Of Kids and Men
Today’s post is all about kids, and alcohol, plus men, and kids who are now men. Basically today’s post is all about this person who turned 21 in May. Yeah, no more little kids, he’s a man now.
I still long for his childhood days even though he was such a hyper pain in all my possible places! He had the most deceivingly angelic little face and a devilish personality. Here are my little devil and my mom many moons ago.
He caused a little ruckus on his 21st birthday too, inadvertently so nevertheless. See, we have fun in our house. The kid inherited my dark and sarcastic sense of humor so we often throw some wiseass remarks back and forth. Here’s his general outlook in life these days (don’t ever ask me what he’s been up to this year, it’s not amusing!). At least he looks sharp in his new custom-made suit and shirt, courtesy of Indochino.
Anyway, on his birthday, I posted his 21st celebration breakfast picture on The House of Dee blog Facebook page.
Oh boy! The page became inundated with posts from angry moms trying to tell me that it’s incomprehensible to give vodka for breakfast and that a mother should never encourage drinking even if her child is of age now. People, have you even read my blog?! The land of sarcasm is like my motherland! This is where my soul rests and my kid is made of the same material. For the record, the 21 year-old did not have vodka for breakfast on his birthday. Why? Because he has some common sense (which is obviously lacking in all those screaming moms who attacked me on my own blog page). I actually raised a responsible half-Russian drinker, even though it may sound like an oxymoron. Vodka is not even his preferred liquor. He’d rather go for some aged scotch, bourbon, beer or red wine. But I do know that even if I served him whiskey for his birthday breakfast, he’d appreciate the gesture but skip the actual alcohol.
We did have a proper celebration later that day at BLT Prime with all the alcohol, seafood, steaks and dessert.
And the usual big family party happened on the weekend too, which was Mother’s Day (this kid always messes up my holiday every year). For a change, I want something to be just about me!
What’s Cooking This Week
Are you excited? This is the first recipe I’m about to post literally in months, since January to be exact. If you just joined my blog, I had a long break for the most of this year (and let me tell you, I think I have the most dedicated followers ever as I have not lost a single one in my many months of silence when I took my sabbatical, and I’ve even added more followers in the past few weeks, so, thank you for sticking with me!).
Even though it’s November already and the weather is far from summery, today’s recipe is a frozen dessert. I make it quite often as it’s a great palate cleanser and it freezes soft so it’s good year round. The recipe uses Yuzu sake (it’s a Japanese citrus fruit) but you can use any semi-sweet white wine, prosecco or limoncello. Pitaya (dragon fruit) is a great fruit full of vitamins and antioxidant and comes in a variety of colors. I find that yellow ones come to be the sweetest but it’s all a matter of picking a ripe one.
Yuzu Sake and Pitaya Sorbet
This recipe is quite simple and comes together in just a few minutes. The fruits in the recipe are available year round but you can definitely make some substitutions if you don’t find something.
I added just a bit of creamed honey but either maple or agave syrup would work along with vanilla, cardamom, some orange zest and a pinch of basil. And don’t skimp on alcohol if you’re going to serve it to adults.
Blend all the ingredients in a high speed blender, transfer the mixture to an ice cream container, any metal dish would actually do just fine, cover and freeze for at least 5-6 hours or overnight.
This sorbet has a mild taste with just enough alcohol for a little buzz.
You can serve it in between courses or as a dessert.
And, of course you can enjoy it any time you just want a little treat for yourself.
Yuzu Sake and Pitaya Sorbet
Ingredients
- 2 pitaya fruits any color
- 1 yellow mango medium size
- 1 peach small-medium size
- 1/2 cup Yuzu sake
- 2 Tbsps creamed honey
- 1/2 Tbsp orange zest
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/4 tsp basil
- small pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Blend everything in a high speed blender.
- Transfer to a metal dish or an ice cream container and cover tightly.
- Freeze for at least 5-6 hours or overnight.
- Warm for a few minutes at room temperature before serving.
Notes