How do you celebrate America?
This past weekend, I went to Malvern, Iowa and celebrated my friend Brenda's birthday as well as America. We had cocktails, good eats, lots of laughter and fireworks. We also had this friend who was constantly singing "Living in America" by James Brown and we had a few moments of questioning so-called friendship. Ha! Honestly, I had no idea James Brown really ever sang lyrics, I only remember the legendary ooo's, ahhh's, uhhh's and dance moves, which is why I had to share.
This is how I celebrate America, experiencing all it has to offer. I know I want to travel around the world but there is so much to discover right in the country I live in and love. As I have traveled to new places in the good ole US of A over the past few years, I have been able to find out more about who I really am, what makes me tick and discovering my wanderlust to explore America more. There is no destination that is too far out of our reach in this amazing country we live in and there are places inside of ourselves we need to explore too. Why not do both at the same time?
Living in America....
Recently, I may have mentioned in previous podcasts about how it’s never too late to try something new or to reinvent yourself a little. With that being said, I’m trying out something new with the podcast this week and hope to have a few times of the year, where I get to have a different style of conversation.
I feel every great conversation is had over a meal or a cocktail (or mocktail if you choose). These conversations take on their own life and travel into unique directions, which is what truly matters. Periodically, I will putting on my party pants, pouring myself something refreshing to drink and inviting a guest to just see where the words take us. In this debut episode of Cocktails and Conversations, I invited back one of my favorite guests, also known as the king of #foodfetishfriday, the food porn unicorn, or the D.A.V.E Sherotski, to talk summer just in time for the upcoming 4th of July holiday. Cheers!
Nosh Three. Week in Review.
There is nothing like everything red, white and blue! I am seriously drawn to these colors and it is ironic how the foods I choose also follow suit. I had fun this past week at work with our monthly Kids Club. Have you ever heard of Hy-Vee Kids Fit? Hy-Vee KidsFit™ is a free, online personal trainer and nutrition program for children, teens and families. It is a great resource to move a little more and find easy and healthier recipes for families. We took our kids over to the fitness center and did a little workout with them and then came back and made red, white and blue watermelon pizzas. I am actually going to have them for my 4th of July celebration. Find the easy recipe here.
This past week, I also have started watching the show Dexter. Has anyone else watched it? It is on Netflix and is an older show from the early 2000s and I think it was on Showtime. Anyway, during the first 2 seasons, one of the common food themes is donuts. Seriously, every episode they are eating donuts. I couldn't pass by the case and not enjoy a cup of coffee and some red, white and blue sprinkles from the Fleur Hy-Vee. Oh and the show is bonkers...and entertaining and completely ridiculous. I have a feeling I will be craving donuts for a few more seasons.
A few weeks ago, my Mom placed one of most favorite childhood memories in the palm of my hands when I was visiting her: my Big Bird hand mixer. I loved this mixer when I was a kid and made endless bowls of chocolate instant pudding with it. He was a staple in our kitchen. I was shocked she still had it. So it came back to Waukee with me and I really couldn't wait to use it. I thought about making pudding but I thought I should fancy it up. I had gotten the most beautiful Driscoll's berries from the grocery store and had a trifle on the brain.
The whip cream and Greek yogurt mixture I used from the Hy-Vee Kids Fit Watermelon Pizza recipe was perfect for the trifle. So Big Bird got to work and perfectly blended the creamy sweetness for my Fourth of July dessert. I then sliced the strawberries and layered them in between the cream and cubed angel food cake. In a casual conversation, I told my friend Mitch about what I was making for dessert and he told me I had to call it a Ménage à Trifle because of the 3 berries. I think it is perfectly fitting.
Ménage à Trifle
1 8-ounce container of whipped topping
2 5-6 ounce containers of non-fat vanilla Greek yogurt
1 prepared angel food cake, cut into 2-inch cubes
1 cup blueberries
1 cup raspberries
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1. In a large bowl, combine whipped topping and yogurt, blend until smooth (Big Bird Blender optional)
2. Cut prepared angel food cake into 2 inch cubes
3. In a medium glass bowl or trifle dish, place a layer of the cake on the bottom.
4. On top of the cake, layer with 1 cup of whipped topping and yogurt blend.
5. Place berries on top of the cream blend in a single layer.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 twice more, so the top of the trifle shows the last layer of berries.
7. Refrigerate and serve within 24 hours.
Nosh Four. Workout Playlist of the Week.
Celebrating America always deserves a playlist of its own! I know this will make all my workouts great this week. Find it on Apple Music and Spotify.
Nosh Five. What I Love Right Now.
At the Malvern Fourth of July Celebration, there were games, live music and food! One of my favorite foods of the evening was some sweet treats from Sugar Makery. They were debuting homemade ice cream sandwiches, had a variety of their popcorns, popcorn balls I have ever had and cotton candy. I bought one of each! As you can see from the photo, I ate the ice cream sandwich before I snapped this photo. It was made from 2 homemade chocolate chip cookies (they also had sugar cookies and Oreo-like options) with creamy vanilla ice cream in the middle. The popcorn balls were full of buttery marshmallow goodness and the cotton candy was what every little girls dreams are made off. I haven't slept in 2 days, but I know I will be making a stop at the actual shop in Glenwood the next time I go to southwest Iowa.
~AE
*All views and opinions on products, food and businesses in this blog post are my own and are not sponsored in any way. I just love to share great things!
Hello mate great bloog
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