Link Love: A Southern Living Summer

While visiting my mom for Mother's Day weekend, I indulged in my usual habit of leafing through her decor and lifestyle magazines.  At some point along the way, I landed on a Southern Living issue that seemed to transport me right into the middle of Summer -- a scrumptious, mouth-watering, refreshing Summer to be exact.  

It's true that we eat with our eyes first. (At least that's true for me.)  And page after page presented recipes that spawned an inner excitement followed by the exclamation, "Oooh, I'm going to make that!"  It's the raw inspiration that keeps me excited about the joys of cooking and eating.

To make sure I could follow through on my new found excitement, I asked my mom if I could "borrow" her magazine and bring it home with me. :)  She graciously obliged and as the days of Summer unfold, I look forward to making many of the vibrant dishes that will make this one of the tastiest seasons yet.

While I have my mom's August 2012 hard copy edition on hand, I wanted to share the love with these links to some of my favorite recipes from that issue via SouthernLiving.com.

Here's to a Summer of Happy Eating...Southern Living Style!

Sip:
Iced Hibiscus Sweet Tea 

Nibble:
Chipotle Shrimp Cocktail 

Grilled Watermelon with Blue Cheese and Prosciutto 

Salad:
Three Sisters Salad

Main Dish:
Chicken Enchiladas 

Beef-and-Watermelon Stir-Fry

Sweets:
Icebox Butter Cookies

Mexican Chocolate Ice-cream Pie

Photo Credit

Toast With This!: Arnold Palmer Special

If I had to claim one beverage as my drink, the Arnold Palmer would surely top the list.  A great mocktail that simply combines the beloved drinks of iced tea and lemonade to become one all its own, I can't think of anything not to love about it.  Cool. Refreshing.  Perfectly suited to accompany a casual day-time bite and hold its own at an evening meal.  So my thoughts went rather to how to make it a bit more special.  Nothing too over the top.  Nothing to take away from what made me love it in the first place.  But just a little extra love.  And thus, Arnold Palmer Special was born.  Basically as easy and simple as before, with a little added twist. 

Check out the recipe below to discover what puts the 'special' into this beloved drink.  And once you've tasted it, I'm sure you'll love this twist as much as I do.

Arnold Palmer Special

One Serving

4 oz. sweetened iced tea

4 oz. basil lemonade (aka 'the twist') - recipe follows

Ice cubes for serving

Basil leaves for garnish (optional)  

 

Combine the iced tea and lemonade, pour over ice, garnish with basil and enjoy!

Basil Lemonade
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 1/2 cups cold water
1 bunch of basil
1 cup of sugar

Combine basil, sugar and 1/2 cup of water in a small saucepan and simmer until the sugar dissolves.  Once the sugar has dissolved, remove from the heat and cool, allowing the basil to steep in the syrup.  (Note: I like to allow the basil to steep for at least an hour, if time permits).  Strain syrup into a container and chill in the refrigerator.  Discard used basil.

Add the lemon juice, 2 cups of water and basil simple syrup to a pitcher and stir to combine.  Serve over ice and enjoy!