Three summer favorites

A few summer things I'm lovin' right now...

1. Cinnamon Simple Syrup

I made this simple syrup using Giada DeLaurentis' recipe, but used raw sugar instead of white sugar. It's the perfect sweet addition to iced coffee, and so easy to make.

Ingredients
2 cups water
3-4 cinnamon sticks
1 1/2 cups raw sugar

Directions
In a small sauce pan, combine the water, sugar, and cinnamon and bring to boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes, until sugar dissolves. Let it cool and pour it into a glass container. Store it in the fridge and add to iced coffee all summer long.

(Tip: Pour your leftover morning coffee into an icecube tray to create ice cubes that don't water down your iced coffee).

2. La Roche-Posay Anthelios 50 Mineral

I haven't been as diligent as I should about sunscreen over the years, because I like the look of a tan. But it's time to get serious about wrinkle prevention! This is the only sunscreen I've tried for face that doesn't clog pores. Super lightweight and super necessary.


3. Floppy XOXO Beach Hat

My excuse for buying this hat, besides its adorable red silk flower, is that it matches a long red sundress I already own, it will get lots of wear on my honeymoon in Jamaica, and it only cost $10 at Cohoes. Love it when the stars align in my favor.

Skin care essentials

Being a product junkie, I’ve tried many, many face cleansers and lotions over the years, from Clarins and Clinique to Neutrogena and Oil of Olay. I used Clinique’s skincare products for years, and swore by their Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion.

But our bodies change and so do our skin needs, so recently I’ve had issues with dryness and allergic reactions. For instance, I recently had an allergic rash on one side of my face after putting Tea Tree Oil on a blemish. (I read about Tea Tree as a miracle cure for pimples. It didn't work, and it caused a rash. I later learned that this is common. Live and learn).

I’m also a bride-to-be and I’m obsessed with getting my skin in perfect condition for the big day (among other things). Needless to say, rashes and chin zits are not part of my bridal fantasies.

I read some reviews and sampled Dermalogica’s line because it’s works for so many people. I like it; it cleans your skin really well, but it left my face feeling tight, even after applying and re-applying the Active Moist moisturizer multiple times. It just wasn’t right for me.

So I called on my go-to skin care specialist and BFF for help.

Stacey works as a sales rep for Vichy and La Roche-Posay, two separate skin care lines out of the Loreal empire. Those companies offer a number of options, but she recommended a few products that have changed my world for the better:

Vichy Purete Thermale, a cleanser that’s super gentle and light, so it cleanses without drying.

Follow that with Purete Thermale Hydra-Perfecting Toner and I end with La Roche-Posay Redermic [+] for normal to combination skin.

Redermic [+] is light and silky and hydrates perfectly with one application. It also restores skin firmness and includes anti-wrinkle properties for us 30-something girls who need to worry about such things.

The reason I’m writing this skin care product review is not because my fabulous friend gave them to me. After two days, my skin issues cleared and it looks and feels 100% better. These products deserve a love poem.

Now I can get on with worrying about other, more important stuff. Like which shoes to wear for my upcoming wedding on the sands of Montego Bay.

Los Andes and Pisco Sours...

Sometimes, you take a chance on a restaurant you've never heard of, in a neighborhood you are slightly afraid to walk through after dark, and you end up in the land of Oz.

A few weeks ago, my fiance bought a Wicked Deal gift certificate for a South American restaurant called Los Andes on Chalkstone Avenue in Providence. It's set away from the well-known spots in downtown and the great Italian restaurants on Federal Hill, and it looks like a whole in the wall joint in a sketchy neighborhood. But we parked our car on street, locked it up tight and gave it a shot.

By the first course, we knew we found our new favorite restaurant. Here's why;

We walked in through the bar and were immediately greated by a charming waiter who happened to also be the owner, Omar. He gave us a welcomed education on the Peruvian and Bolivian food served there by Johnson and Wales-trained chefs. He explained the ingredients commonly used and made helpful recommendations on what to order from the extensive, reasonably-priced menu (everything is under $25).

On his recommendation, I ordered an authentic Peruvian cocktail - the Pisco Sour - which turned out to be one of the best cocktails I've had in a very long time. It's made with white brandy (Pisco), fresh lemon or lime juice, and simple syrup. Some websites say it's also made with pasterized egg whites, though I'm pretending that wasn't included in mine.

It was garnished with cinnamon and a lime. So delicious. I'm in love.

Rob ordered the red Sangria (also fabulous) and we both had Pisco Sour's to end dinner.

But we started dinner with the Cerviche; a martini glass filled with fresh, raw seafood marinated in lime and chile peppers for the perfect amount of heat.

We also ordered the Calamari Balsamico; calamari sauted with peppers, olives, drizzled with balsamic glaze and topped with a type of cheese that stayed firm yet soft when cooked. We order fried squid at great restaurants quite often, but this was the best plate of calamari we've ever had. We took home leftovers to pan fry. It was that good.

For dinner, I ordered the Paella; a giant, steaming pot of saffron rice, seafood, chicken and chourice that left me with enough food for two days of leftovers for just $13.

Rob is a meat and potatoes kind of guy, so he ordered short ribs with white rice with cheese - a delicious comfort food dish popular in South America.

We've been spreading the word about our great experience at Los Andes and we can't wait to go back again with friends. In the meantime, I'm going to warm up those leftovers and figure out how to make a Pisco Sour at home. (Without the raw egg).

¡Salud

Life's a peach

After a long day of gardening under the warm sun this weekend, we deserved some good food and cold drinks. I made a pitcher of summer sangria using Prosecco and peaches.

Here's what you need:

Three peaches

One tablespoon of raw sugar

One 750 ml bottle of chilled Prosecco

1/2 cup of orange brandy (Gran Gala or Gran Marnier)

1/2 cup of Ginger Ale

Five to ten Mint leaves

Cut the peaches into wedges and put them in a pitcher along with the orange liquer (orange brandy, or peach brandy if you really like peach flavor) and the sugar. Let that sit for an hour. Then add the Ginger Ale and the Prosecco.



Pour into large wine glasses with ice, and garnish with a wedge of peach and mint on the edge of each glass.

Sip, smile and be thankful.

The Novice Gardener

This weekend we did a lot of yard work, planting flowers in pots and tending to our garden of peas, lettuce, tomatoes, veggies and fresh herbs. We also moved a massive Forsythia tree from our backyard to another spot to free up space for more garden beds. There's nothing better than walking out your back door to collect fresh vegetables for dinner.

Last year, we dried some of the herbs and the hot peppers we grew to use them in recipes throughout the year. I grew the Stevia plant last year - the leaves make sweetners such as Truvia - and I use it to sweeten teas, cocktails and some foods. All of our dried stuff lives in glass jars in our kitchen and serve double duty as decoration.

We aren't great gardeners by any stretch of the imagination. We buy seeds for the flowers and the foods we like to eat, follow the package directions and hope for the best. Sometimes the seeds don't pop, or they don't grow well in our yard. But when something does grow, like the sugar snap peas making their way towards the sky right now, it's so gratifying. And so delicious.