I'm going to share it as is--I ran out of light last night so I'll update the photos as soon as I've made today's smoothie. I promised myself I'd take time off closer to Christmas, so you'll get one more week of recipes before my break.


Did you think, after Spiked Hot Cocoa Gift Mix, Maple Doodles, My Scottish Grandma's Shortbread, Cranberry Chai Tea Cookies, No Bake Magic Cookie Truffles, and Fresh Cranberry Mini Scones that this blog is all about sweets? Ha! Fooled ya. It's all about beets.


If the only things I got in my farm share were a steady supply of potatoes, onions, carrots and lettuce I probably would not have started a blog about how to feed my family from the farm share. I mean, everyone knows what to do with potatoes, onions, carrots and lettuce. [If you don't, feel free to consult my Potato Recipes Collection, my Recipes Using Onions, my Carrot Recipes Collection, and my Greens (Lettuce/Salad) Recipes Collection. These collections are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, the thing I am most proud of on this blog--a way to help my readers figure out what the heck to do with those veggies in the share that are new and unusual to them. And to me!]

A small farm can't make it on just a few crops--diversification is where it's at these days. [You may notice a change to my ads--I've switched from a few Adsense ads on the sidebars to a plethora of ads managed by MediaVine. Not a clue what, if anything, I am earning as I haven't made time to go check out my dashboard, but the experience has been very positive for me so far. Let me know how it is for you. Back to farms.] Farmers need to grow crops that will be ripening throughout the season so that us hungry folks have something to eat. And often, that means new-to-us foods.