First, it's Friday so it's the perfect day for a margarita and since I'm still holding on tight to summer, we can still be friends if I make it a watermelon one right?

Seriously, you guys this is ONE AMAZING watermelon margarita. I had it in Albuquerque, New Mexico a few months back and was so happy when the restaurant shared the recipe with me!

Let's talk Albuquerque before we get into the recipe…it's gorgeous, peaceful, beyond beautiful, the people are amazing and the food beyond amazing. I had a great time and I really hope I get to return with Curtis (he was pretty jealous that I visited without him).

We stayed at Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm. This is the entrance to the Inn…this place was unreal.

It was built in the 1920s and is an actual working farm, they have 32 acres of lavender fields. The architecture is quintessential New Mexico and the Inn is on the National Registry of Historic Places!

They grow their own lavender, have an amazing restaurant on-site with an award-winning chef (Chef Jonathan Perno) and the rooms…they were so fun!

My room even had a sitting room with a fireplace.

My bedroom had a fireplace too…I felt totally spoiled with two fireplaces you guys!

That bed was so comfy!

PS I made sure to start a fire every night I stayed there!

Can we also talk lavender margaritas? It's a thing and it's amazing. I have to make it soon and share the recipe with you guys! I bought some of the lavender from the farm shop at the inn…so I could do this!

The farm shop…is amazing. They even have a farm cat (named Calvin) that loves to chill out in the shop.

I totally bought some lavender salve and a mist spray!

And that's Albert the peacock, I think they have about five peacocks on property.

My friend, Rachelle and I arrived one day early and dined at the restaurant…it was amazing. Get the cheese platter, that's all I'm saying!

And breakfast at the Inn is included and NOT TO BE MISSED. They serve a little piece of bundt cake with each breakfast, every day it's different and every day it was divine. I would love to come back and just bake bundt cakes with their pastry chef! (Ha! can we make that happen?)

We visited so many great places, trying to share most of them with you.

A can't miss place when you travel to AVQ is the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. They have a restaurant  at the cultural center…these blue corn onion rings you guys! We also made Indian fry bread…amazing.

We learned so much at the cultural center and I'm grateful we visited. We learned about Indian boarding schools (please look it up and educated yourself) and so much about the tribes in ABQ and New Mexico. I'm ashamed that we didn't learn about these boarding schools in school here in Florida and firmly believe we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past if we don't even KNOW about our past.

That's why I love to travel, to connect with people and to learn.

We visited Golden Crown Panaderia and met these two great guys, a father and son team who run this bakery.

Yes to the coffee milkshake…it was amazing.

Their empanadas…

And their New Mexico Green Chile Bread…I still dream about this bread! I brought a loaf home with me and snacked on it until it was gone!

To say that we ate a lot of great food was an understatement.

The chef's tasting menu at Más was magnificent! That's where I had the watermelon margaritas recipe that I'm sharing with you today!

and Sopapillas at Sadie's…a New Mexican institution. Order recommendation: get the fried green chiles (so addicting) and the coconut margaritas (are you sensing a theme here?).

We traveled out to the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa and had the most amazing Pueblo oven bread (wow!) and had a wonderful lunch at the Corn Maiden (you can't miss that place).

We had a great time, Chef Eric Stumpf was humble, hilarious and obviously very talented. We all enjoyed every last bite of that tasting menu we had!

And we visited the stables at the Hyatt Regency…they have rescue horses! I captured this beautiful moment. The smaller horse was going to up to a few of the taller horses and doing this thing, it seemed like he was saying hi, what's going on? How are you doing? Checking up on his horse buddies.

I told you ABQ is so pretty!

This falafel burger and fries were on point at Flying Star Cafe. I wish I had room to try their amazing desserts!

So so much good food in Albuquerque, I can't wait to go back.

Now to this recipe…it's sooo easy to make.

Cut up some watermelon.

And blend it up. Zest and squeeze a lime. Add tequila, triple sec and agave nectar or simple syrup.

Salt a couple of watermelon wedges and you're done. The salted watermelon is so genius!! It takes this drink over the edge!

Enjoy!

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Watermelon Margaritas

Ingredients

watermelon juice

• 1/2 Tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice
• 2 cups chopped watermelon
• 1 1/2 ounces tequila 3 Tablespoons
• 3/4 ounce Triple Sec 1 1/2 Tablespoons
• 3/4 ounce lime juice 1 1/2 Tablespoons
• 1/2 ounce agave nectar 1 Tablespoon
• small watermelon wedges for garnish
• Kosher salt

Instructions

• Make the watermelon juice. Add watermelon and lime juice to a blender and blend until smooth. (Makes about 1 1/2 cups juice.)
• Salt watermelon wedges with Kosher salt. Add tequila, triple sec, remaining lime juice and agave nectar to the watermelon juice. Stir and then pour into glasses and garnish with watermelon wedges.

Notes

Thanks to Más for sharing this recipe!

Disclosure: Thank you to Visit Albuquerque for hosting me on my trip. All opinions are my own and I wasn't required to write this post.

The post Watermelon Margaritas + Albuquerque, NM appeared first on The Little Kitchen.

Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for the first time. For a conference…it was the North American Travel Journalists' Association's (NATJA) annual conference. I recently became a member and attended the conference for the very first time. It was a great opportunity, I met some wonderful people, ate a lot of amazing food and I had the best time.

I recently recorded a podcast with the Season with Sass ladies (Peabody and Kita) and we chatted a lot about food blogging. They asked me what would I say to someone who said they hated social media. And my answer, too bad so sad. We all have to do a lot of things we don't like in order to fulfill our dreams and I firmly believe in going out of your comfort zone. Having never been to Puerto Vallarta, having just heard of the NATJA conference and knowing absolutely no one attending the conference ie. going all by myself. This was huge for me and very much out of my comfort zone.

View from my hotel room at Velas Vallarta

And guess what? I'm so glad I did. I had a wonderful time, made a bunch of friends all of whom are talented travel writers who are amazingly supportive and thoroughly enjoyed my time in Puerto Vallarta. It was a well-run conference, our hosts were amazing and the experiences I had and friends I made, I will cherish forever.

Here are my favorite things about Puerto Vallarta…

Starting with #1 — the margaritas

Margaritas were never in short supply…and that's a good thing!

The opening party was at Hotel Casa Velas and featured food from many of the hotel's amazing restaurants, so many different margaritas including passion fruit, tamarind and mango!

And a performance from an amazing (at least) 20-person Mariachi band that included two women!

For reals, amazing. Cucumber, guava and passion fruit margaritas at La Leche.

This is the best way to be greeted at a party!

Margaritas at a rooftop party at Vista Grill. Note to self: return to PV and eat there. The appetizers were amazing and the space…a wonderful view of Puerto Vallarta!

How many photos of margaritas is too many?

These frozen blackberry margaritas at the Hacienda El Divisadero's restaurant were amazing and hit the spot on a very hot day.

#2 The Food of course!

The breakfasts were amazing at Velas Vallarta. Just like I remember in Cancun last year, the breakfasts are a mix of traditional Mexican and American fare. The refried beans so amazing…better than anything I have ever had here in the US. Plantains, carnitas and of course American bacon.

And these wonderful cream cheese pastries. I'm still obsessed with these and wish I could find out the name and get the recipe for them!

Dinner at La Leche was amazing.

Grilled octopus…I have to say the best ever octopus I have had is in Mexico. I never thought I liked it until I went to Mexico!

Served with a creamy asparagus risotto. I ate the whole thing. No shame.

The space at La Leche beyond gorgeous, all white. It had a great feel and like I said, the food was amazing.

You cannot go wrong…we enjoyed all of the food and hospitality at Hacienda el Divisadero.

And homemade cheeses at the Hacienda.

And of course tacos. I went on a food walking tour with Vallarta Food Tours. Owned by a very nice couple, it was a blast! The key is the tour guide, their knowledge and willingness to share it and of course the food. The humble people of Pitillal shared their food with us and it's nothing like you would experience in a restaurant. I highly recommend this when visiting Puerto Vallarta.

Amazing artisan chocolates from Xocodiva Chocolates. The first day in Puerto Vallarta, we participated in a scavenger hunt and it included a chocolate tasting at Xocodiva. I had to buy a box of chocolates to take with me. The owner was very welcoming and she has an amazing story, filled with passion and the entrepreneurial spirit, the owners are from Canada and use fresh and local ingredients.

#3 The Beaches

Beautiful and peaceful, I did sneak time away so I could enjoy the beaches.

But don't take my word for it, here's a short clip of one of the beaches in PV. It's a view from the Velas Vallarta hotel.

The view from the other side of Velas Vallarta.

So peaceful. I miss it so much!

#4 Homemade Tortillas

I kept saying how I wish I had an endless supply of homemade tortillas at my house. Every where we went, fresh handmade tortillas. Even if I was totally full, I would even eat a plain tortilla. Because I knew my time was limited in PV and I had to enjoy it while it lasted.

One of our tour stops during the Vallarta Food Tour, was to Taco's Neto. Amazing…very fresh and so much flavor with simple ingredients.

I learned that our guacamole in the US is more of a guacamole salad. The traditional guacamole in PV has no accoutrements and is not chunky at all.

More warm handmade tortillas.

I just had to share a quick video I took of a young lady making tortillas at Robles. She makes perfect ones!

And at No Name Tacos (great name right?). More handmade tortillas. Each of the places we went to, we could watch as they were making tortillas. I really want to learn how to make corn tortillas now.

#5 The People I Met — okay and animals too.

Last but not least…it's who I met at the conference and in Puerto Vallarta that made my time special. From the conference attendees, to the organizers (Yani is awesome!), to the hosts, our hotels, the people cooking and serving the food. I had such a positive experience because of all of these people.

I had to share this photo of me having a moment with Chanel the chihuahua. I wanted to take her home but she belonged to someone! She would have matched my doggies, Angel and Charley.

The peacocks at Velas Vallarta who greeted us for breakfast every morning.

And the dog eating shrimp tacos outside a restaurant. I had those shrimp tacos and they were awesome! The dogs that you could tell were owned by a family, were well treated. A lot of them were not on leashes but behaved well enough without them. I wish my dogs could be leashless…Charley even has to walk on a leash in the backyard and it's fenced in!

The friends I made: Brooke and Doug. Troy, Parm, Debra, Glen, Emma and many others. I sound cheesy when I say this but it's all about the people and the relationships. The friends I have made over the years and YOU, the friends who read this blog, you all make it very special for me. You all make it worth my while. I can't even begin to express my gratitude to all of my friends.

And to the hard working people of Puerto Vallarta like this man at Hacienda el Divisadero who was hacking away at the agave plant to show us…how they start the process of making raicilla (a cousin or sibling? of tequila).

All done and very proud! It took him a little while to get to this point and I have to tell you, it was very very hot. I don't know how he did it in the heat like he did!

Another photo with friends (Doug and Troy)…and that amazing view at Vista Grill.

And I met Andrew McCarthy. Super nice guy and great keynote speaker for the conference. He is an accomplished and award-winning travel writer and the things he talked about connections and relationships with the people and places we visit…how it is so important for Americans to visit other places…really spoke to me.

I had an amazing time in Puerto Vallarta and I can't wait to go back…in the meantime, I'm going to make these mango margaritas and dream about the PV beaches!

These margaritas are easy to make. The salt is optional but makes it oh so good!

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Mango Margarita Recipe

Servings 2 drinks

Ingredients

• lime wedges
• margarita salt
• 4 ounces mango pulp or 6 to 8 ounces mango juice or nectar
• 2 ounces Tequila
• 1.5 ounces Controy or Cointreau
• a dash of freshly squeezed lime juice
• ice

Instructions

• Take lime wedges and rim your maragrita glasses with the wedges. Place salt on a shallow dish and flip margarita glass one at a time and rim the glass with salt.
• Add mango pulp or juice, Tequila, Controy, lime juice and ice to a cocktail shaker and shake. Pour into prepared margarita glasses.

Notes

Recipe modified from the recipe shared with me from the folks at Hotel Casa Velas

This is NOT a sponsored post. I attended the NATJA conference in Puerto Vallarta and want to thank the people of Puerto Vallarta and their office of tourism for being so welcoming and being a great sponsor of the conference!

The post Mango Margaritas + Five Things I Love About Puerto Vallarta, Mexico appeared first on The Little Kitchen.

I'm so excited to share this recipe with you and this cookbook! First of all, I love mussels. Tell me if I'm not alone in this? When we go out to eat at restaurants, I refuse to order chicken. I cook so much chicken at home, I feel like splurging and that means ordering seafood or steak. Pasta with mussels is my favorite…to me it's definitely comfort food and I never knew how inexpensive mussels were until I tried making them at home last year. You can get two pounds for around $10! (Don't quote me on that, that's how much I paid for two pounds yesterday.)

Second, I have something to admit, I got a sneak peek at Jaden Hair‘s cookbook, Steamy Kitchen's Healthy Asian Favorites, before it went to press. I helped a little doing some editing and when I saw the photos and the recipes, I couldn't wait for the book to be released. There are so many great Asian recipes that I want to try…such as, her Kimchi omlete & her blackened tofu with ginger-ponzu sauce. And I love that they are healthy. I love Jaden and her blog too, she cooks and entertains effortlessly, she's a dear friend who's super supportive — this cookbook is gorgeous and a must for anyone who wants to take up Asian cooking.

This was one of the first recipes I wanted to make when I saw Jaden's cookbook — of course because of the mussels but also because I have never cooked with sake before. I love that this dish is so simple and easy…and doesn't take that much time to prepare. You can easily prep the ingredients for a quick appetizer for a family and friends get together and they will think it took tons of effort.

Hop on over to enter to win a copy of Jaden's cookbook!

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Sake-Steamed Mussels Recipe

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 2 pounds fresh mussels
• 11/2 cups sake or dry white wine
• 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
• 2 cloves garlic finely minced
• 1 shallot sliced into very thin rings
• 1 handful fresh basil leaves

Instructions

• Scrub the mussels under cool water, discarding any with broken or cracked shells.
• Heat a large sauté pan, deep soup pot, or wok over high heat with the sake, ginger, garlic, and shallots. When the mixture comes to a boil, add the mussels and cover. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the mussels open.
• Toss in the basil and serve immediately.

Notes

Reprinted with permission from The Steamy Kitchen’s Healthy Asian Favorites, by Jaden Hair, copyright © 2013. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.

Disclosure: I received a copy from the publisher but my opinions are always my own. There are affiliate links in this post.

The post Sake-Steamed Mussels appeared first on The Little Kitchen.

Here's what I learned about mussels from Atlantic Canada:

• They are amazingly inexpensive! I found blue mussels from Atlantic Canada sold at Whole Foods and they are sold in 2 lb bags.
• They are cultured/farmed in the ocean on ropes so there's no disruption or dredging of the ocean floor which makes it environmentally friendly and sustainable.
• Blue mussels are harvested year-round which is why they are so affordable.
• They are good for you! They are low in fat, high in protein and Omega 3s.
• They are quick and easy to cook!

I made this Steamed Mussels in White Wine dish for my sisters and brother when we hung for our sibling retreat in November. It turned out fantastic and they all loved it! When I tried mussels at home for myself, I wanted a quick and easy recipe and use olive oil. This dish turned out great and in less than 20 minutes I had it completed.

Serve with butter-garlic bread and dip it in the sauce made from the steaming liquid! It's so good and makes a light dinner! I made this whole pot and ate it all by myself…don't judge, okay?

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White Wine and Olive Oil Steamed Mussels

This appetizer or light meal can be made in less than 20 minutes and tastes amazing! Serve with butter-garlic bread and enjoy!

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 2 servings

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 3 lbs Atlantic Canadian mussels rinsed & scrubbed, if necessary
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 bunch of fresh parsley finely chopped
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup of water

Instructions

• Heat olive oil in a French oven or heavy-bottomed pot on high heat for 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30-45 seconds.
• Add mussels, wine, cayenne pepper, parsley and water. Stir with a wooden spoon and cover. Cook 5-7 minutes, until all mussels open. Discard any unopened mussels. Serve immediately with broth.

I love seafood and I always say I could have seafood almost every day of the week. I'm definitely going to cook with blue mussels more this year…I would love to hear about your favorite seafood and/or mussels recipes! Do you have a favorite?

Disclosure: Mussel Industry Council provided me with Atlantic Canadian mussels for this recipe. I received no compensation and all opinions are always my own!

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I had to resist opening the slow cooker every hour…the house smelled so good, it took all I could muster to not make a bowl before the 6 or 7 hours was up.

I put all of the veggies in the my crockpot first, then add the meat after it's browned. Next, the broth you simmered on the stove along with two bay leaves.

The result is a nice medley of tender beef, wonderfully flavored veggies and the broth is so flavorful with both beer and red wine. This is a winner and is going to make it into our regular rotation!

Do you have a slow cooker favorite or a favorite beef stew recipe?

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Irish Beef Stew (Slow Cooker) Recipe

A slow cooker beef stew that's easy to prepare. Full of flavor from the beef broth, red wine and Irish beer; the ultimate comfort food.

Prep Time 35 minutes minutes

Cook Time 9 hours hours

Total Time 9 hours hours 35 minutes minutes

Servings 4 -6

Ingredients

• 2 lbs russet potatoes peeled & cut into 1/2-inch pieces, approx. 2 cups
• 2 lbs baby red potatoes peeled & cut into 1/2-inch pieces, approx. 2 cups
• 4 stalks celery chopped, approx. 1 1/2 cups
• 4-5 carrots peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, approx. 2 cups
• 1 medium yellow or white onion roughly chopped
• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 3/4 lbs stew beef cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 2 Tbsp salted butter
• 2 cups low sodium beef broth
• 3/4 cup red wine
• 3/4 cup Guinness
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp white sugar
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 Tbsp dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch + 1 Tbsp water
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Place the chopped vegetables into the crockpot. Rinse the meat and pat dry with paper towels. Salt and pepper the beef.
• In a large, heavy bottomed skillet, heat olive oil at medium to medium-high heat. Add beef to the pan and brown on all sides, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook for one minute, do not burn the garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the beef and add to the crockpot on top of the vegetables.
• Turn the skillet back up to medium heat. To the skillet, add butter until it's melted. Add beef broth, red wine, beer, tomato paste, sugar, soy sauce and thyme. Using a wooden spoon, stir the liquids as well as scrape the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil, allow to boil for at least two minutes. Then lower heat to low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add cornstarch and water and stir together.
• Pour broth mixture into the crockpot over vegetables and beef. Add bay leaves and cook on high for 4-6 hours or 6 to 9 hours on low.
• Skim the fat from the stew, if needed, before serving.

Cook's notes:

• You can buy a chuck roast or round cut (except top round). I actually looked this up on this site in the store on my iPhone. But then, I opted to buy stew beef already cut up by my grocer's meat department because I needed less than 2 pounds.

Notes

Recipe modified for the slow cooker from Crepes of Wrath.

Disclosure: There are a couple of affiliate links in this post. What does this mean? If you click on the link and make a purchase, I'll make enough to buy a cup of coffee…so thanks!

The post Irish Beef Stew (Slow Cooker) appeared first on The Little Kitchen.

I had a lot of fun making these drinks and well, ummm drinking them. I love mojitos so I thought I would do a twist on them with Meyer lemons. Check out the Cook's Notes in the recipe on how to make simple syrup. It's the perfect way to sweeten up the drink.

Meyer lemons aren't as tart as the regular lemons we're used to and they look more like oranges. They are also a little bigger than regular lemons. In the U.S., they will be in season until February…so get on it, what are you waiting for?

This is how we served them at the Duda Farm Fresh Foods booth and they seemed to go over very well. I told everyone to imagine they had rum in them! For the convention, I made them a mocktail with club soda. Please promise me you'll make them with your favorite citrus rum (only if you're over 21)!

I had some hiccups prepping and preparing food in the little kitchen (haha, get it) in the booth, hey it was my first time doing this sort of thing. Despite that, I had a blast. I got to meet a bunch of Duda employees, who are so warm and welcoming. They all made me feel like a part of the Duda family. On the left, that's Sammy Duda, me, Gwen and Lucy. The picture on the right is Chris, a journalist, Bill and Tim (thanks for helping me clean up the ice, Tim). Huge props to Nichole & Megan who are so awesome & nice to work with and to Ralph for shopping for all of the supplies and ingredients for my recipes.

Again, I can't thank the Duda folks enough for giving me this wonderful opportunity and allowing me to share my recipes with the Fresh Summit Fresh Experience Tour.

Thanks to Broderick of Savory Exposure for taking this picture. Look at me, I know I'm a total cheeseball.

By the way, Broderick had the coolest iPhone case, it looked like a cassette tape. It was great seeing him and all of the other food bloggers who participated in the Fresh Experience Tour. I also had a lot of fun catching up with Tami too. It was great to meet with some chefs even though it was intimidating to have them try my recipes as well as journalists who were on the tour.

I learned so much. I learned the Duda has sugar cane fields, I learned this from Mark while we were talking to a chef about Vietnamese shrimp paste that's cooked and served on sugar cane sticks. I knew this already but I felt it firsthand, how passionate Duda is and how passionate their employees are about sustainability and are about getting the best product out to market. And you gotta love that Duda Farm Fresh Foods has nothing to do with GMOs.

Back in the little kitchen…look at the pretty Meyer lemons. I used a juicer to squeeze all of those juices out. In the booth at the PMA Fresh Summit, I made a note to myself, when you want to juice 30 Meyer lemons, bring an electric juicer. My arms hurt the next day.

Cut up 1/4 of the rind to include in your drink. You can cut them even smaller if you want. You will be using this cut up rind to make your drink.

It's a really simple and refreshing drink to make…and really easy to make! I swear it will take you less than 10 minutes to make, okay 15 if you include making the simple syrup.

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Meyer Lemon Mojito

A different take on the classic mojito! Make it a mocktail by using club soda instead.

Servings 1 drink

Ingredients

• 1 Meyer Lemon squeezed (reserve the rind & cut up 1/4 of it)
• 3 mint leaves
• 1/2 to 1 1/2 Tbsp simple syrup
• 1/2 cup citrus rum or club soda
• club soda if using rum
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice

Instructions

• Place 1/4 of the cut up rind, 1/2 of the Meyer lemon juice, simple syrup and mint leaves into a tall glass cup. Using a mottler or small wooden spoon, mottle (or push down on) the mint leaves and Meyer lemon rinds a few times.
• Taste and add more simple syrup to taste if needed. Transfer to drinking or mojito glass along with the rest of the Meyer lemon juice. Add club soda and/or rum along with ice. Give one quick stir with a spoon or drink stirrer and serve immediately.

Cook's Notes:

• Mojitos usually have rum and club soda. You can leave out the club soda if you wish. If using, add as much or as little as you wish.
• To make simple syrup, add equal parts granulated sugar and water (at least 3/4 cup) to a small saucepan, bring to a boil for 1 to 2 minutes and lower heat to a simmer for 4-5 minutes. Allow simple syrup to cool completely before using in your drink. If you don't have time to make simple syrup, you can always mix equal parts sugar and warm water in a cup and mix until the sugar is completely dissolved.

I hope you enjoy it! Mojitos are my favorite cocktail and this one has definitely become a top favorite…so now, tell me what your favorite cocktail or mocktail is.

Disclosure:  This is a sponsored post. You all know that my opinions expressed on The Little Kitchen are always my own!

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