caipirinhas. satay. pool. happy 4th

my husband loves these drinks, made with a special liquor from brazil - they're especially good on a hot summer day - serve with lots of lime. we had the family over for a 4th of july bbq....... grilled beef satay, roasted vegetable orzo and a berry torta were on the menu. recipes are below.

Caipirnhas

1 lime
2 oz. cachaca
sugar to taste
ice cubes, crushed

Cut lime into pieces and put in glass. Sprinkle with sugar and crush with a pestle to release the juice. Add cachaca and stir - add ice and mix again.

Beef Satays

1 1/2 lb. ribeye steak
3 T brown sugar
2 T ground coriander
1T ground turmeric
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 T Asian fish sauce or soy sauce
3 T vegetable oil
bamboo skewers

Cut steak into 1/2 inch cubes and place in glass bowl. Stir in brown sugar, coriander, turmeric, cumin, pepper, fish sauce and oil. Marinate, covered, in the refrigerator overnight.

Drain cubes and discard marinade. Thread 3 -4 pieces beef onto bamboo skewers (which have been soaked in water for a 1/2 hour).  Spray grill with Pam and heat to high. Grill skewers until cooked to taste, 1 to 2 minutes per side for medium-rare.  Serve with store bought peanut sauce for dipping. (Note: This recipe serves 4. Double or even triple recipe to feed a larger crowd.) Recipe adapted from Steven Raichlen's Planet Barbeque.

Roasted Vegetable Orzo

4 bell peppers of different colors
1 large red onion
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup fresh dill
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup pitted Kalamata olives, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
5 cups orzo pasta

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cut peppers and onion into chunks. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread into glass dish or roasting pan and roast for 20 minutes. Boil water in pasta pot and cook orzo 8 - 10 minutes. Drain orzo and put into large pasta dish. Add roasted vegetables, onions, chopped dill, pine nuts, feta, chopped olives. Drizzle with olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste. Hot pasta will melt cheese. Serve at once or dish can sit for a while at room temperature before serving as well. Recipe adapted from the Barefoot Contessa.

Alberta's Summer Berry Torta

Crust:
2 sticks butter
2 c flour
4 T sugar
dash salt
dash vinegar

Filling:
1 pint blueberries
1 pint raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 T flour

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Leave butter out in large mixing bowl until soft. Mix with flour, sugar, salt and vinegar. Dough will form into ball. Press into an 9 x 12 glass baking dish. Prick with fork.  Pre-cook 20 minutes, until light brown. Let cool. Wash berries and mix gently with sugar and flour. Pour into cooled shell and bake whole pie another 35-40 minutes. Let cool and cut into squares. Tastes best served with vanilla ice cream. Recipe courtesy of my mother in law.

so we swam. (swum?) never can figure that one out.

admired brother in law's tomatoes ------ (he's got me beat. started his in april!)

--------and ate. a lot.

only thing left to do was sedate our poor pup in time for the fireworks!



hope everyone had a great 4th~

xo♡a