It's smack dab in the middle of July and I can't believe it. How are we half way through 2017? Am I the only one who says this every year? That it goes by faster and faster!

My favorite drink to sip on with friends is a gin and tonic. I have shared with you a cucumber gin and tonic…now it's time to share another easy peasy drink, the strawberry gin and tonic!

But first, I must share about my trip to New York City and the Hamptons last month!

I was invited on a little retreat with friends and we stayed at the Lotte New York Palace. It was beyond amazing! My roommate for the weekend was Heidi, I had so much fun with her!

On a brick of white chocolate, a photo of inside the hotel entrance. Beautiful, right?

The view from our room was amazing! I have to go back…like now!

The food at the Villard was amazing. They are known for their breakfast. We had banana bacon beignets and thick cut bacon and this beautifully presented avocado toast. It's gorgeous, right?

Dinner the night before was at Fig & Olive in the Meatpacking District. The food was amazing. From mushroom croquettes to this beef carpaccio…my stomach was very happy!

Lunch the next day was at Mamo. Seriously, if you're in the area. Get there. This Italian place is tucked in SoHo and it's glorious! I had the tiniest raviolis I have ever had. Truffle pizza and these little stuffed red peppers. So so good!

We made our way to the Hamptons and stayed in a beautiful house! Gina, Lexi and Liz outdid themselves.

We enjoyed the pool and Halo Top Creamery ice cream!! Yes!

Breakfast the next day, was avocado toast that was next level! The spread included wonderful food from Delallo, Vital Farms and Green Giant!

And then, we had lunch at Union Cantina. This little amazing Mexican place in Southhampton. So so good, from tacos and margaritas to this churro French toast…pretty genius, right?

Watermelon margaritas by the pool…be sure to check out Heather's spicy watermelon sangria!

And this ahi tuna & watermelon salad using Delallo's vegetable marinade. Yum! Gina shared her version recently too!

Let's just say, we didn't go hungry! This spread from Sabra…yay!

And thisssssss…meat and cheese board, when I grow up, I want to build a board like this.

This spread was possible due to Delallo. And they are so nice to offer a 25% discount site wide to The Little Kitchen readers! If you place an order use the code LittleKitchen25 at checkout to get the discount!

Now let's get back to this drink. It's super easy to make. Squeeze some lime, hull and chop some strawberries.

Then, muddle the strawberries and add gin, tonic and ice and you're good to go!

The perfect summer drink!

Print

Strawberry Gin & Tonic Recipe

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 2 drinks

Ingredients

• 4 to 6 strawberries hulled and cut in half
• 1 lime cut into wedges
• 3 ounces gin or 3 Tablespoons
• ice
• tonic water

Instructions

• Divide the strawberries between two glasses. Muddle the strawberries.
• Squeeze lime juice into the glasses.
• Add gin and stir. Add ice and tonic water. Serve with limes.

photo credit: Raul Velasco

Such a fun day at the Bedell Cellars Vineyard. It was a beautiful setting, great wine and great conversation!

This trip was so refreshing and it was great to spend time with old friends and new!

I want to give Gina, Lexi and Liz a huge shoutout for planning a wonderful trip for all of us!!

Disclosure: This trip was organized by blogger friends and I was so happy to be invited. They gathered the sponsors to make the trip possible. So thank you to all of the sponsors who made it possible. As always, I only share with you brands and products that I love!

The post Strawberry Gin & Tonic and The Hamptons! appeared first on The Little Kitchen.

I'm so excited to share this recipe with you today! I ate almost every single one of these creamy coconut-lime square myself…I couldn't let myself eat all of them because I could have…they were soo good!

Earlier this year, my dear friend, Shelly's cookbook was released!

So many great recipes that I want to make from it! Including…her peanut butter cup-filled brownie cookie sandwiches, gooey salted caramel chocolate chip cookie bars, s'mores fudge squares, her buffalo ranch snack mix, monte cristo pizza and her bacon and pea pasta!

There are a ton of beautiful sweets recipes but there are savory recipes too! It's such a great cookbook, something you definitely need on your cookbook shelf!

And these creamy coconut-lime squares…let's make these!

Cover an 8-inch square pan with foil and spray it generously with baking spray.

It's so hot in Florida, I had to refrigerate the coconut oil to get it to a solid state (just FYI).

Add the coconut oil, salt and powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the paddle attachment and mix until smooth.

Then, add flour and coconut flakes and mix some more.

The mixture will look crumbly.

Add it to the pan.

Press the dough down into the pan evenly. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Mix the egg yolks and milk in the same bowl (I cleaned it before this step).

After mixing the eggs and milk together.

I love zesting limes in my kitchen…the smell is so good!

Add the lime juice and lime zest to the filling.

It gives the mixture a wonderful green color…with the lime zest mixed in.

There's the crust after it's baked in the oven.

Pour the lime mixture on top of the crust and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool for at 20 minutes and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting and serving.

And then you get these wonderfully, creamy and coconutty lime squares. I adore this recipe…and Shelly and her new cookbook! You should check it out!

Print

Creamy Coconut-Lime Squares

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons coconut oil in the solid state
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Lime Filling:

• 3 egg yolks
• 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 Tablespoon grated lime zest
• 1/2 cup lime juice

Instructions

For the Crust:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8-inch pan with foil and coat lightly with cooking spray.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the coconut oil, salt, and powdered sugar together on medium speed until smooth. Add the flaked coconut and flour and continue mixing until incorporated. The mixture will be crumbly, but it will hold together when squeezed.
• Press the dough evenly into the pan. Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden. (When the crust is done, leave the oven on.)

Meanwhile, for the lime filling:

• In the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the egg yolks on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the condensed milk and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the lime zest and lime juice and mix on medium speed for 2 more minutes.
• Pour the lime filling onto the warm, baked crust. Return to the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the lime layer is just set. Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then transfer the pan to the refrigerator to cool completely, at least 2 hours.
• When chilled, cut into squares and serve.

Notes

Republished with permission from The Cookies & Cups Cookbook by Shelly Jaronsky

Disclosure: I was sent a review copy of the Cookies & Cups cookbook by the publisher. All opinions are my own and I only share with you what I love! There are affiliate links in this post.

The post Creamy Coconut-Lime Squares appeared first on The Little Kitchen.