Heres a little salad ive whipped up to me alive these past few months of hotness.. it is soooo effing good. I usually make a big Bowl and eat it for just about every meal.. I think the secret to the extra goodness is the roasted red pepper dressing and the chopped up dolmas (stuffed grape leaves)

-lettuce (the darker the leaf the better for you)
-chopped bell pepper (i like the red for color)
-chopped lemon cucumber ( any cucumber will probably be fab)
-avocado
-white beans ( or kidney, or garbonzo.. whatever you fancy)
-feta cheese (reduced fat is grand)
-sunflower kernals ( unsalted)
-a few dolmas cut up
-Annie’s Naturals roasted red pepper vinaigrette dressing
-a little splash of flax oil for good luck

and your on your way to divineness!!
I usually put equal amounts of veggies and beans so im eating every thing in one bite and not just lettuce. Dolmas you can usually find fresh in any deli. I think ive even seen them at cost plus… I get them in a can at Andys which is the market I go to in sebastopol.

Those bitches on Wisteria Lane have nothing on the pill-popping housewives of the ’60s. The vixens of The Graduate and Valley of the Dolls looked freaking fabulous as they packed their tranks and carried a sweet-ass cocktail.

When valium made its delirious debut in 1963, it quickly became the most prescribed drug in history. With all those baby blues floating around, a gal had to wonder, “Why bake a cake when I could get sweetly-sedated instead?”

Now, nearly a half century later, we can have our cake (and downers) and drink it too, thanks to the Lemon Chiffon –a liquid version of the kind of dessert a ’50s housewife would serve at tea without all the sifting and dishes and marriage and stuff. Bottoms up, ladies, life is sweet.

LEMON CHIFFON
As poured by Rosewood, SF

1 part Lemon Juice

1 part Vanilla Vodka

1/3 part Raspberry Liqueur

Mix in a cocktail shaker. Pour in a chilled sugar-rimmed martini glass.

Folks tell me that going to the woods, pitching a tent and gathering sticks for warmth is crazy relaxing. An alleged highlight: Sittin’ around, drinkin’ beer out of a can and getting totally blissed out by staring at the flames of a campfire.

I get the same results from a window seat at Nordie’s on Market and a heavy rotation of champagne cocktails. Watching the sugar cubes dissolve among the rising champie bubbles = so mesmerizing. Sipping from flutes with friends = way soothing. And the only thing that can get dirty is our language.

This recipe is for the champagne cocktail that went into the wilderness, toughened up and returned dreamy as ever. It comes courtesy of Wired editor and resident bartender, Adam Rogers, who has turned me on to so many bad-ass liquors this year, it seems only natural to blame him for my growing face bloat. But I’d rather celebrate him instead by sharing his manly version of this year’s champion drink.

THE NOT-SO-WUSSY CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL

as poured by Adam Rogers

1 Teaspoon sugar

A dash ‘o’ angostura bitters

3/4 oz Bourbon [or maybe a little more]

Bubbly

Bust out the champagne glasses. Dissolve sugar in bitters. Add bourbon. Top with cold champagne.

It’s freaking cold out there people. To keep me timbers from shivering, i’m kickin’ it old-world style with me hot buttered rum, made possible by my new red KitchenAid seven-speed hand mixer, courtesy of my boss at Wired. Thanks J!

HOT BUTTERED RUM
as poured by Trader Vic’s (well, sort of. This is Saveur’s adaptation)

3/4 LB Softened butter

1 Cup Dark Brown Sugar

1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

pinch ‘o salt, matey

Beat butter and dark brown sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the spices and beat again to combine. This shiznit makes about 16 drinks and can be stored in the fridge for 2 weeks.

When you’re ready for a nip, put two tablespoons of th shiznit in a mug with 1 1/2 oz. aged rum and fill with boiling water. Stir to melt and mix. drink right away.