Watermelon Margaritas

It's Saucy Jocey's Kitchen's 1st birthday! I can't believe it! This experience has been an absolute BLAST and I can't wait to continue experimenting with food, dirtying-up my kitchen (my fiance and I have a clutch deal going - whoever cooks doesn't clean), and showing you all what I come up with :) Although the school year leaves me pretty swamped, it's summer again, which means more free time and more blogging! I can't wait. As for the coming year, a few of my goals for my blog are:

1. Improve my food photography. Get a new camera too?

2. Post at least once a week on average. Note - that's about what I averaged this past year, but next year I will be even MORE swamped than I already am, with more school, work, and planning a wedding :) I'm DEFINITELY not complaining - I'm a lucky girl! I'm also a busy girl though, so once a week blogging is a reasonable goal I think!

3. Redesign my blog. I've dabbled a little in html (surprisingly little considering my major - computer science), so I can figure my way around some website designing I think! 

4. Cook healthier. Don't get me wrong, I love the occasional fried chicken and sugary baked good, but for every day, my goal is to eat healthier than I do now. I would like to make a not-putting-as-much-garbage-into-my-body lifestyle change. Paul and I joined an organic produce buying club recently, which keeps fresh organic produce in the house at all times, which I LOVE. 

To anyone stopping by to read my blog, thank you :) sharing recipes and stories with you all this past year has been a joy, and I look forward to many more!

To celebrate year one - a fruity summer cocktail of course! Margaritas scream summertime to me, as do watermelons. This marg is definitely a lighter cocktail as far as alcohol content goes, as opposed to Beergaritas which are more on the potent side. Feel free to add more tequila to your liking! A bit slushy and not overly sweet, this is the perfect poolside cocktail! 

Watermelon Margaritas

Makes 5 (1 cup) servings

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

3 cups chopped watermelon

1 1/2 cups limeade (simply limeade ideally)

1/2 cup tequila

salt for the rim of the glass

Puree 3 cups of chopped fresh watermelon. Mix watermelon puree, limeade, and tequila. Serve over ice with a salted rim!

It's a little baby watermelon! We got this mini guy in our organic produce share from Annie's Organic Buying Club. It's been such a nice change to have organic fresh produce always around to snack on and cook with! Paul and I get the 3/4 share, which two people can finish in a week if they put their minds to it, but it's a tiny but of a challenge. But that's good, because it forces us to eat more fruits and veggies than we used to :)

Give the watermelon a rough chop so you can measure out 3 cups, and puree in the food processor!

Mix the pureed watermelon with limeade...

... and tequila! These margs are definitely on the easy-drinking side of the cocktail spectrum. Feel free to add more tequila if you want!

Serve over ice with a salted rim, sit back, relax, and enjoy!

My Big Fat Greek Recipe Collection

In honor of Greek Easter on Sunday, I thought I'd compile and share my Greek recipe posts! Greek Easter as a youngster for me meant celebrating with loads of family, loads of food, and an Easter egg hunt with hundreds of eggs filled with candy and cash (not just coins my friend, bills. The Greeks don't mess around with Easter).

Even if you don't celebrate Greek Easter (or Easter at all), look at Sunday as an excuse to eat Greek food! It's also Cinco de Mayo - What's a girl to do? Greek for lunch, Mexican for dinner probably. Check out my Cinco de Mayo Pinterest board for recipes and entertaining ideas!

Pictured to the left is little-me and my Papou :) Some of my fondest memories of him are of him coming over to my house and cooking for us, dictating the recipes to my parents. My parents gifted me with those written recipes a few months ago, and I was so happy I was brought to tears.

I feel the most connected to my Greek culture when I'm cooking! Below are some recipes from my family, some from me, and there is a whole recipe book full of more to come! Enjoy!

  Not only is Greek Salad undoubtedly DELICIOUS, but Greek Salad Dressing is extra virgin olive oil and vinegar based, do it's healthy! I love making a chunky salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, feta, and red onions. One of my go-to pot luck/tailgate/picnic dishes is Greek Pasta Salad, which is just the normal salad with rotini pasta and chicken! It's wonderful with or without the chicken.

One of my favorite dishes of all time is a Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce. For me, the more garlic, the better, which is why I could pretty much eat tzatziki sauce plain by the spoonful. There's only one time in my life when I uttered the words "Well that's just too much damn garlic." I was eating skordalia at a restaurant and my dad (the only full-blooded Greek at the table) was the only one who could eat the seemingly half potato, half garlic spread, which is usually very tasty, but had gone a little overkill this time. Anyway, the point is, if you love garlic, you will love tzatziki sauce! Try it if you haven't already!

These 3 recipes are straight from my grandparents' recipe book. Tiropita is a savory cheese pie, which is enticing enough I think! The phyllo dough is buttery and flaky and the cheese filling is hot and creamy... You can't beat it. You just can't. 

Dolmades are stuffed grape leaves, and just about every recipe for the filling is different. Ours is ground beef and rice based, but there are quite a few vegetarian versions out there too! These little bite-sized meaty bundles are the perfect hor d'ouevre!

Last but not least, for dessert - the simple, understated perfection that is Rice Pudding. It's nothing fancy, but it's my FAVORITE. I even like it better than baklava! I know, I know, where's the baklava? It's still in the book! Coming soon though :) don't worry.

Check out My Big Fat Greek Recipe Board on Pinterest! 

I hope you all enjoy my family's recipes :) It makes me happy to be able to share the love and share the food. It's the Greek woman in me - I need to feed people. Now go eat some Greek food!