Sparkling Apple Cider Slushies

The key to this drink is freezing the cider on its own. I’ve found that this is the easiest method for making slushy drinks quickly and easily.

Carefully pour the apple cider into a large gallon zip top bag, seal, and place in the freezer for several hours, until frozen or very thick and icy. If the cider is frozen solid, allow to melt until it can be broken up into a thick, icy consistency (you want to be able to squish it around in the bag a bit with your hands).

Now, to break up the frozen bits, you just stir in a chilled beverage of your choice. I prefer sparkling cider (for all ages) or champagne (for adults only), but it’s also excellent with plain apple juice.

Sparkling Apple Cider Slushies
Makes about 11 cups (can easily be cut in half)

Ingredients

1 bottle (24.5 ounces) sparkling cider*
1 gallon (64 ounces) apple cider

Place the sparkling cider in the refrigerator to chill.

Carefully pour the apple cider into a large gallon zip top bag, seal, and place in the freezer for several hours, until frozen or very thick and icy. If the cider is frozen solid, allow to melt until it can be broken up into a thick, icy consistency (you want to be able to squish it around in the bag a bit with your hands).

Transfer the frozen cider to a large punch bowl and pour the chilled sparkling cider over it, stirring to break up any big pieces. Serve immediately.

*Substitute with champagne for an adults only version. If you don’t want sparkling slushies, use plain apple juice. You could also use a clear soda, such as Sprite, or use half frozen and half chilled apple cider.

Recipe by Darla Visit Bakingdom.com for more info!

Cranberry and Avocado Salad with Candied Spiced Almonds and Sweet White Balsamic Vinaigrette

This salad is perfect for a quick lunch, a fancy brunch, a lovely side salad or a complete meal with chicken, shrimp or pork tenderloin piled on top. You can add goat cheese, blue cheese or any other fun cheese that strikes your fancy. It’s wonderful with spinach, Romaine, field greens, Bibb lettuce, arugula… did I miss your favorite? Well, it’s great with that too! Feel free to change out the nuts also – don’t have any almonds? Candied Spiced Pecans would be a fabulous switcheroo!

The recipe below is for my Cranberry-Avocado Salad with Candied Spiced Almonds and Sweet White Balsamic Vinaigrette, but feel free to have fun and adapt according to your tastes, whims, cravings, pantry and budget!

A delicious salad featuring cranberries, avocado and candied spiced almonds.

Author: Chris Scheuer

Recipe Type: Salad

Serves: 6 as main

Ingredients

Ingredients for the dressing:

• ½ cup (60g) sugar
• 1 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1 ½ tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons dried mustard
• 1 tablespoon minced sweet onion
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup (120 ml) white balsamic vinegar
• ⅓ cup (70 ml) vegetable oii
• ⅓ cup (70 ml) extra virgin olive oil

Ingredients for the salad:

• 12 ounces (340g) baby spinach, arugula, field greens
• 1 small bunch cilantro, washed and dried, leaves removed whole from stems (discard the stems or use for another recipe)
• 2 medium avocados, peeled and halved
• 1½ cup (115g) dried cranberries
• 1½ cup (115g) Candied Spiced Almonds (see recipe)

Ingredients for the almonds:

• 5 cups (600g) sliced almonds, or a 1 pound package
• cup (100g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cumin*
• 1-1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika* – some smoked paprikas are quite hot, if you don’t like “hot”, just use 1 teaspoon and they will be mildly spiced.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• sea salt
• The cumin and the smoked paprika give just a hint of mysterious, delicious flavor – even though these are savory spices, these almonds are still wonderful served with sweets like ice cream or yogurt.

Instructions

For the dressing; combine all ingredients in a pint sized glass jar and shake well to dissolve sugar.

For the salad; place greens and cilantro leaves in a large bowl.

1. Add avocado and dried cranberries and about ¼ cup of the dressing and toss gently.
2. Scatter candied almonds over salad and sprinkle lightly with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pass extra dressing at the table.

For the almonds:

1. place a large sheet of foil on a work surface. Spray with cooking spray or rub a teaspoon of oil over foil with a paper towel.
2. Place sugar in a large non-stick sauté pan and heat over medium heat, occasionally tipping and swirling the sugar until it’s all melted into a pale golden syrup.
3. Lower heat immediately and add butter, cinnamon, smoked paprika and vanilla. Stir until well combined and all butter is incorporated into the sugar syrup.
4. Add the nuts and stir gently to coat. Don’t worry if you have some clumps of caramelized sugar – they will melt as you continute to sauté the almonds. Cover and continue to cook on low, stirring every minute or so until almonds are a delicious golden brown. Watch very carefully as they can go from beautiful to burned very quickly! Turn out onto prepared foil and sprinkle liberally with sea salt. Spread out on foil to cool.

HESTER STREET FAIR HEADS WEST BY ELLE

In just two short years, the Hester Street Fair has become a warm-weather institution in Manhattan, attracting hordes of stylish browsers on the prowl for the sorts of things you’d never find stocked at Barneys. Having conquered the discerning New Yorker, founders SuChin Pak, Ron Castellano, Adam Zeller, and Suhyun Pak are bringing the street fair west, setting up a sister market in Hollywood for the summer. Local business owners—and savvy shoppers—get ready. “At the heart of what we do, we’re a launching pad for young entrepreneurs,” explains SuChin. “We see everywhere from Etsy to eBay people doing really amazing things on the side, so we’ve given them a platform to hopefully quit their day jobsand do what they’re passionate about in life.” The passions vary from dip-dyed dresses to Peruvian-Japanese food, but the sentiment—handmade, small batches, artisanal ingredients—runs throughout. “We try to make sure that the vendors that we pick are truly unique, that they’re committed to what they’re doing, because our vendors are our best advertisers,” SuChin says. There are a few minor differences, as is often the case with New York versus LA: the fair on the West Coast has space on its side, and for the 2012 season it will run just four times. But perhaps most exciting is the diverse array of stalls: in advance of its kickoff tomorrow, SuChin gave ELLE.com her picks for the most stylish Hester Street Fair Hollywood vendors, after the cut.

ROJAS
“It’s like tribal-meets-Coachella-meets-Ibiza. I know it’s a strange combo, but it works and it’s very ‘summertime in LA.’ Each piece is completely original and they even customize your Chucks.”

CLOUD CLOUD
“Claudia Zhao is a local designer, by way of Brooklyn. I met her in NY and was thrilled to see her in LA creating this incredible line of bags. They’re really simple, inspired by geometric shapes, and made of the softest leathers. I have the messenger bag, which is the perfect-size bag for summer, but have been eyeing her clutch—which could be my favorite piece!”

FLEA MARKET GIRL
“I think she’s going to be one of the busiest vendors on June 2. They create each piece by hand using wood, brass, and bronze. It’s all bad-ass and quirky, very rock’n’roll. I would recommend wearing their stuff layered by the dozens, [and] the price point is really great, so picking up lots of pieces is going to be easy.”

STANDARD GOODS
“I just spoke with [owner] Garrett Colton, and he’s going with a ‘California Summer’ theme with his booth. He wanted to celebrate our first outing west and, of course, the summer season. I’ve got my eye on the vintage fashion books he’ll be bringing from Lisa Eisner’s early days.”

FAIR SEASON
“One of my favorite vintage vendors for opening day. Her stuff is how I like it—special and affordable! She’s really good at picking vintage items that are just that perfect worn-in without any fussiness. She’s bringing a lot of stuff that will be perfect for summer.”

JILL AIKO YEE
“I’ve been wearing her stuff ever since I moved to LA. It’s all handmade and inspired by very simple linens cut in a way that fits almost any body type. I love her mix of patterns, but also that her materials are so high-end; it’s all cut from the most incredible silks and cottons.”

Courtesy of Elle.com/ article by Rebeca Willa