Azoresgal~Life on an Island

Can you believe Christmas is just four days away? My goodness I have lost track of how many  trips I have made to the grocery store already. I have also chosen to ignore the fact that I have a ton of gifts to wrap, and crossing my fingers my mailman brings one last missing gift on Monday. In the meantime, instead of entering panic mode, I opted to go into the kitchen and make some homemade Baileys. That's right folks, I made Irish cream, because you all know tis' the season to drink and be merry!  Super easy to make, once you have all the ingredients, it's is as easy as throwing everything into a blender. Then just whirl everything up, and ta-dah you are done! Keep it all for yourself, or make same for sharing, as gifts. Just make it, I promise you will love it! INGREDIENTS 1 cup/250ml heavy cream  ( I used a 200 ml box) 1 can sweetened condensed milk 400 ml (1⅔ cup) Irish whiskey  (I used Jameson) 3 tablespoons chocolate syrup 2 teaspoon vanilla extra...

"Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability." - Sam Keen  One of my favorite quotes, and perfect for the middle of August, when not a heck of alot is going on around here. Well not unless you count the swimming, the grilling, the entertaining or the drinking on the patio! This has been one of our favorite drinks this summer. I love a good gin & tonic, it is actually one of my favorite drinks. Now imagine adding summer ripe strawberries and fragrant mint. Trust me it is a winner, you will not regret making it. So go and grab the ingredients, and make yourself some Strawberry Mint Gin & Tonics. While your at it, clear your agenda for the afternoon....and just be lazy...go on..it's the respectable thing to do! 2- 3 large strawberries, stems removed and halved 1 tsp. sugar 4 small mint leaves 1 1/2 oz. gin 1 lime wedge 4 - 6 oz. tonic water Place strawberries, sugar, and mint in a mason jar or tall glass. Muddle to combine. Add gin and...

One of my favorite drinks. I warn you these...are sneaky ! They go down real easy, but boy do they ever pack a punch !! Rum or Vodka maybe used instead of the cachaca, but if you can get your hands on the real thing...I suggest you do . Enjoy! Ingredients: 1 lime, sliced in 8 wedges 2 tablespoons fine sugar (I prefer brown sugar ) - adjust sugar to your taste 2 oz cachaca ( I like 51, Gold) Preparation: Place the lime wedges  and sugar into a glass. Muddle well to create a paste. Fill the glass with ice cubes. Pour in the cachaca. Stir well. Note: Keep the sugar mixed in the drink by stirring often. xo, Diana

Tis´ the season to drink eggnog ! I think you either love eggnog or hate it, I happen to enjoy it!.I like it cold though instead of warm. There are so many recipes out there for eggnog...dont´believe me...google it. This is one of my favorites..simple, easy and not fussy at all. I like to sprinkle mine with some cinnamon, want to make even richer add some whipped cream. Ingredients 2 cups heavy cream 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 2 teaspoons vanilla 4 large eggs 3/4 rum or spiced rum or brandy or adjust to your liking Directions In a medium saucepan, bring the heavy cream, sugar, and nutmeg just to a simmer, do not boil. In a blender, blend the eggs on low speed for 1 minute. With the motor running, gradually add the hot cream mixture, and the vanilla. Blend until frothy, about 30 seconds more. Add the brandy and blend to combine. Serve warm.(or refrigerate and serve chilled). Sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon. recipe source

Ohhhhhhhhh... it  has been so hot and muggy on our little island ! We have been keeping cool, the best ways we know, staying in the pool and sipping on these slushies ! 1 cup water ( or 7up or sprite ) 1/3 to 1/2 cup sweetened "powder" drink mix ( tang, kool-aid..etc ) 4 cups ice Place 1 cup water, 1/2cup  ( more or less)  of your favorite flavored  powder drink mix, and 1 cup ice cubes in a blender. Blend on high speed until smooth. Add additional 3 cups ice cubes; cover. Blend using pulsing action, until smooth. Serve immediately. Store leftover slush in the freezer.

This smoothie is just right for a hot summer day! It has been really hot and muggy the last couple of days on the island. These are yummy, and refreshing at the same time. My kids love them, even our oldest who doesn't much care for bananas. If you get a chance, slice and freeze your bananas, makes this even thicker! The milk you use is up to you, we use skim, you could even use almond milk or soy milk. Want to make it extra special add some cocoa powder or chocolate syrup !   4-6 baby bananas, broken into chunks ( or frozen slices) 2 cups milk ( your choice, skim, soy, almond) 1/4 to 1/2 cup peanut butter ( I have used as little as 2 Tablespoons 2 cups ice cubes *** add some honey for sweetness OR chocolate syrup OR cocoa Place bananas, milk, peanut butter, and ice cubes in a blender; blend until smooth .

 Here is a fantastic Frozen Margarita to help celebrate Cinco de Mayo ! Cheers ! Frozen Margarita salt for glass rims ( I sometimes dont even bother with this) 2 ounces lime juice, plus more for rim of cup 2 ounces Cointreau or Triple Sec or Grand Marnier 4 ounces tequila, plus more if needed 2 to 3 teaspoons sugar (optional) 2 cups ice Place salt in a plastic bowl, wide enough to fit the rims of the margarita glasses.  Rub each rim of the margarita glasses with a lime wedge or with lime juice. Then dip each glass into the bowl of salt to coat the rims. Set glasses aside. In a blender, combine Cointreau, 2 ounces lime juice, tequila, (add sugar, if you like a sweet drink) and ice, and blend on high until ice is thoroughly crushed. Taste tequila, (more tequila might be necessary). Divide between two glasses and serve immediately. Makes 2 cocktails. or 1 very large one !

Affogato in Italian means “drowned”, and in this case it’s cold vanilla ice cream being drowned by pouring freshly brewed espresso all over it. Seriously, an adult version of a float. It's hot and cold, bitter and sweet ! Want to make it even more adult... add a splash of Amaretto or Frangelico. ! So good ! It’s like having your coffee and dessert all at the same time! I do warn you, after, you have one, you will want more, truly addictive. Affogato Ingredients 1 shot of strong espresso (50ml) 1 scoop of good-quality vanilla ice cream  ***splash of amaretto or  frangelico (optional) Directions Make a shot of espresso. Put a scoop of ice cream in a cup or small bowl Pour the coffee over the ice cream. Enjoy immediately! *** using my Nespresso machine, I just scoop ice cream into a large espresso cup, and then make the coffee xo,Diana

Winter seems to have arrived early to our little island this year. We even got some hail...now you know that is has got to be real cold for hail...that's near enough to snow.....for us anyway !. Made this hot chocolate for my kiddo's as they all arrived from school...to help take off the chill. It's a winner, a very special treat, rich and creamy.... almost sinful !  White Hot Chocolate Ingredients 4 cups of milk of your choice 1 tsp. vanilla extract 8 oz. white chocolate, chopped into small pieces Stir together milk, vanilla and chopped white chocolate in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the white hot chocolate comes to a simmer. (Do not let it come to a boil.) Remove from heat and serve. Whip cream and cinnamon are optional ! xo, Diana

Happy Cinco de Mayo !!!  This salsa is soooooooo yummy, it’s sweet, it’s hot and very, very addicting. It’s perfect for dipping chips, but I also think it would be great with some grilled fish, or grilled chicken. Do use a fresh pineapple, it just wont be the same if you use canned pineapple.  Pineapple Salsa Ingredients 2 cups chopped fresh pineapple (1/4-inch dice) (DO NOT USE CANNED PINEAPPLE) juice of 1 lime 1 small chopped red onion 1 handful cilantro, chopped 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped (wash hands afterwards!!) Salt Instructions Place all ingredients, except the salt, in a food processor and pulse 4 or 5 times. This will give you the crushed pineapple texture. Pulse acccording to how you would like it, I like a smaller dice, on everything. Salt to taste. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve.       2 ounces lime juice 1 ounce blue curacao 1 cup ice 3 ounces tequila *** I added 3 ...

  I have been feeling under the weather, I believe it's the flu. My sweet uncle Alberto, swears by this concoction. He is almost 80, God bless him, and he has this drink in the evening, even when he doesn´t have the flu. So I figured I had nothing to loose. I prepared it just before, going to bed. Well let me say that I was out like a rock, all night long,  I slept for almost 14 hours ! Now I can´t say it has cured my cold, but it sure as heck, hasn't made it worse.  Hot Toddy 2 ounces Whiskey ( I used Rum) 2 tablespoons honey some lemon peel 1 cinnamon stick boiling water Place the whiskey, lemon peels, honey and cinnamon stick in a mug, and pour the boiling water over, to fill to the top of the mug. * you can add everything to taste, want more whiskey, go for it......like more honey add some more.  you can also add other spices, cloves, nutmeg, aniseed etc. This is your little magical potion, prepare it however you like it. xo, Diana

 This hot chocolate is not an everyday mug of cocoa. It's a thick, dark, decadent, rich mug of chocolate.  A mug of love, almost like a big huge warm hug, to share with your friends and family, now that the weather has gotten much colder, and Christmas is around the corner. Grate 50g of dark chocolate into a saucepan containing 250ml of milk approaching the boil. Stir until the chocolate has dissolved and the drink has slightly thickened. Stir in sugar to taste, depending on how sweet your chocolate was. Spoon in a tablespoon of double cream if you wish, and serve. Enough for one. I chopped my chocolate, then whisked it in, I used skim milk & I did not add in any extra sugar........... then went ahead and topped it with, whipped cream, and candy canes. xo,Diana 

I love iced coffee in the summer, this recipe is soooo good. On the island we don't have any fancy schmancy coffee places. So instead I make my own frappuccino's. This makes quite alot, a whole pitcher, so you have more than enough to share. The best thing is to brew your coffee the day before, so it is really cold. You must brew double-strength coffee. For example, my coffee machine brews 4 tablespoons of ground coffee, for a full pot . To make the frappuccino's I brew 8 tablespoons of ground coffee. This is so when you add the milk and ice, it will still taste like coffee, give it a try when you can. brew double the amount of ground coffee , you use to make a full pot of coffee I used this caramel sauce Frappuccino 3/4 cup double-strength coffee (chilled) 3 tablespoons sugar 1 cup cold milk (I use skim) 2 cups ice (about 8 large ice cubes) caramel topping (optional) whip cream (optional) Into ...

Just because, today it's warm and sunny out, just because I am wearing my favorite Havaianas, and  just because I had some limes in the fridge waiting to be used, I made this Brazilian Lemonade. Try it, you will not regret it :) Brazilian Lemonade 3 cups very cold water 2 limes ( washed, ends removed, and sliced up) 1/3 cup sugar 4 Tablespoons of condensed milk Add everything into the blender, blend it all up. Next pour everything through a strainer, into a large mouth pitcher. Serve with ice and enjoy. xo, Diana

In our backyard, we have a very big garden area, where we grow our own veggies. Last year we decided to put in a strawberry patch. It has been amazing to see how many strawberries grow from each little plant. We have been picking strawberries, since April, every day a couple handfuls, get brought into the kitchen. I started freezing them, I hull them, quarter them, lay them on a cookie sheet and freeze them, the next day I pack them away in freezer bags. I have been doing this, so that I can make some strawberry jam. Our youngest son, Simon, kept asking me to make  strawberry smoothies. So for after school snack, I made some.    Strawberry Smoothie 2 cups frozen strawberry halves 2 cups milk ( I use skim) 1/4 cup icing sugar ( honey may be used) 1 teaspoon vanilla Put everything into a blend. Blend until smooth. Serve & enjoy Have a fantastic weekend friends, xo Diana

 Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army's 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War.   I think that´s reason enough to make some, Strawberry Margaritas, and some Chili Cheese dip. So here goes...... Strawberry Margaritas 3 1/2 cups sliced strawberries 2 1/2 cups crushed ice 1/2 cup tequila 1/2 cup fresh lime juice 1/4 cup sugar 3 Tablespoons Cointreau extra strawberries for garnish sugar for dipping the glasses Pour the sugar out into a shallow bowl . Dampen a thick paper towel, folded in quarters, with water. Press the rims glasses onto the wet paper towel and then lightly dip them into the sugar. Combine strawberries, ice, tequila, lime juice, sugar, and liqueur in a blender, and process until the mixture is smooth. Pour the margaritas into 4 large glasses. Garnish margaritas with a strawberry, if desired. Serve immediately  everything in the blender  dampen, some paper towels, and s...